M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Olive Oil, Bread and Incense
24 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil made from pressed olives. Use it to keep the lamps burning and giving light all the time. 3 Aaron must take care of the lamps in front of the Lord from evening until morning all the time. This is a law that will last for all time to come. The lamps are outside the curtain in front of the tablets of the covenant law in the tent of meeting. 4 The lamps are on the pure gold lampstand in front of the Lord. They must be taken care of all the time.
5 “Get the finest flour and bake 12 loaves of bread. Use seven pounds of flour for each loaf. 6 Arrange them in two stacks. Put six loaves in each stack on the table made out of pure gold. The table stands in front of the Lord. 7 By each stack put some pure incense. It will remind you that all good things come from the Lord. Burn the incense in place of the bread. The incense is a food offering presented to the Lord. 8 The bread must be set out in front of the Lord regularly. Do it every Sabbath day. It will be Israel’s duty to provide it for all time to come. 9 The bread belongs to Aaron and his sons. They must eat it in the holy area. It is a very holy part of their regular share of the food offerings presented to the Lord.”
A Person Who Speaks Evil Is Put to Death
10 There was a man who had an Israelite mother. His father was born in Egypt. The man went out among the Israelites. A fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11 The son of the Israelite woman spoke evil things against the Lord by using a curse. So the people brought him to Moses. The name of the man’s mother was Shelomith. She was the daughter of Dibri. Dibri was from the tribe of Dan. 12 The people kept her son under guard until they could find out what the Lord wanted them to do.
13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 14 “Get the man who spoke evil things against the Lord. Take him outside the camp. All those who heard him say those things must place their hands on his head. Then the whole community must kill him by throwing stones at him. 15 Say to the Israelites, ‘Anyone who curses me will be held accountable. 16 Anyone who speaks evil things against my Name must be put to death. The whole community must kill them by throwing stones at them. It does not matter whether they are an outsider or an Israelite. When they speak evil things against my Name, they must be put to death.
17 “ ‘Anyone who kills another human being must be put to death. 18 Anyone who kills someone’s animal must pay its owner. A life must be taken for a life. 19 Suppose someone hurts their neighbor. Then what they have done must be done to them. 20 A bone must be broken for a bone. An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth. The one who has hurt his neighbor must be hurt in the same way. 21 Whoever kills an animal must pay its owner. But if they kill a human being, they must be put to death. 22 The same law applies whether they are an outsider or an Israelite. I am the Lord your God.’ ”
23 Then Moses spoke to the Israelites. They got the man who had spoken evil things against the Lord. They took him outside the camp. There they killed him by throwing stones at him. The Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
31 Lord, I have come to you for safety.
Don’t let me ever be put to shame.
Save me, because you do what is right.
2 Pay attention to me.
Come quickly to help me.
Be the rock I go to for safety.
Be the strong fort that saves me.
3 You are my rock and my fort.
Lead me and guide me for the honor of your name.
4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me.
You are my place of safety.
5 Into your hands I commit my very life.
Lord, set me free. You are my faithful God.
6 I hate those who worship worthless statues of gods.
But I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and full of joy because you love me.
You saw that I was hurting.
You took note of my great pain.
8 You have not handed me over to the enemy.
You have put me in a wide and safe place.
9 Lord, have mercy on me. I’m in deep trouble.
I’m so sad I can hardly see.
My whole body grows weak with sadness.
10 Pain has taken over my life.
My years are spent in groaning.
I have no strength because I’m hurting so much.
My body is getting weaker and weaker.
11 My neighbors make fun of me
because I have so many enemies.
My closest friends are afraid of me.
People who see me on the street run away from me.
12 No one remembers me. I might as well be dead.
I have become like broken pottery.
13 I hear many people whispering,
“There is terror all around him!”
Many have joined together against me.
They plan to kill me.
14 But I trust in you, Lord.
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My whole life is in your hands.
Save me from the hands of my enemies.
Save me from those who are chasing me.
16 May you look on me with favor.
Save me because your love is faithful.
17 Lord, I have cried out to you.
Don’t let me be put to shame.
But let sinners be put to shame.
Let them lie silent in the place of the dead.
18 Their lips tell lies. Let them be silenced.
They speak with pride against those who do right.
They make fun of them.
19 You have stored up so many good things.
You have stored them up for those who have respect for you.
You give those things while everyone watches.
You give them to people who run to you for safety.
20 They are safe because you are with them.
You hide them from the evil plans of their enemies.
In your house you keep them safe
from those who bring charges against them.
21 Give praise to the Lord.
He showed me his wonderful love
when my enemies attacked the city I was in.
22 I was afraid and said,
“I’ve been cut off from you!”
But you heard my cry for your favor.
You heard me when I called out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you who are faithful to him!
The Lord keeps safe those who are faithful to him.
But he completely pays back those who are proud.
24 Be strong, all you who put your hope in the Lord.
Never give up.
Good Advice About How to Live
7 A good name is better than fine perfume.
People can learn more from mourning when someone dies
than from being happy when someone is born.
2 So it’s better to go where people are mourning
than to go where people are having a good time.
Everyone will die someday.
Those who are still living
should really think about that.
3 Not being able to figure things out is better than laughter.
That’s because sorrow is good for the heart.
4 Those who are wise are found where there is sorrow.
But foolish people are found where there is pleasure.
5 Pay attention to a wise person’s warning.
That’s better than listening to the songs of those who are foolish.
6 A foolish person’s laughter
is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot.
That doesn’t have any meaning either.
7 When a wise person takes wealth by force, they become foolish.
It is sinful to take money from people who want special favors.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning.
So it’s better to be patient than proud.
9 Don’t become angry quickly.
Anger lives in the hearts of foolish people.
10 Don’t say, “Why were things better in the good old days?”
It isn’t wise to ask that kind of question.
11 Wisdom is a good thing.
It’s like getting a share of the family wealth.
It benefits those who live on this earth.
12 Wisdom provides safety,
just as money provides safety.
But here’s the advantage of wisdom.
It guards those who have it.
13 Think about what God has done.
Who can make straight
what he has made crooked?
14 When times are good, be happy.
But when times are bad, here’s something to think about.
God has made bad times.
He has also made good times.
So no one can find out anything
about what’s ahead for them.
15 In my meaningless life here’s what I’ve seen.
I’ve seen godly people dying
even though they are godly.
And I’ve seen sinful people living a long time
even though they are sinful.
16 Don’t claim to be better than you are.
And don’t claim to be wiser than you are.
Why destroy yourself?
17 Don’t be too sinful.
And don’t be foolish.
Why die before your time comes?
18 It’s good to hold on to both of those things.
Don’t let go of either one.
Whoever has respect for God will avoid
going too far in either direction.
19 Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful
than ten rulers in a city.
20 It is true that there isn’t anyone on earth
who does only what is right and never sins.
21 Don’t pay attention to everything people say.
If you do, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22 Many times you yourself have cursed others.
Deep down inside, you know that’s true.
23 I used wisdom to test all these things. I said,
“I’ve made up my mind to be wise.”
But it was more than I could accomplish.
24 Whatever exists is far away and very deep.
Who can find it?
25 So I tried to understand wisdom more completely.
I wanted to study it and figure it out.
I tried to find out everything I could about it.
I tried to understand why it’s foolish to be evil.
I wanted to see why choosing foolishness is so unwise.
26 A woman who hunts a man down
is more painful than death.
Her heart is like a trap.
Her hands are like chains.
A man who pleases God will try to get away from her.
But she will trap a sinner.
27 “Look,” says the Teacher. “Here’s what I’ve discovered.
“I added one thing to another to find out
everything I could about wisdom.
28 I searched and searched
but found very little.
I did find one honest man among a thousand.
But I didn’t find one honest woman among a thousand.
29 Here’s the only other thing I found.
God created human beings as honest.
But they’ve made many evil plans.”
3 Here is what I want you to know. There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will love themselves. They will love money. They will brag and be proud. They will tear others down. They will not obey their parents. They won’t be thankful or holy. 3 They won’t love others. They won’t forgive others. They will tell lies about people. They will be out of control. They will be wild. They will hate what is good. 4 They will turn against their friends. They will act without thinking. They will think they are better than others. They will love what pleases them instead of loving God. 5 They will act as if they were serving God. But what they do will show that they have turned their backs on God’s power. Have nothing to do with these people.
6 They are the kind who trick their way into the homes of some women. These women are ready to believe anything. And they take control over these women. These women are loaded down with sins. They give in to all kinds of evil desires. 7 They are always learning. But they are never able to come to know the truth. 8 Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. In the same way, the teachers I’m talking about oppose the truth. Their minds are twisted. As far as the faith is concerned, God doesn’t accept them. 9 They won’t get very far. Just like Jannes and Jambres, their foolish ways will be clear to everyone.
Paul Gives a Final Command to Timothy
10 But you know all about my teaching. You know how I live and what I live for. You know about my faith and love. You know how patient I am. You know I haven’t given up. 11 You know that I was treated badly. You know that I suffered greatly. You know what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. You know how badly I have been treated. But the Lord saved me from all my troubles. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be treated badly. 13 Evil people and pretenders will go from bad to worse. They will fool others, and others will fool them. 14 But I want you to continue to follow what you have learned and are sure about. You know the people you learned it from. 15 You have known the Holy Scriptures ever since you were a little child. They are able to teach you how to be saved by believing in Christ Jesus. 16 God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right. 17 By using Scripture, the servant of God can be completely prepared to do every good thing.
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