M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Cities to Run to for Safety
19 The Lord your God will destroy the nations whose land he is giving you. You will drive them out. And you will make your homes in their towns and their houses. 2 When you do, set apart for yourselves three cities in the land. It’s the land the Lord your God is giving you to take as your own. 3 Figure out the distances and then separate the land into three parts. Then anyone who kills another person can run to one of these cities for safety. They are in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own.
4 Here is the rule about a person who kills someone. That person can run to one of those cities for safety. The rule applies to anyone who kills a neighbor they didn’t hate and didn’t mean to kill. 5 For example, suppose a man goes into a forest with his neighbor to cut wood. When he swings his ax to chop down a tree, the head of the ax flies off. And it hits his neighbor and kills him. Then that man can run to one of those cities and save his life. 6 If he doesn’t go to one of those cities, the dead man’s nearest male relative might become very angry. He might chase the man. If the city is too far away, he might catch him and kill him. But the man running to the city isn’t worthy of death, because he didn’t hate his neighbor. 7 That’s why I command you to set apart for yourselves three cities.
8 The Lord your God will increase the size of your territory. He promised your people of long ago that he would do it. He will give you the whole land he promised them. 9 But he’ll do it only if you are careful to obey all the laws I’m commanding you today. I command you to love the Lord your God. You must always live as he wants you to live. Suppose you are careful to obey, and the Lord your God gives you more land. Then you must set apart three more cities. 10 Do it to protect those not guilty of murder. Then you won’t spill their blood in your land. It’s the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own.
11 But suppose a man hates his neighbor. So he hides and waits for him. Then he attacks him and kills him. And he runs to one of those cities for safety. 12 If he does, the elders of his own town must send for him. He must be brought back from the city. He must be handed over to the dead man’s nearest male relative. Then the relative will kill him. 13 Don’t feel sorry for him. He has killed someone who hadn’t done anything wrong. Crimes like that must be punished in Israel. Then things will go well with you.
14 Don’t move your neighbor’s boundary stone. It was set up by people who lived there before you. It marks the border of a field in the land you will receive as your own. The Lord your God is giving you that land. You will take it over.
Witnesses
15 Suppose someone is charged with committing a crime of any kind. Then one witness won’t be enough to prove that person is guilty. Every matter must be proved by the words of two or three witnesses.
16 Suppose a witness who tells lies goes to court and brings charges against someone. The witness says someone committed a crime. 17 Then the two people in the case must stand in front of the Lord. They must stand in front of the priests and the judges who are in office at that time. 18 The judges must check out the matter carefully. And suppose the witness is proved to be lying. Then he has said something false in court against another Israelite. 19 So do to the lying witness what he tried to do to the other person. Get rid of that evil witness. 20 The rest of the people will hear about it. And they will be afraid. They won’t allow such an evil thing to be done among them again. 21 Don’t feel sorry for that evil person. A life must be taken for a life. An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth. A hand must be cut off for a hand and a foot for a foot.
106 Praise the Lord.
Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love continues forever.
2 Who can speak enough about the mighty acts of the Lord?
Who can praise him as much as he should be praised?
3 Blessed are those who always do what is fair.
Blessed are those who keep doing what is right.
4 Lord, remember me when you bless your people.
Help me when you save them.
5 Then I will enjoy the good things you give your chosen ones.
I will be joyful together with your people.
I will join them when they praise you.
6 We have sinned, just as our people of long ago did.
We too have done what is evil and wrong.
7 When our people were in Egypt,
they forgot about the Lord’s miracles.
They didn’t remember his many kind acts.
At the Red Sea they refused to obey him.
8 But he saved them for the honor of his name.
He did it to make his mighty power known.
9 He ordered the Red Sea to dry up, and it did.
He led his people through it as if it were a desert.
10 He saved them from the power of their enemies.
He set them free from their control.
11 The waters covered their enemies.
Not one of them escaped alive.
12 Then his people believed his promises
and sang praise to him.
13 But they soon forgot what he had done.
They didn’t wait for what he had planned to happen.
14 In the desert they longed for food.
In that dry and empty land they tested God.
15 So he gave them what they asked for.
But he also sent a sickness that killed many of them.
16 In their camp some of them became jealous of Moses and Aaron.
Aaron had been set apart to serve the Lord.
17 The ground opened up and swallowed Dathan.
It buried Abiram and his followers.
18 Fire blazed among all of them.
Flames destroyed those evil people.
19 At Mount Horeb they made a metal statue of a bull calf.
They worshiped that statue of a god.
20 They traded their glorious God
for a statue of a bull that eats grass.
21 They forgot the God who saved them.
They forgot the God who had done great things in Egypt.
22 They forgot the miracles he did in the land of Ham.
They forgot the wonderful things he did by the Red Sea.
23 So he said he would destroy them.
But Moses, his chosen one,
stood up for them.
He kept God’s anger from destroying them.
24 Later on, they refused to enter the pleasant land of Canaan.
They didn’t believe God’s promise.
25 In their tents they told the Lord how unhappy they were.
They didn’t obey him.
26 So he lifted up his hand and promised
that he would make them die in the desert.
27 He promised he would scatter their children’s children among the nations.
He would make them die in other lands.
28 They joined in worshiping the Baal that was worshiped at Peor.
They ate food that had been offered to gods that aren’t even alive.
29 Their evil ways made the Lord angry.
So a plague broke out among them.
30 But Phinehas stood up and took action.
Then the plague stopped.
31 What Phinehas did made him right with the Lord.
It will be remembered for all time to come.
32 By the waters of Meribah the Lord’s people made him angry.
Moses got in trouble because of them.
33 They refused to obey the Spirit of God.
So Moses spoke without thinking.
34 They didn’t destroy the nations in Canaan
as the Lord had commanded them.
35 Instead, they mixed with those nations
and adopted their ways.
36 They worshiped statues of their gods.
That became a trap for them.
37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters
as offerings to false gods.
38 They killed those who weren’t guilty of doing anything wrong.
They killed their own sons and daughters.
They sacrificed them as offerings to statues of the gods of Canaan.
The land became “unclean” because of the blood of their children.
39 The people made themselves impure by what they had done.
They weren’t faithful to the Lord.
40 So the Lord became angry with his people.
He turned away from his own children.
41 He handed them over to the nations.
Their enemies ruled over them.
42 Their enemies treated them badly
and kept them under their power.
43 Many times the Lord saved them.
But they refused to obey him.
So he destroyed them because of their sins.
44 Yet he heard them when they cried out.
He paid special attention to their suffering.
45 Because they were his people, he remembered his covenant.
Because of his great love, he felt sorry for them.
46 He made all those who held them as prisoners
have mercy on them.
47 Lord our God, save us.
Bring us back from among the nations.
Then we will give thanks to you, because your name is holy.
We will celebrate by praising you.
48 Give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel,
for ever and ever.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord.
The False Gods of Babylon
46 The gods named Bel and Nebo are brought down in shame.
The statues of them are being carried away on the backs of animals.
They used to be carried around by the people who worshiped them.
But now they’ve become a heavy load for tired animals.
2 The gods named Bel and Nebo are brought down in shame together.
They aren’t able to save their own statues.
They themselves are carried off as prisoners.
3 The Lord says, “Family of Jacob, listen to me.
Pay attention, you people of Israel who are left alive.
I have taken good care of you since your life began.
I have carried you since you were born as a nation.
4 I will continue to carry you even when you are old.
I will take good care of you even when your hair is gray.
I have made you, and I will carry you.
I will take care of you, and I will save you.
I am the Lord.
5 “Who will you compare me with?
Who is equal to me?
What am I like?
Who can you compare me with?
6 Some people pour out gold from their bags.
They weigh out silver on the scales.
They hire someone who works with gold to make it into a god.
They bow down to it and worship it.
7 They lift it up on their shoulders and carry it.
They set it up in its place, and there it stands.
It can’t move from that spot.
Someone might cry out to it.
But it does not answer.
It can’t save them from their troubles.
8 So remember this, you who refuse to obey me.
Keep it in your minds and hearts.
9 “Remember what happened in the past.
Think about what took place long ago.
I am God. There is no other God.
I am God. There is no one like me.
10 Before something even happens, I announce how it will end.
In fact, from times long ago I announced what was still to come.
I say, ‘My plan will succeed.
I will do anything I want to do.’
11 I will send for a man from the east to carry out my plan.
From a land far away, he will come like a bird that kills its food.
I will bring about what I have said.
I will do what I have planned.
12 Listen to me, you stubborn people.
Pay attention, you who now refuse to do what I have said is right.
13 The time is almost here for me to make everything right.
It is not far away.
The time for me to save you will not be put off.
I will save the city of Zion.
I will bring honor to Israel.
The Seven Bowls of God’s Great Anger
16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple speaking to the seven angels. “Go,” it said. “Pour out the seven bowls of God’s great anger on the earth.”
2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land. Ugly and painful sores broke out on people. Those people had the mark of the beast and worshiped its statue.
3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. It turned into blood like the blood of a dead person. Every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water. They became blood. 5 Then I heard the angel who was in charge of the waters. He said,
“Holy One, the way you judge is fair.
You are the God who is and who was.
6 Those who worship the beast have poured out blood.
They have poured out the life’s blood of your holy people and your prophets.
So you have given blood to drink to those who worship the beast.
That’s exactly what they should get.”
7 Then I heard the altar reply. It said,
“Lord God who rules over all,
the way you judge is true and fair.”
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun. The sun was allowed to burn people with fire. 9 They were burned by the blazing heat. So they spoke evil things against the name of God, who controlled these plagues. But they refused to turn away from their sins. They did not give glory to God.
10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast. The kingdom of the beast became very dark. People chewed on their tongues because they were suffering so much. 11 They spoke evil things against the God of heaven. They did this because of their pains and their sores. But they refused to turn away from the sins they had committed.
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates. Its water dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs. They came out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. 14 They are spirits of demons that perform signs. They go out to gather the kings of the whole world for battle. This battle will take place on the great day of the God who rules over all.
15 “Look! I am coming like a thief! Blessed is anyone who stays awake and keeps their clothes on. Then they will be ready. They will not be caught naked and so be put to shame.”
16 Then the evil spirits gathered the kings together. In the Hebrew language, the place where the kings met is called Armageddon.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. Out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne. It said, “It is done!” 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, thunder and a powerful earthquake. There has never been an earthquake as terrible as this. One like this hasn’t happened while human beings have lived on earth. 19 The great city split into three parts. The cities of the nations crumbled and fell. God remembered Babylon the Great. He gave Babylon the cup filled with the wine of his terrible anger. 20 Every island ran away. The mountains could not be found. 21 Huge hailstones weighing about 100 pounds each fell from the sky. The hail crushed people. And they spoke evil things against God because of the plague. That’s because the plague of hail was so terrible.
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