M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
18 Adonai said to Moses: 2 “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and say to them: I am Adonai your God. 3 You are not to act as they do in the land of Egypt, where you used to live. Nor are you to act as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, nor are you to walk in their customs. 4 You are to obey My ordinances and keep My statutes and walk in them—I am Adonai your God. 5 So you are to keep My statutes and My ordinances. The one who does them will live by them. I am Adonai.
Incest Forbidden
6 “None of you is to come near anyone who is his close relatives to uncover their nakedness. I am Adonai.
7 “You are not to uncover the nakedness of your father or your mother. She is your mother. You shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 You are not to uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife, for it is your father’s nakedness. 9 You are not to uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere. 10 You are not to uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter, or of your daughter’s daughter, for theirs is your own nakedness. 11 You are not to uncover the nakedness of the daughter of your father’s wife, conceived by your father, since she is your sister. 12 You are not to uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister, for she is your father’s direct relative. 13 You are not to uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s direct relative. 14 You are not to uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother by approaching his wife, for she is your aunt. 15 You are not to uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law, for she is your son’s wife. You are not to uncover her nakedness. 16 You are not to uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife, because that is your brother’s nakedness. 17 You are not to uncover the nakedness of both a woman and her daughter. You are not to take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness, for they are direct relatives. That is wickedness. 18 You are not to marry your wife’s sister, to be a rival, uncovering her nakedness, while her sister is still alive.
Other Forbidden Relations
19 “You are not to approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in the impurity of her niddah. 20 You are not to lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.
21 “You are not to give any of your children in sacrifice to Molech, and defile the Name of your God. I am Adonai.
22 “You are not to lie with a man, as with a woman—that is an abomination. 23 You are not to lie with any animal to defile yourself with it, nor is any woman to give herself to an animal, to lie down with it—that is a perversion.
24 “Do not defile yourselves in any of these things, for in all of these ways the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled. 25 The land has become defiled, so I will punish its iniquity, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants. 26 You, however, are to keep My statutes and My ordinances, and do none of these abominations, neither the native-born, nor the outsider dwelling among you.
27 “For all these abominations were done by the men of the land who were before you, and the land became defiled. 28 If you defile it, the land will vomit you out as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For whoever does any of these detestable things, the souls that do them are to be cut off from the midst of their people. 30 Therefore you are to keep My charge, so that you do not practice any of these detestable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am Adonai your God.”
Suffering Servant
Psalm 22
1 For the music director, on “The Doe of the Dawn,” a psalm of David.
2 My God, my God,
why have You forsaken me?
Distant from my salvation
are the words of my groaning.[a]
3 O my God, I cried out by day, but You did not answer,
by night, but there was no rest for me.
4 Yet You are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
5 In You our fathers put their trust.
They trusted, and You delivered them.
6 They cried to you and were delivered.
In You they trusted, and were not disappointed.
7 Am I a worm, and not a man?
Am I a scorn of men, despised by people?
8 All who see me mock me.
They curl their lips, shaking their heads:
9 “Rely on Adonai! Let Him deliver him!
Let Him rescue him—since he delights in Him!”[b]
10 Yet You brought me out of the womb,
made me secure at my mother’s breasts.
11 From the womb I was cast on You—
from my mother’s womb You have been my God.
12 Be not far from me!
For trouble is near—
there is no one to help.
13 Many bulls have surrounded me.
Strong bulls of Bashan encircled me.
14 They open wide their mouths against me,
like a tearing, roaring lion.
15 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are disjointed.
My heart is like wax—
melting within my innards.
16 My strength is dried up like a clay pot,
my tongue clings to my jaws.
You lay me in the dust of death.
17 For dogs have surrounded me.
A band of evildoers has closed in on me.
They pierced[c] my hands and my feet.
18 I can count all my bones.
They stare, they gape at me.
19 They divide my clothes among them,
and cast lots for my garment.[d]
20 But You, Adonai, be not far off!
O my strength! Come quickly to my aid!
21 Deliver my soul from the sword—
my only one from the power of the dog.
22 Save me from the lion’s mouth.
From the horns of the wild oxen rescue me.
23 I will declare Your Name to my brothers.
I will praise You amid the congregation.[e]
24 You who fear Adonai, praise Him!
All Jacob’s descendants, glorify Him!
Revere Him, all you seed of Israel.
25 For He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the lowly one.
Nor has He hidden His face from him,
but when he cried to Him, He heard.
26 From You is my praise in the great assembly.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear Him.
27 Let the poor eat and be satisfied.
Let them who seek after Him praise Adonai.
May your hearts live forever!
28 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to Adonai.
All the families of the nations will bow down before You.
29 For the kingdom belongs to Adonai,
and He rules over the nations.
30 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship.
Everyone who goes down to the dust will kneel before Him—
even the one who could not keep his own soul alive.
31 His posterity will serve him, telling
the next generation about my Lord.
32 They will come and declare His righteousness
to a people yet to be born—
because He has done it!
Kohelet: the Preacher
1 The words of Kohelet[a], son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Futile! Futile! says Kohelet.
Completely meaningless!
Everything is futile![b]
3 What does a person gain in all his labor
that he toils under the sun?
4 A generation comes, and a generation goes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to the place it rises.
6 The wind goes toward the south,
and circles around to the north.
Round and round it swirls about,
ever returning to its circuits.
7 All the rivers flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place where the rivers flow,
there they go again.
8 All things are wearisome.
No one can express them.
The eye is never satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done will be done again.
There is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything about which is said,
“Look! This is new!”?
It was already here long ago,
in the ages long before us.
11 There is no remembrance for former things,
and things yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.
Search for Meaning in Life
12 I, Kohelet, am king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my heart to seek and examine by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a burdensome task God has given the sons of men to keep them occupied. 14 I have seen all the deeds done under the sun; and behold, all is meaningless and chasing after the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be made straight.
What is missing cannot be counted.
16 I spoke with my heart saying: “I have grown rich and increased in wisdom more than any who were before me over Jerusalem. Indeed, my heart has experienced much wisdom and knowledge.” 17 So I applied my heart to know wisdom as well as to know madness and folly. I learned that this too was pursuit of the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much grief,
and whoever keeps increasing knowledge, increases heartache.
Qualifications for Oversight and Service
3 Trustworthy is the saying: “If any man aspires to the office of overseer,[a] he desires a good work.” 2 An overseer, then, must be beyond criticism—the husband of one wife, clear-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not addicted to wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money, 4 managing his own household well, keeping his children under control with all respectfulness. 5 (But if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s community?) 6 He must not be a new believer,[b] or he may become puffed up and fall into the same judgment as the devil. 7 Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with those outside, so that he will not fall into disgrace and the devil’s trap.
8 Servant-leaders likewise must be dignified, not double-speaking, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 Also let them first be tested—then let those who are blameless serve as servant-leaders. 11 Women likewise must be dignified, not backbiting; clear-minded, trustworthy in every respect. 12 Let servant-leaders be husbands of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who have served well as servant-leaders gain for themselves a good standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Messiah Yeshua.
14 These things I write to you, hoping to come to you shortly. 15 But if I delay, I write so you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God—which is the community of the living God, a pillar and foundation of truth. 16 Now beyond question, great is the mystery of godliness:
He was revealed in the flesh,
Vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Trusted throughout the world,
Taken up in glory.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.