M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Festival of the Ram’s Horn
29 In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any of your regular work. For you it is to be a day of loud blasts on the ram’s horn.[a]
2 You are to prepare a whole burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord: one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs—all without defect— 3 along with their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: six quarts for the bull, four quarts for the ram, 4 and two quarts for each of the seven lambs; 5 also prepare one male goat for a sin offering to make atonement for yourselves. 6 This is in addition to the monthly burnt offering and its grain offering, the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings, just as specified, for a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.
The Day of Atonement
7 On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall humble yourselves. You are not to do any kind of work. 8 You are to present a whole burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma: one young bull, one ram, seven one-year-old male lambs—all without defect— 9 along with their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: six quarts for the bull, four quarts for the one ram, 10 two quarts for each of the seven lambs; 11 also present one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering of atonement, the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
The Festival of Shelters[b]
12 On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You are not to do any of your regular work. You shall celebrate a pilgrimage festival to the Lord for seven days. 13 You are to present a whole burnt offering, an offering made by fire, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord: thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen one-year-old male lambs—all without defect— 14 along with their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: six quarts for each of the thirteen bulls, four quarts for each of the two rams, 15 and two quarts for each of the fourteen lambs; 16 also present one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
17 On the second day you are to present twelve young bulls, two rams, fourteen one-year-old male lambs—all without defect— 18 along with their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, according to the amount specified for each of them; 19 also present one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
20 On the third day you are to present eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen one-year-old male lambs—all without defect— 21 along with their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, according to the amount specified for each of them; 22 also present one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
23 On the fourth day you are to present ten bulls, two rams, fourteen one-year-old male lambs—all without defect— 24 along with their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, according to the amount specified for each of them; 25 also present one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
26 On the fifth day you are to present nine bulls, two rams, fourteen one-year-old male lambs—all without defect— 27 along with their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, according to the amount specified for each of them; 28 also present one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
29 On the sixth day you are to present eight bulls, two rams, fourteen one-year-old male lambs—all without defect— 30 along with their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, according to the amount specified for each of them; 31 also present one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
32 On the seventh day you are to present seven bulls, two rams, fourteen one-year-old male lambs—all without defect— 33 along with their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, according to the amount specified for each of them; 34 also present one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
35 On the eighth day you shall hold a closing ceremony. You shall not do any of your regular work. 36 You are to present a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord: one bull, one ram, seven one-year-old male lambs—all without defect— 37 along with their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, the ram, and the lambs, according to the amount specified for each of them; 38 also present one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
39 In addition to your offerings to fulfill a vow and freewill offerings, you shall prepare these for the Lord at your appointed times as your burnt offerings, your grain offerings, your drink offerings, and your fellowship offerings.
40 Moses told the Israelites everything that the Lord commanded Moses.
Book III
Psalms 73–89
Psalm 73
Why Do the Wicked Prosper?
Heading
A psalm by Asaph.[a]
The Problem
1 Surely God is good to Israel, to the pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped out from under me.
I almost lost my footing.[b]
3 I even envied the arrogant when I observed the peace of the wicked.
The Prosperity of the Wicked
4 For there are no struggles at their death.
Their bodies are sturdy.
5 They do not have the trouble common to people.
They are not plagued along with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace.
They wear violence like clothing.
7 Their eyes bulge out of their fat.[c]
The schemes of their hearts step over boundaries.
8 They mock. They speak maliciously.
From a high perch they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens.
Their tongues strut around on earth.
10 Therefore God’s people turn to them,
and they drink it all in.[d]
11 They say, “How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?”
12 See, this is what the wicked are like—
secure forever, they increase in strength.
The Turning Point
13 Have I really kept my heart pure for nothing?
Have I kept my hands clean in vain?
14 I have been plagued all day.
My punishment comes every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak like this,”
I would certainly have betrayed the circle of your children.
16 When I tried to understand this, it was very troubling to me,
17 until I went to the sanctuary of God.
Then I understood their end.
The Solution
18 Surely you place them on slippery places.
You cause them to fall into destruction.
19 How quickly they come to ruin,
completely destroyed by terrors!
20 They are like a dream when someone wakes up.
So when you arise, O Lord,
you will despise them like an illusion.
21 Yes, my heart was bitter,
and I was torn up inside.
22 I was unthinking and ignorant.
I was a dumb animal before you.
23 Yet I am always with you.
You hold me by my right hand.
24 With your guidance you lead me,
and afterward, you will take me to glory.
25 Who else is there for me in heaven?
And besides you, I desire no one else on earth.
26 My flesh and my heart fail,
but God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.
27 No doubt about it!
Those who are far from you will perish.
You destroy all who commit adultery against you.
28 As for me, God’s nearness is good for me.
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
so that I can tell about all your works.
The Fall of Babylon
21 An oracle about the Wilderness by the Sea.
Like windstorms that sweep through the Negev,
it comes from the wilderness,
from a terrifying place.
2 An ominous vision has been shown to me.
The betrayer betrays; the destroyer destroys.
Elam, attack! Media, lay siege![a]
I will bring all her groaning to an end.
3 That is why I am full of anguish.
Pain has taken hold of me,
like the pain of a woman in labor.
I am stunned by what I hear,
terrified by what I see.
4 My heart pounds!
I am shaking with fear.
The twilight that I longed for is making me quake with terror.
5 They prepare the table.
They spread out the luxurious carpets.
They eat. They drink.
“Officers! Get up and oil your shields!”
6 Yes, this is what the Lord said to me:
Go, post a watchman.
Have him declare what he sees.
7 When he sees chariots pulled by teams of horses,
riders on donkeys, and riders on camels,
have him listen carefully—very carefully.
8 The lookout[b] cried out:
Lord,[c] I stand on the watchtower day after day,
and every night I stay at my post.
9 Now, look! Here come men in chariots pulled by teams of horses.
Then he announced:
Fallen, fallen is Babylon!
All the images of her gods lie broken on the ground.
10 O my people, you who have been threshed like grain on my threshing floor, everything I have heard from the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, I have proclaimed to you.
A Prophecy Against Edom
11 The oracle against Dumah.[d]
Someone calls out to me from Seir,
Watchman, how much of the night remains?
Watchman, how much of the night remains?
12 The watchman said:
Morning is coming, but night is coming again.
If you want to ask, go ahead and ask.
Then return! Come back again.
A Prophecy Against Arabia
13 An oracle against Arabia.
You spend the night among the thickets of Arabia,
you caravans of Dedanites.
14 Bring water for the thirsty,
you who live in Tema.
Bring bread for the refugees.
15 They fled from the sword,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
and from the heat of battle.
16 This is what the Lord said to me: “Within a year, as a worker bound by contract would count it, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end, 17 and the archers who survive, the strong warriors of Kedar, will be few.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
A Warning About False Teachers
2 There were false prophets also among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved ways, and because of them the way of the truth will be blasphemed. 3 In their greed they will exploit you with fabricated messages. Their condemnation announced long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
God Will Punish These False Teachers
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned but handed them over to chains[a] of darkness by casting them into hell, to be kept under guard for judgment; 5 and if God did not spare the ancient world but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, along with seven others when he brought a flood on the world of ungodly people; 6 and if God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction,[b] by turning them into ashes when he made them an example of things to come for the ungodly;[c] 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, who was very distressed by the unrestrained immorality of the wicked people 8 (while that righteous man was living among them, he was tormented in his righteous soul day after day by the lawless deeds he saw and heard); 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under guard until the day of judgment, in order to punish them.
10 This is especially true of those who follow the defiling lust of the flesh and who despise authority. Daring and arrogant, they do not tremble when they blaspheme glorious beings, 11 whereas angels, even though they are greater in strength and power, do not bring a slanderous judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But these people blaspheme in matters about which they are ignorant, just like unreasoning creatures that live by instinct and are born to be captured and destroyed. So they too will be destroyed as a consequence of their destructive activity. 13 They will be paid back[d] for the harm they cause.
They consider it a pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, who take delight in their deceitful pleasures[e] while they feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of longing for adulterous women and sins that never stop. They seduce unstable souls. They have trained their hearts for greed. They are children who are cursed.
15 They left the right way and went astray, following the path of Balaam, son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. 16 (He was rebuked for his disobedience. A donkey, which does not talk, spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.) 17 These men are wells without water, clouds driven away by a windstorm, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved.[f] 18 For by uttering arrogant, empty words, they use the depraved lusts of the flesh to seduce those who are barely[g] escaping from those who live in error. 19 While they promise these people freedom, they themselves are slaves to corruption, for a person is a slave to what has control of him.
The Tragedy of Being Led Back Into a Sinful Life
20 Indeed, if, after escaping the defiling things of the world through the knowledge of our[h] Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and controlled by them again, they are worse off than they were at first. 21 In fact, it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command passed on to them. 22 They demonstrate the truth of the proverb: “A dog returns to its own vomit,”[i] and a washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.