M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Feast of Trumpets
29 “ ‘On the first day of the seventh month, come together for a special service. Do not do any regular work. Blow the trumpets on that day. 2 Sacrifice a burnt offering. Its smell will please the Lord. Sacrifice one young bull and one ram. Also sacrifice seven male lambs a year old. They must not have any flaws. 3 Present a grain offering along with the bull. It must have 24 cups of the finest flour. Mix it with olive oil. Offer 16 cups along with the ram. 4 Offer eight cups along with each of the seven lambs. 5 Include a male goat as a sin offering. It will pay for your sin. 6 Each month and each day you must sacrifice burnt offerings. Sacrifice them along with their grain offerings and drink offerings as they are required. The offerings for the Feast of Trumpets are in addition to the monthly and daily burnt offerings. They are food offerings presented to the Lord. They have a pleasant smell.
The Day When Sin Is Paid For
7 “ ‘On the tenth day of the seventh month, come together for a special service. You must not eat anything on that day. You must not do any work on it. 8 Sacrifice a burnt offering. Its smell will please the Lord. Sacrifice one young bull and one ram. Also sacrifice seven male lambs a year old. They must not have any flaws. 9 Present a grain offering along with the bull. The offering must have 24 cups of the finest flour. Mix it with olive oil. Offer 16 cups along with the ram. 10 Offer eight cups along with each of the seven lambs. 11 Include a male goat as a sin offering. It is in addition to the offering that pays for sin. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering along with its grain offering. It is also in addition to their drink offerings.
The Feast of Booths
12 “ ‘On the 15th day of the seventh month, come together for a special service. Do not do any regular work. Celebrate the Feast of Booths for seven days to honor the Lord. 13 Present a food offering. Its smell will please the Lord. Sacrifice a burnt offering of 13 young bulls and two rams. Also sacrifice 14 male lambs a year old. They must not have any flaws. 14 Present a grain offering along with each of the 13 bulls. It must have 24 cups of the finest flour. Mix it with olive oil. Offer 16 cups along with each of the two rams. 15 Offer eight cups along with each of the 14 lambs. 16 Include a male goat as a sin offering. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering. It is also in addition to its grain offering and drink offering.
17 “ ‘On the second day sacrifice 12 young bulls and two rams. Also sacrifice 14 male lambs a year old. They must not have any flaws. 18 Present their grain offerings and drink offerings. Present them along with the bulls, rams and lambs. Present them according to the required number. 19 Include a male goat as a sin offering. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering along with its grain offering. It is also in addition to their drink offerings.
20 “ ‘On the third day sacrifice 11 bulls and two rams. Also sacrifice 14 male lambs a year old. They must not have any flaws. 21 Present their grain offerings and drink offerings. Present them along with the bulls, rams and lambs. Present them according to the required number. 22 Include a male goat as a sin offering. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering. It is also in addition to its grain offering and drink offering.
23 “ ‘On the fourth day sacrifice ten bulls and two rams. Also sacrifice 14 male lambs a year old. They must not have any flaws. 24 Present their grain offerings and drink offerings. Present them along with the bulls, rams and lambs. Present them according to the required number. 25 Include a male goat as a sin offering. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering. It is also in addition to its grain offering and drink offering.
26 “ ‘On the fifth day sacrifice nine bulls and two rams. Also sacrifice 14 male lambs a year old. They must not have any flaws. 27 Present their grain offerings and drink offerings. Present them along with the bulls, rams and lambs. Present them according to the required number. 28 Include a male goat as a sin offering. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering. It is also in addition to its grain offering and drink offering.
29 “ ‘On the sixth day sacrifice eight bulls and two rams. Also sacrifice 14 male lambs a year old. They must not have any flaws. 30 Present their grain offerings and drink offerings. Present them along with the bulls, rams and lambs. Present them according to the required number. 31 Include a male goat as a sin offering. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering. It is also in addition to its grain offering and drink offering.
32 “ ‘On the seventh day sacrifice seven bulls and two rams. Also sacrifice 14 male lambs a year old. They must not have any flaws. 33 Present their grain offerings and drink offerings. Present them along with the bulls, rams and lambs. Present them according to the required number. 34 Include a male goat as a sin offering. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering. It is also in addition to its grain offering and drink offering.
35 “ ‘On the eighth day come together for a closing sacred service. Do not do any regular work. 36 Present a food offering. Its smell will please the Lord. Sacrifice a burnt offering of one bull and one ram. Also sacrifice seven male lambs a year old. They must not have any flaws. 37 Present their grain offerings and drink offerings. Present them along with the bull, the ram and the lambs. Present them according to the required number. 38 Include a male goat as a sin offering. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering. It is also in addition to its grain offering and drink offering.
39 “ ‘Here are the offerings you must present to the Lord at your appointed feasts. They are burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings and friendship offerings. They are in addition to the offerings you bring to keep a special promise you make to the Lord. They are also in addition to the offerings you choose to give.’ ”
40 Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him.
Book III
Psalms 73–89
A psalm of Asaph.
73 God is truly good to Israel.
He is good to those who have pure hearts.
2 But my feet had almost slipped.
I had almost tripped and fallen.
3 I saw that proud and sinful people were doing well.
And I began to long for what they had.
4 They don’t have any troubles.
Their bodies are healthy and strong.
5 They don’t have the problems most people have.
They don’t suffer as other people do.
6 Their pride is like a necklace.
They put on meanness as if it were their clothes.
7 Many sins come out of their hard and stubborn hearts.
There is no limit to the evil things they can think up.
8 They laugh at others and speak words of hatred.
They are proud. They warn others about the harm they can do to them.
9 They brag as if they owned heaven itself.
They talk as if they controlled the earth.
10 So people listen to them.
They lap up their words like water.
11 They say, “How would God know what we’re doing?
Does the Most High God know anything?”
12 Here is what sinful people are like.
They don’t have a care in the world.
They keep getting richer and richer.
13 It seems as if I have kept my heart pure for no reason.
It didn’t do me any good to wash my hands
to show that I wasn’t guilty of doing anything wrong.
14 Day after day I’ve been in pain.
God has punished me in a new way every morning.
15 What if I had talked like that?
Then I wouldn’t have been faithful to God’s children.
16 I tried to understand it all.
But it was more than I could handle.
17 It troubled me until I entered God’s temple.
Then I understood what will finally happen to bad people.
18 God, I’m sure you will make them slip and fall.
You will throw them down and destroy them.
19 It will happen very suddenly.
A terrible death will take them away completely.
20 A dream goes away when a person wakes up.
Lord, it will be like that when you rise up.
It will be as if those people were only a dream.
21 At one time my heart was sad
and my spirit was bitter.
22 I didn’t have any sense. I didn’t know anything.
I acted like a wild animal toward you.
23 But I am always with you.
You hold me by my right hand.
24 You give me wise advice to guide me.
And when I die, you will take me away
into the glory of heaven.
25 I don’t have anyone in heaven but you.
I don’t want anything on earth besides you.
26 My body and my heart may grow weak.
God, you give strength to my heart.
You are everything I will ever need.
27 Those who don’t want anything to do with you will die.
You destroy all those who aren’t faithful to you.
28 But I am close to you. And that’s good.
Lord and King, I have made you my place of safety.
I will talk about everything you have done.
A Prophecy Against Babylon
21 Here is a prophecy against Babylon that the Lord gave me. Babylon is known as the Desert by the Sea.
An attack is coming through the desert.
It is coming from a land of terror.
It’s sweeping along like a windstorm blowing across the Negev Desert.
2 I have seen a vision about something terrible that will happen.
People are turning against Babylon.
Robbers are taking its goods.
Elamites, attack the city! Medes, surround it!
The Lord will put an end to all the suffering Babylon has caused.
3 The vision fills my body with pain.
Pains take hold of me.
They are like the pains of a woman having a baby.
I am shaken by what I hear.
I’m terrified by what I see.
4 My heart grows weak.
Fear makes me tremble.
I longed for evening to come.
But it brought me horror instead of rest.
5 In my vision the Babylonians set the tables.
They spread out the rugs.
They eat and drink.
Get up, you officers!
Rub your shields with oil!
6 The Lord said to me,
“Go. Put a guard on duty on Jerusalem’s walls.
Have him report what he sees.
7 Tell him to watch for chariots
that are pulled by teams of horses.
Tell him to watch for men riding on donkeys or camels.
Make sure he stays awake.
Make sure he stays wide awake.”
8 “My master!” the guard shouts back.
“Day after day I stand here on the lookout tower.
Every night I stay here on duty.
9 Look! Here comes a man in a chariot!
It’s being pulled by a team of horses.
He’s calling out the news,
‘Babylon has fallen! It has fallen!
All the statues of its gods
lie broken in pieces on the ground!’ ”
10 My people, you have been crushed
like grain on a threshing floor.
But now I’m telling you the good news I’ve heard.
It comes from the Lord who rules over all.
He is the God of Israel.
A Prophecy Against Edom
11 Here is a prophecy against Edom that the Lord gave me.
Someone is calling out to me from the land of Seir. He says,
“Guard, when will the night be over?
Guard, how soon will it end?”
12 The guard answers,
“Morning is coming, but the night will return.
If you want to ask again,
come back and ask.”
A Prophecy Against Arabia
13 Here is a prophecy against Arabia that the Lord gave me.
He told me to give orders to traders from Dedan.
They were camping in the bushes of Arabia.
14 I told them to bring water for those who are thirsty.
I also gave orders to those who live in Tema.
I told them to bring food for those who are running away.
15 They are running away from where the fighting is heaviest.
That’s where the swords are ready to strike.
That’s where the bows are ready to shoot.
16 The Lord spoke to me. He said, “In exactly one year, Kedar’s splendor will come to an end. 17 Only a few of Kedar’s soldiers who shoot arrows will be left alive.” The Lord has spoken. He is the God of Israel.
False Teachers Will Be Destroyed
2 But there were also false prophets among the people. In the same way there will be false teachers among you. In secret they will bring in teachings that will destroy you. They will even turn against the Lord and Master who died to pay for their sins. So they will quickly destroy themselves. 2 Many people will follow their lead. These people will do the same evil things the false teachers do. They will cause people to think badly about the way of truth. 3 These teachers are never satisfied. They want to get something out of you. So they make up stories to take advantage of you. They have been under a sentence of death for a long time. The God who will destroy them has not been sleeping.
4 God did not spare angels when they sinned. Instead, he sent them to hell. He chained them up in dark prisons. He will keep them there until he judges them. 5 God did not spare the world’s ungodly people long ago. He brought the flood on them. But Noah preached about the right way to live. God kept him safe. He also saved seven others. 6 God judged the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He burned them to ashes. He made them an example of what is going to happen to ungodly people. 7 God saved Lot, a man who did what was right. Lot was shocked by the evil conduct of people who didn’t obey God’s laws. 8 That good man lived among them day after day. He saw and heard the evil things they were doing. They were breaking God’s laws. And the godly spirit of Lot was deeply troubled. 9 Since all this is true, then the Lord knows how to save godly people. He knows how to keep them safe in times of testing. The Lord also knows how to keep ungodly people under guard. He will do so until the day they will be judged and punished. 10 Most of all, this is true of people who follow desires that come from sin’s power. These people hate to be under authority.
They are bold and proud. So they aren’t even afraid to speak evil things against heavenly beings. 11 Now angels are stronger and more powerful than these people. But even angels don’t speak evil things against heavenly beings. They don’t do this when they bring judgment on them from the Lord. 12 These people speak evil about things they don’t understand. They are like wild animals who can’t think. Instead, they do what comes naturally to them. They are born only to be caught and destroyed. Just like animals, these people too will die.
13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to have wild parties in the middle of the day. They are like dirty spots and stains. They enjoy their sinful pleasures while they eat with you. 14 They stare at women who are not their wives. They want to sleep with them. They never stop sinning. They trap those who are not firm in their faith. They have mastered the art of getting what they want. God has placed them under his judgment. 15 They have left God’s way. They have wandered off. They follow the way of Balaam, son of Beor. He loved to get paid for doing his evil work. 16 But a donkey corrected him for the wrong he did. Animals don’t speak. But the donkey spoke with a human voice. It tried to stop the prophet from doing a very dumb thing.
17 These people are like springs without water. They are like mists driven by a storm. The blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 They speak empty, bragging words. They make their appeal to the evil desires that come from sin’s power. They tempt new believers who are just escaping from the company of sinful people. 19 They promise to give freedom to these new believers. But they themselves are slaves to sinful living. That’s because “people are slaves to anything that controls them.” 20 They may have escaped the sin of the world. They may have come to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But what if they are once again caught up in sin? And what if it has become their master? Then they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 Suppose they had not known the way of godliness. This would have been better than to know godliness and then turn away from it. The way of godliness is the sacred command passed on to them. 22 What the proverbs say about them is true. “A dog returns to where it has thrown up.” (Proverbs 26:11) And, “A pig that is washed goes back to rolling in the mud.”
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.