M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Day of Cleansing
16 Now two of Aaron’s sons had died while offering incense to the Lord, and after that time the Lord spoke to Moses. 2 The Lord said to him, “Tell your brother Aaron that there are times when he cannot go behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place where the Ark is. If he goes in when I appear in a cloud over the lid on the Ark, he will die.
3 “This is how Aaron may enter the Most Holy Place: Before he enters, he must offer a bull for a sin offering and a male sheep for a whole burnt offering. 4 He must put on the holy linen inner robe, with the linen underclothes next to his body. His belt will be the cloth belt, and he will wear the linen turban. These are holy clothes, so he must bathe his body in water before he puts them on.
5 “Aaron must take from the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one male sheep for a burnt offering. 6 Then he will offer the bull for the sin offering for himself to remove sins from him and his family so they will belong to the Lord.
7 “Next Aaron will take the two goats and bring them before the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 8 He will throw lots for the two goats—one will be for the Lord and the other for the goat that removes sin. 9 Then Aaron will take the goat that was chosen for the Lord by throwing the lot, and he will offer it as a sin offering. 10 The other goat, which was chosen by lot to remove the sin, must be brought alive before the Lord. The priest will use it to perform the acts that remove Israel’s sin so they will belong to the Lord. Then this goat will be sent out into the desert as a goat that removes sin.
11 “Then Aaron will offer the bull as a sin offering for himself, to remove the sins from him and his family so they will belong to the Lord; he will kill the bull for the sin offering for himself. 12 Then he must take a pan full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of sweet incense that has been ground into powder. He must bring it into the room behind the curtain. 13 He must put the incense on the fire before the Lord so that the cloud of incense will cover the lid on the Ark. Then when Aaron comes in, he will not die. 14 Also, he must take some of the blood from the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the lid; with his finger he will sprinkle the blood seven times in front of the lid.
15 “Then Aaron must kill the goat of the sin offering for the people and bring its blood into the room behind the curtain. He must do with the goat’s blood as he did with the bull’s blood, sprinkling it on the lid and in front of the lid. 16 Because the people of Israel have been unclean, Aaron will perform the acts to make the Most Holy Place ready for service to the Lord. Then it will be clean from the sins and crimes of the Israelites. He must also do this for the Meeting Tent, because it stays in the middle of unclean people. 17 When Aaron makes the Most Holy Place ready for service to the Lord, no one is allowed in the Meeting Tent until he comes out. So Aaron will perform the acts to remove sins from himself, his family, and all the people of Israel, so they will belong to the Lord. 18 Afterward he will go out to the altar that is before the Lord and will make it ready for service to the Lord. Aaron will take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the corners of the altar on all sides. 19 Then, with his finger, he will sprinkle some of the blood on the altar seven times to make the altar holy for the Lord and clean from all the sins of the Israelites.
20 “When Aaron has finished making the Most Holy Place, the Meeting Tent, and the altar ready for service to the Lord, he will offer the living goat. 21 He will put both his hands on the head of the living goat, and he will confess over it all the sins and crimes of Israel. In this way Aaron will put the people’s sins on the goat’s head. Then he will send the goat away into the desert, and a man who has been appointed will lead the goat away. 22 So the goat will carry on itself all the people’s sins to a lonely place in the desert. The man who leads the goat will let it loose there.
23 “Then Aaron will enter the Meeting Tent and take off the linen clothes he had put on before he went into the Most Holy Place; he must leave these clothes there. 24 He will bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his regular clothes. Then he will come out and offer the whole burnt offering for himself and for the people, to remove sins from himself and the people so they will belong to the Lord. 25 Then he will burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26 “The person who led the goat, the goat to remove sins, into the desert must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water. After that, he may come back into the camp.
27 “The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make it ready for service to the Lord, must be taken outside the camp; the animals’ skins, bodies, and intestines will be burned in the fire. 28 Then the one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water. After that, he may come back into the camp.
29 “This law will always continue for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you must deny yourself and you must not do any work. The travelers or foreigners living with you must not work either. 30 It is on this day that the priests will make you clean so you will belong to the Lord again. All your sins will be removed. 31 This is a very important day of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. This law will continue forever.
32 “The priest appointed to take his father’s place, on whom the oil was poured, will perform the acts for making things ready for service to the Lord. He must put on the holy linen clothes 33 and make the Most Holy Place, the Meeting Tent, and the altar ready for service to the Lord. He must also remove the sins of the priests and all the people of Israel so they will belong to the Lord. 34 That law for removing the sins of the Israelites so they will belong to the Lord will continue forever. You will do these things once a year.”
So they did the things the Lord had commanded Moses.
God’s Works and Word
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
19 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the skies announce what his hands have made.
2 Day after day they tell the story;
night after night they tell it again.
3 They have no speech or words;
they have no voice to be heard.
4 But their message goes out through all the world;
their words go everywhere on earth.
The sky is like a home for the sun.
5 The sun comes out like a bridegroom from his bedroom.
It rejoices like an athlete eager to run a race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the sky
and follows its path to the other end.
Nothing hides from its heat.
7 The teachings of the Lord are perfect;
they give new strength.
The rules of the Lord can be trusted;
they make plain people wise.
8 The orders of the Lord are right;
they make people happy.
The commands of the Lord are pure;
they light up the way.
9 Respect for the Lord is good;
it will last forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true;
they are completely right.
10 They are worth more than gold,
even the purest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even the finest honey.
11 By them your servant is warned.
Keeping them brings great reward.
12 People cannot see their own mistakes.
Forgive me for my secret sins.
13 Keep me from the sins of pride;
don’t let them rule me.
Then I can be pure
and innocent of the greatest of sins.
14 I hope my words and thoughts please you.
Lord, you are my Rock, the one who saves me.
Wise Words from Agur
30 These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh.
This is his message to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 “I am the most stupid person there is,
and I have no understanding.
3 I have not learned to be wise,
and I don’t know much about God, the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come back down?
Who can hold the wind in his hand?
Who can gather up the waters in his coat?
Who has set in place the ends of the earth?
What is his name or his son’s name?
Tell me, if you know!
5 “Every word of God is true.
He guards those who come to him for safety.
6 Do not add to his words,
or he will correct you and prove you are a liar.
7 “I ask two things from you, Lord.
Don’t refuse me before I die.
8 Keep me from lying and being dishonest.
And don’t make me either rich or poor;
just give me enough food for each day.
9 If I have too much, I might reject you
and say, ‘I don’t know the Lord.’
If I am poor, I might steal
and disgrace the name of my God.
10 “Do not say bad things about servants to their masters,
or they will curse you, and you will suffer for it.
11 “Some people curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12 Some people think they are pure,
but they are not really free from evil.
13 Some people have such a proud look!
They look down on others.
14 Some people have teeth like swords;
their jaws seem full of knives.
They want to remove the poor from the earth
and the needy from the land.
15 “Greed has two daughters
named ‘Give’ and ‘Give.’
There are three things that are never satisfied,
really four that never say, ‘I’ve had enough!’:
16 the cemetery, the childless mother,
the land that never gets enough rain,
and fire that never says, ‘I’ve had enough!’
17 “If you make fun of your father
and refuse to obey your mother,
the birds of the valley will peck out your eyes,
and the vultures will eat them.
18 “There are three things that are too hard for me,
really four I don’t understand:
19 the way an eagle flies in the sky,
the way a snake slides over a rock,
the way a ship sails on the sea,
and the way a man and a woman fall in love.
20 “This is the way of a woman who takes part in adultery:
She acts as if she had eaten and washed her face;
she says, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’
21 “There are three things that make the earth tremble,
really four it cannot stand:
22 a servant who becomes a king,
a foolish person who has plenty to eat,
23 a hated woman who gets married,
and a maid who replaces her mistress.
24 “There are four things on earth that are small,
but they are very wise:
25 Ants are not very strong,
but they store up food in the summer.
26 Rock badgers are not very powerful,
but they can live among the rocks.
27 Locusts have no king,
but they all go forward in formation.
28 Lizards can be caught in the hand,
but they are found even in kings’ palaces.
29 “There are three things that strut proudly,
really four that walk as if they were important:
30 a lion, the proudest animal,
which is strong and runs from nothing,
31 a rooster, a male goat,
and a king when his army is around him.
32 “If you have been foolish and proud,
or if you have planned evil, shut your mouth.
33 Just as stirring milk makes butter,
and twisting noses makes them bleed,
so stirring up anger causes trouble.”
1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope.
2 To Timothy, a true child to me because you believe:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warning Against False Teaching
3 I asked you to stay longer in Ephesus when I went into Macedonia so you could command some people there to stop teaching false things. 4 Tell them not to spend their time on stories that are not true and on long lists of names in family histories. These things only bring arguments; they do not help God’s work, which is done in faith. 5 The purpose of this command is for people to have love, a love that comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a true faith. 6 Some people have missed these things and turned to useless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand either what they are talking about or what they are sure about.
8 But we know that the law is good if someone uses it lawfully. 9 We also know that the law is not made for good people but for those who are against the law and for those who refuse to follow it. It is for people who are against God and are sinful, who are unholy and ungodly, who kill their fathers and mothers, who murder, 10 who take part in sexual sins, who have sexual relations with people of the same sex, who sell slaves, who tell lies, who speak falsely, and who do anything against the true teaching of God. 11 That teaching is part of the Good News of the blessed God that he gave me to tell.
Thanks for God’s Mercy
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who gave me strength, because he trusted me and gave me this work of serving him. 13 In the past I spoke against Christ and persecuted him and did all kinds of things to hurt him. But God showed me mercy, because I did not know what I was doing. I did not believe. 14 But the grace of our Lord was fully given to me, and with that grace came the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 What I say is true, and you should fully accept it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. 16 But I was given mercy so that in me, the worst of all sinners, Christ Jesus could show that he has patience without limit. His patience with me made me an example for those who would believe in him and have life forever. 17 To the King that rules forever, who will never die, who cannot be seen, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
18 Timothy, my child, I am giving you a command that agrees with the prophecies that were given about you in the past. I tell you this so you can follow them and fight the good fight. 19 Continue to have faith and do what you know is right. Some people have rejected this, and their faith has been shipwrecked. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander have done that, and I have given them to Satan so they will learn not to speak against God.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.