M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Holy Tent
26 “The Holy Tent should be made from ten curtains. These curtains must be made from fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn. A skilled worker should sew pictures of Cherub angels with wings into the curtains. 2 Make each curtain the same size. Each curtain should be 28 cubits[a] long and 4 cubits[b] wide. 3 Join the curtains together into two groups. Join five curtains together to make one group and join five curtains together to make the other group. 4 Use blue cloth to make loops along the edge of the end curtain in one group. Do the same on the end curtain in the other group. 5 There must be 50 loops on the end curtain of the first group. And there must be 50 loops on the end curtain of the other group. These loops must be opposite each other. 6 Then make 50 gold rings to join the curtains together. This will join the Holy Tent together into one piece.
7 “Make another tent that will cover the Holy Tent. Use eleven curtains to make this tent. Make these curtains from goat hair. 8 All these curtains must be the same size. They must be 30 cubits[c] long and 4 cubits wide. 9 Join five of the curtains together into one group. Then join the other six curtains together into another group. Fold back half of the sixth curtain at the front of the Tent. 10 Make 50 loops down the edge of the end curtain of one group. Do the same for the end curtain of the other group. 11 Then make 50 bronze rings to join the curtains together. This will join the tent together into one piece. 12 Half of the end curtain of this tent will hang down below the back edge of the Holy Tent. 13 On the sides, the curtains of this tent will hang down 1 cubit[d] below the bottom edges of the Holy Tent. So this tent will completely cover the Holy Tent. 14 Make two coverings to go over the outer tent. One covering should be made from ram skins dyed red. The other covering should be made from fine leather.
15 “Use acacia wood to make frames to support the Holy Tent. 16 The frames should be 10 cubits[e] high and 1 1/2 cubits[f] wide. 17 Two side poles should be joined together with cross pieces to make each frame. All the frames for the Holy Tent must be the same. 18 Make 20 frames for the south side of the Holy Tent. 19 And make 40 silver bases for the frames. Each frame should have two silver bases to go under it—one base for each side pole. 20 Make 20 more frames for the other side (the north side) of the Holy Tent. 21 And make 40 silver bases for these frames—two bases under each frame. 22 Make six more frames for the back (the west side) of the Holy Tent. 23 Make two frames for the corners at the back of the Holy Tent. 24 The frames at the corners should be joined together at the bottom. At the top a ring will hold the frames together. Do the same for both corners. 25 There will be a total of eight frames for the west end of the Tent. There will be 16 silver bases—two bases under each frame.
26 “Use acacia wood and make braces for the frames of the Holy Tent. There should be five braces for the first side of the Holy Tent. 27 And there should be five braces for the frames on the other side of the Holy Tent. And there should be five braces for the frames at the back (the west side) of the Holy Tent. 28 The middle brace should pass through the frames from one end to the other.
29 “Cover the frames with gold. And make rings for the frames to hold the braces. Make these rings from gold. Also cover the braces with gold. 30 Build the Holy Tent the way I showed you on the mountain.
Inside the Holy Tent
31 “Use fine linen and make a special curtain for the inside of the Holy Tent. Use blue, purple, and red yarn and sew pictures of Cherub angels into the curtain. 32 Make four posts from acacia wood, and cover the posts with gold. Put hooks made from gold on the four posts. Put four silver bases under the posts. Then hang the curtain on the gold hooks. 33 Put the curtain under the gold rings.[g] Then put the Box of the Agreement behind the curtain. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. 34 Put the mercy-cover on the Box of the Agreement in the Most Holy Place.
35 “Put the special table you made outside of the curtain. The table should be on the north side of the Holy Tent. Then put the lampstand on the south side, across from the table.
The Door of the Holy Tent
36 “Then make a curtain to cover the entrance to the Holy Tent. Use blue, purple, and red yarn and fine linen to make this curtain. Weave pictures into it. 37 Make gold hooks for this curtain. Make five posts using acacia wood covered with gold and make five bronze bases for the five posts.
Jesus Heals a Man at a Pool
5 Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a special Jewish festival. 2 In Jerusalem there is a pool with five covered porches. In Aramaic it is called Bethzatha.[a] This pool is near the Sheep Gate. 3 Many sick people were lying on the porches beside the pool. Some of them were blind, some were crippled, and some were paralyzed.[b] 4 [c] 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for 38 years. 6 Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been sick for a very long time. So he asked him, “Do you want to be well?”
7 The sick man answered, “Sir, there is no one to help me get into the water when it starts moving. I try to be the first one into the water. But when I try, someone else always goes in before I can.”
8 Then Jesus said, “Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 Immediately the man was well. He picked up his mat and started walking.
The day all this happened was a Sabbath day. 10 So some Jews said to the man who had been healed, “Today is the Sabbath. It is against our law for you to carry your mat on the Sabbath day.”
11 But he answered, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 They asked him, “Who is the man who told you to pick up your mat and walk?”
13 But the man who had been healed did not know who it was. There were many people there, and Jesus had left.
14 Later, Jesus found the man at the Temple and said to him, “See, you are well now. But stop sinning or something worse may happen to you!”
15 Then the man left and went back to the Jews who questioned him. He told them that Jesus was the one who made him well.
16 Jesus was doing all this on the Sabbath day. So these Jews began trying to make him stop. 17 But he said to them, “My Father never stops working, and so I work too.”
18 This made them even more determined to kill him. They thought it was bad enough that he was breaking the law about the Sabbath day. And now he was saying that God is his Father, making himself equal with God!
Jesus Has God’s Authority
19 But Jesus answered, “I assure you that the Son can do nothing alone. He does only what he sees his Father doing. The Son does the same things that the Father does. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does. This man was healed. But the Father will show the Son greater things than this to do. Then you will all be amazed. 21 The Father raises the dead and gives them life. In the same way, the Son gives life to those he wants to.
22 “Also, the Father judges no one. He has given the Son power to do all the judging. 23 God did this so that all people will respect the Son the same as they respect the Father. Anyone who does not respect the Son does not respect the Father. He is the one who sent the Son.
24 “I assure you, anyone who hears what I say and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life. They will not be judged guilty. They have already left death and have entered into life. 25 Believe me, an important time is coming. That time is already here. People who are dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. 26 Life comes from the Father himself. So the Father has also allowed the Son to give life. 27 And the Father has given him the power to judge all people because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Don’t be surprised at this. A time is coming when all people who are dead and in their graves will hear his voice. 29 Then they will come out of their graves. Those who did good in this life will rise and have eternal life. But those who did evil will rise to be judged guilty.
30 “I can do nothing alone. I judge only the way I am told. And my judgment is right, because I am not trying to please myself. I want only to please the one who sent me.
Jesus Says More to the Jewish Leaders
31 “If I tell people about myself, they cannot be sure that what I say is true. 32 But there is someone else who tells people about me, and I know that what he says about me is true.
33 “You sent men to John, and he told you what is true. 34 I don’t need anyone to tell people about me, but I remind you of what John said so that you can be saved. 35 John was like a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were happy to enjoy his light for a while.
36 “But I have a proof about myself that is greater than anything John said. The things I do are my proof. These are what my Father gave me to do. They show that the Father sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has given proof about me himself. But you have never heard his voice. You have never seen what he looks like. 38 The Father’s teaching does not live in you, because you don’t believe in the one the Father sent. 39 You carefully study the Scriptures. You think that they give you eternal life. These same Scriptures tell about me! 40 But you refuse to come to me to have that life.
41 “I don’t want praise from you or any other human. 42 But I know you—I know that you have no love for God. 43 I have come from my Father and speak for him, but you don’t accept me. But when other people come speaking only for themselves, you accept them. 44 You like to have praise from each other. But you never try to get the praise that comes from the only God. So how can you believe? 45 Don’t think that I will be the one to stand before the Father and accuse you. Moses is the one to accuse you. And he is the one you hoped would save you. 46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. 47 But you don’t believe what he wrote, so you can’t believe what I say.”
Listen to Wisdom
2 My son, pay attention to what I say. Remember my commands. 2 Listen to wisdom, and do your best to understand. 3 Ask for good judgment. Cry out for understanding. 4 Look for wisdom like silver. Search for it like hidden treasure. 5 If you do this, you will understand what it means to respect the Lord, and you will come to know God.
6 The Lord is the source of wisdom; knowledge and understanding come from his mouth. 7 He gives good advice to honest people and shields those who do what is right. 8 He makes sure that people are treated fairly. He watches over his loyal followers.
9 If you listen to him, you will understand what is just and fair and how to do what is right. 10 You will gain wisdom, and knowledge will bring you joy.
11 Planning ahead will protect you, and understanding will guard you. 12 These will keep you from following the wrong path and will protect you from those who have evil plans. 13 Such people have left the straight path and now walk in darkness. 14 They enjoy doing evil and are happy with the confusion it brings. 15 Their ways are crooked; they lie and cheat.
16 Wisdom will save you from that other woman, another man’s wife, who tempts you with sweet words. 17 She married when she was young, but then she left her husband. She forgot the marriage vows she made before God. 18 Going into her house leads to death. She will lead you to the grave. 19 All who enter lose their life and never return.
20 Wisdom will help you follow the example of good people and stay on the right path. 21 Honest people will live in the land, and those who do right will remain there. 22 But the wicked will be forced to leave. Those who lie and cheat will be thrown out of the land.
1 Greetings from Paul, an apostle. I was chosen to be an apostle, but not by any group or person here on earth. My authority came from none other than Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Jesus from death. 2 Greetings also from all those in God’s family who are with me.
To the churches in Galatia[a]:
3 I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will be good to you and give you peace. 4 Jesus gave himself for our sins to free us from this evil world we live in. This is what God our Father wanted. 5 The glory belongs to God forever and ever. Amen.
There Is Only One Good News Message
6 A short time ago God chose you to follow him. He chose you through his grace that came through Christ. But now I am amazed that you are already turning away and believing something different from the Good News we told you. 7 There is no other message that is the Good News, but some people are confusing you. They want to change the Good News about Christ. 8 We told you the true Good News message. So anyone who tells you a different message should be condemned—even if it’s one of us or even an angel from heaven! 9 I said this before. Now I say it again: You have already accepted the Good News. Anyone who tells you another way to be saved should be condemned!
10 Now do you think I am trying to make people accept me? No, God is the one I am trying to please. Am I trying to please people? If I wanted to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Paul’s Authority Is From God
11 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that the Good News message I told you was not made up by anyone. 12 I did not get my message from any other human. The Good News is not something I learned from other people. Jesus Christ himself gave it to me. He showed me the Good News that I should tell people.
13 You have heard about my past life in the Jewish religion. I persecuted the church of God very much. I tried to destroy his people. 14 I was becoming a leader in the Jewish religion. I did better than most other Jews my own age. I tried harder than anyone else to follow the traditions we got from our ancestors.
15 But God had special plans for me even before I was born. So he chose me through his grace. 16 It pleased him to let me see and know his Son so that I could tell the Good News about him to the non-Jewish people. I immediately prepared to do this work without asking for advice or help from anyone. 17 I did not go to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was. But, without waiting, I went away to Arabia. Later, I went back to the city of Damascus.
18 Three years later I went to Jerusalem to meet Peter.[b] I stayed with him 15 days. 19 I met no other apostles—only James, the brother of the Lord. 20 God knows there is nothing untrue in any of this. 21 Later, I went to the areas of Syria and Cilicia.
22 No one in any of Christ’s churches in Judea had ever met me before. 23 They had only heard this about me: “This man was persecuting us. But now he is telling people about the same faith that he once tried to destroy.” 24 These believers praised God because of me.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International