M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Different Accidental Sins
5 “You might be called as a witness and take an oath to tell the truth. If you saw something or knew something but did not tell it, you are guilty of doing wrong and must bear the responsibility for your guilt.
2 “You might touch something unclean. It might be the dead body of any kind of animal. You might not know that you touched these things, but you will still become unclean and must pay a fine.
3 “You might touch any of the many things that can make a person unclean. You might touch something unclean, but not know about it. When you learn that you have touched something unclean, you must pay a fine.
4 “You might make a quick promise to do something—it makes no difference if it is bad or good. People make many kinds of quick promises. You might make such a promise and forget it.[a] When you remember[b] your promise, you must pay a fine because you did not keep it. 5 If you are guilty of any of these things, you must confess whatever you did wrong. 6 Then you must bring your guilt offering to the Lord for the sin you did. You must bring a female lamb or a female goat as a sin offering. The priest will do this to make you pure from your sin.
7 “If you cannot afford a lamb, you must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the Lord. These will be the guilt offering for your sin. One bird must be for a sin offering, and the other must be for a burnt offering. 8 Take them to the priest. First, the priest will offer one bird for the sin offering. The priest will pull the bird’s head from its neck but he will not pull it off completely. 9 The priest will sprinkle the blood from the sin offering on the side of the altar. Then he will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. 10 Then he will offer the second bird according to the rules for a burnt offering. The priest will do this to make you pure from the sin you did, and God will forgive you.
11 “If you cannot afford two doves or two pigeons, you must bring 8 cups[c] of fine flour as your sin offering. You must not put oil or frankincense on the flour because it is a sin offering. 12 You must bring the flour to the priest. The priest will take a handful of the flour as the memorial offering and bring it to the altar as a gift to the Lord. It is a sin offering. 13 The priest will do this to make you pure, and God will forgive you. The part that is left will belong to the priest, just as the regular grain offering.”
14 The Lord gave this command to Moses for the people: 15 “You might promise to give something to the Lord. You might sin against me without meaning to by not giving what you promised. If you do that, you must bring a ram that has nothing wrong with it (or the same amount in silver using the official measure) as a guilt offering. 16 You must give what you promised and add one-fifth of that amount as a fine. Give it to the priest and he will use the ram to make you pure, and God will forgive you.
17 “If you sin and break any of the commands that the Lord said must not be done, you are guilty. Even if you did not know about it, you are still responsible for your sin. 18 You must bring a ram that has nothing wrong with it (or the same amount in silver) to the priest. The priest will offer the ram, and God will forgive you for the sin you did without knowing it. 19 You are guilty, and you must pay the guilt offering to the Lord.”
A song of David written during the time he was running from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, I have so many enemies.
So many people have turned against me.
2 They say to themselves, “God will not rescue him!” Selah
3 But you, Lord, protect me.
You bring me honor;
you give me hope.
4 I will pray to the Lord,
and he will answer me from his holy mountain. Selah
5 I can lie down to rest and know that I will wake up,
because the Lord covers and protects me.
6 So I will not be afraid of my enemies,
even if thousands of them surround me.
7 Lord, get up![a]
My God, come rescue me!
If you hit my enemies on the cheek,
you will break all their teeth.
8 Lord, the victory[b] is yours!
You are so good to your people. Selah
To the director: With stringed instruments. A song of David.
4 God, you showed that I was innocent.
You gave me relief from all my troubles.
So listen to me now when I call to you for help.
Be kind to me and hear my prayer.
2 Men,[c] how long will you try to dishonor me?
Do you enjoy wasting your time searching for new lies against me? Selah
3 You can be sure that anyone who serves the Lord faithfully is special to him.
The Lord listens when I pray to him.
4 Tremble with fear, and stop sinning.[d]
Think about this when you go to bed, and calm down. Selah
5 Give the right sacrifices to the Lord,
and put your trust in him!
6 Many people say, “I wish I could enjoy the good life.
Lord, give us some of those blessings.”[e]
7 But you have made me happier than they will ever be with all their wine and grain.
8 When I go to bed, I sleep in peace,
because, Lord, you keep me safe.
20 Wine and beer make people lose control; they get loud and stumble around. And that is foolish.
2 An angry king is like a roaring lion. If you make him angry, you could lose your life.
3 People who refuse to argue deserve respect. Any fool can start an argument.
4 Some people are too lazy to plant seeds. So at harvest time, they look for food and find nothing.
5 Getting information from someone can be like getting water from a deep well. If you are smart, you will draw it out.
6 You might call many people your “friends,” but it is hard to find someone who can really be trusted.
7 When people live good, honest lives, their children are blessed.
8 When the king sits and judges people, he must look carefully to separate the evil from the good.
9 Can anyone say their heart is pure? Who can say, “I am free from sin”?
10 The Lord hates for people to use the wrong weights and measures to cheat others.
11 Even children show what they are like by the things they do. You can see if their actions are pure and right.
12 It was the Lord who gave us eyes for seeing and ears for hearing.
13 If you love to sleep, you will become poor. Use your time working and you will have plenty to eat.
14 When buying something, people always say, “It’s no good. It costs too much.” Then they go away and tell others what a good deal they got.
15 The right knowledge can bring you gold, pearls, and other expensive things.
16 If someone promises to pay the debt of a stranger, get a coat or something from him to keep until the debt is paid.
17 It may seem to be a good thing to get something by cheating, but in the end, it will be worth nothing.
18 Get good advice when you make your plans. Before you start a war, find good advisors.
19 You cannot trust someone who would talk about things told in private. So don’t be friends with someone who talks too much.
20 Those who would curse their father or mother are like a lamp that goes out on the darkest night.
21 If your wealth was easy to get, it will not be worth much to you.[a]
22 Don’t ever say, “I’ll pay them back for what they did to me!” Wait for the Lord. He will make things right.
23 The Lord hates for people to use the wrong weights to cheat others. It is wrong to use scales that are not accurate.
24 The Lord guides our steps, and we never know where he will lead us.[b]
25 Think carefully before you promise to give something to God. Later, you might wish you had not made that promise.
26 Like a farmer who separates wheat from the chaff, a wise king will decide who is wrong and crush them.
27 Your spirit is like a lamp to the Lord. He is able to see into your deepest parts.[c]
28 A king who is loyal and true will keep his power. Loyalty will keep his kingdom strong.
29 We admire a young man for his strength, but we respect an old man for his gray hair.
30 A beating can remove evil and make you completely clean.[d]
Your New Life
3 You were raised from death with Christ. So live for what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Think only about what is up there, not what is here on earth. 3 Your old self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. 4 Yes, Christ is now your life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.
5 So put everything evil out of your life: sexual sin, doing anything immoral, letting sinful thoughts control you, and wanting things that are wrong. And don’t keep wanting more and more for yourself, which is the same as worshiping a false god. 6 God will show his anger against those who don’t obey him,[a] because they do these evil things. 7 You also did these things in the past, when you lived like them.
8 But now put these things out of your life: anger, losing your temper, doing or saying things to hurt others, and saying shameful things. 9 Don’t lie to each other. You have taken off those old clothes—the person you once were and the bad things you did then. 10 Now you are wearing a new life, a life that is new every day. You are growing in your understanding of the one who made you. You are becoming more and more like him. 11 In this new life it doesn’t matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, circumcised or not. It doesn’t matter if you speak a different language or even if you are a Scythian.[b] It doesn’t matter if you are a slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and he is in all of you.
Your New Life With Each Other
12 God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. 13 Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you. 14 Together with these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. It is for peace that you were chosen to be together in one body.[c] And always be thankful.
16 Let the teaching of Christ live inside you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Everything you say and everything you do should be done for Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.
Your New Life at Home
18 Wives, be willing to serve your husbands. This is the right thing to do in following the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives, and be gentle to them.
20 Children, obey your parents in everything. This pleases the Lord.
21 Fathers, don’t upset your children. If you are too hard to please, they might want to stop trying.
22 Servants, obey your masters in everything. Obey all the time, even when they can’t see you. Don’t just pretend to work hard so that they will treat you well. No, you must serve your masters honestly because you respect the Lord. 23 In all the work you are given, do the best you can. Work as though you are working for the Lord, not any earthly master. 24 Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, who will give you what he promised his people. Yes, you are serving Christ. He is your real Master.[d] 25 Remember that anyone who does wrong will be punished for that wrong. And the Lord treats everyone the same.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International