M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
7 “Here are the instructions concerning the most holy offering for guilt:
2 “The sacrificial animal shall be killed at the place where the burnt offering sacrifices are slain, and its blood shall be sprinkled back and forth upon the altar. 3 The priest will offer upon the altar all its fat, including the tail, the fat that covers the insides, 4 the two kidneys and the loin fat, and the gall bladder—all shall be set aside for sacrificing. 5 The priests will burn them upon the altar as a guilt offering to the Lord. 6 Only males among the priests may then eat the carcass, and it must be eaten in a holy place, for this is a most holy sacrifice.
7 “The same instructions apply to both the sin offering and the guilt offering—the carcass shall be given to the priest who is in charge of the atonement ceremony, for his food. 8 (When the offering is a burnt sacrifice, the priest who is in charge shall also be given the animal’s hide.) 9 The priests who present the people’s grain offerings to the Lord shall be given whatever remains of the sacrifice after the ceremony is completed. This rule applies whether the sacrifice is baked, fried, or grilled. 10 All other grain offerings, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, are the common property of all sons of Aaron.
11 “Here are the instructions concerning the sacrifices given to the Lord as special peace offerings:
12 “If it is an offering of thanksgiving, unleavened short bread[a] shall be included with the sacrifice, along with unleavened wafers spread with olive oil and loaves from a batter of flour mixed with olive oil. 13 This thanksgiving peace offering shall be accompanied with loaves of leavened bread. 14 Part of this sacrifice shall be presented to the Lord by a gesture of waving it before the altar, then it shall be given to the assisting priest, the one who sprinkles the blood of the animal presented for the sacrifice. 15 After the animal has been sacrificed and presented to the Lord as a peace offering to show special appreciation and thanksgiving to him, its meat is to be eaten that same day, and none left to be eaten the next day.
16 “However, if someone brings a sacrifice that is not for thanksgiving, but is because of a vow or is simply a voluntary offering to the Lord, any portion of the sacrifice that is not eaten the day it is sacrificed may be eaten the next day. 17-18 But anything left over until the third day shall be burned. For if any of it is eaten on the third day, the Lord will not accept it; it will have no value as a sacrifice, and there will be no credit to the one who brought it to be offered; and the priest who eats it shall be guilty, for it is detestable to the Lord, and the person who eats it must answer for his sin.
19 “Any meat that comes into contact with anything that is ceremonially unclean shall not be eaten, but burned; and as for the meat that may be eaten, it may be eaten only by a person who is ceremonially clean. 20 Any priest who is ceremonially unclean but eats the thanksgiving offering anyway, shall be cut off from his people, for he has defiled what is sacred.[b] 21 Anyone who touches anything that is ceremonially unclean, whether it is uncleanness from man or beast, and then eats the peace offering, shall be cut off from his people, for he has defiled what is holy.”
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell the people of Israel never to eat fat, whether from oxen, sheep, or goats. 24 The fat of an animal that dies of disease, or is attacked and killed by wild animals, may be used for other purposes, but never eaten. 25 Anyone who eats fat from an offering sacrificed by fire to the Lord shall be outlawed from his people.
26-27 “Never eat blood, whether of birds or animals. Anyone who does shall be excommunicated from his people.”
28 And the Lord said to Moses, 29 “Tell the people of Israel that anyone bringing a thanksgiving offering to the Lord must bring it personally with his own hands. 30 He shall bring the offering of the fat and breast, which is to be presented to the Lord by waving it before the altar. 31 Then the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar, but the breast shall belong to Aaron and his sons, 32-33 while the right thigh shall be given to the officiating priest. 34 For I have designated the breast and thigh as donations from the people of Israel to the sons of Aaron. Aaron and his sons must always be given this portion of the sacrifice. 35 This is their pay! It is to be set apart from the burnt offerings, and given to all who have been appointed to minister to the Lord as priests—to Aaron and to his sons. 36 For on the day the Lord anointed them, he commanded that the people of Israel give these portions to them; it is their right forever throughout all their generations.”
37 These were the instructions concerning the burnt offering, grain offering, sin offering, and guilt offering, and concerning the consecration offering and the peace offering; 38 these instructions were given to Moses by the Lord on Mount Sinai, to be passed on to the people of Israel so that they would know how to offer their sacrifices to God in the Sinai Desert.
7 I am depending on you, O Lord my God, to save me from my persecutors. 2 Don’t let them pounce upon me as a lion would and maul me and drag me away with no one to rescue me. 3 It would be different, Lord, if I were doing evil things— 4 if I were paying back evil for good or unjustly attacking those I dislike. 5 Then it would be right for you to let my enemies destroy me, crush me to the ground, and trample my life in the dust.
6 But Lord! Arise in anger against the anger of my enemies. Awake! Demand justice for me, Lord! 7-8 Gather all peoples before you; sit high above them, judging their sins. But justify me publicly; establish my honor and truth before them all. 9 End all wickedness, O Lord, and bless all who truly worship God;[a] for you, the righteous God, look deep within the hearts of men and examine all their motives and their thoughts.
10 God is my shield; he will defend me. He saves those whose hearts and lives are true and right.[b]
11 God is a judge who is perfectly fair, and he is angry with the wicked every day. 12 Unless they repent, he will sharpen his sword and slay them.
He has bent and strung his bow 13 and fitted it with deadly arrows made from shafts of fire.
14 The wicked man conceives an evil plot, labors with its dark details, and brings to birth his treachery and lies; 15 let him fall into his own trap. 16 May the violence he plans for others boomerang upon himself; let him die.
17 Oh, how grateful and thankful I am to the Lord because he is so good. I will sing praise to the name of the Lord who is above all lords.
8 O Lord our God, the majesty and glory of your name fills all the earth and overflows the heavens. 2 You have taught the little children to praise you perfectly. May their example shame and silence your enemies!
3 When I look up into the night skies and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you have made— 4 I cannot understand how you can bother with mere puny man, to pay any attention to him!
5 And yet you have made him only a little lower than the angels[c] and placed a crown of glory and honor upon his head.
6 You have put him in charge of everything you made; everything is put under his authority: 7 all sheep and oxen, and wild animals too, 8 the birds and fish, and all the life in the sea. 9 O Jehovah, our Lord, the majesty and glory of your name fills the earth.
22 If you must choose, take a good name rather than great riches; for to be held in loving esteem is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor are alike before the Lord who made them all.
3 A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
4 True humility and respect for the Lord lead a man to riches, honor, and long life.
5 The rebel walks a thorny, treacherous road; the man who values his soul will stay away.
6 Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older, he will remain upon it.
7 Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender.
8 The unjust tyrant will reap disaster, and his reign of terror shall end.
9 Happy is the generous man, the one who feeds the poor.
10 Throw out the mocker, and you will be rid of tension, fighting, and quarrels.
11 He who values grace and truth is the king’s friend.
12 The Lord preserves the upright but ruins the plans[a] of the wicked.
13 The lazy man is full of excuses. “I can’t go to work!” he says. “If I go outside, I might meet a lion in the street and be killed!”
14 A prostitute is a dangerous trap; those cursed of God are caught in it.
15 A youngster’s heart is filled with rebellion, but punishment will drive it out of him.
16 He who gains by oppressing the poor or by bribing the rich shall end in poverty.
17-19 Listen to this wise advice; follow it closely, for it will do you good, and you can pass it on to others: Trust in the Lord.
20-21 In the past, haven’t I been right? Then believe what I am telling you now and share it with others.
22-23 Don’t rob the poor and sick! For the Lord is their defender. If you injure them, he will punish you.
24-25 Keep away from angry, short-tempered men, lest you learn to be like them and endanger your soul.
26-27 Unless you have the extra cash on hand, don’t countersign a note. Why risk everything you own? They’ll even take your bed!
28 Do not move the ancient boundary marks. That is stealing.[b]
29 Do you know a hard-working man? He shall be successful and stand before kings!
1 From: Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
To: The church at Thessalonica—to you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: May blessing and peace of heart be your rich gifts from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Lord.
2 We always thank God for you and pray for you constantly. 3 We never forget your loving deeds as we talk to our God and Father about you, and your strong faith and steady looking forward to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 We know that God has chosen you, dear brothers, much beloved of God. 5 For when we brought you the Good News, it was not just meaningless chatter to you; no, you listened with great interest. What we told you produced a powerful effect upon you, for the Holy Spirit gave you great and full assurance that what we said was true. And you know how our very lives were further proof to you of the truth of our message. 6 So you became our followers and the Lord’s; for you received our message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the trials and sorrows it brought you.
7 Then you yourselves became an example to all the other Christians in Greece. 8 And now the Word of the Lord has spread out from you to others everywhere, far beyond your boundaries, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your remarkable faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, 9 for they keep telling us about the wonderful welcome you gave us, and how you turned away from your idols to God so that now the living and true God only is your Master. 10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the return of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God brought back to life—and he is our only Savior from God’s terrible anger against sin.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.