M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Day of Atonement
16 Two of Aaron’s sons died while offering incense to the Lord.[a] After that time, the Lord spoke to Moses. 2 The Lord said, “Talk to your brother Aaron. Tell him that he cannot go behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place anytime he wants to. The mercy-cover is in the room behind that curtain on top of the Holy Box, and I appear in a cloud over that mercy-cover. If Aaron goes into that room, he will die!
3 “Before Aaron enters the Most Holy Place, he will offer a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 Aaron will wash his whole body with water and put on the special clothes. He will put on the linen underwear next to his body, the linen robe, the linen belt, and then he will put the linen turban on his head.
5 “From the whole community of Israel, Aaron will accept two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. 6 Then he will offer the bull for the sin offering. This sin offering is for himself. He will do this to purify[b] himself and his family.
7 “Then Aaron will take the two goats and bring them before the Lord at the doorway of the Meeting Tent. 8 Aaron will throw lots for the two goats. One lot will be for the Lord. The other lot will be for Azazel.[c]
9 “Then Aaron will offer the goat chosen by the lot for the Lord. Aaron will make this goat a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by the lot for Azazel will be brought alive before the Lord. Then this goat will be sent out to Azazel in the desert. This is to make the people pure.
11 “Then Aaron will offer the bull as a sin offering for himself. He will purify himself and his family. He will kill the bull for the sin offering for himself. 12 Then he will take a firepan full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord. Aaron will take two handfuls of sweet incense that has been ground into powder and take it into the room behind the curtain. 13 He will put the incense on the fire before the Lord. Then the cloud of incense will hide the mercy-cover that is over the Box that holds the Agreement.[d] This way Aaron will not die. 14 Aaron will dip his finger into the bull’s blood and sprinkle it on the front of the Holy Box. Then he will sprinkle the blood seven times onto the front of the mercy-cover.
15 “Then Aaron will kill the goat of the sin offering for the people. He will bring this goat’s blood into the room behind the curtain. He will do with the goat’s blood as he did with the bull’s blood. He will sprinkle the goat’s blood on the mercy-cover and in front of it. 16 In this way Aaron will purify the Most Holy Place from all the uncleanness and sins of the Israelites. He will also purify the Meeting Tent, because it stands in the middle of people whose sins have made them unclean.
17 “No one must be in the Meeting Tent when Aaron goes in to purify the Most Holy Place. No one is to go in there until Aaron comes out after purifying himself, his family, and all the Israelites. 18 Then Aaron will go out to the altar that is before the Lord. Aaron will make the altar pure. He will take some of the blood from the bull and from the goat and put it on the corners of the altar on all four sides. 19 Then he will dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it on the altar seven times. In this way Aaron will make the altar holy and clean from all the sins of the Israelites.
20 “So Aaron will make the Most Holy Place, the Meeting Tent, and the altar pure. Then he will bring the living goat to the front of the tent. 21 He will put both his hands on the head of the living goat. Then he will confess the sins and crimes of the Israelites over the goat. In this way Aaron will lay the people’s sins on the goat’s head. Then he will send the goat away into the desert. A man will be standing by, ready to lead this goat away. 22 So the goat will carry all the people’s sins on itself into the empty desert. The man who leads the goat will let it loose in the desert.
23 “Then Aaron will enter the Meeting Tent. He will take off the linen clothes that he put on when he went into the Holy Place. He will leave these clothes there. 24 He will wash his whole body with water in a holy place. Then he will put on his clothes. He will come out and offer his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering. He will make himself and the people pure. 25 Then he will burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26 “The man who led the goat to Azazel must wash his clothes and his whole body with water. After that he may come into the camp.
27 “The bull and the goat for the sin offerings will be taken outside the camp. (The blood from these animals was brought into the Holy Place to make the holy things pure.) The skins, bodies, and body waste of those animals will be burned in the fire. 28 Then the man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe his whole body with water. After that he may come into the camp.
29 “This law will always continue for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you must not eat food.[e] You must not do any work. None of the travelers or foreigners living in your land can do any work either. 30 Because on this day, the priest will do this to make you pure and wash away your sins. Then you will be clean to the Lord. 31 You must humble yourselves[f] because this day is a very important day of rest for you. This law will continue forever.
32 “In the future, this ceremony will be done by the priest who will be anointed and appointed to serve after his father. That priest will put on the holy linen clothes 33 and make the Most Holy Place, the Meeting Tent, and the altar pure. He will also make the priests and all the people pure. 34 That law will continue forever. Once every year you will purify the Israelites from all their sins.”
So they did everything that the Lord had commanded Moses.
To the director: A song of David.
19 The heavens tell about the glory of God.
The skies announce what his hands have made.
2 Each new day tells more of the story,
and each night reveals more and more about God’s power.[a]
3 You cannot hear them say anything.
They don’t make any sound we can hear.
4 But their message goes throughout the world.
Their teaching reaches the ends of the earth.
The sun’s tent is set up in the heavens.
5 It comes out like a happy bridegroom from his bedroom.
It begins its path across the sky
like an athlete eager to run a race.
6 It starts at one end of the sky
and runs all the way to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat.
7 The Lord’s teachings are perfect.
They give strength to his people.
The Lord’s rules can be trusted.
They help even the foolish become wise.
8 The Lord’s laws are right.
They make people happy.
The Lord’s commands are good.
They show people the right way to live.
9 Learning respect for the Lord is good.
It will last forever.
The Lord’s judgments are right.
They are completely fair.
10 His teachings are worth more than pure gold.
They are sweeter than the best honey dripping from the honeycomb.
11 His teachings warn his servants,
and good things come to those who obey them.
12 People cannot see their own mistakes,
so don’t let me commit secret sins.
13 Don’t let me do what I know is wrong.
Don’t let sin control me.
If you help me, I can be pure
and free from sin.
14 May my words and thoughts please you.
Lord, you are my Rock—the one who rescues me.
Wise Sayings of Agur Son of Jakeh
30 These are the wise sayings of Agur son of Jakeh from Massa. He says, “God, I am tired, so tired. How can I keep going?”[a]
2 I am stupid. I am not as smart as other people are. 3 I have not learned to be wise. I know nothing about the Holy One.[b] 4 Who has ever gone up to heaven and come back down? Who gathered the winds in his hand? Who can gather up all the water in his lap? Who set the limits for the world? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Do you know?
5 You can trust this: Every word that God speaks is true. God is a safe place for those who go to him. 6 So don’t try to change what God says. If you do, he will punish you and prove that you are a liar.
7 God, I ask you to do two things for me before I die. 8 Don’t let me tell lies. And don’t make me too rich or too poor—give me only enough food for each day. 9 If I have too much, I might deny that I need you, Lord. But if I am too poor, I might steal and bring shame to the name of my God.
10 Never say bad things about a slave to his master. If you do, he will curse you, and you will suffer for it.
11 Some people curse their fathers and refuse to bless their mothers.
12 Some people think they are pure, but they have done nothing to remove the filth of their sin.
13 Some people are so proud of themselves, and they look down on everyone else.
14 There are people whose teeth are like swords and their jaws like knives. They take everything they can from the poor.
15 Greedy people know only two things[c]: “Give me,” and “Give me.” There are three other things that are never satisfied—really, four things that never have enough: 16 the place of death, a woman with no children, dry ground that needs rain, and a fire that will never stop by itself.
17 People who make fun of their father or refuse to obey their mother should have their eyes plucked out by wild birds and be eaten by vultures.
18 There are three things that are hard for me to understand—really, four things that I don’t understand: 19 an eagle flying in the sky, a snake moving on a rock, a ship moving across the ocean, and a man in love with a woman.
20 A woman who is not faithful to her husband acts innocent. She eats, wipes her mouth, and says she has done nothing wrong.
21 There are three things that make trouble on the earth—really, four that the earth cannot bear: 22 a slave who becomes a king, fools who have everything they need, 23 a woman whose husband hated her but still married her, and a servant girl who becomes ruler over the woman she serves.
24 There are four things on the earth that are small but very wise:
25 Ants are small and weak, but they save their food all summer;
26 badgers are small animals, but they make their homes in the rocks;
27 locusts have no king, but they are able to work together;
28 lizards are small enough to catch with your hands, but you can find them living in kings’ palaces.
29 There are three things that act important when they walk—really, there are four:
30 a lion—he is the warrior of the animals and runs from nothing,
31 a rooster walking proudly,[d]
a goat,
and a king among his people.
32 If you have been foolish enough to become proud and make plans against other people, stop and think about what you are doing.
33 Stirring milk causes butter to form. Hitting someone’s nose causes blood to flow. And making people angry causes trouble.
1 Greetings from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope.
2 To Timothy, a true son to me in the faith we share.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warnings Against False Teachings
3 When I went to Macedonia, I asked you to stay in Ephesus. Some people there are teaching things that are not true, and I want you to tell them to stop. 4 Tell them not to give their time to meaningless stories and to long lists of names to prove their family histories. Such things only cause arguments. They don’t help God’s work, which is done only by faith. 5 My purpose in telling you to do this is to promote love—the kind of love shown by those whose thoughts are pure, who do what they know is right, and whose faith in God is real. 6 But some have missed this key point in their teaching and have gone off in another direction. Now they talk about things that help no one. 7 They want to be teachers of the law,[a] but they don’t know what they are talking about. They don’t even understand the things they say they are sure of.
8 We know that the law is good if someone uses it right. 9 We also know that the law is not made for those who do what is right. It is made for those who are against the law and refuse to follow it. The law is for sinners who are against God and all that is pleasing to him. It is for those who have no interest in spiritual things and for those who kill their fathers or mothers or anyone else. 10 It is for those who commit sexual sins, homosexuals, those who sell slaves, those who tell lies, those who don’t tell the truth under oath, and those who are against the true teaching of God. 11 That teaching is part of the Good News that our blessed God gave me to tell. In it we see his glory.
Thanks for God’s Mercy
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord because he trusted me and gave me this work of serving him. He gives me strength. 13 In the past I insulted Christ. As a proud and violent man, I persecuted his people. But God gave me mercy because I did not know what I was doing. I did that before I became a believer. 14 But our Lord gave me a full measure of his grace. And with that grace came the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a true statement that should be accepted without question: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the worst of them. 16 But I was given mercy so that in me Christ Jesus could show that he has patience without limit. Christ showed his patience with me, the worst of all sinners. He wanted me to be an example for those who would believe in him and have eternal life. 17 Honor and glory to the King who rules forever. He cannot be destroyed and cannot be seen. Honor and glory forever and ever to the only God. Amen.
18 Timothy, you are like a son to me. What I am telling you to do agrees with the prophecies[b] that were told about you in the past. I want you to remember those prophecies and fight the good fight of faith. 19 Continue to trust in God and do what you know is right. Some people have not done this, and their faith is now in ruins. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are men like that. I have given them to Satan so that they will learn not to speak against God.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International