M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Festival of Trumpets
29 “There will be a special meeting on the first day of the seventh month. You will not do any work on that day. That is the day for blowing the trumpets.[a] 2 You will offer burnt offerings. Their smell will please the Lord. You will offer 1 bull, 1 ram, and 7 lambs that are one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them. 3 You will also offer 24 cups[b] of fine flour mixed with oil with the bull, 16 cups[c] with the ram, 4 and 8 cups[d] with each of the 7 lambs. 5 Also offer a male goat as a sin offering to make you pure. 6 These offerings are in addition to the New Moon sacrifice and its grain offering. And they are in addition to the daily sacrifice and its grain offerings and drink offerings. These must be done according to the rules. They will be sweet-smelling gifts to the Lord.
The Day of Atonement
7 “There will be a special meeting on the tenth day of the seventh month. During that day you must not eat any food,[e] and you must not do any work. 8 You will offer burnt offerings. Their smell will please the Lord. You must offer 1 bull, 1 ram, and 7 lambs that are one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them. 9 You must also offer 24 cups of fine flour mixed with olive oil with the bull, 16 cups with the ram, 10 and 8 cups with each of the 7 lambs. 11 You will also offer 1 male goat as a sin offering. This will be in addition to the sin offering for the Day of Atonement. This will also be in addition to the daily sacrifice and its grain offerings and drink offerings.
Festival of Shelters
12 “There will be a special meeting on the 15th day of the seventh month.[f] You must not do any work on that day. You must celebrate a special festival for the Lord for seven days. 13 You will offer burnt offerings as sweet-smelling gifts to the Lord. You will offer 13 bulls, 2 rams, and 14 lambs that are one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them. 14 You must also offer 24 cups of fine flour mixed with oil with each of the 13 bulls, 16 cups with each of the 2 rams, 15 and 8 cups with each of the 14 lambs. 16 You must also offer 1 male goat. This must be in addition to the daily sacrifice and its grain offerings and drink offerings.
17 “On the second day of this festival, you must offer 12 bulls, 2 rams, and 14 lambs that are one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them. 18 You must also give the right amount of grain and drink offerings with the bulls, rams, and lambs. 19 You must also offer 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily sacrifice and its grain offerings and drink offerings.
20 “On the third day of this festival, you must offer 11 bulls, 2 rams, and 14 lambs that are one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them. 21 You must also give the right amount of grain and drink offerings with the bulls, rams, and lambs. 22 You must also give 1 goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily sacrifice and its grain offerings and drink offerings.
23 “On the fourth day of this festival, you must offer 10 bulls, 2 rams, and 14 lambs that are one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them. 24 You must also give the right amount of grain and drink offerings with the bulls, rams, and lambs. 25 You must also give 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily sacrifice and its grain offerings and drink offerings.
26 “On the fifth day of this festival, you must offer 9 bulls, 2 rams, and 14 lambs that are one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them. 27 You must also give the right amount of grain and drink offerings with the bulls, rams, and lambs. 28 You must also give 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily sacrifice and its grain offerings and drink offerings.
29 “On the sixth day of this festival, you must offer 8 bulls, 2 rams, and 14 lambs that are one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them. 30 You must also give the right amount of grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs. 31 You must also give 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily sacrifice and its grain offerings and drink offerings.
32 “On the seventh day of this festival, you must offer 7 bulls, 2 rams, and 14 lambs that are one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them. 33 You must also give the right amount of grain and drink offerings with the bulls, rams, and lambs. 34 You must also give 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily sacrifice and its grain offerings and drink offerings.
35 “The eighth day of this festival is a very special meeting for you. You must not do any work on that day. 36 You must offer a burnt offering as a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord. You must offer 1 bull, 1 ram, and 7 lambs that are one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them. 37 You must also give the right amount of grain and drink offerings with the bull, ram, and lambs. 38 You must also give 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily sacrifice and its grain offerings and drink offerings.
39 “At the special festivals you must bring your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings, and fellowship offerings. You must give these offerings to the Lord. They are in addition to any special gift you might want to give him and any offering that is part of a special promise you make.”
40 Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him.
Book 3
(Psalms 73-89)
Asaph’s song of praise.
73 God is so good to Israel,
to those whose hearts are pure.
2 But I almost slipped and lost my balance.
I almost fell into sin.
3 I saw that wicked people were successful,
and I became jealous of those proud people.
4 They are healthy.
They don’t have to struggle to survive.[a]
5 They don’t suffer like the rest of us.
They don’t have troubles like other people.
6 So they are proud and hateful.
This is as easy to see as the jewels and fancy clothes they wear.
7 If they see something they like, they go and take it.
They do whatever they want.
8 They make fun of others and say cruel things about them.
In their pride they make plans to hurt people.
9 They think they are gods!
They think they are the rulers of the earth.
10 [b] Even God’s people turn to them
and do what they say.
11 Those evil people say, “God does not know what we are doing!
God Most High does not know!”
12 Those proud people are wicked,
but they are rich and getting richer.
13 Clearly, then, I gain nothing by keeping my thoughts pure!
What good is it to keep myself from sin?
14 God, I suffer all day long,
and you punish me every morning.
15 I wanted to tell others these things,
but that would have made me a traitor to your people.
16 I tried hard to understand all this,
but it was too hard for me.
17 But then, God, I went to your Temple,
and I understood what will happen to the wicked.
18 Clearly, you have put them in danger.
You make it easy for them to fall and be destroyed.
19 Trouble can come suddenly,
and they will be ruined.
Terrible things can happen to them,
and they will be finished.
20 Then they will be like a dream
that we forget when we wake up.
You will make them disappear
like the monsters in our dreams.
21-22 I was so stupid.
I thought about such people and became upset.
God, I was upset and angry with you!
I acted like a senseless animal.
23 But I am always with you.
You hold my hand.
24 You lead me and give me good advice,
and later you will lead me to glory.[c]
25 In heaven, God, I have only you.
And if I am with you, what on earth could I want?
26 Maybe my mind[d] and body will become weak,
but God is my source of strength.[e]
He is mine forever!
27 God, people who leave you will be lost.
You will destroy all who are not faithful to you.
28 As for me, all I need is to be close to God.
I have made the Lord God my place of safety.
And, God, I will tell about all that you have done.
God’s Message About Babylon
21 This is a message[a] about the “desert by the sea”[b]:
It is coming like a storm blowing through the Negev.
It is coming in from the desert, from a frightening nation.
2 I was given a vision of the hard times to come.
I see traitors turning against you.
I see people taking your wealth.
Elam, go against them!
Media, surround the city!
I will put an end to all their moaning.
3 I saw those terrible things, and now I am afraid.
My fear makes my stomach hurt like the pain of giving birth.
What I hear frightens me.
What I see makes me shake with fear.
4 I am worried and shaking with fear.
My pleasant evening has become a nightmare.
5 People are rushing around shouting their orders:
“Set the table!
Post the guard!
Get something to eat and drink!
Officers, get up!
Polish your shields!”
6 The Lord said to me, “Go find someone to guard this city. He must report whatever he sees. 7 Whether he sees a chariot and a team of horses or men riding donkeys or camels, he must listen carefully.”[c]
8 Then one day the watchman[d] called out,
“My master, every day I have been in the watchtower[e] watching.
Every night I have been standing on duty.
9 Look! I see a man in a chariot
with a team of horses.[f]”
The messenger said,
“Babylon has been defeated!
It has fallen to the ground!
All the statues of her false gods
were thrown to the ground and broken to pieces.”
10 My people, you will be like the grain crushed on my threshing floor. I have told you everything I heard from the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel.
God’s Message About Dumah
11 This is a message about Dumah[g]:
There is someone calling to me from Seir,[h]
“Guard, how much of the night is left?
How much longer will it be night?”
12 The guard answered,
“Morning is coming, but then night will come again.
If you have something else to ask,
then come back[i] later and ask.”
God’s Message About Arabia
13 This is a message about Arabia:
A caravan from Dedan spent the night
near some trees in the Arabian Desert.
14 They gave water to some thirsty travelers.
The people of Tema gave them food.
15 They were running from swords
that were ready to kill.
They were running from bows
that were ready to shoot.
They were running from a hard battle.
16 The Lord told me this would happen. He said, “In one year, the way a hired helper counts time, all Kedar’s glory will be gone. 17 Only a few of the archers, the great soldiers of Kedar, will be left alive.” The Lord, the God of Israel, told me this.
False Teachers
2 In the past there were false prophets among God’s people. It is the same now. You will have some false teachers in your group. They will teach things that are wrong—ideas that will cause people to be lost. And they will teach in a way that will be hard for you to see that they are wrong. They will even refuse to follow the Master who bought their freedom. And so they will quickly destroy themselves. 2 Many people will follow them in the morally wrong things they do. And because of them, others will say bad things about the way of truth we follow. 3 These false teachers only want your money. So they will use you by telling you things that are not true. But the judgment against these false teachers has been ready for a long time. And they will not escape God who will destroy them.
4 When angels sinned, God did not let them go free without punishment. He sent them to hell. He put those angels in caves of darkness, where they are being held until the time when God will judge them.
5 And God punished the evil people who lived long ago. He brought a flood to the world that was full of people who were against God. But he saved Noah and seven other people with him. Noah was a man who told people about living right.
6 God also punished the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He burned them until there was nothing left but ashes. He used those cities as an example of what will happen to people who are against God. 7 But he saved Lot, a good man who lived there. Lot was greatly troubled by the morally bad lives of those evil people. 8 This good man lived with those evil people every day, and his good heart was hurt by the evil things he saw and heard.
9 So you see that the Lord God knows how to save those who are devoted to him. He will save them when troubles come. And the Lord will hold evil people to punish them on the day of judgment. 10 That punishment is for those who are always doing the evil that their sinful selves want to do. It is for those who hate the Lord’s authority.
These false teachers do whatever they want, and they are so proud of themselves. They are not afraid even to say bad things against the glorious ones.[a] 11 The angels are much stronger and more powerful than these beings. But even the angels don’t accuse them and say bad things about them to the Lord.
12 But these false teachers speak evil against what they don’t understand. They are like animals that do things without really thinking—like wild animals that are born to be caught and killed. And, like wild animals, they will be destroyed. 13 They have made many people suffer. So they themselves will suffer. That is their pay for what they have done.
They think it is fun to do evil where everyone can see them. They enjoy the evil things that please them. So they are like dirty spots and stains among you—they bring shame to you in the meals you eat together. 14 Every time they look at a woman, they want her. They are always sinning this way. And they lead weaker people into the trap of sin. They have taught themselves well to be greedy. They are under a curse.[b]
15 These false teachers left the right way and went the wrong way. They followed the same way that the prophet Balaam went. He was the son of Beor, who loved being paid for doing wrong. 16 But a donkey told him that he was doing wrong. A donkey cannot talk, of course, but that donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the prophet from acting so crazy.
17 These false teachers are like springs that have no water. They are like clouds that are blown by a storm. A place in the deepest darkness has been kept for them. 18 They boast with words that mean nothing. They lead people into the trap of sin. They find people who have just escaped from a wrong way of life and lead them back into sin. They do this by using the evil things people want to do in their human weakness. 19 These false teachers promise those people freedom, but they themselves are not free. They are slaves to a mind that has been ruined by sin. Yes, people are slaves to anything that controls them.
20 People can be made free from the evil in the world. They can be made free by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But if they go back into those evil things and are controlled by them, then it is worse for them than it was before. 21 Yes, it would be better for them to have never known the right way. That would be better than to know the right way and then to turn away from the holy teaching that was given to them. 22 What they did is like these true sayings: “A dog vomits and goes back to what it threw up.”[c] And, “After a pig is washed, it goes back and rolls in the mud again.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International