M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Rules for Sin Offerings
4 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 2 “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘Suppose someone sins without meaning to. And that person does something the Lord commands us not to do.
3 “ ‘Suppose it is the anointed priest who sins. And suppose he brings guilt on the people. Then he must bring a young bull to the Lord. It must not have any flaws. He must bring it as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. 4 He must bring the bull to the entrance to the tent of meeting in the sight of the Lord. He must place his hand on its head. He must kill it there in the sight of the Lord. 5 Then the anointed priest must take some of the bull’s blood. He must carry it into the tent of meeting. 6 He must dip his finger into the blood. He must sprinkle some of it seven times in the sight of the Lord. He must do it in front of the curtain of the Most Holy Room. 7 Then the priest must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for burning incense. The horns stick out from the upper four corners of the altar. The incense burned on that altar has a sweet smell. The altar stands in front of the Lord in the tent of meeting. The priest must pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the bottom of the altar for burnt offerings. That altar stands at the entrance to the tent. 8 He must remove all the fat from the bull for the sin offering. It includes the fat that is connected to the inside parts. 9 It includes both kidneys with the fat on them next to the lower back muscles. It also includes the long part of the liver. He must remove all of it together with the kidneys. 10 He must remove it in the same way the fat is removed from an ox sacrificed as a friendship offering. Then the priest must burn all of it on the altar for burnt offerings. 11 But the bull’s hide must be taken away. So must all its meat. So must its head and legs. And so must its inside parts and guts. 12 In other words, all the rest of the bull must be taken away. The priest must take it outside the camp. He must take it to a “clean” place. He must take it to the place where the ashes are thrown. Then he must burn it there in a wood fire on a pile of ashes.
13 “ ‘Or suppose the whole community of Israel sins without meaning to. They do something the Lord commands us not to do. Suppose they realize their guilt. 14 And suppose their sin becomes known. Then they must bring a young bull as a sin offering. They must offer it in front of the tent of meeting. 15 The elders of the community must place their hands on the bull’s head in the sight of the Lord. The bull must be killed in the sight of the Lord. 16 Then the anointed priest must take some of the bull’s blood into the tent of meeting. 17 He must dip his finger into the blood. He must sprinkle it seven times in the sight of the Lord. He must do it in front of the curtain. 18 He must put some of the blood on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar. The altar stands in front of the Lord in the tent of meeting. The priest must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar for burnt offerings. That altar stands at the entrance to the tent. 19 He must remove all the fat from the bull. He must burn it on the altar. 20 He must do the same thing with that bull as he did with the bull for the sin offering. When he does, he will pay for the sin of the community. And they will be forgiven. 21 Then he must take the bull outside the camp. He must burn it just as he burned the first bull. It is the sin offering for the whole community.
22 “ ‘Or suppose a leader sins without meaning to. He disobeys any of the commands of the Lord his God. 23 And suppose he realizes his guilt and his sin becomes known. Then he must bring an offering. It must be a male goat. It must not have any flaws. 24 He must place his hand on the goat’s head. He must kill it. He must do it at the place where the animals for burnt offerings are killed in the sight of the Lord. His offering is a sin offering. 25 Then the priest must dip his finger into some of the blood of the sin offering. He must put it on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar for burnt offerings. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. 26 He must burn all the fat on the altar. He must burn it in the same way he burned the fat of the friendship offering. When he does, he will pay for the sin of the leader. And the leader will be forgiven.
27 “ ‘Or suppose someone in the community sins without meaning to. They disobey any of the Lord’s commands. 28 And suppose they realize their guilt and their sin becomes known. Then they must bring an offering for the sin they have committed. It must be a female goat. It must not have any flaws. 29 They must place their hand on the head of the animal for the sin offering. It must be killed at the place where the animals for burnt offerings are killed. 30 Then the priest must dip his finger into some of the blood. He must put it on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar for burnt offerings. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. 31 They must remove all the fat in the same way the fat is removed from the friendship offering. The priest must burn it on the altar. Its smell pleases the Lord. When the priest burns the offering, he will pay for their sin. And they will be forgiven.
32 “ ‘Suppose someone brings a lamb as their sin offering. Then they must bring a female animal. It must not have any flaws. 33 They must place their hand on its head. They must kill it as a sin offering. They must do it at the place where the animals for burnt offerings are killed. 34 Then the priest must dip his finger into some of the blood of the sin offering. He must put it on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar for burnt offerings. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. 35 They must remove all the fat in the same way the fat is removed from the lamb for the friendship offering. The priest must burn it on the altar on top of the food offerings presented to the Lord. When he does, he will pay for the sin they have committed. And they will be forgiven.
Book I
Psalms 1–41
1 Blessed is the person who obeys the law of the Lord.
They don’t follow the advice of evil people.
They don’t make a habit of doing what sinners do.
They don’t join those who make fun of the Lord and his law.
2 Instead, the law of the Lord gives them joy.
They think about his law day and night.
3 That kind of person is like a tree that is planted near a stream of water.
It always bears its fruit at the right time.
Its leaves don’t dry up.
Everything godly people do turns out well.
4 Sinful people are not like that at all.
They are like straw
that the wind blows away.
5 When the Lord judges them, their life will come to an end.
Sinners won’t have any place among those who are godly.
6 The Lord watches over the lives of godly people.
But the lives of sinful people will lead to their death.
2 Why do the nations plan evil together?
Why do they make useless plans?
2 The kings of the earth rise up against the Lord.
The rulers of the earth join together against his anointed king.
3 “Let us break free from their chains,” they say.
“Let us throw off their ropes.”
4 The God who sits on his throne in heaven laughs.
The Lord makes fun of those rulers and their plans.
5 When he is angry, he warns them.
When his anger blazes out, he terrifies them.
6 He says to them,
“I have placed my king on my holy mountain of Zion.”
7 I will announce what the Lord has promised.
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
8 Ask me, and I will give the nations to you.
All nations on earth will belong to you.
9 You will break them with an iron scepter.
You will smash them to pieces like clay pots.”
10 Kings, be wise!
Rulers of the earth, be warned!
11 Serve the Lord and have respect for him.
Celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Obey the son completely, or he will be angry.
Your way of life will lead to your death.
His anger can blaze out at any moment.
Blessed are all those who go to him for safety.
19 It is better to be poor and to live without blame
than to be foolish and to twist words around.
2 Getting excited about something without knowledge isn’t good.
It’s even worse to be in a hurry and miss the way.
3 A person’s own foolish acts destroy their life.
But their heart is angry with the Lord.
4 Wealth brings many friends.
But even the closest friend of a poor person abandons them.
5 A dishonest witness will be punished.
And whoever pours out lies will not go free.
6 Many try to win the favor of rulers.
And everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts.
7 Poor people are avoided by their whole family.
Their friends avoid them even more.
The poor person runs after his friends to beg for help.
But they can’t be found.
8 Anyone who gets wisdom loves life.
Anyone who values understanding will soon succeed.
9 A dishonest witness will be punished.
And those who pour out lies will die.
10 It isn’t proper for a foolish person to live in great comfort.
And it is much worse when a slave rules over princes!
11 A person’s wisdom makes them patient.
They will be honored if they forgive someone who sins against them.
12 A king’s anger is like a lion’s roar.
But his favor is like dew on the grass.
13 A foolish child is a father’s ruin.
A nagging wife is like dripping that never stops.
14 You will receive houses and wealth from your parents.
But a wise wife is given by the Lord.
15 Anyone who doesn’t want to work sleeps his life away.
And a person who refuses to work goes hungry.
16 Those who keep commandments keep their lives.
But those who don’t care how they live will die.
17 Anyone who is kind to poor people lends to the Lord.
God will reward them for what they have done.
18 Train your children, because then there is hope.
Don’t do anything to bring about their deaths.
19 A person with a bad temper must pay for it.
If you save them, you will have to do it again.
20 Listen to advice and accept correction.
In the end you will be counted among those who are wise.
21 A person may have many plans in their heart.
But the Lord’s purpose wins out in the end.
22 Everyone longs for love that never fails.
It is better to be poor than to be a liar.
23 Having respect for the Lord leads to life.
Then you will be content and free from trouble.
24 A person who doesn’t want to work leaves his hand in the dish.
He won’t even bring it back up to his mouth!
25 If you whip a person who makes fun of others,
childish people will learn to be wise.
If you warn those who already understand what is right,
they will gain even more knowledge.
26 Anyone who robs their father and drives out their mother
is a child who brings shame and dishonor.
27 My son, if you stop listening to what I teach you,
you will wander away from the words of knowledge.
28 A dishonest witness makes fun of what is right.
The mouths of those who do wrong gulp down evil.
29 Those who make fun of others will be judged.
Foolish people will be punished.
2 I want you to know how hard I am working for you. I’m concerned for those who are in Laodicea. I’m also concerned for everyone who has not met me in person. 2 My goal is that their hearts may be encouraged and strengthened. I want them to be joined together in love. Then their understanding will be rich and complete. They will know the mystery of God. That mystery is Christ. 3 All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him. 4 But I don’t want anyone to fool you with words that only sound good. 5 So even though I am away from you in body, I am with you in spirit. And I am glad to see that you are controlling yourselves. I am happy that your faith in Christ is so strong.
Having All Things in Christ
6 You received Christ Jesus as Lord. So keep on living your lives in him. 7 Have your roots in him. Build yourselves up in him. Grow strong in what you believe, just as you were taught. Be more thankful than ever before.
8 Make sure no one controls you. They will try to control you by using false reasoning that has no meaning. Their ideas depend on human teachings. They also depend on the basic spiritual powers of this world. They don’t depend on Christ.
9 God’s whole nature is living in Christ in human form. 10 Because you belong to Christ, you have been made complete. He is the ruler over every power and authority. 11 When you received Christ, your circumcision was not done by human hands. Instead, your circumcision was done by Christ. He put away the person you used to be. At that time, sin’s power ruled over you. 12 When you were baptized, you were buried together with Christ. And you were raised to life together with him when you were baptized. You were raised to life by believing in God’s work. God himself raised Jesus from the dead.
13 At one time you were dead in your sins. Your desires controlled by sin were not circumcised. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. 14 He wiped out what the law said that we owed. The law stood against us. It judged us. But he has taken it away and nailed it to the cross. 15 He took away the weapons of the powers and authorities. He made a public show of them. He won the battle over them by dying on the cross.
Freedom From Human Rules
16 So don’t let anyone judge you because of what you eat or drink. Don’t let anyone judge you about holy days. I’m talking about special feasts and New Moons and Sabbath days. 17 They are only a shadow of the things to come. But what is real is found in Christ. 18 Some people enjoy pretending they aren’t proud. They worship angels. But don’t let people like that judge you. These people tell you every little thing about what they have seen. They are proud of their useless ideas. That’s because their minds are not guided by the Holy Spirit. 19 They aren’t connected anymore to the head, who is Christ. But the whole body grows from the head. The muscles and tendons hold the body together. And God causes it to grow.
20 Some people still follow the basic spiritual powers of the world. But you died with Christ as far as these powers are concerned. So why do you act as if you still belong to the world? Here are the rules you follow. 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” 22 Rules like these are about things that will pass away soon. They are based on merely human rules and teachings. 23 It is true that these rules seem wise. Because of them, people give themselves over to their own kind of worship. They pretend they are humble. They treat their bodies very badly. But rules like these don’t help. They don’t stop people from chasing after sinful pleasures.
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