M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
6 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘A person may take something that is not his. Or he may find it and keep it. He may tell his friend that he has not taken it. He might not give him the correct price for something. But then he is not obeying the Lord. 3 A person may speak words that are not true. That is a sin. A person may keep something that belongs to another person. He does not give it back. That is a wrong thing to do. He might find something and then he might say that it is his. If it is not his, he is not obeying God. 4 He has done something that is wrong. So he must show that he is sorry. He must give back anything that is not his. He must give back anything that he has found. He must give back anything that he has kept. He must give it to the person to whom it belongs. 5 He must give back everything and one fifth more. He must also, on the same day, give a gift to the Lord. 6 He must bring a sheep to the priest. The sheep must be a perfect male animal. The sheep must be worth the right amount of money. 7 The priest will give the sheep to the Lord. It is an atonement for the wrong things that the person has done. Then the Lord will forgive the person.’
Rules for the priests
8 The Lord said to Moses, 9 ‘Tell Aaron and his sons my rules. They must burn these gifts on the altar. The fire must burn all night. 10 When the morning comes, the priest must dress himself in his linen clothes. The linen must be next to his skin. He must take the ashes from the fire and he must put them at the side of the altar. 11 Then he must dress himself in other clothes. He must carry the ashes outside the camp and he must put them in a special place. 12 The fire that is on the altar must never stop burning. Every morning the priest must put wood on it. He must also put on it the gifts and the fat of the friendship offerings. 13 The fire must always burn. It must not go out.
14 These are the rules for the gift of grain. Aaron's sons must bring it in front of the altar to give to the Lord. 15 A priest must take some of the flour and oil. He must mix this special part with incense and he must burn all of it on the altar. The smell of them while they are burning will give the Lord pleasure. 16 The priests will make into bread the flour that he did not burn. They must not use yeast to make the bread. They must eat the bread in a holy place, in the yard outside the Tent of Meeting. 17 The bread is for the priests because it is a holy part of a gift. It is holy, like the offerings for sin. And it is like the gifts when somebody does anything wrong. 18 Any son, grandson or male of Aaron's family can eat the bread. It is his usual part of the burnt offerings to the Lord. A person who touches the bread will become holy.’
19 The Lord said to Moses, 20 ‘When Aaron is anointed, Aaron and his sons must give an offering to the Lord. It must be a tenth of an ephah (about two litres) of best flour. They must bring half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening. 21 They must mix it with oil and they must cook it on a flat plate. Then they must break it into pieces and they must offer it to the Lord. The smell of it will give the Lord pleasure. 22 The son whom they will anoint to take Aaron's place must prepare the offering. 23 All of the gifts that the priests give to God must be burnt completely. Nobody should eat them.’
The sin offering
24 The Lord said to Moses, 25 ‘Tell Aaron and his sons this rule. When a person does wrong things he must give an animal to the Lord. The animal will be holy. The person must kill the animal at the north side of the altar. That is where they kill the offerings for sin. 26 The priest who offered it will eat his part of the gift in a holy place. That is the yard outside the Tent of Meeting. 27 If anyone or anything touches the meat they will become holy. If the blood touches the clothes of a person, he must wash them in a holy place. 28 If a person cooks the meat in a clay pot, he must break the pot. He must break it when he has cooked the meat. If a person cooks the meat in a metal pot, he must wash the pot. He must wash it well when he has cooked the meat. And he must wash it again with clean water. 29 The meat is holy.[a] Only the priests' sons can eat it. 30 They must take the blood of a sin offering into the Tent of Meeting. It is a sacrifice to atone for sin. Nobody should eat any of that offering. The priest must burn it.
Tell the music leader to use flutes.
This is a song that David wrote.
Pray about your enemies[a]
5 Lord, listen to what I say to you.
I am upset, so think about what I am saying.
2 My King and my God, listen to my voice.
I am asking you to help me.
I am praying to you!
3 Lord, every morning you listen to my voice.
At sunrise I will turn to you for help,
and I will wait for you to answer.[b]
4 My God, you do not like anything that is bad.
Evil people cannot live near you.
5 Proud people cannot stand in front of you.
God, you hate everyone who does evil things.
6 You destroy those who tell lies.
The Lord hates murderers,
and those who deceive others.[c]
7 But I will come into your house,
because of your faithful love.
I will bend low in your holy temple,
and I will worship you.
8 Lord, help me to follow your right way.
My enemies are waiting to attack me.
Show the right way clearly to me,
so that I do not go the wrong way.
9 My enemies never speak what is true.
They only want to destroy people.
Their mouth has the smell of an open grave.[d]
Their tongues say nice things,
but they are all lies!
10 God, say that they are guilty!
Let their own wicked ideas bring punishment to them.
Send them away because they do so many bad things.
Yes, they have turned against you.
11 Please make people who turn to you happy.
Make them always sing with joy,
because you keep them safe.
Take care of those who are faithful to you.
Then they will be really happy.
12 Lord, you bless those who live in a right way.
Your love is like a shield that keeps them safe.
This is a song that David wrote.
Tell the music leader, ‘Use harps when you sing this song.’
David prays for health[e]
6 Lord, when you are angry,
please do not punish me.
2 I do not feel strong, Lord,
so please be kind to me.
Lord, please make me well again.
Even my bones are shaking.
3 I am very frightened.
Lord, when will you do something to help me?[f]
4 Lord, turn back to me. Give me back my life.
Make me safe because of your faithful love.
5 If I die, I will no longer remember you.
Nobody can praise you in their grave!
6 I am crying so much that I have no more strength.
My bed becomes wet because I weep all night.
My tears run into my pillow.[g]
7 I am so sad that my eyes do not see well any more.
They are becoming weak because of all my enemies.[h]
8 Go away from me, you people who do wicked things!
Now the Lord has heard me when I weep.[i]
9 I asked the Lord to be kind and to help me.
Now he has answered me!
10 All my enemies will become ashamed!
They will go away from me in fear!
Shame will suddenly come to them!
21 The Lord controls the things that a king decides to do.
He can change the king's thoughts, like the direction of a stream.
2 People think that everything they do is right,
but the Lord knows exactly why they are doing it.
3 If you do what is right and fair,
it pleases the Lord more than sacrifices.
4 Wicked people are proud and they boast.
Sin is their guide through life.
5 A careful person makes good plans
and he has everything that he needs.
But anyone who works in a hurry will soon become poor.
6 If you deceive people to become rich,
it will soon all disappear.
It will lead you to an early death.
7 When wicked people do violent things, it destroys them.
They refuse to do what is right.
8 Guilty people are always going the wrong way.
Good people keep on the right way.
9 It is better to live on the roof of your house
than to live with a wife who always argues.
10 Evil things are the food that wicked people eat to live.
They are not kind to anyone, even their friends.
11 When a proud person receives punishment,
silly people become wise.
When you teach a wise person,
he learns more knowledge.
12 The Righteous One knows what happens in the homes of wicked people.[a]
He punishes them as they deserve.
13 If you refuse to listen when poor people ask for help,
you too will receive no help when you need it.
14 If someone is angry with you, give him a gift secretly.
A secret bribe will make him quiet, even if he is very angry.
15 When there is justice, righteous people are happy,
but wicked people are afraid.
16 If someone decides to turn away from wisdom,
he will soon be in his grave.
17 Anyone who loves only pleasure will become poor.
People who love wine and big feasts will never become rich.
18 When trouble comes,
wicked people receive the pain instead of righteous people.
19 It is better to live alone in a desert
than to live with a wife who quarrels and complains.
20 Wise people store valuable things and good food in their houses.
But foolish people waste everything immediately.
21 If you are kind and faithful, you will live a long life!
Other people will respect you and they will be kind to you.
22 A wise person can win against a city that is full of strong men.
He can destroy the strong place that they trust to keep them safe.
23 If you want to keep away from trouble,
always be careful about what you say.
24 If you are proud, people will call you ‘Boaster’,
because you think that you are better than all other people.
25 Lazy people want many things but they refuse to work,
so they are killing themselves.
26 They think only about more things that they want for themselves.
But righteous people are happy to give their things to other people.
27 The Lord hates it
when wicked people offer sacrifices to him.
He hates it even more
when they do it with an evil purpose.
28 Anyone who tells lies in court will come to nothing.
But if someone listens to the truth, his report will remain for ever.
29 Wicked people do not show what they are really thinking.
But righteous people think carefully about what they are doing.
30 There is no wisdom, no knowledge and no advice
that can win against the Lord.
31 You can prepare your horses to fight in a battle,
but only the Lord can help you to win.
4 Masters, be fair to your servants. Give them what is right. Remember that you also serve a master, and he is in heaven.
Paul tells the believers to pray
2 Continue to pray seriously. Stay awake, like people who watch carefully. And remember to thank God. 3 Also pray for us. Ask God to make it possible for us to tell people his message. We want people to understand the message about Christ that was a secret before. I am now in a prison because I taught people those things. 4 Pray that I will be able to tell people this message clearly. That is what I should do.
5 When you are with people who do not believe in Christ, be careful how you live. Use every chance to do good things. 6 When you speak to people, always speak kind words. Say things that will help them. Then, when someone asks you a question, you will know how to reply.
Paul finishes his letter
7 Our Christian friend, Tychicus, will tell you all the news about me. He works hard to serve the Lord. Like me, he is the Lord's servant. 8 I want him to tell you what is happening to us, so that you will feel stronger. That is the reason why I am sending him to you. 9 Onesimus will travel with him. As you know, he is one of your own people. He is a good Christian friend who serves Christ well. Onesimus and Tychicus will tell you everything that is happening here.
10 Aristarchus is also here with me in the prison. He says ‘hello’ to you. Barnabas's cousin, Mark also says ‘hello’ to you. I have already told you about him. So, if he comes to you, be kind to him. 11 Jesus, who is also called Justus, says ‘hello’ to you, too. These three men are the only Jewish believers who are serving God with me. We work together to bring people into the kingdom of God. These men have helped me to be strong.
12 Epaphras says ‘hello’ to you. He is also one of your people, and he is Jesus Christ's servant. He always prays very strongly for you. He prays that you will continue to grow as believers. He prays that you will completely understand everything that God wants you to do. 13 I can tell you this about Epaphras: He has worked very hard for you, and also for the people at Laodicea and at Hierapolis.
14 Our good friend Luke, the doctor, says ‘hello’ to you. Demas also says ‘hello’. 15 Say ‘hello’ for me to all the believers at Laodicea. Also say ‘hello’ to Nympha and to the group of believers that meet in her house.
16 After someone has read this letter to all of you, send it to the believers at Laodicea. Tell them to read it aloud to the church there. You must also read my letter that the believers at Laodicea will send to you.
17 Say to Archippus, ‘As you serve the Lord, be careful to finish the work that he gave you to do.’
18 I, Paul, am writing these words at the end of this letter with my own hand. Remember to pray for me while I am in prison. I pray that God will continue to be very kind to you.
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