M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Clothes for the Priests
28 “Tell your brother Aaron to come to you. His sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar must come with him. Separate them from the other Israelites. These men must serve as priests. 2 Make holy clothes for your brother Aaron to give him honor and beauty. 3 Speak to all the people to whom I have given the ability to make clothes. Tell these skilled craftsmen to make the clothes for Aaron. Use these clothes to make him belong to me. Then he may serve me as a priest. 4 These are the clothes they must make: a chest covering, a holy vest, an outer robe, a woven inner robe, a turban and a cloth belt. The craftsmen must make these holy clothes. They are for your brother Aaron and his sons. Then Aaron and his sons may serve me as priests. 5 The craftsmen must use gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen.
The Holy Vest
6 “Use gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen to make the holy vest. The craftsmen are to make this holy vest. 7 At each top corner of this holy vest there will be a pair of shoulder straps. These are to be tied together over each shoulder.
8 “The craftsmen will very carefully weave a belt on the holy vest. Make the belt with gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen.
9 “Take two onyx stones. Write the name of the 12 sons of Israel on these jewels. 10 Write 6 names on one stone and 6 names on the other stone. Write the names in order, from the oldest son to the youngest. 11 Carve the names of the sons of Israel on these stones. Do this the same way a person carves words and designs on the seals. Put gold around the stones to hold them on the holy vest. 12 Put the two stones on the two straps of the holy vest. These stones are reminders of the 12 sons of Israel. Aaron is to wear their names on his shoulders. They are before the Lord as reminders of the sons of Israel. 13 Make two gold pieces to hold the stones. 14 Then make two chains of pure gold. Twist them together like a rope. Attach the chains to the two gold pieces that hold the stones.
The Chest Covering
15 “Make a chest covering to help in making decisions. The craftsmen should make it as they made the holy vest. They must use gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen. 16 The chest covering must be square. It should be nine inches long and nine inches wide. Fold it double to make a pocket. 17 Put four rows of beautiful gems on the chest covering. The first row of jewels must have a ruby, topaz and yellow quartz. 18 The second row must have turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald. 19 The third row must have a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst. 20 The fourth row must have a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. Put gold around these jewels to attach them to the chest covering. 21 There must be 12 jewels on the chest covering. That is 1 jewel for each of the names of the sons of Israel. Carve the name of one of the 12 tribes on each of the stones. Carve them as you would carve a seal.
22 “Make chains of pure gold for the chest covering. Twist them together like rope. 23 Make two gold rings. Put them on the two upper corners of the chest covering. 24 Attach the two gold chains to the two rings. These are at the upper corners of the chest covering. 25 Attach the other ends of the two chains to the two gold pieces on the shoulder straps. This will tie the chains to the shoulder straps in the front of the holy vest.
26 “Make two more gold rings. Put them at the two lower corners of the chest covering. Put them on the inside edge of the chest covering next to the holy vest. 27 Make two more gold rings. Attach them to the bottom of the shoulder straps in the front of the holy vest. Put the gold rings close to the seam above the woven belt of the holy vest. 28 Join the rings of the chest covering to the rings of the holy vest with blue ribbon. This will connect it to the woven belt. In this way the chest covering will not swing out from the holy vest.
29 “When Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will wear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart. These names are on the chest covering that helps in making decisions. This will be a continual reminder before the Lord. 30 And put the Urim and Thummim inside the chest covering. These things will be on Aaron’s heart when he goes before the Lord. They will help in making decisions for the Israelites. So Aaron will always carry them with him when he is before the Lord.
31 “Make the outer robe to be worn under the holy vest, using only blue cloth. 32 Make a hole in the center for Aaron’s head. And there must be a woven collar around the hole so it will not tear. 33 Make balls like pomegranates of blue, purple and red thread. Hang these pomegranate balls around the bottom of the outer robe. And hang gold bells between them. 34 So all around the bottom of the outer robe there should be a gold bell and a pomegranate ball, a gold bell and a pomegranate ball. 35 Aaron must wear this robe when he serves as priest. The ringing of the bells will be heard. They will ring when he enters and leaves the Holy Place before the Lord. This way Aaron will not be killed.
36 “Make a strip of pure gold. Carve these words on the gold strip as you would carve on a seal: ‘Holy to the Lord.’ 37 Use blue ribbon to tie a strip of gold to the turban. Put it on the front of the turban. 38 Aaron must wear this on his forehead. In this way, he will be blamed if anything is wrong with the gifts of the Israelites. Aaron must always wear this on his head so the Lord will accept the gifts of the people.
39 “Make the woven inner robe of fine linen. Make the turban of fine linen, also. Make the cloth belt with designs sewn on it. 40 Also make woven inner robes, cloth belts and headbands for Aaron’s sons. This will give them honor and beauty. 41 Put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons. Then pour olive oil on their heads to appoint them as priests. Make them belong to me so they may serve me as priests.
42 “Make for them linen underclothes to cover them from the waist to the upper parts of the legs. 43 Aaron and his sons must wear these underclothes when they enter the Meeting Tent. And they must wear these clothes anytime they come near the altar to serve as priests in the Holy Place. If they do not wear these clothes, they will be guilty of wrong. And they will be killed. This will be a law that will last from now on for Aaron and all his descendants.
Jesus and His Brothers
7 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He did not want to travel in Judea, because the Jews there wanted to kill him. 2 It was time for the Jewish Feast of Shelters. 3 So Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You should leave here and go to Judea. Then your followers there can see the miracles you do. 4 Anyone who wants to be well known does not hide what he does. If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 (Even Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him.)
6 Jesus said to his brothers, “The right time for me has not yet come. But any time is right for you. 7 The world cannot hate you. But it hates me, because I tell about the evil things it does. 8 So you go to the feast. I will not go now. The right time for me has not yet come.” 9 After saying this, Jesus stayed in Galilee.
10 So Jesus’ brothers left to go to the feast. When they had gone, Jesus went, too. But he did not let people see him. 11 At the feast the Jews were looking for him. They said, “Where is that man?”
12 There was a large crowd of people there. Many of them were whispering to each other about Jesus. Some said, “He is a good man.”
Others said, “No, he fools the people.” 13 But no one was brave enough to talk about Jesus openly. They were afraid of the Jews.
Jesus Teaches at the Feast
14 The feast was about half over. Then Jesus went to the Temple and began to teach. 15 The Jews were amazed. They said, “This man has never studied in school. How did he learn so much?”
16 Jesus answered, “The things I teach are not my own. My teaching comes from him who sent me. 17 If anyone chooses to do what God wants, then he will know that my teaching comes from God. He will know that this teaching is not my own. 18 He who teaches his own ideas is trying to get honor for himself. But he who tries to bring honor to the one who sent him—that person speaks the truth. There is nothing false in him. 19 Moses gave you the law,[a] but none of you obey that law. Why are you trying to kill me?”
20 The people answered, “A demon has come into you. We are not trying to kill you.”
21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. 22 Moses gave you the law about circumcision. (But really Moses did not give you circumcision. Circumcision came from our ancestors.) And yet you circumcise a baby boy on a Sabbath day. 23 This shows that a baby boy can be circumcised on a Sabbath day to obey the law of Moses. So why are you angry at me for healing a person’s whole body on the Sabbath day? 24 Stop judging by the way things look! Be fair, and judge by what is really right.”
Is Jesus the Christ?
25 Then some of the people who lived in Jerusalem said, “This is the man they are trying to kill. 26 But he is teaching where everyone can see and hear him. And no one is trying to stop him. Maybe the leaders have decided that he really is the Christ. 27 But we know where this man is from. Yet when the real Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from.”
28 Jesus was still teaching in the Temple. He cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. But I have not come by my own authority. I was sent by the One who is true. You don’t know him. 29 But I know him. I am from him, and he sent me.”
30 When Jesus said this, they tried to seize him. But no one was able to touch him. It was not yet the right time. 31 But many of the people believed in Jesus. They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miracles than this man has done?”
Some Leaders Try to Arrest Jesus
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Jesus. So the leading priests and the Pharisees sent some Temple guards to arrest him. 33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you a little while longer. Then I will go back to the One who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me. And you cannot come where I am.”
35 The Jews said to each other, “Where will this man go so we cannot find him? Will he go to the Greek cities where our people live? Will he teach the Greek people there? 36 This man says, ‘You will look for me but you will not find me.’ He also says, ‘You cannot come where I am.’ What does this mean?”
Jesus Talks About the Spirit
37 The last day of the feast came. It was the most important day. On that day Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 If a person believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from his heart. This is what the Scripture says.” 39 Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been raised to glory. But later, those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit.
The People Argue About Jesus
40 The people heard these things that Jesus said. Some of them said, “This man really is the Prophet.”[b]
41 Others said, “He is the Christ.”
Still others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee. 42 The Scripture says that the Christ will come from David’s family. And the Scripture says that the Christ will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived.” 43 So the people did not agree with each other about Jesus. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one was able to touch him.
The Leaders Won’t Believe
45 The Temple guards went back to the leading priests and the Pharisees. The priests and the Pharisees asked, “Why didn’t you bring Jesus?”
46 The Temple guards answered, “The things he says are greater than the words of any man!”
47 The Pharisees answered, “So Jesus has fooled you too! 48 Have any of the leaders or the Pharisees believed in him? No! 49 But those people, who know nothing about the law, are under God’s curse!”
50 But Nicodemus was there in that group. He was the one who had gone to see Jesus before.[c] Nicodemus said, 51 “Our law does not judge a man without hearing him. We cannot judge him until we know what he has done.”
52 They answered, “Are you from Galilee too? Study the Scriptures. You will learn that no prophet comes from Galilee.”
53 And everyone left and went home.[d]
Wisdom Is Important
4 My children, listen to your father’s teaching.
Pay attention so you will understand.
2 What I am telling you is good.
Do not forget what I teach you.
3 I was once a young boy in my father’s house.
I was like an only child to my mother.
4 And my father taught me and said,
“Hold on to my words with all your heart.
Keep my commands and you will live.
5 Get wisdom and understanding.
Don’t forget or ignore my words.
6 Use wisdom, and it will take care of you.
Love wisdom, and it will keep you safe.
7 Wisdom is the most important thing. So get wisdom.
If it costs everything you have, get understanding.
8 Believe in the value of wisdom, and it will make you great.
Use it, and it will bring honor to you.
9 Like flowers in your hair, it will beautify your life.
Like a crown, it will make you look beautiful.”
10 My child, listen and accept what I say.
Then you will have a long life.
11 I am guiding you in wisdom.
And I am leading you to do what is right.
12 Nothing will hold you back.
You will not be overwhelmed.
13 Always remember what you have been taught.
Don’t let go of it.
Keep safe all that you have learned.
It is the most important thing in your life.
14 Don’t follow the ways of the wicked.
Don’t do what evil people do.
15 Avoid their ways. Don’t go near what they do.
Stay away from them and keep on going.
16 They cannot sleep until they do evil.
They cannot rest until they hurt someone.
17 They fill themselves with wickedness and cruelty
as if they were eating bread and drinking wine.
18 The way of the good person is like the light of dawn.
It grows brighter and brighter until it is full daylight.
19 But the wicked are like those who stumble in the dark.
They can’t even see what has hurt them.
20 My child, pay attention to my words.
Listen closely to what I say.
21 Don’t ever forget my words.
Keep them deep within your heart.
22 These words are the secret to life for those who find them.
They bring health to the whole body.
23 Be very careful about what you think.
Your thoughts run your life.
24 Don’t use your mouth to tell lies.
Don’t ever say things that are not true.
25 Keep your eyes focused on what is right.
Keep looking straight ahead to what is good.
26 Be careful what you do.
Always do what is right.
27 Do not do anything unless it is right.
Stay away from evil.
Blessing Comes Through Faith
3 You people in Galatia were told very clearly about the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. But you were very foolish. You let someone trick you. 2 Tell me this one thing: How did you receive the Holy Spirit? Did you receive the Spirit by following the law? No! You received the Spirit because you heard the Good News and believed it. 3 You began your life in Christ by the Spirit. Now do you try to continue it by your own power? That is foolish. 4 You have experienced many things. Were all those experiences wasted? I hope not! 5 Does God give you the Spirit because you follow the law? No! Does God work miracles among you because you follow the law? No! God gives you his Spirit and works miracles among you because you heard the Good News and believed it.
6 The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham: “Abraham believed God, and God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.”[a] 7 So you should know that the true children of Abraham are those who have faith. 8 The Scriptures told what would happen in the future. They said that God would make the non-Jewish people right through their faith. This Good News was told to Abraham beforehand, as the Scripture says: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[b] 9 Abraham believed this, and because he believed, he was blessed. It is the same today. All who believe today are blessed just as Abraham was blessed. 10 But those who depend on following the law to make them right are under a curse because the Scriptures say, “Anyone will be cursed who does not always obey what is written in the Book of the Law!”[c] 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by the law. The Scriptures say, “He who is right with God by faith will live.”[d] 12 The law does not use faith. It says, “A person who does these things will live forever because of them.”[e] 13 So the law put a curse on us, but Christ took away that curse. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. It is written in the Scriptures, “Everyone whose body is displayed on a tree[f] is cursed.” 14 Christ did this so that God’s blessing promised to Abraham might come to the non-Jews. This blessing comes through Jesus Christ. Jesus died so that we could have the Spirit that God promised and receive this promise by believing.
The Law and the Promise
15 Brothers, let me give you an example: Think about an agreement that a person makes with another person. After that agreement is accepted by both people, no one can stop that agreement or add anything to it. 16 God made promises to Abraham and his descendant. God did not say, “and to your descendants.” That would mean many people. But God said, “and to your descendant.” That means only one person; that person is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: God had an agreement with Abraham and promised to keep it. The law, which came 430 years later, cannot change God’s promise to Abraham. 18 Can following the law give us what God promised? No! If this is so, it is not God’s promise that brings us the blessings. Instead God freely gave his blessings to Abraham through the promise he had made.
19 So what was the law for? The law was given to show the wrong things people do. It continued until the special descendant of Abraham came. God’s promise was about this descendant. The law was given through angels who used Moses for a mediator[g] to give the law to men. 20 But a mediator is not needed when there is only one side. And God is only one.
The Purpose of the Law of Moses
21 Does this mean that the law is against God’s promises? Never! If there were a law that could give men life, then we could be made right by following that law. 22 But this is not true, because the Scriptures showed that the whole world is bound by sin. This was so that the promise would be given through faith. And it is given to people who believe in Jesus Christ.
23 Before this faith came, we were all held prisoners by the law. We had no freedom until God showed us the way of faith that was coming. 24 So the law was our master until Christ came. After Christ came, we could be made right with God through faith. 25 Now the way of faith has come, and we no longer live under the law.
26-27 You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This shows that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 28 Now, in Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Greek. There is no difference between slaves and free men. There is no difference between male and female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus. 29 You belong to Christ. So you are Abraham’s descendants. You get all of God’s blessings because of the promise that God made to Abraham.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.