M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Appointing the Priests
29 “This is what you must do to appoint Aaron and his sons. Then they may serve me as priests. Take one young bull and two male sheep that have nothing wrong with them. 2 Use fine wheat flour without yeast to make bread and cakes mixed with olive oil. Also use wheat flour without yeast to make wafers brushed with olive oil. 3 Put these in one basket. Bring them in the basket along with the bull and two male sheep. 4 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Then wash them with water. 5 Take the clothes. Dress Aaron in the inner robe and the outer robe of the holy vest. Then put on him the holy vest and the chest covering. Then tie the holy vest on him with its skillfully woven belt. 6 Put the turban on his head. Put the holy crown, the strip of gold, on the turban. 7 Take the special olive oil and pour it on his head to make him a priest.
8 “Then bring his sons and put the inner robes on them. 9 Put the headbands on their heads. Then tie cloth belts around their waists. Aaron and his descendants will be priests in Israel. This is by a rule that will continue from now on. This is how you will appoint Aaron and his sons as priests.
10 “Bring the bull to the front of the Meeting Tent. Aaron and his sons must put their hands on the bull’s head. 11 Then kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 12 Take some of the bull’s blood and go to the altar. Use your finger to put some blood on the corners of the altar. Pour the blood that is left at the bottom of the altar. 13 Then take all the fat that covers the inner organs. Take the best part of the liver, and take both kidneys and the fat around them. Burn these on the altar. 14 Take the bull’s meat, skin and intestines. Burn these things outside the camp. This is an offering to take away sin.
15 “Take one of the male sheep. Have Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head. 16 Then kill that male sheep. Take its blood and sprinkle it on all four sides of the altar. 17 Then cut the male sheep into pieces. Wash its inner organs and its legs. Put them with its head and its other pieces. 18 Burn the whole male sheep on the altar. It is a burnt offering made by fire to the Lord. Its smell is pleasing to the Lord.
19 “Take the other male sheep. Have Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head. 20 Kill that male sheep and take some of its blood. Put it on the bottom of the right ears of Aaron and his sons. Also put it on the thumbs of their right hands. And put it on the big toes of their right feet. Then sprinkle the rest of the blood against all four sides of the altar. 21 Then take some of the blood from the altar. Mix it with the special oil used in appointing priests. Sprinkle this on Aaron and his clothes. And sprinkle this on his sons and their clothes. This will show that Aaron and his sons and their clothes are given to my service.
22 “Then take the fat from the male sheep. Take the fat tail and the fat that covers the inner organs. Take the best part of the liver. Take both kidneys and the fat around them and the right thigh. This is the male sheep to be used in appointing priests.
23 “Then take the basket of bread that you made without yeast. This is the basket you put before the Lord. From it take a loaf of bread, a cake made with olive oil and a wafer. 24 Put these in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Tell them to present these things in their hands before the Lord. This will be an offering presented to the Lord. 25 Then take them from their hands. Burn them on the altar with the whole burnt offering. This is an offering made by fire to the Lord. Its smell is pleasing to the Lord. 26 Then take the breast of the male sheep used to appoint Aaron as priest. Present the breast of the male sheep before the Lord. It is an offering presented to the Lord. This part of the animal will be your share. 27 Then give to the service of the Lord the parts of the male sheep used to appoint them as priests. They belong to Aaron and his sons. They are the breast and the right thigh. These were presented to the Lord. 28 This is to be the regular share which the Israelites will always give to Aaron and his sons. This is the gift the Israelites must give to the Lord from their fellowship offerings.
29 “The holy clothes made for Aaron will belong to his descendants. They must wear these clothes when they are appointed as priests. 30 Aaron’s son will become high priest after Aaron. He will come to the Meeting Tent to serve in the Holy Place. He is to wear these clothes for seven days.
31 “Take the male sheep used to appoint priests. Boil its meat in a place made holy for serving me. 32 Then Aaron and his sons must eat the meat of the male sheep. They must do that at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. And they must also eat the bread that is in the basket. 33 These offerings were used to remove their sins when they were made priests so they would belong to God. Now they should eat these offerings. But no one else is to eat these things because they are holy. 34 If any of the meat from that male sheep or any of the bread is left the next morning, it must be burned. It shall not be eaten because it is holy.
35 “Do all these things that I commanded you to do to Aaron and his sons. You are to spend seven days appointing them. 36 Each day for seven days you are to offer a bull. This will remove the sins of Aaron and his sons so they will be given for service to the Lord. Make the altar ready for service to the Lord. Pour oil on it to make it holy. 37 Spend seven days making the altar ready for service to God and making it holy. Then the altar will become very holy. Anything that touches it must be holy.
The Daily Sacrifices
38 “Every day from now on, offer on the altar two lambs that are one year old. 39 Offer one lamb in the morning and the other in the evening. 40 In the morning, when you offer the first lamb, offer also two quarts of fine flour. Mix it with one quart of oil from pressed olives. Pour out a quart of wine as a drink offering. 41 Offer the second lamb in the evening. Also offer the same grain offering and drink offering as you did in the morning. This is an offering by fire to the Lord. And its smell is pleasing to the Lord.
42 “You must burn these things as an offering to the Lord every day. Do this at the entrance of the Meeting Tent before the Lord from now on. When you make the offering, I, the Lord, will meet you there and speak to you. 43 I will meet with the people of Israel there. And that place will be holy because of my greatness.
44 “So I will make the Meeting Tent and the altar holy. And I will make Aaron and his sons holy so they may serve me as priests. 45 I will live with the people of Israel. I will be their God. 46 And they will know that I am the Lord their God. They will know that I am the one who led them out of Egypt. I did this so I could live with them. I am the Lord their God.
The Woman Caught in Adultery
8 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 But early in the morning he went back to the Temple. All the people came to Jesus, and he sat and taught them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought a woman there. She had been caught in adultery. They forced the woman to stand before the people. 4 They said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught having physical relations with a man who is not her husband. 5 The law of Moses commands that we kill with stones every woman who does this. What do you say we should do?” 6 They were asking this to trick Jesus so that they could have some charge against him.
But Jesus knelt down and started writing on the ground with his finger. 7 They continued to ask Jesus their question. So he stood up and said, “Is there anyone here who has never sinned? The person without sin can throw the first stone at this woman.” 8 Then Jesus knelt down again and wrote on the ground.
9 Those who heard Jesus began to leave one by one. The older men left first, and then the others. Jesus was left there alone with the woman. She was standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up again and asked her, “Woman, all of those people have gone. Has no one judged you guilty?”
11 She answered, “No one has judged me, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “So I also don’t judge you. You may go now, but don’t sin again.”
Jesus Is the Light of the World
12 Later, Jesus talked to the people again. He said, “I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness. He will have the light that gives life.”
13 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “When you talk about yourself, you are the only one to say these things are true. We cannot accept these things you say.”
14 Jesus answered, “Yes, I am saying these things about myself, but they are true. I know where I came from. And I know where I am going. You don’t know where I came from or where I am going. 15 You judge me the way you would judge any man. I don’t judge anyone. 16 But if I judge, I judge truthfully. When I judge, I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. 17 Your own law says that when two witnesses say the same thing, then you must accept what they say. 18 I am one of the witnesses who speaks about myself. And the Father who sent me is my other witness.”
19 They asked, “Where is your father?”
Jesus answered, “You don’t know me or my Father. But if you knew me, then you would know my Father, too.” 20 Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the Temple. He was near the place where the money that the people give is kept. But no one arrested him. The right time for Jesus had not yet come.
The People Misunderstand Jesus
21 Again, Jesus said to the people, “I will leave you. You will look for me, but you will die in your sins. You cannot come where I am going.”
22 So the Jews asked, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he said, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”
23 But Jesus said, “You people are from here below. But I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don’t belong to this world. 24 So I told you that you would die in your sins. Yes, you will die in your sins if you don’t believe that I am he.”
25 They asked, “Then who are you?”
Jesus answered, “I am what I have told you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say about you and to judge you for. But I tell people only the things I have heard from the One who sent me. And he speaks the truth.”
27 The people did not understand that Jesus was talking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “You will lift up the Son of Man. Then you will know that I am he. You will know that these things I do are not by my own authority. You will know that I say only what the Father has taught me. 29 The One who sent me is with me. I always do what is pleasing to him. So he has not left me alone.” 30 While Jesus was saying these things, many people believed in him.
Freedom from Sin
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you continue to obey my teaching, you are truly my followers. 32 Then you will know the truth. And the truth will make you free.”
33 They answered, “We are Abraham’s children. And we have never been slaves. So why do you say that we will be free?”
34 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Everyone who lives in sin is a slave to sin. 35 A slave does not stay with a family forever, but a son belongs to the family forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, then you will be truly free. 37 I know you are Abraham’s children. But you want to kill me because you don’t accept my teaching. 38 I am telling you what my Father has shown me. But you do what your father has told you.”
39 They answered, “Our father is Abraham.”
Jesus said, “If you were really Abraham’s children, you would do[a] the things that Abraham did. 40 I am a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. But you are trying to kill me. Abraham did nothing like that. 41 So you are doing the things that your own father did.”
But they said, “We are not like children who never knew who their father was. God is our Father. He is the only Father we have.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were really your Father, you would love me. I came from God and now I am here. I did not come by my own authority. God sent me. 43 You don’t understand what I say because you cannot accept my teaching. 44 Your father is the devil. You belong to him and want to do what he wants. He was a murderer from the beginning. He was against the truth, for there is no truth in him. He is a liar, and he is like the lies he tells. He is the father of lies. 45 But I speak the truth. That is why you don’t believe me. 46 Can any of you prove that I am guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 He who belongs to God accepts what God says. But you don’t accept what God says, because you don’t belong to God.”
Jesus and Abraham
48 The Jews answered, “We say you are a Samaritan! We say a demon has come into you. Are we not right?”
49 Jesus answered, “I have no demon in me. I give honor to my Father, but you dishonor me. 50 I am not trying to get honor for myself. There is One who wants this honor for me, and he is the judge. 51 I tell you the truth. If anyone obeys my teaching, he will never die.”
52 The Jews said to Jesus, “Now we know that you have a demon in you! Even Abraham and the prophets died. But you say, ‘Whoever obeys my teaching will never die.’ 53 Do you think that you are greater than our father Abraham? Abraham died. And the prophets died, too. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I give honor to myself, that honor is worth nothing. The One who gives me honor is my Father. And you say that he is your God. 55 But you don’t really know him. I know him. If I said I did not know him, then I would be a liar as you are liars. But I do know him, and I obey what he says. 56 Your father Abraham was very happy that he would see my day. He saw that day and was glad.”
57 The Jews said to him, “What? You have never seen Abraham! You are not even 50 years old!”
58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 When Jesus said this, the people picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself, and then he left the Temple.
Warning About Adultery
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom.
Listen to my words of understanding.
2 Be careful to use good sense.
Watch what you say.
3 The words of another man’s wife may seem sweet as honey.
Her words may be as pleasant as olive oil.
4 But in the end she will bring you sorrow.
She will cause you pain like a two-edged sword.
5 She is on the way to death.
Her steps are headed straight to the grave.
6 She gives no thought to life.
She does not know that her ways are wrong.
7 Now, my sons, listen to me.
Don’t ignore what I say.
8 Stay away from such a woman.
Don’t even go near the door of her house.
9 If you do, you will give your riches to others.
And the best years of your life will be given to someone who is cruel.
10 Strangers will enjoy your wealth.
And what you worked so hard for will go to someone else.
11 You will groan at the end of your life.
Then your health will be gone.
12 Then you will say, “I hated self-control!
I would not listen when I was corrected!
13 I would not listen to my teachers.
I paid no attention to what they taught me.
14 I have come very close to being completely ruined
in front of a whole group of people.”
15 Be faithful to your own wife.
She is like your own well of water from which you drink.
16 You wouldn’t drink from streams
flowing in the city streets or squares.
So be satisfied with your wife,
not those outside your home.
17 These things are yours alone.
Don’t share them with strangers.
18 Be happy with the wife
you married when you were young.
She gives you joys
as your fountain gives you water.
19 She is as lovely and graceful as a deer.
Let her love always make you happy.
Let her love always hold you captive.
20 My son, don’t be held captive by a woman who takes part in adultery.
Don’t hold another man’s wife.
21 The Lord sees everything you do.
He watches where you go.
22 An evil man will be caught in his evil ways.
He will be tied up by his sins as if they were ropes.
23 He will die because he does not control himself.
He will be held captive by his own foolishness.
4 I want to tell you this: While the one who will inherit his father’s property is still a child, he is no different from a slave. It does not matter that the child owns everything. 2 While he is a child, he must obey those who are chosen to care for him. But when the child reaches the age set by his father, he is free. 3 It is the same for us. We were once like children. We were slaves to the useless rules of this world. 4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son. His Son was born of a woman and lived under the law. 5 God did this so that he could buy freedom for those who were under the law. His purpose was to make us his children.
6 And you are God’s children. That is why God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. The Spirit cries out, “Father, dear Father.”[a] 7 So now you are not a slave; you are God’s child, and God will give you what he promised, because you are his child.
Paul’s Love for the Christians
8 In the past you did not know God. You were slaves to gods that were not real. 9 But now you know the true God. Really, it is God who knows you. So why do you turn back to those weak and useless rules you followed before? Do you want to be slaves to those things again? 10 You still follow teachings about special days, months, seasons, and years. 11 I am afraid for you. I fear that my work for you has been wasted.
12 Brothers, I was like you; so I beg you to become like me. You were very good to me before. 13 You remember that I came to you the first time because I was sick. That was when I preached the Good News to you. 14 Though my sickness was a trouble for you, you did not hate me or make me leave. But you welcomed me as an angel from God, as if I were Jesus Christ himself! 15 You were very happy then. Where is that joy now? I remember that you would have taken out your eyes and given them to me if that were possible. 16 Now am I your enemy because I tell you the truth?
17 Those people[b] are working hard to persuade you. But this is not good for you. They want to persuade you to turn against us. They want you to follow only them. 18 It is good for people to show interest in you, but only if their purpose is good. This is always true. It is true when I am with you and when I am away. 19 My little children, again I feel pain for you as a mother feels when she gives birth. I will feel this until you truly become like Christ. 20 I wish I could be with you now. Then maybe I could change the way I am talking to you. Now I do not know what to do about you.
The Example of Hagar and Sarah
21 Some of you people still want to be under the law of Moses. Tell me, do you know what the law says? 22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons. The mother of one son was a slave woman. The mother of the other son was a free woman. 23 Abraham’s son from the slave woman was born in the normal human way. But the son from the free woman was born because of the promise God made to Abraham.
24 This makes a picture for us. The two women are like the two agreements between God and men. One agreement is the law that God made on Mount Sinai.[c] The people who are under this agreement are like slaves. The mother named Hagar is like that agreement. 25 She is like Mount Sinai in Arabia and is a picture of the earthly Jewish city of Jerusalem. This city is a slave, and all its people are slaves to the law. 26 But the heavenly Jerusalem which is above is like the free woman. She is our mother. 27 It is written in the Scriptures:
“Be happy, Jerusalem.
You are like a woman who never gave birth to children.
Start singing and shout for joy.
You never felt the pain of giving birth to children.
But you will have more children
than the woman who has a husband.” Isaiah 54:1
28 My brothers, you are God’s children because of his promise, as Isaac was then. 29 The son who was born in the normal way treated the other son badly. It is the same today. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Throw out the slave woman and her son! The son of the free woman will receive everything his father has. But the son of the slave woman will receive nothing.”[d] 31 So, my brothers, we are not children of the slave woman. We are children of the free woman.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.