M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Sin Offering
4 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel this: ‘A person might sin by accident. He might do some things the Lord has commanded not to be done. If so, that person must do these things:
3 “‘It may be the appointed priest who has sinned. If so, he has brought guilt on the people. So he must offer a young bull to the Lord. It must have nothing wrong with it. This will be a sin offering for the sin he has done. 4 He will bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. He must bring it in front of the Lord. Then he will put his hand on the bull’s head. And he will kill the bull before the Lord. 5 Then the appointed priest must bring some of the bull’s blood into the Meeting Tent. 6 The priest is to dip his finger into the blood. He must sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain. This curtain is in front of the Most Holy Place. 7 The priest must also put some of the blood on the corners of the altar of incense. It stands before the Lord in the Meeting Tent. Then the priest must pour out the rest of the bull’s blood. It must be poured at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering. That altar is at the door of the Meeting Tent. 8 He must remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering. He must remove the fat on and around the inner organs. 9 He must remove both kidneys and the fat on them. They are near the lower back muscle. He must remove the best part of the liver with the kidneys. 10 He must do this in the same way the fat is removed from the bull of the fellowship offering. Then the priest must burn the animal parts on the altar of burnt offering. 11-12 But the priest must carry out the skin of the bull and all its meat. He must take these with the rest of the bull—its head, legs, intestines and other inner organs. He must take it outside the camp to the special clean place where the ashes are poured out. He must burn it on a wood fire on the pile of ashes.
13 “‘The whole nation of Israel might sin without knowing it. They might do something the Lord has commanded not to be done. If this happens, they are guilty. 14 When they learn about the sin they have done, a young bull must be offered. It is a sin offering for the whole nation. They must bring it and give it before the Meeting Tent. 15 The elders of the group of people must put their hands on the bull’s head. It must be done before the Lord. And the bull must be killed before the Lord. 16 Then the appointed priest must bring some of the bull’s blood into the Meeting Tent. 17 The priest will dip his finger in the blood. He must sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain. 18 Then he must put some of the blood on the corners of the altar. The altar is before the Lord in the Meeting Tent. The priest must pour out the rest of the blood. He must pour it at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering. That altar is at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 19 The priest must remove all the fat from the animal. And he must burn it on the altar. 20 He will do the same thing with this bull that he did with the first bull of the sin offering. In this way the priest removes the sins of the people so they will belong to the Lord. And the Lord will forgive them. 21 Then the priest must carry the bull outside the camp and burn it. He must do this just as he did with the first bull. This is the sin offering for the whole community.
22 “‘A ruler might sin by accident. He might do something the Lord his God has commanded must not be done. If he does, he is guilty. 23 When he learns about his sin, he must bring a male goat. It must have nothing wrong with it. That will be his sin offering. 24 The ruler must put his hand on the goat’s head and kill it. This must be done where they kill the whole burnt offering before the Lord. The goat is a sin offering. 25 The priest must take some of the blood of the sin offering on his finger. He must put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering. 26 He must burn all the goat’s fat on the altar. He must burn it in the same way he burns the fat of the fellowship offerings. In this way the priest removes the ruler’s sin so he belongs to the Lord. And the Lord will forgive him.
27 “‘A person in the community might sin by accident. He might do something which the Lord has commanded must not be done. He is guilty of sin. 28 When the person learns about his sin, he must bring a female goat. It must have nothing wrong with it. That will be his sin offering. 29 He must put his hand on the animal’s head. He must kill it at the place of the whole burnt offering. 30 Then the priest must take some of the goat’s blood on his finger. He must put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of the goat’s blood at the bottom of the altar. 31 Then the priest must remove all the goat’s fat. He must do it in the same way the fat is removed from the fellowship offerings. He must burn it on the altar. Its smell is pleasing to the Lord. In this way the priest will remove that person’s sin so he will belong to the Lord. And the Lord will forgive him.
32 “‘This person may bring a lamb as his sin offering. If he does, he must bring a female. It must have nothing wrong with it. 33 The person must put his hand on the animal’s head. He must kill it as a sin offering. He must kill it where they kill the whole burnt offering. 34 The priest must take some of the blood from the sin offering on his finger. He must put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. Then he must pour out the rest of the lamb’s blood at the bottom of the altar. 35 The priest must remove all the lamb’s fat. He must do it in the same way that the lamb’s fat is removed from the fellowship offerings. He must burn the pieces on the altar. They go on top of the offerings made by fire for the Lord. In this way the priest will remove that person’s sins so he will belong to the Lord. And the Lord will forgive him.
Book 1
Psalms 1—41
Two Ways to Live
1 Happy is the person who doesn’t listen to the wicked.
He doesn’t go where sinners go.
He doesn’t do what bad people do.
2 He loves the Lord’s teachings.
He thinks about those teachings day and night.
3 He is strong, like a tree planted by a river.
It produces fruit in season.
Its leaves don’t die.
Everything he does will succeed.
4 But wicked people are not like that.
They are like useless chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 So the wicked will not escape God’s punishment.
Sinners will not worship God with good people.
6 This is because the Lord protects good people.
But the wicked will be destroyed.
God’s Chosen King
2 Why are the nations so angry?
Why are the people making useless plans?
2 The kings of the earth prepare to fight.
Their leaders make plans together
against the Lord
and his appointed king.
3 “Let’s break the chains that hold us prisoners.
Let’s throw off the ropes that tie us,” the nations say.
4 But the Lord in heaven laughs.
He makes fun of them.
5 Then the Lord warns them.
He frightens them with his anger.
6 He says, “I have appointed my own king!
He will rule in Jerusalem on my holy mountain.”
7 Now I will tell you what the Lord has declared:
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
8 If you ask me, I will give you the nations.
All the people on earth will be yours.
9 You will make them obey you by punishing them with an iron rod.
You will break them into pieces like pottery.”
10 So, kings, be wise.
Rulers, learn this lesson.
11 Obey the Lord with great fear.
Be happy, but tremble.
12 Show that you are loyal to his son.
Otherwise you will be destroyed.
He can quickly become angry.
But happy are those who trust him for protection.
19 It is better to be poor and honest
than to be foolish and tell lies.
2 Enthusiasm without knowledge is not good.
If you act too quickly, you might make a mistake.
3 A person’s own foolishness ruins his life.
But in his mind he blames the Lord for it.
4 Wealthy people are always finding more friends.
But the poor lose their friends.
5 A witness who lies will be punished.
An untruthful person will not be left unpunished.
6 Many people want to please a leader.
And everyone is friends with those who give gifts.
7 A poor person’s relatives avoid him.
Even his friends stay far away!
He runs after them, begging.
But they are gone.
8 The person who gets wisdom is good to himself.
And the one who has understanding will succeed.
9 A witness who lies will be punished.
An untruthful person will die.
10 No foolish person should live in luxury.
No slave should rule over princes!
11 A wise person is patient.
He will be honored if he ignores a wrong done against him.
12 A king’s anger scares people like the roar of a lion.
But his kindness is as pleasant as the dew on the grass.
13 A foolish son will ruin his father.
And a quarreling wife is as bothersome as dripping water.
14 Houses and wealth are inherited from parents.
But a wise wife is a gift from the Lord.
15 Lazy people sleep a lot.
Idle people will go hungry.
16 Whoever obeys the commands protects his life.
Whoever is careless in what he does will die.
17 Being kind to the poor is like lending to the Lord.
The Lord will reward you for what you have done.
18 Correct your son while there is still hope.
Do not help him destroy himself.
19 A person who is always getting angry will pay for it.
If you help him, you will have to do it again and again.
20 Listen to advice and accept correction.
Then in the end you will be wise.
21 People can make many different plans.
But only the Lord’s plan will happen.
22 People want others to be loyal.
So it is better to be poor than to be a liar.
23 Those who respect the Lord will live
and be content, unbothered by trouble.
24 The lazy person may put his hand in the dish,
but he won’t lift the food to his mouth!
25 Whip a person who makes fun of wisdom, and then foolish people will learn how to think.
Just correct a smart man, and he will gain knowledge.
26 A son who robs his father and sends away his mother
brings shame and disgrace on himself.
27 Don’t stop listening to correction, my child.
If you do, you will not obey what you have already learned.
28 An evil witness makes fun of fairness.
And wicked people love what is evil.
29 People who make fun of wisdom will be punished.
And the backs of foolish people will be beaten.
2 I want you to know that I am trying very hard to help you. And I am trying to help those in Laodicea and others who have never seen me. 2 I want them to be strengthened and joined together with love. I want them to be rich in the strong belief that comes from understanding. I mean I want you to know fully God’s secret truth. That truth is Christ himself. 3 And in him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are safely kept.
4 I say this so that no one can fool you by arguments that seem good, but are false. 5 I am not there with you, but my heart is with you. I am happy to see your good lives and your strong faith in Christ.
Continue to Live in Christ
6 As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so continue to live in him. 7 Keep your roots deep in him and have your lives built on him. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught. And always be thankful.
8 Be sure that no one leads you away with false ideas and words that mean nothing. Those ideas come from men. They are the worthless ideas of this world. They are not from Christ. 9 All of God lives fully in Christ (even when Christ was on earth). 10 And in him you have a full and true life. He is ruler over all rulers and powers.
11 In Christ you had a different kind of circumcision. That circumcision was not done by hands. I mean, you were made free from the power of your sinful self. That is the kind of circumcision Christ does. 12 When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ and you were raised up with Christ because of your faith in God’s power. That power was shown when he raised Christ from death. 13 You were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self. But God made you alive with Christ. And God forgave all our sins. 14 We owed a debt because we broke God’s laws. That debt listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us that debt. He took away that debt and nailed it to the cross. 15 God defeated the spiritual rulers and powers. With the cross God won the victory and defeated them. He showed the world that they were powerless.
Don’t Follow People’s Rules
16 So do not let anyone make rules for you about eating and drinking or about a religious feast, a New Moon Festival, or a Sabbath day. 17 In the past, these things were like a shadow of what was to come. But the new things that were coming are found in Christ. 18 Some enjoy acting as if they were humble and love to worship angels. They are always talking about the visions they have seen. Do not let them tell you that you are wrong. They are full of foolish pride because of their human way of thinking. 19 They do not keep themselves under the control of Christ, the head. The whole body depends on Christ. Because of him all the parts of the body care for each other and help each other. This strengthens the body and holds it together. And so the body grows in the way God wants.
20 You died with Christ and were made free from the worthless rules of the world. So why do you act as if you still belong to this world? I mean, why do you follow rules like these: 21 “Don’t handle this,” “Don’t taste that,” “Don’t touch that thing”? 22 These rules are talking about earthly things that are gone as soon as they are used. They are only human commands and teachings. 23 These rules seem to be wise. But they are only part of a human religion. They make people pretend not to be proud and make them punish their bodies. But they do not really control the evil desires of the sinful self.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.