M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
4 Then the Lord gave these further instructions to Moses:
2 “Tell the people of Israel that these are the laws concerning anyone who unintentionally breaks any of my commandments. 3 If a priest sins unintentionally and so brings guilt upon the people, he must offer a young bull without defect as a sin offering to the Lord. 4 He shall bring it to the door of the Tabernacle, and shall lay his hand upon its head and kill it there before Jehovah. 5 Then the priest shall take the animal’s blood into the Tabernacle, 6 and shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the veil that bars the way to the Holy of Holies. 7 Then the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the incense altar before the Lord in the Tabernacle; the remainder of the blood shall be poured out at the base of the altar for burnt offerings, at the entrance to the Tabernacle. 8 Then he shall take all the fat on the entrails, 9 the two kidneys and the loin fat on them, and the gall bladder, 10 and shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering, just as in the case of a bull or cow sacrificed as a thank offering. 11-12 But the remainder of the young bull—the skin, meat, head, legs, internal organs, and intestines—shall be carried to a ceremonially clean place outside the camp—a place where the ashes are brought from the altar—and burned there on a wood fire.
13 “If the entire nation of Israel sins without realizing it and does something that Jehovah has said not to do, all the people are guilty. 14 When they realize it, they shall offer a young bull for a sin offering, bringing it to the Tabernacle 15 where the leaders[a] of the nation shall lay their hands upon the animal’s head and kill it before the Lord. 16 Then the priest shall bring its blood into the Tabernacle, 17 and shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil. 18 Then he shall put blood upon the horns of the altar there in the Tabernacle before the Lord, and all the remainder of the blood shall be poured out at the base of the burnt offering altar, at the entrance to the Tabernacle. 19 All the fat shall be removed and burned upon the altar. 20 He shall follow the same procedure as for a sin offering; in this way the priest shall make atonement for the nation, and everyone will be forgiven. 21 The priest shall then cart the young bull outside the camp and burn it there, just as though it were a sin offering for an individual, only this time it is a sin offering for the entire nation.
22 “If one of the leaders sins without realizing it and is guilty of disobeying one of God’s laws, 23 as soon as it is called to his attention he must bring as his sacrifice a male goat without any physical defect. 24 He shall lay his hand upon its head and kill it at the place where the burnt offerings are killed, and present it to the Lord. This is his sin offering. 25 Then the priest shall take some of the blood of this sin offering and place it with his finger upon the horns of the altar of burnt offerings, and the rest of the blood shall be poured out at the base of the altar. 26 All the fat shall be burned upon the altar, just as if it were the fat of the sacrifice of a thank offering;[b] thus the priest shall make atonement for the leader concerning his sin, and he shall be forgiven.
27 “If any one of the common people sins and doesn’t realize it, he is guilty. 28 But as soon as he does realize it, he is to bring as his sacrifice a female goat without defect to atone for his sin. 29 He shall bring it to the place where the animals for burnt offerings are killed, and there lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering and kill it. 30 And the priest shall take some of the blood with his finger and smear it upon the horns of the burnt offering altar. Then the priest shall pour out the remainder of the blood at the base of the altar. 31 All the fat shall be taken off, just as in the procedure for the thank offering sacrifice, and the priest shall burn it upon the altar; and the Lord will appreciate it. Thus the priest shall make atonement for that man, and he shall be forgiven.
32 “However, if he chooses to bring a lamb as his sin offering, it must be a female without physical defect. 33 He shall bring it to the place where the burnt offerings are killed, and lay his hand upon its head and kill it there as a sin offering. 34 The priest shall take some of the blood with his finger and smear it upon the horns of the burnt offering altar, and all the rest of the blood shall be poured out at the base of the altar. 35 The fat shall be used just as in the case of a thank offering lamb—the priest shall burn the fat on the altar as in any other sacrifice made to Jehovah by fire; and the priest shall make atonement for the man, and his sin shall be forgiven.
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow evil men’s advice, who do not hang around with sinners, scoffing at the things of God. 2 But they delight in doing everything God wants them to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely.
3 They are like trees along a riverbank bearing luscious fruit each season without fail. Their leaves shall never wither, and all they do shall prosper.
4 But for sinners, what a different story! They blow away like chaff before the wind. 5 They are not safe on Judgment Day; they shall not stand among the godly.
6 For the Lord watches over all the plans and paths of godly men, but the paths of the godless lead to doom.
2 What fools the nations are to rage[a] against the Lord! How strange that men should try to outwit God! 2 For a summit conference of the nations has been called to plot against the Lord and his Messiah, Christ the King.[b] 3 “Come, let us break his chains,” they say, “and free ourselves from all this slavery to God.”
4 But God in heaven merely laughs! He is amused by all their puny plans. 5 And then in fierce fury he rebukes them and fills them with fear.
6 For the Lord declares,[c] “This is the King of my choice, and I have enthroned him in Jerusalem, my holy city.”
7 His chosen one replies,[d] “I will reveal the everlasting purposes of God, for the Lord has said to me, ‘You are my Son. This is your Coronation Day. Today I am giving you your glory.’” 8 “Only ask and I will give you all the nations of the world. 9 Rule them with an iron rod; smash them like clay pots!”
10 O kings and rulers of the earth, listen while there is time. 11 Serve the Lord with reverent fear; rejoice with trembling. 12 Fall down before his Son and kiss his feet[e] before his anger is roused and you perish. I am warning you—his wrath will soon begin. But oh, the joys of those who put their trust in him!
19 Better to be poor and honest than rich[a] and dishonest.
2 It is dangerous and sinful to rush into the unknown.
3 A man may ruin his chances by his own foolishness and then blame it on the Lord!
4 A wealthy man has many “friends”; the poor man has none left.
5 Punish false witnesses. Track down liars.
6 Many beg favors from a man who is generous; everyone is his friend!
7 A poor man’s own brothers turn away from him in embarrassment;[b] how much more his friends! He calls after them, but they are gone.
8 He who loves wisdom loves his own best interest and will be a success.
9 A false witness shall be punished, and a liar shall be caught.
10 It doesn’t seem right for a fool to succeed or for a slave to rule over princes!
11 A wise man restrains his anger and overlooks insults. This is to his credit.
12 The king’s anger is as dangerous as a lion’s. But his approval is as refreshing as the dew on grass.
13 A rebellious son is a calamity to his father, and a nagging wife annoys like constant dripping.
14 A father can give his sons homes and riches, but only the Lord can give them understanding wives.
15 A lazy man sleeps soundly—and he goes hungry!
16 Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them means death.
17 When you help the poor you are lending to the Lord—and he pays wonderful interest on your loan!
18 Discipline your son in his early years while there is hope. If you don’t, you will ruin his life.
19 A short-tempered man must bear his own penalty; you can’t do much to help him. If you try once, you must try a dozen times!
20 Get all the advice you can and be wise the rest of your life.
21 Man proposes, but God disposes.
22 Kindness makes a man attractive. And it is better to be poor than dishonest.
23 Reverence for God gives life, happiness, and protection from harm.
24 Some men are so lazy they won’t even feed themselves!
25 Punish a mocker and others will learn from his example. Reprove a wise man, and he will be the wiser.
26 A son who mistreats his father or mother is a public disgrace.
27 Stop listening to teaching that contradicts what you know is right.
28 A worthless witness cares nothing for truth—he enjoys his sinning too much.
29 Mockers and rebels shall be severely punished.
2 I wish you could know how much I have struggled in prayer for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for my many other friends who have never known me personally. 2 This is what I have asked of God for you: that you will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love, and that you will have the rich experience of knowing Christ with real certainty and clear understanding. For God’s secret plan, now at last made known, is Christ himself. 3 In him lie hidden all the mighty, untapped treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 I am saying this because I am afraid that someone may fool you with smooth talk. 5 For though I am far away from you my heart is with you, happy because you are getting along so well, happy because of your strong faith in Christ. 6 And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done.
8 Don’t let others spoil your faith and joy with their philosophies, their wrong and shallow answers built on men’s thoughts and ideas, instead of on what Christ has said. 9 For in Christ there is all of God in a human body; 10 so you have everything when you have Christ, and you are filled with God through your union with Christ. He is the highest Ruler, with authority over every other power.
11 When you came to Christ, he set you free from your evil desires, not by a bodily operation of circumcision but by a spiritual operation, the baptism of your souls. 12 For in baptism you see how your old, evil nature died with him and was buried with him; and then you came up out of death with him into a new life because you trusted the Word of the mighty God who raised Christ from the dead.
13 You were dead in sins, and your sinful desires were not yet cut away. Then he gave you a share in the very life of Christ, for he forgave all your sins, 14 and blotted out the charges proved against you, the list of his commandments which you had not obeyed. He took this list of sins and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross. 15 In this way God took away Satan’s power to accuse you of sin, and God openly displayed to the whole world Christ’s triumph at the cross where your sins were all taken away.
16 So don’t let anyone criticize you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating Jewish holidays and feasts or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these were only temporary rules that ended when Christ came. They were only shadows of the real thing—of Christ himself. 18 Don’t let anyone declare you lost when you refuse to worship angels, as they say you must. They have seen a vision, they say, and know you should. These proud men (though they claim to be so humble) have a very clever imagination. 19 But they are not connected to Christ, the Head to which all of us who are his body are joined; for we are joined together by his strong sinews, and we grow only as we get our nourishment and strength from God.
20 Since you died, as it were, with Christ and this has set you free from following the world’s ideas of how to be saved—by doing good and obeying various rules[a]—why do you keep right on following them anyway, still bound by such rules as 21 not eating, tasting, or even touching certain foods? 22 Such rules are mere human teachings, for food was made to be eaten and used up. 23 These rules may seem good, for rules of this kind require strong devotion and are humiliating and hard on the body, but they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires. They only make him proud.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.