M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
9 On the eighth day of the consecration ceremonies, Moses summoned Aaron and Aaron’s sons and the elders of Israel, 2 and told Aaron to take a bull calf from the herd for a sin offering, and a ram without bodily defect for a burnt offering, and to offer them before the Lord.
3 “And tell the people of Israel,” Moses instructed, “to select a male goat for their sin offering, also a yearling calf and a yearling lamb, all without bodily defect, for their burnt offering. 4 In addition, the people are to bring to the Lord a peace offering sacrifice—an ox and a ram, and a grain offering—flour mingled with olive oil. For today,” Moses said, “Jehovah will appear to them.”
5 So they brought all these things to the entrance of the Tabernacle, as Moses had commanded, and the people came and stood there before the Lord.
6 Moses told them, “When you have followed the Lord’s instructions, his glory will appear to you.”
7 Moses then told Aaron to proceed to the altar and to offer the sin offering and the burnt offering, making atonement for himself first, and then for the people, as the Lord had commanded. 8 So Aaron went up to the altar and killed the calf as a sacrifice for his own sin; 9 his sons caught the blood for him, and he dipped his finger in it and smeared it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the rest at the base of the altar. 10 Then he burned upon the altar the fat, kidneys, and gall bladder from this sin offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses, 11 but he burned the meat and hide outside the camp.
12 Next he killed the burnt offering animal, and his sons caught the blood, and he sprinkled it back and forth upon the altar; 13 they brought the animal to him piece by piece, including the head, and he burned each part upon the altar. 14 Then he washed the insides and the legs, and offered these also upon the altar as a burnt offering.
15 Next he sacrificed the people’s offering; he killed the goat and offered it in just the same way as he had the sin offering for himself.[a] 16 Thus he sacrificed their burnt offering to the Lord, in accordance with the instructions God had given.
17 Then he presented the grain offering, taking a handful and burning it upon the altar in addition to the regular morning offering.
18 Next he killed the ox and ram—the people’s peace offering sacrifice; and Aaron’s sons brought the blood to him, and he sprinkled it back and forth upon the altar. 19 Then he collected the fat of the ox and the ram—the fat from their tails and the fat covering the inner organs—and the kidneys and gall bladders. 20 The fat was placed upon the breasts of these animals, and Aaron burned it upon the altar; 21 but he waved the breasts and right shoulders slowly before the Lord as a gesture of offering it to him, just as Moses had commanded.
22 Then, with hands spread out toward the people, Aaron blessed them and came down from the altar. 23 Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle, and when they came out again they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole assembly. 24 Then fire came from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and fat on the altar; and when the people saw it, they all shouted and fell flat upon the ground before the Lord.
10 Lord, why are you standing aloof and far away? Why do you hide when I need you the most?
2 Come and deal with all these proud and wicked men who viciously persecute the poor. Pour upon these men the evil they planned for others! 3 For these men brag of all their evil lusts; they revile God and congratulate those the Lord abhors, whose only goal in life is money.
4 These wicked men, so proud and haughty, seem to think that God is dead.[a] They wouldn’t think of looking for him! 5 Yet there is success in everything they do, and their enemies fall before them. They do not see your punishment awaiting them. 6 They boast that neither God nor man can ever keep them down—somehow they’ll find a way!
7 Their mouths are full of profanity and lies and fraud. They are always boasting of their evil plans. 8 They lurk in dark alleys of the city and murder passersby. 9 Like lions they crouch silently, waiting to pounce upon the poor. Like hunters they catch their victims in their traps. 10 The unfortunate are overwhelmed by their superior strength and fall beneath their blows. 11 “God isn’t watching,” they say to themselves; “he’ll never know!”
12 O Lord, arise! O God, crush them! Don’t forget the poor or anyone else in need. 13 Why do you let the wicked get away with this contempt for God? For they think that God will never call them to account. 14 Lord, you see what they are doing. You have noted each evil act. You know what trouble and grief they have caused. Now punish them. O Lord, the poor man trusts himself to you; you are known as the helper of the helpless. 15 Break the arms of these wicked men. Go after them until the last of them is destroyed.
16 The Lord is King forever and forever. Those who follow other gods shall be swept from his land.
17 Lord, you know the hopes of humble people. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort their hearts by helping them. 18 You will be with the orphans and all who are oppressed, so that mere earthly man will terrify them no longer.
24 Don’t envy godless men; don’t even enjoy their company. 2 For they spend their days plotting violence and cheating.
3-4 Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts.
5 A wise man is mightier than a strong man. Wisdom is mightier than strength.
6 Don’t go to war without wise guidance; there is safety in many counselors.
7 Wisdom is too much for a rebel. He’ll not be chosen as a counselor!
8 To plan evil is as wrong as doing it.
9 The rebel’s schemes are sinful, and the mocker is the scourge of all mankind.
10 You are a poor specimen if you can’t stand the pressure of adversity.
11-12 Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die. Don’t try to disclaim responsibility by saying you didn’t know about it. For God, who knows all hearts, knows yours, and he knows you knew! And he will reward everyone according to his deeds.
13-14 My son, honey whets the appetite and so does wisdom! When you enjoy becoming wise, there is hope for you! A bright future lies ahead!
15-16 O evil man, leave the upright man alone and quit trying to cheat him out of his rights. Don’t you know that this good man, though you trip him up seven times, will each time rise again? But one calamity is enough to lay you low.
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy meets trouble. Let there be no gladness when he falls— 18 for the Lord may be displeased with you and stop punishing him!
19-20 Don’t envy the wicked. Don’t covet his riches. For the evil man has no future; his light will be snuffed out.
21-22 My son, watch your step before the Lord and the king, and don’t associate with radicals. For you will go down with them to sudden disaster, and who knows where it all will end?
23 It is wrong to sentence the poor and let the rich go free. 24 He who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,” shall be cursed by many people of many nations; 25 but blessings shall be showered on those who rebuke sin fearlessly.
26 It is an honor to receive a frank reply.
27 Develop your business first before building your house.
28-29 Don’t testify spitefully against an innocent neighbor. Why lie about him? Don’t say, “Now I can pay him back for all his meanness to me!”
30-31 I walked by the field of a certain lazy fellow and saw that it was overgrown with thorns; it was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down. 32-33 Then, as I looked, I learned this lesson:
“A little extra sleep,
A little more slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest”
34 means that poverty will break in upon you suddenly like a robber and violently like a bandit.
3 Finally, when I could stand it no longer, I decided to stay alone in Athens 2-3 and send Timothy, our brother and fellow worker, God’s minister, to visit you to strengthen your faith and encourage you and to keep you from becoming fainthearted in all the troubles you were going through. (But of course you know that such troubles are a part of God’s plan for us Christians. 4 Even while we were still with you we warned you ahead of time that suffering would soon come—and it did.)
5 As I was saying, when I could bear the suspense no longer, I sent Timothy to find out whether your faith was still strong. I was afraid that perhaps Satan had gotten the best of you and that all our work had been useless. 6 And now Timothy has just returned and brings the welcome news that your faith and love are as strong as ever and that you remember our visit with joy and want to see us just as much as we want to see you. 7 So we are greatly comforted, dear brothers, in all of our own crushing troubles and suffering here, now that we know you are standing true to the Lord. 8 We can bear anything as long as we know that you remain strong in him.
9 How can we thank God enough for you and for the joy and delight you have given us in our praying for you? 10 For night and day we pray on and on for you, asking God to let us see you again, to fill up any little cracks there may yet be in your faith.
11 May God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus send us back to you again. 12 And may the Lord make your love to grow and overflow to each other and to everyone else, just as our love does toward you. 13 This will result in your hearts being made strong, sinless, and holy by God our Father so that you may stand before him guiltless on that day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns with all those who belong to him.[a]
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.