M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Day of Cleansing
16 Now two of Aaron’s sons had died while offering incense to the Lord. At that time the Lord spoke to Moses. 2 He said, “Talk to your brother Aaron. Tell him there are times when he cannot go behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place where the Ark of the Covenant is. If he goes in when I appear in a cloud over the lid on the Ark of the Covenant, he will die.
3 “Aaron may enter the Most Holy Place only on the Day of Cleansing. Before he enters, he must offer a bull for a sin offering. And he must offer a male sheep for a whole burnt offering. 4 He must put on these clothes. He will put on the holy linen inner robe. The linen underclothes will be next to his body. His belt will be the cloth belt. And he will wear the linen turban. These are holy clothes. So he must wash his whole body with water before he puts them on.
5 “Aaron must take from the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering. And he must take one male sheep for a burnt offering. 6 Then he will offer the bull for the sin offering. This sin offering is for himself. Then he will perform the acts to remove sins from him and his family so they will belong to the Lord.
7 “Next Aaron will take the two goats. He will bring them before the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 8 Aaron will throw lots for the two goats. One lot will be for the Lord. The other lot will be for the goat that removes sin. 9 Then Aaron will take the goat that was chosen for the Lord by throwing the lot. He must offer this goat as a sin offering. 10 The other goat was chosen by lot to remove the sin. It must be brought alive before the Lord. The priest will use it to perform the acts to remove Israel’s sin so they will belong to the Lord. Then this goat will be sent out into the desert.
11 “Then Aaron will offer the bull as a sin offering for himself. This will remove the sins of him and his family so they will belong to the Lord. He will kill the bull for the sin offering for himself. 12 Then he must take a pan full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord. Aaron must take two handfuls of sweet incense that has been ground into powder. He must bring it into the room behind the curtain. 13 He must put the incense on the fire before the Lord. Then the cloud of incense will cover the lid on the Ark of the Covenant. Then when Aaron comes in, he will not die. 14 Also, Aaron must take some of the blood from the bull. He must sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the lid. Then, with his finger he will sprinkle the blood seven times in front of the lid.
15 “Then Aaron must kill the goat of the sin offering for the people. He must bring this goat’s blood into the room behind the curtain. He must do with the goat’s blood as he did with the bull’s blood. He must sprinkle the goat’s blood on the lid and in front of it. 16 The people in Israel have been unclean. So Aaron will perform the acts to make the Most Holy Place ready for service to the Lord. Then it will be clean from the sins and crimes of the people of Israel. He must do this because the Meeting Tent stays in the middle of unclean people. 17 When Aaron makes the Most Holy Place ready for service to the Lord, no one is allowed in the Meeting Tent. No one must go in until Aaron comes out. So Aaron will perform the acts to remove sins from himself and his family so they will belong to the Lord. Then he will remove the sins of all the people of Israel so they will belong to the Lord. 18 Afterward he will go out to the altar that is before the Lord. And he will make the altar ready for service to the Lord. Aaron will take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood. He will put it on the corners of the altar on all sides. 19 Then he will sprinkle some of the blood with his finger. He will sprinkle it on the altar seven times. In this way Aaron will make the altar holy for the Lord. And it will be clean from all the sins of the people of Israel.
20 “Aaron will make the Most Holy Place, the Meeting Tent and the altar clean. Then he will bring the goat alive to the Lord. 21 He will put both his hands on the head of the living goat. Then he will confess all the sins and crimes of Israel over the goat. In this way Aaron will put the people’s sins on the goat’s head. Then he will send the goat away into the desert. A man who has been appointed will lead the goat away. 22 So the goat will carry all the people’s sins on itself. It will go to a lonely place in the desert. The man who leads the goat will let it loose there.
23 “Then Aaron will enter the Meeting Tent. He will take off the linen clothes. (He had put them on before he went into the Most Holy Place.) He must leave these clothes there. 24 He will wash his whole body with water in a holy place. Then he will put on his regular clothes. He will come out and offer the whole burnt offering for himself. And he will offer the whole burnt offering for the people. He will remove sins from himself and the people so they will belong to the Lord. 25 Then he will burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26 “The person who led the goat into the desert must wash his clothes. Then he must wash his whole body with water. After that, he may come back into the camp.
27 “The bull and goat for the sin offerings must be taken outside the camp. The blood from these animals was brought into the Most Holy Place. It was to make the Holy Place ready for service to the Lord. The priests will burn the animals’ skins, bodies and intestines in the fire. 28 Then the one who burns them must wash his clothes. And he must wash his whole body with water. After that, he may come back into the camp.
29 “This law will always continue for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you must not eat. You must not do any work. The travelers or foreigners living with you must not work either. 30 On this day the priests make you clean so you will belong to the Lord again. All your sins will be removed. 31 This is a very important day of rest for you. And you must not eat. This law will continue forever.
32 “So the appointed priest will perform the acts for making things ready for service to the Lord. He is the priest on whom oil was poured. He is appointed to take his father’s place. That priest must put on the holy linen clothes. 33 He must make the Most Holy Place ready for service to the Lord. He must make the Meeting Tent and the altar ready for service to the Lord. He must remove the sins of himself and all the people of Israel so they will belong to the Lord. 34 That law for removing the sins of the Israelites so they will belong to the Lord will continue forever. You will do these things once a year.”
So they did the things the Lord had commanded Moses.
God’s Works and Word
For the director of music. A song of David.
19 The heavens tell the glory of God.
And the skies announce what his hands have made.
2 Day after day they tell the story.
Night after night they tell it again.
3 They have no speech or words.
They don’t make any sound to be heard.
4 But their message goes out through all the world.
It goes everywhere on earth.
The sky is like a home for the sun.
5 The sun comes out like a bridegroom from his bedroom.
It rejoices like an athlete eager to run a race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the sky,
and it follows its path to the other end.
Nothing hides from its heat.
7 The Lord’s teachings are perfect.
They give new strength.
The Lord’s rules can be trusted.
They make plain people wise.
8 The Lord’s orders are right.
They make people happy.
The Lord’s commands are pure.
They light up the way.
9 It is good to respect the Lord.
That respect will last forever.
The Lord’s judgments are true.
They are completely right.
10 They are worth more than gold,
even the purest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even the finest honey.
11 They tell your servant what to do.
Keeping them brings great reward.
12 No one can see all his own mistakes.
Forgive me for my secret sins.
13 Keep me from the sins that I want to do.
Don’t let them rule me.
Then I can be pure
and free from the greatest of sins.
14 I hope my words and thoughts please you.
Lord, you are my Rock, the one who saves me.
Wise Words from Agur
30 These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh.
This is his message to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 “I am the most stupid person there is.
I have no understanding.
3 I have not learned to be wise.
And I don’t know much about God, the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come back down?
Who can hold the wind in his hand?
Who can gather up the waters in his coat?
Who has decided where the ends of the earth will be?
What is his name? And what is his son’s name?
Surely, you know!
5 “Every word of God can be trusted.
He protects those who come to him for safety.
6 Do not add to his words.
If you do, he will correct you and prove that you are a liar.
7 “I ask two things from you, Lord.
Don’t refuse me before I die.
8 Keep me from lying and being dishonest.
And don’t make me either rich or poor.
Just give me enough food for each day.
9 If I have too much, I might reject you.
I might say, ‘I don’t know the Lord.’
If I am poor, I might steal.
Then I would disgrace the name of my God.
10 “Do not say bad things about a servant to his master.
If you do, he will curse you, and you will suffer for it.
11 “Some people curse their fathers.
And they do not bless their mothers.
12 Some people think they are pure.
But they are not really free from evil.
13 Some people have such a proud look!
They look down on others.
14 Some people have teeth like swords.
It is as if their jaws are full of knives.
They want to remove the poor people from the earth.
They want to get rid of the needy.
15 “Greed has two daughters.
Their names are ‘Give me. Give me.’
There are three things that are never satisfied.
There are really four that never say, ‘I’ve had enough!’
16 These things are the cemetery, the childless mother,
the land that never gets enough rain,
and fire that never says, ‘I’ve had enough!’
17 “Don’t make fun of your father.
Don’t refuse to obey your mother.
If you do, your eye will be pecked out by the birds of the valley.
You will be eaten by hawks.
18 “There are three things that are too hard for me.
There are really four that I don’t understand:
19 the way an eagle flies in the sky,
the way a snake slides over a rock,
the way a ship sails on the sea
and the way a man acts with a girl.
20 “This is the way a woman who takes part in adultery acts:
She sins and doesn’t care.
She says, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’
21 “There are three things that make the earth tremble.
There are really four that it cannot stand:
22 a servant who becomes a king,
a foolish person who has plenty to eat,
23 a hateful woman who gets married
and a maid who replaces her mistress.
24 “There are four things on earth that are small.
But they are very wise:
25 Ants are not very strong.
But they store up food in the summer.
26 Rock badgers are not powerful animals.
But they can live among the rocks.
27 Locusts have no king.
But they all go out in formation.
28 And lizards can be caught in the hand.
But they are found even in kings’ palaces.
29 “There are three things that strut proudly.
There are really four that walk as if they are important:
30 Lions are the proudest animals.
They are strong and run from nothing.
31 Roosters and male goats strut proudly.
And so does a king when his army is around him.
32 “You may have been foolish and proud.
If you planned evil, cover your mouth.
33 Stirring milk makes butter.
Twisting noses makes them bleed.
And stirring up anger makes trouble.”
Advice to a Young Preacher
1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope.
2 To Timothy, a true son to me because you believe.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warning Against False Teaching
3 I want you to stay in Ephesus. I asked you to do that when I went into Macedonia. Some people there in Ephesus are teaching false things. Stay there so that you can command them to stop. 4 Tell them not to spend their time on stories that are not true and on long lists of names in family histories. These things only bring arguments; they do not help God’s work. God’s work is done by faith. 5 The purpose of this command is for people to have love. To have this love they must have a pure heart, they must do what they know is right, and they must have true faith. 6 Some people have wandered away from these things. They talk about things that are worth nothing. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about. They do not even understand what they say they are sure about.
8 We know that the law is good if a man uses it right. 9 We also know that the law is not made for good men. The law is made for people who are against the law and for those who refuse to follow the law. It is for people who are against God and are sinful, who are unholy and ungodly, who kill their fathers and mothers, who murder, 10 who take part in sexual sins, men who have physical relations with other men, those who sell slaves, who tell lies, who speak falsely, and who do anything against the true teaching of God. 11 That teaching is part of the Good News that God gave me to tell. That glorious Good News is from the blessed God.
Thanks for God’s Mercy
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord because he trusted me and gave me this work of serving him. And he gives me strength. 13 In the past I spoke against Christ and persecuted him and did all kinds of things to hurt him. But God showed mercy to me because I did not know what I was doing. I did those things when I did not believe. 14 But the grace of our Lord was fully given to me. And with that grace came the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 What I say is true, and you should fully accept it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst of those sinners. 16 But I was given mercy. I was given mercy so that in me Christ Jesus could show that he has patience without limit. And he showed his patience with me, the worst of all sinners. Christ wanted me to be an example for those who would believe in him and have life forever. 17 Honor and glory to the King that rules forever! He cannot be destroyed and cannot be seen. Honor and glory forever and ever to the only God. Amen.
18 Timothy, you are like a son to me. I am giving you a command that agrees with the prophecies that were given about you in the past. I tell you this so that you can follow those prophecies and fight the good fight of faith. 19 Continue to have faith and do what you know is right. Some people have not done this. Their faith has been destroyed. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are men who have done that. I have given them to Satan so that they will learn not to speak against God.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.