M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Day When Sin Is Paid For
16 The Lord spoke to Moses after two of Aaron’s sons had died. They were the sons who died when they came near the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to your brother Aaron. Tell him not to come into the Most Holy Room just anytime he wants to. Tell him not to come behind the curtain in front of the cover of the ark. The cover is the place where sin is paid for. If he comes behind the curtain, he will die. That is because I appear in the cloud over the cover.
3 “Aaron must not enter the area of the Most Holy Room without bringing a sacrifice. He must bring a young bull for a sin offering. He must also bring a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He must put on the sacred inner robe made out of linen. He must wear linen underwear next to his body. He must tie the linen belt around him. And he must put the linen turban on his head. Those are sacred clothes. So he must take a bath before he puts them on. 5 The community of Israel must give him two male goats and a ram. The goats are for a sin offering. The ram is for a burnt offering.
6 “Aaron must offer the bull for his own sin offering. It will pay for his own sin and the sin of his whole family. 7 Then he must take the two goats and bring them to me at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 He must cast lots for the two goats. One lot is for me. The other is for the goat that carries the people’s sins away. 9 Aaron must bring the goat chosen for me by lot. He must sacrifice it for a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by the other lot must remain alive. First, it must be brought in to me to pay for the people’s sins. Then, it must be sent into the desert as a goat that carries the people’s sins away.
11 “Aaron must bring the bull for his own sin offering. It will pay for his own sin and the sin of his whole family. He must kill the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He must take a shallow cup full of burning coals from the altar in my sight. He must get two handfuls of incense completely ground up. The incense must smell sweet. He must take the cup and the incense behind the curtain. 13 He must put the incense on the fire in my sight. The smoke from the incense will hide the cover of the ark where the tablets of the covenant law are kept. The cover is the place where sin is paid for. Aaron must burn the incense so that he will not die. 14 He must dip his finger in the bull’s blood. He must sprinkle it on the front of the cover of the ark. He must sprinkle some in front of the cover. He must do it seven times.
15 “Then Aaron must kill the goat for the sin offering for the people. He must take its blood behind the curtain. There he must do the same thing with it as he did with the bull’s blood. He must sprinkle it on the cover of the ark. He must also sprinkle some in front of it. 16 That is how he will make the Most Holy Room pure. He must do it because the Israelites are not ‘clean.’ They have not obeyed me. They have also committed other sins. Aaron must do the same for the tent of meeting because it stands in the middle of the camp. And the camp is ‘unclean.’ 17 Aaron will go into the Most Holy Room to pay for the people’s sin. While Aaron is there, no one may be in the tent of meeting. No one may enter the tent until Aaron comes out. He will not come out until he has paid for his own sin and the sin of his whole family. He will not come out until he has also paid for the sin of the whole community of Israel.
18 “Then he will come out to the altar for burnt offerings. It is in front of the tent where the ark of the Lord is. He will make the altar pure and clean. He will take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood. Then he will put the blood on all the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar. 19 He will sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times. He will do it to make the altar pure. He will do it to set it apart from the Israelites. They are ‘unclean.’
20 “Aaron will finish making the Most Holy Room pure and ‘clean.’ He will finish making the tent of meeting and the altar pure. Then he will bring out the live goat. 21 He must place both of his hands on its head. While he does that, he must tell me about all the sins the Israelites have committed. He must tell me about all their evil acts and the times they did not obey me. In that way he puts their sins on the goat’s head. Then he will send the goat away into the desert. The goat will be led away by a man appointed to do it. 22 The goat will carry all their sins on itself to a place where there are no people. And the man will set the goat free in the desert.
23 “Then Aaron must go into the tent of meeting. He must take off the linen clothes he put on before he entered the Most Holy Room. He must leave them there. 24 He must take a bath in the holy area. And he must put on his regular clothes. Then he will come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself. He will also sacrifice the burnt offering for the people. That will pay for his own sin and the people’s sin. 25 He will also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26 “The man who sets free the goat that carries the people’s sins away must wash his clothes. He must take a bath. After that, he can come back into the camp. 27 The bull and the goat for the sin offerings must be taken outside the camp. Their blood was brought into the Most Holy Room. It paid for sin. The hides, meat and guts of the animals must be burned up. 28 The man who burns them must wash his clothes. He must take a bath. After that, he can come back into the camp.
29 “Here is a law for you that will last for all time to come. On the tenth day of the seventh month you must not eat anything. You must not do any work. It does not matter whether you are Israelites or outsiders. 30 On that day your sin will be paid for. You will be made pure and clean. You will be clean from all your sins in my sight. 31 That day is a sabbath for you. You must rest on it. You must not eat anything on that day. This is a law that will last for all time to come. 32 The high priest must pay for sin. He must make everything pure and clean. He has been anointed and prepared to become the next high priest after his father. He must put on the sacred clothes that are made out of linen. 33 He must make the Most Holy Room, the tent of meeting and the altar pure. And he must pay for the sin of the priests and all the members of the community.
34 “Here is a law for you that will last for all time to come. Once a year you must pay for all the sin of the Israelites.”
So it was done, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
19 The heavens tell about the glory of God.
The skies show that his hands created them.
2 Day after day they speak about it.
Night after night they make it known.
3 But they don’t speak or use words.
No sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into the whole earth.
Their words go out from one end of the world to the other.
God has set up a tent in the heavens for the sun.
5 The sun is like a groom leaving the room of his wedding night.
The sun is like a great runner who takes delight in running a race.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens.
Then it moves across to the other end.
Everything enjoys its warmth.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect.
It gives us new strength.
The laws of the Lord can be trusted.
They make childish people wise.
8 The rules of the Lord are right.
They give joy to our hearts.
The commands of the Lord shine brightly.
They give light to our minds.
9 The law that brings respect for the Lord is pure.
It lasts forever.
The commands the Lord gives are true.
All of them are completely right.
10 They are more priceless than gold.
They have greater value than huge amounts of pure gold.
They are sweeter than honey
that is taken from the honeycomb.
11 Your servant is warned by them.
When people obey them, they are greatly rewarded.
12 But who can know their own mistakes?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Also keep me from the sins I want to commit.
May they not be my master.
Then I will be without blame.
I will not be guilty of any great sin against your law.
14 Lord, may these words of my mouth please you.
And may these thoughts of my heart please you also.
You are my Rock and my Redeemer.
The Sayings of Agur
30 These sayings are the words of Agur, son of Jakeh. These sayings came from God.
This man said to Ithiel:
“I am weary, God.
But I can still have success.
2 Surely I am only a dumb animal and not a man.
I don’t understand as other men do.
3 I haven’t learned wisdom.
And I don’t know the things the Holy One knows.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a coat?
Who has set in place all the boundaries of the earth?
What is his name? What is his son’s name?
Surely you know!
5 “Every word of God is perfect.
He is like a shield to those who trust in him.
He keeps them safe.
6 Don’t add to his words.
If you do, he will correct you.
He will prove that you are a liar.
7 “Lord, I ask you for two things.
Don’t refuse me before I die.
8 Keep lies far away from me.
Don’t make me either poor or rich,
but give me only the bread I need each day.
9 If you don’t, I might have too much.
Then I might say I don’t know you.
I might say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I might become poor and steal.
Then I would bring shame to the name of my God.
10 “Don’t tell lies about a servant when you talk to their master.
If you do, they will curse you, and you will pay for your lies.
11 “Some people curse their fathers.
Others don’t bless their mothers.
12 Some are pure in their own eyes.
But their dirty sins haven’t been washed away.
13 Some have eyes that are very proud.
They look down on others.
14 Some people have teeth like swords.
The teeth in their jaws are as sharp as knives.
They are ready to eat up the poor people of the earth.
They are ready to eat up those who are the most needy.
15 “A leech has two daughters.
They cry out, ‘Give! Give!’
“Three things are never satisfied.
Four things never say, ‘Enough!’
16 The first is the grave.
The second is a woman who can’t have a baby.
The third is land, which never gets enough water.
And the fourth is fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’
17 “One person makes fun of their father.
Another doesn’t honor their mother when she is old.
The ravens of the valley will peck out their eyes.
Then the vultures will eat them.
18 “Three things are too amazing for me.
There are four things I don’t understand.
19 The first is the way of an eagle in the sky.
The second is the way of a snake on a rock.
The third is the way of a ship on the ocean.
And the fourth is the way of a man with a young woman.
20 “This is the way of a woman who commits adultery.
She eats and wipes her mouth.
Then she says, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’
21 “Under three things the earth shakes.
Under four things it can’t stand up.
22 The first is a servant who becomes a king.
The second is a foolish and ungodly person who gets plenty to eat.
23 The third is a mean woman who gets married.
And the fourth is a servant who takes the place of the woman she works for.
24 “Four things on earth are small.
But they are very wise.
25 The first are ants, which aren’t very strong.
But they store up their food in the summer.
26 The second are hyraxes, which aren’t very powerful.
But they make their home among the rocks.
27 The third are locusts, which don’t have a king.
But they all march forward in ranks.
28 And the fourth are lizards, which your hand can catch.
But you will find them in kings’ palaces.
29 “Three things walk as if they were kings.
Four things move as kings do.
30 The first is a lion, which is mighty among the animals. It doesn’t back away from anything.
31 The second is a rooster, which walks proudly.
The third is a billy goat.
And the fourth is a king, who is secure against any who might oppose him.
32 “Do you do foolish things?
Do you think you are better than others?
Do you plan evil?
If you do, put your hand over your mouth and stop talking!
33 If you churn cream, you will produce butter.
If you twist a nose, you will produce blood.
And if you stir up anger, you will produce a fight.”
1 I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus, just as God our Savior commanded. Christ Jesus also commanded it. We have put our hope in him.
2 Timothy, I am sending you this letter. You are my true son in the faith.
May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy and peace.
Paul Warns Timothy to Oppose False Teachers
3 Timothy, stay there in Ephesus. That is what I told you to do when I went into Macedonia. I want you to command certain people not to teach things that aren’t true. 4 And command them not to spend their time on stories that are made up. They must not waste time on family histories that never end. These things only lead to fights about ideas. They don’t help God’s work move forward. His work is done by faith. 5 Love is the purpose of my command. Love comes from a pure heart. It comes from a good sense of what is right and wrong. It comes from faith that is honest and true. 6 Some have turned from these teachings. They would rather talk about things that have no meaning. 7 They want to be teachers of the law. And they are very sure about that law. But they don’t know what they are talking about.
8 We know that the law is good if it is used properly. 9 We also know that the law isn’t made for godly people. It is made for those who break the law. It is for those who refuse to obey. It is for ungodly and sinful people. It is for those who aren’t holy and who don’t believe. It is for those who kill their fathers or mothers. It is for murderers. 10 It is for those who commit sexual sins. It is for those who commit homosexual acts. It is for people who buy and sell slaves. It is for liars. It is for people who tell lies in court. It is for those who are a witness to things that aren’t true. And it is for anything else that is the opposite of true teaching. 11 True teaching agrees with the good news about the glory of the blessed God. He trusted me with that good news.
The Lord Pours Out His Grace on Paul
12 I am thankful to Christ Jesus our Lord. He has given me strength. I thank him that he considered me faithful. I thank him for appointing me to serve him. 13 I used to speak evil things against Jesus. I tried to hurt his followers. I really pushed them around. But God showed me mercy anyway. I did those things without knowing any better. I wasn’t a believer. 14 Our Lord poured out more and more of his grace on me. Along with it came faith and love from Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a saying that you can trust. It should be accepted completely. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst sinner of all. 16 But for that very reason, God showed me mercy. And I am the worst of sinners. He showed me mercy so that Christ Jesus could show that he is very patient. I was an example for those who would come to believe in him. Then they would receive eternal life. 17 The eternal King will never die. He can’t be seen. He is the only God. Give him honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Paul Commands Timothy
18 My son Timothy, I am giving you this command. It is in keeping with the prophecies once made about you. By remembering them, you can fight the battle well. 19 Then you will hold on to faith. You will hold on to a good sense of what is right and wrong. Some have not accepted this knowledge of right and wrong. So they have destroyed their faith. They are like a ship that has sunk. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are among them. I have handed them over to Satan. That will teach them not to speak evil things against God.
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