M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Feast of Trumpets
29 “‘Have a holy meeting on the first day of the seventh month. Don’t work on that day. That is the day you blow the trumpets. 2 Bring these burnt offerings to the Lord: one young bull, one male sheep and seven male year-old lambs. They all must have nothing wrong with them. Their smell will be pleasing to the Lord. 3 Give a grain offering with the bull. It must be six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil. With the male sheep offer four quarts. 4 And with each of the seven lambs offer two quarts. 5 Offer one male goat for a sin offering. It will remove your sins so you will belong to God. 6 These offerings are in addition to the monthly and daily burnt offerings. Their grain offerings and drink offerings must be done as you have been told. These offerings are made by fire to the Lord. And their smell is pleasing to him.
The Day of Cleansing
7 “‘Have a holy meeting on the tenth day of the seventh month. On that day do not eat and do not work. 8 Bring these burnt offerings to the Lord: one young bull, one male sheep and seven male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them. The smell will be pleasing to the Lord. 9 Give a grain offering with the bull. It must be six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil. With the male sheep it must be four quarts. 10 And with each of the seven lambs it must be two quarts. 11 Offer one male goat as a sin offering. This will be in addition to the sin offering which removes your sins. It will also be in addition to the daily burnt offering with its grain offering and the drink offerings.
Feast of Shelters
12 “‘Have a holy meeting on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. Do not work on that day. Celebrate a festival to the Lord for seven days. 13 Give these burnt offerings to the Lord: 13 young bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them. The smell is pleasing to the Lord. 14 Also offer a grain offering with each of the 13 bulls. It must be six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil. With each of the 2 male sheep it must be four quarts. 15 And with each of the 14 lambs it must be two quarts. 16 Offer 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
17 “‘On the second day of this festival give an offering. Offer 12 bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them. 18 Bring the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, sheep and lambs. 19 Offer 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
20 “‘On the third day offer 11 bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them. 21 Bring the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, sheep and lambs. 22 Offer 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
23 “‘On the fourth day offer 10 bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them. 24 Bring the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, sheep and lambs. 25 Offer 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
26 “‘On the fifth day offer 9 bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them. 27 Bring the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, sheep and lambs. 28 Offer 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
29 “‘On the sixth day offer 8 bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them. 30 Bring the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, sheep and lambs. 31 Offer 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
32 “‘On the seventh day offer 7 bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them. 33 Bring the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, sheep and lambs. 34 Offer 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
35 “‘On the eighth day have a closing meeting. Do not work on that day. 36 Bring a burnt offering. Its smell will be pleasing to the Lord. Offer 1 bull, 1 male sheep and 7 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them. 37 Bring the grain and drink offerings for the bull, male sheep and lambs. 38 Offer 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
39 “‘At your festivals you should bring these to the Lord: your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings and fellowship offerings. These are in addition to other promised offerings and special gifts you want to give to the Lord.’”
40 Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him.
Book 3
Psalms 73—89
Should the Wicked Be Rich?
A song of Asaph.
73 God is truly good to Israel,
to those who have pure hearts.
2 But I had almost stopped believing this truth.
I had almost lost my faith
3 because I was jealous of proud people.
I saw wicked people doing well.
4 They are not suffering.
They are healthy and strong.
5 They don’t have troubles like the rest of us.
They don’t have problems like other people.
6 So they wear pride like a necklace.
They put on violence as their clothing.
7 They are looking for profits.
They do not control their selfish desires.
8 They make fun of others and speak evil.
Proudly they speak of hurting others.
9 They brag to the sky.
Their mouths gossip on the earth.
10 So their people turn to them
and give them whatever they want.
11 They say, “How can God know?
What does God Most High know?”
12 These people are wicked,
always at ease and getting richer.
13 So why have I kept my heart pure?
Why have I kept my hands from doing wrong?
14 I have suffered all day long.
I have been punished every morning.
15 God, if I had decided to talk about this,
I would have let your people down.
16 I tried to understand all this.
But it was too hard for me to see
17 until I went to the Temple of God.
Then I understood what will happen to them.
18 You have put them in danger.
You cause them to be destroyed.
19 They are destroyed in a moment.
They are swept away by terrors.
20 It will be like waking from a dream.
Lord, when you come, they will disappear.
21 When my heart was sad and
I was angry,
22 I was senseless and stupid.
I acted like an animal toward you.
23 But I am always with you.
You have held my hand.
24 You guide me with your advice.
And later you will receive me in honor.
25 I have no one in heaven but you.
I want nothing on earth besides you.
26 My mind and my body may become weak.
But God is my strength.
He is mine forever.
27 Those who are far from God will die.
You destroy those who are unfaithful.
28 But I am close to God, and that is good.
The Lord God is my protection.
I will tell all that you have done.
God’s Message to Babylon
21 The message about the Desert by the Sea:[a]
Disaster is coming from the desert.
It is coming like wind blowing in the south.
It is coming from a terrible country.
2 I have seen a terrible vision.
I see traitors turning against you.
I see people taking your wealth.
Elam, attack the people!
Media, surround the city and attack it!
I will bring an end to the pain the city causes.
3 I saw those terrible things, and now I am in pain.
My pains are like the pains of giving birth.
What I hear makes me very afraid.
What I see causes me to shake with fear.
4 I am worried,
and I am shaking with fear.
My pleasant evening
has become a night of fear.
5 They set the table.
They spread the rugs.
They eat and drink!
Leaders, stand up.
Prepare the shields for battle!
6 The Lord said to me,
“Go. Have a man be a lookout for the city.
Have him report what he sees.
7 If he sees chariots and teams of horses,
donkeys or camels,
he should pay very close attention.”
8 Then the lookout called out,
“My Master, each day I stand in the watchtower watching.
Every night I have been on guard.
9 Look. I see a man coming in a chariot
with a team of horses.”
The man gives back the answer,
“Babylon has fallen. It has fallen!
All the statues of her gods
lie broken on the ground.”
10 My people are crushed like grain on the threshing floor.
My people, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord.
He is the Lord of heaven’s armies,
the God of Israel.
God’s Message to Edom
11 The message about Dumah:[b]
Someone calls to me from Edom.
He says, “Watchman, how much of the night is left?
Watchman, how much longer will it be night?”
12 The watchman answered,
“Morning is coming, but then night will come again.
If you have something to ask,
then come back and ask.”
God’s Message to Arabia
13 The message about Arabia:
A group of traders from Dedan
spent the night near some trees in Arabia.
14 They gave water to thirsty travelers.
The people of Tema gave food
to those who were escaping.
15 They were running from swords.
The swords were ready to kill.
They were running from bows ready to shoot.
They were running from a hard battle.
16 This is what the Lord said to me: “In one year all the glory of the country of Kedar will be gone. (This is a year as a hired helper counts time.) 17 At that time only a few of the archers will be left. Only a few of the soldiers of Kedar will be left alive.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
False Teachers
2 There used to be false prophets among God’s people, just as there are now. And you will have some false teachers in your group. They will secretly teach things that are wrong—teachings that will cause people to be lost. They will even refuse to accept the Master, Jesus, who bought their freedom. And so they will quickly destroy themselves. 2 Many will follow their evil ways and say evil things about the Way of truth. 3 Those false teachers only want your money. So they will use you by telling you what is not true. But God has already judged them guilty. And they will not escape the One who will destroy them.
4 When angels sinned, God did not let them go free without punishment. God sent them to hell and put them in caves[a] of darkness. They are being held there to be judged. 5 And God punished the evil people who lived long ago. He brought a flood to the world that was full of people who were against him. But God saved Noah and seven other people with him. Noah was a man who preached about being right with God. 6 And God also punished the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.[b] He burned those cities until there was nothing left but ashes. He made those cities an example to show what will happen to those who are against God. 7 But God saved Lot from those cities. Lot, a good man, was troubled because of the sinful behavior of evil people. 8 (Lot was a good man, but he lived with evil people every day. His good heart was hurt by the evil things that he saw and heard.) 9 And so the Lord knows how to save those who serve him. He will save them when troubles come. And the Lord will hold evil people and punish them, while waiting for the Judgment Day. 10 That punishment is especially for those who live by doing the evil things their sinful selves want, and for those who hate the Lord’s authority.
These false teachers do anything they want and brag about it. They are not afraid to say bad things about the glorious angels. 11 The angels are much stronger and more powerful than false teachers. But even the angels do not accuse them with insults before[c] the Lord. 12 But these men say bad things about what they do not understand. They are like animals that act without thinking. These animals are born to be caught and killed. And, like wild animals, these false teachers will be destroyed. 13 They have caused many people to suffer; so they themselves will suffer. That is their pay for what they have done. They take pleasure in doing evil things openly. So they are like dirty spots and stains among you. They bring shame to you in the meals that you eat together. 14 Every time they look at a woman they want her. Their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lead weak people into the trap of sin. They have taught their hearts to be selfish. God will punish them. 15 These false teachers left the right road and lost their way. They followed the way that Balaam went. Balaam was the son of Beor, who loved being paid for doing wrong. 16 But a donkey told Balaam that he was sinning. And the donkey is an animal that cannot talk. But the donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the prophet’s crazy thinking.
17 Those false teachers are like rivers that have no water. They are like clouds blown by a storm. A place in the blackest darkness has been kept for them. 18 They brag with words that mean nothing. By their evil desires they lead people into the trap of sin. They lead away people who are just beginning to escape from other people who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are not free. They are slaves of things that will be destroyed. For a person is a slave of anything that controls him. 20 They were made free from the evil in the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But if they return to evil things and those things control them, then it is worse for them than it was before. 21 Yes, it would be better for them to have never known the right way. That would be better than to know the right way and then to turn away from the holy teaching that was given to them. 22 What they did is like this true saying: “A dog eats what it throws up.”[d] And, “After a pig is washed, it goes back and rolls in the mud.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.