M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
5 “When any of you sin in that you have heard a public adjuration to testify and, although able to testify as one who has seen or learned of the matter, do not speak up, you are subject to punishment.(A) 2 Or when any of you touch any unclean thing, whether the carcass of an unclean beast or the carcass of unclean livestock or the carcass of an unclean swarming thing, and are unaware of it, you have become unclean and are guilty.(B) 3 Or when you touch human uncleanness—any uncleanness by which one can become unclean—and are unaware of it, when you come to know it, you shall be guilty. 4 Or when any of you utter aloud a rash oath for a bad or a good purpose, whatever people utter in an oath and are unaware of it, when you come to know it, you shall in any of these be guilty. 5 When you realize your guilt in any of these, you shall confess the sin that you have committed,(C) 6 and you shall bring to the Lord, as your penalty for the sin that you have committed, a female from the flock, a sheep or a goat, as a purification offering, and the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for your sin.
7 “But if you cannot afford a sheep, you shall bring to the Lord, as your penalty for the sin that you have committed, two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a purification offering and the other for a burnt offering.(D) 8 You shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the purification offering, wringing its head at the nape without severing it.(E) 9 He shall sprinkle some of the blood of the purification offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a purification offering.(F) 10 And the second he shall offer for a burnt offering according to the regulation. Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the sin that you have committed, and you shall be forgiven.(G)
11 “But if you cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, you shall bring as your offering for the sin that you have committed one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour for a purification offering; you shall not put oil on it or lay frankincense on it, for it is a purification offering.(H) 12 You shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall scoop up a handful of it as its memorial portion and turn this into smoke on the altar, with the offerings by fire[a] to the Lord; it is a purification offering. 13 Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for whichever of these sins you have committed, and you shall be forgiven. As with the grain offering, the rest shall be for the priest.”(I)
Offerings with Restitution
14 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 15 “When any of you commit a trespass and sin unintentionally against any of the holy things of the Lord, you shall bring, as your guilt offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the flock, convertible into silver by the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt offering.(J) 16 And you shall make restitution for the holy thing in which you were remiss and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. The priest shall make atonement on your behalf with the ram of the guilt offering, and you shall be forgiven.(K)
17 “If any of you sin without knowing it, doing any of the things that by the Lord’s commandments ought not to be done, you have incurred guilt and are subject to punishment.(L) 18 You shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, or the equivalent, as a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the error that you committed unintentionally, and you shall be forgiven.(M) 19 It is a guilt offering; you have incurred guilt before the Lord.”
Psalm 3
Trust in God under Adversity
A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.
1 O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying to me,
“There is no help for you[a] in God.” Selah
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.(A)
4 I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy hill. Selah(B)
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.(C)
6 I am not afraid of ten thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Rise up, O Lord!
Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Deliverance belongs to the Lord;
may your blessing be on your people! Selah(D)
Psalm 4
Confident Plea for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
1 Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
You gave me room when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.(E)
2 How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah(F)
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.(G)
4 When you are disturbed,[b] do not sin;
ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Selah(H)
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.(I)
6 There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!
Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”(J)
7 You have put gladness in my heart
more than when their grain and wine abound.(K)
8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.(L)
20 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.(A)
2 The dread anger of a king is like the growling of a lion;
anyone who provokes him to anger forfeits life itself.(B)
3 It is honorable to refrain from strife,
but every fool is quick to quarrel.(C)
4 The lazy person does not plow in season;
harvest comes, and there is nothing to be found.(D)
5 The purposes in the human mind are like deep water,
but the intelligent will draw them out.(E)
6 Many proclaim themselves loyal,
but who can find one worthy of trust?(F)
7 The righteous walk in integrity—
happy are the children who follow them!(G)
8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment
winnows all evil with his eyes.
9 Who can say, “I have made my heart clean;
I am pure from my sin”?(H)
10 Diverse weights and diverse measures
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.(I)
11 Even children make themselves known by their acts,
by whether what they do is pure and right.(J)
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye—
the Lord has made them both.(K)
13 Do not love sleep, or else you will come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.(L)
14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
then goes away and boasts.
15 There is gold and abundance of costly stones,
but the lips informed by knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take the garment of one who has given surety for a stranger;
seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.
17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet,
but afterward the mouth will be full of gravel.(M)
18 Plans are established by taking advice;
wage war by following wise guidance.(N)
19 A gossip reveals secrets;
therefore do not associate with a babbler.(O)
20 If you curse father or mother,
your lamp will go out in utter darkness.(P)
21 An estate quickly acquired in the beginning
will not be blessed in the end.(Q)
22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
wait for the Lord, and he will help you.(R)
23 Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord,
and false scales are not good.
24 All our steps are ordered by the Lord;
how then can we understand our own ways?(S)
25 It is a snare for one to say rashly, “It is holy,”
and begin to reflect only after making a vow.(T)
26 A wise king winnows the wicked
and drives the wheel over them.
27 The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord,
searching every inmost part.(U)
28 Loyalty and faithfulness preserve the king,
and his throne is upheld by righteousness.[a](V)
29 The glory of youths is their strength,
but the beauty of the aged is their gray hair.(W)
30 Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
beatings make clean the innermost parts.
The New Life in Christ
3 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.(A) 2 Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.(B) 4 When Christ who is your[a] life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.(C)
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).(D) 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient.[b](E) 7 These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life.[c] 8 But now you must get rid of all such things: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive[d] language from your mouth.(F) 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10 and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.(G) 11 In that renewal[e] there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, enslaved and free, but Christ is all and in all!(H)
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.(I) 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord[f] has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ[g] rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.(J) 16 Let the word of Christ[h] dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.[i](K) 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.(L)
Rules for Christian Households
18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.(M) 19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.
20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord.(N) 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart. 22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters[j] in everything, not with a slavery performed merely for looks, to please people, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.[k](O) 23 Whatever task you must do, work as if your soul depends on it, as for the Lord and not for humans, 24 since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ.(P) 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done, and there is no partiality.(Q)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.