M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Day of Atonement
16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died.(A) 2 The Lord said to Moses:
“Tell your brother Aaron not to come just at any time into the sanctuary inside the curtain before the cover that is upon the ark, or he will die, for I appear in the cloud upon the cover.(B) 3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bull for a purification offering and a ram for a burnt offering.(C) 4 He shall put on the holy linen tunic and shall have the linen undergarments next to his body, fasten the linen sash, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy vestments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on.(D) 5 He shall take from the congregation of the Israelites two male goats for a purification offering and one ram for a burnt offering.(E)
6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a purification offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.(F) 7 He shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, 8 and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and offer it as a purification offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.
11 “Aaron shall present the bull as a purification offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house; he shall slaughter the bull as a purification offering for himself.(G) 12 He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of crushed sweet incense, and he shall bring it inside the curtain(H) 13 and put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may shroud the cover that is upon the covenant, or he will die.(I) 14 He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the cover, and before the cover he shall sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times.(J)
15 “He shall slaughter the goat of the purification offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the curtain and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it upon the cover and before the cover.(K) 16 Thus he shall make atonement for the sanctuary, because of the uncleannesses of the Israelites and because of their transgressions, all their sins, and so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which remains with them in the midst of their uncleanness.(L) 17 No one shall be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the sanctuary until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement on its behalf and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat and put it on each of the horns of the altar.(M) 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times and cleanse it and sanctify it from the uncleannesses of the Israelites.(N)
20 “When he has finished atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 Then Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat and sending it away into the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task.[a](O) 22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren region, and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness.(P)
23 “Then Aaron shall enter the tent of meeting and shall take off the linen vestments that he put on when he went into the holy place and shall leave them there.(Q) 24 He shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his vestments; then he shall come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, making atonement for himself and for the people.(R) 25 The fat of the purification offering he shall turn into smoke on the altar. 26 The one who sets the goat free for Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and afterward may come into the camp. 27 The bull of the purification offering and the goat of the purification offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp; their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be consumed in fire.(S) 28 The one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and afterward may come into the camp.
29 “This shall be a statute to you forever: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble yourselves[b] and shall do no work, neither the native-born nor the alien who resides among you.(T) 30 For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord. 31 It is a Sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble yourselves;[c] it is a statute forever.(U) 32 The priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the linen vestments, the holy vestments.(V) 33 He shall make atonement for the sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.(W) 34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the Israelites once in the year for all their sins.” And Moses did as the Lord had commanded him.(X)
Psalm 19
God’s Glory in Creation and the Law
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1 The heavens are telling the glory of God,
and the firmament[a] proclaims his handiwork.(A)
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.(B)
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
4 yet their voice[b] goes out through all the earth
and their words to the end of the world.
In the heavens[c] he has set a tent for the sun,(C)
5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.(D)
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens
and its circuit to the end of them,
and nothing is hid from its heat.(E)
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
making wise the simple;(F)
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
enlightening the eyes;(G)
9 the fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.(H)
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.(I)
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.(J)
12 But who can detect one’s own errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.(K)
13 Keep back your servant also from the insolent;[d]
do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless
and innocent of great transgression.(L)
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.(M)
Sayings of Agur
30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An oracle.
Thus says the man: I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and am wasting away.[a](A)
2 Surely I am too stupid to be human;
I do not have human understanding.(B)
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the holy ones.[b](C)
4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of the hand?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is the person’s name?
And what is the name of the person’s child?
Surely you know!(D)
5 Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.(E)
6 Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you, and you be found a liar.(F)
7 Two things I ask of you;
do not deny them to me before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that I need,(G)
9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.(H)
10 Do not slander a servant to a master,
lest the servant curse you, and you be held guilty.(I)
11 There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.(J)
12 There are those who are pure in their own eyes,
yet are not cleansed of their filthiness.(K)
13 There are those—how lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!—(L)
14 there are those whose teeth are swords,
whose teeth are knives
to devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mortals.(M)
15 The leech has two daughters;
“Give, give,” they cry.
Three things are never satisfied;
four never say, “Enough”:
16 Sheol, the barren womb,
the earth ever-thirsty for water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”(N)
17 The eye that mocks a father
and scorns to obey a mother
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.(O)
18 Three things are too wonderful for me;
four I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a woman.
20 This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong.”(P)
21 Under three things the earth trembles;
under four it cannot bear up:
22 a slave when he becomes king
and a fool when glutted with food,(Q)
23 a contemptible woman when she gets a husband
and a maid when she supplants her mistress.
24 Four things on earth are small,
yet they are exceedingly wise:
25 the ants are a people without strength,
yet they provide their food in the summer;(R)
26 the badgers are a people without power,
yet they make their homes in the rocks;(S)
27 the locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in rank;
28 the lizard[c] can be grasped in the hand,
yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
Salutation
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,(A)
2 To Timothy, my true child[a] in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.(B)
Warning against False Teachers
3 I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach different teachings(C) 4 and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training[b] that is known by faith.(D) 5 But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.(E) 6 Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions.
8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately; 9 this means understanding that the law is laid down not for the righteous but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers,(F) 10 the sexually immoral, men who engage in illicit sex,[c] slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching(G) 11 that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I was entrusted.
Gratitude for Mercy
12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful and appointed me to his service,(H) 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,(I) 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me[d] with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.(J) 15 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.(K) 16 But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience as an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible,[e] the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.[f] Amen.(L)
18 This charge I commit to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight,(M) 19 having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith;(N) 20 among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.(O)
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.