Leviticus 27

English Standard Version

Laws About Vows

27 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone ^(A)makes a special vow to the Lord involving the valuation of persons, ³then the valuation of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels^[a] of silver, according to the ^(B)shekel of the sanctuary. ⁴If the person is a female, the valuation shall be thirty shekels. ⁵If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels. ⁶If the person is from a month old up to five years old, the valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female the valuation shall be three shekels of silver. ⁷And if the person is sixty years old or over, then the valuation for a male shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels. ⁸And if someone is too poor to pay the valuation, then he shall be made to stand before the priest, and the priest shall value him; the priest shall value him according to what the vower can afford.

⁹“If the vow^[b] is an animal that may be offered as an offering to the Lord, all of it that he gives to the Lord is holy. ¹⁰^(C)He shall not exchange it or make a substitute for it, good for bad, or bad for good; and if he does in fact substitute one animal for another, then both it and the substitute shall be holy. ¹¹And if it is any unclean animal that may not be offered as an offering to the Lord, then he shall stand the animal before the priest, ¹²and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall be. ¹³^(D)But if he wishes to redeem it, he shall add a ^(E)fifth to the valuation.

¹⁴“When a man dedicates his house as a holy gift to the Lord, the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. ¹⁵^(F)And if the donor wishes to redeem his house, he shall add a ^(G)fifth to the valuation price, and it shall be his.

¹⁶“If a man dedicates to the Lord part of the land that is his possession, then the valuation shall be in proportion to its seed. A homer^[c] of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. ¹⁷If he dedicates his field from the year of jubilee, the valuation shall stand, ¹⁸but if he dedicates his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall ^(H)calculate the price according to the years that remain until the year of jubilee, and a deduction shall be made from the valuation. ¹⁹^(I)And if he who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, then he shall add a ^(J)fifth to its valuation price, and it shall remain his. ²⁰But if he does not wish to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore. ²¹But the field, ^(K)when it is released in the jubilee, shall be a holy gift to the Lord, like a field that has been ^(L)devoted. The priest shall be in ^(M)possession of it. ²²If he dedicates to the Lord a field that he has bought, ^(N)which is not a part of his possession, ²³^(O)then the priest shall calculate the amount of the valuation for it up to the year of jubilee, and the man shall give the valuation on that day as a holy gift to the Lord. ²⁴^(P)In the year of jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to whom the land belongs as a possession. ²⁵Every valuation shall be according to ^(Q)the shekel of the sanctuary: ^(R)twenty gerahs^[d] shall make a shekel.

²⁶“But a ^(S)firstborn of animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the Lord, no man may dedicate; whether ox or sheep, it is the Lord's. ²⁷And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall buy it back at the valuation, ^(T)and add a fifth to it; or, if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold at the valuation.

²⁸“But ^(U)no devoted thing that a man devotes to the Lord, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord. ²⁹^(V)No one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction^[e] from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.

³⁰^(W)“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord. ³¹If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. ³²And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that ^(X)pass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the Lord. ³³One shall not differentiate between good or bad, ^(Y)neither shall he make a substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.”

³⁴^(Z)These are the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses for the people of Israel ^(AA)on Mount Sinai.

Footnotes

Leviticus 27:3 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
Leviticus 27:9 Hebrew it
Leviticus 27:16 A homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters
Leviticus 27:25 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram
Leviticus 27:29 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)

Luke 1

English Standard Version

Dedication to Theophilus

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that ^(A)have been accomplished among us, ²^(B)just as those who ^(C)from the beginning were ^(D)eyewitnesses and ^(E)ministers of ^(F)the word ^(G)have delivered them to us, ³it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write ^(H)an orderly account for you, ^(I)most excellent ^(J)Theophilus, ⁴that you may have ^(K)certainty concerning the things ^(L)you have been taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

⁵^(M)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,^[a] ^(N)of ^(O)the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶And they were both ^(P)righteous before God, walking ^(Q)blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷But they had no child, because ^(R)Elizabeth was barren, and ^(S)both were advanced in years.

⁸Now ^(T)while he was serving as priest before God when ^(U)his division was on duty, ⁹according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^(V)to enter ^(W)the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people ^(X)were praying ^(Y)outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^(Z)the altar of incense. ¹²And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^(AA)fear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(AB)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(AC)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(AD)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵for he will be ^(AE)great before the Lord. And ^(AF)he must not drink wine or strong ^(AG)drink, and ^(AH)he will be ^(AI)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(AJ)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷and ^(AK)he will go before him ^(AL)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(AM)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(AN)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(AO)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

¹⁸And Zechariah said to the angel, ^(AP)“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹And the angel answered him, “I am ^(AQ)Gabriel. ^(AR)I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰And behold, ^(AS)you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” ²¹And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in ^(AT)the temple. ²²And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in ^(AU)the temple. And ^(AV)he kept making signs to them and remained mute. ²³And ^(AW)when his time of ^(AX)service was ended, he went to his home.

²⁴After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, ²⁵“Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, ^(AY)to take away my reproach among people.”

Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶In the sixth month the angel ^(AZ)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^(BA)Nazareth, ²⁷^(BB)to a virgin betrothed^[b] to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(BC)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^(BD)O favored one, ^(BE)the Lord is with you!”^[c] ²⁹But ^(BF)she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for ^(BG)you have found favor with God. ³¹And behold, ^(BH)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^(BI)you shall call his name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(BJ)the Most High. And the Lord God ^(BK)will give to him the throne of ^(BL)his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^(BM)forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”^[d]

³⁵And the angel answered her, ^(BN)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(BO)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[e] will be called ^(BP)holy—^(BQ)the Son of God. ³⁶And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her ^(BR)who was called barren. ³⁷For ^(BS)nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant^[f] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And ^(BT)the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹In those days Mary arose and went with haste into ^(BU)the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth ^(BV)was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴²and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ^(BW)“Blessed are you among women, and ^(BX)blessed is ^(BY)the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why is this granted to me that the mother of ^(BZ)my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And ^(CA)blessed is she who believed that there would be^[g] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

⁴⁶And Mary said,

^(CB)“My ^(CC)soul ^(CD)magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷    ^(CE)and my ^(CF)spirit rejoices in ^(CG)God my Savior,
⁴⁸for ^(CH)he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
    For behold, from now on all generations ^(CI)will call me blessed;
⁴⁹for ^(CJ)he who is mighty ^(CK)has done great things for me,
    and ^(CL)holy is his name.
⁵⁰And ^(CM)his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹^(CN)He has shown strength with his arm;
    ^(CO)he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
⁵²^(CP)he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
    ^(CQ)and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³he has filled ^(CR)the hungry with good things,
    and the rich ^(CS)he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴He has ^(CT)helped ^(CU)his servant Israel,
    ^(CV)in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵^(CW)as he spoke to our fathers,
    ^(CX)to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord ^(CY)had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹And ^(CZ)on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰but his mother answered, “No; ^(DA)he shall be called John.” ⁶¹And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” ⁶²And ^(DB)they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³And he asked for ^(DC)a writing tablet and wrote, ^(DD)“His name is John.” And they all wondered. ⁶⁴^(DE)And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue ^(DF)loosed, and he spoke, ^(DG)blessing God. ⁶⁵And ^(DH)fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all ^(DI)the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶and all who heard them ^(DJ)laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For ^(DK)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Prophecy

⁶⁷And his father Zechariah ^(DL)was filled with the Holy Spirit and ^(DM)prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸^(DN)“Blessed be the Lord ^(DO)God of Israel,
    for he has ^(DP)visited and ^(DQ)redeemed his people
⁶⁹and ^(DR)has raised up ^(DS)a horn of salvation for us
    ^(DT)in the house of his servant David,
⁷⁰^(DU)as ^(DV)he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
⁷¹^(DW)that we should be saved from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us;
⁷²^(DX)to show the mercy promised to our fathers
    and ^(DY)to remember his holy ^(DZ)covenant,
⁷³^(EA)the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
⁷⁴    that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him ^(EB)without fear,
⁷⁵    ^(EC)in holiness and righteousness before him ^(ED)all our days.
⁷⁶And you, child, will be called ^(EE)the prophet of ^(EF)the Most High;
    for ^(EG)you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
⁷⁷to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    ^(EH)in the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸because of the ^(EI)tender mercy of our God,
    whereby ^(EJ)the sunrise shall ^(EK)visit us^[h] ^(EL)from on high
⁷⁹to ^(EM)give light to ^(EN)those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into ^(EO)the way of ^(EP)peace.”

⁸⁰^(EQ)And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was ^(ER)in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Footnotes

Luke 1:5 Greek Zacharias
Luke 1:27 That is, legally pledged to be married
Luke 1:28 Some manuscripts add Blessed are you among women!
Luke 1:34 Greek since I do not know a man
Luke 1:35 Some manuscripts add of you
Luke 1:38 Greek bondservant; also verse 48
Luke 1:45 Or believed, for there will be
Luke 1:78 Or when the sunrise shall dawn upon us; some manuscripts since the sunrise has visited us

Psalm 79

English Standard Version

How Long, O Lord?

A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

79 O God, ^(B)the nations have come into your ^(C)inheritance;
    they have defiled your ^(D)holy temple;
    they have ^(E)laid Jerusalem in ruins.
²They have given ^(F)the bodies of your servants
    to the birds of the heavens for food,
    the flesh of your ^(G)faithful to ^(H)the beasts of the earth.
³They have poured out their blood like water
    all around Jerusalem,
    and there was ^(I)no one to bury them.
⁴We have become ^(J)a taunt to our neighbors,
    ^(K)mocked and derided by those around us.

⁵^(L)How long, O Lord? Will you be angry ^(M)forever?
    Will your ^(N)jealousy ^(O)burn like fire?
⁶^(P)Pour out your anger on the nations
    that ^(Q)do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
    that ^(R)do not call upon your name!
⁷For they have devoured Jacob
    and laid waste his habitation.

⁸^(S)Do not remember against us ^(T)our former iniquities;^[a]
    let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
    for we are ^(U)brought very low.
⁹^(V)Help us, O God of our salvation,
    for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and ^(W)atone for our sins,
    for your ^(X)name's sake!
¹⁰^(Y)Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”
Let ^(Z)the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
    be known among the nations before our eyes!

¹¹Let ^(AA)the groans of the prisoners come before you;
    according to your great power, preserve those ^(AB)doomed to die!
¹²Return ^(AC)sevenfold into the ^(AD)lap of our neighbors
    the ^(AE)taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
¹³But we your people, the ^(AF)sheep of your pasture,
    will ^(AG)give thanks to you forever;
    from generation to generation we will recount your praise.