M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Making Promises to the Lord
27 The Lord told Moses 2 to say to the community of Israel:
If you ever want to free someone who has been promised to me, 3-7 you may do so by paying the following amounts, weighed according to the official standards:
50 pieces of silver for men
ages 20 to 60,
and 30 pieces for women;
20 pieces of silver
for young men ages 5 to 20,
and 10 pieces
for young women;
15 pieces of silver for men
ages 60 and above
and 10 pieces for women;
5 pieces of silver for boys
ages 1 month to 5 years,
and 3 pieces for girls.
8 If you have promised to give someone to me and can't afford to pay the full amount for that person's release, you will be taken to a priest, and he will decide how much you can afford.
9 If you promise to sacrifice an animal to me, it becomes holy, and there is no way you can set it free. 10 If you try to substitute any other animal, no matter how good, for the one you promised, they will both become holy and must be sacrificed. 11 Donkeys are unfit for sacrifice, so if you promise me a donkey,[a] you must bring it to the priest, 12 and let him determine its value. 13 But if you want to buy it back, you must pay an additional 20 percent.
14 If you promise a house to me, a priest will set the price, whatever the condition of the house. 15 But if you decide to buy it back, you must pay an additional 20 percent.
16 If you promise part of your family's land to me, its value must be determined by the amount of seed needed to plant the land, and the rate will be ten pieces of silver for every 20 kilograms of seed. 17 If this promise is made in the Year of Celebration,[b] the land will be valued at the full price. 18 But any time after that, the price will be figured according to the number of years before the next Year of Celebration. 19 If you decide to buy back the land, you must pay the price plus an additional 20 percent, 20 but you cannot buy it back once someone else has bought it. 21 When the Year of Celebration comes, the land becomes holy because it belongs to me, and it will be given to the priests.
22 If you promise me a field that you have bought, 23 its value will be decided by a priest, according to the number of years before the next Year of Celebration, and the money you pay will be mine. 24 However, on the next Year of Celebration, the land will go back to the family of its original owner. 25 Every price will be set by the official standards.
Various Offerings
The Lord said:
26 All first-born animals of your flocks and herds are already mine, and so you cannot promise any of them to me. 27 If you promise me a donkey,[c] you may buy it back by adding an additional 20 percent to its value. If you don't buy it back, it can be sold to someone else for whatever a priest has said it is worth.
28 (A) Anything that you completely dedicate to me must be completely destroyed.[d] It cannot be bought back or sold. Every person, animal, and piece of property that you dedicate completely is only for me. 29 In fact, any humans who have been promised to me in this way must be put to death.
30 (B) Ten percent of everything you harvest is holy and belongs to me, whether it grows in your fields or on your fruit trees. 31 If you want to buy back this part of your harvest, you may do so by paying what it is worth plus an additional 20 percent.
32 When you count your flocks and herds, one out of ten of every newborn animal[e] is holy and belongs to me, 33 no matter how good or bad it is. If you substitute one animal for another, both of them become holy, and neither can be bought back.
34 Moses was on Mount Sinai when the Lord gave him these laws for the people of Israel.
(Written by David when he pretended to be crazy in front of Abimelech, so that Abimelech would send him away, and David could leave.)
Honor the Lord
1 (A) I will always praise the Lord.
2 With all my heart,
I will praise the Lord.
Let all who are helpless,
listen and be glad.
3 Honor the Lord with me!
Celebrate his great name.
4 I asked the Lord for help,
and he saved me
from all my fears.
5 Keep your eyes on the Lord!
You will shine like the sun
and never blush with shame.
6 I was a nobody, but I prayed,
and the Lord saved me
from all my troubles.
7 If you honor the Lord,
his angel will protect you.
8 (B) Discover for yourself
that the Lord is kind.
Come to him for protection,
and you will be glad.
9 Honor the Lord!
You are his special people.
No one who honors the Lord
will ever be in need.
10 Young lions[a] may go hungry
or even starve,
but if you trust the Lord,
you will never miss out
on anything good.
11 Come, my children, listen
as I teach you
to respect the Lord.
12 (C) Do you want to live
and enjoy a long life?
13 Then don't say cruel things
and don't tell lies.
14 Do good instead of evil
and try to live at peace.
15 If you obey the Lord,
he will watch over you
and answer your prayers.
16 But God despises evil people,
and he will wipe them all
from the earth,
till they are forgotten.
17 When his people pray for help,
he listens and rescues them
from their troubles.
18 The Lord is there to rescue
all
who are discouraged
and have given up hope.
19 The Lord's people
may suffer a lot,
but he will always
bring them safely through.
20 (D) Not one of their bones
will ever be broken.
21 Wicked people are killed
by their own evil deeds,
and if you hate God's people
you will be punished.
22 The Lord saves the lives
of his servants.
Run to him for protection,
and you won't be punished.
10 A few dead flies in perfume
make all of it stink,
and a little foolishness
outweighs a lot of wisdom.
2 Sensible thoughts lead you
to do right;
foolish thoughts lead you
to do wrong.
3 Fools show their stupidity
by the way they live;
it's easy to see
they have no sense.
4 Don't give up your job
when your boss gets angry.
If you stay calm,
you'll be forgiven.
5 Rulers do some things that are terribly unfair: 6 They honor fools, but dishonor the rich; 7 they let slaves ride on horses, but force slave owners to walk.
8 (A) If you dig a pit,
you might fall in;
if you break down a wall,
a snake might bite you.[a]
9 You could even get hurt
by chiseling a stone
or chopping a log.
10 If you don't sharpen your ax,
it will be harder to use;
if you are wise,
you'll know what to do.[b]
11 The power to charm a snake
does you no good
if it bites you anyway.
12 If you talk sensibly,
you will have friends;
if you talk foolishly,
you will destroy yourself.
13 Fools begin with nonsense,
and their stupid chatter
ends with disaster.
14 They never tire of talking,
but none of us really know
what the future will bring.
15 Fools wear themselves out—
they don't know enough
to find their way home.[c]
16 A country is in for trouble
when its ruler is childish,
and its leaders
party all day long.
17 But a nation will prosper
when its ruler is mature,
and its leaders
don't party too much.
18 Some people are too lazy
to fix a leaky roof—
then the house collapses.
19 Eating and drinking
make you feel happy,
and money can buy
everything you need.
20 Don't let yourself think about
cursing the king;
don't curse the rich,
not even in secret.
A little bird might hear
and tell everything.
Instructions for Different Groups of People
2 Titus, you must teach only what is correct. 2 Tell the older men to have self-control and to be serious and sensible. Their faith, love, and patience must never fail.
3 Tell the older women to behave as those who love the Lord should. They must not gossip about others or be slaves of wine. They must teach what is proper, 4 so the younger women will be loving wives and mothers. 5 Each of the younger women must be sensible and kind, as well as a good homemaker, who puts her own husband first. Then no one can say insulting things about God's message.
6 Tell the young men to have self-control in everything.
7 Always set a good example for others. Be sincere and serious when you teach. 8 Use clean language that no one can criticize. Do this, and your enemies will be too ashamed to say anything against you.
9 Tell slaves always to please their owners by obeying them in everything. Slaves must not talk back to their owners 10 or steal from them. They must be completely honest and trustworthy. Then everyone will show great respect for what is taught about God our Savior.
God's Kindness and the New Life
11 God has shown us undeserved grace by coming to save all people. 12 He taught us to give up our wicked ways and our worldly desires and to live decent and honest lives in this world. 13 We are filled with hope, as we wait for the glorious return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.[a] 14 (A) He gave himself to rescue us from everything evil and to make our hearts pure. He wanted us to be his own people and to be eager to do right.
15 Teach these things, as you use your full authority to encourage and correct people. Make sure you earn everyone's respect.
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