M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Promises Are Important
27 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites: You might promise to give someone to the Lord as a servant. The priest must set a price for that person. 3 The price for a man from 20 to 60 years old is 50 shekels[a] of silver. (You must use the official measure for the silver.) 4 The price for a woman who is 20 to 60 years old is 30 shekels. 5 The price for a man from 5 to 20 years old is 20 shekels. For a woman the price is 10 shekels. 6 The price for a boy from one month to five years old is 5 shekels. For a girl, the price is 3 shekels. 7 The price for a man who is 60 years old or older is 15 shekels. The price for a woman is 10 shekels.
8 “If anyone is too poor to pay the price, bring that person to the priest. The priest will decide how much money the person can afford to pay.
Gifts to the Lord
9 “You might promise to give an animal to the Lord. If it is a clean animal—one that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord—then the animal you bring will become holy. 10 You must not put any other animal in its place. Don’t try to trade a good animal for a bad one or a bad animal for a good one. If you try to change animals, both animals will become holy—they will both belong to the Lord.
11 “The animal you promised might be one that is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord. If you promised one of these unclean animals, you must bring it to the priest. 12 The priest will decide a price for that animal. It doesn’t make any difference if the animal is good or bad. If the priest decides on a price, that is the price for the animal. 13 If you want to buy back the animal,[b] then you must add one-fifth to the price.
The Value of a House
14 “If you dedicate your house as holy to the Lord, the priest must decide its price. It doesn’t make any difference if the house is good or bad. If the priest decides on a price, that is the price for the house. 15 But if you want to get the house back, you must add one-fifth to the price. Then you will get the house back.
The Value of a Field
16 “You might dedicate a field to the Lord. The value of this field will depend on how much seed is needed to plant it. It will be 50 shekels of silver for each homer[c] of barley seed. 17 If you give your field to God during the year of Jubilee, then its value will be whatever the priest decides. 18 But if you give your field after the Jubilee, the priest must decide its exact price. He must count the number of years to the next year of Jubilee and use that number to decide the price. 19 If you want to buy the field back, you must add one-fifth to that price. Then you will get the field back. 20 If you don’t buy the field back and the land is sold to someone else, you cannot get the land back. 21 If you don’t buy the land back by the year of Jubilee, the field will remain holy to the Lord—it will belong to the priest forever. It will be treated like any other thing that was given completely to the Lord.
22 “If you dedicate a field to the Lord that you had bought, and it is not a part of your family’s property,[d] 23 then the priest must count the years to the year of Jubilee and decide the price for the land. Then that land will belong to the Lord. 24 At the year of Jubilee, the land will go to the family that originally owned the land.
25 “You must use the official measure in paying these prices. The shekel by that measure weighs 20 gerahs.[e]
Value of Animals
26 “You can give cattle and sheep as special gifts to the Lord. But if the animal is the firstborn, it already belongs to the Lord. So you cannot give these animals as special gifts. 27 If the firstborn animal is an unclean animal, you must buy back that animal. The priest will decide the price of the animal, and you must add one-fifth to that price. If you don’t buy that animal back, the priest will sell the animal for whatever price he decides.
Special Gifts
28 “There is a special kind of gift[f] that people give to the Lord. It belongs only to him, and it cannot be bought back or sold. This gift belongs to the Lord. This type of gift includes people, animals, and fields from the family property. 29 If this gift is a person, that person cannot be bought back. That person must be killed.
30 “A tenth of all crops belongs to the Lord. This means the crops from fields and the fruit from trees—a tenth belongs to the Lord. 31 So if you want to get back your tenth, you must add one-fifth to its price and then buy it back.
32 “The priests will take every tenth animal from a person’s cattle or sheep. Every tenth animal will belong to the Lord. 33 The owner should not worry if the chosen animal is good or bad or change the animal for another animal. If this happens, both animals will belong to the Lord. That animal cannot be bought back.”
34 These are the commands that the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai for the Israelites.
[a] A song of David when he pretended to be crazy so that Abimelech would send him away, which he did.
34 I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will never stop singing his praises.
2 Humble people, listen and be happy,
while I brag about the Lord.
3 Praise the Lord with me.
Let us honor his name.
4 I went to the Lord for help, and he listened.
He saved me from all that I fear.
5 If you look to him for help,
he will put a smile on your face.
You will have no need to be ashamed.
6 As a poor, helpless man I prayed to the Lord,
and he heard me.
He saved me from all my troubles.
7 The Lord’s angel builds a camp around his followers,
and he protects them.
8 Give the Lord a chance to show you[b] how good he is.
Great blessings belong to those who depend on him!
9 The Lord’s holy people should fear and respect him.
Those who respect him will always have what they need.
10 Even strong lions get weak and hungry,
but those who go to the Lord for help will have every good thing.
11 Children, come and listen to me;
I will teach you to respect the Lord.
12 Do you want to enjoy life?
Do you want to have many happy days?
13 Then avoid saying anything hurtful,
and never let a lie come out of your mouth.
14 Stop doing anything evil, and do good.
Look for peace, and do all you can to help people live peacefully.
15 The Lord watches over those who do what is right,
and he hears their prayers.
16 But the Lord is against those who do evil,
so they are forgotten soon after they die.
17 Pray to the Lord, and he will hear you.
He will save you from all your troubles.
18 The Lord is close to those who have suffered disappointment.
He saves those who are discouraged.
19 Good people might have many problems,
but the Lord will take them all away.
20 He will protect them completely.
Not one of their bones will be broken.
21 But troubles will kill the wicked.
The enemies of those who live right will all be punished.
22 The Lord saves his servants.
All who go to him for protection will escape punishment.
10 A few dead flies will make even the best perfume stink. In the same way, a little foolishness can ruin much wisdom and honor.
2 The thoughts of the wise lead them the right way, but the thoughts of the foolish lead them the wrong way. 3 Fools show how foolish they are, just walking down the road. Their minds are empty, and everyone knows it.
4 Don’t quit your job simply because the boss is angry with you. If you remain calm and helpful, you can correct even great mistakes.[a]
5 Here is something else that I have seen in this life[b] that isn’t fair. It is the kind of mistake that rulers make. 6 Fools are given important positions, while the rich get jobs that are not important. 7 I have seen servants riding on horses, while rulers were walking beside them like slaves.
Every Job Has Its Dangers
8 If you dig a hole, you might fall into it. If you break down a wall, you might be bitten by a snake. 9 If you are moving large stones, you might be hurt by them. If you cut down a tree, you are in danger of it falling on you.
10 But wisdom will make any job easier. It is very hard to cut with a dull knife. But if you sharpen the knife, the job is easier.
11 Someone might know how to control snakes. But that skill is useless if a snake bites when that person is not around.
12 Words from the wise bring praise,
but words from a fool bring destruction.
13 Fools begin by saying something foolish. But in the end, they speak nonsense. 14 Fools are always talking about what they will do, but you never know what will happen. People cannot tell what will happen in the future.
15 Fools aren’t smart enough to find their way home,
so they must work hard all their lives.
The Value of Work
16 It is very bad for a country if the king is like a child. And it is very bad for a country if its rulers use all their time eating. 17 But it is very good for a country if the king comes from a good family.[c] And it is very good for a country if the rulers control their eating and drinking. They eat and drink to become strong, not to become drunk.
18 If someone is too lazy to work,
their house will begin to leak, and the roof will fall in.
19 People enjoy eating, and wine makes life happier. But money solves a lot of problems.
Gossip
20 Don’t say bad things about the king. Don’t even think bad things about him. And don’t say bad things about rich people, even if you are alone in your home. A little bird might fly and tell them everything you said.
Following the True Teaching
2 You, however, must tell everyone how to live in a way that agrees with the true teaching. 2 Teach the older men to have self-control, to be serious, and to be wise. They must be strong in faith, in love, and in patience.
3 Also, teach the older women to live the way those who serve the Lord should live. They should not go around saying bad things about others or be in the habit of drinking too much. They should teach what is good. 4 By doing this they will teach the younger women to love their husbands and children. 5 They will teach them to be wise and pure, to take care of their homes, to be kind, and to be willing to serve their husbands. Then no one will be able to criticize the teaching God gave us.
6 In the same way, tell the young men to be wise. 7 You should be an example for them in every way by the good things you do. When you teach, be honest and serious. 8 And your teaching should be clearly right so that you cannot be criticized. Then anyone who is against you will be ashamed. There will not be anything bad they can say about us.
9 And tell this to those who are slaves: They should be willing to serve their masters at all times; they should try to please them, not argue with them; 10 they should not steal from them; and they should show their masters that they can be trusted. Then, in everything they do, they will show that the teaching of God our Savior is good.
11 That is the way we should live, because God’s grace has come. That grace can save everyone. 12 It teaches us not to live against God and not to do the bad things the world wants to do. It teaches us to live on earth now in a wise and right way—a way that shows true devotion to God. 13 We should live like that while we are waiting for the coming of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. He is our great hope, and he will come with glory. 14 He gave himself for us. He died to free us from all evil. He died to make us pure—people who belong only to him and who always want to do good.
15 These are the things you should tell people. Encourage them, and when they are wrong, correct them. You have full authority to do this, so don’t let anyone think they can ignore you.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International