M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
27 1-2 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel that when a person makes a special vow to give himself to the Lord, he shall give these payments instead: 3 A man from the age of twenty to sixty shall pay twenty-five dollars;[a] 4 a woman from the age of twenty to sixty shall pay fifteen dollars; 5 a boy from five to twenty shall pay ten dollars; a girl, five dollars. 6 A boy one month to five years old shall have paid for him two and a half dollars; a girl, one and a half dollars. 7 A man over sixty shall pay seven and a half dollars; a woman, five dollars. 8 But if the person is too poor to pay this amount, he shall be brought to the priest, and the priest shall talk it over with him, and he shall pay as the priest shall decide.
9 “But if it is an animal that is vowed to be given to the Lord as a sacrifice, it must be given. 10 The vow may not be changed; the donor may neither change his mind about giving it to the Lord, nor substitute good for bad or bad for good; if he does, both the first and the second shall belong to the Lord! 11-12 But if the animal given to the Lord is not a kind that is permitted as a sacrifice, the owner shall bring it to the priest to value it, and he shall be told how much to pay instead. 13 If the animal is a kind that may be offered as a sacrifice,[b] but the man wants to redeem it, then he shall pay 20 percent more than the value set by the priest.
14-15 “If someone donates his home to the Lord and then wishes to redeem it, the priest will decide its value, and the man shall pay that amount plus 20 percent, and the house will be his again.
16 “If a man dedicates any part of his field to the Lord, value it in proportion to its size, as indicated by the amount of seed required to sow it. A section of land that requires ten bushels of barley seed for sowing is valued at twenty-five dollars. 17 If a man dedicates his field in the Year of Jubilee, then the whole estimate shall stand; 18 but if it is after the Year of Jubilee, then the value shall be in proportion to the number of years remaining until the next Year of Jubilee. 19 If the man decides to redeem the field, he shall pay 20 percent in addition to the priest’s valuation, and the field will be his again. 20 But if he decides not to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to someone else and has given to the Lord his rights to it at the Year of Jubilee,[c] it shall not be returned to him again. 21 When it is freed in the Year of Jubilee, it shall belong to the Lord as a field devoted to him, and it shall be given to the priests.
22 “If a man dedicates to the Lord a field he has bought, but which is not part of his family possession, 23 the priest shall estimate the value until the Year of Jubilee, and he shall immediately give that estimated value to the Lord, 24 and in the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to the original owner from whom it was bought. 25 All the valuations shall be stated in standard money.[d]
26 “You may not dedicate to the Lord the firstborn of any ox or sheep, for it is already his. 27 But if it is the firstborn of an animal that cannot be sacrificed because it is not on the list of those acceptable to the Lord, then the owner shall pay the priest’s estimate of its worth, plus 20 percent; or if the owner does not redeem it, the priest may sell it to someone else. 28 However, anything utterly devoted to the Lord—people, animals, or inherited fields—shall not be sold or redeemed, for they are most holy to the Lord. 29 No one sentenced by the courts to die may pay a fine instead; he shall surely be put to death.[e]
30 “A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, is the Lord’s, and is holy. 31 If anyone wants to buy back this fruit or grain, he must add a fifth to its value. 32 And the Lord owns every tenth animal of your herds and flocks and other domestic animals, as they pass by for counting. 33 The tenth given to the Lord shall not be selected on the basis of whether it is good or bad, and there shall be no substitutions; for if there is any change made, then both the original and the substitution shall belong to the Lord, and may not be bought back!”
34 These are the commandments the Lord gave to Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.
34 I will praise the Lord no matter what happens. I will constantly speak of his glories and grace.[a] 2 I will boast of all his kindness to me. Let all who are discouraged take heart. 3 Let us praise the Lord together and exalt his name.
4 For I cried to him and he answered me! He freed me from all my fears. 5 Others too were radiant at what he did for them. Theirs was no downcast look of rejection! 6 This poor man cried to the Lord—and the Lord heard him and saved him out of his troubles. 7 For the Angel of the Lord guards and rescues all who reverence him.
8 Oh, put God to the test and see how kind he is! See for yourself the way his mercies shower down on all who trust in him. 9 If you belong to the Lord, reverence him; for everyone who does this has everything he needs. 10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those of us who reverence the Lord will never lack any good thing.
11 Sons and daughters, come and listen and let me teach you the importance of trusting and fearing the Lord. 12 Do you want a long, good life? 13 Then watch your tongue! Keep your lips from lying. 14 Turn from all known sin and spend your time in doing good. Try to live in peace with everyone; work hard at it.
15 For the eyes of the Lord are intently watching all who live good lives, and he gives attention when they cry to him. 16 But the Lord has made up his mind to wipe out even the memory of evil men from the earth. 17 Yes, the Lord hears the good man when he calls to him for help and saves him out of all his troubles.
18 The Lord is close to those whose hearts are breaking; he rescues those who are humbly sorry for their sins. 19 The good man does not escape all troubles—he has them too. But the Lord helps him in each and every one. 20 Not one of his bones is broken.
21 Calamity will surely overtake the wicked; heavy penalties are meted out to those who hate the good. 22 But as for those who serve the Lord, he will redeem them; everyone who takes refuge in him will be freely pardoned.
10 Dead flies will cause even a bottle of perfume to stink! Yes, a small mistake can outweigh much wisdom and honor. 2 A wise man’s heart leads him to do right, and a fool’s heart leads him to do evil. 3 You can identify a fool just by the way he walks down the street!
4 If the boss is angry with you, don’t quit! A quiet spirit will quiet his bad temper.
5 There is another evil I have seen as I have watched the world go by, a sad situation concerning kings and rulers: 6 For I have seen foolish men given great authority and rich men not given their rightful place of dignity! 7 I have even seen servants riding, while princes walk like servants!
8-9 Dig a well—and fall into it! Demolish an old wall—and be bitten by a snake! When working in a quarry, stones will fall and crush you! There is risk in each stroke of your ax!
10 A dull ax requires great strength; be wise and sharpen the blade.
11 When the horse is stolen, it is too late to lock the barn.[a]
12-13 It is pleasant to listen to wise words, but a fool’s speech brings him to ruin. Since he begins with a foolish premise, his conclusion is sheer madness. 14 A fool knows all about the future and tells everyone in detail! But who can really know what is going to happen? 15 A fool is so upset by a little work that he has no strength for the simplest matter.[b]
16-17 Woe to the land whose king is a child and whose leaders are already drunk in the morning. Happy the land whose king is a nobleman and whose leaders work hard before they feast and drink, and then only to strengthen themselves for the tasks ahead! 18 Laziness lets the roof leak, and soon the rafters begin to rot. 19 A party gives laughter, and wine gives happiness, and money gives everything! 20 Never curse the king, not even in your thoughts, nor the rich man, either; for a little bird will tell them what you’ve said.
2 But as for you, speak up for the right living that goes along with true Christianity. 2 Teach the older men to be serious and unruffled; they must be sensible, knowing and believing the truth and doing everything with love and patience.
3 Teach the older women to be quiet and respectful in everything they do. They must not go around speaking evil of others and must not be heavy drinkers, but they should be teachers of goodness. 4 These older women must train the younger women to live quietly, to love their husbands and their children, 5 and to be sensible and clean minded, spending their time in their own homes, being kind and obedient to their husbands so that the Christian faith can’t be spoken against by those who know them.
6 In the same way, urge the young men to behave carefully, taking life seriously. 7 And here you yourself must be an example to them of good deeds of every kind. Let everything you do reflect your love of the truth and the fact that you are in dead earnest about it. 8 Your conversation should be so sensible and logical that anyone who wants to argue will be ashamed of himself because there won’t be anything to criticize in anything you say!
9 Urge slaves to obey their masters and to try their best to satisfy them. They must not talk back, 10 nor steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy. In this way they will make people want to believe in our Savior and God.
11 For the free gift of eternal salvation is now being offered to everyone; 12 and along with this gift comes the realization that God wants us to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures and to live good, God-fearing lives day after day, 13 looking forward to that wonderful time we’ve been expecting, when his glory shall be seen—the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. 14 He died under God’s judgment against our sins so that he could rescue us from constant falling into sin and make us his very own people, with cleansed hearts and real enthusiasm for doing kind things for others. 15 You must teach these things and encourage your people to do them, correcting them when necessary as one who has every right to do so. Don’t let anyone think that what you say is not important.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.