M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Special Offerings
27 The Lord told Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelis that when a person[a] makes a special vow based on the appropriate value of people who belong to the Lord, 3 if your valuation of the vow[b] is for a male from 20 to 60 years old, the valuation is to be 50 shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 If she is a female from 20 to 60 years old, then your valuation is to be 30 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 5 If a person[c] is from five to 20 years, then your valuation for a male is to be 20 shekels and for a female ten shekels. 6 If a person is from one month to five years old, then your valuation for a male is to be five shekels of silver, and for a female your valuation is to be three shekels of silver. 7 If a person is 60 or more years old, then your valuation for a male is to be fifteen shekels and for a female ten shekels. 8 But if he is too poor to be valuated, then cause him to stand before the priest and let the priest set a value on him according to the ability[d] of the one making the vow.
9 “If it’s an animal from which they make an offering to the Lord, everything that he gives to the Lord from it will be holy. 10 He is not to substitute it or exchange it—the good with the bad or the bad with the good. If he ever makes an exchange of an animal for an animal, then it and what’s being exchanged is holy. 11 If any animal is unclean, which cannot be brought to the Lord as an offering, make the animal stand in the presence of the priest, 12 then the priest will evaluate it as to whether it is good or bad. According to your—that is, the priest’s—valuation, so it is to be. 13 If a kinsman redeemer decides to redeem it, then he is to add a fifth to your valuation.”
Gifts of Residences
14 “If a person consecrates his house to be holy to the Lord, then the priest is to set a value for it as to its worth, whether good or bad. As the priest sets value on it, so it will stand. 15 And if he that consecrated it wishes to redeem his house, he is to add one fifth to your valuation, after which it is to belong to him.
16 “If a person consecrates to the Lord a portion of the field from his inheritance, then your valuation is to be based on its capacity for yielding a harvest.[e] Each omer[f] of barley is to be valued at 50 shekels of silver. 17 If he consecrates his field in the year of jubilee, it is to be based on your valuation. 18 If he consecrates his field after the jubilee, then the priest is to account to him the silver according to the years that remain until the year of jubilee, with a deduction corresponding to your valuation.
19 “If the one who consecrated the field intends to redeem it, then he is to add one fifth of your valuation to it in silver, then it is to be established as his. 20 But if he won’t redeem the field, but instead sells it to another person,[g] then it is not to be redeemed anymore. 21 When the field is released in the jubilee, it will be holy to the Lord. As a field that’s devoted, it is to belong to the priest as his inheritance. 22 If he consecrates a field that he had bought and that isn’t part of his inheritance, 23 then the priest is to account to him the evaluated worth until the year of jubilee. Then he is to give the amount of valuation on that day as a holy gift to the Lord. 24 During the year of jubilee, the field is to be returned by the one who originally sold it—that is, to the owner of the land. 25 Every valuation is to be according to the shekel of the sanctuary, evaluated at 20 gerahs to the shekel.
26 “No person is to consecrate the firstborn, because the firstborn of the animals already belongs to the Lord. Whether ox or goat, it belongs to the Lord. 27 If it’s an unclean animal, then he is to ransom it according to your valuation, adding a fifth to it. If it’s not redeemed, then it is to be sold according to your valuation. 28 However, any devoted thing that a person consecrates to the Lord from what he owns—whether man, animals, or inherited fields—is not to be sold or redeemed. Any devoted thing is most sacred. It belongs to the Lord. 29 But anyone who is completely devoted from among human beings is not to be ransomed. He is certainly to be put to death.
30 “Any tithes of the land—from grain grown on the land or from fruit grown on the trees—belong to the Lord. They are sacred to the Lord. 31 But if a person wishes to redeem his tithe, he is to add a fifth to it. 32 All the tithes from cattle and flocks that pass under the measuring rod are sacred to the Lord. 33 He is not to examine it to see if it’s good or bad or even exchange it. If he does exchange it, what has been exchanged as well as its substitute[h] is sacred. It is not to be redeemed.”
34 These are the commands that the Lord commanded Moses to deliver[i] to the Israelis on Mount Sinai.
By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away. So David[a] left.
Learning about God’s Deliverance
34 [b]I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise will be in my mouth continuously.
2 My soul will glorify the Lord;
the humble will hear about it and rejoice.
3 Magnify the Lord with me!
Let us lift up his name together!
4 I sought the Lord and he answered me;
he delivered me from all of my fears.
5 Look to him and be radiant;
and you[c] will not be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard
and delivered him from all of his distress.
7 The angel of the Lord surrounds those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good!
How blessed is the person who trusts in him!
9 Fear the Lord, you holy ones of his;
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Young lions lack and go hungry,
but those who seek the Lord will never lack any good thing.
11 Come, children, listen to me,
and I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who among you[d] desires life,
and wants long life in order to see good?
13 Then keep your tongue from doing evil
and your lips from spreading lies.
14 Avoid evil and do good!
Seek peace and pursue it!
15 The[e] Lord looks on the righteous,
and he listens to their cries.
16 The face of the Lord is set against those who do evil,
and he will remove people’s recollection of them from the earth.
17 The Lord hears those who cry out,
and he delivers them from all their distress.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
and he delivers those whose spirit has been crushed.
19 A righteous person will have many troubles,
but the Lord will deliver him from them all.
20 God[f] protects all his bones;
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will kill the wicked;
those who hate the righteous will be held guilty.
22 The Lord redeems the lives of his servants;
and none of those who trust in him will be held guilty.
Proverbs about Wisdom and Foolishness
10 As dead flies cause the perfumer’s ointment to stink,
so also does a little foolishness to one’s reputation of wisdom and honor.
2 A wise man’s heart tends toward his right,
but a fool’s heart tends toward his left.
3 Furthermore, the way a fool lives shows he has no sense;
he proclaims to everyone that he’s a fool.
4 If your overseer gets angry at you, don’t resign,
because calmness pacifies great offenses.
5 Here’s another tragedy that I’ve observed on earth,
a kind of error that comes from an overseer:
6 Foolishness is given great honor,
while the prosperous sit in lowly places.[a]
7 And I have observed servants riding[b] on horses,
while princes walk on the ground like servants.
8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it,
and whoever breaks through a wall
may suffer a snake bite.
9 Someone who quarries stone might be injured;
someone splitting logs can fall into danger.
10 If someone’s ax is blunt—the edge isn’t sharpened—
then more strength will be needed.
Putting wisdom to work will bring success.
11 If a serpent strikes despite being charmed,
there’s no point in being a snake charmer.
12 The words spoken by the wise are gracious,
but the lips of a fool will devour him.
13 He begins his speech with foolishness,
and concludes it with evil madness.
14 The fool overflows with words,
and no one can predict what will happen.
As to what will happen after him,
who can explain it?
15 The work of a fool so wears him out
that he can’t even find his way to town.
16 Woe to the land whose king is a youth
and whose princes feast in the morning.
17 That land is blessed whose king is of noble birth,
whose princes feast at the right time,
for strength, and not to become drunk.
18 Through slothfulness the roof deteriorates,
and a house leaks because of idleness.
19 Festivals are for laughter,
wine makes life pleasant,
and money speaks to everything.
20 Do not curse the king,
even in your thoughts.
Do not curse the rich,
even in your bedroom.
For a bird will fly by and tell what you say,
or something with wings may talk about it.
Guidelines for Christian Living
2 But as for you, teach what is consistent with healthy doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober, serious, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance. 3 Likewise, older women are to show their reverence for God by their behavior. They are not to be gossips or addicted to alcohol, but to be examples[a] of goodness. 4 They should encourage the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible and pure, to manage their households, to be kind, and to submit themselves to their husbands. Otherwise, the word of God may be discredited.[b]
6 Likewise, encourage the younger men to be sensible. 7 Always set an example for others by doing good actions. Teach with integrity and dignity. 8 Use wholesome speech that cannot be condemned. Then any opponent will be ashamed because he cannot say anything bad about us.
9 Slaves are to submit to their masters in everything, aiming to please them and not argue with them 10 or steal from them. Instead, they are to show complete and perfect loyalty, so that in every way they may make the teaching about God our Savior more attractive.
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. 12 It trains us to renounce ungodly living and worldly passions so that we might live sensible, honest, and godly lives in the present age 13 as we wait for the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus the Messiah.[c] 14 He gave himself for us to set us free from every wrong and to cleanse us so that we could be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good deeds.
15 These are the things you should teach. Encourage and refute with full authority. Do not let anyone look down on you.
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