M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Promises Are Important
27 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and tell them: ‘If someone makes a special promise to give a person as a servant to the Lord by paying a price that is the same value as that person, 3 the price for a man twenty to sixty years old is about one and one-fourth pounds of silver. (You must use the measure as set by the Holy Place.) 4 The price for a woman twenty to sixty years old is about twelve ounces of silver. 5 The price for a man five to twenty years old is about eight ounces of silver; for a woman it is about four ounces of silver. 6 The price for a baby boy one month to five years old is about two ounces of silver; for a baby girl the price is about one and one-half ounces of silver. 7 The price for a man sixty years old or older is about six ounces of silver; for a woman it is about four ounces of silver.
8 “‘If anyone is too poor to pay the price, bring him to the priest, and the priest will set the price. The priest will decide how much money the person making the vow can afford to pay.
Gifts to the Lord
9 “‘Some animals may be used as sacrifices to the Lord. If someone promises to bring one of these to the Lord, it will become holy. 10 That person must not try to put another animal in its place or exchange it, a good animal for a bad one, or a bad animal for a good one. If this happens, both animals will become holy.
11 “‘Unclean animals cannot be offered as sacrifices to the Lord, and if someone brings one of them to the Lord, that animal must be brought to the priest. 12 The priest will decide a price for the animal, according to whether it is good or bad; as the priest decides, that is the price for the animal. 13 If the person wants to buy back the animal, an additional one-fifth must be added to the price.
Value of a House
14 “‘If a person gives a house as holy to the Lord, the priest must decide its value, according to whether the house is good or bad; as the priest decides, that is the price for the house. 15 But if the person who gives the house wants to buy it back, an additional one-fifth must be added to the price. Then the house will belong to that person again.
Value of Land
16 “‘If a person gives some family property to the Lord, the value of the fields will depend on how much seed is needed to plant them. It will cost about one and one-fourth pounds of silver for each six bushels of barley seed needed. 17 If the person gives a field at the year of Jubilee, its value will stay at what the priest has decided. 18 But if the person gives the field after the Jubilee, the priest must decide the exact price by counting the number of years to the next year of Jubilee. Then he will subtract that number from its value. 19 If the person who gave the field wants to buy it back, one-fifth must be added to that price, and the field will belong to the first owner again.
20 “‘If the person does not buy back the field, or if it is sold to someone else, the first person cannot ever buy it back. 21 When the land is released at the year of Jubilee, it will become holy to the Lord, like land specially given to him. It will become the property of the priests.
22 “‘If someone gives to the Lord a field he has bought, which is not a part of his family land, 23 the priest must count the years to the next Jubilee. He must decide the price for the land, and the price must be paid on that day. Then that land will be holy to the Lord. 24 At the year of Jubilee, the land will go back to its first owner, to the family who sold the land.
25 “‘You must use the measure as set by the Holy Place in paying these prices; it weighs two-fifths of an ounce.
Value of Animals
26 “‘If an animal is the first one born to its parent, it already belongs to the Lord, so people may not give it again. If it is a cow or a sheep, it is the Lord’s. 27 If the animal is unclean, the person must buy it back for the price set by the priest, and the person must add one-fifth to that price. If it is not bought back, the priest must sell it for the price he had decided.
28 “‘There is a special kind of gift that people set apart to give to the Lord; it may be a person, animal, or field from the family property. That gift cannot be bought back or sold. Every special kind of gift is most holy to the Lord.
29 “‘If anyone is given for the purpose of being destroyed, he cannot be bought back; he must be put to death.
30 “‘One-tenth of all crops belongs to the Lord, including the crops from fields and the fruit from trees. That one-tenth is holy to the Lord. 31 If a person wants to get back that tenth, one-fifth must be added to its price.
32 “‘The priest will take every tenth animal from a person’s herd or flock, and it will be holy to the Lord. 33 The owner should not pick out the good animals from the bad or exchange one animal for another. If that happens, both animals will become holy; they cannot be bought back.’”
34 These are the commands the Lord gave to Moses at Mount Sinai for the people of Israel.
Praise God Who Judges and Saves
David’s song from the time he acted crazy so Abimelech would send him away, and David did leave.
34 I will praise the Lord at all times;
his praise is always on my lips.
2 My whole being praises the Lord.
The poor will hear and be glad.
3 Glorify the Lord with me,
and let us praise his name together.
4 I asked the Lord for help, and he answered me.
He saved me from all that I feared.
5 Those who go to him for help are happy,
and they are never disgraced.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around those who fear God,
and he saves them.
8 Examine and see how good the Lord is.
Happy is the person who trusts him.
9 You who belong to the Lord, fear him!
Those who fear him will have everything they need.
10 Even lions may get weak and hungry,
but those who look to the Lord will have every good thing.
11 Children, come and listen to me.
I will teach you to worship the Lord.
12 You must do these things
to enjoy life and have many happy days.
13 You must not say evil things,
and you must not tell lies.
14 Stop doing evil and do good.
Look for peace and work for it.
15 The Lord sees the good people
and listens to their prayers.
16 But the Lord is against those who do evil;
he makes the world forget them.
17 The Lord hears good people when they cry out to him,
and he saves them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed.
19 People who do what is right may have many problems,
but the Lord will solve them all.
20 He will protect their very bones;
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will kill the wicked;
those who hate good people will be judged guilty.
22 But the Lord saves his servants’ lives;
no one who trusts him will be judged guilty.
10 Dead flies can make even perfume stink.
In the same way, a little foolishness can spoil wisdom.
2 The heart of the wise leads to right,
but the heart of a fool leads to wrong.
3 Even in the way fools walk along the road,
they show they are not wise;
they show everyone how stupid they are.
4 Don’t leave your job
just because your boss is angry with you.
Remaining calm solves great problems.
5 There is something else wrong that happens here on earth.
It is the kind of mistake rulers make:
6 Fools are given important positions
while gifted people are given lower ones;
7 I have seen servants ride horses
while princes walk like servants on foot.
8 Anyone who digs a pit might fall into it;
anyone who knocks down a wall might be bitten by a snake;
9 anyone who moves boulders might be hurt by them;
and anyone who cuts logs might be harmed by them.
10 A dull ax means
harder work.
Being wise will make it easier.
11 If a snake bites the tamer before it is tamed,
what good is the tamer?
12 The words of the wise bring them praise,
but the words of a fool will destroy them.
13 A fool begins by saying foolish things
and ends by saying crazy and wicked things.
14 A fool talks too much.
No one knows the future,
and no one can tell what will happen after death.
15 Work wears fools out;
they don’t even know how to get home.
The Value of Work
16 How terrible it is for a country whose king is a child
and whose leaders eat all morning.
17 How lucky a country is whose king comes from a good family,
whose leaders eat only at mealtime
and for strength, not to get drunk.
18 If someone is lazy, the roof will begin to fall.
If he doesn’t fix it, the house will leak.
19 A party makes you feel good,
wine makes you feel happy,
and money buys anything.
20 Don’t make fun of the king,
and don’t make fun of rich people, even in your bedroom.
A little bird might carry your words;
a bird might fly and tell what you said.
Following the True Teaching
2 But you must tell everyone what to do to follow the true teaching. 2 Teach older men to be self-controlled, serious, wise, strong in faith, in love, and in patience.
3 In the same way, teach older women to be holy in their behavior, not speaking against others or enslaved to too much wine, but teaching what is good. 4 Then they can teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be wise and pure, to be good workers at home, to be kind, and to yield to their husbands. Then no one will be able to criticize the teaching God gave us.
6 In the same way, encourage young men to be wise. 7 In every way be an example of doing good deeds. When you teach, do it with honesty and seriousness. 8 Speak the truth so that you cannot be criticized. Then those who are against you will be ashamed because there is nothing bad to say about us.
9 Slaves should yield to their own masters at all times, trying to please them and not arguing with them. 10 They should not steal from them but should show their masters they can be fully trusted so that in everything they do they will make the teaching of God our Savior attractive.
11 That is the way we should live, because God’s grace that can save everyone has come. 12 It teaches us not to live against God nor to do the evil things the world wants to do. Instead, that grace teaches us to live in the present age in a wise and right way and in a way that shows we serve God. 13 We should live like that while we wait for our great hope and the coming of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. 14 He gave himself for us so he might pay the price to free us from all evil and to make us pure people who belong only to him—people who are always wanting to do good deeds.
15 Say these things and encourage the people and tell them what is wrong in their lives, with all authority. Do not let anyone treat you as if you were unimportant.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.