M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
V. Redemption of Offerings
Chapter 27
Votive Offerings and Dedications. 1 The Lord said to Moses: 2 [a]Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When anyone makes a vow to the Lord(A) with respect to the value of a human being, 3 the value for males between the ages of twenty and sixty shall be fifty silver shekels, by the sanctuary shekel; 4 and for a female, the value shall be thirty shekels. 5 For persons between the ages of five and twenty, the value for a male shall be twenty shekels, and for a female, ten shekels. 6 For persons between the ages of one month and five years, the value for a male shall be five silver shekels, and for a female, three shekels. 7 For persons of sixty or more, for a male the value shall be fifteen shekels, and ten shekels for a female. 8 However, if the one who made the vow is too poor to meet the sum,(B) the person must be set before the priest, who shall determine a value; the priest will do this in keeping with the means of the one who made the vow.
9 If the offering vowed to the Lord is an animal that may be sacrificed, every such animal given to the Lord becomes sacred.(C) 10 The offerer shall not substitute or exchange another for it, either a worse or a better one. If the offerer exchanges one animal in place of another, both the original and its substitute shall become sacred. 11 If any unclean animal which is unfit for sacrifice(D) to the Lord is vowed, it must be set before the priest, 12 who shall determine its value[b] in keeping with its good or bad qualities, and the value set by the priest shall stand. 13 If the offerer wishes to redeem the animal, the person shall pay one fifth more than this valuation.(E)
14 [c]When someone dedicates a house as sacred to the Lord,[d] the priest shall determine its value in keeping with its good or bad qualities, and the value set by the priest shall stand. 15 A person dedicating a house who then wishes to redeem it shall pay one fifth more than the price thus established, and then it will again belong to that individual.(F)
16 If someone dedicates to the Lord a portion of hereditary land, its valuation shall be made according to the amount of seed required to sow it, the acreage sown with a homer[e] of barley seed being valued at fifty silver shekels. 17 If the dedication of a field is made at the beginning of a jubilee period, the full valuation shall hold; 18 but if it is some time after this, the priest shall estimate its money value according to the number of years left until the next jubilee year, with a corresponding reduction on the valuation.(G) 19 A person dedicating a field who then wishes to redeem[f](H) it shall pay one fifth more than the price thus established, and so reclaim it. 20 If, instead of redeeming such a field, one sells it[g] to another, it may no longer be redeemed; 21 but at the jubilee it shall be released(I) as sacred[h] to the Lord; like a field that is put under the ban, it shall become priestly property.
22 If someone dedicates to the Lord a field that was purchased and was not part of hereditary property, 23 the priest shall compute its value in proportion to the number of years until the next jubilee, and on the same day the person shall pay the price thus established, a sacred donation to the Lord; 24 at the jubilee the field shall revert to the hereditary owner of this land from whom it had been purchased.[i]
25 Every valuation shall be made according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel. There are twenty gerahs to the shekel.
Irredeemable Offerings. 26 [j]Note that a firstborn animal,(J) which as such already belongs to the Lord, may not be dedicated. Whether an ox or a sheep, it is the Lord’s. 27 But if it is an unclean animal,[k] it may be redeemed by paying one fifth more than its value. If it is not redeemed, it shall be sold at its value.
28 Note, also, that any possession which someone puts under the ban[l] for the Lord, whether it is a human being, an animal, or a hereditary field, shall be neither sold nor redeemed; everything that is put under the ban becomes most holy to the Lord.(K) 29 All human beings that are put under the ban cannot be redeemed; they must be put to death.(L)
30 [m]All tithes of the land, whether in grain from the fields or in fruit from the trees, belong to the Lord; they are sacred to the Lord.(M) 31 If someone wishes to redeem any of the tithes, the person shall pay one fifth more than their value. 32 The tithes of the herd and the flock, every tenth animal that passes under the herdsman’s rod, shall be sacred to the Lord. 33 It shall not matter whether good ones or bad ones are thus chosen, and no exchange may be made. If any exchange is made, both the original animal and its substitute become sacred and cannot be redeemed.
34 These are the commandments which the Lord gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.(N)
Psalm 34[a]
Thanksgiving to God Who Delivers the Just
1 Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech,[b] who drove him out and he went away.
I
2 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall be always in my mouth.(A)
3 My soul will glory in the Lord;
let the poor hear and be glad.
4 Magnify the Lord with me;
and let us exalt his name together.
II
5 I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
delivered me from all my fears.
6 Look to him and be radiant,
and your faces may not blush for shame.
7 This poor one cried out and the Lord heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
8 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and he saves them.(B)
9 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the stalwart one who takes refuge in him.(C)
10 Fear the Lord, you his holy ones;
nothing is lacking to those who fear him.(D)
11 The rich grow poor and go hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
III
12 Come, children,[c] listen to me;(E)
I will teach you fear of the Lord.
13 Who is the man who delights in life,(F)
who loves to see the good days?
14 Keep your tongue from evil,
your lips from speaking lies.
15 Turn from evil and do good;(G)
seek peace and pursue it.
16 The eyes of the Lord are directed toward the righteous(H)
and his ears toward their cry.
17 The Lord’s face is against evildoers
to wipe out their memory from the earth.
18 The righteous cry out, the Lord hears
and he rescues them from all their afflictions.
19 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
saves those whose spirit is crushed.
20 Many are the troubles of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.
21 He watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.(I)
22 Evil will slay the wicked;
those who hate the righteous are condemned.
23 The Lord is the redeemer of the souls of his servants;
and none are condemned who take refuge in him.
Chapter 10
1 Dead flies corrupt and spoil the perfumer’s oil;
more weighty than wisdom or wealth is a little folly![a]
2 The wise heart turns to the right;
the foolish heart to the left.[b]
3 Even when walking in the street the fool, lacking understanding, calls everyone a fool.[c]
4 Should the anger of a ruler burst upon you, do not yield your place; for calmness[d] abates great offenses.
5 I have seen under the sun another evil, like a mistake that proceeds from a tyrant: 6 a fool put in high position, while the great and the rich sit in lowly places. 7 I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes[e] went on foot like slaves.
8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it,(A)
and whoever breaks through a wall, a snake may bite.
9 Whoever quarries stones may be hurt by them,
and whoever chops wood[f] is in danger from it.
10 If the ax becomes dull, and the blade is not sharpened, then effort must be increased. But the advantage of wisdom is success.
11 If the snake bites before it is charmed,
then there is no advantage in a charmer.[g]
12 Words from the mouth of the wise win favor,
but the lips of fools consume them.
13 (B)The beginning of their words is folly,
and the end of their talk is utter madness;
14 yet fools multiply words.
No one knows what is to come,
for who can tell anyone what will be?(C)
15 The toil of fools wearies them,
so they do not know even the way to town.
No One Knows What Evil Will Come
16 Woe to you, O land, whose king is a youth,[h]
and whose princes feast in the morning!
17 Happy are you, O land, whose king is of noble birth,
and whose princes dine at the right time—
for vigor[i] and not in drinking bouts.
18 Because of laziness, the rafters sag;
when hands are slack, the house leaks.
19 A feast is made for merriment
and wine gives joy to the living,
but money answers[j] for everything.
20 Even in your thoughts do not curse the king,
nor in the privacy of your bedroom curse the rich;
For the birds of the air may carry your voice,
a winged creature[k] may tell what you say.
III. Teaching the Christian Life
Chapter 2
Christian Behavior.[a] 1 As for yourself, you must say what is consistent with sound doctrine, namely,(A) 2 that older men should be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, love, and endurance. 3 Similarly, older women should be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to drink, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may train younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, chaste, good homemakers, under the control of their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited.(B)
6 Urge the younger men, similarly, to control themselves, 7 showing yourself as a model of good deeds in every respect, with integrity in your teaching, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be criticized, so that the opponent will be put to shame without anything bad to say about us.
9 Slaves are to be under the control of their masters in all respects, giving them satisfaction, not talking back to them(C) 10 or stealing from them, but exhibiting complete good faith, so as to adorn the doctrine of God our savior in every way.(D)
Transformation of Life. 11 [b]For the grace of God has appeared, saving all(E) 12 and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, 13 as we await the blessed hope, the appearance[c] of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ,(F) 14 who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.(G)
15 Say these things. Exhort and correct with all authority. Let no one look down on you.(H)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.