M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Redemptive Offerings[a]
Chapter 27
Offerings and Dedications.[b] 1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel saying to them: When a person makes a special vow to dedicate people to the Lord by giving the equivalent sum of money, 3 you shall establish the value of a male from twenty to sixty years old as being fifty shekels of silver, according to the measure of the sanctuary,[c] 4 and if it is a woman, then the value is thirty shekels. 5 If the person is from five years old to twenty years old, then the estimated value of the person is twenty shekels for a male and ten shekels for a female. 6 If the person be from one month old to five years old, then the estimation of the value of a male is five shekels and the estimation of the value of a female is three shekels. 7 If a person is sixty years old or older, the estimation of the value of a male is fifteen shekels and the estimation of the value of a female is ten shekels. 8 But if anyone is too poor to pay the estimated value, then he will present himself before the priest and the priest will make an estimation based on the ability of the person vowing to pay. The priest will establish the value.
9 “If he brings an animal as an offering to the Lord, then everything that he has given to the Lord will be holy. 10 He should not exchange it, a good one for a bad one or a bad one for a good one. If he should substitute one animal for another, then both the original and the substitution become holy. 11 If it is an unclean animal, one that a person cannot offer to the Lord, then he will bring the animal before the priest 12 and the priest will determine whether it is good or bad and the priest will give an estimation of its value. This is how it will be established. 13 If the owner wishes to redeem it, he shall add a fifth to your estimation of its value.
14 “If a man sets apart his house as something holy to the Lord, the priest shall make an estimation of it, whether it is good or bad, and the priest shall establish its value. This is how it shall be established. 15 If he desires to redeem the house that he has set apart, he shall add a fifth to its estimated value, and then it shall be his. 16 If a man sets apart a piece of his property to the Lord, then your estimation of its value shall be based on the seed that it takes to sow it, a homer[d] of barley being valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he sets the field apart at the beginning of the Jubilee Year, this shall be your evaluation. 18 But if he sets apart the field after the Jubilee Year, the priest shall determine the value according to the number of years remaining until the Jubilee Year, and thus the evaluation shall be adjusted. 19 If he wishes to redeem the field that he had set apart, then he shall add a fifth to your evaluation and it shall be his. 20 But if he does not redeem the field, or if he sold the field to another person, then it is not to be redeemed anymore, 21 but when the field is released in the Jubilee Year, it shall be holy to the Lord. It will be treated like a priest’s field, and it shall be their property.
22 “If a man sets apart a field that he bought, a field that is not his family’s inheritance, dedicating it[e] to the Lord, 23 then the priest shall make an estimation of its value from then until the Jubilee Year, and the man shall pay the estimation that day as something holy to the Lord. 24 In the Jubilee Year the field shall be returned to the one from whom it was bought, the one whose land it was.
25 “Every estimation is determined according to the shekel of the sanctuary, twenty gerahs[f] to the shekel.
26 Offerings Not Redeemable.[g]“No one shall dedicate the firstborn of an animal, for the firstborn already belongs to the Lord, whether it be an ox or a sheep, it belongs to the Lord. 27 If it is an unclean animal, then he shall redeem it based on its evaluation and add a fifth to its value. If it is not redeemed, then it should be sold for its established value.
28 “But nothing that a person owns and is put under the ban for the Lord, be it man or animal or ancestral property, can be sold or redeemed. Everything set aside is most holy to the Lord. 29 No person under the ban can be redeemed. He must be put to death.
30 “Everything that belongs to the tithe of the land, be it the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree, belongs to the Lord. It is holy to the Lord. 31 If someone wants to redeem his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to its value. 32 As to the tithes of the herd or the flock, of everything passing under the herdsman’s staff, the tenth to pass shall be holy to the Lord. 33 He shall not investigate to see if it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it for another. If he exchanges it, then the first animal and its substitute shall both be holy and are not to be redeemed.” 34 These are the commandments that the Lord gave to Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.
Psalm 34[a]
Presence of God, Protector of the Righteous
1 Of David. When he pretended to be mad before Abimelech, who forced him to depart.[b]
2 [c]I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise will be continually on my lips.
3 My soul[d] will glory in the Lord;
let the lowly hear and be glad.
4 Magnify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
5 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he set me free from all my fears.
6 Look to him and you will be radiant;
your faces will never be covered with shame.
7 In my anguish[e] I cried out;
the Lord heard my plea,
and I was saved from all my troubles.
8 The angel of the Lord[f] encamps around those who fear God,
and he delivers them.
9 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed[g] is the man who takes refuge in him.
10 Fear the Lord,[h] you his saints;
nothing is lacking for those who fear him.
11 The powerful[i] suffer want and go hungry,
but those who seek the Lord want for no good thing.
12 [j]Come, my children,[k] and listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
13 Who among you delights in life
and desires many years to enjoy prosperity?[l]
14 Then keep your tongue[m] from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
15 Shun evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
16 [n]The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
17 The face of the Lord is turned against those who do evil,
to erase all memory of them from the earth.
18 [o]The righteous call out, and the Lord hears them;
he rescues them from all their troubles.
19 The Lord remains close to the brokenhearted,
and he saves those whose spirit is crushed.
20 [p]The misfortunes of the righteous man are many,
but the Lord delivers him,[q] from all of them.
21 He watches with care over all his bones;
not a single one will be broken.
22 [r]Evil will bring death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
23 The Lord redeems the lives of those who serve him;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.
Chapter 10
1 Just as dead flies give perfumes a foul smell,
so a little folly can outweigh wisdom and honor.
2 The heart of a wise man inclines to the right;
the heart of a fool inclines to the left.
3 Even when a fool walks down the road,
he lacks sense
and indicates to everyone how stupid he is.
4 If the anger of a ruler rises against you,
do not leave your post,
for calmness will mitigate grave offenses.
5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun,
a great error to which rulers are prone:
6 Fools are ensconced in a lofty position,
while the rich sit in a lowly place.
7 I have seen slaves on horseback
while princes walked on foot like slaves.
8 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
and whoever breaks through a wall
will be bitten by a snake.
9 Whoever quarries stones will be hurt by them,
and whoever chops wood places himself at risk.
10 If an ax becomes dull from lack of sharpening,
then one must exert greater strength,
but skill helps one to succeed.
11 If a snake bites because it has not been charmed,
there is no profit for the charmer.
12 The words of a wise man win favor,
but a fool’s tongue is his undoing.
13 The words a fool utters are grounded in stupidity,
and they end in total madness.
14 A fool talks at great length,
but no one knows what direction his words will take,
and who can foretell what the future holds?
15 A fool quickly gets worn out by his labor,
and he cannot even find his own way into town.[a]
16 Woe to you, O country, when your king is a servant
and your princes start feasting in the morning.
17 Blessed are you, O land,
when your king is a nobleman
and your princes feast at the proper time
for strength and not for drunkenness.
18 Because of your negligence the roof begins to collapse,
and when hands remain idle, the house leaks.
19 Feasts are designed for merriment,
wine makes us cheerful,
and money solves every need.[b]
20 Even in your thoughts,
do not curse the king,
nor revile the rich even in your bedroom;
for a bird of the air may carry your voice,
or a winged creature may repeat what you have said.
Proper Conduct for Christians
Chapter 2
Teach What Is Consistent with Sound Doctrine.[a] 1 As for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. 2 Exhort the older men to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love, and in perseverance.
3 Similarly, exhort the older women to be reverent in their behavior, not to be slanderous or slaves of drink, and eager to teach what is good. 4 They can then instruct the younger women to love their husbands and their children, 5 to be self-controlled and chaste, to be diligent homemakers, to be agreeable, and to respect the authority of their husbands so that the word of God may not be derided.
6 Likewise, exhort the younger men to exercise self-control. 7 Show yourself to them in all respects as a model of good works, while in your teaching exhibit integrity and dignity 8 and a soundness of speech that cannot be criticized. Then any opponent will be put to shame when he can find nothing evil to say about us.
9 Exhort slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give them satisfaction in every respect. They are not to talk back to them, 10 nor are they to steal from them. Rather, they should show themselves to be completely trustworthy so that in every way they may add luster to the doctrine of God our Savior.
11 The Grace of God Has Appeared.[b] For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to the entire human race. 12 It teaches us to reject godless ways and worldly desires, and in the present age to lead lives that are temperate, just, and godly, 13 while we await our blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.[c] 14 He gave himself for us in order to deliver us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people as his own who are eager to do good.
15 The Goodness of God Our Savior.[d] These are the things you should expound. Exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
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