Leviticus 27

FUNDING THE SANCTUARY
The Lord spoke to Moses:
2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When someone makes a special vow to the Lord that involves the assessment of people, 3 if the assessment concerns a male from twenty to sixty years old, your assessment is fifty silver shekels measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. 4 If the person is a female, your assessment is thirty shekels. 5 If the person is from five to twenty years old, your assessment for a male is twenty shekels and for a female ten shekels. 6 If the person is from one month to five years old, your assessment for a male is five silver shekels, and for a female your assessment is three shekels of silver. 7 If the person is sixty years or more, your assessment is fifteen shekels for a male and ten shekels for a female. 8 But if one is too poor to pay the assessment, he is to present the person before the priest and the priest will set a value for him. The priest will set a value for him according to what the one making the vow can afford.

9 “If the vow involves one of the animals that may be brought as an offering to the Lord, any of these he gives to the Lord will be holy. 10 He may not replace it or make a substitution for it, either good for bad, or bad for good. But if he does substitute one animal for another, both that animal and its substitute will be holy.

11 “If the vow involves any of the unclean animals that may not be brought as an offering to the Lord, the animal must be presented before the priest. 12 The priest will set its value, whether high or low; the price will be set as the priest makes the assessment for you. 13 If the one who brought it decides to redeem it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value.

14 “When a man consecrates his house as holy to the Lord, the priest will assess its value, whether high or low. The price will stand just as the priest assesses it. 15 But if the one who consecrated his house redeems it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it will be his.

16 “If a man consecrates to the Lord any part of a field that he possesses, your assessment of value will be proportional to the seed needed to sow it, at the rate of fifty silver shekels for every six bushels of barley seed. 17 If he consecrates his field during the Year of Jubilee, the price will stand according to your assessment. 18 But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, the priest will calculate the price for him in proportion to the years left until the next Year of Jubilee, so that your assessment will be reduced. 19 If the one who consecrated the field decides to redeem it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and the field will transfer back to him. 20 But if he does not redeem the field or if he has sold it to another man, it is no longer redeemable. 21 When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will be holy to the Lord like a field permanently set apart; it becomes the priest’s property.

22 “If a person consecrates to the Lord a field he has purchased that is not part of his inherited landholding, 23 then the priest will calculate for him the amount of the assessment up to the Year of Jubilee, and the person will pay the assessed value on that day as a holy offering to the Lord. 24 In the Year of Jubilee the field will return to the one he bought it from, the original owner. 25 All your assessed values will be measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.

26 “But no one can consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, whether an animal from the herd or flock, to the Lord, because a firstborn already belongs to the Lord. 27 If it is one of the unclean livestock, it can be ransomed according to your assessment by adding a fifth of its value to it. If it is not redeemed, it can be sold according to your assessment.

28 “Nothing that a man permanently sets apart to the Lord from all he owns, whether a person, an animal, or his inherited landholding, can be sold or redeemed; everything set apart is especially holy to the Lord. 29 No person who has been set apart for destruction is to be ransomed; he must be put to death.

30 “Every tenth of the land’s produce, grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 31 If a man decides to redeem any part of this tenth, he must add a fifth to its value. 32 Every tenth animal from the herd or flock, which passes under the shepherd’s rod, will be holy to the Lord. 33 He is not to inspect whether it is good or bad, and he is not to make a substitution for it. But if he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute will be holy; they cannot be redeemed.”

34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses for the Israelites on Mount Sinai.

Psalm 34

THE LORD DELIVERS THE RIGHTEOUS
Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech, who drove him out, and he departed.

I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will boast in the Lord;
the humble will hear and be glad.
3 Proclaim the Lord’s greatness with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and rescued me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant with joy;
their faces will never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and rescues them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.
How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!
9 You who are his holy ones, fear the Lord,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Young lions lack food and go hungry,
but those who seek the Lord
will not lack any good thing.
11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is someone who desires life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.
14 Turn away from evil and do what is good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry for help.
16 The face of the Lord is set
against those who do what is evil,
to remove all memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he saves those crushed in spirit.
19 One who is righteous has many adversities,
but the Lord rescues him from them all.
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants,
and all who take refuge in him will not be punished.

Ecclesiastes 10

THE BURDEN OF FOLLY
Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil ferment and stink;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 A wise person’s heart goes to the right,
but a fool’s heart to the left.
3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his heart lacks sense,
and he shows everyone he is a fool.
4 If the ruler’s anger rises against you, don’t leave your post,
for calmness puts great offenses to rest.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, an error proceeding from the presence of the ruler:

6 The fool is appointed to great heights,
but the rich remain in lowly positions.
7 I have seen slaves on horses,
but princes walking on the ground like slaves.
8 The one who digs a pit may fall into it,
and the one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
9 The one who quarries stones may be hurt by them;
the one who splits logs may be endangered by them.
10 If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen its edge,
then one must exert more strength;
however, the advantage of wisdom is that it brings success.
11 If the snake bites before it is charmed,
then there is no advantage for the charmer.
12 The words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious,
but the lips of a fool consume him.
13 The beginning of the words from his mouth is folly,
but the end of his speaking is evil madness;
14 yet the fool multiplies words.
No one knows what will happen,
and who can tell anyone what will happen after him?
15 The struggles of fools weary them,
for they don’t know how to go to the city.
16 Woe to you, land, when your king is a youth
and your princes feast in the morning.
17 Blessed are you, land, when your king is a son of nobles
and your princes feast at the proper time —
for strength and not for drunkenness.
18 Because of laziness the roof caves in,
and because of negligent hands the house leaks.
19 A feast is prepared for laughter,
and wine makes life happy,
and money is the answer for everything.
20 Do not curse the king even in your thoughts,
and do not curse a rich person even in your bedroom,
for a bird of the sky may carry the message,
and a winged creature may report the matter.

Titus 2

SOUND TEACHING AND CHRISTIAN LIVING
But you are to proclaim things consistent with sound teaching.
2 Older men are to be self-controlled, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance. 3 In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to excessive drinking. They are to teach what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered.

6 In the same way, encourage the young men to be self-controlled 7 in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching. 8 Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that any opponent will be ashamed, because he doesn’t have anything bad to say about us.

9 Slaves are to submit to their masters in everything, and to be well-pleasing, not talking back 10 or stealing, but demonstrating utter faithfulness, so that they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14 He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works.

15 Proclaim these things; encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

— Leviticus 27, Psalm 34, Ecclesiastes 10, Titus 2 (CSB)