Leviticus 6

The Lord spoke to Moses:
2 “When someone sins and offends the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit, a security, or a robbery; or defrauds his neighbor; 3 or finds something lost and lies about it; or swears falsely about any of the sinful things a person may do ​— ​4 once he has sinned and acknowledged his guilt ​— ​he must return what he stole or defrauded, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost item he found, 5 or anything else about which he swore falsely. He will make full restitution for it and add a fifth of its value to it. He is to pay it to its owner on the day he acknowledges his guilt. 6 Then he is to bring his guilt offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock according to your assessment of its value as a guilt offering to the priest. 7 In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord, and he will be forgiven for anything he may have done to incur guilt.”

THE BURNT OFFERING
8 The Lord spoke to Moses: 9 “Command Aaron and his sons: This is the law of the burnt offering; the burnt offering itself must remain on the altar’s hearth all night until morning, while the fire of the altar is kept burning on it. 10 The priest is to put on his linen robe and linen undergarments. He is to remove the ashes of the burnt offering the fire has consumed on the altar, and place them beside the altar. 11 Then he will take off his garments, put on other clothes, and bring the ashes outside the camp to a ceremonially clean place. 12 The fire on the altar is to be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest will burn wood on the fire. He is to arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat portions from the fellowship offerings on it. 13 Fire must be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not go out.

THE GRAIN OFFERING
14 “Now this is the law of the grain offering: Aaron’s sons will present it before the Lord in front of the altar. 15 The priest is to remove a handful of fine flour and olive oil from the grain offering, with all the frankincense that is on the offering, and burn its memorial portion on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 16 Aaron and his sons may eat the rest of it. It is to be eaten in the form of unleavened bread in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. 17 It must not be baked with yeast; I have assigned it as their portion from my food offerings. It is especially holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. 18 Any male among Aaron’s descendants may eat it. It is a permanent portion throughout your generations from the food offerings to the Lord. Anything that touches the offerings will become holy.”

19 The Lord spoke to Moses: 20 “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons are to present to the Lord on the day that he is anointed: two quarts of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. 21 It is to be prepared with oil on a griddle; you are to bring it well-kneaded. You are to present it as a grain offering of baked pieces, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 22 The priest, who is one of Aaron’s sons and will be anointed to take his place, is to prepare it. It must be completely burned as a permanent portion for the Lord. 23 Every grain offering for a priest will be a whole burnt offering; it is not to be eaten.”

THE SIN OFFERING
24 The Lord spoke to Moses: 25 “Tell Aaron and his sons: This is the law of the sin offering. The sin offering is most holy and must be slaughtered before the Lord at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. 26 The priest who offers it as a sin offering will eat it. It is to be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. 27 Anything that touches its flesh will become holy, and if any of its blood spatters on a garment, then you must wash that garment in a holy place. 28 A clay pot in which the sin offering is boiled is to be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, it is to be scoured and rinsed with water. 29 Any male among the priests may eat it; it is especially holy. 30 But no sin offering may be eaten if its blood has been brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place; it must be burned.

Psalm 5

THE REFUGE OF THE RIGHTEOUS
For the choir director: with the flutes. A psalm of David.

Listen to my words, Lord;
consider my sighing.
2 Pay attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for I pray to you.
3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you and watch expectantly.
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil cannot dwell with you.
5 The boastful cannot stand in your sight;
you hate all evildoers.
6 You destroy those who tell lies;
the Lord abhors violent and treacherous people.
7 But I enter your house
by the abundance of your faithful love;
I bow down toward your holy temple
in reverential awe of you.
8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness
because of my adversaries;
make your way straight before me.
9 For there is nothing reliable in what they say;
destruction is within them;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongues.
10 Punish them, God;
let them fall by their own schemes.
Drive them out because of their many crimes,
for they rebel against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them shout for joy forever.
May you shelter them,
and may those who love your name boast about you.
12 For you, Lord, bless the righteous one;
you surround him with favor like a shield.

Psalm 6

A PRAYER FOR MERCY
For the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A psalm of David.

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger;
do not discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking;
3 my whole being is shaken with terror.
And you, Lord ​— ​how long?
4 Turn, Lord! Rescue me;
save me because of your faithful love.
5 For there is no remembrance of you in death;
who can thank you in Sheol?
6 I am weary from my groaning;
with my tears I dampen my bed
and drench my couch every night.
7 My eyes are swollen from grief;
they grow old because of all my enemies.
8 Depart from me, all evildoers,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my plea for help;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror;
they will turn back and suddenly be disgraced.

Proverbs 21

A king’s heart is like channeled water in the Lord’s hand:
He directs it wherever he chooses.
2 All a person’s ways seem right to him,
but the Lord weighs hearts.
3 Doing what is righteous and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
4 The lamp that guides the wicked —
haughty eyes and an arrogant heart ​— ​is sin.
5 The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit,
but anyone who is reckless certainly becomes poor.
6 Making a fortune through a lying tongue
is a vanishing mist, a pursuit of death.
7 The violence of the wicked sweeps them away
because they refuse to act justly.
8 A guilty one’s conduct is crooked,
but the behavior of the innocent is upright.
9 Better to live on the corner of a roof
than to share a house with a nagging wife.
10 A wicked person desires evil;
he has no consideration for his neighbor.
11 When a mocker is punished,
the inexperienced become wiser;
when one teaches a wise man,
he acquires knowledge.
12 The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked;
he brings the wicked to ruin.
13 The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
will himself also call out and not be answered.
14 A secret gift soothes anger,
and a covert bribe, fierce rage.
15 Justice executed is a joy to the righteous
but a terror to evildoers.
16 The person who strays from the way of prudence
will come to rest in the assembly of the departed spirits.
17 The one who loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever loves wine and oil will not get rich.
18 The wicked are a ransom for the righteous,
and the treacherous, for the upright.
19 Better to live in a wilderness
than with a nagging and hot-tempered wife.
20 Precious treasure and oil are in the dwelling of a wise person,
but a fool consumes them.
21 The one who pursues righteousness and faithful love
will find life, righteousness, and honor.
22 A wise person went up against a city of warriors
and brought down its secure fortress.
23 The one who guards his mouth and tongue
keeps himself out of trouble.
24 The arrogant and proud person, named “Mocker,”
acts with excessive arrogance.
25 A slacker’s craving will kill him
because his hands refuse to work.
26 He is filled with craving all day long,
but the righteous give and don’t hold back.
27 The sacrifice of a wicked person is detestable ​—
how much more so
when he brings it with ulterior motives!
28 A lying witness will perish,
but the one who listens will speak successfully.
29 A wicked person puts on a bold face,
but the upright one considers his way.
30 No wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel
will prevail against the Lord.
31 A horse is prepared for the day of battle,
but victory comes from the Lord.

Colossians 4

Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven.

SPEAKING TO GOD AND OTHERS
2 Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains, 4 so that I may make it known as I should. 5 Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

FINAL GREETINGS
7 Tychicus, our dearly loved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are and so that he may encourage your hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, a faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin (concerning whom you have received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and so does Jesus who is called Justus. These alone of the circumcised are my coworkers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills. 13 For I testify about him that he works hard for you, for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the dearly loved physician, and Demas send you greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her home. 16 After this letter has been read at your gathering, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And tell Archippus, “Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it.”

18 I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

— Leviticus 6, Psalm 5-6, Proverbs 21, Colossians 4 (CSB)