Leviticus 6
1 (5:20) Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “When a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord by deceiving his fellow citizen in regard to something held in trust, or a pledge, or something stolen, or by extorting something from his fellow citizen, 3 or has found something lost and denies it and swears falsely concerning any one of the things that someone might do to sin— 4 when it happens that he sins and he is found guilty then he must return whatever he had stolen, or whatever he had extorted, or the thing that he had held in trust, or the lost thing that he had found, 5 or anything about which he swears falsely. He must restore it in full and add one-fifth to it; he must give it to its owner when he is found guilty. 6 Then he must bring his guilt offering to the Lord, a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels, for a guilt offering to the priest. 7 So the priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord and he will be forgiven for whatever he has done to become guilty.”
8 (6:1) Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 9 “Command Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering is to remain on the hearth on the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar must be kept burning on it. 10 Then the priest must put on his linen robe and must put linen leggings over his bare flesh, and he must take up the fatty ashes of the burnt offering that the fire consumed on the altar, and he must place them beside the altar. 11 Then he must take off his clothes and put on other clothes, and he must bring the fatty ashes outside the camp to a ceremonially clean place, 12 but the fire which is on the altar must be kept burning on it. It must not be extinguished. So the priest must kindle wood on it morning by morning, and he must arrange the burnt offering on it and offer the fat of the peace offering up in smoke on it. 13 A continual fire must be kept burning on the altar. It must not be extinguished.
14 “‘This is the law of the grain offering. The sons of Aaron are to present it before the Lord in front of the altar, 15 and the priest must take up with his hand some of the choice wheat flour of the grain offering and some of its olive oil, and all of the frankincense that is on the grain offering, and he must offer its memorial portion up in smoke on the altar as a soothing aroma to the Lord. 16 Aaron and his sons are to eat what is left over from it. It must be eaten unleavened in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Meeting Tent. 17 It must not be baked with yeast. I have given it as their portion from my gifts. It is most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. 18 Every male among the sons of Aaron may eat it. It is a perpetual allotted portion throughout your generations from the gifts of the Lord. Anyone who touches these gifts must be holy.’”
19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 20 “This is the offering of Aaron and his sons which they must present to the Lord on the day when he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of choice wheat flour as a continual grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening. 21 It must be made with olive oil on a griddle and you must bring it well soaked, so you must present a grain offering of broken pieces as a soothing aroma to the Lord. 22 The high priest who succeeds him from among his sons must do it. It is a perpetual statute; it must be offered up in smoke as a whole offering to the Lord. 23 Every grain offering of a priest must be a whole offering; it must not be eaten.”
24 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 25 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the law of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered the sin offering must be slaughtered before the Lord. It is most holy. 26 The priest who offers it for sin is to eat it. It must be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Meeting Tent. 27 Anyone who touches its meat must be holy, and whoever spatters some of its blood on a garment must wash whatever he spatters it on in a holy place. 28 Any clay vessel it is boiled in must be broken, and if it was boiled in a bronze vessel, then that vessel must be rubbed out and rinsed in water. 29 Any male among the priests may eat it. It is most holy. 30 But any sin offering from which some of its blood is brought into the Meeting Tent to make atonement in the sanctuary must not be eaten. It must be burned up in the fire.
Psalms 5-6
1 Listen to what I say, Lord!
Carefully consider my complaint!
2 Pay attention to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for I am praying to you!
3 Lord, in the morning you will hear me;
in the morning I will present my case to you and then wait expectantly for an answer.
4 Certainly you are not a God who approves of evil;
evil people cannot dwell with you.
5 Arrogant people cannot stand in your presence;
you hate all who behave wickedly.
6 You destroy liars;
the Lord despises violent and deceitful people.
7 But as for me, because of your great faithfulness I will enter your house;
I will bow down toward your holy temple as I worship you.
8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness
because of those who wait to ambush me,
remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me.
9 For they do not speak the truth;
their stomachs are like the place of destruction,
their throats like an open grave,
their tongues like a steep slope leading into it.
10 Condemn them, O God!
May their own schemes be their downfall.
Drive them away because of their many acts of insurrection,
for they have rebelled against you.
11 But may all who take shelter in you be happy.
May they continually shout for joy.
Shelter them so that those who are loyal to you may rejoice.
12 Certainly you reward the godly, Lord.
Like a shield you protect them in your good favor.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger.
Do not discipline me in your raging fury.
2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am frail.
Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking.
3 I am absolutely terrified,
and you, Lord—how long will this continue?
4 Relent, Lord, rescue me!
Deliver me because of your faithfulness.
5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death.
In Sheol who gives you thanks?
6 I am exhausted as I groan.
All night long I drench my bed in tears;
my tears saturate the cushion beneath me.
7 My eyes grow dim from suffering;
they grow weak because of all my enemies.
8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;
the Lord has accepted my prayer.
10 They will be humiliated and absolutely terrified.
All my enemies will turn back and be suddenly humiliated.
Proverbs 21
1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord like channels of water;
he turns it wherever he wants.
2 All a person’s ways seem right in his own opinion,
but the Lord evaluates his thoughts.
3 To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart—
what the wicked cultivate is sin.
5 The plans of the diligent lead only to plenty,
but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
6 Making a fortune by a lying tongue is like a vapor driven back and forth;
they seek death.
7 The violence done by the wicked will drag them away
because they have refused to do what is right.
8 The way of the guilty person is devious,
but as for the pure, his way is upright.
9 It is better to live on a corner of the housetop
than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
10 The appetite of the wicked has desired evil;
his neighbor is shown no favor in his eyes.
11 When a scorner is punished, the naive becomes wise;
when a wise person is instructed, he gains knowledge.
12 The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked;
he overthrows the wicked to their ruin.
13 The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,
he too will cry out and will not be answered.
14 A gift given in secret subdues anger,
and a bribe given secretly subdues strong wrath.
15 Doing justice brings joy to the righteous
and terror to those who do evil.
16 The one who wanders from the way of wisdom
will end up in the company of the departed.
17 The one who loves pleasure will be a poor person;
whoever loves wine and anointing oil will not be rich.
18 The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,
and the treacherous are taken in the place of the upright.
19 It is better to live in the wilderness
than with a quarrelsome and easily provoked woman.
20 There is desirable treasure and olive oil in the dwelling of the wise,
but a foolish person devours all he has.
21 The one who pursues righteousness and love
finds life, bounty, and honor.
22 A wise man went up against the city of the mighty
and brought down the stronghold in which they trust.
23 The one who guards his mouth and his tongue
keeps his life from troubles.
24 A proud and arrogant person, whose name is “Scoffer,”
acts with overbearing pride.
25 What the sluggard desires will kill him,
for his hands have refused to work.
26 All day long he has craved greedily,
but the righteous person gives and does not hold back.
27 The wicked person’s sacrifice is an abomination;
how much more when he brings it with evil intent!
28 A lying witness will perish,
but the one who reports accurately speaks forever.
29 A wicked person has put on a bold face,
but as for the upright, he establishes his ways.
30 There is no wisdom and there is no understanding,
and there is no counsel against the Lord.
31 A horse is prepared for the day of battle,
but the victory is from the Lord.
Colossians 4
1 1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.
2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time pray for us too, that God may open a door for the message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may make it known as I should. 5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.
7 Tychicus, a dear brother, faithful minister, and fellow slave in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. 8 I sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are doing and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 I sent him with Onesimus, the faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.
10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him). 11 And Jesus who is called Justus also sends greetings. In terms of Jewish converts, these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave of Christ, greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I can testify that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke the physician and Demas greet you. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters who are in Laodicea and to Nympha and the church that meets in her house. 16 And after you have read this letter, have it read to the church of Laodicea. In turn, read the letter from Laodicea as well. 17 And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord.”
18 I, Paul, write this greeting by my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
