1 Again, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When someone makes an explicit vow, he shall be valued according to your assessment of persons belonging to the Lord. 3 If your assessment is of a male from twenty years even to sixty years old, then your assessment shall be fifty shekels of silver, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 Or if the person is a female, then your assessment shall be thirty shekels. 5 And if the person is from five years even to twenty years old, then your assessment for a male shall be twenty shekels, and for a female, ten shekels. 6 But if the person is from a month even up to five years old, then your assessment shall be five shekels of silver for a male, and for a female your assessment shall be three shekels of silver. 7 If the person is from sixty years old and upward, if a male, then your assessment shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female, ten shekels. 8 But if he is poorer than your assessment, then he shall be presented before the priest, and the priest shall assess him; according to the means of the one who vowed, the priest shall assess him.
9 ‘Now if it is an animal of the kind that one can present as an offering to the Lord, any such animal that one gives to the Lord shall be holy. 10 He shall not replace it nor exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; yet if he does exchange animal for animal, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. 11 If, however, it is any unclean animal of the kind which one does not present as an offering to the Lord, then he shall place the animal before the priest. 12 And the priest shall assess it as either good or bad; as you, the priest, assess it, so shall it be. 13 But if he should ever want to redeem it, then he shall add a fifth of it to your assessment.
14 ‘Now if someone consecrates his house as holy to the Lord, then the priest shall assess it as either good or bad; as the priest assesses it, so shall it stand. 15 Yet if the one who consecrates it should want to redeem his house, then he shall add a fifth of your assessment price to it, so that it may be his.
16 ‘Again, if someone consecrates to the Lord part of the field of his own property, then your assessment shall be proportionate to the seed needed for it: a homer of barley seed at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he consecrates his field as of the year of jubilee, according to your assessment it shall stand. 18 If he consecrates his field after the jubilee, however, then the priest shall calculate the price for him proportionate to the years that are left until the year of jubilee; and it shall be deducted from your assessment. 19 If the one who consecrates it should ever want to redeem the field, then he shall add a fifth of your assessment price to it, so that it may belong to him. 20 Yet if he does not redeem the field, but has sold the field to another person, it may no longer be redeemed; 21 and when it reverts in the jubilee, the field shall be holy to the Lord, like a field banned from secular use; it shall be for the priest as his property. 22 Or if he consecrates to the Lord a field which he has bought, which is not a part of the field of his own property, 23 then the priest shall calculate for him the amount of your assessment up to the year of jubilee; and he shall on that day give your assessment as holy to the Lord. 24 In the year of jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom he bought it, to whom the possession of the land belongs. 25 Every assessment of yours, moreover, shall be by the shekel of the sanctuary. The shekel shall be twenty gerahs.
26 ‘However, a firstborn among animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the Lord, no one may consecrate; whether ox or sheep, it is the Lord’s. 27 But if it is among the unclean animals, then he shall redeem it according to your assessment and add to it a fifth of it; and if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your assessment.
28 ‘Nevertheless, anything which someone sets apart to the Lord for destruction out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the field of his own property, shall not be sold nor redeemed. Anything set apart for destruction is most holy to the Lord. 29 No one who may have been set apart among mankind shall be ransomed; he must be put to death.
30 ‘Now all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord. 31 If, therefore, someone should ever want to redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it a fifth of it. 32 For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord. 33 He is not to be concerned whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; yet if he does exchange it, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. It shall not be redeemed.’”
34 These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the sons of Israel on Mount Sinai.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 Exalt the Lord with me,
And let’s exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord and He answered me,
And rescued me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
6 This wretched man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of 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 blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 Fear the Lord, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no lack of anything.
10 The young lions do without and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is the person who desires life
And loves length of days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears are toward their cry for help.
16 The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To eliminate the 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 to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 The afflictions of the righteous are many,
But the Lord rescues him from them all.
20 He protects all his bones,
Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil will bring death to the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will suffer for their guilt.
22 The Lord redeems the souls of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will suffer for their guilt.
1 Dead flies turn a perfumer’s oil rancid, so a little foolishness is more potent than wisdom and honor. 2 A wise person’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish person’s heart directs him toward the left. 3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking, and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool. 4 If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your place, because composure puts great offenses to rest.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake that proceeds from the ruler: 6 foolishness is set in many exalted places while the rich sit in humble places. 7 I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.
8 One who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite one who breaks through a wall. 9 One who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and one who splits logs may be endangered by them. 10 If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of bringing success. 11 If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no benefit for the charmer. 12 Words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; 13 the beginning of his talking is foolishness, and the end of it is evil insanity. 14 Yet the fool multiplies words. No person knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him? 15 The labor of a fool makes him so weary that he does not even know how to go to a city. 16 Woe to you, land whose king is a boy, and whose princes feast in the morning. 17 Blessed are you, land whose king is of nobility, and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness. 18 Through extreme laziness the rafters sag, and through idleness the house leaks. 19 People prepare a meal for enjoyment, wine makes life joyful, and money is the answer to everything. 20 Furthermore, in your bedroom do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich person; for a bird of the sky will bring the sound, and the winged one will make your word known.
1 But as for you, proclaim the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.
3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
6 Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; 7 in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, 8 sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.
9 Urge slaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not stealing, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds.
15 These things speak and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. No one is to disregard you.
