Leviticus 6; Psalms 5–6; Proverbs 21; Colossians 4

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Leviticus 6

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, If anyone sins and bcommits a breach of faith against the Lord by cdeceiving his neighbor in da matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or eif he has oppressed his neighbor or fhas found something lost and lied about it, gswearing falselyin any of all the things that people do and sin thereby if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore ewhat he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall hrestore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the Lord ia ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering. jAnd the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty.

The Priests and the Offerings

2 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. 10 And kthe priest shall put on his linen garment and put his linen undergarment on his body, and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar and put them lbeside the altar. 11 Then mhe shall take off his garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes noutside the camp to a clean place. 12 The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it othe fat of the peace offerings. 13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.

14 And this is the law of pthe grain offering. The sons of Aaron shall offer it before the Lord in front of the altar. 15 And one shall take from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering and its oil and all the frankincense that is on the grain offering and burn this as its qmemorial portion on the altar, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 16 And rthe rest of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten unleavened sin a holy place. In the court of the tent of meeting they shall eat it. 17 tIt shall not be baked with leaven. uI have given it as their portion of my food offerings. vIt is a thing most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. 18 Every male among the children of Aaron may eat of it, as decreed forever throughout your generations, from the Lord’s food offerings. Whatever touches them shall become holy.

19 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 20 wThis is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall offer to the Lord on the day when he is anointed: a xtenth of an ephah3 of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. 21 It shall be made with oil yon a griddle. You shall bring it zwell mixed, in baked4 pieces like a grain offering, and offer it for a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 22 The priest from among Aaron’s sons, who is anointed to succeed him, shall offer it to the Lord as decreed forever. aThe whole of it shall be burned. 23 Every grain offering of a priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.

24 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 25 Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, bThis is the law of the sin offering. cIn the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the Lord; dit is most holy. 26 eThe priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. fIn a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting. 27 Whatever touches its flesh shall be holy, and when any of its blood is splashed on a garment, you shall wash that on which it was splashed in a holy place. 28 And gthe earthenware vessel in which it is boiled hshall be broken. But if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, that shall be scoured and rinsed in water. 29 Every male among the priests may eat of it; dit is most holy. 30 iBut no sin offering shall be eaten from which any blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place; it shall be burned up with fire.


Psalms 5–6

Lead Me in Your Righteousness

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

Give ear to my words, O Lord;

consider my ugroaning.

Give attention to the sound of my cry,

my vKing and my God,

for wto you do I pray.

O Lord, in xthe morning you hear my voice;

in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you1 and ywatch.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

evil may not dwell with you.

The zboastful shall not astand before your eyes;

you bhate all evildoers.

You destroy those who speak clies;

the Lord abhors dthe bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,

will enter your house.

I will ebow down ftoward your gholy temple

in the fear of you.

hLead me, O Lord, in your righteousness

because of my enemies;

imake your way straight before me.

For there is no truth in their mouth;

their inmost self is jdestruction;

ktheir throat is lan open grave;

they mflatter with their tongue.

10  nMake them bear their guilt, O God;

let them ofall by their own counsels;

because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,

for they have rebelled against you.

11  But let all who ptake refuge in you qrejoice;

let them ever sing for joy,

and spread your protection over them,

that those who love your name may rexult in you.

12  For you sbless the righteous, O Lord;

you tcover him with favor as with ua shield.

O Lord, Deliver My Life

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to vThe Sheminith.2 A Psalm of David.

O Lord, wrebuke me not in your anger,

nor xdiscipline me in your wrath.

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;

yheal me, O Lord, zfor my bones are troubled.

My asoul also is greatly troubled.

But you, O Lordbhow long?

Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;

save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

For in cdeath there is no remembrance of you;

in Sheol who will give you praise?

I am dweary with my emoaning;

every night I flood my bed with tears;

I drench my couch with my weeping.

My feye wastes away because of grief;

it grows weak because of all my foes.

gDepart from me, all you hworkers of evil,

for the Lord ihas heard the sound of my weeping.

The Lord has heard my jplea;

the Lord accepts my prayer.

10  All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;

they shall kturn back and be put to shame in a moment.


Proverbs 21

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;

he yturns it wherever he will.

zEvery way of a man is right in his own eyes,

but the Lord aweighs the heart.

bTo do righteousness and justice

is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

cHaughty eyes and a proud heart,

dthe lamp1 of the wicked, are sin.

The plans of ethe diligent lead surely to abundance,

but everyone who is fhasty comes gonly to poverty.

hThe getting of treasures by a lying tongue

is a ifleeting jvapor and a ksnare of death.2

The violence of the wicked will lsweep them away,

because they refuse to do what is just.

The way of the guilty mis crooked,

but the conduct of the pure is upright.

It is nbetter to live in a corner of the housetop

than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

10  The soul of the wicked desires evil;

his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.

11  When oa scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise;

when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

12  The Righteous One pobserves the house of the wicked;

he throws the wicked down to ruin.

13  qWhoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor

will himself call out and not be answered.

14  rA gift in secret averts anger,

and a concealed bribe,3 strong wrath.

15  When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous

sbut terror to evildoers.

16  One who wanders from the way of good sense

twill rest in the assembly of the dead.

17  Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;

he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

18  uThe wicked is a vransom for the righteous,

and the traitor for the upright.

19  It is wbetter to live in a desert land

than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.

20  xPrecious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling,

but a foolish man ydevours it.

21  Whoever zpursues righteousness and kindness

will find alife, righteousness, and honor.

22  bA wise man scales the city of the mighty

and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

23  cWhoever keeps his mouth and his tongue

dkeeps himself out of etrouble.

24  fScoffer is the name of the arrogant, haughty man

who acts with arrogant pride.

25  The desire of gthe sluggard kills him,

for his hands refuse to labor.

26  All day long he craves and craves,

but the righteous hgives and does not hold back.

27  iThe sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;

how much more jwhen he brings it with evil intent.

28  kA false witness will perish,

but the word of a man who hears will endure.

29  A wicked man puts on a bold face,

but the upright lgives thought to4 his ways.

30  mNo wisdom, no understanding, no counsel

can avail against the Lord.

31  nThe horse is made ready for the day of battle,

but othe victory belongs to the Lord.


Colossians 4

Masters, treat your bondservants1 justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Further Instructions

cContinue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it dwith thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may eopen to us a door for the word, fto declare the mystery of Christ, gon account of which I am in prison that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

hWalk in wisdom toward ioutsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always jbe gracious, kseasoned with salt, lso that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Final Greetings

Tychicus will tell you mall about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant2 in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, and with him nOnesimus, our faithful and obeloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.

10 pAristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark qthe cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructionsrif he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called sJustus. tThese are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and uthey have been a comfort to me. 12 vEpaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always wstruggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand xmature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 yLuke the beloved physician greets you, as does zDemas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers3 at Laodicea, and to Nympha and athe church in her house. 16 And when bthis letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to cArchippus, See that you fulfill dthe ministry that you have received in the Lord.

18 I, Paul, ewrite this greeting with my own hand. fRemember gmy chains. hGrace be with you.