Dubbisa Har'aa: July 23

[1] The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [2] “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the valuation of persons, [3] then the valuation of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. [4] If the person is a female, the valuation shall be thirty shekels. [5] If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels. [6] If the person is from a month old up to five years old, the valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female the valuation shall be three shekels of silver. [7] And if the person is sixty years old or over, then the valuation for a male shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels. [8] And if someone is too poor to pay the valuation, then he shall be made to stand before the priest, and the priest shall value him; the priest shall value him according to what the vower can afford.

[9] “If the vow is an animal that may be offered as an offering to the LORD, all of it that he gives to the LORD is holy. [10] He shall not exchange it or make a substitute for it, good for bad, or bad for good; and if he does in fact substitute one animal for another, then both it and the substitute shall be holy. [11] And if it is any unclean animal that may not be offered as an offering to the LORD, then he shall stand the animal before the priest, [12] and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall be. [13] But if he wishes to redeem it, he shall add a fifth to the valuation.

[14] “When a man dedicates his house as a holy gift to the LORD, the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. [15] And if the donor wishes to redeem his house, he shall add a fifth to the valuation price, and it shall be his.

[16] “If a man dedicates to the LORD part of the land that is his possession, then the valuation shall be in proportion to its seed. A homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. [17] If he dedicates his field from the year of jubilee, the valuation shall stand, [18] but if he dedicates his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall calculate the price according to the years that remain until the year of jubilee, and a deduction shall be made from the valuation. [19] And if he who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, then he shall add a fifth to its valuation price, and it shall remain his. [20] But if he does not wish to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore. [21] But the field, when it is released in the jubilee, shall be a holy gift to the LORD, like a field that has been devoted. The priest shall be in possession of it. [22] If he dedicates to the LORD a field that he has bought, which is not a part of his possession, [23] then the priest shall calculate the amount of the valuation for it up to the year of jubilee, and the man shall give the valuation on that day as a holy gift to the LORD. [24] In the year of jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to whom the land belongs as a possession. [25] Every valuation shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall make a shekel.

[26] “But a firstborn of animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the LORD, no man may dedicate; whether ox or sheep, it is the LORD’s. [27] And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall buy it back at the valuation, and add a fifth to it; or, if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold at the valuation.

[28] “But no devoted thing that a man devotes to the LORD, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the LORD. [29] No one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.

[30] “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD’s; it is holy to the LORD. [31] If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. [32] And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman’s staff, shall be holy to the LORD. [33] One shall not differentiate between good or bad, neither shall he make a substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.”

[34] These are the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.

[1] The word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; [3] say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. [4] He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. [5] Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig, [6] and it sprouted and became a low spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs.

[7] “And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might water it. [8] It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.

[9] “Say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. [10] Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?”

[11] Then the word of the LORD came to me: [12] “Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. [13] And he took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (the chief men of the land he had taken away), [14] that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand. [15] But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape?

[16] “As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. [17] Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. [18] He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. [19] Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head. [20] I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treachery he has committed against me. [21] And all the pick of his troops shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken.”

[22] Thus says the Lord GOD: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. [23] On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. [24] And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

[1] The plans of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
[2] All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the LORD weighs the spirit.
[3] Commit your work to the LORD,
and your plans will be established.
[4] The LORD has made everything for its purpose,
even the wicked for the day of trouble.
[5] Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD;
be assured, he will not go unpunished.
[6] By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.
[7] When a man’s ways please the LORD,
he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
[8] Better is a little with righteousness
than great revenues with injustice.
[9] The heart of man plans his way,
but the LORD establishes his steps.
[10] An oracle is on the lips of a king;
his mouth does not sin in judgment.
[11] A just balance and scales are the LORD’s;
all the weights in the bag are his work.
[12] It is an abomination to kings to do evil,
for the throne is established by righteousness.
[13] Righteous lips are the delight of a king,
and he loves him who speaks what is right.
[14] A king’s wrath is a messenger of death,
and a wise man will appease it.
[15] In the light of a king’s face there is life,
and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain.
[16] How much better to get wisdom than gold!
To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
[17] The highway of the upright turns aside from evil;
whoever guards his way preserves his life.
[18] Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
[19] It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor
than to divide the spoil with the proud.
[20] Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good,
and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
[21] The wise of heart is called discerning,
and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
[22] Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,
but the instruction of fools is folly.
[23] The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious
and adds persuasiveness to his lips.
[24] Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
[25] There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.
[26] A worker’s appetite works for him;
his mouth urges him on.
[27] A worthless man plots evil,
and his speech is like a scorching fire.
[28] A dishonest man spreads strife,
and a whisperer separates close friends.
[29] A man of violence entices his neighbor
and leads him in a way that is not good.
[30] Whoever winks his eyes plans dishonest things;
he who purses his lips brings evil to pass.
[31] Gray hair is a crown of glory;
it is gained in a righteous life.
[32] Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
[33] The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the LORD.

[1] But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. [2] I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, [3] for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? [4] For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

[5] What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. [6] I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. [7] So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. [8] He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. [9] For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

[10] According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. [11] For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. [12] Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—[13] each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. [14] If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. [15] If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

[16] Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? [17] If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

[18] Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. [19] For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” [20] and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” [21] So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, [22] whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, [23] and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.