Bible in 90 Days

(RY: vi, LY: iv) ³³ Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon, ³⁴ “When you have entered the land of Kena‘an which I am giving you as a possession, and I put an infection of tzara‘at in a house in the land that you possess, ³⁵ then the owner of the house is to come and tell the cohen, ‘It seems to me that there may be an infection in the house.’ ³⁶ The cohen is to order the house emptied before he goes in to inspect the infection, so that everything in the house won’t be made unclean; afterwards, the cohen is to enter and inspect the house. ³⁷ He will examine the infection; and if he sees that the infection is in the walls of the house, with greenish or reddish depressions that seem to go in deeper than the surface of the wall, ³⁸ he is to go out of the house to its door and seal up the house for seven days. ³⁹ The cohen will come again on the seventh day and examine the house; if he sees that the infection has spread over its walls, ⁴⁰ he is to order them to remove the infected stones and throw them into some unclean place outside the city. ⁴¹ Next, he is to have the inside of the house thoroughly scraped, and the scraped-off plaster is to be discarded outside the city in an unclean place. ⁴² Finally, other stones must be set in the place of the first stones and other plaster used to replaster the house. ⁴³ If the infection returns and breaks out in the house after the stones have been removed and the house scraped and plastered; ⁴⁴ then the cohen is to enter and examine it. If he sees that the infection has spread in the house, it is a contagious tzara‘at in the house; it is unclean. ⁴⁵ He must break down the house and take its stones, timber and plaster out of the city to an unclean place. ⁴⁶ Moreover, whoever enters the house at any time while it is sealed up will be unclean until evening. ⁴⁷ Whoever lies down or eats in the house must wash his clothes. ⁴⁸ If the cohen enters, examines and sees that the infection has not spread in the house since it was plastered; then he is to declare the house clean; because the infection is cured.

⁴⁹ “To purify the house, he is to take two birds, cedar-wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop leaves. ⁵⁰ He is to slaughter one of the birds in a clay pot over running water. ⁵¹ He is to take the cedar-wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. ⁵² He will purify the house with the blood of the bird, the running water, the live bird, the cedar-wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. ⁵³ But he is to set the live bird free outside the city in an open field; thus will he make atonement for the house; and it will be clean.

(LY: v) ⁵⁴ “Such is the law for all kinds of tzara‘at sores, for a crusted area, ⁵⁵ for tzara‘at in a garment, for a house, ⁵⁶ for a swelling, for a scab and for a bright spot, ⁵⁷ to determine when it is clean and when it is unclean. This is the law concerning tzara‘at.”

15 Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon, ² “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, the discharge is unclean. ³ The discharge is unclean no matter whether it continues flowing or has stopped; it is still his uncleanness. ⁴ Every bed which the person with the discharge lies on is unclean, and everything he sits on is unclean. ⁵ Whoever touches his bed is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening. ⁶ Whoever sits on anything the person with the discharge sat on is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening. ⁷ Anyone who touches the body of the person with the discharge is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening. ⁸ If the person with the discharge spits on someone who is clean, the latter is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening. ⁹ Any saddle that the person with the discharge rides on will be unclean. ¹⁰ Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening; he who carries those things is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening. ¹¹ If the person with the discharge fails to rinse his hands in water before touching someone, that person is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening. ¹² If the person with the discharge touches a clay pot, it must be broken; if he touches a wooden utensil, it must be rinsed in water.

¹³ “‘When a person with a discharge has become free of it, he is to count seven days for his purification. Then he is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water; after that, he will be clean. ¹⁴ On the eighth day, he is to take for himself two doves or two young pigeons, come before Adonai to the entrance of the tent of meeting and give them to the cohen. ¹⁵ The cohen is to offer them, the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering; thus the cohen will make atonement for him on account of his discharge before Adonai.

(RY: vii, LY: vi) ¹⁶ “‘If a man has a seminal emission, he is to bathe his entire body in water; he will be unclean until evening. ¹⁷ Any clothing or leather on which there is any semen is to be washed with water; it will be unclean until evening. ¹⁸ If a man goes to bed with a woman and has sexual relations, both are to bathe themselves in water; they will be unclean until evening.

¹⁹ “‘If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she will be in her state of niddah for seven days. Whoever touches her will be unclean until evening. ²⁰ Everything she lies on or sits on in her state of niddah will be unclean. ²¹ Whoever touches her bed is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening. ²² Whoever touches anything she sits on is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening. ²³ Whether he is on the bed or on something she sits on, when he touches it, he will be unclean until evening. ²⁴ If a man goes to bed with her, and her menstrual flow touches him, he will be unclean seven days; and every bed he lies on will be unclean.

²⁵ “‘If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days not during her period, or if her discharge lasts beyond the normal end of her period, then throughout the time she is having an unclean discharge she will be as when she is in niddah — she is unclean. ²⁶ Every bed she lies on at any time while she is having her discharge will be for her like the bed she uses during her time of niddah; and everything she sits on will be unclean with uncleanness like that of her time of niddah. ²⁷ Whoever touches those things will be unclean; he is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.

²⁸ “‘If she has become free of her discharge, she is to count seven days; after that, she will be clean. (LY: vii) ²⁹ On the eighth day, she is to take for herself two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the cohen at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ³⁰ The cohen is to offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering; thus the cohen will make atonement for her before Adonai on account of her unclean discharge.

(Maftir) ³¹ “‘In this way you will separate the people of Isra’el from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in a state of uncleanness for defiling my tabernacle which is there with them.

³² “‘Such is the law for the person who has a discharge; for the man who has a seminal emission that makes him unclean; ³³ for the woman in niddah during her menstrual period; for the person, man or woman, with a discharge; and for the man who has sexual relations with a woman who is unclean.

Haftarah M’tzora: M’lakhim Bet (2 Kings) 7:3–20

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah M’tzora: Mattityahu (Matthew) 9:20–26; Mark 5:24b–34; Luke 8:42b– 48; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 13:4

Parashah 29: Acharei Mot (After the death) 16:1–18:30

[In regular years read with Parashah 30, in leap years read separately]

16 Adonai spoke with Moshe after the death of Aharon’s two sons, when they tried to sacrifice before Adonai and died; ² Adonai said to Moshe, “Tell your brother Aharon not to come at just any time into the Holy Place beyond the curtain, in front of the ark-cover which is on the ark, so that he will not die; because I appear in the cloud over the ark-cover.

³ “Here is how Aharon is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. ⁴ He is to put on the holy linen tunic, have the linen shorts next to his bare flesh, have the linen sash wrapped around him, and be wearing the linen turban — they are the holy garments. He is to bathe his body in water and put them on.

⁵ “He is to take from the community of the people of Isra’el two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. ⁶ Aharon is to present the bull for the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and his household. ⁷ He is to take the two goats and place them before Adonai at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁸ Then Aharon is to cast lots for the two goats, one lot for Adonai and the other for ‘Az’azel. ⁹ Aharon is to present the goat whose lot fell to Adonai and offer it as a sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat whose lot fell to ‘Az’azel is to be presented alive to Adonai to be used for making atonement over it by sending it away into the desert for ‘Az’azel.

¹¹ “Aharon is to present the bull of the sin offering for himself; he will make atonement for himself and his household; he is to slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself. ¹² He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before Adonai and, with his hands full of ground, fragrant incense, bring it inside the curtain. ¹³ He is to put the incense on the fire before Adonai, so that the cloud from the incense will cover the ark-cover which is over the testimony, in order that he not die. ¹⁴ He is to take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the ark-cover toward the east; and in front of the ark-cover he is to sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

¹⁵ “Next, he is to slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, bring its blood inside the curtain and do with its blood as he did with the bull’s blood, sprinkling it on the ark-cover and in front of the ark-cover. ¹⁶ He will make atonement for the Holy Place because of the uncleannesses of the people of Isra’el and because of their transgressions — all their sins; and he is to do the same for the tent of meeting which is there with them right in the middle of their uncleannesses. ¹⁷ No one is to be present in the tent of meeting from the time he enters the Holy Place to make atonement until the time he comes out, having made atonement for himself, for his household and for the entire community of Isra’el. (LY: ii) ¹⁸ Then he is to go out to the altar that is before Adonai and make atonement for it; he is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. ¹⁹ He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, thus purifying it and setting it apart from the uncleannesses of the people of Isra’el.

²⁰ “When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he is to present the live goat. ²¹ Aharon is to lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the transgressions, crimes and sins of the people of Isra’el; he is to put them on the head of the goat and then send it away into the desert with a man appointed for the purpose. ²² The goat will bear all their transgressions away to some isolated place, and he is to let the goat go in the desert.

²³ “Aharon is to go back into the tent of meeting, where he is to remove the linen garments he put on when he entered the Holy Place, and he is to leave them there. ²⁴ Then he is to bathe his body in water in a holy place, put on his other clothes, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, thus making atonement for himself and for the people. (RY: ii, LY: iii) ²⁵ He is to make the fat of the sin offering go up in smoke on the altar.

²⁶ “The man who let go the goat for ‘Az’azel is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; afterwards, he may return to the camp.

²⁷ “The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, is to be carried outside the camp; there they are to burn up completely their hides, meat and dung. ²⁸ The person burning them is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; afterwards, he may return to the camp.

²⁹ “It is to be a permanent regulation for you that on the tenth day of the seventh month you are to deny yourselves and not do any kind of work, both the citizen and the foreigner living with you. ³⁰ For on this day, atonement will be made for you to purify you; you will be clean before Adonai from all your sins. ³¹ It is a Shabbat of complete rest for you, and you are to deny yourselves.

“This is a permanent regulation. ³² The cohen anointed and consecrated to be cohen in his father’s place will make the atonement; he will put on the linen garments, the holy garments; ³³ he will make atonement for the Especially Holy Place; he will make atonement for the tent of meeting and the altar; and he will make atonement for the cohanim and for all the people of the community. ³⁴ This is a permanent regulation for you, to make atonement for the people of Isra’el because of all their sins once a year.” Moshe did as Adonai had ordered him.

17 (LY: iv) Adonai said to Moshe, ² “Speak to Aharon and his sons and to all the people of Isra’el. Tell them that this is what Adonai has ordered: ³ ‘When someone from the community of Isra’el slaughters an ox, lamb or goat inside or outside the camp ⁴ without bringing it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to Adonai before the tabernacle of Adonai, he is to be charged with blood — he has shed blood, and that person is to be cut off from his people. ⁵ The reason for this is so that the people of Isra’el will bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice out in the field — so that they will bring them to Adonai, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the cohen, and sacrifice them as peace offerings to Adonai. ⁶ The cohen will splash the blood against the altar of Adonai at the entrance to the tent of meeting and make the fat go up in smoke as a pleasing aroma for Adonai. ⁷ No longer will they offer sacrifices to the goat-demons, before whom they prostitute themselves! This is a permanent regulation for them through all their generations.’

(RY: iii, LY: v) ⁸ “Also tell them, ‘When someone from the community of Isra’el or one of the foreigners living with you offers a burnt offering or sacrifice ⁹ without bringing it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to sacrifice it to Adonai, that person is to be cut off from his people. ¹⁰ When someone from the community of Isra’el or one of the foreigners living with you eats any kind of blood, I will set myself against that person who eats blood and cut him off from his people. ¹¹ For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for yourselves; for it is the blood that makes atonement because of the life.’ ¹² This is why I told the people of Isra’el, ‘None of you is to eat blood, nor is any foreigner living with you to eat blood.’

¹³ “When someone from the community of Isra’el or one of the foreigners living with you hunts and catches game, whether animal or bird that may be eaten, he is to pour out its blood and cover it with earth. ¹⁴ For the life of every creature — its blood is its life. Therefore I said to the people of Isra’el, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it will be cut off.’

¹⁵ “Anyone eating an animal that dies naturally or is torn to death by wild animals, whether he is a citizen or a foreigner, is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean. ¹⁶ But if he doesn’t wash them or bathe his body, he will bear the consequences of his wrongdoing.”

18 Adonai said to Moshe, ² “Speak to the people of Isra’el; tell them, ‘I am Adonai your God. ³ You are not to engage in the activities found in the land of Egypt, where you used to live; and you are not to engage in the activities found in the land of Kena‘an, where I am bringing you; nor are you to live by their laws. ⁴ You are to obey my rulings and laws and live accordingly; I am Adonai your God. ⁵ You are to observe my laws and rulings; if a person does them, he will have life through them; I am Adonai.

(LY: vi) ⁶ “‘None of you is to approach anyone who is a close relative in order to have sexual relations; I am Adonai. ⁷ You are not to have sexual relations with your father, and you are not to have sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother — do not have sexual relations with her. ⁸ You are not to have sexual relations with your father’s wife; that is your father’s prerogative. ⁹ You are not to have sexual relations with your sister, the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere. Do not have sexual relations with them. ¹⁰ You are not to have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or with your daughter’s daughter. Do not have sexual relations with them, because their sexual disgrace will be your own. ¹¹ You are not to have sexual relations with your father’s wife’s daughter, born to your father, because she is your sister; do not have sexual relations with her. ¹² You are not to have sexual relations with your father’s sister, because she is your father’s close relative. ¹³ You are not to have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative. ¹⁴ You are not to disgrace your father’s brother by having sexual relations with his wife, because she is your aunt. ¹⁵ You are not to have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law; because she is your son’s wife. Do not have sexual relations with her. ¹⁶ You are not to have sexual relations with your brother’s wife, because this is your brother’s prerogative.

¹⁷ “‘You are not to have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter, nor are you to have sexual relations with her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are close relatives of hers, and it would be shameful. ¹⁸ You are not to take a woman to be a rival with her sister and have sexual relations with her while her sister is still alive. ¹⁹ You are not to approach a woman in order to have sexual relations with her when she is unclean from her time of niddah. ²⁰ You are not to go to bed with your neighbor’s wife and thus become unclean with her.

²¹ “‘You are not to let any of your children be sacrificed to Molekh, thereby profaning the name of your God; I am Adonai.

(RY: iv, LY: vii) ²² “‘You are not to go to bed with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination.

²³ “‘You are not to have sexual relations with any kind of animal and thus become unclean with it; nor is any woman to present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; it is perversion.

²⁴ “‘Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, because all the nations which I am expelling ahead of you are defiled with them. ²⁵ The land has become unclean, and this is why I am punishing it — the land itself will vomit out its inhabitants. ²⁶ But you are to keep my laws and rulings and not engage in any of these disgusting practices, neither the citizen nor the foreigner living with you; (LY: Maftir) ²⁷ for the people of the land have committed all these abominations, and the land is now defiled. ²⁸ If you make the land unclean, it will vomit you out too, just as it is vomiting out the nation that was there before you. ²⁹ For those who engage in any of these disgusting practices, whoever they may be, will be cut off from their people. ³⁰ So keep my charge not to follow any of these abominable customs that others before you have followed and thus defile yourselves by doing them. I am Adonai your God.’”

Haftarah Acharei Mot: Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 22:1–19 (A); 22:1–16 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Acharei Mot: Romans 3:19–28; 9:30 –10:13; 1 Corinthians 5:1–13 with 2 Corinthians 2:1–11; Galatians 3:10–14; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 7:23–10:25

Parashah 30: K’doshim (Holy people) 19:1–20:27

[In regular years read with Parashah 29, in leap years read separately]

19 Adonai said to Moshe, ² “Speak to the entire community of Isra’el; tell them, ‘You people are to be holy because I, Adonai your God, am holy.

³ “‘Every one of you is to revere his father and mother, and you are to keep my Shabbats; I am Adonai your God.

⁴ “‘Do not turn to idols, and do not cast metal gods for yourselves; I am Adonai your God.

⁵ “‘When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to Adonai, offer it in a way that will make you accepted. ⁶ It is to be eaten the same day you offer it and the following day; but if any of it remains until the third day, it is to be burned up completely. ⁷ If any of it is eaten on the third day, it will have become a disgusting thing and will not be accepted; ⁸ moreover, everyone who eats it will bear the consequences of profaning something holy meant for Adonai — that person will be cut off from his people.

⁹ “‘When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don’t harvest all the way to corners of your field, and don’t gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters. ¹⁰ Likewise, don’t gather the grapes left on the vine or fallen on the ground after harvest; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am Adonai your God.

¹¹ “‘Do not steal from, defraud or lie to each other. ¹² Do not swear by my name falsely, which would be profaning the name of your God; I am Adonai. ¹³ Do not oppress or rob your neighbor; specifically, you are not to keep back the wages of a hired worker all night until morning.

¹⁴ “‘Do not speak a curse against a deaf person or place an obstacle in the way of a blind person; rather, fear your God; I am Adonai.

(RY: v, LY: ii) ¹⁵ “‘Do not be unjust in judging — show neither partiality to the poor nor deference to the mighty, but with justice judge your neighbor.

¹⁶ “‘Do not go around spreading slander among your people, but also don’t stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake; I am Adonai.

¹⁷ “‘Do not hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke your neighbor frankly, so that you won’t carry sin because of him. ¹⁸ Don’t take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai.

¹⁹ “‘Observe my regulations.

“‘Don’t let your livestock mate with those of another kind, don’t sow your field with two different kinds of grain, and don’t wear a garment of cloth made with two different kinds of thread.

²⁰ “‘If a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a slave intended for another man, and she has neither been redeemed nor given her freedom, there is to be an investigation. They are not to be put to death, because she was not free. ²¹ In reparation he is to bring a ram as a guilt offering for himself to the entrance of the tent of meeting. ²² The cohen will make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before Adonai for the sin he committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.

(LY: iii) ²³ “‘When you enter the land and plant various kinds of fruit trees, you are to regard its fruit as forbidden — for three years it will be forbidden to you and not eaten. ²⁴ In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, for praising Adonai. ²⁵ But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, so that it will produce even more for you; I am Adonai your God.

²⁶ “‘Do not eat anything with blood. Do not practice divination or fortune-telling. ²⁷ Don’t round your hair at the temples or mar the edges of your beard. ²⁸ Don’t cut gashes in your flesh when someone dies or tattoo yourselves; I am Adonai.

²⁹ “‘Do not debase your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land will not fall into prostitution and become full of shame.

³⁰ “‘Keep my Shabbats, and revere my sanctuary; I am Adonai.

³¹ “‘Do not turn to spirit-mediums or sorcerers; don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them; I am Adonai your God.

³² “‘Stand up in the presence of a person with gray hair, show respect for the old; you are to fear your God; I am Adonai.

(RY: vi, LY: iv) ³³ “‘If a foreigner stays with you in your land, do not do him wrong. ³⁴ Rather, treat the foreigner staying with you like the native-born among you — you are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; I am Adonai your God.

³⁵ “‘Don’t be dishonest when measuring length, weight or capacity. ³⁶ Rather, use an honest balance-scale, honest weights, an honest bushel dry-measure and an honest gallon liquid-measure; I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ³⁷ Observe all my regulations and rulings, and do them; I am Adonai.’”

20 (LY: v) Adonai said to Moshe, ² “Say to the people of Isra’el, ‘If someone from the people of Isra’el or one of the foreigners living in Isra’el sacrifices one of his children to Molekh, he must be put to death; the people of the land are to stone him to death. ³ I too will set myself against him and cut him off from his people, because he has sacrificed his child to Molekh, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name. ⁴ If the people of the land look the other way when that man sacrifices his child to Molekh and fail to put him to death, ⁵ then I will set myself against him, his family and everyone who follows him to go fornicating after Molekh, and cut them off from their people.

⁶ “‘The person who turns to spirit-mediums and sorcerers to go fornicating after them — I will set myself against him and cut him off from his people. ⁷ Therefore consecrate yourselves — you people must be holy, because I am Adonai your God. (RY: vii, LY: vi) ⁸ Observe my regulations, and obey them; I am Adonai, who sets you apart to be holy.

⁹ “‘A person who curses his father or mother must be put to death; having cursed his father or his mother, his blood is on him.

¹⁰ “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife, that is, with the wife of a fellow countryman, both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. ¹¹ The man who goes to bed with his father’s wife has disgraced his father sexually, and both of them must be put to death; their blood is on them. ¹² If a man goes to bed with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death; they have committed a perversion, and their blood is on them. ¹³ If a man goes to bed with a man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they must be put to death; their blood is on them. ¹⁴ If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is depravity; they are to be put to death by fire, both he and they, so that there will not be depravity among you. ¹⁵ If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you are to kill the animal. ¹⁶ If a woman approaches an animal and has sexual relations with it, you are to kill the woman and the animal; their blood will be on them. ¹⁷ If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and has sexual relations with her, and she consents, it is a shameful thing; they are to be cut off publicly — he has had sexual relations with his sister, and he will bear the consequences of their wrongdoing. ¹⁸ If a man goes to bed with a woman in her menstrual period and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her blood, and she has exposed the source of her blood; both of them are to be cut off from their people. ¹⁹ You are not to have sexual relations with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister; a person who does this has had sexual relations with his close relative; they will bear the consequences of their wrongdoing. ²⁰ If a man goes to bed with his uncle’s wife, he has disgraced his uncle sexually; they will bear the consequences of their sin and die childless. ²¹ If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is uncleanness; he has disgraced his brother sexually; they will be childless.

²² “‘You are to observe all my regulations and rulings and act on them, so that the land to which I am bringing you will not vomit you out. (LY: vii) ²³ Do not live by the regulations of the nation which I am expelling ahead of you; because they did all these things, which is why I detested them. ²⁴ But to you I have said, “You will inherit their land; I will give it to you as a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am Adonai your God, who has set you apart from other peoples. (Maftir) ²⁵ Therefore you are to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and between clean and unclean birds; do not make yourselves detestable with an animal, bird or reptile that I have set apart for you to regard as unclean. ²⁶ Rather, you people are to be holy for me; because I, Adonai, am holy; and I have set you apart from the other peoples, so that you can belong to me.

²⁷ “‘A man or woman who is a spirit-medium or sorcerer must be put to death; they are to stone them to death; their blood will be on them.’”

Haftarah K’doshim: ‘Amos 9:7–15 (A); Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 20:2–20 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah K’doshim: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:33–37; 5:43–48; 15:1–11; 19:16–30; 22:33–40; Mark 7:1–23; 12:28–34; Luke 10:25–39; Romans 13:8–10; Galatians 5:13–26; Ya‘akov (James) 2:1–9; 1 Kefa (1 Peter) 1:13–21

Parashah 31: Emor (Speak) 21:1–24:23

21 Adonai said to Moshe, “Speak to the cohanim, the sons of Aharon; tell them: ‘No cohen is to make himself unclean for any of his people who dies, ² except for his close relatives — his mother, father, son, daughter and brother; ³ he may also make himself unclean for his virgin sister who has never married and is therefore dependent on him. ⁴ He may not make himself unclean, because he is a leader among his people; doing so would profane him. ⁵ Cohanim are not to make bald spots on their heads, mar the edges of their beards or cut gashes in their flesh. ⁶ Rather, they are to be holy for their God and not profane the name of their God. For they are the ones who present Adonai with offerings made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore they must be holy.

⁷ “‘A cohen is not to marry a woman who is a prostitute, who has been profaned or who has been divorced; because he is holy for his God. ⁸ Rather, you are to set him apart as holy, because he offers the bread of your God; he is to be holy for you, because I, Adonai, who makes you holy, am holy. ⁹ The daughter of a cohen who profanes herself by prostitution profanes her father; she is to be put to death by fire.

¹⁰ “‘The cohen who is ranked highest among his brothers, the one on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who is consecrated to put on the garments, is not to stop grooming his hair, tear his clothes, ¹¹ go in to where any dead body is or make himself unclean, even when his father or mother dies. ¹² He may not leave the sanctuary then or profane the sanctuary of his God, because the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am Adonai.

¹³ “‘He is to marry a virgin; ¹⁴ he may not marry a widow, divorcee, profaned woman or prostitute; but he must marry a virgin from among his own people ¹⁵ and not disqualify his descendants among his people; because I am Adonai, who makes him holy.’”

(ii) ¹⁶ Adonai said to Moshe, ¹⁷ “Tell Aharon, ‘None of your descendants who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God. ¹⁸ No one with a defect may approach — no one blind, lame, with a mutilated face or a limb too long, ¹⁹ a broken foot or a broken arm, ²⁰ a hunched back, stunted growth, a cataract in his eye, festering or running sores, or damaged testicles — ²¹ no one descended from Aharon the cohen who has such a defect may approach to present the offerings for Adonai made by fire; he has a defect and is not to approach to offer the bread of his God. ²² He may eat the bread of his God, both the especially holy and the holy; ²³ only he is not to go in to the curtain or approach the altar, because he has a defect — so that he will not profane my holy places, because I am Adonai, who makes them holy.’”

²⁴ Moshe said these things to Aharon, his sons and all the people of Isra’el.

22 Adonai said to Moshe, ² “Tell Aharon and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of the people of Isra’el which they set apart as holy for me, so that they will not profane my holy name; I am Adonai. ³ Tell them, ‘Any descendant of yours through all your generations who approaches the holy things that the people of Isra’el consecrate to Adonai and is unclean will be cut off from before me; I am Adonai.

⁴ “‘Any descendant of Aharon with tzara‘at or a discharge is not to eat the holy things until he is clean. Anyone who has touched a person made unclean by a dead body, or who has had a seminal emission, ⁵ or who has touched a reptile or insect that can make him unclean, or a man who is unclean for any reason and who can transmit to him his uncleanness — ⁶ the person who touches any of these will be unclean until evening and is not to eat the holy things unless he bathes his body in water. ⁷ After sunset he will be clean; and afterwards, he may eat the holy things; because they are his food. ⁸ But he is not to eat anything that dies naturally or is torn to death by wild animals and thereby make himself unclean; I am Adonai. ⁹ The cohanim must observe this charge of mine; otherwise, if they profane it, they will bear the consequences of their sin for doing so and die in it; I am Adonai, who makes them holy.

¹⁰ “‘No one who is not a cohen may eat anything holy, nor may a tenant or employee of a cohen eat anything holy. ¹¹ But if a cohen acquires a slave, either through purchase or through his being born in his household, he may share his food. ¹² If the daughter of a cohen is married to a man who is not a cohen, she is not to have a share of the food set aside from the holy things. ¹³ But if the daughter of a cohen is a widow or divorcee and has no child, and she is sent back to her father’s house as when she was young, she may share in her father’s food; but no one not a cohen is to share in it. ¹⁴ If a person eats holy food by mistake, he must add one-fifth to it and give the holy food to the cohen. ¹⁵ They are not to profane the holy things of the people of Isra’el that they have set apart for Adonai ¹⁶ and thus cause them to bear guilt requiring a guilt offering, by eating their holy things; because I am Adonai, who makes them holy.’”

(iii) ¹⁷ Adonai said to Moshe, ¹⁸ “Speak to Aharon and his sons and to the entire people of Isra’el; tell them: ‘When anyone, whether a member of the house of Isra’el or a foreigner living in Isra’el, brings his offering, either in connection with a vow or as a voluntary offering, and brings it to Adonai as a burnt offering, ¹⁹ in order for you to be accepted, you must bring a male without defect from the cattle, the sheep or the goats. ²⁰ You are not to bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted from you. ²¹ Whoever brings a sacrifice of peace offerings to Adonai in fulfillment of a vow or as a voluntary offering, whether it come from the herd or from the flock, it must be unblemished and without defect in order to be accepted. ²² If it is blind, injured, mutilated, has an abnormal growth or has festering or running sores, you are not to offer it to Adonai or make such an offering by fire on the altar to Adonai. ²³ If a bull or lamb has a limb which is too long or short, you may offer it as a voluntary offering; but for a vow it will not be accepted. ²⁴ An animal with bruised, crushed, torn or cut genitals you are not to offer to Adonai. You are not to do these things in your land, ²⁵ and you are not to receive any of these from a foreigner for you to offer as bread for your God, because their deformity is a defect in them — they will not be accepted from you.’”

²⁶ Adonai said to Moshe, ²⁷ “When a bull, sheep or goat is born, it is to stay with its mother for seven days; but from the eighth day on, it may be accepted for an offering made by fire to Adonai. ²⁸ However, no animal is to be slaughtered together with its young on the same day, neither cow nor ewe.

²⁹ “When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Adonai, you must do it in a way such that you will be accepted. ³⁰ It must be eaten on the same day it is offered; leave none of it till morning; I am Adonai.

³¹ “You are to keep my mitzvot and obey them; I am Adonai. ³² You are not to profane my holy name; on the contrary, I am to be regarded as holy among the people of Isra’el; I am Adonai, who makes you holy, ³³ who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am Adonai.”

23 (iv) Adonai said to Moshe, ² “Tell the people of Isra’el: ‘The designated times of Adonai which you are to proclaim as holy convocations are my designated times.

³ “‘Work is to be done on six days; but the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete rest, a holy convocation; you are not to do any kind of work; it is a Shabbat for Adonai, even in your homes.

⁴ “‘These are the designated times of Adonai, the holy convocations you are to proclaim at their designated times.

⁵ “‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between sundown and complete darkness, comes Pesach for Adonai. ⁶ On the fifteenth day of the same month is the festival of matzah; for seven days you are to eat matzah. ⁷ On the first day you are to have a holy convocation; don’t do any kind of ordinary work. ⁸ Bring an offering made by fire to Adonai for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work.’”

⁹ Adonai said to Moshe, ¹⁰ “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘After you enter the land I am giving you and harvest its ripe crops, you are to bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the cohen. ¹¹ He is to wave the sheaf before Adonai, so that you will be accepted; the cohen is to wave it on the day after the Shabbat. ¹² On the day that you wave the sheaf, you are to offer a male lamb without defect, in its first year, as a burnt offering for Adonai. ¹³ Its grain offering is to be one gallon of fine flour mixed with olive oil, an offering made by fire to Adonai as a fragrant aroma; its drink offering is to be of wine, one quart. ¹⁴ You are not to eat bread, dried grain or fresh grain until the day you bring the offering for your God; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live.

¹⁵ “‘From the day after the day of rest — that is, from the day you bring the sheaf for waving — you are to count seven full weeks, ¹⁶ until the day after the seventh week; you are to count fifty days; and then you are to present a new grain offering to Adonai. ¹⁷ You must bring bread from your homes for waving — two loaves made with one gallon of fine flour, baked with leaven — as firstfruits for Adonai. ¹⁸ Along with the bread, present seven lambs without defect one year old, one young bull and two rams; these will be a burnt offering for Adonai, with their grain and drink offerings, an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for Adonai. ¹⁹ Offer one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. ²⁰ The cohen will wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before Adonai, with the two lambs; these will be holy for Adonai for the cohen. ²¹ On the same day, you are to call a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live.

²² “‘When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don’t harvest all the way to the corners of your field, and don’t gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am Adonai your God.’”

(v) ²³ Adonai said to Moshe, ²⁴ “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar. ²⁵ Do not do any kind of ordinary work, and bring an offering made by fire to Adonai.’”

²⁶ Adonai said to Moshe, ²⁷ “The tenth day of this seventh month is Yom-Kippur; you are to have a holy convocation, you are to deny yourselves, and you are to bring an offering made by fire to Adonai. ²⁸ You are not to do any kind of work on that day, because it is Yom-Kippur, to make atonement for you before Adonai your God. ²⁹ Anyone who does not deny himself on that day is to be cut off from his people; ³⁰ and anyone who does any kind of work on that day, I will destroy from among his people. ³¹ You are not to do any kind of work; it is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live. ³² It will be for you a Shabbat of complete rest, and you are to deny yourselves; you are to rest on your Shabbat from evening the ninth day of the month until the following evening.”

(vi) ³³ Adonai said to Moshe, ³⁴ “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of Sukkot for seven days to Adonai. ³⁵ On the first day there is to be a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work. ³⁶ For seven days you are to bring an offering made by fire to Adonai; on the eighth day you are to have a holy convocation and bring an offering made by fire to Adonai ; it is a day of public assembly; do not do any kind of ordinary work.

³⁷ “‘These are the designated times of Adonai that you are to proclaim as holy convocations and bring an offering made by fire to Adonai — a burnt offering, a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, each on its own day — ³⁸ besides the Shabbats of Adonai, your gifts, all your vows and all your voluntary offerings that you give to Adonai.

³⁹ “‘But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to observe the festival of Adonai seven days; the first day is to be a complete rest and the eighth day is to be a complete rest. ⁴⁰ On the first day you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river-willows, and celebrate in the presence of Adonai your God for seven days. ⁴¹ You are to observe it as a feast to Adonai seven days in the year; it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation; keep it in the seventh month. ⁴² You are to live in sukkot for seven days; every citizen of Isra’el is to live in a sukkah, ⁴³ so that generation after generation of you will know that I made the people of Isra’el live in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am Adonai your God.’”

⁴⁴ Thus Moshe announced to the people of Isra’el the designated times of Adonai.

24 (vii) Adonai said to Moshe, ² “Order the people of Isra’el to bring you pure oil from crushed olives for the light, to keep lamps burning always. ³ Outside the curtain of the testimony in the tent of meeting, Aharon is to arrange for the light to be kept burning always from evening until morning before Adonai ; this is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations. ⁴ He is always to keep in order the lamps on the pure menorah before Adonai.

⁵ “You are to take fine flour and use it to bake twelve loaves, one gallon per loaf. ⁶ Arrange them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure table before Adonai. ⁷ Put frankincense with each row to be an offering made by fire to Adonai in place of the bread and as a reminder of it. ⁸ Regularly, every Shabbat, he is to arrange them before Adonai ; they are from the people of Isra’el, as a covenant forever. ⁹ They will belong to Aharon and his sons; and they are to eat them in a holy place; because for him they are, of the offerings for Adonai made by fire, especially holy. This is a permanent law.”

¹⁰ There was a man who was the son of a woman of Isra’el and an Egyptian father. He went out among the people of Isra’el, and this son of a woman of Isra’el had a fight in the camp with a man of Isra’el, ¹¹ in the course of which the son of the woman of Isra’el uttered the Name [Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh] in a curse. So they brought him to Moshe. (His mother’s name was Shlomit the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) ¹² They put him under guard until Adonai would tell them what to do. ¹³ Adonai said to Moshe, ¹⁴ “Take the man who cursed outside the camp, have everyone who heard him lay their hands on his head, and have the entire community stone him. ¹⁵ Then tell the people of Isra’el, ‘Whoever curses his God will bear the consequences of his sin; ¹⁶ and whoever blasphemes the name of Adonai must be put to death; the entire community must stone him. The foreigner as well as the citizen is to be put to death if he blasphemes the Name.

¹⁷ “‘Anyone who strikes another person and kills him must be put to death. ¹⁸ Anyone who strikes an animal and kills it is to make restitution, life for life. ¹⁹ If someone injures his neighbor, what he did is to be done to him — ²⁰ break for break, eye for eye, tooth for tooth — whatever injury he has caused the other person is to be rendered to him in return. (Maftir) ²¹ He who kills an animal is to make restitution, but he who kills another person is to be put to death. ²² You are to apply the same standard of judgment to the foreigner as to the citizen, because I am Adonai your God.”

²³ So Moshe spoke to the people of Isra’el, and they took the man who had cursed outside the camp and stoned him to death. Thus the people of Isra’el did as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

Haftarah Emor: Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 44:15–31

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Emor: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:38–42; Galatians 3:26–29 [In connection with the feasts, see readings for Parashah 41]

Parashah 32: B’har (On Mount) 25:1–26:2

[In regular years read with Parashah 33, in leap years read separately]

25 Adonai spoke to Moshe on Mount Sinai; he said, ² “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘When you enter the land I am giving you, the land itself is to observe a Shabbat rest for Adonai. ³ Six years you will sow your field; six years you will prune your grapevines and gather their produce. ⁴ But in the seventh year is to be a Shabbat of complete rest for the land, a Shabbat for Adonai; you will neither sow your field nor prune your grapevines. ⁵ You are not to harvest what grows by itself from the seeds left by your previous harvest, and you are not to gather the grapes of your untended vine; it is to be a year of complete rest for the land. ⁶ But what the land produces during the year of Shabbat will be food for all of you — you, your servant, your maid, your employee, anyone living near you, ⁷ your livestock and the wild animals on your land; everything the land produces may be used for food.

⁸ “‘You are to count seven Shabbats of years, seven times seven years, that is, forty-nine years. ⁹ Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, on Yom-Kippur, you are to sound a blast on the shofar; you are to sound the shofar all through your land; ¹⁰ and you are to consecrate the fiftieth year, proclaiming freedom throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It will be a yovel for you; you will return everyone to the land he owns, and everyone is to return to his family. ¹¹ That fiftieth year will be a yovel for you; in that year you are not to sow, harvest what grows by itself or gather the grapes of untended vines; ¹² because it is a yovel. It will be holy for you; whatever the fields produce will be food for all of you. ¹³ In this year of yovel, every one of you is to return to the land he owns.

(LY: ii) ¹⁴ “‘If you sell anything to your neighbor or buy anything from him, neither of you is to exploit the other. ¹⁵ Rather, you are to take into account the number of years after the yovel when you buy land from your neighbor, and he is to sell to you according to the number of years crops will be raised. ¹⁶ If the number of years remaining is large, you will raise the price; if few years remain, you will lower it; because what he is really selling you is the number of crops to be produced. ¹⁷ Thus you are not to take advantage of each other, but you are to fear your God; for I am Adonai your God.

¹⁸ “‘Rather, you are to keep my regulations and rulings and act accordingly. If you do, you will live securely in the land. (RY: ii, LY: iii) ¹⁹ The land will yield its produce, you will eat until you have enough, and you will live there securely.

²⁰ “‘If you ask, “If we aren’t allowed to sow seed or harvest what our land produces, what are we going to eat the seventh year?” ²¹ then I will order my blessing on you during the sixth year, so that the land brings forth enough produce for all three years. ²² The eighth year you will sow seed but eat the the old, stored produce until the ninth year; that is, until the produce of the eighth year comes in, you will eat the old, stored food.

²³ “‘The land is not to be sold in perpetuity, because the land belongs to me — you are only foreigners and temporary residents with me. ²⁴ Therefore, when you sell your property, you must include the right of redemption. (LY: iv) ²⁵ That is, if one of you becomes poor and sells some of his property, his next-of-kin can come and buy back what his relative sold. ²⁶ If the seller has no one to redeem it but becomes rich enough to redeem it himself, ²⁷ he will calculate the number of years the land was sold for, refund the excess to its buyer, and return to his property. ²⁸ If he hasn’t sufficient means to get it back himself, then what he sold will remain in the hands of the buyer until the year of yovel; in the yovel the buyer will vacate it and the seller return to his property.

(RY: iii, LY: v) ²⁹ “‘If someone sells a dwelling in a walled city, he has one year after the date of sale in which to redeem it. For a full year he will have the right of redemption; ³⁰ but if he has not redeemed the dwelling in the walled city within the year, then title in perpetuity passes to the buyer through all his generations; it will not revert in the yovel. ³¹ However, houses in villages not surrounded by walls are to be dealt with like the fields in the countryside — they may be redeemed [before the yovel], and they revert in the yovel.

³² “‘Concerning the cities of the L’vi’im and the houses in the cities they possess, the L’vi’im are to have a permanent right of redemption. ³³ If someone purchases a house from one of the L’vi’im, then the house he sold in the city where he owns property will still revert to him in the yovel; because the houses in the cities of the L’vi’im are their tribe’s possession among the people of Isra’el. ³⁴ The fields in the open land around their cities may not be sold, because that is their permanent possession.

³⁵ “‘If a member of your people has become poor, so that he can’t support himself among you, you are to assist him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident, so that he can continue living with you. ³⁶ Do not charge him interest or otherwise profit from him, but fear your God, so that your brother can continue living with you. ³⁷ Do not take interest when you loan him money or take a profit when you sell him food. ³⁸ I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt in order to give you the land of Kena‘an and be your God.

(RY: iv, LY: vi) ³⁹ “‘If a member of your people has become poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him do the work of a slave. ⁴⁰ Rather, you are to treat him like an employee or a tenant; he will work for you until the year of yovel. ⁴¹ Then he will leave you, he and his children with him, and return to his own family and regain possession of his ancestral land. ⁴² For they are my slaves, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; therefore they are not to be sold as slaves. ⁴³ Do not treat him harshly, but fear your God.

⁴⁴ “‘Concerning the men and women you may have as slaves: you are to buy men- and women-slaves from the nations surrounding you. ⁴⁵ You may also buy the children of foreigners living with you and members of their families born in your land; you may own these. ⁴⁶ You may also bequeath them to your children to own; from these groups you may take your slaves forever. But as far as your brothers the people of Isra’el are concerned, you are not to treat each other harshly.

(LY: vii) ⁴⁷ “‘If a foreigner living with you has grown rich, and a member of your people has become poor and sells himself to this foreigner living with you or to a member of the foreigner’s family, ⁴⁸ he may be redeemed after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him; ⁴⁹ or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him; or any near relative of his may redeem him; or, if he becomes rich, he may redeem himself. ⁵⁰ He will calculate with the person who bought him the time from the year he sold himself to him to the year of yovel; and the amount to be paid will be according to the number of years and his time at an employee’s wage. ⁵¹ If many years remain, according to them will he refund the amount for his redemption from the amount he was bought for. ⁵² If there remain only a few years until the year of yovel, then he will calculate with him; according to his years will he refund the amount for his redemption. ⁵³ He will be like a worker hired year by year. You will see to it that he is not treated harshly.

⁵⁴ “‘If he has not been redeemed by any of these procedures, nevertheless he will go free in the year of yovel — he and his children with him. (LY: Maftir) ⁵⁵ For to me the people of Isra’el are slaves; they are my slaves whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; I am Adonai your God.

26 “‘You are not to make yourselves any idols, erect a carved statue or a standing-stone, or place any carved stone anywhere in your land in order to bow down to it. I am Adonai your God.

² “‘Keep my Shabbats, and revere my sanctuary; I am Adonai.

Haftarah B’har: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 32:6–27

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah B’har: Luke 4:16–21; 1 Corinthians 7:21–24; Galatians 6:7–10

Parashah 33: B’chukkotai (By my regulations) 26:3–27:34

[In regular years read with Parashah 32, in leap years read separately]

³ “‘If you live by my regulations, observe my mitzvot and obey them; ⁴ then I will provide the rain you need in its season, the land will yield its produce, and the trees in the field will yield their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing time will extend until the grape harvest, and your grape harvesting will extend until the time for sowing seed. You will eat as much food as you want and live securely in your land.

(LY: ii) ⁶ “‘I will give shalom in the land — you will lie down to sleep unafraid of anyone. I will rid the land of wild animals. The sword will not go through your land. ⁷ You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall before your sword. ⁸ Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand — your enemies will fall before your sword.

⁹ “‘I will turn toward you, make you productive, increase your numbers and uphold my covenant with you. (RY: v, LY: iii) ¹⁰ You will eat all you want from last year’s harvest and throw out what remains of the old to make room for the new. ¹¹ I will put my tabernacle among you, and I will not reject you, ¹² but I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. ¹³ I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so that you would not be their slaves. I have broken the bars of your yoke, so that you can walk upright.

¹⁴ “‘But if you will not listen to me and obey all these mitzvot, ¹⁵ if you loathe my regulations and reject my rulings, in order not to obey all my mitzvot but cancel my covenant; ¹⁶ then I, for my part, will do this to you: I will bring terror upon you — wasting disease and chronic fever to dim your sight and sap your strength. You will sow your seed for nothing, because your enemies will eat the crops. ¹⁷ I will set my face against you — your enemies will defeat you, those who hate you will hound you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.

¹⁸ If these things don’t make you listen to me, then I will discipline you seven times over for your sins. ¹⁹ I will break the pride you have in your own power. I will make your sky like iron, your soil like bronze — ²⁰ you will spend your strength in vain, because the land will not yield its produce or the trees in the field their fruit.

²¹ “‘Yes, if you go against me and don’t listen to me, I will increase your calamities sevenfold, according to your sins. ²² I will send wild animals among you; they will rob you of your children, destroy your livestock and reduce your numbers, until your roads are deserted.

²³ “‘If, in spite of all this, you refuse my correction and still go against me; ²⁴ then I too will go against you; and I, yes I, will strike you seven times over for your sins. ²⁵ I will bring a sword against you which will execute the vengeance of the covenant. You will be huddled inside your cities, I will send sickness among you, and you will be handed over to the power of the enemy. ²⁶ I will cut off your supply of bread, so that ten women will bake your bread in one oven and dole out your bread by weight, and you will eat but not be satisfied.