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Idolatry Forbidden
19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘(A)You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 Every one of you (B)shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep (C)My sabbaths; (D)I am the Lord your God. 4 Do not turn to (E)idols or make for yourselves molten (F)gods; I am the Lord your God.
5 ‘Now when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and the next day; but what remains until the third day shall be burned with fire. 7 So if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an offense; it will not be accepted. 8 Everyone who eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned the holy thing of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Sundry Laws
9 ‘(G)Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.
11 ‘(H)You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, (I)nor lie to one another. 12 (J)You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to (K)profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.
13 ‘(L)You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. (M)The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. 14 You shall not curse a deaf man, nor (N)place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the Lord.
15 ‘(O)You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. 16 You shall not go about as (P)a slanderer among your people, and you are not to [a]act against the [b](Q)life of your neighbor; I am the Lord.
17 ‘You (R)shall not hate your [c]fellow countryman in your heart; you (S)may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. 18 (T)You shall not take vengeance, (U)nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but (V)you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
19 ‘You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; (W)you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together.
20 ‘(X)Now if a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave acquired for another man, but who has in no way been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be punishment; they shall not, however, be put to death, because she was not free. 21 He shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord to the doorway of the tent of meeting, (Y)a ram for a guilt offering. 22 The priest shall also make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed, and the sin which he has committed will be forgiven him.
23 ‘When you enter the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as [d]forbidden. Three years it shall be [e]forbidden to you; it shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 In the fifth year you are to eat of its fruit, that its yield may increase for you; I am the Lord your God.
26 ‘You shall not eat anything (Z)with the blood, nor practice (AA)divination or soothsaying. 27 (AB)You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any cuts in your [f]body for the [g]dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.
29 ‘(AC)Do not [h]profane your daughter by making her a harlot, so that the land will not fall to harlotry and the land become full of lewdness. 30 You shall (AD)keep My sabbaths and (AE)revere My sanctuary; I am the Lord.
31 ‘Do not turn to [i](AF)mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
32 ‘(AG)You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the [j]aged, and you shall revere your God; I am the Lord.
33 ‘(AH)When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and (AI)you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.
35 ‘(AJ)You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight, or capacity. 36 You shall have (AK)just balances, just weights, a just [k]ephah, and a just [l]hin; I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt. 37 You shall thus observe all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them; I am the Lord.’”
On Human Sacrifice and Immoralities
20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “You shall also say to the sons of Israel:
‘Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel (AL)who gives any of his [m]offspring to Molech, shall surely be put to death; (AM)the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his [n]offspring to Molech, (AN)so as to defile My sanctuary and (AO)to profane My holy name. 4 If the people of the land, however, [o]should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his [p]offspring to Molech, so as not to put him to death, 5 then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the harlot after him, by playing the harlot after Molech.
6 ‘As for the person who turns to [q](AP)mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7 You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and (AQ)be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 (AR)You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
9 ‘(AS)If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother, his bloodguiltiness is upon him.
10 ‘(AT)If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11 (AU)If there is a man who lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death, their bloodguiltiness is upon them. 12 (AV)If there is a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed [r]incest, their bloodguiltiness is upon them. 13 (AW)If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them. 14 (AX)If there is a man who [s]marries a woman and her mother, it is immorality; both he and they shall be burned with fire, so that there will be no immorality in your midst. 15 (AY)If there is a man who lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death; you shall also kill the animal. 16 If there is a woman who approaches any animal to [t]mate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.
17 ‘(AZ)If there is a man who takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the sons of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he bears his guilt. 18 (BA)If there is a man who lies with a [u]menstruous woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow, and she has [v]exposed the flow of her blood; thus both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19 (BB)You shall also not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for such a one has made naked his [w]blood relative; they will bear their guilt. 20 (BC)If there is a man who lies with his uncle’s wife he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they will bear their sin. They will die childless. 21 (BD)If there is a man who takes his brother’s wife, it is [x]abhorrent; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless.
11 (A)The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, (B)seeking from Him a [a]sign from heaven, [b]to test Him. 12 (C)Sighing deeply [c]in His spirit, He *said, “Why does this generation seek for a [d]sign? Truly I say to you, [e](D)no [f]sign will be given to this generation.” 13 Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.
14 And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. 15 And He was giving orders to them, saying, “(E)Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of (F)Herod.” 16 They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, *said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? (G)Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a [g]hardened heart? 18 (H)Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, 19 when I broke (I)the five loaves for the five thousand, how many (J)baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They *said to Him, “Twelve.” 20 “When I broke (K)the seven for the four thousand, how many large (L)baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they *said to Him, “Seven.” 21 And He was saying to them, “(M)Do you not yet understand?”
22 And they *came to (N)Bethsaida. And they *brought a blind man to Jesus and *implored Him to (O)touch him. 23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He (P)brought him out of the village; and after (Q)spitting on his eyes and (R)laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he [h]looked up and said, “I see men, for [i]I see them like trees, walking around.” 25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. 26 And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter (S)the village.”
Peter’s Confession of Christ
27 (T)Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of (U)Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 (V)They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” 29 And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” (W)Peter *answered and *said to Him, “You are [j]the Christ.” 30 And (X)He [k]warned them to tell no one about Him.
31 (Y)And He began to teach them that (Z)the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And He was stating the matter (AA)plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, (AB)Satan; for you are not setting your mind on [l]God’s interests, but man’s.”
34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and (AC)take up his cross and follow Me. 35 For (AD)whoever wishes to save his [m]life will lose it, but whoever loses his [n]life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37 For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For (AE)whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, (AF)the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He (AG)comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
BOOK 2
Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.
For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul [c](A)pants for You, O God.
2 My soul (B)thirsts for God, for the (C)living God;
When shall I come and [d](D)appear before God?
3 My (E)tears have been my food day and night,
While they (F)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember and I (G)pour out my soul within me.
For I (H)used to go along with the throng and [e]lead them in procession to the house of God,
With the voice of (I)joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
5 (J)Why are you [f](K)in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become (L)disturbed within me?
[g](M)Hope in God, for I shall [h]again praise [i]Him
For the [j](N)help of His presence.
6 O my God, my soul is [k]in despair within me;
Therefore I (O)remember You from (P)the land of the Jordan
And the [l]peaks of (Q)Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your (R)breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
8 The Lord will (S)command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me (T)in the night,
A prayer to (U)the God of my life.
9 I will say to God (V)my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go (W)mourning [m]because of the (X)oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me,
While they (Y)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 (Z)Why are you [n]in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
[o]Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The [p]help of my countenance and my God.
17 He (A)is on the path of life who heeds instruction,
But he who ignores reproof goes astray.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.