Leviticus 19-20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 19
Various Rules of Conduct. 1 The Lord said to Moses: 2 Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.[a](A) 3 [b]Each of you revere your mother and father,(B) and keep my sabbaths.(C) I, the Lord, am your God.
4 Do not turn aside to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves.(D) I, the Lord, am your God.
5 When you sacrifice your communion sacrifice to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that it is acceptable on your behalf. 6 It must be eaten on the day of your sacrifice or on the following day. Whatever is left over until the third day shall be burned in fire. 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it will be a desecrated offering and not be accepted;(E) 8 whoever eats of it then shall bear the penalty for having profaned what is sacred to the Lord. Such a one shall be cut off(F) from the people.
9 [c]When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not be so thorough that you reap the field to its very edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.(G) 10 Likewise, you shall not pick your vineyard bare, nor gather up the grapes that have fallen. These things you shall leave for the poor and the alien. I, the Lord, am your God.
11 [d]You shall not steal. You shall not deceive or speak falsely to one another.(H) 12 You shall not swear falsely by my name, thus profaning the name of your God.(I) I am the Lord.
13 You shall not exploit your neighbor. You shall not commit robbery. You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your laborer.(J) 14 [e]You shall not insult the deaf, or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.
15 You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your neighbor justly.(K) 16 You shall not go about spreading slander among your people; nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the Lord.
17 [f]You shall not hate any of your kindred in your heart. Reprove your neighbor openly so that you do not incur sin because of that person.(L) 18 Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.(M)
19 [g]Keep my statutes: do not breed any of your domestic animals with others of a different species; do not sow a field of yours with two different kinds of seed; and do not put on a garment woven with two different kinds of thread.(N)
20 [h](O)If a man has sexual relations with a female slave who has been acquired by another man but has not yet been redeemed or given her freedom, an investigation shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she has not been freed. 21 The man shall bring to the entrance of the tent of meeting as his reparation to the Lord a ram as a reparation offering.(P) 22 With the ram of the reparation offering the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the wrong the man has committed, so that he will be forgiven for the wrong he has committed.
23 When you come into the land and plant any fruit tree there,(Q) first look upon its fruit as if it were uncircumcised. For three years, it shall be uncircumcised for you; it may not be eaten. 24 In the fourth year, however, all of its fruit shall be dedicated to the Lord in joyous celebration. 25 Not until the fifth year may you eat its fruit, to increase the yield for you. I, the Lord, am your God.
26 Do not eat anything with the blood still in it.(R) Do not recite charms or practice soothsaying.[i](S) 27 Do not clip your hair at the temples, nor spoil the edges of your beard. 28 Do not lacerate your bodies for the dead, and do not tattoo yourselves.[j](T) I am the Lord.
29 You shall not degrade your daughter by making a prostitute of her;(U) otherwise the land will prostitute itself and become full of lewdness. 30 Keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary.(V) I am the Lord.
31 Do not turn to ghosts or consult spirits, by which you will be defiled.(W) I, the Lord, am your God.
32 Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the old, and fear your God. I am the Lord.
33 When an alien resides with you in your land, do not mistreat such a one.(X) 34 You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt.(Y) I, the Lord, am your God.
35 Do not act dishonestly in using measures of length or weight or capacity. 36 You shall have a true scale and true weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin.[k](Z) I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 Be careful, then, to observe all my statutes and decrees. I am the Lord.
Chapter 20
Penalties for Various Sins. 1 [l]The Lord said to Moses: 2 Tell the Israelites: Anyone, whether an Israelite or an alien residing in Israel, who gives offspring to Molech shall be put to death.(AA) The people of the land shall stone that person. 3 (AB)I myself will turn against and cut off(AC) that individual from among the people; for in the giving of offspring to Molech, my sanctuary was defiled(AD) and my holy name was profaned. 4 If the people of the land condone the giving of offspring to Molech, by failing to put the wrongdoer to death, 5 I myself will turn against that individual and his or her family, and I will cut off from their people both the wrongdoer and all who follow this person by prostituting themselves with Molech.
6 Should anyone turn to ghosts and spirits and prostitute oneself with them,(AE) I will turn against that person and cut such a one off from among the people. 7 Sanctify yourselves, then, and be holy; for I, the Lord, your God,(AF) am holy. 8 Be careful, therefore, to observe my statutes. I, the Lord, make you holy.
9 Anyone who curses father or mother shall be put to death;[m](AG) and having cursed father or mother, such a one will bear the bloodguilt.[n] 10 [o]If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife,(AH) both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. 11 If a man disgraces his father by lying with his father’s wife,(AI) the two of them shall be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them. 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law,(AJ) both of them shall be put to death; they have done what is perverse; their bloodguilt is upon them. 13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman,(AK) they have committed an abomination; the two of them shall be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them. 14 If a man marries a woman and her mother also,(AL) that is shameful conduct; the man and the two women as well shall be burned to death, so that shamefulness may not be found among you. 15 If a man has sexual relations with an animal,(AM) the man shall be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 If a woman goes up to any animal to mate with it,(AN) you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall both be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them. 17 If a man marries his sister,(AO) his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and they have intercourse with each other, that is disgraceful; they shall be publicly cut off[p] from the people; the man shall bear the penalty of having had intercourse with his own sister. 18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and has intercourse with her, he has laid bare the source of her flow and she has uncovered it.(AP) The two of them shall be cut off from the people. 19 You shall not have intercourse with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister,(AQ) because that dishonors one’s own flesh; they shall bear their penalty. 20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he disgraces his uncle;(AR) they shall bear the penalty; they shall die childless. 21 If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is severe defilement and he has disgraced his brother;(AS) they shall be childless.
22 Be careful to observe all my statutes and all my decrees; otherwise the land where I am bringing you to dwell will vomit you out.(AT) 23 Do not conform, therefore, to the customs of the nations(AU) whom I am driving out of your way, because all these things that they have done have filled me with disgust for them. 24 But to you I have said:(AV) You shall take possession of their land. I am giving it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I, the Lord, am your God, who have set you apart from other peoples. 25 (AW)You, too, must set apart, then, the clean animals from the unclean, and the clean birds from the unclean, so that you do not make yourselves detestable through any beast or bird or any creature which creeps on the ground that I have set apart for you as unclean. 26 To me, therefore, you shall be holy; for I, the Lord, am holy,(AX) and I have set you apart from other peoples to be my own.
27 A man or a woman who acts as a medium or clairvoyant(AY) shall be put to death. They shall be stoned to death; their bloodguilt is upon them.
Footnotes
- 19:2 Be holy, for I…am holy: in the writings commonly attributed to the Priestly collection, Israel is called to be holy through obeying God’s precepts (11:44–45; 20:7–8, 24–26; Nm 15:40–41). Cf. Dt 14:2, 21; 26:19; and Ex 19:6.
- 19:3–4 Cf. the Decalogue laws on revering parents (Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16), keeping sabbaths (Ex 20:8–11; Dt 5:12–15), and not making or worshiping idols (Ex 20:2–6; Dt 5:7–10).
- 19:9–10 The Israelites maintain the poor in part by letting them gather unharvested portions of fields and vineyards. Cf. 23:22; Ru 2:1–10.
- 19:11–13 Cf. the Decalogue commandments against stealing (Ex 20:15; Dt 5:19), wrongly using God’s name (Ex 20:7; Dt 5:11), and swearing falsely against another (Ex 20:16; Dt 5:20).
- 19:14 In Dt 27:18 a curse falls on the head of the one who misleads the blind.
- 19:17–18 These verses form a unit and describe different attitudes and actions towards one’s fellow Israelites. A separate passage is necessary to advise a similar attitude toward aliens (vv. 33–34). Cf. 25:39–46. The admonition at the end of v. 18 came to be viewed in Judaism and Christianity as one of the central commandments. (See Mt 22:34–40; Mk 12:28–34; Lk 10:25–28; cf. Mt 19:19; Rom 13:8–10; Gal 5:14). The New Testament urges love for enemies as well as neighbors (Mt 5:43–48; Lk 6:27–36; cf. Prv 25:21–22).
- 19:19 One reason why mixtures are prohibited seems to be that they are holy (see Dt 22:9, 10–11). Israelites are allowed mixtures in the wearing of fringes on the edges or corners of their clothing (Nm 15:37–41; Dt 22:12). Some mixtures are considered abominations (cf. Lv 18:23; Dt 22:5).
- 19:20–22 On adultery, see note on 18:20. Here it is not adultery in the technical sense since the woman is not free. A reparation offering is required as a penalty (see 5:14–26).
- 19:26 Recite charms…soothsaying: methods of divination (cf. Gn 44:5, 15; Is 2:6; Ez 21:26–28). Legitimate means of learning the future or God’s will were through the Urim and Thummim stones (see Lv 8:8), lots (see Lv 16:8) and prophets (cf. Dt 18:9–22; 1 Sm 28:6–7).
- 19:28 Do not tattoo yourselves: see note on Gn 4:15. This prohibition probably refers only to the common ancient Near Eastern practice of branding a slave with its owner’s name as well as branding the devotees of a god with its name.
- 19:36 Ephah: see note on Is 5:10; hin: see note on Ez 45:24.
- 20:1–5 The term Molech may refer to a deity, perhaps with an underworld association, and the activity forbidden here may be connected with divination. Cf. Dt 18:10; 2 Kgs 17:17; 21:6. In the kingdom of Judah the cult appears to have been practiced in the Valley of Hinnom, just outside Jerusalem on the west and south (2 Kgs 23:10; Jer 32:35).
- 20:9 Curses father or mother…put to death: this is more than a simple expletive uttered in anger against one’s parents. See note on Ex 21:17.
- 20:9–21 Bloodguilt: these penalties, beginning with cursing one’s parents, reflect the concerns of a patriarchal society that the breakdown of one’s relations with one’s parents can lead to the breakdown of all other familial relationships, resulting in the breakdown of society.
- 20:10–21 See 18:6–23 and notes there. It appears that the inclusion of various penalties in 20:10–21 accounts for the different order of the cases here compared to the order found in 18:6–23. The reason why the offenses in 20:10–21 carry different penalties, however, is not clear. Perhaps the cases in vv. 17–21 were considered slightly less serious, being condemned but not criminally prosecuted.
- 20:17 Cut off: see note on 7:20.
Psalm 65
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 65[a]
Thanksgiving for God’s Blessings
1 For the leader. A psalm of David. A song.
I
2 To you we owe our hymn of praise,
O God on Zion;
To you our vows[b] must be fulfilled,
3 [c]you who hear our prayers.
To you all flesh must come(A)
4 with its burden of wicked deeds.
We are overcome by our sins;
only you can pardon them.(B)
5 Blessed the one whom you will choose and bring
to dwell in your courts.
May we be filled with the good things of your house,
your holy temple!
II
6 You answer us with awesome deeds[d] of justice,
O God our savior,
The hope of all the ends of the earth
and of those far off across the sea.(C)
7 You are robed in power,
you set up the mountains by your might.
8 You still the roaring of the seas,(D)
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.(E)
9 Distant peoples stand in awe of your marvels;
the places of morning and evening you make resound with joy.
10 [e]You visit the earth and water it,
make it abundantly fertile.(F)
God’s stream[f] is filled with water;
you supply their grain.
Thus do you prepare it:
11 you drench its plowed furrows,
and level its ridges.
With showers you keep it soft,
blessing its young sprouts.
12 You adorn the year with your bounty;
your paths[g] drip with fruitful rain.
13 The meadows of the wilderness also drip;
the hills are robed with joy.
14 The pastures are clothed with flocks,
the valleys blanketed with grain;
they cheer and sing for joy.(G)
Footnotes
- Psalm 65 The community, aware of its unworthiness (Ps 65:3–4), gives thanks for divine bounty (Ps 65:5), a bounty resulting from God’s creation victory (Ps 65:6–9). At God’s touch the earth comes alive with vegetation and flocks (Ps 65:10–13).
- 65:2 Vows: the Israelites were accustomed to promising sacrifices in the Temple if their prayers were heard.
- 65:3 To you all flesh must come: all must have recourse to God’s mercy.
- 65:6 Awesome deeds: the acts of creating—installing mountains, taming seas, restraining nations (Ps 65:7–8)—that are visible worldwide (Ps 65:6, 9).
- 65:10–14 Apparently a description of the agricultural year, beginning with the first fall rains that soften the hard sun-baked soil (Ps 65:9–10).
- 65:10 God’s stream: the fertile waters of the earth derive from God’s fertile waters in the heavenly world.
- 65:12 Paths: probably the tracks of God’s storm chariot dropping rain upon earth.
Acts 5:17-42
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
17 Then the high priest rose up and all his companions, that is, the party of the Sadducees, and, filled with jealousy,(A) 18 laid hands upon the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, led them out, and said,(B) 20 “Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life.” 21 When they heard this, they went to the temple early in the morning and taught. When the high priest and his companions arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin, the full senate of the Israelites, and sent to the jail to have them brought in. 22 But the court officers who went did not find them in the prison, so they came back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked and the guards stationed outside the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 When they heard this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss about them, as to what this would come to. 25 Then someone came in and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area and are teaching the people.” 26 Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them in, but without force, because they were afraid of being stoned by the people.(C)
27 When they had brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, the high priest questioned them, 28 “We gave you strict orders [did we not?] to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.”(D) 29 But Peter and the apostles said in reply, “We must obey God rather than men.(E) 30 [a]The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,(F) though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand[b] as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.(G) 32 We are witnesses of these things, as is the holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him.”(H)
33 When they heard this, they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death. 34 [c]But a Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up, ordered the men to be put outside for a short time,(I) 35 and said to them, “Fellow Israelites, be careful what you are about to do to these men. 36 [d]Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important, and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed, and all those who were loyal to him were disbanded and came to nothing. 37 After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of the census. He also drew people after him, but he too perished and all who were loyal to him were scattered. 38 So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. 39 But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” They were persuaded by him. 40 After recalling the apostles, they had them flogged, ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and dismissed them.(J) 41 So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.(K) 42 And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Messiah, Jesus.(L)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 5:30 Hanging him on a tree: that is, crucifying him (cf. also Gal 3:13).
- 5:31 At his right hand: see note on Acts 2:33.
- 5:34 Gamaliel: in Acts 22:3, Paul identifies himself as a disciple of this Rabbi Gamaliel I who flourished in Jerusalem between A.D. 25 and 50.
- 5:36–37 Gamaliel offers examples of unsuccessful contemporary movements to argue that if God is not the origin of this movement preached by the apostles it will perish by itself. The movement initiated by Theudas actually occurred when C. Cuspius Fadus was governor, A.D. 44–46. Luke’s placing of Judas the Galilean after Theudas and at the time of the census (see note on Lk 2:1–2) is an indication of the vagueness of his knowledge of these events.
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