Blessings of Obedience

26 ‘You shall not make for yourselves ^(A)idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves ^(B)a carved image or ^(C)a memorial stone, nor shall you place a ^(D)figured stone in your land to bow down ^[a]to it; for I am the Lord your God. ^2 (E)You shall keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the Lord. ^3 (F)If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, ⁴ then ^(G)I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. ^5 (H)Indeed, your threshing season will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. So you will eat your ^[b]food to the full and ^(I)live securely in your land. ^6 (J)I shall also grant peace in the land, so that ^(K)you may lie down, with no one to make you afraid. ^(L)I shall also eliminate harmful animals from the land, and ^(M)no sword will pass through your land. ⁷ Instead, you will chase your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword; ^8 (N)five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand; and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. ⁹ So I will turn toward you and ^(O)make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will ^(P)confirm My covenant with you. ¹⁰ And ^(Q)you will eat the old supply, and clear out the old because of the new. ^11 (R)Moreover, I will make My ^[c]dwelling among you, and My soul will not ^[d]reject you. ^12 (S)I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. ^13 (T)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and ^(U)I broke your yoke and made you walk erect.

Penalties of Disobedience

¹⁴ ‘^(V)But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, ¹⁵ if, instead, you ^(W)reject My statutes, and if your soul loathes My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, but rather to ^(X)break My covenant, ¹⁶ I, in turn, will do this to you: I will ^[e]summon a ^(Y)sudden terror against you, consumption and fever that will make the eyes fail and the ^(Z)soul languish; also, ^(AA)you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it. ¹⁷ And I will set My face against you so that you will be defeated before your enemies; and ^(AB)those who hate you will rule over you, and ^(AC)you will flee when no one is pursuing you. ¹⁸ If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you ^(AD)seven times more for your sins. ¹⁹ I will also ^(AE)break down your pride of power; and I will make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze. ^20 (AF)Your strength will be consumed uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.

²¹ ‘Yet if you ^[f](AG)show hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you ^(AH)seven times according to your sins. ^22 (AI)I will also let loose among you the animals of the field, which will deprive you of your children and eliminate your cattle, and reduce your number so that ^(AJ)your roads become deserted.

²³ ‘^(AK)And if by these things you do not learn your lesson regarding Me, but you show hostility toward Me, ²⁴ then I in turn will ^(AL)show hostility toward you; and I, even I, will strike you ^(AM)seven times for your sins. ²⁵ I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute ^(AN)vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send a ^(AO)plague among you, so that you will be handed over to the enemy. ^26 (AP)When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread ^[g]in rationed amounts, so that you will ^(AQ)eat and not be satisfied.

²⁷ ‘Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me, ²⁸ then ^(AR)I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I for My part will punish you seven times for your sins. ²⁹ Further, ^(AS)you will eat the flesh of your sons, and you will eat the flesh of your daughters. ³⁰ I then ^(AT)will destroy your high places, and cut down your ^(AU)incense altars, and ^[h]pile your ^[i]remains on the ^[j]remains of your idols, for My soul will loathe you. ³¹ I will turn your cities into ^(AV)ruins as well and make your ^(AW)sanctuaries desolate, and I will not ^(AX)smell your soothing aromas. ³² And I will make ^(AY)the land desolate ^(AZ)so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled at it. ³³ You, however, I ^(BA)will scatter among the nations, and I will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become ruins.

³⁴ ‘^(BB)Then the land will restore its Sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and restore its Sabbaths. ³⁵ All the days of its desolation it will have the rest which it did not have on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it. ³⁶ As for those among you who are left, I will also bring ^(BC)despair into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a scattered leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee ^[k]as though from the sword, and they will fall. ^37 (BD)They will then stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand before your enemies. ³⁸ Instead, ^(BE)you will perish among the nations, and your enemies’ land will consume you. ^39 (BF)So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their wrongdoing in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the wrongdoing of their forefathers they will rot away with them.

⁴⁰ ‘But ^(BG)if they confess their wrongdoing and the wrongdoing of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me— ⁴¹ I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—^(BH)or if their uncircumcised heart is humbled so that ^(BI)they then make amends for their wrongdoing, ⁴² then I will remember ^(BJ)My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also ^(BK)My covenant with Isaac, and ^(BL)My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. ^43 (BM)For the land will be abandoned by them, and will restore its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their wrongdoing, ^[l]because they rejected My ordinances and their ^(BN)soul loathed My statutes. ⁴⁴ Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so ^(BO)loathe them as ^(BP)to destroy them, ^(BQ)breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. ⁴⁵ But I will remember for them the ^(BR)covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, so that ^(BS)I might be their God. I am the Lord.’”

^46 (BT)These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the sons of Israel ^[m]through Moses on Mount Sinai.

Rules concerning Assessments

27 Again, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘^(BU)When someone makes an explicit vow, he shall be valued according to your assessment of persons belonging to the Lord. ³ If your assessment is of a male from twenty years even to sixty years old, then your assessment shall be fifty shekels of silver, by ^(BV)the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁴ Or if ^[n]the person is a female, then your assessment shall be thirty shekels. ⁵ And if the person is from five years even to twenty years old, then your assessment for a male shall be twenty shekels, and for a female, ten shekels. ⁶ But if the person is from a month even up to five years old, then your assessment shall be ^(BW)five shekels of silver for a male, and for a female your assessment shall be three shekels of silver. ⁷ If the person is from sixty years old and upward, if a male, then your assessment shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female, ten shekels. ⁸ But if he is poorer than your assessment, then he shall be presented before the priest, and the priest shall assess him; ^(BX)according to ^[o]the means of the one who vowed, the priest shall assess him.

⁹ ‘Now if it is an animal of the kind that ^[p]one can present as an offering to the Lord, any such animal that one gives to the Lord shall be holy. ^10 (BY)He shall not replace it nor exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; yet if he does exchange animal for animal, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. ¹¹ If, however, it is any unclean animal of the kind which ^[q]one does not present as an offering to the Lord, then he shall place the animal before the priest. ¹² And the priest shall assess it ^[r]as either good or bad; as you, the priest, assess it, so shall it be. ¹³ But if he should ever want to redeem it, then he shall add a fifth of it to your assessment.

¹⁴ ‘Now if someone consecrates his house as holy to the Lord, then the priest shall assess it ^[s]as either good or bad; as the priest assesses it, so shall it stand. ¹⁵ Yet if the one who consecrates it should want to redeem his house, then he shall add a fifth of your assessment price to it, so that it may be his.

¹⁶ ‘Again, if someone consecrates to the Lord part of the field of his own property, then your assessment shall be ^[t]proportionate to the seed needed for it: a ^[u]homer of barley seed at fifty shekels of silver. ¹⁷ If he consecrates his field as of the year of jubilee, according to your assessment it shall stand. ¹⁸ If he consecrates his field after the jubilee, however, then the priest shall calculate the price for ^[v]him ^[w]proportionate to the years that are left until the year of jubilee; and it shall be deducted from your assessment. ¹⁹ If the one who consecrates it should ever want to redeem the field, then he shall add a fifth of your assessment price to it, so that it may belong to him. ²⁰ Yet if he does not redeem the field, ^[x]but has sold the field to another person, it may no longer be redeemed; ²¹ and when it ^[y]reverts in the jubilee, the field shall be holy to the Lord, like a field banned from secular use; ^(BZ)it shall be for the priest as his property. ²² Or if he consecrates to the Lord a field which he has bought, which is not a part of the field of his own property, ²³ then the priest shall calculate for ^[z]him the amount of your assessment up to the year of jubilee; and he shall on that day give your assessment as holy to the Lord. ²⁴ In the year of jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom he bought it, to whom the possession of the land belongs. ²⁵ Every assessment of yours, moreover, shall be by ^(CA)the shekel of the sanctuary. The shekel shall be twenty gerahs.

²⁶ ‘^(CB)However, a firstborn among animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the Lord, no one may consecrate; whether ox or sheep, it is the Lord’s. ²⁷ But if it is among the unclean animals, then he shall ^[aa]redeem it according to your assessment and add to it a fifth of it; and if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your assessment.

²⁸ ‘Nevertheless, ^(CC)[ab]anything which someone sets apart to the Lord for ^[ac]destruction out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the field of his own property, shall not be sold nor redeemed. Anything set apart for destruction is most holy to the Lord. ²⁹ No ^[ad]one who may have been ^[ae]set apart among mankind shall be ransomed; he must be put to death.

³⁰ ‘Now ^(CD)all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord. ³¹ If, therefore, someone should ever want to redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it a fifth of it. ³² For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever ^(CE)passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord. ^33 (CF)He is not to be concerned whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; yet if he does exchange it, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. It shall not be redeemed.’”

^34 (CG)These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the sons of Israel on Mount Sinai.

Paul before the Council

23 Now looking intently at ^(A)the ^[a]Council, Paul said, “^[b](B)Brothers, ^(C)I have ^[c]lived my life with an entirely good conscience before God up to this day.” ² But the high priest ^(D)Ananias commanded those standing beside him ^(E)to strike him on the mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, ^(F)you whitewashed wall! Do you ^(G)sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law, order me to be struck?” ⁴ But those present said, “Are you insulting God’s high priest?” ⁵ And Paul said, “I was not aware, brothers, that he is high priest; for it is written: ‘^(H)You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

⁶ But Paul, perceiving that one group were ^(I)Sadducees and the other Pharisees, began crying out in ^(J)the ^[d]Council, “^[e](K)Brothers, ^(L)I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for ^(M)the hope and resurrection of the dead!” ⁷ When he said this, a dissension occurred between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For ^(N)the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹ And a great uproar occurred; and some of ^(O)the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and started arguing heatedly, saying, “^(P)We find nothing wrong with this man; ^(Q)suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ¹⁰ And when a great dissension occurred, the commander was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, and he ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into ^(R)the barracks.

¹¹ But on ^(S)the following night, the Lord stood near him and said, “^(T)Be courageous! For ^(U)as you have ^(V)testified to the truth about Me in Jerusalem, so you must testify in Rome also.”

A Conspiracy to Kill Paul

¹² When it was day, ^(W)the Jews formed a ^[f]conspiracy and ^(X)put themselves under an ^[g]oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ There were more than forty who formed this plot. ¹⁴ They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have ^(Y)put ourselves under an ^[h]oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now therefore, you ^[i]and ^(Z)the ^[j]Council notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly; and as for us, we are ready to kill him before he comes near the place.”

¹⁶ But the son of Paul’s sister heard about their ambush, ^[k]and he came and entered ^(AA)the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷ Paul called one of the centurions to himself and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him.” ¹⁸ So he took him and led him to the commander and *said, “Paul ^(AB)the prisoner called me over to him and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” ¹⁹ The commander took him by the hand, and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to me?” ²⁰ And he said, “^(AC)The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to ^(AD)the ^[l]Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him. ²¹ So do not ^[m]listen to them, for more than forty ^[n]of them are ^(AE)in hiding to ambush him, and these men have ^(AF)put themselves under an oath not to eat or drink until they kill him; and now they are ready and waiting for assurance from you.” ²² Then the commander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.”

Paul Moved to Caesarea

²³ And he called to him two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready by ^[o]the third hour of the night to proceed to ^(AG)Caesarea, ^[p]with seventy horsemen and two hundred ^[q]spearmen.” ²⁴ They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to ^(AH)Felix the governor. ²⁵ And he wrote a letter ^[r]with the following content:

³¹ So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³² But on the next day they let ^(AU)the horsemen go on with him, and they returned to ^(AV)the barracks. ³³ When these horsemen had come to ^(AW)Caesarea and delivered the letter to ^(AX)the governor, they also presented Paul to him. ³⁴ Now when he had read it, he also asked from what ^(AY)province Paul was, and when he learned that ^(AZ)he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I will give you a hearing when your ^(BA)accusers arrive as well,” giving orders for ^[w]Paul to be ^(BB)kept in Herod’s ^[x]Praetorium.