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.’”

19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Sha’ul completed his travels through the inland country and arrived at Ephesus, where he found a few talmidim. ² He asked them, “Did you receive the Ruach HaKodesh when you came to trust?” “No,” they said to him, “we have never even heard that there is such a thing as the Ruach HaKodesh.” ³ “In that case,” he said, “into what were you immersed?” “The immersion of Yochanan,” they answered. ⁴ Sha’ul said, “Yochanan practiced an immersion in connection with turning from sin to God; but he told the people to put their trust in the one who would come after him, that is, in Yeshua.” ⁵ On hearing this, they were immersed into the name of the Lord Yeshua; ⁶ and when Sha’ul placed his hands on them, the Ruach HaKodesh came upon them; so that they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. ⁷ In all, there were about twelve of these men.

⁸ Sha’ul went into the synagogue; and for three months he spoke out boldly, engaging in dialogue and trying to persuade people about the Kingdom of God. ⁹ But some began hardening themselves and refusing to listen; and when these started defaming the Way before the whole synagogue, Sha’ul withdrew, took the talmidim with him, and commenced holding daily dialogues in Tyrannus’s yeshivah. ¹⁰ This went on for two years; so that everyone, both Jews and Greeks, living in the province of Asia heard the message about the Lord.

¹¹ God did extraordinary miracles through Sha’ul. ¹² For instance, handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were brought to sick people; they would recover from their ailments; and the evil spirits would leave them.

¹³ Then some of the Jewish exorcists who traveled from place to place tried to make use of the name of the Lord Yeshua in connection with people who had evil spirits. They would say, “I exorcise you by the Yeshua that Sha’ul is proclaiming!” ¹⁴ One time, seven sons of a Jewish cohen gadol named Skeva were doing this; ¹⁵ and the evil spirit answered them. It said, “Yeshua I know. And Sha’ul I recognize. But you? Who are you?” ¹⁶ Then the man with the evil spirit fell upon them, overpowered them and gave them such a beating that they ran from the house, naked and bleeding.

¹⁷ When all this became known to the residents of Ephesus, fear fell on all of them, Jews and Greeks alike; and the name of the Lord Yeshua came to be held in high regard. ¹⁸ Many of those who had earlier made professions of faith now came and admitted publicly their evil deeds; ¹⁹ and a considerable number of those who had engaged in occult practices threw their scrolls in a pile and burned them in public. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, it came to fifty thousand drachmas. ²⁰ Thus the message about the Lord continued in a powerful way to grow in influence.

²¹ Some time later, Sha’ul decided by the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and then go to Yerushalayim. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome.” ²² So he dispatched two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia; but he himself remained in the province of Asia for awhile.

²³ It was at this time that a major furor arose concerning the Way. ²⁴ There was a silversmith named Demetrius who manufactured from silver, objects connected with the worship of the goddess Artemis; and he provided no small amount of work for the craftsmen. ²⁵ He called a meeting of them and of those engaged in similar trades, and said, “Men, you understand that this line of business provides us our living. ²⁶ And you can see and hear for yourselves that not only here in Ephesus, but in practically the whole province of Asia, this Sha’ul has convinced and turned away a considerable crowd by saying that man-made gods aren’t gods at all. ²⁷ Now the danger is not only that the reputation of our trade will suffer, but that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will come to be taken lightly. It could end up with the goddess herself, who is worshipped throughout the province of Asia and indeed throughout the whole world, being ignominiously brought down from her divine majesty!”

²⁸ Hearing this, they were filled with rage and began bellowing, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ Soon the whole city was in an uproar. As one man, the mob rushed into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Sha’ul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. ³⁰ Sha’ul himself wanted to appear before the crowd, but the talmidim wouldn’t let him. ³¹ Even some of the officials of the province, friends of his, sent a message begging him not to risk entering the theater. ³² Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing and others something else, because the assembly was in complete confusion, and the great majority didn’t even know why they were there. ³³ Some of the crowd explained the situation to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed to the front. So Alexander motioned for silence, hoping to make a defense speech to the people. ³⁴ But as soon as they recognized that he was a Jew, they began bellowing in unison, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” and they kept it up for about two hours.

³⁵ At last, the city clerk was able to quiet the crowd. “Men of Ephesus!” he said, “Is there anyone who doesn’t know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone which fell from the sky? ³⁶ Since this is beyond dispute, you had better calm down and not do anything rash. ³⁷ For you have brought these men here who have neither robbed the temple nor insulted your goddess. ³⁸ So if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and the judges are there — let them bring charges and counter-charges. ³⁹ But if there is something more you want, it will have to be settled in a lawful assembly. ⁴⁰ For we are in danger of being accused of rioting on account of what has happened today. There is no justification for it; and if we are asked, we will be unable to give any reasonable explanation for this disorderly gathering.” ⁴¹ And with these words, he dismissed the assembly.