Paul Goes to Jerusalem

21 And when ^(A)we had parted from them and set sail, we ^(B)came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.^{[a] 2} And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³ When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴ And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And ^(C)through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, ^(D)accompanied us until we were outside the city. And ^(E)kneeling down on the beach, we prayed ⁶ and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.

⁷ When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted ^(F)the brothers^[b] and stayed with them for one day. ⁸ On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of ^(G)Philip ^(H)the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹ He had four unmarried daughters, ^(I)who prophesied. ¹⁰ While we were staying for many days, a prophet named ^(J)Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ And coming to us, he ^(K)took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, ^(L)“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ^(M)‘This is how the Jews^[c] at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and ^(N)deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” ¹² When we heard this, we and the people there ^(O)urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, ^(P)“What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For ^(Q)I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem ^(R)for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ And since he would not be persuaded, ^(S)we ceased and said, ^(T)“Let the will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵ After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.

Paul Visits James

¹⁷ When we had come to Jerusalem, ^(U)the brothers received us gladly. ¹⁸ On the following day Paul went in with us to ^(V)James, and all ^(W)the elders were present. ¹⁹ After greeting them, ^(X)he related one by one ^(Y)the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ^(Z)ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard it, they ^(AA)glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all ^(AB)zealous for the law, ²¹ and they have been told about you that you teach all ^(AC)the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, ^(AD)telling them ^(AE)not to circumcise their children or ^(AF)walk according to ^(AG)our customs. ²² What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. ²³ Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men ^(AH)who are under a vow; ²⁴ take these men and ^(AI)purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ^(AJ)so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. ²⁵ But as for the Gentiles who have believed, ^(AK)we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled,^[d] and from sexual immorality.” ²⁶ Then Paul took the men, and the next day ^(AL)he purified himself along with them and ^(AM)went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and ^(AN)the offering presented for each one of them.

Paul Arrested in the Temple

²⁷ When ^(AO)the seven days were almost completed, ^(AP)the Jews from Asia, ^(AQ)seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who ^(AR)is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and ^(AS)the law and ^(AT)this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and ^(AU)has defiled ^(AV)this holy place.” ²⁹ For they had previously seen ^(AW)Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰ Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and ^(AX)dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. ^31 (AY)And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of ^(AZ)the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ^32 (BA)He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him ^(BB)to be bound ^(BC)with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. ^34 (BD)Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into ^(BE)the barracks. ³⁵ And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, ³⁶ for the mob of the people followed, crying out, ^(BF)“Away with him!”

Paul Speaks to the People

³⁷ As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? ³⁸ Are you not ^(BG)the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out ^(BH)into the wilderness?” ³⁹ Paul replied, ^(BI)“I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” ⁴⁰ And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, ^(BJ)motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in ^(BK)the Hebrew language,^[e] saying:

The Lord Is Holy

19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, ^(A)You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. ^3 (B)Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and ^(C)you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. ^4 (D)Do not turn to idols ^(E)or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.

^5 (F)“When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so ^(G)that you may be accepted. ⁶ It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. ⁷ If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is ^(H)tainted; it will not be accepted, ⁸ and everyone who eats it shall ^(I)bear his iniquity, because ^(J)he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

^9 (K)“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. ¹⁰ And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.

^11 (L)“You shall not steal; ^(M)you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. ^12 (N)You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so ^(O)profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

^13 (P)“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. ^(Q)The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. ^14 (R)You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall ^(S)fear your God: I am the Lord.

^15 (T)“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. ^16 (U)You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not ^(V)stand up against the life^[a] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

^17 (W)“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but ^(X)you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you ^(Y)incur sin because of him. ^18 (Z)You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but ^(AA)you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

You Shall Keep My Statutes

^19 (AB)“You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. ^(AC)You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.

²⁰ “If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; ²¹ but ^(AD)he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. ²² And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed.

²³ “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden.^[b] Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. ²⁴ And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. ²⁵ But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.

^26 (AE)“You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. ^(AF)You shall not interpret omens or ^(AG)tell fortunes. ^27 (AH)You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. ²⁸ You shall not make any ^(AI)cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.

^29 (AJ)“Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. ^30 (AK)You shall keep my Sabbaths and ^(AL)reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

^31 (AM)“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.

^32 (AN)“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall ^(AO)fear your God: I am the Lord.

^33 (AP)“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. ^34 (AQ)You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and ^(AR)you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

^35 (AS)“You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. ^36 (AT)You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin:^[c] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ³⁷ And ^(AU)you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.”

Punishment for Child Sacrifice

20 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Say to the people of Israel, ^(AV)Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. ^3 (AW)I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary ^(AX)unclean and ^(AY)to profane my holy name. ⁴ And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not ^(AZ)put him to death, ⁵ then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in ^(BA)whoring after Molech.

⁶ “If ^(BB)a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, ^(BC)I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. ^7 (BD)Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. ^8 (BE)Keep my statutes and do them; ^(BF)I am the Lord who sanctifies you. ⁹ For ^(BG)anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; ^(BH)his blood is upon him.

Punishments for Sexual Immorality

¹⁰ “If a ^(BI)man commits adultery with the wife of^[d] his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. ^11 (BJ)If a man lies with his father's wife, he has uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. ^12 (BK)If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed ^(BL)perversion; their blood is upon them. ^13 (BM)If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. ^14 (BN)If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you. ^15 (BO)If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. ^16 (BP)If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

^17 (BQ)“If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister's nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity. ^18 (BR)If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people. ^19 (BS)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister or of your father's sister, for that is to make naked ^(BT)one's relative; they shall bear their iniquity. ^20 (BU)If a man lies with his uncle's wife, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness; they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. ^21 (BV)If a man takes his brother's wife, it is impurity.^[e] He has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.

You Shall Be Holy

^22 (BW)“You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not ^(BX)vomit you out. ^23 (BY)And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them. ²⁴ But ^(BZ)I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land ^(CA)flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, ^(CB)who has separated you from the peoples. ^25 (CC)You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. ^26 (CD)You shall be holy to me, ^(CE)for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.

^27 (CF)“A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be ^(CG)stoned with stones; ^(CH)their blood shall be upon them.”

Holiness and the Priests

21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, ^(CI)No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, ² except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, ³ or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). ⁴ He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. ^5 (CJ)They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. ⁶ They shall be holy to their God and ^(CK)not profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord's food offerings, ^(CL)the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. ^7 (CM)They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman ^(CN)divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. ⁸ You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for ^(CO)I, the Lord, who sanctify you, ^(CP)am holy. ⁹ And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; ^(CQ)she shall be burned with fire.

^10 (CR)“The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, ^(CS)shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes. ¹¹ He shall not ^(CT)go in to any dead bodies nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother. ^12 (CU)He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he ^(CV)profane the sanctuary of his God, for the ^(CW)consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the Lord. ¹³ And he shall take a wife in her virginity.^{[f] 14} A widow, ^(CX)or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take as his wife a virgin^[g] of his own people, ¹⁵ that he may not profane his offspring among his people, for ^(CY)I am the Lord who sanctifies him.”

¹⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may ^(CZ)approach to offer the bread of his God. ¹⁸ For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man ^(DA)blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face ^(DB)or a limb too long, ¹⁹ or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, ²⁰ or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a ^(DC)defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or ^(DD)crushed testicles. ²¹ No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to ^(DE)offer the Lord's food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. ²² He may eat the bread of his God, both of ^(DF)the most holy and of the ^(DG)holy things, ²³ but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not ^(DH)profane my sanctuaries,^{[h] (DI)}for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.” ²⁴ So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel.