Chapter 14

Improper Mourning Rites. ¹ You are children of the Lord, your God. You shall not gash yourselves nor shave the hair above your foreheads for the dead.^{(A) 2} For you are a people holy to the Lord, your God; the Lord, your God, has chosen you from all the peoples on the face of the earth to be a people specially his own.^(B)

Clean and Unclean Animals. ³ You shall not eat any abominable thing.^{(C) 4 (D)}These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, ⁵ the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. ⁶ Any among the animals that has divided hooves, with the foot cloven in two, and that chews the cud you may eat. ⁷ But you shall not eat any of the following that chew the cud or have cloven hooves: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, which indeed chew the cud, but do not have divided hooves; they are unclean for you. ⁸ And the pig, which indeed has divided hooves, with cloven foot, but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their dead bodies you shall not touch.

⁹ These you may eat, of all that live in the water: whatever has both fins and scales you may eat, ¹⁰ but all those that lack either fins or scales you shall not eat; they are unclean for you.

¹¹ You may eat all clean birds. ^12 [a]But you shall not eat any of the following: the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, ¹³ the various kites and falcons, ¹⁴ all kinds of crows, ¹⁵ the eagle owl, the kestrel, the long-eared owl, all species of hawks, ¹⁶ the little owl, the screech owl, the barn owl, ¹⁷ the horned owl, the osprey, the cormorant, ¹⁸ the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. ^19 [b]All winged insects are also unclean for you and shall not be eaten. ²⁰ Any clean winged creatures you may eat.

²¹ You shall not eat the carcass of any animal that has died of itself; but you may give it to a resident alien within your gates to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people holy to the Lord, your God.^(E)

You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.^[c]

Tithes. ²² Each year you shall tithe all the produce of your seed that grows in the field;^{(F) 23} then in the place which the Lord, your God, chooses as the dwelling place of his name^(G) you shall eat in his presence the tithe of your grain, wine and oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock, that you may learn always to fear the Lord, your God. ^24 (H)But if, when the Lord, your God, blesses you, the journey is too much for you and you are not able to bring your tithe, because the place which the Lord, your God, chooses to put his name is too far for you, ²⁵ you may exchange the tithe for money, and with the money securely in hand, go to the place which the Lord, your God, chooses. ²⁶ You may then exchange the money for whatever you desire, oxen or sheep, wine or beer, or anything else you want, and there in the presence of the Lord, your God, you shall consume it and rejoice, you and your household together.^{(I) 27} But do not neglect the Levite within your gates, for he has no hereditary portion with you.^(J)

^28 (K)At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithes of your produce for that year and deposit them within your own communities, ²⁹ that the Levite who has no hereditary portion with you, and also the resident alien, the orphan and the widow within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied; so that the Lord, your God, may bless you in all that you undertake.

Chapter 15

Debts and the Poor. ¹ At the end of every seven-year period^[d] you shall have a remission of debts,^{(L) 2} and this is the manner of the remission. Creditors shall remit all claims on loans made to a neighbor, not pressing the neighbor, one who is kin, because the Lord’s remission has been proclaimed. ³ You may press a foreigner, but you shall remit the claim on what your kin owes to you.^{(M) 4 (N)}However, since the Lord, your God, will bless you abundantly in the land the Lord, your God, will give you to possess as a heritage, there shall be no one of you in need ⁵ if you but listen to the voice of the Lord, your God, and carefully observe this entire commandment which I enjoin on you today. ⁶ Since the Lord, your God, will bless you as he promised, you will lend to many nations, and borrow from none;^(O) you will rule over many nations, and none will rule over you.

^7 (P)If one of your kindred is in need in any community in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand against your kin who is in need. ⁸ Instead, you shall freely open your hand and generously lend what suffices to meet that need.^{(Q) 9} Be careful not to entertain the mean thought, “The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,” so that you would begrudge your kin who is in need and give nothing, and your kin would cry to the Lord against you and you would be held guilty.^{(R) 10} When you give, give generously and not with a stingy heart; for that, the Lord, your God, will bless you in all your works and undertakings. ¹¹ The land will never lack for needy persons; that is why I command you: “Open your hand freely to your poor and to your needy kin in your land.”^(S)

Hebrew Slaves. ^12 (T)If your kin, a Hebrew man or woman, sells himself or herself to you, he or she is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year you shall release him or her as a free person. ^13 (U)When you release a male from your service, as a free person, you shall not send him away empty-handed, ¹⁴ but shall weigh him down with gifts from your flock and threshing floor and wine press; as the Lord, your God, has blessed you, so you shall give to him. ¹⁵ For remember that you too were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the Lord, your God, redeemed you. That is why I am giving you this command today.^{(V) 16 (W)}But if he says to you, “I do not wish to leave you,” because he loves you and your household, since he is well off with you, ¹⁷ you shall take an awl and put it through his ear^[e] into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. Your female slave, also, you shall treat in the same way. ¹⁸ Do not be reluctant when you let them go free, since the service they have given you for six years was worth twice a hired laborer’s salary; and the Lord, your God, will bless you in everything you do.

Firstlings. ^19 (X)You shall consecrate to the Lord, your God, every male firstling born in your herd and in your flock. You shall not work the firstlings of your cattle, nor shear the firstlings of your flock. ²⁰ In the presence of the Lord, your God, you shall eat them year after year, you and your household, in the place that the Lord will choose.^{(Y) 21 (Z)}But if a firstling has any defect, lameness or blindness, any such serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord, your God, ²² but in your own communities you may eat it, the unclean and the clean eating it together, as you would a gazelle or a deer. ²³ Only, you must not eat of its blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.

Chapter 16

Feast of the Passover. ¹ Observe the month of Abib^[f] by keeping the Passover of the Lord, your God,^(AA) since it was in the month of Abib that the Lord, your God, brought you out of Egypt by night. ² You shall offer the Passover sacrifice from your flock and your herd to the Lord, your God, in the place the Lord will choose as the dwelling place of his name.^{(AB) 3 (AC)}You shall not eat leavened bread with it. For seven days you shall eat with it only unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, so that you may remember as long as you live the day you left the land of Egypt; for in hurried flight you left the land of Egypt. ⁴ No leaven is to be found with you in all your territory for seven days, and none of the meat which you sacrificed on the evening of the first day shall be kept overnight for the next day.

⁵ You may not sacrifice the Passover in any of the communities which the Lord, your God, gives you; ⁶ only at the place which the Lord, your God, will choose as the dwelling place of his name, and in the evening at sunset, at the very time when you left Egypt, shall you sacrifice the Passover.^{(AD) 7} You shall cook and eat it at the place the Lord, your God, will choose; then in the morning you may return to your tents. ⁸ For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly for the Lord, your God; on that day you shall do no work.^(AE)

Feast of Weeks. ^9 (AF)You shall count off seven weeks; begin to count the seven weeks from the day when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. ¹⁰ You shall then keep the feast of Weeks^[g] for the Lord, your God, and the measure of your own voluntary offering which you will give shall be in proportion to the blessing the Lord, your God, has given you. ¹¹ You shall rejoice in the presence of the Lord, your God, together with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite within your gates, as well as the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow among you, in the place which the Lord, your God, will choose as the dwelling place of his name.^{(AG) 12} Remember that you too were slaves in Egypt, so carry out these statutes carefully.

Feast of Booths. ^13 (AH)You shall celebrate the feast of Booths^[h] for seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and wine press. ¹⁴ You shall rejoice at your feast,^(AI) together with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and also the Levite, the resident alien, the orphan and the widow within your gates. ¹⁵ For seven days you shall celebrate this feast for the Lord, your God, in the place which the Lord will choose; since the Lord, your God, has blessed you in all your crops and in all your undertakings, you will be full of joy.

¹⁶ Three times a year,^(AJ) then, all your males shall appear before the Lord, your God, in the place which he will choose: at the feast of Unleavened Bread, at the feast of Weeks, and at the feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed, ¹⁷ but each with his own gift, in proportion to the blessing which the Lord, your God, has given to you.

Justice. ^18 (AK)In all the communities which the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall appoint judges and officials throughout your tribes to administer true justice for the people. ¹⁹ You must not distort justice: you shall not show partiality;^(AL) you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes even of the wise and twists the words even of the just. ²⁰ Justice, justice alone shall you pursue, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving you.

Illicit Worship. ^21 (AM)You shall not plant an asherah^[i] of any kind of wood next to the altar of the Lord, your God, which you will build;^{(AN) 22} nor shall you erect a sacred pillar, such as the Lord, your God, hates.

Psalm 95^[a]

A Call to Praise and Obedience

I

II

III

Transfer to Caesarea. ¹² When day came, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ There were more than forty who formed this conspiracy. ¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves by a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ You, together with the Sanhedrin, must now make an official request to the commander to have him bring him down to you, as though you meant to investigate his case more thoroughly. We on our part are prepared to kill him before he arrives.” ¹⁶ The son of Paul’s sister, however, heard about the ambush; so he went and entered the compound and reported it to Paul. ¹⁷ Paul then called one of the centurions^[a] and requested, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to report to him.” ¹⁸ So he took him and brought him to the commander and explained, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked that I bring this young man to you; he has something to say to you.” ¹⁹ The commander took him by the hand, drew him aside, and asked him privately, “What is it you have to report to me?” ²⁰ He replied, “The Jews have conspired to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as though they meant to inquire about him more thoroughly, ²¹ but do not believe them. More than forty of them are lying in wait for him; they have bound themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are now ready and only wait for your consent.” ²² As the commander dismissed the young man he directed him, “Tell no one that you gave me this information.”

²³ Then he summoned two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready to go to Caesarea by nine o’clock tonight,^[b] along with seventy horsemen and two hundred auxiliaries. ²⁴ Provide mounts for Paul to ride and give him safe conduct to Felix the governor.” ²⁵ Then he wrote a letter with this content: ^26 [c]“Claudius Lysias to his excellency the governor Felix, greetings.^{[d] 27} This man, seized by the Jews and about to be murdered by them, I rescued after intervening with my troops when I learned that he was a Roman citizen.^{(A) 28} I wanted to learn the reason for their accusations against him so I brought him down to their Sanhedrin. ²⁹ I discovered that he was accused in matters of controversial questions of their law and not of any charge deserving death or imprisonment.^{(B) 30} Since it was brought to my attention that there will be a plot against the man, I am sending him to you at once, and have also notified his accusers to state [their case] against him before you.”

³¹ So the soldiers, according to their orders, took Paul and escorted him by night to Antipatris. ³² The next day they returned to the compound, leaving the horsemen to complete the journey with him. ³³ When they arrived in Caesarea they delivered the letter to the governor and presented Paul to him. ³⁴ When he had read it and asked to what province he belonged, and learned that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I shall hear your case when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered that he be held in custody in Herod’s praetorium.