Leviticus 18-20

English Standard Version

Unlawful Sexual Relations

18 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ^(A)I am the Lord your God. ³^(B)You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and ^(C)you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. ⁴^(D)You shall follow my rules^[a] and keep my statutes and walk in them. ^(E)I am the Lord your God. ⁵^(F)You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; ^(G)if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.

⁶“None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord. ⁷^(H)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. ⁸^(I)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness. ⁹^(J)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home. ¹⁰You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter or of your daughter's daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. ¹¹You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, brought up in your father's family, since she is your sister. ¹²You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is your father's relative. ¹³You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's relative. ¹⁴You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. ¹⁵^(K)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. ¹⁶^(L)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife; it is your brother's nakedness. ¹⁷You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity. ¹⁸And you shall not take a woman as a ^(M)rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness ^(N)while her sister is still alive.

¹⁹^(O)“You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. ²⁰^(P)And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her. ²¹You shall not give any of your children to ^(Q)offer them^[b] to ^(R)Molech, and so ^(S)profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. ²²^(T)You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. ²³^(U)And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is ^(V)perversion.

²⁴^(W)“Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, ^(X)for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, ²⁵and the ^(Y)land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land ^(Z)vomited out its inhabitants. ²⁶But ^(AA)you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the ^(AB)native or the stranger who sojourns among you ²⁷(for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), ²⁸lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. ²⁹For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. ³⁰^(AC)So keep my charge never to practice ^(AD)any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: ^(AE)I am the Lord your God.”

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, ^(AF)You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. ³^(AG)Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and ^(AH)you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. ⁴^(AI)Do not turn to idols ^(AJ)or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.

⁵^(AK)“When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so ^(AL)that you may be accepted. ⁶It 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. ⁷If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is ^(AM)tainted; it will not be accepted, ⁸and everyone who eats it shall ^(AN)bear his iniquity, because ^(AO)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^(AP)“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. ¹⁰And 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^(AQ)“You shall not steal; ^(AR)you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. ¹²^(AS)You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so ^(AT)profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

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

¹⁵^(AY)“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^(AZ)You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not ^(BA)stand up against the life^[c] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

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

You Shall Keep My Statutes

¹⁹^(BG)“You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. ^(BH)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; ²¹but ^(BI)he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. ²²And 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.^[d] Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. ²⁴And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. ²⁵But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.

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

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

³¹^(BR)“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^(BS)“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall ^(BT)fear your God: I am the Lord.

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

³⁵^(BX)“You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. ³⁶^(BY)You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin:^[e] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ³⁷And ^(BZ)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, ^(CA)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^(CB)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 ^(CC)unclean and ^(CD)to profane my holy name. ⁴And 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 ^(CE)put him to death, ⁵then 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 ^(CF)whoring after Molech.

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

Punishments for Sexual Immorality

¹⁰“If a ^(CN)man commits adultery with the wife of^[f] his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. ¹¹^(CO)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^(CP)If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed ^(CQ)perversion; their blood is upon them. ¹³^(CR)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^(CS)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^(CT)If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. ¹⁶^(CU)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^(CV)“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^(CW)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^(CX)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister or of your father's sister, for that is to make naked ^(CY)one's relative; they shall bear their iniquity. ²⁰^(CZ)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^(DA)If a man takes his brother's wife, it is impurity.^[g] He has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.

You Shall Be Holy

²²^(DB)“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 ^(DC)vomit you out. ²³^(DD)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. ²⁴But ^(DE)I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land ^(DF)flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, ^(DG)who has separated you from the peoples. ²⁵^(DH)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^(DI)You shall be holy to me, ^(DJ)for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.

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

Footnotes

Leviticus 18:4 Or my just decrees; also verse 5
Leviticus 18:21 Hebrew to make them pass through [the fire]
Leviticus 19:16 Hebrew blood
Leviticus 19:23 Hebrew as its uncircumcision
Leviticus 19:36 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters
Leviticus 20:10 Hebrew repeats if a man commits adultery with the wife of
Leviticus 20:21 Hebrew menstrual impurity

Mark 13

English Standard Version

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

13 ^(A)And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” ²And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^(B)There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

³And as he sat on ^(C)the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, ^(D)Peter and James and John and ^(E)Andrew asked him ^(F)privately, ⁴“Tell us, ^(G)when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” ⁵And Jesus began to say to them, ^(H)“See that no one leads you astray. ⁶^(I)Many will come in my name, saying, ^(J)‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. ⁷And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, ^(K)do not be alarmed. This ^(L)must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁸For ^(M)nation will rise against nation, and ^(N)kingdom against kingdom. There will be ^(O)earthquakes in various places; there will be ^(P)famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

⁹^(Q)“But ^(R)be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten ^(S)in synagogues, and you will stand before ^(T)governors and ^(U)kings for my sake, ^(V)to bear witness before them. ¹⁰And the gospel must first be proclaimed ^(W)to all nations. ¹¹And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, ^(X)do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say ^(Y)whatever is given you in that hour, ^(Z)for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. ¹²^(AA)And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. ¹³^(AB)And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. ^(AC)But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁴“But when you see ^(AD)the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (^(AE)let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁵^(AF)Let the one who is on ^(AG)the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, ¹⁶and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁷And ^(AH)alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ¹⁸Pray that it may not happen in winter. ¹⁹For in those days there will be ^(AI)such ^(AJ)tribulation as has not been ^(AK)from the beginning of the creation that ^(AL)God created until now, and never will be. ²⁰And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for ^(AM)the sake of the elect, whom ^(AN)he chose, he shortened the days. ²¹And ^(AO)then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. ²²^(AP)For false christs and false prophets will arise and ^(AQ)perform signs and wonders, ^(AR)to lead astray, if possible, ^(AS)the elect. ²³But ^(AT)be on guard; ^(AU)I have told you all things beforehand.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁴“But in those days, after ^(AV)that tribulation, ^(AW)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, ²⁵and ^(AX)the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶And then they will see ^(AY)the Son of Man coming in clouds ^(AZ)with great power and glory. ²⁷And then ^(BA)he will send out the angels and ^(BB)gather ^(BC)his elect from ^(BD)the four winds, from ^(BE)the ends of the earth ^(BF)to the ends of heaven.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

²⁸“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, ^(BG)at the very gates. ³⁰^(BH)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹^(BI)Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(BJ)my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day or Hour

³²“But concerning that day or that hour, ^(BK)no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, ^(BL)nor the Son, ^(BM)but only the Father. ³³^(BN)Be on guard, ^(BO)keep awake.^[a] For you do not know when the time will come. ³⁴^(BP)It is like a man ^(BQ)going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants^[b] in charge, ^(BR)each with his work, and commands ^(BS)the doorkeeper to stay awake. ³⁵^(BT)Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, ^(BU)in the evening, or ^(BV)at midnight, or ^(BW)when the rooster crows,^[c] or ^(BX)in the morning— ³⁶lest ^(BY)he come suddenly and ^(BZ)find you asleep. ³⁷And what I say to you I say to all: ^(CA)Stay awake.”

Footnotes

Mark 13:33 Some manuscripts add and pray
Mark 13:34 Or bondservants
Mark 13:35 That is, the third watch of the night, between midnight and 3 a.m.

Psalm 72-73

English Standard Version

Give the King Your Justice

Of ^(A)Solomon.

72 Give the king your ^(B)justice, O God,
    and your righteousness to the royal son!
²May he ^(C)judge your people with righteousness,
    and your poor with justice!
³Let the mountains bear ^(D)prosperity for the people,
    and the hills, in righteousness!
⁴May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
    give deliverance to the children of the needy,
    and crush the oppressor!

⁵May they fear you^[a] while ^(E)the sun endures,
    and as long as the moon, ^(F)throughout all generations!
⁶May he be like ^(G)rain that falls on ^(H)the mown grass,
    like ^(I)showers that water the earth!
⁷In his days may ^(J)the righteous flourish,
    and ^(K)peace abound, till the moon be no more!

⁸May he have dominion from ^(L)sea to sea,
    and from ^(M)the River^[b] to the ^(N)ends of the earth!
⁹May desert tribes ^(O)bow down before him,
    and his enemies ^(P)lick the dust!
¹⁰May the kings of ^(Q)Tarshish and of ^(R)the coastlands
    render him ^(S)tribute;
may the kings of ^(T)Sheba and ^(U)Seba
    bring gifts!
¹¹May all kings ^(V)fall down before him,
    all nations serve him!

¹²For he delivers ^(W)the needy when he calls,
    the poor and him who has no helper.
¹³He has pity on the weak and the needy,
    and saves the lives of the needy.
¹⁴From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
    and ^(X)precious is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live;
    may ^(Y)gold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made ^(Z)for him continually,
    and blessings invoked for him all the day!
¹⁶May there be abundance of grain in the land;
    on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
    may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people ^(AA)blossom in the cities
    like the ^(AB)grass of the field!
¹⁷^(AC)May his name endure forever,
    his fame continue as long as the sun!
^(AD)May people be blessed in him,
    ^(AE)all nations call him blessed!

¹⁸^(AF)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does ^(AG)wondrous things.
¹⁹Blessed be his ^(AH)glorious name forever;
may ^(AI)the whole earth be filled with his glory!
^(AJ)Amen and Amen!

²⁰^(AK)The prayers of ^(AL)David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

Book Three

God Is My Strength and Portion Forever

A Psalm of ^(AM)Asaph.

73 Truly God is good to ^(AN)Israel,
    to those who are ^(AO)pure in heart.
²But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
    my steps had nearly slipped.
³^(AP)For I was ^(AQ)envious of the arrogant
    when I saw the ^(AR)prosperity of the wicked.

⁴For they have no pangs until death;
    their bodies are fat and sleek.
⁵They are not in trouble as others are;
    they are not ^(AS)stricken like the rest of mankind.
⁶Therefore pride is ^(AT)their necklace;
    violence covers them as ^(AU)a garment.
⁷Their ^(AV)eyes swell out through fatness;
    their hearts overflow with follies.
⁸They scoff and ^(AW)speak with malice;
    loftily they threaten oppression.
⁹They set their mouths against the heavens,
    and their tongue struts through the earth.
¹⁰Therefore his people turn back to them,
    and find ^(AX)no fault in them.^[c]
¹¹And they say, ^(AY)“How can God know?
    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
¹²Behold, these are the wicked;
    always at ease, they ^(AZ)increase in riches.
¹³All in vain have I ^(BA)kept my heart clean
    and ^(BB)washed my hands in innocence.
¹⁴For all the day long I have been ^(BC)stricken
    and ^(BD)rebuked ^(BE)every morning.
¹⁵If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
    I would have betrayed ^(BF)the generation of your children.

¹⁶But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me ^(BG)a wearisome task,
¹⁷until I went into ^(BH)the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their ^(BI)end.

¹⁸Truly you set them in ^(BJ)slippery places;
    you make them fall to ruin.
¹⁹How they are destroyed ^(BK)in a moment,
    swept away utterly by ^(BL)terrors!
²⁰Like ^(BM)a dream when one awakes,
    O Lord, when ^(BN)you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
²¹When my soul was embittered,
    when I was pricked in heart,
²²I was ^(BO)brutish and ignorant;
    I was like ^(BP)a beast toward you.

²³Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
    you ^(BQ)hold my right hand.
²⁴You ^(BR)guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will ^(BS)receive me to glory.
²⁵^(BT)Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
²⁶^(BU)My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is ^(BV)the strength^[d] of my heart and my ^(BW)portion ^(BX)forever.

²⁷For behold, those who are ^(BY)far from you shall perish;
    you put an end to everyone who is ^(BZ)unfaithful to you.
²⁸But for me it is good to ^(CA)be near God;
    I have made the Lord God my ^(CB)refuge,
    that I may ^(CC)tell of all your works.

Footnotes

Psalm 72:5 Septuagint He shall endure
Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
Psalm 73:10 Probable reading; Hebrew the waters of a full cup are drained by them
Psalm 73:26 Hebrew rock