22 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for me, so they do not bring shame on my holy name. I am the Lord. ³ Give them the following instructions.

“In all future generations, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean when he approaches the sacred offerings that the people of Israel consecrate to the Lord, he must be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord.

⁴ “If any of Aaron’s descendants has a skin disease^[a] or any kind of discharge that makes him ceremonially unclean, he may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has been pronounced clean. He also becomes unclean by touching a corpse, or by having an emission of semen, ⁵ or by touching a small animal that is unclean, or by touching someone who is ceremonially unclean for any reason. ⁶ The man who is defiled in any of these ways will remain unclean until evening. He may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has bathed himself in water. ⁷ When the sun goes down, he will be ceremonially clean again and may eat from the sacred offerings, for this is his food. ⁸ He may not eat an animal that has died a natural death or has been torn apart by wild animals, for this would defile him. I am the Lord.

⁹ “The priests must follow my instructions carefully. Otherwise they will be punished for their sin and will die for violating my instructions. I am the Lord who makes them holy.

¹⁰ “No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offerings. Even guests and hired workers in a priest’s home are not allowed to eat them. ¹¹ However, if the priest buys a slave for himself, the slave may eat from the sacred offerings. And if his slaves have children, they also may share his food. ¹² If a priest’s daughter marries someone outside the priestly family, she may no longer eat the sacred offerings. ¹³ But if she becomes a widow or is divorced and has no children to support her, and she returns to live in her father’s home as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food again. Otherwise, no one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offerings.

¹⁴ “Any such person who eats the sacred offerings without realizing it must pay the priest for the amount eaten, plus an additional 20 percent. ¹⁵ The priests must not let the Israelites defile the sacred offerings brought to the Lord ¹⁶ by allowing unauthorized people to eat them. This would bring guilt upon them and require them to pay compensation. I am the Lord who makes them holy.”

Worthy and Unworthy Offerings

¹⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Give Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites these instructions, which apply both to native Israelites and to the foreigners living among you.

“If you present a gift as a burnt offering to the Lord, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering, ¹⁹ you^[b] will be accepted only if your offering is a male animal with no defects. It may be a bull, a ram, or a male goat. ²⁰ Do not present an animal with defects, because the Lord will not accept it on your behalf.

²¹ “If you present a peace offering to the Lord from the herd or the flock, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering, you must offer a perfect animal. It may have no defect of any kind. ²² You must not offer an animal that is blind, crippled, or injured, or that has a wart, a skin sore, or scabs. Such animals must never be offered on the altar as special gifts to the Lord. ²³ If a bull^[c] or lamb has a leg that is too long or too short, it may be offered as a voluntary offering, but it may not be offered to fulfill a vow. ²⁴ If an animal has damaged testicles or is castrated, you may not offer it to the Lord. You must never do this in your own land, ²⁵ and you must not accept such an animal from foreigners and then offer it as a sacrifice to your God. Such animals will not be accepted on your behalf, for they are mutilated or defective.”

²⁶ And the Lord said to Moses, ²⁷ “When a calf or lamb or goat is born, it must be left with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a special gift to the Lord. ²⁸ But you must not slaughter a mother animal and her offspring on the same day, whether from the herd or the flock. ²⁹ When you bring a thanksgiving offering to the Lord, sacrifice it properly so you will be accepted. ³⁰ Eat the entire sacrificial animal on the day it is presented. Do not leave any of it until the next morning. I am the Lord.

³¹ “You must faithfully keep all my commands by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord. ³² Do not bring shame on my holy name, for I will display my holiness among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who makes you holy. ³³ It was I who rescued you from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. I am the Lord.”

Queen Athaliah Rules in Judah

11 When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, learned that her son was dead, she began to destroy the rest of the royal family. ² But Ahaziah’s sister Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram,^[a] took Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash, and stole him away from among the rest of the king’s children, who were about to be killed. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom, and they hid him from Athaliah, so the child was not murdered. ³ Joash remained hidden in the Temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled over the land.

Revolt against Athaliah

⁴ In the seventh year of Athaliah’s reign, Jehoiada the priest summoned the commanders, the Carite mercenaries, and the palace guards to come to the Temple of the Lord. He made a solemn pact with them and made them swear an oath of loyalty there in the Lord’s Temple; then he showed them the king’s son.

⁵ Jehoiada told them, “This is what you must do. A third of you who are on duty on the Sabbath are to guard the royal palace itself. ⁶ Another third of you are to stand guard at the Sur Gate. And the final third must stand guard behind the palace guard. These three groups will all guard the palace. ⁷ The other two units who are off duty on the Sabbath must stand guard for the king at the Lord’s Temple. ⁸ Form a bodyguard around the king and keep your weapons in hand. Kill anyone who tries to break through. Stay with the king wherever he goes.”

⁹ So the commanders did everything as Jehoiada the priest ordered. The commanders took charge of the men reporting for duty that Sabbath, as well as those who were going off duty. They brought them all to Jehoiada the priest, ¹⁰ and he supplied them with the spears and small shields that had once belonged to King David and were stored in the Temple of the Lord. ¹¹ The palace guards stationed themselves around the king, with their weapons ready. They formed a line from the south side of the Temple around to the north side and all around the altar.

¹² Then Jehoiada brought out Joash, the king’s son, placed the crown on his head, and presented him with a copy of God’s laws.^[b] They anointed him and proclaimed him king, and everyone clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”

The Death of Athaliah

¹³ When Athaliah heard the noise made by the palace guards and the people, she hurried to the Lord’s Temple to see what was happening. ¹⁴ When she arrived, she saw the newly crowned king standing in his place of authority by the pillar, as was the custom at times of coronation. The commanders and trumpeters were surrounding him, and people from all over the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. When Athaliah saw all this, she tore her clothes in despair and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”

¹⁵ Then Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders who were in charge of the troops, “Take her to the soldiers in front of the Temple,^[c] and kill anyone who tries to rescue her.” For the priest had said, “She must not be killed in the Temple of the Lord.” ¹⁶ So they seized her and led her out to the gate where horses enter the palace grounds, and she was killed there.

Jehoiada’s Religious Reforms

¹⁷ Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people that they would be the Lord’s people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people. ¹⁸ And all the people of the land went over to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They demolished the altars and smashed the idols to pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.

Jehoiada the priest stationed guards at the Temple of the Lord. ¹⁹ Then the commanders, the Carite mercenaries, the palace guards, and all the people of the land escorted the king from the Temple of the Lord. They went through the gate of the guards and into the palace, and the king took his seat on the royal throne. ²⁰ So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was peaceful because Athaliah had been killed at the king’s palace.

^21 [d]Joash^[e] was seven years old when he became king.

Greetings from Paul

1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. ² God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. ³ The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, ⁴ and he was shown to be^[a] the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.^[b] He is Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through Christ, God has given us the privilege^[c] and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

⁶ And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. ⁷ I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people.

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

God’s Good News

⁸ Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world. ⁹ God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart^[d] by spreading the Good News about his Son.

¹⁰ One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. ¹¹ For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. ¹² When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

¹³ I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters,^[e] that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. ¹⁴ For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world,^[f] to the educated and uneducated alike. ¹⁵ So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.^{[g] 17} This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”^[h]

God’s Anger at Sin

¹⁸ But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.^{[i] 19} They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. ²⁰ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

²¹ Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. ²² Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. ²³ And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴ So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. ²⁵ They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. ²⁶ That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. ²⁷ And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

²⁸ Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. ²⁹ Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. ³⁰ They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. ³¹ They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. ³² They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

Psalm 124

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.

Descendants of Benjamin

8 Benjamin’s first son was Bela, the second was Ashbel, the third was Aharah, ² the fourth was Nohah, and the fifth was Rapha.

³ The sons of Bela were Addar, Gera, Abihud,^{[a] 4} Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, ⁵ Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram.

⁶ The sons of Ehud, leaders of the clans living at Geba, were exiled to Manahath. ⁷ Ehud’s sons were Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera. Gera, who led them into exile, was the father of Uzza and Ahihud.^[b]

⁸ After Shaharaim divorced his wives Hushim and Baara, he had children in the land of Moab. ⁹ His wife Hodesh gave birth to Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, ¹⁰ Jeuz, Sakia, and Mirmah. These sons all became the leaders of clans.

¹¹ Shaharaim’s wife Hushim had already given birth to Abitub and Elpaal. ¹² The sons of Elpaal were Eber, Misham, Shemed (who built the towns of Ono and Lod and their nearby villages), ¹³ Beriah, and Shema. They were the leaders of the clans living in Aijalon, and they drove out the inhabitants of Gath.

¹⁴ Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth, ¹⁵ Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, ¹⁶ Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were the sons of Beriah.

¹⁷ Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, ¹⁸ Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal.

¹⁹ Jakim, Zicri, Zabdi, ²⁰ Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, ²¹ Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei.

²² Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, ²³ Abdon, Zicri, Hanan, ²⁴ Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, ²⁵ Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak.

²⁶ Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, ²⁷ Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zicri were the sons of Jeroham.

²⁸ These were the leaders of the ancestral clans; they were listed in their genealogical records, and they all lived in Jerusalem.

The Family of Saul

²⁹ Jeiel^[c] (the father of^[d] Gibeon) lived in the town of Gibeon. His wife’s name was Maacah, ³⁰ and his oldest son was named Abdon. Jeiel’s other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner,^[e] Nadab, ³¹ Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah,^{[f] 32} and Mikloth, who was the father of Shimeam.^[g] All these families lived near each other in Jerusalem.

³⁸ Azel had six sons: Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel.

³⁹ Azel’s brother Eshek had three sons: the first was Ulam, the second was Jeush, and the third was Eliphelet. ⁴⁰ Ulam’s sons were all mighty warriors and expert archers. They had many sons and grandsons—150 in all.

All these were descendants of Benjamin.