Leviticus 15-18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Concerning Bodily Discharges
15 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
“When any man has a discharge from his member,[a] his discharge makes him unclean.(A) 3 The uncleanness of his discharge is this: whether his member[b] flows with its discharge or is stopped from discharging, he is unclean during the entire period his member[c] flows or is stopped from discharging; this is his uncleanness.[d] 4 Every bed on which the one with the discharge lies shall be unclean, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. 5 Anyone who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening. 6 All who sit on anything on which the one with the discharge has sat shall wash their clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening. 7 All who touch the body of the one with the discharge shall wash their clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.(B) 8 If the one with the discharge spits on persons who are clean, then they shall wash their clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening. 9 Any saddle on which the one with the discharge rides shall be unclean. 10 All who touch anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening, and all who carry such a thing shall wash their clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.(C) 11 All those whom the one with the discharge touches without his having rinsed his hands in water shall wash their clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening. 12 Any clay vessel that the one with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.(D)
13 “When the one with a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, he shall count seven days for his cleansing; he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in fresh water, and he shall be clean.(E) 14 On the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and come before the Lord to the entrance of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest.(F) 15 The priest shall offer them, one for a purification offering and the other for a burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the Lord for his discharge.(G)
16 “If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until the evening.(H) 17 Everything made of cloth or of leather on which the semen falls shall be washed with water and be unclean until the evening. 18 If a man lies with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them shall bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.(I)
19 “When a woman has a discharge of blood that is a menstrual discharge from her body, she shall be in her impurity for seven days, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening.(J) 20 Everything upon which she lies during her impurity shall be unclean; everything also upon which she sits shall be unclean. 21 Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.(K) 22 Whoever touches anything upon which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening; 23 whether it is the bed or anything upon which she sits, when he touches it he shall be unclean until the evening. 24 If any man lies with her and her impurity falls on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.(L)
25 “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her menstrual impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness; as in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean.(M) 26 Every bed on which she lies during all the days of her discharge shall be treated as the bed of her impurity, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her impurity. 27 Whoever touches these things shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.(N) 28 If she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29 On the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting.(O) 30 The priest shall offer one for a purification offering and the other for a burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the Lord for her unclean discharge.
31 “Thus you shall keep the Israelites separate from their uncleanness, so that they do not die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.(P)
32 “This is the rule for those who have a discharge: for him who has an emission of semen, becoming unclean thereby;(Q) 33 for her who is in the infirmity of her menstrual period; for anyone, male or female, who has a discharge; and for the man who lies with a woman who is unclean.”(R)
The Day of Atonement
16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died.(S) 2 The Lord said to Moses:
“Tell your brother Aaron not to come just at any time into the sanctuary inside the curtain before the cover that is upon the ark, or he will die, for I appear in the cloud upon the cover.(T) 3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bull for a purification offering and a ram for a burnt offering.(U) 4 He shall put on the holy linen tunic and shall have the linen undergarments next to his body, fasten the linen sash, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy vestments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on.(V) 5 He shall take from the congregation of the Israelites two male goats for a purification offering and one ram for a burnt offering.(W)
6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a purification offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.(X) 7 He shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, 8 and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and offer it as a purification offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.
11 “Aaron shall present the bull as a purification offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house; he shall slaughter the bull as a purification offering for himself.(Y) 12 He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of crushed sweet incense, and he shall bring it inside the curtain(Z) 13 and put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may shroud the cover that is upon the covenant, or he will die.(AA) 14 He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the cover, and before the cover he shall sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times.(AB)
15 “He shall slaughter the goat of the purification offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the curtain and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it upon the cover and before the cover.(AC) 16 Thus he shall make atonement for the sanctuary, because of the uncleannesses of the Israelites and because of their transgressions, all their sins, and so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which remains with them in the midst of their uncleanness.(AD) 17 No one shall be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the sanctuary until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement on its behalf and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat and put it on each of the horns of the altar.(AE) 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times and cleanse it and sanctify it from the uncleannesses of the Israelites.(AF)
20 “When he has finished atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 Then Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat and sending it away into the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task.[e](AG) 22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren region, and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness.(AH)
23 “Then Aaron shall enter the tent of meeting and shall take off the linen vestments that he put on when he went into the holy place and shall leave them there.(AI) 24 He shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his vestments; then he shall come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, making atonement for himself and for the people.(AJ) 25 The fat of the purification offering he shall turn into smoke on the altar. 26 The one who sets the goat free for Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and afterward may come into the camp. 27 The bull of the purification offering and the goat of the purification offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp; their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be consumed in fire.(AK) 28 The one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and afterward may come into the camp.
29 “This shall be a statute to you forever: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble yourselves[f] and shall do no work, neither the native-born nor the alien who resides among you.(AL) 30 For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord. 31 It is a Sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble yourselves;[g] it is a statute forever.(AM) 32 The priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the linen vestments, the holy vestments.(AN) 33 He shall make atonement for the sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.(AO) 34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the Israelites once in the year for all their sins.” And Moses did as the Lord had commanded him.(AP)
The Slaughtering of Animals
17 The Lord spoke to Moses:
2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: This is what the Lord has commanded. 3 If anyone of the house of Israel slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp or slaughters it outside the camp 4 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to present it as an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, he shall be held guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood, and he shall be cut off from the people.(AQ) 5 This is in order that the Israelites may bring their sacrifices that they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and offer them as sacrifices of well-being to the Lord. 6 The priest shall dash the blood against the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting and turn the fat into smoke as a pleasing odor to the Lord,(AR) 7 so that they may no longer offer their sacrifices for goat-demons, to whom they prostitute themselves. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.(AS)
8 “And say to them further: Anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens who reside among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to sacrifice it to the Lord, shall be cut off from the people.(AT)
Eating Blood Prohibited
10 “If anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens who reside among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut that person off from the people.(AU) 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar, for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement.(AV) 12 Therefore I have said to the Israelites, ‘No person among you shall eat blood, nor shall any alien who resides among you eat blood.’
13 “And anyone of the Israelites or of the aliens who reside among them who hunts down an animal or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.(AW) 14 For the life of every creature—its blood is its life; therefore I have said to the Israelites, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’(AX) 15 All persons, native-born or alien, who eat what dies of itself or what has been torn by wild animals shall wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water and be unclean until the evening; then they shall be clean.(AY) 16 But if they do not wash themselves or bathe their body, they shall bear their guilt.”
Sexual Relations
18 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: I am the Lord your God.(AZ) 3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes.(BA) 4 My ordinances you shall observe, and my statutes you shall keep, following them: I am the Lord your God. 5 You shall keep my statutes and my ordinances; by doing so one shall live: I am the Lord.(BB)
6 “None of you shall approach anyone near of kin to uncover nakedness: I am the Lord. 7 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.(BC) 8 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is the nakedness of your father. 9 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born at home or born abroad.(BD) 10 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or of your daughter’s daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. 11 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, born in your father’s house, since she is your sister. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s flesh.(BE) 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s flesh. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother; that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt.(BF) 15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law: she is your son’s wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness.(BG) 16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness.(BH) 17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, and you shall not take[h] her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are your[i] flesh; it is depravity.(BI) 18 And you shall not take[j] a woman as a rival to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.
19 “You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness.(BJ) 20 You shall not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.(BK) 21 You shall not give any of your offspring to sacrifice them[k] to Molech and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.(BL) 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.(BM) 23 You shall not have sexual relations with any animal and defile yourself with it, nor shall any woman give herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; it is perversion.(BN)
24 “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for by all these practices the nations I am casting out before you have defiled themselves.(BO) 25 Thus the land became defiled, and I punished it for its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.(BP) 26 But you shall keep my statutes and my ordinances and commit none of these abominations, either the native-born or the alien who resides among you 27 (for the inhabitants of the land, who were before you, committed all of these abominations, and the land became defiled); 28 otherwise the land will vomit you out for defiling it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For whoever commits any of these abominations shall be cut off from their people. 30 So keep my charge not to commit any of these abominations that were done before you and not to defile yourselves by them: I am the Lord your God.”(BQ)
Psalm 31
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 31
Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1 In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;
do not let me ever be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me.(A)
2 Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me.(B)
3 You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake lead me and guide me;(C)
4 take me out of the net that is hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.(D)
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.(E)
6 You hate[a] those who pay regard to worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.(F)
7 I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love,
because you have seen my affliction;
you have taken notice of my adversities(G)
8 and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
you have set my feet in a broad place.(H)
9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;
my eye wastes away from grief,
my soul and body also.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my misery,[b]
and my bones waste away.(I)
11 I am the scorn of all my adversaries,
a horror[c] to my neighbors,
an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street flee from me.(J)
12 I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.(K)
13 For I hear the whispering of many—
terror all around!—
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.(L)
14 But I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”(M)
15 My times are in your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.(N)
16 Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your steadfast love.(O)
17 Do not let me be put to shame, O Lord,
for I call on you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.(P)
18 Let the lying lips be stilled
that speak insolently against the righteous
with pride and contempt.(Q)
19 O how abundant is your goodness
that you have laid up for those who fear you
and accomplished for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of everyone!(R)
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from human plots;
you hold them safe under your shelter
from contentious tongues.(S)
21 Blessed be the Lord,
for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
when I was beset as a city under siege.(T)
22 I had said in my alarm,
“I am driven far[d] from your sight.”
But you heard my supplications
when I cried out to you for help.(U)
Hebrews 6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Peril of Falling Away
6 Therefore let us go on[a] toward perfection,[b] leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith toward God,(A) 2 instruction about baptisms and laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.(B) 3 And we will do[c] this, if God permits. 4 For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit(C) 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come(D) 6 and then have fallen away, since they are crucifying again the Son of God to their own harm and are holding him up to contempt.(E) 7 Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God.(F) 8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and on the verge of being cursed; its end is to be burned over.(G)
9 Even though we speak in this way, beloved, we are confident of better things in your case, things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the[d] love that you showed for his sake[e] in serving the saints, as you still do.(H) 11 And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end,(I) 12 so that you may not become sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.(J)
The Certainty of God’s Promise
13 When God made a promise to Abraham, because he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,(K) 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,[f] having patiently endured, obtained the promise. 16 Humans, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute among them.(L) 17 In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath,(M) 18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us.(N) 19 We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain,(O) 20 where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.(P)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.