Prohibited Pagan Practices

18 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the Lord your God.^{(A) 3} Do not follow the practices of the land of Egypt,^(B) where you used to live, or follow the practices of the land of Canaan,^(C) where I am bringing you. You must not follow their customs.^{(D) 4} You are to practice my ordinances^(E) and you are to keep my statutes^(F) by following them; I am the Lord your God. ⁵ Keep my statutes and ordinances; a person will live^(G) if he does them.^(H) I am the Lord.

⁶ “You are not to come near^(I) any close relative^[a] for sexual intercourse;^(J) I am the Lord. ⁷ You are not to violate the intimacy that belongs to your father^(K) and mother.^[b] She is your mother; you must not have sexual intercourse with her. ⁸ You are not to have sex with your father’s wife;^(L) she is your father’s family.^{(M) 9} You are not to have sexual intercourse with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s,^(N) whether born at home or born elsewhere. You are not to have sex with her. ¹⁰ You are not to have sexual intercourse with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for they are your family.^{[c] 11} You are not to have sexual intercourse with your father’s wife’s daughter, who is adopted by^[d] your father; she is your sister. ¹² You are not to have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister;^(O) she is your father’s close relative. ¹³ You are not to have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister,^(P) for she is your mother’s close relative. ¹⁴ You are not to violate the intimacy that belongs to^[e] your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual intercourse; she is your aunt.^{(Q) 15} You are not to have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law.^(R) She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sex with her. ¹⁶ You are not to have sexual intercourse with your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s family.^{(S) 17} You are not to have sexual intercourse with a woman and her daughter.^(T) You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sex with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.^{(U) 18} You are not to marry a woman as a rival to her sister and have sexual intercourse with her during her sister’s lifetime.^(V)

¹⁹ “You are not to approach^(W) a woman during her menstrual impurity to have sexual intercourse with her.^{(X) 20} You are not to have sexual intercourse with^[f] your neighbor’s wife, defiling yourself with her.^(Y)

²¹ “You are not to sacrifice any of your children in the fire^[g] to Molech.^(Z) Do not profane the name^(AA) of your God; I am the Lord. ²² You are not to sleep with a man as with a woman;^(AB) it is detestable.^{(AC) 23} You are not to have sexual intercourse with^[h] any animal, defiling yourself with it; a woman is not to present herself to an animal to mate with it;^(AD) it is a perversion.

²⁴ “Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves by all these things. ²⁵ The land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its iniquity, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.^{(AE) 26} But you are to keep my statutes and ordinances. You must not commit any of these detestable acts—not the native or the alien who resides among you. ²⁷ For the people who were in the land prior to you have committed all these detestable acts, and the land has become defiled. ²⁸ If you defile the land, it will vomit^(AF) you out as it has vomited out the nations that were before you. ²⁹ Any person who does any of these detestable practices is to be cut off from his people. ³⁰ You must keep my instruction to not do any of the detestable customs^(AG) that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them; I am the Lord your God.”

Laws of Holiness

19 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy^(AH) because I, the Lord your God, am holy.^(AI)

³ “Each of you is to respect his mother and father.^(AJ) You are to keep my Sabbaths; I am the Lord your God. ⁴ Do not turn to worthless idols^(AK) or make cast images^(AL) of gods for yourselves;^(AM) I am the Lord your God.

⁵ “When you offer a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. ⁶ It is to be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day, but what remains on the third day must be burned.^{(AN) 7} If any is eaten on the third day, it is a repulsive thing; it will not be accepted.^{(AO) 8} Anyone who eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned what is holy to the Lord. That person is to be cut off from his people.^(AP)

⁹ “When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings^(AQ) of your harvest. ¹⁰ Do not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor^(AR) and the resident alien;^(AS) I am the Lord your God.

¹¹ “Do not steal.^(AT) Do not act deceptively^(AU) or lie^(AV) to one another. ¹² Do not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God;^(AW) I am the Lord.

¹³ “Do not oppress^(AX) your neighbor or rob^(AY) him. The wages due a hired worker^(AZ) must not remain with you until morning. ¹⁴ Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,^(BA) but you are to fear your God;^(BB) I am the Lord.^(BC)

¹⁵ “Do not act unjustly^(BD) when deciding a case. Do not be partial^(BE) to the poor or give preference to the rich;^(BF) judge your neighbor fairly. ¹⁶ Do not go about spreading slander^(BG) among your people; do not jeopardize^[i] your neighbor’s life; I am the Lord.

¹⁷ “Do not harbor hatred against your brother.^[j](BH) Rebuke your neighbor directly, and you will not incur guilt because of him.^{(BI) 18} Do not take revenge^(BJ) or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself;^(BK) I am the Lord.

¹⁹ “You are to keep my statutes. Do not crossbreed two different kinds of your livestock, sow your fields with two kinds of seed, or put on a garment made of two kinds of material.^(BL)

²⁰ “If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman who is a slave designated for another man, but she has not been redeemed^(BM) or given her freedom, there must be punishment.^[k] They are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. ²¹ However, he must bring a ram as his guilt^[l] offering to the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.^{(BN) 22} The priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord with the ram of the guilt offering for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.

²³ “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you are to consider the fruit forbidden.^[m] It will be forbidden to you for three years; it is not to be eaten. ²⁴ In the fourth year all its fruit is to be consecrated as a praise offering^(BO) to the Lord. ²⁵ But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way its yield will increase for you;^(BP) I am the Lord your God.

²⁶ “You are not to eat anything with blood in it.^[n](BQ) You are not to practice divination^(BR) or witchcraft.^{(BS) 27} You are not to cut off the hair at the sides of your head or mar the edge of your beard.^{(BT) 28} You are not to make gashes on your bodies for the dead^(BU) or put tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the Lord.

²⁹ “Do not debase^[o](BV) your daughter by making her a prostitute,^(BW) or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity. ³⁰ Keep my Sabbaths and revere my sanctuary;^(BX) I am the Lord.

³¹ “Do not turn to mediums^[p](BY) or consult spiritists,^[q](BZ) or you will be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God.

³² “You are to rise in the presence of the elderly and honor the old.^(CA) Fear your God; I am the Lord.

³³ “When an alien resides with you in your land, you must not oppress^(CB) him. ³⁴ You will regard the alien who resides with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself,^(CC) for you were aliens in the land of Egypt;^(CD) I am the Lord your God.

³⁵ “Do not be unfair^(CE) in measurements of length, weight, or volume. ³⁶ You are to have honest balances,^(CF) honest weights, an honest dry measure,^[r] and an honest liquid measure;^[s](CG) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ³⁷ Keep all my statutes and all my ordinances and do them; I am the Lord.”

Driving Out an Unclean Spirit

²¹ They^(A) went into Capernaum,^(B) and right away he entered the synagogue^(C) on the Sabbath^(D) and began to teach.^{(E) 22} They were astonished^(F) at his teaching^(G) because he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not like the scribes.

²³ Just then a man with an unclean^(H) spirit^(I) was in their synagogue.^(J) He cried out, ²⁴ “What do you have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?^(K) Have you come to destroy^(L) us? I know who you are—the Holy^(M) One of God!” ^(N)

²⁵ Jesus rebuked^(O) him saying, “Be silent,^(P) and come out of him!” ²⁶ And the unclean spirit threw him into convulsions,^(Q) shouted with a loud voice, and came out of him.

²⁷ They were all amazed,^(R) and so they began to ask^(S) each other, “What is this? A new teaching^(T) with authority!^[a](U) He commands even the unclean^(V) spirits,^(W) and they obey him.” ²⁸ At once the news about him spread throughout the entire vicinity of Galilee.^(X)

Healings at Capernaum

²⁹ As^(Y) soon as they left the synagogue,^(Z) they went into Simon^(AA) and Andrew’s^(AB) house^(AC) with James^(AD) and John.^{(AE) 30} Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. ³¹ So he went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up.^(AF) The fever^(AG) left her,^[b] and she began to serve^(AH) them.^(AI)

³² When^(AJ) evening came, after the sun had set, they brought to him all those who were sick^(AK) and demon-possessed.^{(AL) 33} The whole town was assembled at the door, ³⁴ and he healed^(AM) many who were sick with various diseases^(AN) and drove out^(AO) many demons.^(AP) And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.^(AQ)

Preaching in Galilee

³⁵ Very^(AR) early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place;^(AS) and there he was praying.^{(AT) 36} Simon^(AU) and his companions searched for him, ³⁷ and when they found him they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

³⁸ And he said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach^(AV) there too. This is why I have come.”

A Man Cleansed

³⁹ He went into all of Galilee,^(AW) preaching in their synagogues^(AX) and driving out demons. ⁴⁰ Then^(AY) a man with leprosy^[c](AZ) came to him and, on his knees,^[d](BA) begged him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”^{(BB) 41} Moved with compassion,^[e](BC) Jesus reached out his hand and touched^(BD) him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be made clean.” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy^(BE) left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³ Then he sternly warned^(BF) him and sent him away^(BG) at once, ⁴⁴ telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone;^(BH) but go and show^(BI) yourself to the priest,^(BJ) and offer^(BK) what Moses commanded for your cleansing,^(BL) as a testimony^(BM) to them.”^{[f] 45} Yet he went out and began to proclaim^(BN) it widely and to spread the news,^(BO) with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But he was out in deserted places, and they came to him from everywhere.

Psalm 26

Prayer for Vindication

Of David.

Warning against Adultery