Leviticus 19

English Standard Version

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

⁵^(F)“When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so ^(G)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 ^(H)tainted; it will not be accepted, ⁸and everyone who eats it shall ^(I)bear his iniquity, because ^(J)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^(K)“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^(L)“You shall not steal; ^(M)you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. ¹²^(N)You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so ^(O)profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

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

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

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

You Shall Keep My Statutes

¹⁹^(AB)“You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. ^(AC)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 ^(AD)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.^[b] 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^(AE)“You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. ^(AF)You shall not interpret omens or ^(AG)tell fortunes. ²⁷^(AH)You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. ²⁸You shall not make any ^(AI)cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.

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

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

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

³⁵^(AS)“You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. ³⁶^(AT)You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin:^[c] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ³⁷And ^(AU)you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

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

Psalm 109

English Standard Version

Help Me, O Lord My God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

109 ^(A)Be not silent, O ^(B)God of my praise!
²For wicked and ^(C)deceitful mouths are opened against me,
    speaking against me with lying tongues.
³They encircle me with words of hate,
    and attack me ^(D)without cause.
⁴In return for my love they ^(E)accuse me,
    but I ^(F)give myself to prayer.^[a]
⁵So they ^(G)reward me evil for good,
    and hatred for my love.

⁶^(H)Appoint a wicked man ^(I)against him;
    let an accuser stand ^(J)at his right hand.
⁷When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
    let his ^(K)prayer be counted as sin!
⁸May his ^(L)days be few;
    may ^(M)another take his ^(N)office!
⁹May his ^(O)children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow!
¹⁰May his children ^(P)wander about and beg,
    ^(Q)seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
¹¹May ^(R)the creditor seize all that he has;
    may ^(S)strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
¹²Let there be none to ^(T)extend kindness to him,
    nor any to ^(U)pity his fatherless children!
¹³May his ^(V)posterity be cut off;
    may his ^(W)name be blotted out in the second generation!
¹⁴May ^(X)the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,
    and let not the sin of his mother be ^(Y)blotted out!
¹⁵^(Z)Let them be before the Lord continually,
    that he may ^(AA)cut off the memory of them from the earth!

¹⁶For he did not remember to show kindness,
    but pursued ^(AB)the poor and needy
    and ^(AC)the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
¹⁷^(AD)He loved to curse; let curses come^[b] upon him!
    He did not delight in blessing; may it be far^[c] from him!
¹⁸He ^(AE)clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
    may it ^(AF)soak^[d] into his body like water,
    like oil into his bones!
¹⁹May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
    like a belt that he puts on every day!
²⁰May this be the reward of my ^(AG)accusers from the Lord,
    of those who speak evil against my life!

²¹But you, O God my Lord,
    deal on my behalf ^(AH)for your name's sake;
    because your ^(AI)steadfast love is good, deliver me!
²²For I am ^(AJ)poor and needy,
    and my heart is stricken within me.
²³I am gone like ^(AK)a shadow at evening;
    I am ^(AL)shaken off like a locust.
²⁴My knees are weak ^(AM)through fasting;
    my ^(AN)body has become gaunt, with no fat.
²⁵I am ^(AO)an object of scorn to my accusers;
    when they see me, they ^(AP)wag their heads.

²⁶^(AQ)Help me, O Lord my God!
    Save me according to your steadfast love!
²⁷Let them ^(AR)know that this is your hand;
    you, O Lord, have done it!
²⁸^(AS)Let them curse, but you will bless!
    They arise and are put to shame, but ^(AT)your servant will be glad!
²⁹May my accusers be ^(AU)clothed with dishonor;
    may they ^(AV)be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

³⁰With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;
I will ^(AW)praise him in the midst of the throng.
³¹For he stands ^(AX)at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

Footnotes

Psalm 109:4 Hebrew but I am prayer
Psalm 109:17 Revocalization; Masoretic Text curses have come
Psalm 109:17 Revocalization; Masoretic Text it is far
Psalm 109:18 Revocalization; Masoretic Text it has soaked

1 Kings 5

English Standard Version

Preparations for Building the Temple

5 ^[a] Now ^(A)Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, ^(B)for Hiram always loved David. ²And Solomon sent word to Hiram, ³^(C)“You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God ^(D)because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. ⁴^(E)But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune. ⁵And so I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, ^(F)as the Lord said to David my father, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’ ⁶Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

⁷As soon as Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.” ⁸And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message that you have sent to me. I am ready to do all you desire in the matter of cedar and cypress timber. ⁹My servants shall bring it down to the sea from Lebanon, and I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you direct. And I will have them broken up there, and you shall receive it. And you shall meet my wishes ^(G)by providing food for my household.” ¹⁰So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired, ¹¹while Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cors^[b] of wheat as food for his household, and 20,000^[c] cors of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year. ¹²And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, ^(H)as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

¹³King Solomon drafted ^(I)forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men. ¹⁴And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and two months at home. ^(J)Adoniram was in charge of the draft. ¹⁵Solomon also ^(K)had 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country, ¹⁶besides Solomon's 3,300 ^(L)chief officers who were over the work, ^(M)who had charge of the people who carried on the work. ¹⁷At the king's command ^(N)they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones. ¹⁸So Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and ^(O)the men of Gebal did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.