Various Laws

19 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel^(A) and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God,^(B) am holy.^(C)

³ “‘Each of you must respect your mother and father,^(D) and you must observe my Sabbaths.^(E) I am the Lord your God.^(F)

⁴ “‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves.^(G) I am the Lord your God.^(H)

⁵ “‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. ⁶ It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up.^{(I) 7} If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.^{(J) 8} Whoever eats it will be held responsible^(K) because they have desecrated what is holy^(L) to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.^(M)

⁹ “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges^(N) of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.^{(O) 10} Do not go over your vineyard a second time^(P) or pick up the grapes that have fallen.^(Q) Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.^(R) I am the Lord your God.

¹¹ “‘Do not steal.^(S)

“‘Do not lie.^(T)

“‘Do not deceive one another.^(U)

¹² “‘Do not swear falsely^(V) by my name^(W) and so profane^(X) the name of your God. I am the Lord.

¹³ “‘Do not defraud or rob^(Y) your neighbor.^(Z)

“‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker^(AA) overnight.^(AB)

¹⁴ “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,^(AC) but fear your God.^(AD) I am the Lord.

¹⁵ “‘Do not pervert justice;^(AE) do not show partiality^(AF) to the poor or favoritism to the great,^(AG) but judge your neighbor fairly.^(AH)

¹⁶ “‘Do not go about spreading slander^(AI) among your people.

“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life.^(AJ) I am the Lord.

¹⁷ “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart.^(AK) Rebuke your neighbor frankly^(AL) so you will not share in their guilt.

¹⁸ “‘Do not seek revenge^(AM) or bear a grudge^(AN) against anyone among your people,^(AO) but love your neighbor^(AP) as yourself.^(AQ) I am the Lord.

¹⁹ “‘Keep my decrees.^(AR)

“‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.

“‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.^(AS)

“‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.^(AT)

²⁰ “‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man^(AU) but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment.^[a] Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. ²¹ The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord.^{(AV) 22} With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.^(AW)

²³ “‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden.^[b] For three years you are to consider it forbidden^[c]; it must not be eaten. ²⁴ In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy,^(AX) an offering of praise to the Lord. ²⁵ But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.

²⁶ “‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.^(AY)

“‘Do not practice divination^(AZ) or seek omens.^(BA)

²⁷ “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.^(BB)

²⁸ “‘Do not cut^(BC) your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.

²⁹ “‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute,^(BD) or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.^(BE)

³⁰ “‘Observe my Sabbaths^(BF) and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.^(BG)

³¹ “‘Do not turn to mediums^(BH) or seek out spiritists,^(BI) for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

³² “‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect^(BJ) for the elderly^(BK) and revere your God.^(BL) I am the Lord.^(BM)

³³ “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. ³⁴ The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born.^(BN) Love them as yourself,^(BO) for you were foreigners^(BP) in Egypt.^(BQ) I am the Lord your God.

³⁵ “‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.^{(BR) 36} Use honest scales^(BS) and honest weights, an honest ephah^[d](BT) and an honest hin.^[e](BU) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.^(BV)

³⁷ “‘Keep all my decrees^(BW) and all my laws^(BX) and follow them. I am the Lord.’”

Punishments for Sin

20 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death.^(A) The members of the community are to stone him.^{(B) 3} I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people;^(C) for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled^(D) my sanctuary^(E) and profaned my holy name.^{(F) 4} If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molek and if they fail to put him to death,^{(G) 5} I myself will set my face against him and his family and will cut them off from their people together with all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molek.

⁶ “‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.^(H)

⁷ “‘Consecrate yourselves^(I) and be holy,^(J) because I am the Lord your God.^{(K) 8} Keep my decrees^(L) and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.^(M)

⁹ “‘Anyone who curses their father^(N) or mother^(O) is to be put to death.^(P) Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head.^(Q)

¹⁰ “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife^(R)—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.^(S)

¹¹ “‘If a man has sexual relations with his father’s wife, he has dishonored his father.^(T) Both the man and the woman are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.^(U)

¹² “‘If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law,^(V) both of them are to be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.

¹³ “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.^(W) They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

¹⁴ “‘If a man marries both a woman and her mother,^(X) it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire,^(Y) so that no wickedness will be among you.^(Z)

¹⁵ “‘If a man has sexual relations with an animal,^(AA) he is to be put to death,^(AB) and you must kill the animal.

¹⁶ “‘If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

¹⁷ “‘If a man marries his sister^(AC), the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They are to be publicly removed^(AD) from their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.^(AE)

¹⁸ “‘If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly period,^(AF) he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has also uncovered it. Both of them are to be cut off from their people.^(AG)

¹⁹ “‘Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father,^(AH) for that would dishonor a close relative; both of you would be held responsible.

²⁰ “‘If a man has sexual relations with his aunt,^(AI) he has dishonored his uncle. They will be held responsible; they will die childless.^(AJ)

²¹ “‘If a man marries his brother’s wife,^(AK) it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.^(AL)

²² “‘Keep all my decrees and laws^(AM) and follow them, so that the land^(AN) where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. ²³ You must not live according to the customs of the nations^(AO) I am going to drive out before you.^(AP) Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.^{(AQ) 24} But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.”^(AR) I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.^(AS)

²⁵ “‘You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds.^(AT) Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground—those that I have set apart as unclean for you. ²⁶ You are to be holy to me^(AU) because I, the Lord, am holy,^(AV) and I have set you apart from the nations^(AW) to be my own.

²⁷ “‘A man or woman who is a medium^(AX) or spiritist among you must be put to death.^(AY) You are to stone them;^(AZ) their blood will be on their own heads.’”

Psalm 13^[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2 When the day of Pentecost^(A) came, they were all together^(B) in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.^{(C) 3} They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit^(D) and began to speak in other tongues^[a](E) as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing^(F) Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ Utterly amazed,^(G) they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?^{(H) 8} Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,^(I) Pontus^(J) and Asia,^{[b](K) 10} Phrygia^(L) and Pamphylia,^(M) Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene;^(N) visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³ Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”^(O)

Peter Addresses the Crowd

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵ These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!^{(P) 16} No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

²² “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth^(X) was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs,^(Y) which God did among you through him,^(Z) as you yourselves know. ²³ This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge;^(AA) and you, with the help of wicked men,^[d] put him to death by nailing him to the cross.^{(AB) 24} But God raised him from the dead,^(AC) freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.^{(AD) 25} David said about him:

²⁹ “Fellow Israelites,^(AG) I can tell you confidently that the patriarch^(AH) David died and was buried,^(AI) and his tomb is here^(AJ) to this day. ³⁰ But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.^{(AK) 31} Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.^{(AL) 32} God has raised this Jesus to life,^(AM) and we are all witnesses^(AN) of it. ³³ Exalted^(AO) to the right hand of God,^(AP) he has received from the Father^(AQ) the promised Holy Spirit^(AR) and has poured out^(AS) what you now see and hear. ³⁴ For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

³⁶ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord^(AU) and Messiah.”^(AV)

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”^(AW)

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized,^(AX) every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.^(AY) And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.^{(AZ) 39} The promise is for you and your children^(BA) and for all who are far off^(BB)—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”^{(BC) 41} Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number^(BD) that day.

The Fellowship of the Believers

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching^(BE) and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread^(BF) and to prayer.^{(BG) 43} Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.^{(BH) 44} All the believers were together and had everything in common.^{(BI) 45} They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.^{(BJ) 46} Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.^(BK) They broke bread^(BL) in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.^(BM) And the Lord added to their number^(BN) daily those who were being saved.