Isolation of the Unclean

5 The Lord instructed Moses, ² “Command the Israelites to send away anyone from the camp who is afflicted with a skin disease,^(A) anyone who has a discharge,^(B) or anyone who is defiled because of a corpse.^{(C) 3} Send away both male or female; send them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps where I dwell among them.” ⁴ The Israelites did this, sending them outside the camp. The Israelites did as the Lord instructed Moses.

Compensation for Wrongdoing

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ “Tell the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any sin against another, that person acts unfaithfully toward the Lord^(D) and is guilty.^{(E) 7} The person is to confess^(F) the sin he has committed. He is to pay full compensation, add a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the individual he has wronged.^{(G) 8} But if that individual has no relative^(H) to receive compensation, the compensation goes to the Lord for the priest, along with the atonement ram by which the priest will make atonement for the guilty person.^{(I) 9} Every holy contribution the Israelites present to the priest will be his.^{(J) 10} Each one’s holy contribution is his to give; what each one gives to the priest will be his.”

The Jealousy Ritual

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: If any man’s wife goes astray, is unfaithful to him, ¹³ and sleeps with another,^[a] but it is concealed from her husband, and she is undetected, even though she has defiled herself, since there is no witness against her, and she wasn’t caught in the act; ¹⁴ and if a feeling of jealousy^(K) comes over the husband and he becomes jealous because of his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he becomes jealous of her though she has not defiled herself— ¹⁵ then the man is to bring his wife to the priest. He is also to bring an offering for her of two quarts^[b] of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering for remembrance to draw attention to guilt.

¹⁶ “The priest is to bring her forward and have her stand before the Lord. ¹⁷ Then the priest is to take holy water in a clay bowl, take some of the dust from the tabernacle floor, and put it in the water. ¹⁸ After the priest has the woman stand before the Lord, he is to let down her hair^[c] and place in her hands the grain offering for remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹ The priest will require the woman to take an oath and will say to her, ‘If no man has slept with you, if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, be unaffected by this bitter water that brings a curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has slept with you’— ²¹ at this point the priest will make the woman take the oath with the sworn curse, and he is to say to her—‘May the Lord make you into an object of your people’s cursing and swearing when he makes your womb^[d] shrivel and your belly swell. ²² May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach, causing your belly to swell and your womb to shrivel.’

“And the woman will reply, ‘Amen, Amen.’

²³ “Then the priest is to write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. ²⁴ He will require the woman to drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her to cause bitter suffering. ²⁵ The priest is to take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman, present the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar. ²⁶ The priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion^(L) and burn it on the altar. Afterward, he will require the woman to drink the water.

²⁷ “When he makes her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her to cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, and her womb will shrivel. She will become a curse among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she will be unaffected and will be able to conceive children.

²⁹ “This is the law regarding jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, ³⁰ or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he becomes jealous of his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest will carry out all these instructions for her. ³¹ The husband will be free of guilt, but that woman will bear her iniquity.”

The Nazirite Vow

6 The Lord instructed Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow,^(M) to consecrate himself to the Lord, ³ he is to abstain from wine and beer.^(N) He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴ He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during the period of his consecration.

⁵ “You must not cut his hair^[e] throughout the time of his vow of consecration. He may be holy until the time is completed during which he consecrates himself to the Lord; he is to let the hair of his head grow long. ⁶ He must not go near a dead body during the time he consecrates himself to the Lord.^{(O) 7} He is not to defile himself for his father or mother, or his brother or sister, when they die, while the mark of consecration to his God is on his head. ⁸ He is holy to the Lord^(P) during the time of consecration.

⁹ “If someone suddenly dies near him, defiling his consecrated head, he must shave his head on the day of his purification; he is to shave it on the seventh day.^{(Q) 10} On the eighth day he is to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.^{(R) 11} The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering^(S) to make atonement on behalf of the Nazirite, since he incurred guilt because of the corpse. On that day he is to consecrate his head again.^{(T) 12} He is to rededicate his time of consecration to the Lord and to bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering.^(U) But do not count the initial period of consecration because it became defiled.

¹³ “This is the law of the Nazirite: On the day his time of consecration is completed, he is to be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting.^{(V) 14} He is to present an offering to the Lord^(W) of one unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, one unblemished year-old female lamb as a sin offering, one unblemished ram as a fellowship offering,^{(X) 15} along with their grain offerings and drink offerings,^(Y) and a basket of unleavened cakes made from fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil.^(Z)

¹⁶ “The priest is to present these before the Lord and sacrifice the Nazirite’s sin offering and burnt offering. ¹⁷ He will also offer the ram as a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread. Then the priest will offer the accompanying grain offering and drink offering.

¹⁸ “The Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the tent of meeting, take the hair from his head, and put it on the fire under the fellowship sacrifice. ¹⁹ The priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them into the hands^(AA) of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head. ²⁰ The priest is to present them as a presentation offering before the Lord.^(AB) It is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution.^(AC) After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.

²¹ “These are the instructions about the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord for his consecration,^(AD) in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes in keeping with the instructions for his consecration.”

The Priestly Blessing

²² The Lord spoke to Moses: ²³ “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. You should say to them,

²⁷ In this way they will pronounce my name over^[g] the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Offerings from the Leaders

7 On the day Moses finished setting up the tabernacle,^(AH) he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings, along with the altar and all its utensils. After he anointed and consecrated these things, ² the leaders of Israel, the heads of their ancestral families,^[h] presented an offering. They were the tribal leaders who supervised the registration.^{(AI) 3} They brought as their offering before the Lord six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart from every two leaders and an ox from each one, and presented them in front of the tabernacle.

⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ⁵ “Accept these from them to be used in the work of the tent of meeting, and give this offering to the Levites, to each division according to their service.”

⁶ So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ He gave the Gershonites two carts and four oxen corresponding to their service,^{(AJ) 8} and gave the Merarites four carts and eight oxen corresponding to their service,^(AK) under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. ⁹ But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since their responsibility was service related to the holy objects^(AL) carried on their shoulders.^(AM)

¹⁰ The leaders also presented the dedication gift for the altar when it was anointed.^(AN) The leaders presented their offerings in front of the altar. ¹¹ The Lord told Moses, “Each day have one leader present his offering for the dedication of the altar.”^(AO)

¹² The one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab^(AP) from the tribe of Judah. ¹³ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds^[i] and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds,^[j] measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;^{(AQ) 14} one gold bowl weighing four ounces,^[k] full of incense; ¹⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;^{(AR) 16} one male goat for a sin offering;^{(AS) 17} and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice.^(AT) This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.

¹⁸ On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar,^(AU) leader of Issachar, presented an offering. ¹⁹ As his offering, he presented one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁰ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ²¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²² one male goat for a sin offering; ²³ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Nethanel son of Zuar.

²⁴ On the third day Eliab son of Helon,^(AV) leader of the Zebulunites, presented an offering. ²⁵ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁶ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ²⁷ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²⁸ one male goat for a sin offering; ²⁹ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Eliab son of Helon.

³⁰ On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur,^(AW) leader of the Reubenites, presented an offering. ³¹ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³² one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ³³ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ³⁴ one male goat for a sin offering; ³⁵ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Elizur son of Shedeur.

³⁶ On the fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai,^(AX) leader of the Simeonites, presented an offering. ³⁷ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³⁸ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ³⁹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴¹ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.

⁴² On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel,^[l](AY) leader of the Gadites, presented an offering. ⁴³ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁴⁴ one gold bowl weighing four ounces full of incense; ⁴⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Eliasaph son of Deuel.^[m]

⁴⁸ On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud,^(AZ) leader of the Ephraimites, presented an offering. ⁴⁹ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁰ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁵¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵² one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵³ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud.

⁵⁴ On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur,^(BA) leader of the Manassites, presented an offering. ⁵⁵ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁶ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁵⁷ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.

⁶⁰ On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni,^(BB) leader of the Benjaminites, presented an offering. ⁶¹ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶² one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁶³ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁶⁵ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Abidan son of Gideoni.

⁶⁶ On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai,^(BC) leader of the Danites, presented an offering. ⁶⁷ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶⁸ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁶⁹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷¹ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.

⁷² On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ochran,^(BD) leader of the Asherites, presented an offering. ⁷³ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁷⁴ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁷⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Pagiel son of Ochran.

⁷⁸ On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan,^(BE) leader of the Naphtalites, presented an offering. ⁷⁹ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁸⁰ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁸¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁸² one male goat for a sin offering; ⁸³ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Ahira son of Enan.

⁸⁴ This was the dedication gift from the leaders of Israel for the altar when it was anointed:^(BF) twelve silver dishes, twelve silver basins, and twelve gold bowls. ⁸⁵ Each silver dish weighed 3¼ pounds,^[n] and each basin 1¾ pounds.^[o] The total weight of the silver articles was 60 pounds^[p] measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. ⁸⁶ The twelve gold bowls full of incense each weighed four ounces measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. The total weight of the gold bowls was 3 pounds.^{[q] 87} All the livestock for the burnt offering^(BG) totaled twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve male lambs a year old, with their grain offerings, and twelve male goats for the sin offering.^{(BH) 88} All the livestock for the fellowship sacrifice^(BI) totaled twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty male goats, and sixty male lambs a year old. This was the dedication gift for the altar after it was anointed.

⁸⁹ When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him^(BJ) from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim.^(BK) He spoke to him that way.

Demons Driven Out by Jesus

5 They^(A) came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.^{[a] 2} As soon as he got out of the boat, a man with an unclean^(B) spirit^(C) came out of the tombs^(D) and met him. ³ He lived in the tombs,^(E) and no one was able to restrain him anymore—not even with a chain^(F)— ⁴ because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had torn the chains apart and smashed^(G) the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue^(H) him. ⁵ Night^(I) and day among the tombs^(J) and on the mountains,^(K) he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.

⁶ When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before him. ⁷ And he cried out with a loud voice, “What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son^(L) of the Most High God?^(M) I beg you before God, don’t torment^(N) me!” ⁸ For he had told him, “Come out of the man, you unclean^(O) spirit!”^(P)

⁹ “What is your name?” he asked him.

“My name is Legion,”^(Q) he answered him, “because we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region.

¹¹ A large herd of pigs^(R) was there, feeding^(S) on the hillside. ¹² The demons^[b] begged him, “Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them.” ¹³ So he gave them permission, and the unclean^(T) spirits^(U) came out and entered the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned there.

¹⁴ The men who tended them ran off^(V) and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened. ¹⁵ They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed,^(W)(X) sitting there, dressed and in his right mind;^(Y) and they were afraid.^{(Z) 16} Those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed^(AA) man and told about the pigs. ¹⁷ Then they began to beg him to leave their region.

¹⁸ As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him earnestly that he might remain with him. ¹⁹ Jesus did not let him but told him, “Go home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord^(AB) has done^(AC) for you and how he has had mercy on you.” ²⁰ So he went out and began to proclaim^(AD) in the Decapolis^(AE) how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.^(AF)

Psalm 29

The Voice of the Lord

A psalm of David.