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Religious and Social Regulations
19 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the whole congregation of the Israelites and tell them, ‘You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. 3 Each of you must respect his mother and his father,[a] and you must keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. 4 Do not turn to idols,[b] and you must not make for yourselves gods of cast metal. I am the Lord your God.
Eating the Peace Offering
5 “‘When you sacrifice a peace-offering sacrifice to the Lord, you must sacrifice it so that it is accepted for you.[c] 6 It must be eaten on the day of your sacrifice and on the following day,[d] but what is left over until the third day must be burned up.[e] 7 If, however, it is eaten[f] on the third day, it is spoiled;[g] it will not be accepted, 8 and the one who eats it will bear his punishment for iniquity[h] because he has profaned[i] what is holy to the Lord.[j] That person will be cut off from his people.[k]
Leaving the Gleanings
9 “‘When you gather in the harvest[l] of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field,[m] and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You must not pick your vineyard bare,[n] and you must not gather up the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You must leave them for the poor and the resident foreigner.[o] I am the Lord your God.
Dealing Honestly
11 “‘You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen.[p] 12 You must not swear falsely[q] in my name, so that you do not profane[r] the name of your God. I am the Lord. 13 You must not oppress your neighbor or commit robbery against your neighbor.[s] You must not withhold[t] the wages of the hired laborer overnight until morning. 14 You must not curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front of a blind person.[u] You must fear[v] your God; I am the Lord.
Justice, Love, and Propriety
15 “‘You[w] must not deal unjustly in judgment:[x] You must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich.[y] You must judge your fellow citizen fairly.[z] 16 You must not go about as a slanderer among your people.[aa] You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake.[ab] I am the Lord. 17 You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely reprove your fellow citizen so that you do not incur sin on account of him.[ac] 18 You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge against[ad] any of your people,[ae] but you must love your neighbor as yourself.[af] I am the Lord. 19 You must keep my statutes. You must not allow two different kinds of your animals to breed together,[ag] you must not sow your field with two different kinds of seed, and you must not wear[ah] a garment made of two different kinds of material.[ai]
Lying with a Slave Woman
20 “‘When a man goes to bed with a woman for intercourse,[aj] although she is a slave woman designated for another man and she has not yet been ransomed, or freedom has not been granted to her, there will be an obligation to pay compensation.[ak] They must not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 He must bring his guilt offering to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, a guilt offering ram,[al] 22 and the priest is to make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed,[am] and he will be forgiven[an] of his sin[ao] that he has committed.
The Produce of Fruit Trees
23 “‘When you enter the land and plant any fruit tree,[ap] you must consider its fruit to be forbidden.[aq] Three years it will be forbidden to you;[ar] it must not be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, praise offerings[as] to the Lord. 25 Then in the fifth year you may eat its fruit to add its produce to your harvest.[at] I am the Lord your God.
Blood, Hair, Body, and Prostitution
26 “‘You must not eat anything with the blood still in it.[au] You must not practice either divination or soothsaying.[av] 27 You must not round off the corners of the hair on your head or ruin the corners of your beard.[aw] 28 You must not slash your body for a dead person[ax] or incise a tattoo on yourself.[ay] I am the Lord. 29 Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute,[az] so that the land does not practice prostitution and become full of lewdness.[ba]
Sabbaths, Purity, Honor, Respect, and Honesty
30 “‘You must keep my Sabbaths and fear my sanctuary. I am the Lord. 31 Do not turn to the spirits of the dead and do not seek familiar spirits[bb] to become unclean by them. I am the Lord your God. 32 You must stand up in the presence of the aged, honor the presence of an elder, and fear your God. I am the Lord. 33 When a resident foreigner[bc] lives with you in your land, you must not oppress him. 34 The resident foreigner[bd] who lives with you must be to you as a native citizen among you; so[be] you must love the foreigner as yourself, because you were foreigners[bf] in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. 35 You must not do injustice in the regulation of measures, whether of length, weight, or volume.[bg] 36 You must have honest balances,[bh] honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin.[bi] I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt. 37 You must be sure to obey all my statutes and regulations.[bj] I am the Lord.’”
Prohibitions against Illegitimate Family Worship
20 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “You are to say to the Israelites, ‘Any man from the Israelites (or any of the resident foreigners[bk] who live in Israel) who gives any of his children[bl] to Molech[bm] must be put to death; the people of the land must pelt him with stones.[bn] 3 I myself will set my face[bo] against that man and cut him off from the midst of his people,[bp] because he has given some of his children to Molech and thereby defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name.[bq] 4 If, however, the people of the land shut their eyes[br] to that man[bs] when he gives some of his children to Molech so that they do not put him to death, 5 I myself will set my face against that man and his clan. I will cut off from the midst of the people both him and all who follow after him in spiritual prostitution,[bt] committing prostitution by worshiping Molech.[bu]
Prohibition against Spiritists and Mediums[bv]
6 “‘The person who turns to the spirits of the dead and familiar spirits[bw] to commit prostitution by going after them, I will set my face[bx] against that person and cut him off from the midst of his people.
Exhortation to Holiness and Obedience
7 “‘You must sanctify yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. 8 You must be sure to obey my statutes.[by] I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
Family Life and Sexual Prohibitions[bz]
9 “‘If anyone[ca] curses his father or mother[cb] he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood guilt is on himself.[cc] 10 If a man[cd] commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife,[ce] both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. 11 If a man goes to bed with[cf] his father’s wife, he has exposed his father’s nakedness.[cg] Both of them must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves.[ch] 12 If a man goes to bed[ci] with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed perversion;[cj] their blood guilt is on themselves. 13 If a man goes to bed with[ck] a male as one goes to bed with a woman,[cl] the two of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. 14 If a man has marital relations with both a woman and her mother,[cm] it is lewdness.[cn] Both he and they must be burned to death,[co] so there is no lewdness in your midst. 15 If a man has sexual relations[cp] with any animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal to copulate with it, you must kill the woman, and the animal must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves.
17 “‘If a man has marital relations with[cq] his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of the children of their people.[cr] He has exposed his sister’s nakedness; he will bear his punishment for iniquity.[cs] 18 If a man goes to bed[ct] with a menstruating woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her fountain of blood and she has exposed the fountain of her blood, so both of them[cu] must be cut off from the midst of their people. 19 You must not expose the nakedness of your mother’s sister or your father’s sister, for such a person has exposed his own close relative.[cv] They must bear their punishment for iniquity.[cw] 20 If a man goes to bed[cx] with his aunt, he has exposed his uncle’s nakedness; they must bear responsibility for their sin, they will die childless. 21 If a man has marital relations with[cy] his brother’s wife, it is indecency. He has exposed his brother’s nakedness;[cz] they will be childless.
The Demand for a Sign
11 Then the Pharisees[a] came and began to argue with Jesus, asking for[b] a sign from heaven[c] to test him. 12 Sighing deeply in his spirit he said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? I tell you the truth,[d] no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 Then[e] he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod
14 Now[f] they had forgotten to take bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 And Jesus[g] ordered them,[h] “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees[i] and the yeast of Herod!” 16 So they began to discuss with one another about having no bread.[j] 17 When he learned of this,[k] Jesus said to them, “Why are you arguing[l] about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Have your hearts been hardened? 18 Though you have eyes, don’t you see? And though you have ears, can’t you hear?[m] Don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of pieces did you pick up?” They replied, “Twelve.” 20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the 4,000, how many baskets full of pieces did you pick up?” They replied,[n] “Seven.” 21 Then[o] he said to them, “Do you still not understand?”[p]
A Two-stage Healing
22 Then[q] they came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to Jesus[r] and asked him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him outside of the village. Then[s] he spit on his eyes, placed his hands on his eyes[t] and asked, “Do you see anything?” 24 Regaining his sight[u] he said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking.” 25 Then Jesus[v] placed his hands on the man’s[w] eyes again. And he opened his eyes,[x] his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus[y] sent him home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”[z]
Peter’s Confession
27 Then Jesus and his disciples went to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples,[aa] “Who do people say that I am?” 28 They said,[ab] “John the Baptist, others say Elijah,[ac] and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him,[ad] “You are the Christ.”[ae] 30 Then[af] he warned them not to tell anyone about him.[ag]
First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
31 Then[ah] Jesus[ai] began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer[aj] many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law,[ak] and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke openly about this. So[al] Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But after turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”[am]
Following Jesus
34 Then[an] Jesus[ao] called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower,[ap] he must deny[aq] himself, take up his cross,[ar] and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life[as] will lose it,[at] but whoever loses his life because of me and because of the gospel[au] will save it. 36 For what benefit is it for a person[av] to gain the whole world, yet[aw] forfeit his life? 37 What can a person give in exchange for his life? 38 For if anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him[ax] when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Book 2 (Psalms 42-72)
Psalm 42[a]
For the music director, a well-written song[b] by the Korahites.
42 As a deer[c] longs[d] for streams of water,
so I long[e] for you, O God!
2 I thirst[f] for God,
for the living God.
I say,[g] “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?”[h]
3 I cannot eat; I weep day and night.[i]
All day long they say to me,[j] “Where is your God?”
4 I will remember and weep.[k]
For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God,
shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival.[l]
5 Why are you depressed,[m] O my soul?[n]
Why are you upset?[o]
Wait[p] for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[q]
6 I am depressed,[r]
so I will pray to you while in the region of the upper Jordan,[s]
from Hermon,[t] from Mount Mizar.[u]
7 One deep stream calls out to another[v] at the sound of your waterfalls;[w]
all your billows and waves overwhelm me.[x]
8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love,[y]
and by night he gives me a song,[z]
a prayer[aa] to the God of my life.
9 I will pray[ab] to God, my high ridge:[ac]
“Why do you ignore[ad] me?
Why must I walk around mourning[ae]
because my enemies oppress me?”
10 My enemies’ taunts cut me to the bone,[af]
as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”[ag]
11 Why are you depressed,[ah] O my soul?[ai]
Why are you upset?[aj]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[ak]
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