Old/New Testament

Rules About Cleanliness

5 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Command the Israelites to send away from camp anyone with a harmful skin disease. Send away anyone who gives off body fluid. And send away anyone who has touched a dead body. ³ Send both men and women away from camp. Then they won’t spread the disease there. I am living among you.” ⁴ So Israel obeyed God’s command. They sent those people outside the camp as the Lord had told Moses.

Paying for Doing Wrong

⁵ The Lord said to Moses, ⁶ “Tell the Israelites: ‘When a man or woman does something wrong to another person, that is really sinning against God. That person is guilty. ⁷ He must tell what he has done wrong. And he must fully pay for the wrong he has done. Then he must add one-fifth to it. And he must give it to the person he wronged. ⁸ But that person may be dead. That person may not have any close relatives to receive the payment. Then the one who did wrong owes the Lord. That person must pay the priest. The priest must sacrifice a male sheep to remove the wrong so that person will belong to God. ⁹ When an Israelite brings a holy gift, he should give it to the priest. ¹⁰ No one has to give these holy gifts. But if someone does give them, they belong to the priest.’”

Suspicious Husbands

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹² “Tell the Israelites: ‘A man’s wife might be unfaithful to him. ¹³ She might commit adultery with another man. Her sin might be kept hidden from her husband. Her husband might not know about the wrong thing she did. Perhaps no one saw it, and she wasn’t caught. ¹⁴ But her husband might have feelings of jealousy whether she has sinned or not. ¹⁵ He then should take her to the priest. The husband must also take an offering for her. This offering will be two quarts of barley flour. He must not pour oil or incense on it. This is a grain offering for jealousy. It is to find out if she is guilty.

¹⁶ “‘The priest will bring in the woman and make her stand before the Lord. ¹⁷ He will take some holy water in a clay jar. Then he will put some dirt from the floor of the Holy Tent into the water. ¹⁸ The priest will make the woman stand before the Lord. Then he will loosen her hair. And he will hand her the grain offering for jealousy. He will hold the bitter water that brings a curse on her. ¹⁹ The priest will tell her what the oath says will happen to her. He will ask her, “Has another man committed adultery with you? Have you been unfaithful to your husband? If you haven’t, then this water that brings a curse won’t hurt you. ²⁰ But what if you have been unfaithful to your husband? What if you have committed adultery with a man besides your husband?” ²¹ The priest will tell her the curse that the oath will bring. He will say, “If you are guilty, the Lord will make the people curse you. Your stomach will get big, and you will not be able to have another baby. ²² This water that brings a curse will go inside you. Your stomach will get big, and you will not be able to have another baby.”

“‘The woman must say, “I agree.”

²³ “‘The priest should write these curses on a scroll. Then he should wash the words off into the water. ²⁴ Then he will make the woman drink the water that brings a curse. When she does, it may make her sick. ²⁵ Then the priest will take the grain offering for jealousy from her. He will present it before the Lord. Then he will bring it to the altar. ²⁶ Then the priest will take a handful of the grain. This is a memorial offering. He will burn it on the altar. After that he will make the woman drink the water. ²⁷ He will make her drink it to see if she is not pure. He will know if she has sinned against her husband. When it goes into her, her stomach may get big. And she may not be able to have another baby. Her people will turn against her. ²⁸ But if the woman has not sinned, she is pure. She is not guilty. She will be able to have more babies.

²⁹ “‘So this is the teaching about jealousy. This is what to do when a woman is unfaithful to her husband. ³⁰ It also should be done if the man gets jealous because he suspects his wife. The priest will have her stand before the Lord. Then he will do all these things. This is the teaching. ³¹ If the husband is right, the woman will suffer.’”

The Nazirites

6 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites: ‘A man or a woman might want to promise to belong to the Lord in a special way. This person will be called a Nazirite. ³ During this time, he must not drink wine or beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or beer. He must not even drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. ⁴ While he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine. He must not even eat the seeds or the skin.

⁵ “‘During the time he promised to belong to the Lord, he must not cut his hair. He must be holy until this special time is over. He must let his hair grow long. ⁶ During his special time of belonging to the Lord, a Nazirite must not go near a dead body. ⁷ Even if his own father, mother, brother or sister dies, he must not touch them. This would make him unclean. He must still keep his promise to belong to God in a special way. ⁸ While he is a Nazirite, he belongs to the Lord.

⁹ “‘If he is next to someone who dies suddenly, his hair has been made unclean. It was part of his promise. So he must shave his head seven days later to be clean. ¹⁰ Then on the eighth day, he must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest. The priest will be at the entrance to the Holy Tent. ¹¹ The priest will offer one as a sin offering. He will offer the other as a burnt offering. This removes sin so the man will belong to God. He had sinned because he was near a dead body. That same day he will again promise to let his hair grow for the Lord. ¹² He must give himself to the Lord for another special time. He must bring a male lamb a year old. It will be a penalty offering. The days of the special time before don’t count. This is because he became unclean during his first special time.

¹³ “‘This is the teaching for a Nazirite. When the promised time is over, he must go to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. ¹⁴ There he will give his offerings to the Lord. He must offer a year-old male lamb as a burnt offering. It must have nothing wrong with it. He must also offer a year-old female lamb as a sin offering. There must be nothing wrong with it. And he must bring a male sheep for a fellowship offering. There must be nothing wrong with it. ¹⁵ He must also bring the grain offerings and drink offerings that go with them. And he must bring a basket of bread made without yeast. There must be loaves made with fine flour mixed with oil. And there must be wafers made without yeast spread with oil.

¹⁶ “‘The priest will give these offerings to the Lord. He will make the sin offering and the burnt offering. ¹⁷ Then he will kill the male sheep as a fellowship offering to the Lord. Along with it, he will present the basket of bread. He will also make the grain offering and the drink offering along with it.

¹⁸ “‘The Nazirite must go to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. There he must shave off his hair that he grew for his promise. The hair will be put in the fire that is under the sacrifice on the fellowship offering.

¹⁹ “‘After the Nazirite cuts off his hair, the priest will give him a boiled shoulder from the male sheep. From the basket he will also give him a loaf and a wafer. Both are made without yeast. ²⁰ Then the priest will present them to the Lord. This is an offering presented before the Lord. They are holy and belong to the priest. Also, he is to present the breast and the thigh from the male sheep to the Lord. They also belong to the priest. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.

²¹ “‘This is the teaching for the Nazirite promise. If a person makes the Nazirite promise, he must give all of these gifts to the Lord. If he promised to do more, he must keep his promise. That is also the teaching of the Nazirite promise.’”

The Priests’ Blessings

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

²⁷ “So Aaron and his sons will bless the Israelites with my name. And I will bless them.”

A Story About Planting Seed

4 Another time Jesus began teaching by the lake. A great crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat and went out on the lake. All the people stayed on the shore close to the water. ² Jesus used many stories to teach them. He said, ³ “Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed. ⁴ While the farmer was planting, some seed fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed. ⁵ Some seed fell on rocky ground where there wasn’t much dirt. The seed grew very fast there because the ground was not deep. ⁶ But when the sun rose, the plants withered. The plants died because they did not have deep roots. ⁷ Some other seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew and choked the good plants. So those plants did not make grain. ⁸ Some other seed fell on good ground. In the good ground, the seed began to grow. It grew and made a crop of grain. Some plants made 30 times more grain, some 60 times more grain, and some 100 times more grain.”

⁹ Then Jesus said, “Let those with ears use them and listen!”

Jesus Tells Why He Used Stories

¹⁰ Later, when Jesus was alone, the 12 apostles and others around him asked him about the stories.

¹¹ Jesus said, “Only you can know the secret truth about the kingdom of God. But to other people I tell everything by using stories. ¹² I do this so that:

Jesus Explains the Seed Story

¹³ Then Jesus said to the followers, “Do you understand this story? If you don’t, then how will you understand any story? ¹⁴ The farmer is like a person who plants God’s teaching in people. ¹⁵ Sometimes the teaching falls on the road. This is like some people. They hear the teaching of God. But Satan quickly comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them. ¹⁶ Others are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching and quickly accept it with joy. ¹⁷ But they don’t allow the teaching to go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching, they quickly give up. ¹⁸ Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching. ¹⁹ But then other things come into their lives: worries, the love of money, and wanting all kinds of other things. These things stop the teaching from growing. So that teaching does not produce fruit^[a] in their lives. ²⁰ Others are like the seed planted in the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce fruit—sometimes 30 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 100 times more.”