Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

David wrote this song. He asks God to bless the Temple.

Thank you, Lord^[a]

Rules for diseases in the skin

13 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² ‘A person may have a kind of mark on his skin that might be a disease. He might give the disease to other people. If he has a mark like that, you must bring him to the priest. ³ The priest must look at the mark. If the hair on the mark is white, it might be a disease. If the mark is under the skin and on the skin it might be a disease. The priest must say that the person is not clean. ⁴ If the mark on the skin is white but not under the skin it might not be a disease. If the hair on the skin is not white, it might not be a bad disease. The priest must keep him separate from the people for seven days. ⁵ On the seventh day, the priest must look at the person. The mark may not be any bigger. If it is not, he must keep the person separate from the people for seven more days. ⁶ On the seventh day, the priest must look at the person. The mark may not be so dark and it may not be any bigger. The priest can say that the disease has left that person. The person must wash his clothes. ⁷ A person might see that the mark on his skin had grown. This might happen after the priest had said that the disease had left him. Then the person must go again to the priest. ⁸ The priest must look at the person. The mark might be bigger. The priest must say that the person has a disease. It is a disease that he could give to other people.

⁹ If a person has a disease on his skin, you must bring him to the priest. ¹⁰ The priest must look at the person. If the skin has a white mark and white hair on it, the person has a disease. If the mark has no skin on part of it, the person has a disease. But it may not be a disease that he could give to other people. ¹¹ The priest must say that the person is not clean. The priest need not keep him separate from the people. He already has a disease.

¹² If the disease is all over the body of the person, the priest must look at the person. ¹³ If the skin is all white the priest must say that the person is clean. ¹⁴ If there is an open hole in the skin, the person is not clean. ¹⁵ The priest will see the hole in the skin. He must say that the person has a disease. ¹⁶ The hole might close up and the skin might go white. If it does, the person must go to the priest. ¹⁷ The priest must look at the skin. It may be white. The priest must say that the disease has left the person. Then he will be clean.

⁷ When you have troubles in your life, you must be patient and strong. Remember that God is teaching you what is right because you are his children. There has never been any son whose father did not punish him. ⁸ God teaches all his children not to do wrong things. So if he does not punish you, it shows that you are not really his children. Instead, you are like children who do not really belong to him. ⁹ Also, we have all had human fathers who punished us. As a result, we respected them. So think about our Father that our spirits belong to. We must surely obey him, and then he will give us true life.

¹⁰ Our human fathers punished us for a few years. They did this in a way that they thought was good. But God punishes us in a way that will really help us. As a result, we can become completely good, like he is. ¹¹ Punishment never makes us happy at the time when we receive it. No, the pain makes us sad. But later we know that the punishment has taught us good things. It helps us to live in a right way that gives us peace in our minds.

¹² So be strong as servants of God! If your hands feel weak, lift them up! If your knees are not strong, stand up straight! ¹³ Walk straight in front of you, step by step! Your example will help other Christians to serve God well. People who cannot walk well will not become worse and fall down. Instead, their legs will become strong again.^[a]