Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

This psalm is a song that the sons of Korah wrote for the music leader. Use special music. It is a special song by Heman the Ezrahite.

A sad cry^[a]

¹⁹ A woman will bleed every month. She is unclean for seven days. A person might touch the woman when she is bleeding. That person will remain unclean until evening.

²⁰ The woman who is bleeding might lie on a bed. The bed will become unclean. If the woman sits on something, it becomes unclean. ²¹ If another person touches the bed, he must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening. ²² Another person might sit on the thing that she sat on. That person must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening. ²³ A person might touch anything that the woman sat on. If he does, he is unclean until evening.

²⁴ A man might lie down with a woman. If her blood touches him, he is unclean for seven days. Any bed that the man lies on becomes unclean.

²⁵ If a woman is bleeding for more than seven days, she is unclean. She is unclean all the time that she is bleeding. ²⁶ The bed that the woman lies on becomes unclean. Anything that the woman sits on is unclean. ²⁷ If another person touches the chair, he becomes unclean. He must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening. If another person touches the bed, he will also become unclean. He must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening.

²⁸ When the woman stops bleeding, she must count seven days. Then she will be clean. ²⁹ On the eighth day, she must take two birds to the door of the Tent of Meeting. They must be doves or pigeons. She must give them to the priest. He will sacrifice one bird for her sin and he will burn the other. ³⁰ He will kill them as an atonement to the Lord. Then the woman will be clean.

³¹ The tabernacle is God's house. It is among Israel's people. The priests must keep the people away from anything that makes them unclean. If they are not clean, they will make the Tent of Meeting unclean. So they will die.’

9 I do not need to write to you about the money that you want to send to God's people in Jerusalem. ² I know that you want to help very much. I have told the believers in Macedonia how good you are. I tell them that you believers in Achaia have been ready to give your money since last year. Because you are so ready to help, most of them now also want to help. ³ But I do not want the way that I have praised you not to be true. So I am sending these men, our Christian friends, to come to you. I want to be sure that you will be ready to give your money. That is what I have told people about you.

⁴ Perhaps some believers from Macedonia might come with me. If you are not ready when we come, we would be ashamed. We would be ashamed because we trusted you. And I think that you would be ashamed as well! ⁵ So I decided to tell these men to visit you before I come myself. They will help you to prepare the gift that you promised. Then it will be ready when I arrive. Everyone will know that you really wanted to give this gift. Nobody has made you give it.