Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A song of David for the dedication of the Temple.^[a]

Rules for Those With Skin Diseases

14 The Lord said to Moses, ² “These are the rules for people who have had a skin disease and have been made well. These rules are for making them clean.

“A priest must look at those who had the skin disease. ³ The priest must go to them outside the camp and look to see if the skin disease is healed. ⁴ If they are healthy, the priest will tell them to do these things: They must bring two clean birds that are still alive, a piece of cedar wood, a piece of red cloth, and a hyssop plant. ⁵ Then the priest must order one bird to be killed in a clay bowl over running water. ⁶ He must take the other bird that is still alive and the piece of cedar wood, the piece of red cloth, and the hyssop plant and dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. ⁷ He must sprinkle the blood seven times on those who had the skin disease. Then he must announce that they are clean. After that the priest must go to an open field and let the living bird go free.

⁸ “The people going through this purification ceremony must wash their clothes, shave off all their hair, and wash with water. Then they will be clean. They may then go into the camp, but they must stay outside their tent for seven days. ⁹ On the seventh day, they must shave off all their hair. They must shave their head, their beard, and their eyebrows—yes, all their hair. Then they must wash their clothes and bathe their bodies in water. Then they will be clean.

¹⁰ “On the eighth day, anyone who had a skin disease must take two male lambs that have nothing wrong with them and a one-year-old female lamb that has nothing wrong with it. They must also take 24 cups^[a] of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering and 2/3 of a pint^[b] of olive oil. ¹¹ The priest must bring that person and those sacrifices before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. (This must be the same priest who announced that the person is clean.) ¹² The priest will take one of the lambs and the oil as a guilt offering. He will lift them in front of the Lord to show they were presented to God. ¹³ Then the priest will kill the male lamb in the holy place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest. It is very holy.

¹⁴ “The priest will take some of the blood of the guilt offering. He will put some of this blood on the tip of the right ear of the person to be made clean. The priest will put some of this blood on the thumb of the right hand and on the big toe of the right foot of that person. ¹⁵ The priest will also take some of the oil and pour it into his own left palm. ¹⁶ Then the priest will dip the finger of his right hand into the oil that is in his left palm. He will use his finger to sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the Lord. ¹⁷ Then he will put some of the oil that is in his palm on the person to be made clean. He will put that oil on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering. The priest will put some of the oil on the tip of the person’s right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the person’s right foot. ¹⁸ He will put the oil that is left in his palm on the head of the person to be made clean. In this way he will make that person pure before the Lord.

¹⁹ “Then the priest must offer the sin offering to make that person pure. After that he will kill the animal for the burnt offering. ²⁰ He will then offer up the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. In this way the priest will make that person pure, and that person will become clean.

The Sons of Sceva

¹¹ God used Paul to do some very special miracles. ¹² Some people carried away handkerchiefs and clothes that Paul had used and put them on those who were sick. The sick people were healed, and evil spirits left them.

^13-14 Some Jews also were traveling around forcing evil spirits out of people. The seven sons of Sceva, one of the leading priests, were doing this. These Jews tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to make the evil spirits go out of people. They all said, “By the same Jesus that Paul talks about, I order you to come out!”

¹⁵ But one time an evil spirit said to these Jews, “I know Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”

¹⁶ Then the man who had the evil spirit inside him jumped on these Jews. He was much stronger than all of them. He beat them up and tore their clothes off. They all ran away from that house.

¹⁷ All the people in Ephesus, Jews and Greeks, learned about this. They were all filled with fear and gave great honor to the Lord Jesus. ¹⁸ Many of the believers began to confess, telling about all the evil things they had done. ¹⁹ Some of them had used magic. These believers brought their magic books and burned them before everyone. These books were worth about 50,000 silver coins.^{[a] 20} This is how the word of the Lord was spreading in a powerful way, causing more and more people to believe.