The Passover Reviewed(A)

16 “Observe the (B)month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for (C)in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. Therefore you shall sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God, from the flock and (D)the herd, in the (E)place where the Lord chooses to put His name. You shall eat no leavened bread with it; (F)seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may (G)remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. (H)And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain overnight until (I)morning.

“You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you; but at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover (J)at twilight, at the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt. And you shall roast and eat it (K)in the place which the Lord your God chooses, and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and (L)on the seventh day there shall be a [a]sacred assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it.

The Feast of Weeks Reviewed(M)

“You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. 10 Then you shall keep the (N)Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give (O)as the Lord your God blesses you. 11 (P)You shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. 12 (Q)And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

The Feast of Tabernacles Reviewed(R)

13 (S)“You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. 14 And (T)you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your [b]gates. 15 (U)Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.

16 (V)“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and (W)they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, (X)according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.

Justice Must Be Administered

18 “You shall appoint (Y)judges and officers in all your [c]gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. 19 (Z)You shall not pervert justice; (AA)you shall not [d]show partiality, (AB)nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and [e]twists the words of the righteous. 20 You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may (AC)live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

21 (AD)“You shall not plant for yourself any tree, as a [f]wooden image, near the altar which you build for yourself to the Lord your God. 22 (AE)You shall not set up a sacred pillar, which the Lord your God hates.

Various Instructions

17 “You (AF)shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God a bull or sheep which has any [g]blemish or defect, for that is an [h]abomination to the Lord your God.

(AG)“If there is found among you, within any of your [i]gates which the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God, (AH)in transgressing His covenant, who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either (AI)the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, (AJ)which I have not commanded, (AK)and it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an [j]abomination has been committed in Israel, then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and (AL)shall stone (AM)to death that man or woman with stones. Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three (AN)witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among (AO)you.

(AP)“If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, between degrees of guilt for bloodshed, between one judgment or another, or between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the (AQ)place which the Lord your God chooses. And (AR)you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and (AS)to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them; (AT)they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. 10 You shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the Lord chooses. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they order you. 11 According to the sentence of the law in which they instruct you, according to the judgment which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left from the sentence which they pronounce upon you. 12 Now (AU)the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel. 13 (AV)And all the people shall hear and fear, and no longer act presumptuously.

Principles Governing Kings

14 “When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, (AW)‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you (AX)whom the Lord your God chooses; one (AY)from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 But he shall not multiply (AZ)horses for himself, nor cause the people (BA)to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for (BB)the Lord has said to you, (BC)‘You shall not return that way again.’ 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and (BD)gold for himself.

18 “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one (BE)before the priests, the Levites. 19 And (BF)it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not [k]be lifted above his brethren, that he (BG)may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may [l]prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

The Portion of the Priests and Levites

18 “The priests, the Levites—all the tribe of Levi—shall have [m]no part nor (BH)inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and His portion. Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the Lord is their inheritance, as He said to them.

“And this shall be the priest’s (BI)due[n] from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it is bull or sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. (BJ)The firstfruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. For (BK)the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes (BL)to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons forever.

“So if a Levite comes from any of your [o]gates, from where he (BM)dwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mind (BN)to the place which the Lord chooses, then he may serve in the name of the Lord his God (BO)as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the Lord. They shall have equal (BP)portions to eat, besides what comes from the sale of his inheritance.

Avoid Wicked Customs

“When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, (BQ)you shall not learn to follow the [p]abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter (BR)pass[q] through the fire, (BS)or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 (BT)or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or (BU)one who calls up the dead. 12 For all who do these things are [r]an abomination to the Lord, and (BV)because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. 13 You shall be [s]blameless before the Lord your God. 14 For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not [t]appointed such for you.

A New Prophet Like Moses

15 (BW)“The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, 16 according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb (BX)in the day of the assembly, saying, (BY)‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’

17 “And the Lord said to me: (BZ)‘What they have spoken is good. 18 (CA)I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and (CB)will put My words in His mouth, (CC)and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19 (CD)And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. 20 But (CE)the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or (CF)who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— 22 (CG)when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, (CH)if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it (CI)presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 16:8 Lit. restraint
  2. Deuteronomy 16:14 towns
  3. Deuteronomy 16:18 towns
  4. Deuteronomy 16:19 Lit. regard faces
  5. Deuteronomy 16:19 perverts
  6. Deuteronomy 16:21 Or Asherah
  7. Deuteronomy 17:1 Lit. evil thing
  8. Deuteronomy 17:1 detestable thing
  9. Deuteronomy 17:2 towns
  10. Deuteronomy 17:4 detestable thing
  11. Deuteronomy 17:20 become proud
  12. Deuteronomy 17:20 continue long in his kingdom
  13. Deuteronomy 18:1 no portion
  14. Deuteronomy 18:3 right
  15. Deuteronomy 18:6 towns
  16. Deuteronomy 18:9 detestable acts
  17. Deuteronomy 18:10 Be burned as an offering to an idol
  18. Deuteronomy 18:12 detestable
  19. Deuteronomy 18:13 Lit. perfect
  20. Deuteronomy 18:14 allowed you to do so

The Passover(A)

16 Observe the month of Aviv(B) and celebrate the Passover(C) of the Lord your God, because in the month of Aviv he brought you out of Egypt by night. Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his Name.(D) Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction,(E) because you left Egypt in haste(F)—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.(G) Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening(H) of the first day remain until morning.(I)

You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the Lord your God gives you except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary[a](J) of your departure from Egypt. Roast(K) it and eat it at the place the Lord your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly(L) to the Lord your God and do no work.(M)

The Festival of Weeks(N)

Count off seven weeks(O) from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.(P) 10 Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you. 11 And rejoice(Q) before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name(R)—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites(S) in your towns, and the foreigners,(T) the fatherless and the widows living among you.(U) 12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt,(V) and follow carefully these decrees.

The Festival of Tabernacles(W)

13 Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor(X) and your winepress.(Y) 14 Be joyful(Z) at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. 15 For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy(AA) will be complete.

16 Three times a year all your men must appear(AB) before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(AC) the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles.(AD) No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed:(AE) 17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.

Judges

18 Appoint judges(AF) and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly.(AG) 19 Do not pervert justice(AH) or show partiality.(AI) Do not accept a bribe,(AJ) for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent. 20 Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Worshiping Other Gods

21 Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole(AK) beside the altar you build to the Lord your God,(AL) 22 and do not erect a sacred stone,(AM) for these the Lord your God hates.

17 Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect(AN) or flaw in it, for that would be detestable(AO) to him.(AP)

If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant,(AQ) and contrary to my command(AR) has worshiped other gods,(AS) bowing down to them or to the sun(AT) or the moon or the stars in the sky,(AU) and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true(AV) and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,(AW) take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death.(AX) On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.(AY) The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death,(AZ) and then the hands of all the people.(BA) You must purge the evil(BB) from among you.

Law Courts

If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge(BC)—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults(BD)—take them to the place the Lord your God will choose.(BE) Go to the Levitical(BF) priests and to the judge(BG) who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict.(BH) 10 You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the Lord will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you to do. 11 Act according to whatever they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left.(BI) 12 Anyone who shows contempt(BJ) for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering(BK) there to the Lord your God is to be put to death.(BL) You must purge the evil from Israel.(BM) 13 All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.(BN)

The King

14 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession(BO) of it and settled in it,(BP) and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”(BQ) 15 be sure to appoint(BR) over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites.(BS) Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses(BT) for himself(BU) or make the people return to Egypt(BV) to get more of them,(BW) for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”(BX) 17 He must not take many wives,(BY) or his heart will be led astray.(BZ) He must not accumulate(CA) large amounts of silver and gold.(CB)

18 When he takes the throne(CC) of his kingdom, he is to write(CD) for himself on a scroll a copy(CE) of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life(CF) so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees(CG) 20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law(CH) to the right or to the left.(CI) Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.(CJ)

Offerings for Priests and Levites

18 The Levitical(CK) priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings(CL) presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance.(CM) They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance,(CN) as he promised them.(CO)

This is the share due the priests(CP) from the people who sacrifice a bull(CQ) or a sheep: the shoulder, the internal organs and the meat from the head.(CR) You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,(CS) for the Lord your God has chosen them(CT) and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister(CU) in the Lord’s name always.(CV)

If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the Lord will choose,(CW) he may minister in the name(CX) of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the Lord. He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions.(CY)

Occult Practices

When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate(CZ) the detestable ways(DA) of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire,(DB) who practices divination(DC) or sorcery,(DD) interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,(DE) 11 or casts spells,(DF) or who is a medium or spiritist(DG) or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.(DH) 13 You must be blameless(DI) before the Lord your God.(DJ)

The Prophet

14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination.(DK) But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. 15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites.(DL) You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”(DM)

17 The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet(DN) like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words(DO) in his mouth.(DP) He will tell them everything I command him.(DQ) 19 I myself will call to account(DR) anyone who does not listen(DS) to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.(DT) 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods,(DU) is to be put to death.”(DV)

21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true,(DW) that is a message the Lord has not spoken.(DX) That prophet has spoken presumptuously,(DY) so do not be alarmed.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 16:6 Or down, at the time of day

16 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.

Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there.

Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.

And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.

Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee:

But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.

And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.

Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.

Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.

10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:

11 And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place his name there.

12 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.

13 Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:

14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.

15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.

16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty:

17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.

18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.

19 Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

20 That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

21 Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee.

22 Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the Lord thy God hateth.

17 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the Lord thy God.

If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant,

And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;

And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:

Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.

At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.

If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose;

And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment:

10 And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the Lord shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee:

11 According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.

12 And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.

13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.

14 When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;

15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.

16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.

17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:

20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

18 The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and his inheritance.

Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the Lord is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.

And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.

The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.

For the Lord thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for ever.

And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind unto the place which the Lord shall choose;

Then he shall minister in the name of the Lord his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before the Lord.

They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony.

When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.

10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.

11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

13 Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.

14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.

15 The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

16 According to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.

17 And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.

18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?

22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Prayer in Time of Chastening

A Psalm of David. (A)To bring to remembrance.

38 O Lord, do not (B)rebuke me in Your wrath,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
For Your arrows pierce me deeply,
And Your hand presses me down.

There is no soundness in my flesh
Because of Your anger,
Nor any health in my bones
Because of my sin.
For my iniquities have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
My wounds are foul and festering
Because of my foolishness.

I am [a]troubled, I am bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.
For my loins are full of inflammation,
And there is no soundness in my flesh.
I am feeble and severely broken;
I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart pants, my strength fails me;
As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.

11 My loved ones and my friends (C)stand aloof from my plague,
And my relatives stand afar off.
12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;
Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,
And plan deception all the day long.

13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth is no response.

15 For [b]in You, O Lord, (D)I hope;
You will [c]hear, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,
Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”

17 (E)For I am ready to fall,
And my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I will (F)declare my iniquity;
I will be (G)in [d]anguish over my sin.
19 But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;
And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.
20 Those also (H)who render evil for good,
They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.

21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, (I)be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 38:6 Lit. bent down
  2. Psalm 38:15 I wait for You, O Lord
  3. Psalm 38:15 answer
  4. Psalm 38:18 anxiety

Psalm 38[a]

A psalm of David. A petition.

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
    or discipline me in your wrath.(A)
Your arrows(B) have pierced me,
    and your hand has come down on me.
Because of your wrath there is no health(C) in my body;
    there is no soundness in my bones(D) because of my sin.
My guilt has overwhelmed(E) me
    like a burden too heavy to bear.(F)

My wounds(G) fester and are loathsome(H)
    because of my sinful folly.(I)
I am bowed down(J) and brought very low;
    all day long I go about mourning.(K)
My back is filled with searing pain;(L)
    there is no health(M) in my body.
I am feeble and utterly crushed;(N)
    I groan(O) in anguish of heart.(P)

All my longings(Q) lie open before you, Lord;
    my sighing(R) is not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds,(S) my strength fails(T) me;
    even the light has gone from my eyes.(U)
11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;(V)
    my neighbors stay far away.
12 Those who want to kill me set their traps,(W)
    those who would harm me talk of my ruin;(X)
    all day long they scheme and lie.(Y)

13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,(Z)
    like the mute, who cannot speak;
14 I have become like one who does not hear,
    whose mouth can offer no reply.
15 Lord, I wait(AA) for you;
    you will answer,(AB) Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Do not let them gloat(AC)
    or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.”(AD)

17 For I am about to fall,(AE)
    and my pain(AF) is ever with me.
18 I confess my iniquity;(AG)
    I am troubled by my sin.
19 Many have become my enemies(AH) without cause[b];
    those who hate me(AI) without reason(AJ) are numerous.
20 Those who repay my good with evil(AK)
    lodge accusations(AL) against me,
    though I seek only to do what is good.

21 Lord, do not forsake me;(AM)
    do not be far(AN) from me, my God.
22 Come quickly(AO) to help me,(AP)
    my Lord and my Savior.(AQ)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 38:1 In Hebrew texts 38:1-22 is numbered 38:2-23.
  2. Psalm 38:19 One Dead Sea Scrolls manuscript; Masoretic Text my vigorous enemies

38 O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.

There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.

For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.

I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.

I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.

Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.

10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.

11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

12 They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.

13 But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.

14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.

15 For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.

16 For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.

17 For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.

18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.

19 But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.

20 They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.

21 Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me.

22 Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

Defending the Gospel(A)

Then after fourteen years (B)I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. And I went up [a]by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but (C)privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means (D)I might run, or had run, in vain. Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. And this occurred because of (E)false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our (F)liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, (G)that they might bring us into bondage), to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that (H)the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

But from those (I)who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; (J)God [b]shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something (K)added nothing to me. But on the contrary, (L)when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised (M)had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the (N)circumcised (O)also (P)worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), and when James, [c]Cephas, and John, who seemed to be (Q)pillars, perceived (R)the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, (S)that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They desired only that we should remember the poor, (T)the very thing which I also was eager to do.

No Return to the Law

11 (U)Now when [d]Peter had come to Antioch, I [e]withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, (V)he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing [f]those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about (W)the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter (X)before them all, (Y)“If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, [g]why do you compel Gentiles to live as [h]Jews? 15 (Z)We who are Jews by nature, and not (AA)sinners of the Gentiles, 16 (AB)knowing that a man is not [i]justified by the works of the law but (AC)by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not (AD)by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

17 “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found (AE)sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I (AF)through the law (AG)died to the law that I might (AH)live to God. 20 I have been (AI)crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh (AJ)I live by faith in the Son of God, (AK)who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for (AL)if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died [j]in vain.”

Footnotes

  1. Galatians 2:2 because of
  2. Galatians 2:6 Lit. does not receive the face of a man
  3. Galatians 2:9 Peter
  4. Galatians 2:11 NU Cephas
  5. Galatians 2:11 opposed
  6. Galatians 2:12 Jewish Christians
  7. Galatians 2:14 NU how can you
  8. Galatians 2:14 Some interpreters stop the quotation here.
  9. Galatians 2:16 declared righteous
  10. Galatians 2:21 for nothing

Paul Accepted by the Apostles

Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem,(A) this time with Barnabas.(B) I took Titus(C) along also. I went in response to a revelation(D) and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles.(E) I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race(F) in vain. Yet not even Titus,(G) who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.(H) This matter arose because some false believers(I) had infiltrated our ranks to spy on(J) the freedom(K) we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel(L) might be preserved for you.

As for those who were held in high esteem(M)—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism(N)—they added nothing to my message.(O) On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task(P) of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised,[a](Q) just as Peter(R) had been to the circumcised.[b] For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle(S) to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle(T) to the Gentiles. James,(U) Cephas[c](V) and John, those esteemed as pillars,(W) gave me and Barnabas(X) the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me.(Y) They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles,(Z) and they to the circumcised. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor,(AA) the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

Paul Opposes Cephas

11 When Cephas(AB) came to Antioch,(AC) I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James,(AD) he used to eat with the Gentiles.(AE) But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.(AF) 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas(AG) was led astray.

14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel,(AH) I said to Cephas(AI) in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew.(AJ) How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?(AK)

15 “We who are Jews by birth(AL) and not sinful Gentiles(AM) 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law,(AN) but by faith in Jesus Christ.(AO) So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[d] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.(AP)

17 “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners,(AQ) doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!(AR) 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

19 “For through the law I died to the law(AS) so that I might live for God.(AT) 20 I have been crucified with Christ(AU) and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.(AV) The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,(AW) who loved me(AX) and gave himself for me.(AY) 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law,(AZ) Christ died for nothing!”[e]

Footnotes

  1. Galatians 2:7 That is, Gentiles
  2. Galatians 2:7 That is, Jews; also in verses 8 and 9
  3. Galatians 2:9 That is, Peter; also in verses 11 and 14
  4. Galatians 2:16 Or but through the faithfulness of … justified on the basis of the faithfulness of
  5. Galatians 2:21 Some interpreters end the quotation after verse 14.

Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.

And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:

And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:

To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me:

But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;

(For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)

And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

10 Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.

13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,

16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.

18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.

19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.