Leviticus 19 - 20

Yahweh Is Holy

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I, Yahweh your God, am holy. 3 Every one of you shall fear his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am Yahweh your God. 4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am Yahweh your God. 5 ‘Now when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it and the next day; but what remains until the third day shall be burned with fire. 7 So if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an offense; it will not be accepted. 8 And everyone who eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned the holy thing of Yahweh; and that person shall be cut off from his people.

Various Statutes

9 ‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the afflicted and for the sojourner. I am Yahweh your God. 11 ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. 12 And you shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am Yahweh. 13 ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor nor rob him. The wages of a hired man shall not remain with you overnight until morning. 14 You shall not curse a deaf man nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God; I am Yahweh. 15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness. 16 You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand against the life of your neighbor; I am Yahweh. 17 ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, and so not bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance, and you shall not keep your anger against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh. 19 ‘You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together. 20 ‘Now if a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave assigned to another man, but who has in no way been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be punishment; they shall not, however, be put to death because she was not free. 21 And he shall bring his guilt offering to Yahweh to the doorway of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22 The priest shall also make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before Yahweh for his sin which he has committed, and the sin which he has committed will be forgiven him. 23 ‘When you enter the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall designate their fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to Yahweh. 25 Now in the fifth year you shall eat of its fruit, that its produce may increase for you; I am Yahweh your God. 26 ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood nor interpret omens or soothsaying. 27 You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard. 28 And you shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am Yahweh. 29 ‘Do not profane your daughter by making her a harlot, so that the land will not fall to harlotry and the land become full of lewdness. 30 You shall keep My sabbaths and fear My sanctuary; I am Yahweh. 31 ‘Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am Yahweh your God. 32 ‘You shall rise up before the gray-haired and honor the aged, and you shall fear your God; I am Yahweh. 33 ‘And when a sojourner sojourns with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34 The sojourner who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God. 35 ‘You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight, or in volume. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin; I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt. 37 You shall thus keep all My statutes and all My judgments and do them; I am Yahweh.’”

Set Yourselves Apart as Holy

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “You shall also say to the sons of Israel: ‘Any man from the sons of Israel or from the sojourners sojourning in Israel who gives any of his seed to Molech shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people because he has given some of those who are his seed to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane My holy name. 4 If the people of the land, however, should ever turn a blind eye to that man when he gives any of those who are his seed to Molech, so as not to put him to death, 5 then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the harlot after him, in playing the harlot after Molech. 6 ‘As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7 Therefore, you shall set yourselves apart as holy and be holy, for I am Yahweh your God. 8 And you shall keep My statutes and do them; I am Yahweh who makes you holy. 9 ‘If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother. His bloodguiltiness is upon him. 10 ‘If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11 If there is a man who lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them. 12 If there is a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them. 13 If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them. 14 If there is a man who marries a woman and her mother, it is lewdness; both he and they shall be burned with fire so that there will be no lewdness in your midst. 15 If there is a man who lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death; you shall also kill the animal. 16 If there is a woman who approaches any animal to mate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them. 17 ‘If there is a man who takes his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the sons of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he bears his guilt. 18 If there is a man who lies with a menstruous woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood; thus both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19 You shall also not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for such a one has made naked his blood relative; they will bear their guilt. 20 If there is a man who lies with his aunt, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they will bear their sin. They will die childless. 21 If there is a man who takes his brother’s wife, it is an impure act; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless. 22 ‘You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to inhabit will not vomit you out. 23 Moreover, you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I will cast out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have loathed them. 24 Hence I have said to you, “You yourselves shall possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am Yahweh your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25 You are therefore to separate between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean. 26 Thus you shall be holy to Me, for I Yahweh am holy; and I have separated you from the peoples to be Mine. 27 ‘Now a man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.’”

Acts 13:1 - 14:7

Barnabas and Saul Sent from Antioch by the Holy Spirit

Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

On Cyprus

4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had John as their helper. 6 And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, 10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? 11 Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

In Pisidian Antioch

13 Now after Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch. And on the Sabbath day, they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” 16 So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and lifted up the people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. 18 And for a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. 19 And when He destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about 450 years. 20 After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And after He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, about whom He also said, bearing witness, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’ 23 From the seed of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, 24 after John had preached before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was fulfilling his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of His feet.’ 26 “Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the word of this salvation was sent. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him. 28 And though they found no ground for death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. 29 And when they had finished all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. 30 But God raised Him from the dead; 31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 And we proclaim to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten You.’ 34 But that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to corruption, He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and faithful lovingkindnesses of David.’ 35 Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will not give Your Holy One over to see corruption.’ 36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid among his fathers and saw corruption; 37 but He whom God raised did not see corruption. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and that in Him, everyone who believes is justified from all things which you could not be justified from through the Law of Moses. 40 Therefore watch out, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you: 41

‘Look, you scoffers, and marvel, and perish;

For I am accomplishing a work in your days,

A work which you will never believe, though someone should recount it to you.’”

42 And as Paul and Barnabas were leaving, the people kept pleading that these words might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. 43 Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

Many Gentiles Believe

44 And the next Sabbath, nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, blaspheming. 46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us,

‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles,

That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’”

48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. 51 But having shaken off the dust of their feet against them, they went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

In Iconium

Now it happened that in Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. 2 But the unbelieving Jews instigated and embittered the minds of the Gentiles against the brothers. 3 Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done through their hands. 4 But the multitude of the city was divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 5 And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers to mistreat and to stone them, 6 they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; 7 and there they continued to proclaim the gospel.

Psalm 84

Blessed Is the Man Who Trusts in You

For the choir director. According to the Gittith. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.

How lovely are Your dwelling places,

O Yahweh of hosts!

My soul has longed and even fainted for the courts of Yahweh;

My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

Even the bird has found a home,

And the swallow a nest for herself, where she sets her young,

At Your altars, O Yahweh of hosts,

My King and my God.

How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!

They are ever praising You. Selah.

How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,

In whose heart are the highways to Zion!

Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring;

The early rain also wraps it up with blessings.

They go from strength to strength,

Each one of them appears before God in Zion.

O Yahweh God of hosts, hear my prayer;

Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah.

See our shield, O God,

And look upon the face of Your anointed.

For better is a day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.

I would choose to stand at the threshold of the house of my God

Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For Yahweh God is a sun and shield;

Yahweh gives grace and glory;

No good thing does He withhold from those who walk blamelessly.

O Yahweh of hosts,

How blessed is the man who trusts in You!