Leviticus 26 - 27

He Walks Among Those Who Walk in His Statutes

‘You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves a graven image or a sacred pillar, nor shall you place a carved stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am Yahweh your God. 2 You shall keep My sabbaths and fear My sanctuary; I am Yahweh. 3 If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to do them, 4 then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will give forth its produce and the trees of the field will give forth their fruit. 5 Indeed, your threshing will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. You will thus eat your food to the full and live securely in your land. 6 I shall also give you peace in the land so that you may lie down, with no one making you tremble. I shall also eliminate wild beasts from the land, and no sword will pass through your land. 7 But you will pursue your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword; 8 and five of you will pursue one hundred, and one hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. 9 So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you. 10 And you will eat the old supply and clear out the old because of the new. 11 Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not loathe you. 12 I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. 13 I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

Reject His Statutes and He Will Strike You

14 ‘But if you do not obey Me and do not do all these commandments, 15 if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul loathes My judgments so as not to do all My commandments and so break My covenant, 16 I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up. 17 And I will set My face against you so that you will be defeated before your enemies; and those who hate you will have dominion over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you. 18 If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will discipline you seven times more for your sins. 19 I will also break down your pride of strength; I will also give your sky over to become like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 And your power will be spent uselessly, for your land will not give forth its produce and the trees of the land will not give forth their fruit. 21 ‘If then, you walk in hostility against Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins. 22 And I will send out among you the beasts of the field, which will bereave you of your children and cut down your cattle and reduce your number so that your roads lie desolate. 23 ‘And if by these things you do not accept My discipline, but walk in hostility against Me, 24 then I will walk in hostility against you; and I, even I, will strike you seven times for your sins. 25 I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you so that you shall be given over into enemy hands. 26 When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread by rationed weight so that you will eat and not become full. 27 ‘Yet, if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but walk in hostility against Me, 28 then I will walk in wrathful hostility against you, and I, even I, will discipline you seven times for your sins. 29 Further, you will eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters you will eat. 30 I then will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars and give your corpses to lie on the corpses of your idols, for My soul shall loathe you. 31 And I will give your cities over as a waste and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your soothing aromas. 32 And I will make the land desolate, so that your enemies who inhabit it will themselves feel desolate because of it. 33 You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste. 34 ‘Then the land will make up for its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, and you will be in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and make up for its sabbaths. 35 All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it. 36 As for those of you who may remain, I will also bring weakness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a driven leaf will pursue them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee as though from the sword, and they will fall. 37 They will therefore stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand up before your enemies. 38 But you will perish among the nations, and your enemies’ land will consume you. 39 So those of you who may remain will rot away in their iniquity in the lands of your enemies; and also in the iniquities of their fathers they will rot away with them. 40 ‘If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also how they walked in hostility against Me— 41 I also was walking in hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make up for their iniquity, 42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. 43 For the land will be forsaken by them and will make up for its sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making up for their iniquity because they rejected My judgments and their soul loathed My statutes. 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so loathe them as to bring an end to them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am Yahweh their God. 45 But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am Yahweh.’” 46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws which Yahweh has given to be between Himself and the sons of Israel by the hand of Moses at Mount Sinai.

Holy to Yahweh

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man makes a difficult vow, he shall be valued according to your valuation of persons belonging to Yahweh. 3 If your valuation is of the male from twenty years even to sixty years old, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 Or if it is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels. 5 If it be from five years even to twenty years old then your valuation for the male shall be twenty shekels and for the female ten shekels. 6 But if they are from a month even up to five years old, then your valuation shall be five shekels of silver for the male, and for the female your valuation shall be three shekels of silver. 7 If they are from sixty years old and upward, if it is a male, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 8 But if he is poorer than your valuation, then he shall be presented before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to the means of the one who vowed, the priest shall value him. 9 ‘Now if it is an animal of the kind which men can bring near as an offering to Yahweh, any such that one gives to Yahweh shall be holy. 10 He shall not replace it or exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; or if he does exchange animal for animal, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. 11 If, however, it is any unclean animal of the kind which men do not bring near as an offering to Yahweh, then he shall present the animal before the priest. 12 And the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be. 13 But if he should ever wish to redeem it, then he shall add one-fifth of it to your valuation. 14 ‘Now if a man sets his house apart as holy to Yahweh, then the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. 15 Yet if the one who sets it apart as holy should wish to redeem his house, then he shall add one-fifth of your valuation price to it, so that it may be his. 16 ‘Again, if a man sets apart as holy to Yahweh a portion of the fields of his own possession, then your valuation shall be proportionate to the seed needed for it: a homer of barley seed at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he sets apart his field as holy from the year of jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand. 18 If he sets apart his field as holy after the jubilee, however, then the priest shall calculate the price for him proportionate to the years that are left until the year of jubilee; and it shall be deducted from your valuation. 19 If the one who sets it apart as holy should ever wish to redeem the field, then he shall add one-fifth of your valuation price to it so that it may stand as his own. 20 Yet if he will not redeem the field, but has sold the field to another man, it may no longer be redeemed; 21 and it will be that when it reverts in the jubilee, the field shall be holy to Yahweh, like a field that is devoted; it shall be for the priest as his possession. 22 Or if he sets apart as holy to Yahweh a field which he has bought, which is not a portion of the field of his own possession, 23 then the priest shall calculate for him the amount of your valuation up to the year of jubilee; and he shall on that day give your valuation as holy to Yahweh. 24 In the year of jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom he bought it, to whom the possession of the land belongs. 25 Every valuation of yours, moreover, shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary. The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. 26 ‘However, a firstborn among animals, which as a firstborn belongs to Yahweh, no man may set it apart as holy; whether ox or sheep, it is Yahweh’s. 27 But if it is among the unclean animals, then he shall ransom it according to your valuation and add to it one-fifth of it; and if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation. 28 ‘Nevertheless, anything which a man devotes to Yahweh out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the fields of his own possession, shall not be sold or redeemed. Anything devoted to destruction is most holy to Yahweh. 29 No one who may have been devoted among men shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death. 30 ‘Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, belongs to Yahweh; it is holy to Yahweh. 31 If, therefore, a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it one-fifth of it. 32 For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to Yahweh. 33 He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; or if he does exchange it, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. It shall not be redeemed.’” 34 These are the commandments which Yahweh commanded Moses for the sons of Israel at Mount Sinai.

Acts 18 - 19

In Corinth

After these things he departed Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, and his wife Priscilla, who recently came from Italy because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them, 3 and because he was of the same trade, he was staying with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. 4 And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade both Jews and Greeks. 5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly bearing witness to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. 6 But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a God-fearer, whose house was next to the synagogue. 8 And Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will lay a hand on you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 12 But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13 saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you; 15 but if there are questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I am not willing to be a judge of these matters.” 16 And he drove them away from the judgment seat. 17 And they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.

Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos

18 And Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brothers and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow. 19 And they arrived at Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, 21 but taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus. 22 And when he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch. 23 And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. 24 Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, arrived at Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; 26 and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

Paul in Ephesus

Now it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper regions and came to Ephesus and found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard if the Holy Spirit is being received.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Then Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7 Now there were in all about twelve men. 8 And after he entered the synagogue, he continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were becoming hardened and were not believing, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he left them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Miracles in Ephesus

11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that cloths or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. 13 But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I implore you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Now seven sons of one named Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them, subdued all of them, and utterly prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. 18 Also, many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. 19 And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and were burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.

Riots in Ephesus

21 Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. 23 Now about that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; 25 these he gathered together with the workers of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity is from this business. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable crowd, saying that things made with hands are not gods. 27 And not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be considered as worthless and that she, whom all of Asia and the world worship, is even about to be brought down from her majesty.” 28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 And the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater. 32 So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the meeting was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together. 33 And some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single cry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35 Now after calming the crowd, the city clerk *said, “Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? 36 So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful meeting. 40 For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no cause for which we can give as an account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 After saying this he dismissed the meeting.

Psalm 88

Incline Your Ear to My Cry

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

O Yahweh, the God of my salvation,

I have cried out by day and throughout the night before You.

Let my prayer come before You;

Incline Your ear to my cry of lamentation!

For my soul has been saturated with calamities,

And my life has reached Sheol.

I am counted among those who go down to the pit;

I am like a man without strength,

Released among the dead,

Like the slain who lie in the grave,

Whom You remember no more,

And they are cut off from Your hand.

You have put me in the pit far below,

In dark places, in the depths.

Your wrath lies upon me,

And You afflict me with all Your breaking waves. Selah.

You have removed my acquaintances far from me;

You have set me as an abomination to them;

I am shut up and cannot go out.

My eye has wasted away because of affliction;

I have called upon You every day, O Yahweh;

I have spread out my hands to You.

Will You do wonders for the dead?

Will the departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah.

Will Your lovingkindness be recounted in the grave,

Your faithfulness in Abaddon?

Will Your wonders be known in the darkness?

And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

But as for me, O Yahweh, I have cried out to You for help,

And in the morning my prayer comes before You.

O Yahweh, why do You reject my soul?

Why do You hide Your face from me?

I have been afflicted and about to breathe my last from my youth on;

I bear Your terrors; I am overcome.

Your burning anger has passed over me;

Your horrors have destroyed me.

They have surrounded me like water all day long;

They have encompassed me altogether.

You have removed lover and friend far from me;

My acquaintances are in darkness.