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The LORD gave Moses and Aaron these regulations.
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If any of you have a sore on your skin or a boil or an inflammation which could develop into a dreaded skin disease, you shall be brought to the Aaronite priest.
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The priest shall examine the sore, and if the hairs in it have turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the surrounding skin, it is a dreaded skin disease, and the priest shall pronounce you unclean.
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But if the sore is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin around it and the hairs have not turned white, the priest shall isolate you for seven days.
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The priest shall examine you again on the seventh day, and if in his opinion the sore looks the same and has not spread, he shall isolate you for another seven days.
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The priest shall examine you again on the seventh day, and if the sore has faded and has not spread, he shall pronounce you ritually clean; it is only a sore. You shall wash your clothes and be ritually clean.
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But if the sore spreads after the priest has examined you and pronounced you clean, you must appear before the priest again.
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The priest will examine you again, and if it has spread, he shall pronounce you unclean; it is a dreaded skin disease.
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If any of you have a dreaded skin disease, you shall be brought to the priest,
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who will examine you. If there is a white sore on your skin which turns the hairs white and is full of pus,
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it is a chronic skin disease. The priest shall pronounce you unclean; there is no need to isolate you, because you are obviously unclean.
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If the skin disease spreads and covers you from head to foot,
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the priest shall examine you again. If he finds that it actually has covered the whole body, he shall pronounce you ritually clean. If your whole skin has turned white, you are ritually clean.
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But from the moment an open sore appears, you are unclean.
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The priest shall examine you again, and if he sees an open sore, he shall pronounce you unclean. An open sore means a dreaded skin disease, and you are unclean.
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But when the sore heals and becomes white again, you shall go to the priest,
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who will examine you again. If the sore has turned white, you are ritually clean, and the priest shall pronounce you clean.
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If any of you have a boil that has healed
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and if afterward a white swelling or a reddish-white spot appears where the boil was, you shall go to the priest.
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The priest shall examine you, and if the spot seems to be deeper than the surrounding skin and the hairs in it have turned white, he shall pronounce you unclean. It is a dreaded skin disease that has started in the boil.
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But if the priest examines it and finds that the hairs in it have not turned white and that it is not deeper than the surrounding skin, but is light in color, the priest shall isolate you for seven days.
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If the spot spreads, the priest shall pronounce you unclean; you are diseased.
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But if it remains unchanged and does not spread, it is only the scar left from the boil, and the priest shall pronounce you ritually clean.
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In case any of you have been burned, if the raw flesh becomes white or reddish-white,
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the priest shall examine you. If the hairs in the spot have turned white and it appears deeper than the surrounding skin, it is a dreaded skin disease that has started in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce you unclean.
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But if the hairs in it have not turned white and it is not deeper than the surrounding skin, but is light in color, the priest shall isolate you for seven days.
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The priest shall examine you again on the seventh day, and if it is spreading, it is a dreaded skin disease, and the priest shall pronounce you unclean.
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But if the spot remains unchanged and does not spread and is light in color, it is not a dreaded skin disease. The priest shall pronounce you ritually clean, because it is only a scar from the burn.
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When any of you, male or female, have a sore on your head or chin,
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the priest shall examine it. If it seems to be deeper than the surrounding skin and the hairs in it are yellowish and thin, it is a dreaded skin disease, and he shall pronounce you unclean.
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If, when the priest examines you, the sore does not appear to be deeper than the surrounding skin, but there are still no healthy hairs in it, he shall isolate you for seven days.
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The priest shall examine the sore again on the seventh day, and if it has not spread and there are no yellowish hairs in it and it does not seem to be deeper than the surrounding skin,
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you shall shave the head except the area around the sore. The priest shall then isolate you for another seven days.
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On the seventh day the priest shall again examine the sore, and if it has not spread and does not seem to be deeper than the surrounding skin, he shall pronounce you ritually clean. You shall wash your clothes, and you will be clean.
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But if the sore spreads after you have been pronounced clean,
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the priest shall examine you again. If the sore has spread, he need not look for yellowish hairs; you are obviously unclean.
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But if in the priest's opinion the sore has not spread and healthy hairs are growing in it, the sore has healed, and the priest shall pronounce you ritually clean.
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When any of you, male or female, have white spots on the skin,
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the priest shall examine you. If the spots are dull white, it is only a blemish that has broken out on the skin; you are ritually clean.
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If you lose your hair at the back or the front of your head, this does not make you unclean.
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But if a reddish-white sore appears on the bald spot, it is a dreaded skin disease.
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The priest shall examine you, and if there is a reddish-white sore,
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the priest shall pronounce you unclean, because of the dreaded skin disease on your head.
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If you have a dreaded skin disease, you must wear torn clothes, leave your hair uncombed, cover the lower part of your face, and call out, "Unclean, unclean!"
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You remain unclean as long as you have the disease, and you must live outside the camp, away from others.
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When there is mildew on clothing, whether wool or linen,
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or on any piece of linen or wool cloth or on leather or anything made of leather,
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if it is greenish or reddish, it is a spreading mildew and must be shown to the priest.
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The priest shall examine it and put the object away for seven days.
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He shall examine it again on the seventh day, and if the mildew has spread, the object is unclean.
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The priest shall burn it, because it is a spreading mildew which must be destroyed by fire.
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But if, when he examines it, the priest finds that the mildew has not spread on the object,
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he shall order that it be washed and put away for another seven days.
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Then he shall examine it, and if the mildew has not changed color, even though it has not spread, it is still unclean; you must burn the object, whether the rot is on the front or the back.
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But if, when the priest examines it again, the mildew has faded, he shall tear it out of the clothing or leather.
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Then, if the mildew reappears, it is spreading again, and the owner shall burn the object.
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If he washes the object and the spot disappears, he shall wash it again, and it will be ritually clean.
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This, then, is the law about mildew on clothing, whether it is wool or linen, or on linen or wool cloth or on anything made of leather; this is how the decision is made as to whether it is ritually clean or unclean.
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the following regulations about the ritual purification of those of you cured of a dreaded skin disease. On the day you are to be pronounced clean, you shall be brought to the priest,
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and the priest shall take you outside the camp and examine you. If the disease is healed,
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the priest shall order that two ritually clean birds be brought, along with a piece of cedar wood, a red cord, and a sprig of hyssop.
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Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over a clay bowl containing fresh spring water.
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He shall take the other bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the red cord, and the hyssop, in the blood of the bird that was killed.
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He shall sprinkle the blood seven times on the one of you who is to be purified from your skin disease, and then he shall pronounce you clean. He shall let the live bird fly away over the open fields.
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You shall wash your clothes, shave off all your hair, and take a bath; you will then be ritually clean. You may enter the camp, but you must live outside your tent for seven days.
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On the seventh day you shall again shave your head, your beard, your eyebrows, and all the rest of the hair on your body; you shall wash your clothes and take a bath, and then you will be ritually clean.
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On the eighth day you shall bring two male lambs and one female lamb a year old that are without any defects, five pounds of flour mixed with olive oil, and half a pint of olive oil.
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The priest shall take you and these offerings to the entrance of the Tent of the LORD's presence.
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Then the priest shall take one of the male lambs and together with the half pint of oil he shall offer it as a repayment offering. He shall present them as a special gift to the LORD for the priest.
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He shall kill the lamb in the holy place where the animals for the sin offerings and the burnt offerings are killed. He must do this because the repayment offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest and is very holy.
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The priest shall take some of the blood of the lamb and put it on the lobe of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one of you to be declared ritually clean.
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The priest shall take some of the olive oil and pour it in the palm of his own left hand,
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dip a finger of his right hand in it, and sprinkle some of it seven times there in the LORD's presence.
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He shall take some of the oil that is in the palm of his hand and some of the blood of the lamb and put them on the lobe of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one of you to be declared ritually clean.
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He shall put the rest of the oil that is in the palm of his hand on your head. In this way he shall perform the ritual of purification.
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Then the priest shall offer the sin offering and perform the ritual of purification. After that, he shall kill the animal for the burnt offering
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and offer it with the grain offering on the altar. In this way the priest shall perform the ritual of purification, and you will be ritually clean.
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If you are poor and cannot afford any more, you shall bring for your purification only one male lamb as your repayment offering, a special gift to the LORD for the priest. You shall bring only two pounds of flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering and half a pint of olive oil.
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You shall also bring two doves or two pigeons, one for the sin offering and one for the burnt offering.
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On the eighth day of your purification you shall bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Tent.
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The priest shall take the lamb and the olive oil and present them as a special gift to the LORD for the priest.
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He shall kill the lamb and take some of the blood and put it on the lobe of your right ear, on the thumb of your right hand, and on the big toe of your right foot.
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The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand
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and with a finger of his right hand sprinkle some of it seven times there in the LORD's presence.
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He shall put some of the oil on the same places he put the blood: on the lobe of your right ear, on the thumb of your right hand, and on the big toe of your right foot.
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The rest of the oil that is in his palm he shall put on your head and in this way perform the ritual of purification.
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Then he shall offer one of the doves or pigeons
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as the sin offering and the other as the burnt offering with the grain offering. In this way the priest shall perform the ritual of purification.
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This is the law for those who have a dreaded skin disease but who cannot afford the normal offerings required for his purification.
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The LORD gave Moses and Aaron
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the following regulations about houses affected by spreading mildew. (These were to apply after the people of Israel entered the land of Canaan, which the LORD was going to give them as their possession.) If any of you find that the LORD has sent mildew on your house, then you must go and tell the priest about it.
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The priest shall order everything to be moved out of the house before he goes to examine the mildew; otherwise everything in the house will be declared unclean. Then he shall go to the house
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and examine the mildew. If there are greenish or reddish spots that appear to be eating into the wall,
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he shall leave the house and lock it up for seven days.
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On the seventh day he shall return and examine it again. If the mildew has spread,
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he shall order that the stones on which the mildew is found be removed and thrown into some unclean place outside the city.
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After that he must have all the interior walls scraped and the plaster dumped in an unclean place outside the city.
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Then other stones are to be used to replace the stones that were removed, and new plaster will be used to cover the walls.
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If the mildew breaks out again in the house after the stones have been removed and the house has been scraped and plastered,
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the priest shall go and look. If it has spread, the house is unclean.
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It must be torn down, and its stones, its wood, and all its plaster must be carried out of the city to an unclean place.
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Any who enter the house while it is locked up will be unclean until evening.
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Any who lie down or eat in the house must wash their clothes.
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If, when the priest comes to look, the mildew has not reappeared after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house ritually clean, because the mildew has been completely removed.
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To purify the house, he shall take two birds, some cedar wood, a red cord, and a sprig of hyssop.
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He shall kill one of the birds over a clay bowl containing fresh spring water.
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Then he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the red cord, and the live bird and shall dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed and in the fresh water. And he shall sprinkle the house seven times.
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In this way he shall purify the house with the bird's blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the red cord.
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Then he shall let the live bird fly away outside the city over the open fields. In this way he shall perform the ritual of purification for the house, and it will be ritually clean.
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These are the laws about dreaded skin diseases;
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sores, boils, or inflammations; and about mildew in clothes or houses.
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These laws determine when something is unclean and when it is clean.
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Paul and Silas traveled on through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue.
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According to his usual habit Paul went to the synagogue. There during three Sabbaths he held discussions with the people, quoting
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and explaining the Scriptures, and proving from them that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from death. "This Jesus whom I announce to you," Paul said, "is the Messiah."
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Some of them were convinced and joined Paul and Silas; so did many of the leading women and a large group of Greeks who worshiped God.
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But some Jews were jealous and gathered worthless loafers from the streets and formed a mob. They set the whole city in an uproar and attacked the home of a man named Jason, in an attempt to find Paul and Silas and bring them out to the people.
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But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city authorities and shouted, "These men have caused trouble everywhere! Now they have come to our city,
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and Jason has kept them in his house. They are all breaking the laws of the Emperor, saying that there is another king, whose name is Jesus."
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With these words they threw the crowd and the city authorities in an uproar.
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The authorities made Jason and the others pay the required amount of money to be released, and then let them go.
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As soon as night came, the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived, they went to the synagogue.
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The people there were more open-minded than the people in Thessalonica. They listened to the message with great eagerness, and every day they studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was really true.
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Many of them believed; and many Greek women of high social standing and many Greek men also believed.
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But when the Jews in Thessalonica heard that Paul had preached the word of God in Berea also, they came there and started exciting and stirring up the mobs.
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At once the believers sent Paul away to the coast; but both Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea.
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The men who were taking Paul went with him as far as Athens and then returned to Berea with instructions from Paul that Silas and Timothy should join him as soon as possible.
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While Paul was waiting in Athens for Silas and Timothy, he was greatly upset when he noticed how full of idols the city was.
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So he held discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentiles who worshiped God, and also in the public square every day with the people who happened to come by.
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Certain Epicurean and Stoic teachers also debated with him. Some of them asked, "What is this ignorant show-off trying to say?" Others answered, "He seems to be talking about foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching about Jesus and the resurrection.
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So they took Paul, brought him before the city council, the Areopagus, and said, "We would like to know what this new teaching is that you are talking about.
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Some of the things we hear you say sound strange to us, and we would like to know what they mean."
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(For all the citizens of Athens and the foreigners who lived there liked to spend all their time telling and hearing the latest new thing.)
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Paul stood up in front of the city council and said, "I see that in every way you Athenians are very religious.
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For as I walked through your city and looked at the places where you worship, I found an altar on which is written, 'To an Unknown God.' That which you worship, then, even though you do not know it, is what I now proclaim to you.
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God, who made the world and everything in it, is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.
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Nor does he need anything that we can supply by working for him, since it is he himself who gives life and breath and everything else to everyone.
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From one human being he created all races of people and made them live throughout the whole earth. He himself fixed beforehand the exact times and the limits of the places where they would live.
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He did this so that they would look for him, and perhaps find him as they felt around for him. Yet God is actually not far from any one of us;
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as someone has said, 'In him we live and move and exist.' It is as some of your poets have said, 'We too are his children.'
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Since we are God's children, we should not suppose that his nature is anything like an image of gold or silver or stone, shaped by human art and skill.
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God has overlooked the times when people did not know him, but now he commands all of them everywhere to turn away from their evil ways.
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For he has fixed a day in which he will judge the whole world with justice by means of a man he has chosen. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising that man from death!"
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When they heard Paul speak about a raising from death, some of them made fun of him, but others said, "We want to hear you speak about this again."
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And so Paul left the meeting.
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Some men joined him and believed, among whom was Dionysius, a member of the council; there was also a woman named Damaris, and some other people.
