2
to say to the people of Israel, "Any of you or any foreigner living among you who gives any children to be used in the worship of the god Molech shall be stoned to death by the whole community.
3
If any of you give one of your children to Molech and make my sacred Tent unclean and disgrace my holy name, I will turn against you and will no longer consider you my people.
4
But if the community ignores what you have done and does not put you to death,
5
I myself will turn against you and your whole family and against all who join you in being unfaithful to me and worshiping Molech. I will no longer consider any of you my people.
6
"If any of you go for advice to people who consult the spirits of the dead, I will turn against you and will no longer consider you one of my people.
7
Keep yourselves holy, because I am the LORD your God.
8
Obey my laws, because I am the LORD and I make you holy."
9
The LORD gave the following regulations. Any of you that curse your father or mother shall be put to death; you are responsible for your own death.
10
If a man commits adultery with the wife of an Israelite, both he and the woman shall be put to death.
11
A man who has intercourse with one of his father's wives disgraces his father, and both he and the woman shall be put to death. They are responsible for their own death.
12
If a man has intercourse with his daughter-in-law, they shall both be put to death. They have committed incest and are responsible for their own death.
13
If a man has sexual relations with another man, they have done a disgusting thing, and both shall be put to death. They are responsible for their own death.
14
If a man marries a woman and her mother, all three shall be burned to death because of the disgraceful thing they have done; such a thing must not be permitted among you.
15
If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he and the animal shall be put to death.
16
If a woman tries to have sexual relations with an animal, she and the animal shall be put to death. They are responsible for their own death.
17
If a man marries his sister or half sister, they shall be publicly disgraced and driven out of the community. He has had intercourse with his sister and must suffer the consequences.
18
If a man has intercourse with a woman during her monthly period, both of them are to be driven out of the community, because they have broken the regulations about ritual uncleanness.
19
If a man has intercourse with his aunt, both of them must suffer the consequences for incest.
20
If a man has intercourse with his uncle's wife, he disgraces his uncle, and he and the woman will pay the penalty; neither one will have children.
21
If a man takes his brother's wife, they will die childless. He has done a ritually unclean thing and has disgraced his brother.
22
The LORD said, "Keep all my laws and commands, so that you will not be rejected by the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you.
23
Do not adopt the customs of the people who live there; I am driving out those pagans so that you can enter the land. They have disgusted me with all their evil practices.
24
But I have promised you this rich and fertile land as your possession, and I will give it to you. I am the LORD your God, and I have set you apart from the other nations.
25
So then, you must make a clear distinction between animals and birds that are ritually clean and those that are not. Do not eat unclean animals or birds. I have declared them unclean, and eating them would make you unclean.
26
You shall be holy and belong only to me, because I am the LORD and I am holy. I have set you apart from the other nations so that you would belong to me alone.
27
"Any man or woman who consults the spirits of the dead shall be stoned to death; any of you that do this are responsible for your own death."
1
The LORD commanded Moses to tell the Aaronite priests, "No priest is to make himself ritually unclean by taking part in the funeral ceremonies when a relative dies,
2
unless it is his mother, father, son, daughter, brother,
3
or unmarried sister living in his house.
4
He shall not make himself unclean at the death of those related to him by marriage.
5
"No priest shall shave any part of his head or trim his beard or cut gashes on his body to show that he is in mourning.
6
He must be holy and must not disgrace my name. He offers food offerings to me, and he must be holy.
7
A priest shall not marry a woman who has been a prostitute or a woman who is not a virgin or who is divorced; he is holy.
8
The people must consider the priest holy, because he presents the food offerings to me. I am the LORD; I am holy and I make my people holy.
9
If a priest's daughter becomes a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she shall be burned to death.
10
"The High Priest has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been consecrated to wear the priestly garments, so he must not leave his hair uncombed or tear his clothes to show that he is in mourning.
11
He has been dedicated to me and is not to make himself ritually unclean nor is he to defile my sacred Tent by leaving it and entering a house where there is a dead person, even if it is his own father or mother.
13
He shall marry a virgin,
14
not a widow or a divorced woman or a woman who has been a prostitute. He shall marry only a virgin from his own clan.
15
Otherwise, his children, who ought to be holy, will be ritually unclean. I am the LORD and I have set him apart as the High Priest."
16
The LORD commanded Moses
17
to tell Aaron, "None of your descendants who has any physical defects may present the food offering to me. This applies for all time to come.
18
No man with any physical defects may make the offering: no one who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed;
19
no one with a crippled hand or foot;
20
no one who is a hunchback or a dwarf; no one with any eye or skin disease; and no eunuch.
21
No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any physical defects may present the food offering to me.
22
Such a man may eat the food offered to me, both the holy food offering and the very holy food offering,
23
but because he has a physical defect, he shall not come near the sacred curtain or approach the altar. He must not profane these holy things, because I am the LORD and I make them holy."
24
This, then, is what Moses said to Aaron, the sons of Aaron, and to all the people of Israel.
1
The LORD commanded Moses
2
to tell Aaron and his sons, "You must not bring disgrace on my holy name, so treat with respect the sacred offerings that the people of Israel dedicate to me. I am the LORD.
3
If any of your descendants, while he is ritually unclean, comes near the sacred offerings which the people of Israel have dedicated to me, he can never again serve at the altar. This applies for all time to come. I am the LORD.
4
"None of the descendants of Aaron who has a dreaded skin disease or a discharge may eat any of the sacred offerings until he is ritually clean. Any priest is unclean if he touches anything which is unclean through contact with a corpse or if he has an emission of semen
5
or if he has touched an unclean animal or person.
6
Any priest who becomes unclean remains unclean until evening, and even then he may not eat any of the sacred offerings until he has taken a bath.
7
After the sun sets he is clean, and then he may eat the sacred offerings, which are his food.
8
He shall not eat the meat of any animal that has died a natural death or has been killed by wild animals; it will make him unclean. I am the LORD.
9
"All priests shall observe the regulations that I have given. Otherwise, they will become guilty and die, because they have disobeyed the sacred regulations. I am the LORD and I make them holy.
10
"Only a member of a priestly family may eat any of the sacred offerings; no one else may eat them---not even someone staying with a priest or hired by him.
11
But a priest's slaves, bought with his own money or born in his home, may eat the food the priest receives.
12
A priest's daughter who marries someone who is not a priest may not eat any of the sacred offerings.
13
But a widowed or divorced daughter who has no children and who has returned to live in her father's house as a dependent may eat the food her father receives as a priest. Only a member of a priestly family may eat any of it.
14
"If any people who are not members of a priestly family eat any of the sacred offerings without intending to, they must repay the priest its full value plus an additional 20 percent.
15
The priests shall not profane the sacred offerings
16
by letting any unauthorized people eat them; this would bring guilt and punishment on such people. I am the LORD and I make the offerings holy."
17
The LORD commanded Moses
18
to give Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel the following regulations. When any Israelite or any foreigner living in Israel presents a burnt offering, whether as fulfillment of a vow or as a freewill offering, the animal must not have any defects.
19
To be accepted, it must be a male without any defects.
20
If you offer any animal that has any defects, the LORD will not accept it.
21
When anyone presents a fellowship offering to the LORD, whether as fulfillment of a vow or as a freewill offering, the animal must be without any defects if it is to be accepted.
22
Do not offer to the LORD any animal that is blind or crippled or mutilated, or that has a running sore or a skin eruption or scabs. Do not offer any such animals on the altar as a food offering.
23
As a freewill offering you may offer an animal that is stunted or not perfectly formed, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow.
24
Do not offer to the LORD any animal whose testicles have been crushed, cut, bruised, or torn off. This is not permitted in your land.
25
Do not offer as a food offering any animal obtained from a foreigner. Such animals are considered defective and are not acceptable.
26
When a calf or a lamb or a kid is born, it must not be taken from its mother for seven days, but after that it is acceptable as a food offering.
28
Do not sacrifice a cow and its calf or a sheep and its lamb or a goat and its kid on the same day.
29
When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, follow the rules so that you will be accepted;
30
eat it the same day and leave none of it until the next morning.
31
The LORD said, "Obey my commands; I am the LORD.
32
Do not bring disgrace on my holy name; all the people of Israel must acknowledge me to be holy. I am the LORD and I make you holy;
33
and I brought you out of Egypt to become your God. I am the LORD."
1
After the uproar died down, Paul called together the believers and with words of encouragement said good-bye to them. Then he left and went on to Macedonia.
2
He went through those regions and encouraged the people with many messages. Then he came to Achaia,
3
where he stayed three months. He was getting ready to go to Syria when he discovered that there were Jews plotting against him; so he decided to go back through Macedonia.
4
Sopater son of Pyrrhus, from Berea, went with him; so did Aristarchus and Secundus, from Thessalonica; Gaius, from Derbe; Tychicus and Trophimus, from the province of Asia; and Timothy.
5
They went ahead and waited for us in Troas.
6
We sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later we joined them in Troas, where we spent a week.
7
On Saturday evening we gathered together for the fellowship meal. Paul spoke to the people and kept on speaking until midnight, since he was going to leave the next day.
8
Many lamps were burning in the upstairs room where we were meeting.
9
A young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window, and as Paul kept on talking, Eutychus got sleepier and sleepier, until he finally went sound asleep and fell from the third story to the ground. When they picked him up, he was dead.
10
But Paul went down and threw himself on him and hugged him. "Don't worry," he said, "he is still alive!"
11
Then he went back upstairs, broke bread, and ate. After talking with them for a long time, even until sunrise, Paul left.
12
They took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
13
We went on ahead to the ship and sailed off to Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had told us to do this, because he was going there by land.
14
When he met us in Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene.
15
We sailed from there and arrived off Chios the next day. A day later we came to Samos, and the following day we reached Miletus.
16
Paul had decided to sail on by Ephesus, so as not to lose any time in the province of Asia. He was in a hurry to arrive in Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost, if at all possible.
17
From Miletus Paul sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him.
18
When they arrived, he said to them, "You know how I spent the whole time I was with you, from the first day I arrived in the province of Asia.
19
With all humility and many tears I did my work as the Lord's servant during the hard times that came to me because of the plots of some Jews.
20
You know that I did not hold back anything that would be of help to you as I preached and taught in public and in your homes.
21
To Jews and Gentiles alike I gave solemn warning that they should turn from their sins to God and believe in our Lord Jesus.
22
And now, in obedience to the Holy Spirit I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
23
I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit has warned me that prison and troubles wait for me.
24
But I reckon my own life to be worth nothing to me; I only want to complete my mission and finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do, which is to declare the Good News about the grace of God.
25
"I have gone about among all of you, preaching the Kingdom of God. And now I know that none of you will ever see me again.
26
So I solemnly declare to you this very day: if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible.
27
For I have not held back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God.
28
So keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock which the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he made his own through the blood of his Son.
29
I know that after I leave, fierce wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock.
30
The time will come when some men from your own group will tell lies to lead the believers away after them.
31
Watch, then, and remember that with many tears, day and night, I taught every one of you for three years.
32
"And now I commend you to the care of God and to the message of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you the blessings God has for all his people.
33
I have not wanted anyone's silver or gold or clothing.
34
You yourselves know that I have worked with these hands of mine to provide everything that my companions and I have needed.
35
I have shown you in all things that by working hard in this way we must help the weak, remembering the words that the Lord Jesus himself said, 'There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.' "
36
When Paul finished, he knelt down with them and prayed.
37
They were all crying as they hugged him and kissed him good-bye.
38
They were especially sad because he had said that they would never see him again. And so they went with him to the ship.
