Purification of Women after Childbirth

12 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² Speak to the people of Israel, saying:

If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. ³ On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. ⁴ Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. ⁵ If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days.

⁶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. ⁷ He shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement on her behalf; then she shall be clean from her flow of blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, male or female. ⁸ If she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf, and she shall be clean.

Leprosy, Varieties and Symptoms

13 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

² When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a leprous^[a] disease on the skin of his body, he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. ³ The priest shall examine the disease on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous^[b] disease; after the priest has examined him he shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean. ⁴ But if the spot is white in the skin of his body, and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall confine the diseased person for seven days. ⁵ The priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if he sees that the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall confine him seven days more. ⁶ The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the disease has abated and the disease has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an eruption; and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean. ⁷ But if the eruption spreads in the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest. ⁸ The priest shall make an examination, and if the eruption has spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a leprous^[c] disease.

⁹ When a person contracts a leprous^[d] disease, he shall be brought to the priest. ¹⁰ The priest shall make an examination, and if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is quick raw flesh in the swelling, ¹¹ it is a chronic leprous^[e] disease in the skin of his body. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not confine him, for he is unclean. ¹² But if the disease breaks out in the skin, so that it covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see, ¹³ then the priest shall make an examination, and if the disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; since it has all turned white, he is clean. ¹⁴ But if raw flesh ever appears on him, he shall be unclean; ¹⁵ the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean, for it is a leprous^[f] disease. ¹⁶ But if the raw flesh again turns white, he shall come to the priest; ¹⁷ the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has turned white, the priest shall pronounce the diseased person clean. He is clean.

¹⁸ When there is on the skin of one’s body a boil that has healed, ¹⁹ and in the place of the boil there appears a white swelling or a reddish-white spot, it shall be shown to the priest. ²⁰ The priest shall make an examination, and if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; this is a leprous^[g] disease, broken out in the boil. ²¹ But if the priest examines it and the hair on it is not white, nor is it deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him seven days. ²² If it spreads in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is diseased. ²³ But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil; the priest shall pronounce him clean.

²⁴ Or, when the body has a burn on the skin and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a spot, reddish-white or white, ²⁵ the priest shall examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and it appears deeper than the skin, it is a leprous^[h] disease; it has broken out in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a leprous^[i] disease. ²⁶ But if the priest examines it and the hair in the spot is not white, and it is no deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him seven days. ²⁷ The priest shall examine him the seventh day; if it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a leprous^[j] disease. ²⁸ But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread in the skin but has abated, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar of the burn.

²⁹ When a man or woman has a disease on the head or in the beard, ³⁰ the priest shall examine the disease. If it appears deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an itch, a leprous^[k] disease of the head or the beard. ³¹ If the priest examines the itching disease, and it appears no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall confine the person with the itching disease for seven days. ³² On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the itch appears to be no deeper than the skin, ³³ he shall shave, but the itch he shall not shave. The priest shall confine the person with the itch for seven days more. ³⁴ On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean. ³⁵ But if the itch spreads in the skin after he was pronounced clean, ³⁶ the priest shall examine him. If the itch has spread in the skin, the priest need not seek for the yellow hair; he is unclean. ³⁷ But if in his eyes the itch is checked, and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed, he is clean; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

³⁸ When a man or a woman has spots on the skin of the body, white spots, ³⁹ the priest shall make an examination, and if the spots on the skin of the body are of a dull white, it is a rash that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.

⁴⁰ If anyone loses the hair from his head, he is bald but he is clean. ⁴¹ If he loses the hair from his forehead and temples, he has baldness of the forehead but he is clean. ⁴² But if there is on the bald head or the bald forehead a reddish-white diseased spot, it is a leprous^[l] disease breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead. ⁴³ The priest shall examine him; if the diseased swelling is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, which resembles a leprous^[m] disease in the skin of the body, ⁴⁴ he is leprous,^[n] he is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; the disease is on his head.

⁴⁵ The person who has the leprous^[o] disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, “Unclean, unclean.” ⁴⁶ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

⁴⁷ Concerning clothing: when a leprous^[p] disease appears in it, in woolen or linen cloth, ⁴⁸ in warp or woof of linen or wool, or in a skin or in anything made of skin, ⁴⁹ if the disease shows greenish or reddish in the garment, whether in warp or woof or in skin or in anything made of skin, it is a leprous^[q] disease and shall be shown to the priest. ⁵⁰ The priest shall examine the disease, and put the diseased article aside for seven days. ⁵¹ He shall examine the disease on the seventh day. If the disease has spread in the cloth, in warp or woof, or in the skin, whatever be the use of the skin, this is a spreading leprous^[r] disease; it is unclean. ⁵² He shall burn the clothing, whether diseased in warp or woof, woolen or linen, or anything of skin, for it is a spreading leprous^[s] disease; it shall be burned in fire.

⁵³ If the priest makes an examination, and the disease has not spread in the clothing, in warp or woof or in anything of skin, ⁵⁴ the priest shall command them to wash the article in which the disease appears, and he shall put it aside seven days more. ⁵⁵ The priest shall examine the diseased article after it has been washed. If the diseased spot has not changed color, though the disease has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in fire, whether the leprous^[t] spot is on the inside or on the outside.

⁵⁶ If the priest makes an examination, and the disease has abated after it is washed, he shall tear the spot out of the cloth, in warp or woof, or out of skin. ⁵⁷ If it appears again in the garment, in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, it is spreading; you shall burn with fire that in which the disease appears. ⁵⁸ But the cloth, warp or woof, or anything of skin from which the disease disappears when you have washed it, shall then be washed a second time, and it shall be clean.

⁵⁹ This is the ritual for a leprous^[u] disease in a cloth of wool or linen, either in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, to decide whether it is clean or unclean.

Psalm 61

Assurance of God’s Protection

To the leader: with stringed instruments. Of David.

Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar

3 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon. ² And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. ³ When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. ⁴ Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” ⁵ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶ But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,^[a] stand up and walk.” ⁷ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. ⁸ Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. ⁹ All the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter Speaks in Solomon’s Portico

¹¹ While he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s Portico, utterly astonished. ¹² When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, “You Israelites,^[b] why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? ¹³ The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant^[c] Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. ¹⁴ But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, ¹⁵ and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. ¹⁶ And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus^[d] has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.

¹⁷ “And now, friends,^[e] I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. ¹⁸ In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah^[f] would suffer. ¹⁹ Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, ²⁰ so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah^[g] appointed for you, that is, Jesus, ²¹ who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets. ²² Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you from your own people^[h] a prophet like me. You must listen to whatever he tells you. ²³ And it will be that everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be utterly rooted out of the people.’ ²⁴ And all the prophets, as many as have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, also predicted these days. ²⁵ You are the descendants of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to your ancestors, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ ²⁶ When God raised up his servant,^[i] he sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”