Bible in 90 Days

Rules for Mildew in a House

³³ The Lord also said to Moses and Aaron, ³⁴ “I am giving the land of Canaan to your people. Your people will enter that land. At that time I might cause mildew to grow in someone’s house. ³⁵ The person who owns that house must come and tell the priest, ‘I see something like mildew in my house.’

³⁶ “Then the priest must order the people to take everything out of the house before he goes in to look at the mildew. Then the priest will not have to say everything in the house is unclean. After the people have taken everything out of the house, the priest will go in to look at the house. ³⁷ He will look at the mildew. If the mildew on the walls of the house has holes that are a green or red color, and if the mildew goes into the wall’s surface, ³⁸ he must go out of the house and lock the house for seven days.

³⁹ “On the seventh day the priest must come back and check the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls of the house, ⁴⁰ then he must order the people to tear out the stones with the mildew on them and throw them away. They must put these stones at a special unclean place outside the city. ⁴¹ Then the priest must have the entire house scraped inside. The people must throw away the plaster that was scraped off the walls. They must put that plaster at a special unclean place outside the city. ⁴² Then new stones must be put in the walls, and the walls must be covered with new plaster.

⁴³ “Maybe someone took away the old stones and plaster and put in new stones and plaster. And maybe mildew again appears in that house. ⁴⁴ Then the priest must come in and check the house. If the infection has spread in the house, it is a disease that spreads quickly to other places. So the house is unclean. ⁴⁵ The house must be torn down. All the stones, plaster, and pieces of wood must be taken to the special unclean place outside the city. ⁴⁶ Anyone who goes into that house will be unclean until evening. ⁴⁷ Anyone who eats in that house or lies down in there must wash their clothes.

⁴⁸ “After new stones and plaster are put in a house, the priest must check the house. If the mildew has not spread through the house, the priest will announce that the house is clean, because the mildew is gone.

⁴⁹ “Then, to make the house clean, the priest must take two birds, a piece of cedar wood, a piece of red cloth, and a hyssop plant. ⁵⁰ He will kill one bird in a clay bowl over running water. ⁵¹ Then he will take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the piece of red cloth, and the living bird and dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed over running water. Then he will sprinkle that blood on the house seven times. ⁵² In this way he will use these things to make the house clean. ⁵³ He will go to an open field outside the city and let the living bird go free. In this way the priest will make the house pure. The house will be clean.”

⁵⁴ These are the rules for any infection of leprosy, ⁵⁵ for mildew on pieces of cloth or in a house. ⁵⁶ These are the rules for swellings, rashes, or bright spots on the skin. ⁵⁷ These rules teach when something is clean and when something is unclean. These are the rules about these kinds of disease.

Rules for Discharges From the Body

15 The Lord also said to Moses and Aaron, ² “Say to the Israelites: Whoever has a genital discharge is unclean. ³ The person is unclean whether the discharge continues to flow or whether it stops.

⁴ “If a man with a discharge lies on a bed, that bed becomes unclean. Everything he sits on will become unclean. ⁵ If you touch that bed, you must wash your clothes and bathe in water. You will be unclean until evening. ⁶ If you sit on anything that he sat on, you must wash your clothes and bathe in water. You will be unclean until evening. ⁷ If you touch him, you must wash your clothes and bathe in water. You will be unclean until evening. ⁸ If he spits on you, you must wash your clothes and bathe in water. You will be unclean until evening. ⁹ If that man sits on a saddle, it will become unclean. ¹⁰ If you touch or carry anything that was under him, you will be unclean until evening. ¹¹ If he touches you, you must wash your clothes and bathe in water. You will be unclean until evening.

¹² “If a man with a discharge touches a clay bowl, that bowl must be broken. If he touches a wooden bowl, that bowl must be washed in water.

¹³ “When it comes time for a man with a discharge to be made clean, he must wait seven days. Then he must wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water. Then he will become clean. ¹⁴ On the eighth day, he must take for himself two doves or two young pigeons and come before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. He will give the two birds to the priest. ¹⁵ The priest will offer the birds, one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make that man pure before the Lord.

¹⁶ “If a man has a flow of semen, he must bathe his whole body in water. He will be unclean until evening. ¹⁷ If the semen is on any clothing or leather, that clothing or leather must be washed with water. It will be unclean until evening. ¹⁸ If a woman has sexual relations with a man, and he has a flow of semen, both the man and the woman must bathe in water. They will be unclean until evening.

¹⁹ “If a woman has a discharge from her monthly time of bleeding, she will be unclean for seven days. Anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. ²⁰ Everything she lies on during her monthly time of bleeding will be unclean. And everything she sits on during that time will be unclean. ²¹ Whoever touches her bed must wash their clothes and bathe in water. They will be unclean until evening. ²² Whoever touches anything she has sat on must wash their clothes and bathe in water. They will be unclean until evening. ²³ It doesn’t matter if they touched the woman’s bed or if they touched something she sat on, they will be unclean until evening.

²⁴ “If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly time of bleeding, he will be unclean for seven days. Every bed he lies on will be unclean.

²⁵ “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not during her time of monthly bleeding, or if she has a discharge after that time, she will be unclean, just as during the time of her monthly bleeding. She will be unclean for as long as she has a discharge. ²⁶ Any bed she lies on during the time of her discharge will be like her bed during the time of her monthly bleeding. Everything she sits on will be unclean, just as it is during the time she is unclean from her monthly bleeding. ²⁷ Whoever touches these things will be unclean until evening. They must wash their own clothes and bathe in water. ²⁸ After the woman’s discharge stops, she must wait seven days. After that she will be clean. ²⁹ Then on the eighth day, she must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. ³⁰ Then the priest must offer one bird for a sin offering and the other bird for a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make her pure before the Lord.

³¹ “So you must warn the Israelites about being unclean. If you don’t warn the people, they might make my Holy Tent unclean. And then they would have to die!”

³² These are the rules for anyone with a discharge from the body. These rules are for men who become unclean from a flow of semen. ³³ And these rules are for women who become unclean from their monthly time of bleeding. And these are the rules for anyone who becomes unclean by sleeping with another person who is unclean.

The Day of Atonement

16 Two of Aaron’s sons died while offering incense to the Lord.^[a] After that time, the Lord spoke to Moses. ² The Lord said, “Talk to your brother Aaron. Tell him that he cannot go behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place anytime he wants to. The mercy-cover is in the room behind that curtain on top of the Holy Box, and I appear in a cloud over that mercy-cover. If Aaron goes into that room, he will die!

³ “Before Aaron enters the Most Holy Place, he will offer a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. ⁴ Aaron will wash his whole body with water and put on the special clothes. He will put on the linen underwear next to his body, the linen robe, the linen belt, and then he will put the linen turban on his head.

⁵ “From the whole community of Israel, Aaron will accept two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. ⁶ Then he will offer the bull for the sin offering. This sin offering is for himself. He will do this to purify^[b] himself and his family.

⁷ “Then Aaron will take the two goats and bring them before the Lord at the doorway of the Meeting Tent. ⁸ Aaron will throw lots for the two goats. One lot will be for the Lord. The other lot will be for Azazel.^[c]

⁹ “Then Aaron will offer the goat chosen by the lot for the Lord. Aaron will make this goat a sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat chosen by the lot for Azazel will be brought alive before the Lord. Then this goat will be sent out to Azazel in the desert. This is to make the people pure.

¹¹ “Then Aaron will offer the bull as a sin offering for himself. He will purify himself and his family. He will kill the bull for the sin offering for himself. ¹² Then he will take a firepan full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord. Aaron will take two handfuls of sweet incense that has been ground into powder and take it into the room behind the curtain. ¹³ He will put the incense on the fire before the Lord. Then the cloud of incense will hide the mercy-cover that is over the Box that holds the Agreement.^[d] This way Aaron will not die. ¹⁴ Aaron will dip his finger into the bull’s blood and sprinkle it on the front of the Holy Box. Then he will sprinkle the blood seven times onto the front of the mercy-cover.

¹⁵ “Then Aaron will kill the goat of the sin offering for the people. He will bring this goat’s blood into the room behind the curtain. He will do with the goat’s blood as he did with the bull’s blood. He will sprinkle the goat’s blood on the mercy-cover and in front of it. ¹⁶ In this way Aaron will purify the Most Holy Place from all the uncleanness and sins of the Israelites. He will also purify the Meeting Tent, because it stands in the middle of people whose sins have made them unclean.

¹⁷ “No one must be in the Meeting Tent when Aaron goes in to purify the Most Holy Place. No one is to go in there until Aaron comes out after purifying himself, his family, and all the Israelites. ¹⁸ Then Aaron will go out to the altar that is before the Lord. Aaron will make the altar pure. He will take some of the blood from the bull and from the goat and put it on the corners of the altar on all four sides. ¹⁹ Then he will dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it on the altar seven times. In this way Aaron will make the altar holy and clean from all the sins of the Israelites.

²⁰ “So Aaron will make the Most Holy Place, the Meeting Tent, and the altar pure. Then he will bring the living goat to the front of the tent. ²¹ He will put both his hands on the head of the living goat. Then he will confess the sins and crimes of the Israelites over the goat. In this way Aaron will lay the people’s sins on the goat’s head. Then he will send the goat away into the desert. A man will be standing by, ready to lead this goat away. ²² So the goat will carry all the people’s sins on itself into the empty desert. The man who leads the goat will let it loose in the desert.

²³ “Then Aaron will enter the Meeting Tent. He will take off the linen clothes that he put on when he went into the Holy Place. He will leave these clothes there. ²⁴ He will wash his whole body with water in a holy place. Then he will put on his clothes. He will come out and offer his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering. He will make himself and the people pure. ²⁵ Then he will burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

²⁶ “The man who led the goat to Azazel must wash his clothes and his whole body with water. After that he may come into the camp.

²⁷ “The bull and the goat for the sin offerings will be taken outside the camp. (The blood from these animals was brought into the Holy Place to make the holy things pure.) The skins, bodies, and body waste of those animals will be burned in the fire. ²⁸ Then the man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe his whole body with water. After that he may come into the camp.

²⁹ “This law will always continue for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you must not eat food.^[e] You must not do any work. None of the travelers or foreigners living in your land can do any work either. ³⁰ Because on this day, the priest will do this to make you pure and wash away your sins. Then you will be clean to the Lord. ³¹ You must humble yourselves^[f] because this day is a very important day of rest for you. This law will continue forever.

³² “In the future, this ceremony will be done by the priest who will be anointed and appointed to serve after his father. That priest will put on the holy linen clothes ³³ and make the Most Holy Place, the Meeting Tent, and the altar pure. He will also make the priests and all the people pure. ³⁴ That law will continue forever. Once every year you will purify the Israelites from all their sins.”

So they did everything that the Lord had commanded Moses.

Rules About Killing and Eating Animals

17 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all the Israelites. Tell them this is what the Lord has commanded: ³ Any one of you Israelites might kill a bull, a lamb, or a goat. You might be in the camp or outside the camp. ⁴ It doesn’t matter; you must bring that animal to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. You must give a part of that animal as a gift to the Lord. You spilled blood, so you must take a gift to the Lord’s Holy Tent. If you don’t take part of the animal as a gift to the Lord, you must be separated from your people! ⁵ This rule is so that you will bring your fellowship offering to the Lord. You must bring any animal that you kill in the field to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Bring those animals to the priest. ⁶ Then the priest will throw their blood onto the Lord’s altar near the entrance of the Meeting Tent. And the priest will burn the fat from those animals on the altar as a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord. ⁷ In this way you will stop being unfaithful to me by offering sacrifices to your ‘goat gods.’ This law will continue forever.

⁸ “Tell the people: Any citizen of Israel, traveler, or foreigner living among you might want to offer a burnt offering or some other sacrifice. ⁹ They must take the sacrifice to the entrance of the Meeting Tent and offer it to the Lord. Whoever does not do this will be separated from their people.

¹⁰ “I will turn against those who eat blood whether they are citizens of Israel or foreigners living among you, I will separate them from their people. ¹¹ This is because the life of the body is in the blood. I have told you that you must pour the blood on the altar to purify yourselves. It is the blood that makes a person pure. ¹² That is why I am telling you Israelites and the foreigners living among you that you must not eat blood.

¹³ “If any of you, whether Israelite or foreigner living among you, goes hunting and kills a wild animal or bird that you are allowed to eat, you must pour the blood of that animal on the ground and cover it with dirt. ¹⁴ This is because the life of every kind of animal is in its blood. So I give this command to the Israelites: Don’t eat meat that still has blood in it! Whoever eats blood must be separated from their people.

¹⁵ “If any of you, whether Israelite or foreigner living among you, eats an animal that died by itself or was killed by some other animal, you will be unclean until evening. You must wash your clothes and bathe your whole body with water. ¹⁶ If you don’t wash your clothes and bathe your whole body, you will be responsible for your guilt.”

Rules About Sexual Relations

18 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites: I am the Lord your God. ³ You must not follow the customs of Egypt where you lived, and you must not follow the customs of the Canaanites where I am leading you. You must not live the way they do. ⁴ You must obey my rules and follow my laws. Be sure to follow my rules because I am the Lord your God. ⁵ You must obey my rules and my laws, because whoever obeys them will live. I am the Lord.

⁶ “You must never have sexual relations with^[g] your close relatives. I am the Lord.

⁷ “You must never have sexual relations with your father or mother. She is your mother, so you must not have sexual relations with her. ⁸ You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife, even if she is not your mother, because that is like having sexual relations with your father.^[h]

⁹ “You must not have sexual relations with your sister. It doesn’t matter if she is the daughter of your father or your mother. And it doesn’t matter if your sister was born in your house^[i] or at some other place.

¹⁰ “You must not have sexual relations with your granddaughter. It doesn’t matter whether she is the daughter of your son or the daughter of your daughter—they are all a part of you!

¹¹ “If your father and his wife^[j] have a daughter, she is your sister. You must not have sexual relations with her.

¹² “You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister. She is your father’s close relative. ¹³ You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister. She is your mother’s close relative. ¹⁴ You must not have sexual relations with the wife of your father’s brother. You must not go near your uncle’s wife for sexual relations. She is your aunt.

¹⁵ “You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife, so you must not have sexual relations with her.

¹⁶ “You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife. That would be like having sexual relations with your brother.^[k]

¹⁷ “You must not have sexual relations with a mother and her daughter or her granddaughter. It doesn’t matter if this granddaughter is the daughter of this woman’s son or daughter. Her granddaughters are her close relatives. It is wrong to do this.

¹⁸ “While your wife is still living, you must not take her sister as another wife. This will make the sisters become enemies. You must not have sexual relations with your wife’s sister.

¹⁹ “You must not go near a woman to have sexual relations with her during her monthly time of bleeding. She is unclean during this time.

²⁰ “You must not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife. This will only make you filthy.^[l]

²¹ “You must not give any of your children through the fire to Molech. If you do this, you will show that you don’t respect the name of your God. I am the Lord.

²² “Men, you must not have sexual relations with another man as with a woman. That is a terrible sin!

²³ “Men, you must not have sexual relations with any animal. This will make you filthy. And women, you must not have sexual relations with any animal. It is against nature!

²⁴ “Don’t make yourself unclean by doing any of these wrong things! I am throwing nations off their land and giving it to you because they did those terrible sins. ²⁵ They made the land filthy. Now the land is sick of those things, and it will vomit out the people who live there.

²⁶ “So you must obey my laws and rules. You must not do any of these terrible sins. These rules are for the citizens of Israel and the people living among you. ²⁷ Those who lived in the land before you have done all these terrible things. So the land became filthy. ²⁸ If you do these things, you will make the land filthy. And it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were there before you. ²⁹ Whoever does any of these terrible sins must be separated from their people! ³⁰ Other people have done these terrible sins, but you must obey my laws. You must not do any of these terrible sins. Do not make yourself filthy with these terrible sins. I am the Lord your God.”

Israel Belongs to God

19 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell all the Israelites: I am the Lord your God. I am holy, so you must be holy.

³ “Each of you must honor your mother and father and keep my special days of rest.^[m] I am the Lord your God!

⁴ “Do not worship idols. Do not make statues of gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.

⁵ “When you offer a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord, you must offer it in the right way so that you will be accepted. ⁶ You may eat it the same day you offer it and on the next day. But if any of that sacrifice is left on the third day, you must burn it in the fire. ⁷ You must not eat any of that sacrifice on the third day. It will be unclean,^[n] and it will not be accepted. ⁸ You will be guilty of sin if you do that because you did not respect the holy things that belong to the Lord. If you do that, you will be separated from your people.

⁹ “When you cut your crops at harvest time, don’t cut all the way to the corners of your fields. And if grain falls on the ground, you must not gather up that grain. ¹⁰ Don’t pick all the grapes in your vineyards or pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. You must leave those things for your poor people and for people traveling through your country. I am the Lord your God.

¹¹ “You must not steal. You must not cheat people. You must not lie to each other. ¹² You must not use my name to make false promises. If you do that, you will show that you don’t respect the name of your God. I am the Lord!

¹³ “You must not cheat or rob your neighbor. You must not hold a hired worker’s salary overnight until morning.^[o]

¹⁴ “You must not curse anyone who is deaf. You must not do anything to make a blind person fall. But you must respect your God. I am the Lord.

¹⁵ “You must be fair in judgment. You must not show special favor to the poor. And you must not show special favor to important people. You must be fair when you judge your neighbor. ¹⁶ You must not go around spreading false stories against other people. Don’t do anything that would put your neighbor’s life in danger. I am the Lord.

¹⁷ “Don’t secretly hate any of your neighbors. But tell them openly what they have done wrong so that you will not be just as guilty of sin as they are. ¹⁸ Forget about the wrong things people do to you. Don’t try to get even. Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

¹⁹ “You must obey my laws. You must not let your animals mate with animals of a different kind. You must not sow your field with two kinds of seed. You must not wear clothing made from two kinds of material mixed together.

²⁰ “It may happen that a man has sexual relations with a woman who is the slave of another man. But this slave woman has not been bought or given her freedom. If this happens, there must be punishment. But they will not be put to death because the woman was not free. ²¹ The man must bring his guilt offering to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. He must bring a ram for a guilt offering. ²² The priest will make him pure by offering the ram as a guilt offering before the Lord. The offering is for the man’s sins, which will then be forgiven.

²³ “In the future, when you enter your country, you will plant many kinds of trees for food. After planting a tree, you must wait three years before you can use any of the fruit from that tree. You must not use that fruit. ²⁴ In the fourth year, the fruit from that tree will belong to the Lord, a holy offering of praise to him. ²⁵ Then, in the fifth year, you can eat the fruit from that tree. And the tree will produce more and more fruit for you. I am the Lord your God.

²⁶ “You must not eat any meat with blood still in it.

“You must not try to use different kinds of magic to tell the future.

²⁷ “You must not round off the hair that grows on the side of your face. You must not cut your beard that grows on the side of your face. ²⁸ You must not cut your body as a way to remember the dead. You must not make any tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.

²⁹ “Do not dishonor your daughters by making them become prostitutes. If you do that, your whole country will turn away from God and be filled with all kinds of sinful things.

³⁰ “You must not work on my special days of rest. You must honor my holy place. I am the Lord.

³¹ “Do not go to mediums or wizards for advice—they will only make you unclean. I am the Lord your God.

³² “Show honor to old people. Stand up when they come into the room. And show respect to your leaders.^[p] I am the Lord.

³³ “Do not do bad things to foreigners living in your country. ³⁴ You must treat them the same as you treat your own citizens. Love them as you love yourselves. Remember, you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God!

³⁵ “You must be fair when you judge people, and you must be fair when you measure and weigh things. ³⁶ Your baskets should be the right size. Your jars should hold the right amount of liquids. Your weights and balances should weigh things correctly. I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt.

³⁷ “You must remember all my laws and rules. And you must obey them. I am the Lord.”

Warning Against Worshiping Idols

20 The Lord said to Moses, ² “You must also tell the Israelites these things: Anyone living in Israel who gives one of their children to the false god Molech must be killed! It doesn’t matter if they are a citizen of Israel or a foreigner, you must throw stones at them and kill them. ³ I will be against them and separate them from their people, because they gave their children to Molech. They showed that they did not respect my holy name. And they made my holy place unclean. ⁴ Maybe the common people will ignore them. Maybe they will not kill those who gave their children to Molech. ⁵ But I will be against these people and their families. I will separate them from their people. I will separate anyone who is unfaithful to me and chases after Molech.

⁶ “I will be against anyone who goes to mediums and wizards for advice. Whoever does this is being unfaithful to me. So I will separate them from their people.

⁷ “Be special. Make yourselves holy, because I am the Lord your God. ⁸ Remember and obey my laws. I am the Lord. And I have made you my special people.

⁹ “Whoever curses their father or mother must be put to death. They cursed their father or mother, so they are responsible for their own death!^[q]

Punishments for Sexual Sins

¹⁰ “If a man has sexual relations with his neighbor’s wife, both the man and the woman are guilty of adultery and must be put to death! ¹¹ If a man has sexual relations with his father’s wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death. They are responsible for their own death.^[r] It is as if that man had sexual relations with his father!^[s]

¹² “If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed a terrible sexual sin! They are responsible for their own death.

¹³ “If a man has sexual relations with another man as with a woman, they have committed a terrible sin. They must be put to death. They are responsible for their own death.

¹⁴ “It is a sexual sin if a man has sexual relations with a woman and her mother. The people must burn that man and the two women in fire! Don’t let this sexual sin happen among your people.

¹⁵ “If a man has sexual relations with an animal, both the man and the animal must be put to death. ¹⁶ If a woman has sexual relations with an animal, you must kill the woman and the animal. They must be put to death. They are responsible for their own death.

¹⁷ “It is a shameful thing for a brother and his sister or half-sister to marry each other and have sexual relations with each other.^[t] They must be punished in public. They must be separated from their people. The man who has sexual relations with his sister must be punished for his sin.^[u]

¹⁸ “If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly time of bleeding, both the woman and the man must be separated from their people. They sinned because they exposed her source of blood.

¹⁹ “You must not have sexual relations with^[v] your mother’s sister or your father’s sister. That is a sin of incest.^[w] You must be punished for your sins.^[x]

²⁰ “A man must not have sexual relations with his uncle’s wife. It would be like having sexual relations with his uncle. That man and his uncle’s wife will be punished for their sins. They will die without children.^[y]

²¹ “It is wrong for a man to take his brother’s wife. It would be like having sexual relations with his brother! They will have no children.

²² “You must remember all my laws and rules. And you must obey them. I am leading you to your land. You will live in that country. If you obey my laws and rules, that land will not vomit you out. ²³ I am forcing other people to leave that country because they committed all those sins. I hate those sins! So don’t live the way those people lived. ²⁴ But I have told you that you will get their land. I will give their land to you. It will be your land! It is a land filled with many good things.^[z] I am the Lord your God.

“I have treated you differently from other people. ²⁵ So you must treat clean animals differently from unclean animals. You must also treat clean birds differently from unclean birds. Don’t eat any of these unclean birds or animals or things that crawl on the ground. I have made these things unclean. ²⁶ I have separated you from other nations to be my own special people. So you must be holy because I am the Lord, and I am holy.

²⁷ “A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard must be put to death. The people must kill them with stones. They are responsible for their own death.”

Rules for Priests

21 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell these things to Aaron’s sons, the priests: A priest must not make himself unclean by touching a dead person. ² But if the dead person was one of his close relatives, he can touch the dead body. The priest can make himself unclean if the dead person is his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother or ³ his unmarried^[aa] sister. (This sister is close to him because she has no husband. So the priest may make himself unclean for her if she dies.) ⁴ But a priest must not make himself unclean if the dead person was only one of his slaves.^[ab]

⁵ “Priests must not shave their heads bald. They must not shave off the edges of their beards. They must not make any cuts in their bodies. ⁶ Priests must be holy for their God. They must show respect for God’s name. They offer the bread and special gifts to the Lord, so they must be holy.

⁷ “A priest serves God in a special way, so he must not marry a woman who has had sexual relations with any other man. He must not marry a prostitute or a divorced woman. ⁸ A priest serves God in a special way. So you must treat him in a special way, because he carries holy things. He brings the holy bread to me, and I am holy. I am the Lord, and I make you holy.

⁹ “If a priest’s daughter becomes a prostitute, she ruins her reputation and brings shame to her father. She must be burned to death in the fire!

¹⁰ “The high priest was chosen from among his brothers. The anointing oil was poured on his head. In this way he was chosen for the special job of being high priest. He was chosen to wear the special clothes, so he must not do things to show his sadness in public. He must not let his hair grow wild. He must not tear his clothes. ¹¹ He must not make himself unclean by touching a dead body. He must not go near a dead body, even if it is his own father or mother. ¹² The high priest must not leave God’s holy place, because he might become unclean and then make God’s holy place unclean. The anointing oil was poured on the high priest’s head. This separated him from the rest of the people. I am the Lord.

¹³ “The high priest must marry a woman who is a virgin. ¹⁴ He must not marry a woman who has had sexual relations with any man. He must not marry a prostitute, a divorced woman, or a widow. The high priest must marry a virgin from his own people. ¹⁵ In this way people will show respect for his children.^[ac] I, the Lord, have separated the high priest for his special work.”

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ “Tell Aaron: If any of your descendants have anything wrong with them, they must not carry the special bread to God. ¹⁸ Any man who has something wrong with him must not serve as priest and bring sacrifices to me. These men cannot serve as priests: blind men, crippled men, men with bad scars on their faces, men with arms or legs that are too long, ¹⁹ men with broken feet or hands, ²⁰ men with bent backs, men who are dwarfs,^[ad] men who are cross-eyed, men with rashes or bad skin diseases, and men with crushed testicles.

²¹ “If one of Aaron’s descendants has something wrong with him, he cannot approach the altar to bring gifts to the Lord. And he cannot carry the special bread to God. ²² He is from the family of priests, so he can eat the holy bread. He can also eat the very holy bread. ²³ But he cannot go through the curtain into the Most Holy Place and he cannot go near the altar. This is because he has something wrong with him. He must not make my holy places unholy. I am the Lord, and I make these places holy.”

²⁴ So Moses told these things to Aaron, Aaron’s sons, and all the Israelites.

22 The Lord God said to Moses, ² “Tell Aaron and his sons: The gifts that the Israelites bring to me become holy. They belong to me, so you priests must show respect for these things. If you don’t, you will show that you don’t respect my holy name. I am the Lord. ³ If any one of your descendants touches these things, that person will become unclean. That person must be separated from me. The Israelites gave these things to me. I am the Lord.

⁴ “If any of Aaron’s descendants has a serious skin disease^[ae] or a discharge, he cannot eat the holy food until he becomes clean. This rule is for any priest who becomes unclean. That priest can become unclean from a dead body or from his own semen. ⁵ He can also become unclean if he touches any unclean crawling animal. And he can become unclean if he touches an unclean person. It doesn’t matter what made that person unclean. ⁶ If he touches any of these things, he will become unclean until evening. He must not eat any of the holy food. Even if he washes with water, he cannot eat the holy food. ⁷ He will be clean only after the sun goes down. Then he can eat the holy food because it is his share.

⁸ “A priest must not eat any animal that died by itself or that was killed by wild animals. If he eats that animal, he will be unclean. I am the Lord.

⁹ “The priests must be very careful when it comes time to serve me. They must be careful not to dishonor the holy things. If they are careful, they will not die. I, the Lord, have separated them from the rest of the people for this special job. ¹⁰ Only a priest’s family can eat the holy food. A visitor staying with the priest or a hired worker must not eat any of the holy food. ¹¹ But if the priest buys a person as a slave with his own money, that person may eat some of the holy things. Slaves who were born in the priest’s house may also eat some of the priest’s food. ¹² A priest’s daughter might marry a man who is not a priest. If she does that, she cannot eat any of the holy offerings. ¹³ A priest’s daughter might become a widow, or she might be divorced. If she does not have any children to support her, and she goes back to her father’s house where she lived as a child, she can eat some of her father’s food. But only people from a priest’s family can eat this food.

¹⁴ “Whoever eats some of the holy food by mistake must give the priest the price of that food and add another one-fifth of the price as a fine.

¹⁵ “The Israelites will bring offerings to the Lord. These offerings become holy, so the priests must not let them be used in a wrong way. ¹⁶ They must not let the people eat these offerings. If they do, they are guilty of doing wrong, and they must pay for it. I am the Lord, the one who makes these offerings holy.”

¹⁷ The Lord God said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Tell Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites: A citizen of Israel or a foreigner might want to bring an offering. It might be because of a promise that person made, or it might just be a special sacrifice that person wanted to give to the Lord as a burnt offering. ^19-20 These are gifts that the people bring because they really want to give a gift to God. If the gift is a bull, or a sheep, or a goat, the animal must be a male. And it must not have anything wrong with it. You must not accept any offering that has anything wrong with it. I will not accept that gift.

²¹ “You might bring a fellowship offering to the Lord. That fellowship offering might be payment for a special promise that you made. Or maybe it is a special gift that you wanted to give to the Lord. It can be a bull or a sheep, but it must be healthy. There must be nothing wrong with that animal. ²² You must not offer to the Lord any animal that is blind, that has broken bones or is crippled, or that has a discharge or a serious skin disease. You must not offer sick animals as a gift to the Lord. You must not put anything like that on his altar.

²³ “Sometimes a bull or lamb will have a leg that is too long, or a foot that did not grow right. If you want to give that animal as a special gift to the Lord, it will be accepted. But it will not be accepted as payment for a special promise that you made.

²⁴ “If an animal has bruised, crushed, or torn testicles, you must not offer that animal to the Lord. You must not do this anywhere in your land.

²⁵ “You must not take animals from foreigners as sacrifices to your God. The animals might have been hurt in some way. They might have something wrong with them, so they will not be accepted.”

²⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁷ “When a calf, or a sheep, or a goat is born, it must stay seven days with its mother. Then from the eighth day on, this animal will be accepted as a sacrifice offered as a gift to the Lord. ²⁸ But you must not kill the animal and its mother on the same day. This rule is the same for cattle and sheep.

²⁹ “If you want to offer some special offering of thanks to the Lord, you are free to offer that gift. But you must do it in a way that pleases God. ³⁰ You must eat the whole animal that day. You must not leave any of the meat for the next morning. I am the Lord.

³¹ “Remember my commands, and obey them. I am the Lord. ³² Show respect for my holy name. I must be very special to the Israelites. I, the Lord, have made you my special people. ³³ I brought you out of Egypt in order to be your God. I am the Lord.”

The Special Festivals

23 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites: You will announce the Lord’s chosen festivals as holy meetings. These are my special festivals.

Sabbath

³ “Work for six days, but the seventh day, the Sabbath, will be a special day of rest, a holy meeting. You must not do any work. It is a day of rest to honor the Lord in all your homes.

Passover

⁴ “These are the Lord’s chosen festivals. You will announce the holy meetings at the times chosen for them. ⁵ The Lord’s Passover is on the 14th day of the first month^[af] just before dark.

Festival of Unleavened Bread

⁶ “The Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread is on the 15th day of the same month. You will eat unleavened bread for seven days. ⁷ On the first day of this festival, you will have a special meeting. You must not do any work on that day. ⁸ For seven days, you will bring sacrifices offered as gifts to the Lord. Then there will be another special meeting on the seventh day. You must not do any work on that day.”

Festival of the First Harvests

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰ “Tell the Israelites: You will enter the land that I will give you and reap its harvest. At that time you must bring in the first sheaf^[ag] of your harvest to the priest. ¹¹ The priest will lift the sheaf to show it was offered before the Lord. Then you will be accepted. The priest will present the sheaf on Sunday morning.^[ah]

¹² “On the day when you present the sheaf, you will offer a one-year-old male lamb. There must be nothing wrong with that lamb. That lamb will be a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹³ You must also offer a grain offering of 16 cups^[ai] of fine flour mixed with olive oil. You must also offer 1 quart^[aj] of wine. The smell of that offering will please the Lord. ¹⁴ You must not eat any of the new grain, or fruit, or bread made from the new grain until you bring that offering to your God. This law will always continue through your generations, wherever you live.

Festival of Harvest

¹⁵ “From that Sunday morning (the day you bring the sheaf to be presented to God), count seven weeks. ¹⁶ On the Sunday following the seventh week (that is, 50 days later), you will bring a new grain offering to the Lord. ¹⁷ On that day bring two loaves of bread from your homes. That bread will be lifted up to show it was offered to God. Use yeast and 16 cups of flour to make those loaves of bread. That will be your gift to the Lord from your first harvest.

¹⁸ “With these grain offerings bring one bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs for burnt offerings to the Lord. There must be nothing wrong with these animals. Offer them together with the grain offerings and the drink offerings. The smell of these offerings made by fire will be pleasing to the Lord. ¹⁹ You will also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering.

²⁰ “The priest will lift them up with the bread from the first harvest to show they were offered with the two lambs before the Lord. They are holy to the Lord. They will belong to the priest. ²¹ On that same day you will call a holy meeting. You must not do any work. This law continues forever in all your homes.

²² “Also, when you harvest the crops on your land, don’t cut all the way to the corners of your field. Don’t pick up the grain that falls on the ground. Leave it for poor people and for foreigners traveling through your country. I am the Lord your God.”

Festival of Trumpets

²³ Again the Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “Tell the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month, you must have a special day of rest. Blow the trumpet to remind the people that this is a holy meeting. ²⁵ You must not do any work. You must bring an offering as a gift to the Lord.”

Day of Atonement

²⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁷ “The Day of Atonement will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. There will be a holy meeting. You must not eat food,^[ak] and you must bring an offering as a gift to the Lord. ²⁸ You must not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement. On that day the priests will go before the Lord and perform the ceremony that makes you pure.

²⁹ “Anyone who refuses to fast on this day must be separated from their people. ³⁰ If anyone does any work on this day, I will destroy that person from among the people. ³¹ You must not do any work at all. This is a law that continues forever for you, wherever you live. ³² It will be a special day of rest for you. You must not eat food. You will start this special day of rest on the evening following the ninth day of the month.^[al] This special day of rest continues from that evening until the next evening.”

Festival of Shelters

³³ Again the Lord said to Moses, ³⁴ “Tell the Israelites: On the 15th day of the seventh month is the Festival of Shelters. This festival to the Lord will continue for seven days. ³⁵ There will be a holy meeting on the first day. You must not do any work. ³⁶ You will bring offerings as gifts to the Lord for seven days. On the eighth day, you will have another holy meeting. You must not do any work. You will bring an offering as a gift to the Lord.

³⁷ “These are the Lord’s special festivals. There will be holy meetings during these festivals. You will bring offerings as gifts to the Lord—burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and drink offerings. You will bring these gifts at the right time. ³⁸ You will celebrate these festivals in addition to remembering the Lord’s Sabbath days. You will offer these gifts in addition to your other gifts and any offerings you give as payment for your special promises. They will be in addition to any special offerings you want to give to the Lord.

³⁹ “On the 15th day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you will celebrate the Lord’s festival for seven days. The first day will be a special day of rest, and then the eighth day will also be a special day of rest. ⁴⁰ On the first day you will take good fruit from fruit trees. And you will take branches from palm trees, poplar trees, and willow trees by the brook. You will celebrate before the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹ You will celebrate this festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This law will continue forever. You will celebrate this festival in the seventh month. ⁴² You will live in temporary shelters for seven days. All the people born in Israel will live in them. ⁴³ Why? So all your descendants will know that I made the Israelites live in temporary shelters during the time I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

⁴⁴ So Moses told the Israelites about all the special meetings to honor the Lord.

The Lampstand and the Holy Bread

24 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Command the Israelites to bring to you pure oil from crushed olives. That oil is for the lamps that must burn without stopping. ³ Aaron will keep the light burning in the Meeting Tent before the Lord from evening until morning. This light will be outside the curtain that hangs in front of the Box that holds the Agreement.^[am] This law will continue forever. ⁴ Aaron must always keep the lamps burning on the lampstand of pure gold before the Lord.

⁵ “Take fine flour and bake twelve loaves with it. Use 16 cups^[an] of flour for each loaf. ⁶ Put them in two rows on the golden table before the Lord. Six loaves will be in each row. ⁷ Put pure frankincense on each row. This will help the Lord remember the gift. ⁸ Every Sabbath day Aaron will put the bread in order before the Lord. This must be done forever. This agreement with the Israelites will continue forever. ⁹ That bread will belong to Aaron and his sons. They will eat the bread in a holy place, because that bread is one of the special gifts to the Lord. It is Aaron’s share forever.”

The Man Who Cursed God

¹⁰ There was a son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father. He was walking among the Israelites, and he started fighting in camp. ¹¹ The Israelite woman’s son began cursing, using the Lord’s name in a bad way, so the people brought him to Moses. (The name of the man’s mother was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, from the tribe of Dan.) ¹² The people held him as a prisoner and waited for the Lord’s command to be made clear to them.

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁴ “Bring the man who cursed to a place outside the camp. Then bring together everyone who heard him curse. They will put their hands on his head.^[ao] And then all the people must throw stones at him and kill him. ¹⁵ You must tell the Israelites: Anyone who curses their God must be punished. ¹⁶ Anyone who speaks against the name of the Lord must be put to death. All the people must stone him. Any foreigner or anyone born in Israel who uses the Lord’s name in a bad way must be put to death.

¹⁷ “And whoever kills another person must be put to death. ¹⁸ Whoever kills an animal that belongs to another person must give another animal to take its place.^[ap]

¹⁹ “And whoever causes an injury to their neighbor must be given the same kind of injury: ²⁰ a broken bone for a broken bone, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. The same kind of injury a person gives another person must be given that person. ²¹ Whoever kills an animal must pay for the animal. But whoever kills another person must be put to death.

²² “The law will be the same for foreigners and for people from your own country. This is because I am the Lord your God.”

²³ Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the man who cursed to a place outside the camp. Then they killed him with stones. So the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses.

A Time of Rest for the Land

25 The Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai. He said, ² “Tell the Israelites: When you enter the land that I am giving to you, you must let the land have a special time of rest. This will be a special time of rest to honor the Lord. ³ You will plant seed in your field for six years. You will trim your vineyards for six years and bring in its fruits. ⁴ But during the seventh year, you will let the land rest. This will be a special time of rest to honor the Lord. You must not plant seed in your field or trim your vineyards. ⁵ You must not cut the crops that grow by themselves after your harvest. You must not gather the grapes from your vines that are not trimmed. The land will have a year of rest.

⁶ “The land will have a year of rest, but you will still have enough food. There will be enough food for your men and women servants. There will be food for your hired workers and for the foreigners living in your country. ⁷ And there will be enough food for your cattle and other animals to eat.

Jubilee—the Year of Release

⁸ “You will also count seven groups of seven years. This will be 49 years. During that time there will be seven years of rest for the land. ⁹ On the Day of Atonement, you must blow a ram’s horn. That will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. You must blow the ram’s horn through the whole country. ¹⁰ You will make the 50th year a special year. You will announce freedom for everyone living in your country. This time will be called ‘Jubilee.’ Each of you will go back to your own property.^[aq] And each of you will go back to your own family. ¹¹ The 50th year will be a special celebration^[ar] for you. Don’t plant seeds, don’t harvest the crops that grow by themselves, and don’t gather grapes from the vines that are not trimmed. ¹² That year is Jubilee. It will be a holy time for you. You will eat the crops that come from the field. ¹³ In the year of Jubilee, you will go back to your own property.

¹⁴ “Don’t cheat your neighbors when you sell your land to them. Don’t cheat one another when you buy or sell land. ¹⁵ If you want to buy your neighbor’s land, count the number of years since the last Jubilee, and use that number to decide the right price. You are only buying the rights for harvesting crops until the next Jubilee. ¹⁶ If there are many years before the next Jubilee, the price will be high. If the years are few, the price will be lower. So your neighbor is really only selling a number of crops to you. At the next Jubilee, the land will again belong to that family. ¹⁷ You must not cheat each other. You must honor your God. I am the Lord your God.

¹⁸ “Remember my laws and rules. Obey them and you will live safely in your country. ¹⁹ And the land will produce good crops for you. Then you will have plenty of food, and you will live safely on the land.

²⁰ “But maybe you will say, ‘If we don’t plant seeds or gather our crops, we will not have anything to eat during the seventh year.’ ²¹ I will order my blessing to come to you during the sixth year. The land will continue growing crops for three years. ²² When you plant in the eighth year, you will still be eating from the old crop. You will eat the old crop until the ninth year, when the crop you planted in the eighth year comes in.

Property Laws

²³ “The land really belongs to me, so you cannot sell it permanently. You are only foreigners and travelers living on my land with me. ²⁴ People might sell their land, but the family will always get their land back. ²⁵ If someone in your country becomes very poor and must sell their property, a close relative must come and buy it back. ²⁶ If there is not a close relative to buy back the land, the person might get enough money to buy it back. ²⁷ Then the years must be counted since the land was sold. That number must be used to decide how much to pay for the land. The person must then buy back the land, and it will be their property again. ²⁸ But if this first owner cannot find enough money to buy the land back, it will stay in the hands of the one who bought it until the year of Jubilee. Then during that special celebration, the land will go back to the first owner’s family. So the property will again belong to the right family.

²⁹ “Anyone who sells a home in a walled city still has the right to get it back until a full year after it was sold. Their right to get the house back will continue one year. ³⁰ But if the owner does not buy back the house before a full year is finished, the house that is in the walled city will belong to the one who bought it and to their descendants. The house will not go back to the first owner at the time of Jubilee. ³¹ Towns without walls around them will be treated like open fields. So houses built in these small towns will go back to the first owners at the time of Jubilee.

³² “But about the cities of the Levites: The Levites can buy back at any time their houses in the cities that belong to them. ³³ If someone buys a house from a Levite, that house in the Levites’ city will again belong to the Levites at the time of Jubilee. This is because houses in Levite cities belong to those from the tribe of Levi. The Israelites gave these cities to the Levites. ³⁴ Also, the fields and pastures around the Levite cities cannot be sold. They belong to the Levites forever.

Rules for Slave Owners

³⁵ “If anyone from your own country becomes too poor to support themselves, you must let them live with you like a visitor. ³⁶ Don’t charge them any interest on money you might loan to them. Respect your God and let those from your own country live with you. ³⁷ Don’t charge them interest on any money you lend them. And don’t try to make a profit from the food you sell them. ³⁸ I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt to give the land of Canaan to you and to become your God.

³⁹ “If anyone from your own country becomes so poor that they must sell themselves to you, don’t make them work like slaves. ⁴⁰ They will be like hired workers and visitors with you until the year of Jubilee. ⁴¹ Then they can leave you, take their children, and go back to their family. They can go back to the property of their ancestors, ⁴² because they are my servants. I brought them out of slavery in Egypt. They must not become slaves again. ⁴³ You must not be a cruel master to them. You must respect your God.

⁴⁴ “About your men and women slaves: You may get men and women slaves from the other nations around you. ⁴⁵ Also, you may get children as slaves if they come from the families of the foreigners living in your land. These child slaves will belong to you. ⁴⁶ You may even pass these foreign slaves on to your children after you die so that they will belong to them. They will be your slaves forever. You may make slaves of these foreigners. But you must not be a cruel master over your own brothers, the Israelites.

⁴⁷ “Maybe a foreigner or visitor among you becomes rich. Or maybe someone from your own country becomes so poor that they sell themselves as slaves to a foreigner living among you or to a member of a foreigner’s family. ⁴⁸ These people have the right to be bought back and become free. Someone from their own country can buy them back. ⁴⁹ Or their uncle, their cousin, or one of their close relatives from their family can buy him back. Or if they get enough money, they can pay the money themselves and become free again.

⁵⁰ “You must count the years from the time they sold themselves to the foreigner up to the next year of Jubilee. Use that number to decide the price, because really the person only ‘hired’ them for a few years. ⁵¹ If there are still many years before the year of Jubilee, the one sold must give back a large part of the price. It all depends on the number of years. ⁵² If only a few years are left until the year of Jubilee, the one who was sold must pay a small part of the original price. ⁵³ But that person will live like a hired worker with the foreigner every year. Don’t let the foreigner be a cruel master over that person.

⁵⁴ “Those who sold themselves will become free, even if no one buys them back. At the year of Jubilee, they and their children will become free. ⁵⁵ This is because the Israelites are my servants. They are the servants who I brought out of slavery in Egypt. I am the Lord your God!

Rewards for Obeying God

26 “Don’t make idols for yourselves. Don’t set up statues or memorial stones in your land to bow down to, because I am the Lord your God!

² “Remember my special days of rest^[as] and honor my holy place. I am the Lord.

³ “Remember my laws and commands, and obey them. ⁴ If you do these things, I will give you rains at the time they should come. The land will grow crops and the trees of the field will grow their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing will continue until it is time to gather grapes. And your grape gathering will continue until it is time to plant. Then you will have plenty to eat. And you will live safely in your land. ⁶ I will give peace to your country. You will lie down in peace. No one will come to make you afraid. I will keep harmful animals out of your country. And armies will not come through your country.

⁷ “You will chase your enemies and defeat them. You will kill them with your swords. ⁸ Five of you will chase 100 men, and 100 of you will chase 10,000 men. You will defeat your enemies and kill them with your sword.

⁹ “Then I will turn to you. I will let you have many children. I will keep my agreement with you. ¹⁰ You will have enough crops to last for more than a year. You will harvest the new crops. But then you will have to throw out the old crops to make room for the new crops. ¹¹ Also, I will place my Holy Tent among you. I will not turn away from you. ¹² I will walk with you and be your God. And you will be my people. ¹³ I am the Lord your God. You were slaves in Egypt, but I brought you out of Egypt. You were bent low from the heavy weights you carried as slaves, but I broke the poles that were on your shoulders. I let you walk proudly again.

Punishment for Not Obeying God

¹⁴ “But if you don’t obey me and all my commands, bad things will happen to you. ¹⁵ If you refuse to obey my laws and commands, you have broken my agreement. ¹⁶ If you do that, I will cause terrible things to happen to you. I will cause you to have disease and fever. They will destroy your eyes and take away your life. You will not have success when you plant your seed. And your enemies will eat your crops. ¹⁷ I will be against you, so your enemies will defeat you. These enemies will hate you and rule over you. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.

¹⁸ “After these things, if you still don’t obey me, I will punish you seven times more for your sins. ¹⁹ And I will also destroy the great cities that make you proud. The skies will not give rain, and the earth will not produce crops.^{[at] 20} You will work hard, but it will not help. Your land will not give any crops, and your trees will not grow their fruit.

²¹ “If you still turn against me and refuse to obey me, I will beat you seven times harder! The more you sin, the more you will be punished. ²² I will send wild animals against you. They will take your children away from you. They will destroy your animals. They will kill many of your people. The roads will all be empty.

²³ “If you don’t learn your lesson after all this, and if you still turn against me, ²⁴ then I will also turn against you. I—yes, I myself—will punish you seven times for your sins. ²⁵ You will have broken my agreement, so I will punish you. I will bring armies against you. You will go into your cities for safety, but I will cause diseases to spread among you. And your enemies will defeat you. ²⁶ I will give you a share of the grain left in that city. But there will be very little food to eat. Ten women will be able to cook all their bread in one oven. They will measure each piece of bread. You will eat, but you will still be hungry.