One Year Bible.

Cleansing the Camps

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, ²“Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, and anyone who is defiled by a dead body. ³You must send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.”

⁴So the Israelites did this, sending such people outside the camp. They did just as the LORD had instructed Moses.

Confession and Restitution

⁵And the LORD said to Moses, ⁶“Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman acts unfaithfully against the LORD by committing any sin against another, that person is guilty ⁷and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution, add a fifth to its value, and give all this to the one he has wronged.

⁸But if the man has no relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest along with the ram of atonement, by which the atonement is made for him.

⁹Every sacred contribution the Israelites bring to the priest shall belong to him. ¹⁰Each man’s sacred gifts are his own, but whatever he gives to the priest will belong to the priest.”

The Adultery Test

¹¹Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him ¹³by sleeping with another man, and it is concealed from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she was not caught in the act), ¹⁴and if a feeling of jealousy comes over her husband and he suspects his wife who has defiled herself— or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he suspects her even though she has not defiled herself— ¹⁵then he is to bring his wife to the priest.

He must also bring for her an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, an offering of memorial as a reminder of iniquity.

¹⁶The priest is to bring the wife forward and have her stand before the LORD. ¹⁷Then he is to take some holy water in a clay jar and put some of the dust from the tabernacle floor into the water.

¹⁸After the priest has the woman stand before the LORD, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering of memorial, which is the grain offering for jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹And he is to put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune to this bitter water that brings a curse. ²⁰But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority and have defiled yourself and lain carnally with a man other than your husband’— ²¹and the priest shall have the woman swear under the oath of the curse— ‘then may the LORD make you an attested curse among your people by making your thigh shrivel and your belly swell. ²²May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’

Then the woman is to say, ‘Amen, Amen.’

²³And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. ²⁴He is to have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and may cause her bitter suffering. ²⁵The priest shall take from her hand the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the LORD, and bring it to the altar. ²⁶Then the priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar; after that he is to have the woman drink the water.

²⁷When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, her thigh will shrivel, and she will become accursed among her people. ²⁸But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children.

²⁹This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, ³⁰or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he suspects his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the LORD, and the priest is to apply to her this entire law. ³¹The husband will be free from guilt, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”

The Nazirite Vow

¹And the LORD said to Moses, ²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, ³he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴All the days of his separation, he is not to eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.

⁵For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let the hair of his head grow long.

⁶Throughout the days of his separation to the LORD, he must not go near a dead body. ⁷Even if his father or mother or brother or sister should die, he is not to defile himself, because the symbol of consecration to his God is upon his head. ⁸Throughout the time of his separation, he is holy to the LORD.

⁹If someone suddenly dies in his presence and defiles his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing — the seventh day. ¹⁰On the eighth day he must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. ¹¹And the priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him, because he has sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. On that day he must consecrate his head again. ¹²He must rededicate his time of separation to the LORD and bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. But the preceding days shall not be counted, because his separation was defiled.

¹³Now this is the law of the Nazirite when his time of separation is complete: He must be brought to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, ¹⁴and he is to present an offering to the LORD of an unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, an unblemished year-old female lamb as a sin offering, and an unblemished ram as a peace offering — ¹⁵together with their grain offerings and drink offerings — and a basket of unleavened cakes made from fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers coated with oil.

¹⁶The priest is to present all these before the LORD and make the sin offering and the burnt offering. ¹⁷He shall also offer the ram as a peace offering to the LORD, along with the basket of unleavened bread. And the priest is to offer the accompanying grain offering and drink offering.

¹⁸Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head, take the hair, and put it on the fire under the peace offering. ¹⁹And the priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them into the hands of the Nazirite who has just shaved the hair of his consecration. ²⁰The priest shall then wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. This is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the wave offering and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.

²¹This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD for his separation, in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes, according to the law of his separation.”

Aaron’s Blessing

²²Then the LORD said to Moses, ²³“Tell Aaron and his sons:This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

²⁴‘May the LORD bless you

and keep you;

²⁵may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

²⁶may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you

and give you peace.’

²⁷So they shall put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

A Prayer for Deliverance

¹A Psalm of Asaph.

The nations, O God, have invaded Your inheritance;

they have defiled Your holy temple

and reduced Jerusalem to rubble.

²They have given the corpses of Your servants

as food to the birds of the air,

the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.

³They have poured out their blood like water

all around Jerusalem,

and there is no one to bury the dead.

⁴We have become a reproach to our neighbors,

a scorn and derision to those around us.

⁵How long, O LORD?

Will You be angry forever?

Will Your jealousy burn like fire?

⁶Pour out Your wrath on the nations

that do not acknowledge You,

on the kingdoms

that refuse to call on Your name,

⁷for they have devoured Jacob

and devastated his homeland.

⁸Do not hold past sins against us;

let Your compassion come quickly,

for we are brought low.

⁹Help us, O God of our salvation,

for the glory of Your name;

deliver us and atone for our sins,

for the sake of Your name.

¹⁰Why should the nations ask,

“Where is their God?”

Before our eyes, make known among the nations

Your vengeance for the bloodshed of Your servants.

¹¹May the groans of the captives reach You;

by the strength of Your arm preserve those condemned to death.

¹²Pay back into the laps of our neighbors

sevenfold the reproach they hurled at You, O Lord.

¹³Then we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture,

will thank You forever;

from generation to generation

we will declare Your praise.

A Greeting from the Elder

¹The elder,

To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth — and not I alone, but also all who know the truth — ²because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

³Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, will be with us in truth and love.

Walking in the Truth

⁴I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father has commanded us. ⁵And now I urge you, dear lady — not as a new commandment to you, but one we have had from the beginning — that we love one another. ⁶And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the very commandment you have heard from the beginning, that you must walk in love.

Beware of Deceivers

⁷For many deceivers have gone out into the world, refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded. ⁹Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him. ¹¹Whoever greets such a person shares in his evil deeds.

Conclusion

¹²I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come and speak with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

¹³The children of your elect sister send you greetings.