Clean and Unclean Animals

¹And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, ²“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. ³Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. ⁴Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. ⁵And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. ⁶And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. ⁷And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. ⁸You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

⁹“These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. ¹⁰But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is detestable to you. ¹¹You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. ¹²Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

¹³“And these you shall detest among the birds;1 they shall not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle,2 the bearded vulture, the black vulture, ¹⁴the kite, the falcon of any kind, ¹⁵every raven of any kind, ¹⁶the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind, ¹⁷the little owl, the cormorant, the short-eared owl, ¹⁸the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture, ¹⁹the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.

²⁰“All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you. ²¹Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground. ²²Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. ²³But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.

²⁴“And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, ²⁵and whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. ²⁶Every animal that parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. ²⁷And all that walk on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, ²⁸and he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.

²⁹“And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, the mouse, the great lizard of any kind, ³⁰the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. ³¹These are unclean to you among all that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. ³²And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose. It must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean. ³³And if any of them falls into any earthenware vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it. ³⁴Any food in it that could be eaten, on which water comes, shall be unclean. And all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. ³⁵And everything on which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean. Whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean and shall remain unclean for you. ³⁶Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, but whoever touches a carcass in them shall be unclean. ³⁷And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed grain that is to be sown, it is clean, ³⁸but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.

³⁹“And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, ⁴⁰and whoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

⁴¹“Every swarming thing that swarms on the ground is detestable; it shall not be eaten. ⁴²Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are detestable. ⁴³You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. ⁴⁴For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. ⁴⁵For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

⁴⁶This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground, ⁴⁷to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.

Purification After Childbirth

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. ³And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. ⁴Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed. ⁵But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days.

⁶“And when the days of her purifying 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 a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, ⁷and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her. Then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. ⁸And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons,1 one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.”

How Long, O Lord?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

²How long must I take counsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

³Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;

light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

⁴lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”

lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

⁵But I have trusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

⁶I will sing to the Lord,

because he has dealt bountifully with me.

The Fool Says, There Is No God

To the choirmaster. Of David.

¹The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,

there is none who does good.

²The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,

to see if there are any who understand,1

who seek after God.

³They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.

⁴Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers

who eat up my people as they eat bread

and do not call upon the Lord?

⁵There they are in great terror,

for God is with the generation of the righteous.

⁶You would shame the plans of the poor,

but2 the Lord is his refuge.

⁷Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

¹Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,

so honor is not fitting for a fool.

²Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,

a curse that is causeless does not alight.

³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,

and a rod for the back of fools.

⁴Answer not a fool according to his folly,

lest you be like him yourself.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly,

lest he be wise in his own eyes.

⁶Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool

cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.

⁷Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless,

is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

⁸Like one who binds the stone in the sling

is one who gives honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard

is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

¹⁰Like an archer who wounds everyone

is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.1

¹¹Like a dog that returns to his vomit

is a fool who repeats his folly.

¹²Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!

There is a lion in the streets!”

¹⁴As a door turns on its hinges,

so does a sluggard on his bed.

¹⁵The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;

it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes

than seven men who can answer sensibly.

¹⁷Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own

is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.

¹⁸Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death

¹⁹is the man who deceives his neighbor

and says, “I am only joking!”

²⁰For lack of wood the fire goes out,

and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.

²¹As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,

so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

²²The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;

they go down into the inner parts of the body.

²³Like the glaze2 covering an earthen vessel

are fervent lips with an evil heart.

²⁴Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips

and harbors deceit in his heart;

²⁵when he speaks graciously, believe him not,

for there are seven abominations in his heart;

²⁶though his hatred be covered with deception,

his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,

and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.

²⁸A lying tongue hates its victims,

and a flattering mouth works ruin.

The Day of the Lord

¹Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers,1 you have no need to have anything written to you. ²For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. ⁵For you are all children2 of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. ⁶So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. ⁷For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. ⁸But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. ¹¹Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Final Instructions and Benediction

¹²We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ¹³and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. ¹⁴And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,3 encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. ¹⁵See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. ¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰Do not despise prophecies, ²¹but test everything; hold fast what is good. ²²Abstain from every form of evil.

²³Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

²⁵Brothers, pray for us.

²⁶Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

²⁷I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

²⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.