Friday, 19 April

1.   And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2.   "Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. 3.   "You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell." 4.   And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did. 5.   Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6.   "Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the LORD, and that person is guilty, 7.   ‘then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one–fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. 8.   ‘But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the LORD for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him. 9.   ‘Every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. 10.   ‘And every man’s holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be his.’" 11.   And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12.   "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him, 13.   ‘and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and there was no witness against her, nor was she caught–– 14.   ‘if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself–– 15.   ‘then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall bring the offering required for her, one–tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity to remembrance. 16.   ‘And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD. 17.   ‘The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18.   ‘Then the priest shall stand the woman before the LORD, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse. 19.   ‘And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, "If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority , be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. 20.   "But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority , and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has lain with you" –– 21.   ‘then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman––"the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD makes your thigh rot and your belly swell; 22.   "and may this water that causes the curse go into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot." Then the woman shall say, "Amen, so be it." 23.   ‘Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water. 24.   ‘And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to become bitter. 25.   ‘Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, shall wave the offering before the LORD, and bring it to the altar; 26.   ‘and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water. 27.   ‘When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people. 28.   ‘But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children. 29.   ‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s authority , goes astray and defiles herself, 30.   ‘or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her. 31.   ‘Then the man shall be free from iniquity, but that woman shall bear her guilt.’"

1.   Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, Praise the name of the LORD! 2.   Blessed be the name of the LORD From this time forth and forevermore! 3.   From the rising of the sun to its going down The LORD’S name is to be praised. 4.   The LORD is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens. 5.   Who is like the LORD our God, Who dwells on high, 6.   Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in the heavens and in the earth? 7.   He raises the poor out of the dust, And lifts the needy out of the ash heap, 8.   That He may seat him with princes––With the princes of His people. 9.   He grants the barren woman a home, Like a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!

1.   When Israel went out of Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people of strange language, 2.   Judah became His sanctuary, And Israel His dominion. 3.   The sea saw it and fled; Jordan turned back. 4.   The mountains skipped like rams, The little hills like lambs. 5.   What ails you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan, that you turned back? 6.   O mountains, that you skipped like rams? O little hills, like lambs? 7.   Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob, 8.   Who turned the rock into a pool of water, The flint into a fountain of waters.

1.   Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth. 2.   Why should the Gentiles say, "So where is their God?" 3.   But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. 4.   Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. 5.   They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; 6.   They have ears, but they do not hear; Noses they have, but they do not smell; 7.   They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat. 8.   Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them. 9.   O Israel, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. 10.   O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. 11.   You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. 12.   The LORD has been mindful of us ; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. 13.   He will bless those who fear the LORD, Both small and great. 14.   May the LORD give you increase more and more, You and your children. 15.   May you be blessed by the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. 16.   The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S; But the earth He has given to the children of men. 17.   The dead do not praise the LORD, Nor any who go down into silence. 18.   But we will bless the LORD From this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!

1.   Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2.   For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3.   Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4.   Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. 5.   One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike . Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6.   He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it . He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7.   For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8.   For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9.   For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10.   But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11.   For it is written: " As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." 12.   So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13.   Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. 14.   I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15.   Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16.   Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17.   for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18.   For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19.   Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20.   Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21.   It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. 22.   Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23.   But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.