Leviticus 24-25; Psalms 38 - Prayer Tents

Pure Oil and Holy Bread

24The LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H559 2"Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.H6680H1121H3478H3947H2134H8081H2132H3795H3974H5216H5927H8548 3This is the lampstand that stands in the Tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron must keep the lamps burning in the LORD's presence all night. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation.H2351H6532H5715H168H4150H175H6186H6153H1242H6440H3068H8548H2708H5769H1755 4Aaron and the priests must tend the lamps on the pure gold lampstand continually in the LORD's presence.H6186H5216H2889H4501H6440H3068H8548 5"You must bake twelve loaves of bread from choice flour, using four quarts of flour for each loaf.H3947H5560H644H6240H2471H8147H6241H259H2471 6Place the bread before the LORD on the pure gold table, and arrange the loaves in two rows, with six loaves in each row.H7760H8147H4634H8337H4635H2889H7979H6440H3068 7Put some pure frankincense near each row to serve as a representative offering, a special gift presented to the LORD.H5414H2134H3828H4635H3899H234H801H3068 8Every Sabbath day this bread must be laid out before the LORD. The bread is to be received from the people of Israel as a requirement of the eternal covenant.H7676H3117H6186H6440H3068H8548H1121H3478H5769H1285 9The loaves of bread will belong to Aaron and his descendants, who must eat them in a sacred place, for they are most holy. It is the permanent right of the priests to claim this portion of the special gifts presented to the LORD."H175H1121H398H6918H4725H6944H6944H801H3068H801H5769H2706

An Example of Just Punishment

10One day a man who had an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father came out of his tent and got into a fight with one of the Israelite men.H1121H3482H802H1121H376H4713H3318H8432H1121H3478H3481H1121H3482H376H3478H5327H4264 11During the fight, this son of an Israelite woman blasphemed the Name of the LORD with a curse. So the man was brought to Moses for judgment. His mother was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan.H3482H802H1121H5344H8034H7043H935H4872H517H8034H8019H1323H1704H4294H1835 12They kept the man in custody until the LORD's will in the matter should become clear to them.H3240H4929H6310H3068H6567 13Then the LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H559 14"Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and tell all those who heard the curse to lay their hands on his head. Then let the entire community stone him to death.H3318H7043H2351H4264H8085H5564H3027H7218H5712H7275 15Say to the people of Israel: Those who curse their God will be punished for their sin.H1696H1121H3478H559H376H3588H7043H430H5375H2399 16Anyone who blasphemes the Name of the LORD must be stoned to death by the whole community of Israel. Any native-born Israelite or foreigner among you who blasphemes the Name of the LORD must be put to death.H5344H8034H3068H4191H4191H5712H7275H7275H1616H249H5344H8034H4191 17"Anyone who takes another person's life must be put to death.H376H5221H5315H120H4191H4191 18"Anyone who kills another person's animal must pay for it in full—a live animal for the animal that was killed.H5221H5315H929H7999H5315H5315 19Anyone who injures another person must be dealt with according to the injury inflicted—H376H5414H3971H5997H6213H6213 20a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whatever anyone does to injure another person must be paid back in kind.H7667H7667H5869H5869H8127H8127H5414H3971H120H5414 21"Whoever kills an animal must pay for it in full, but whoever kills another person must be put to death.H5221H929H7999H5221H120H4191 22"This same standard applies both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. I am the LORD your God."H259H4941H1616H249H3068H430 23After Moses gave all these instructions to the Israelites, they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him to death. The Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses.H4872H1696H1121H3478H3318H7043H2351H4264H7275H68H1121H3478H6213H3068H6680H4872

The Sabbath Year

25While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the LORD said to him,H3068H1696H4872H2022H5514H559 2"Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you have entered the land I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath rest before the LORD every seventh year.H1696H1121H3478H559H935H776H5414H776H7673H7676H3068 3For six years you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops,H8337H8141H2232H7704H8337H8141H2168H3754H622H8393 4but during the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath year of complete rest. It is the LORD's Sabbath. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during that year.H7637H8141H7676H7677H776H7676H3068H2232H7704H2168H3754 5And don't store away the crops that grow on their own or gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. The land must have a year of complete rest.H5599H7105H7114H1219H6025H5139H8141H7677H776 6But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own during its Sabbath. This applies to you, your male and female servants, your hired workers, and the temporary residents who live with you.H7676H776H402H5650H519H7916H8453H1481 7Your livestock and the wild animals in your land will also be allowed to eat what the land produces.H929H2416H776H8393H398

The Year of Jubilee

8"In addition, you must count off seven Sabbath years, seven sets of seven years, adding up to forty-nine years in all.H5608H7651H7676H8141H7651H6471H7651H8141H3117H7651H7676H8141H705H8672H8141 9Then on the Day of Atonement in the fiftieth year, blow the ram's horn loud and long throughout the land.H7782H8643H5674H6218H7637H2320H3117H3725H7782H5674H776 10Set this year apart as holy, a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there. It will be a jubilee year for you, when each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors and return to your own clan.H6942H2572H8141H8141H7121H1865H776H3427H3104H7725H376H272H7725H376H4940 11This fiftieth year will be a jubilee for you. During that year you must not plant your fields or store away any of the crops that grow on their own, and don't gather the grapes from your unpruned vines.H3104H2572H8141H8141H2232H7114H5599H1219H5139 12It will be a jubilee year for you, and you must keep it holy. But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own.H3104H6944H398H8393H7704 13In the Year of Jubilee each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors.H8141H3104H7725H376H272 14"When you make an agreement with your neighbor to buy or sell property, you must not take advantage of each other.H4376H4465H5997H7069H5997H3027H3238H376H251 15When you buy land from your neighbor, the price you pay must be based on the number of years since the last jubilee. The seller must set the price by taking into account the number of years remaining until the next Year of Jubilee.H4557H8141H310H3104H7069H5997H4557H8141H8393H4376 16The more years until the next jubilee, the higher the price; the fewer years, the lower the price. After all, the person selling the land is actually selling you a certain number of harvests.H6310H7230H8141H7235H4736H6310H4591H8141H4591H4736H4557H8393H4376 17Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I am the LORD your God.H3238H376H5997H3372H430H3068H430 18"If you want to live securely in the land, follow my decrees and obey my regulations.H6213H2708H8104H4941H6213H3427H776H983 19Then the land will yield large crops, and you will eat your fill and live securely in it.H776H5414H6529H398H7648H3427H983 20But you might ask, 'What will we eat during the seventh year, since we are not allowed to plant or harvest crops that year?'H559H398H7637H8141H2232H622H8393 21Be assured that I will send my blessing for you in the sixth year, so the land will produce a crop large enough for three years.H6680H1293H8345H8141H6213H8393H7969H8141 22When you plant your fields in the eighth year, you will still be eating from the large crop of the sixth year. In fact, you will still be eating from that large crop when the new crop is harvested in the ninth year.H2232H8066H8141H398H3465H8393H8671H8141H8393H935H398H3465

Redemption of Property

23"The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me.H776H4376H6783H776H1616H8453 24"With every purchase of land you must grant the seller the right to buy it back.H776H272H5414H1353H776 25If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell some family land, then a close relative should buy it back for him.H251H4134H4376H272H7138H935H1350H1350H251H4465 26If there is no close relative to buy the land, but the person who sold it gets enough money to buy it back,H376H1350H3027H1767H5381H4672H1353 27he then has the right to redeem it from the one who bought it. The price of the land will be discounted according to the number of years until the next Year of Jubilee. In this way the original owner can then return to the land.H2803H8141H4465H7725H5736H376H4376H7725H272 28But if the original owner cannot afford to buy back the land, it will remain with the new owner until the next Year of Jubilee. In the jubilee year, the land must be returned to the original owners so they can return to their family land.H3027H1767H4672H7725H4465H3027H7069H8141H3104H3104H3318H7725H272 29"Anyone who sells a house inside a walled town has the right to buy it back for a full year after its sale. During that year, the seller retains the right to buy it back.H376H4376H4186H1004H2346H5892H1353H8552H8141H4465H3117H1353 30But if it is not bought back within a year, the sale of the house within the walled town cannot be reversed. It will become the permanent property of the buyer. It will not be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee.H1350H4390H8549H8141H1004H2346H5892H6965H6783H7069H1755H3318H3104 31But a house in a village—a settlement without fortified walls—will be treated like property in the countryside. Such a house may be bought back at any time, and it must be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee.H1004H2691H2346H5439H2803H7704H776H1353H3318H3104 32"The Levites always have the right to buy back a house they have sold within the towns allotted to them.H5892H3881H1004H5892H272H3881H1353H5769 33And any property that is sold by the Levites—all houses within the Levitical towns—must be returned in the Year of Jubilee. After all, the houses in the towns reserved for the Levites are the only property they own in all Israel.H1350H3881H1004H4465H5892H272H3318H3104H1004H5892H3881H272H8432H1121H3478 34The open pastureland around the Levitical towns may never be sold. It is their permanent possession.H7704H4054H5892H4376H5769H272

Redemption of the Poor and Enslaved

35"If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and cannot support himself, support him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident and allow him to live with you.H251H4134H4131H3027H2388H1616H8453H2416 36Do not charge interest or make a profit at his expense. Instead, show your fear of God by letting him live with you as your relative.H3947H5392H8636H3372H430H251H2416 37Remember, do not charge interest on money you lend him or make a profit on food you sell him.H5414H3701H5392H5414H400H4768 38I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.H3068H430H3318H776H4714H5414H776H3667H430 39"If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself to you, do not treat him as a slave.H251H4134H4376H5647H5656H5650 40Treat him instead as a hired worker or as a temporary resident who lives with you, and he will serve you only until the Year of Jubilee.H7916H8453H5647H8141H3104 41At that time he and his children will no longer be obligated to you, and they will return to their clans and go back to the land originally allotted to their ancestors.H3318H1121H7725H4940H272H1H7725 42The people of Israel are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, so they must never be sold as slaves.H5650H3318H776H4714H4376H4466H5650 43Show your fear of God by not treating them harshly.H7287H6531H3372H430 44"However, you may purchase male and female slaves from among the nations around you.H5650H519H1471H5439H7069H5650H519 45You may also purchase the children of temporary residents who live among you, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property,H1121H8453H1481H7069H4940H3205H776H272 46passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat them as slaves, but you must never treat your fellow Israelites this way.H5157H1121H310H3423H272H5647H5769H251H1121H3478H7287H376H251H6531 47"Suppose a foreigner or temporary resident becomes rich while living among you. If any of your fellow Israelites fall into poverty and are forced to sell themselves to such a foreigner or to a member of his family,H1616H8453H5381H3027H251H4134H4376H1616H8453H6133H1616H4940 48they still retain the right to be bought back, even after they have been purchased. They may be bought back by a brother,H310H4376H1353H259H251H1350 49an uncle, or a cousin. In fact, anyone from the extended family may buy them back. They may also redeem themselves if they have prospered.H1730H1730H1121H1350H7607H1320H4940H1350H5381H1350H3027 50They will negotiate the price of their freedom with the person who bought them. The price will be based on the number of years from the time they were sold until the next Year of Jubilee—whatever it would cost to hire a worker for that period of time.H2803H7069H8141H4376H8141H3104H3701H4465H4557H8141H3117H7916 51If many years still remain until the jubilee, they will repay the proper proportion of what they received when they sold themselves.H7227H8141H6310H7725H1353H3701H4736 52If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, they will repay a small amount for their redemption.H7604H4592H8141H8141H3104H2803H6310H8141H7725H1353 53The foreigner must treat them as workers hired on a yearly basis. You must not allow a foreigner to treat any of your fellow Israelites harshly.H8141H8141H7916H7287H6531H5869 54If any Israelites have not been bought back by the time the Year of Jubilee arrives, they and their children must be set free at that time.H1350H3318H8141H3104H1121 55For the people of Israel belong to me. They are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.H1121H3478H5650H5650H3318H776H4714H3068H430

38[A psalm of David, asking God to remember him.] O LORD, don't rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage!H4210H1732H2142H3068H3198H7110H3256H2534 2Your arrows have struck deep, and your blows are crushing me.H2671H5181H3027H5181 3Because of your anger, my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins.H4974H1320H6440H2195H7965H6106H6440H2403 4My guilt overwhelms me—it is a burden too heavy to bear.H5771H5674H7218H3515H4853H3513 5My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.H2250H887H4743H6440H200 6I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief.H5753H7817H3966H1980H6937H3117 7A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken.H3689H4390H7033H4974H1320 8I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart.H6313H3966H1794H7580H5100H3820 9You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh.H136H8378H585H5641 10My heart beats wildly, my strength fails, and I am going blind.H3820H5503H3581H5800H216H5869H1992H369 11My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. Even my own family stands at a distance.H157H7453H5975H5048H5061H7138H5975H7350 12Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps to kill me. Those who wish me harm make plans to ruin me. All day long they plan their treachery.H1245H5315H5367H1875H7451H1696H1942H1897H4820H3117 13But I am deaf to all their threats. I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.H2795H8085H483H6605H6310 14I choose to hear nothing, and I make no reply.H376H8085H6310H8433 15For I am waiting for you, O LORD. You must answer for me, O Lord my God.H3068H3176H6030H136H430 16I prayed, "Don't let my enemies gloat over me or rejoice at my downfall."H559H8055H7272H4131H1431 17I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain.H3559H6761H4341H8548 18But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done.H5046H5771H1672H2403 19I have many aggressive enemies; they hate me without reason.H341H2416H6105H8130H8267H7231 20They repay me evil for good and oppose me for pursuing good.H7999H7451H2896H7853H7291H2896 21Do not abandon me, O LORD. Do not stand at a distance, my God.H5800H3068H430H7368 22Come quickly to help me, O Lord my savior.H2363H5833H136H8668