Laws About Bodily Discharges

¹The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any man has a discharge from his body,1 his discharge is unclean. ³And this is the law of his uncleanness for a discharge: whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is blocked up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness. ⁴Every bed on which the one with the discharge lies shall be unclean, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. ⁵And anyone who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. ⁶And whoever sits on anything on which the one with the discharge has sat shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. ⁷And whoever touches the body of the one with the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. ⁸And if the one with the discharge spits on someone who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. ⁹And any saddle on which the one with the discharge rides shall be unclean. ¹⁰And whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries such things shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. ¹¹Anyone whom the one with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. ¹²And an earthenware vessel that the one with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.

¹³“And when the one with a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes. And he shall bathe his body in fresh water and shall be clean. ¹⁴And on the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and come before the Lord to the entrance of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest. ¹⁵And the priest shall use them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord for his discharge.

¹⁶“If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until the evening. ¹⁷And every garment and every skin on which the semen comes shall be washed with water and be unclean until the evening. ¹⁸If a man lies with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them shall bathe themselves in water and be unclean until the evening.

¹⁹“When a woman has a discharge, and the discharge in her body is blood, she shall be in her menstrual impurity for seven days, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening. ²⁰And everything on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean. Everything also on which she sits shall be unclean. ²¹And whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. ²²And whoever touches anything on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. ²³Whether it is the bed or anything on which she sits, when he touches it he shall be unclean until the evening. ²⁴And if any man lies with her and her menstrual impurity comes upon him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

²⁵“If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness. As in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean. ²⁶Every bed on which she lies, all the days of her discharge, shall be to her as the bed of her impurity. And everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her menstrual impurity. ²⁷And whoever touches these things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. ²⁸But if she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. ²⁹And on the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting. ³⁰And the priest shall use one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for her unclean discharge.

³¹“Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.”

³²This is the law for him who has a discharge and for him who has an emission of semen, becoming unclean thereby; ³³also for her who is unwell with her menstrual impurity, that is, for anyone, male or female, who has a discharge, and for the man who lies with a woman who is unclean.

The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

¹I love you, O Lord, my strength.

²The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

³I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death encompassed me;

the torrents of destruction assailed me;1

⁵the cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

⁷Then the earth reeled and rocked;

the foundations also of the mountains trembled

and quaked, because he was angry.

⁸Smoke went up from his nostrils,2

and devouring fire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him.

⁹He bowed the heavens and came down;

thick darkness was under his feet.

¹⁰He rode on a cherub and flew;

he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,

thick clouds dark with water.

¹²Out of the brightness before him

hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

¹³The Lord also thundered in the heavens,

and the Most High uttered his voice,

hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;

he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.

¹⁵Then the channels of the sea were seen,

and the foundations of the world were laid bare

at your rebuke, O Lord,

at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

¹⁶He sent from on high, he took me;

he drew me out of many waters.

¹⁷He rescued me from my strong enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the Lord was my support.

¹⁹He brought me out into a broad place;

he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

²⁰The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;

according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the Lord,

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all his rules3 were before me,

and his statutes I did not put away from me.

²³I was blameless before him,

and I kept myself from my guilt.

²⁴So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

²⁵With the merciful you show yourself merciful;

with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

²⁶with the purified you show yourself pure;

and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

²⁷For you save a humble people,

but the haughty eyes you bring down.

²⁸For it is you who light my lamp;

the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

²⁹For by you I can run against a troop,

and by my God I can leap over a wall.

³⁰This God—his way is perfect;4

the word of the Lord proves true;

he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

³¹For who is God, but the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God?—

³²the God who equipped me with strength

and made my way blameless.

³³He made my feet like the feet of a deer

and set me secure on the heights.

³⁴He trains my hands for war,

so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have given me the shield of your salvation,

and your right hand supported me,

and your gentleness made me great.

³⁶You gave a wide place for my steps under me,

and my feet did not slip.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

and did not turn back till they were consumed.

³⁸I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;

they fell under my feet.

³⁹For you equipped me with strength for the battle;

you made those who rise against me sink under me.

⁴⁰You made my enemies turn their backs to me,5

and those who hated me I destroyed.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was none to save;

they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

⁴²I beat them fine as dust before the wind;

I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

⁴³You delivered me from strife with the people;

you made me the head of the nations;

people whom I had not known served me.

⁴⁴As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;

foreigners came cringing to me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lost heart

and came trembling out of their fortresses.

⁴⁶The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,

and exalted be the God of my salvation—

⁴⁷the God who gave me vengeance

and subdued peoples under me,

⁴⁸who delivered me from my enemies;

yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;

you rescued me from the man of violence.

⁴⁹For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,

and sing to your name.

⁵⁰Great salvation he brings to his king,

and shows steadfast love to his anointed,

to David and his offspring forever.

¹He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,

will suddenly be broken beyond healing.

²When the righteous increase, the people rejoice,

but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

³He who loves wisdom makes his father glad,

but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

⁴By justice a king builds up the land,

but he who exacts gifts1 tears it down.

⁵A man who flatters his neighbor

spreads a net for his feet.

⁶An evil man is ensnared in his transgression,

but a righteous man sings and rejoices.

⁷A righteous man knows the rights of the poor;

a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.

⁸Scoffers set a city aflame,

but the wise turn away wrath.

⁹If a wise man has an argument with a fool,

the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.

¹⁰Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless

and seek the life of the upright.2

¹¹A fool gives full vent to his spirit,

but a wise man quietly holds it back.

¹²If a ruler listens to falsehood,

all his officials will be wicked.

¹³The poor man and the oppressor meet together;

the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.

¹⁴If a king faithfully judges the poor,

his throne will be established forever.

¹⁵The rod and reproof give wisdom,

but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

¹⁶When the wicked increase, transgression increases,

but the righteous will look upon their downfall.

¹⁷Discipline your son, and he will give you rest;

he will give delight to your heart.

¹⁸Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,3

but blessed is he who keeps the law.

¹⁹By mere words a servant is not disciplined,

for though he understands, he will not respond.

²⁰Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

²¹Whoever pampers his servant from childhood

will in the end find him his heir.4

²²A man of wrath stirs up strife,

and one given to anger causes much transgression.

²³One's pride will bring him low,

but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.

²⁴The partner of a thief hates his own life;

he hears the curse, but discloses nothing.

²⁵The fear of man lays a snare,

but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

²⁶Many seek the face of a ruler,

but it is from the Lord that a man gets justice.

²⁷An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous,

but one whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked.

Pray for Us

¹Finally, brothers,1 pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored,2 as happened among you, ²and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. ³But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.3 ⁴And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. ⁵May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Warning Against Idleness

⁶Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. ⁷For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. ⁹It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. ¹⁰For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. ¹¹For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. ¹²Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.4

¹³As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. ¹⁴If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

Benediction

¹⁶Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.

¹⁷I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. ¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.