Unlawful Sexual Relations

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God.

³You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.

⁴You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God.

⁵Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them.I am the LORD.

⁶None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations.I am the LORD.

⁷You must not expose the nakedness of your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her.

⁸You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.

⁹You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.

¹⁰You must not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for that would shame your family.

¹¹You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

¹²You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.

¹³You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s close relative.

¹⁴You must not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations with her; she is your aunt.

¹⁵You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sexual relations with her.

¹⁶You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would shame your brother.

¹⁷You must not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sexual relations with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.

¹⁸You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.

¹⁹You must not approach a woman to have sexual relations with her during her menstrual period.

²⁰You must not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife and thus defile yourself with her.

²¹You must not give any of your children to be sacrificedto Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

²²You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.

²³You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.

²⁴Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves.

²⁵Even the land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.

²⁶But you are to keep My statutes and ordinances, and you must not commit any of these abominations—neither your native-born nor the foreigner who lives among you.

²⁷For the men who were in the land before you committed all these abominations, and the land has become defiled.

²⁸So if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it spewed out the nations before you.

²⁹Therefore anyone who commits any of these abominations must be cut off from among his people.

³⁰You must keep My charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.”

Setting Up the Tabernacle

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

²“On the first day of the first month you are to set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting.

³Put the ark of the Testimonyin it and screen off the ark with the veil.

⁴Then bring in the table and set out its arrangement; bring in the lampstand as well, and set up its lamps.

⁵Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony, and hang the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.

⁶Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting.

⁷And place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

⁸Set up the surrounding courtyard and hang the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard.

⁹Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it along with all its furnishings, and it shall be holy.

¹⁰Anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it shall be most holy.

¹¹Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them.

¹²Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.

¹³And you are to clothe Aaron with the holy garments, anoint him, and consecrate him, so that he may serve Me as a priest.

¹⁴Bring his sons forward and clothe them with tunics.

¹⁵Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may also serve Me as priests. Their anointing will qualify them for a permanent priesthood throughout their generations.”

¹⁶Moses did everything just as the LORD had commanded him.

¹⁷So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year.

¹⁸When Moses set up the tabernacle, he laid its bases, positioned its frames, inserted its crossbars, and set up its posts.

¹⁹Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁰Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark.

²¹Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle, put up the veil for the screen, and shielded off the ark of the Testimony, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²²Moses placed the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil.

²³He arranged the bread on it before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁴He also placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle

²⁵and set up the lamps before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁶Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the veil,

²⁷and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁸Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.

²⁹He placed the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the LORD had commanded him.

³⁰He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing;

³¹and from it Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and feet.

³²They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

³³And Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar, and he hung the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.

The Cloud and the Glory

³⁴Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

³⁵Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

³⁶Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out through all the stages of their journey.

³⁷If the cloud was not lifted, they would not set out until the day it was taken up.

³⁸For the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel through all their journeys.

Punishments for Disobedience

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

²“Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him.

³And I will set My face against that man and cut him off from his people, because by giving his offspring to Molech, he has defiled My sanctuary and profaned My holy name.

⁴And if the people of the land ever hide their eyes and fail to put to death the man who gives one of his children to Molech,

⁵then I will set My face against that man and his family and cut off from among their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves with Molech.

⁶Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.

⁷Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.

⁸And you shall keep My statutes and practice them. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

⁹If anyone curseshis father or mother, he must be put to death.He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.

Punishments for Sexual Immorality

¹⁰If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.

¹¹If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

¹²If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both must surely be put to death. They have acted perversely; their blood is upon them.

¹³If a man lies with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

¹⁴If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that there will be no depravity among you.

¹⁵If a man lies carnally with an animal, he must be put to death. And you are also to kill the animal.

¹⁶If a woman approaches any animal to mate with it, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

¹⁷If a man marries his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, and they have sexual relations,it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered the nakedness of his sister; he shall bear his iniquity.

¹⁸If a man lies with a menstruating woman and has sexual relations with her,he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has uncovered the source of her blood. Both of them must be cut off from among their people.

¹⁹You must not have sexual relations with the sister of your mother or your father, for it is exposing one’s own kin; both shall bear their iniquity.

²⁰If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered the nakedness of his uncle. They will bear their sin; they shall die childless.

²¹If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. He has uncovered the nakedness of his brother; they shall be childless.

Distinguish between Clean and Unclean

²²You are therefore to keep all My statutes and ordinances, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out.

²³You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.

²⁴But I have told you that you will inherit their land, since I will give it to you as an inheritance—a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the peoples.

²⁵You are therefore to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and birds. Do not become contaminated by any animal or bird, or by anything that crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you.

²⁶You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.

²⁷A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’”

Wine Is a Mocker

¹Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler,and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

²The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion;whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.

³It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute,but any fool will quarrel.

⁴The slacker does not plow in season;at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.

⁵The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters,but a man of understanding draws them out.

⁶Many a man proclaims his loving devotion,but who can find a trustworthy man?

⁷The righteous man walks with integrity;blessed are his children after him.

⁸A king who sits on a throne to judgesifts out all evil with his eyes.

⁹Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure;I am cleansed from my sin”?

¹⁰Differing weights and unequal measures—both are detestable to the LORD.

¹¹Even a young man is known by his actions—whether his conduct is pure and upright.

¹²Ears that hear and eyes that see—the LORD has made them both.

¹³Do not love sleep, or you will grow poor;open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food.

¹⁴“Worthless, worthless!” says the buyer,but on the way out, he gloats.

¹⁵There is an abundance of gold and rubies,but lips of knowledge are a rare treasure.

¹⁶Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger;get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

¹⁷Food gained by fraud is sweet to a man,but later his mouth is full of gravel.

¹⁸Set plans by consultation,and wage war under sound guidance.

¹⁹He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip;avoid the one who babbleswith his lips.

²⁰Whoever curses his father or mother,his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.

²¹An inheritance gained quicklywill not be blessed in the end.

²²Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!”Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.

²³Unequal weights are detestable to the LORD,and dishonest scales are no good.

²⁴A man’s steps are from the LORD,so how can anyone understand his own way?

²⁵It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly,only later to reconsider his vows.

²⁶A wise king separates out the wickedand drives the threshing wheel over them.

²⁷The spiritof a man is the lamp of the LORD,searching out his inmost being.

²⁸Loving devotion and faithfulness preserve a king;by these he maintains his throne.

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength,and gray hair is the splendor of the old.

³⁰Lashes and wounds scour evil,and beatings cleanse the inmost parts.