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The Test for Leprosy
13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “When a man has a swelling on the skin of his body, a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes the infection of [a]leprosy on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests. 3 The priest shall look at the diseased spot on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him [ceremonially] unclean. 4 If the bright spot is white on the skin of his body and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, the priest shall [b]isolate the person who has the infection for seven days. 5 The priest shall examine it on the seventh day, and if in his estimation the infection has not changed and has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days. 6 The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the infection has a more normal color and the spot has not spread on the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab; and he shall wash his clothes and be clean.
7 “But if the scab spreads farther on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his [ceremonial] cleansing, he shall show himself to the priest again. 8 The priest shall look, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then he shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy.
9 “When a leprous infection is on a person, he shall be brought to the priest. 10 The priest shall examine him, and if there is a white swelling on the skin and it has turned the hair white and there is new raw flesh in the swelling, 11 it is a chronic leprosy on the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not isolate him because he is [clearly] unclean. 12 But if the [suspected] leprosy breaks out farther on the skin, and it covers all of the skin of the one who has the outbreak—from his head to his foot—wherever the priest looks, 13 the priest shall examine him. If the [suspected] leprosy has covered his entire body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; it has all turned white, and he is clean. 14 But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. 15 The priest shall examine the raw flesh, and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it is leprosy. 16 But if the raw flesh turns again and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest, 17 and the priest shall examine him, and if the diseased part is changed to white, then the priest shall pronounce him who had the disease to be clean; he is clean.
18 “And when there is on the skin of the body [the scar of] a boil that is healed, 19 and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a bright spot, reddish white, then it shall be shown to the priest; 20 and the priest shall look, and if it looks deeper than the skin and the hair on it has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the disease of leprosy; it has broken out in the boil. 21 But if the priest examines it and finds no white hair in it and it is not deeper than the skin and is dull in color, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days. 22 If it spreads farther on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a disease. 23 But if the bright spot remains where it is and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
24 “Or if the body has on its skin a burn from fire and the new flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish white or white, 25 then the priest shall examine it, and if the hair in the bright spot has turned white, and it appears deeper than the skin, then leprosy has broken out in the burn. So the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the disease of leprosy. 26 But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the bright spot and it is not deeper than [the rest of] the skin but is dull in color, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days. 27 And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day; if it is spreading farther on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy. 28 But if the bright spot remains in its place and has not spread in the skin, but is dull in color, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar of the burn.
29 “When a man or woman has a disease on the head or in the beard (face), 30 the priest shall examine the diseased place; if it appears to be deeper than the skin, with yellow, thin hair in it, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a scale, it is leprosy of the head or beard. 31 But if the priest examines the spot infected by the scale, and it does not appear deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall isolate the person with the scaly infection for seven days. 32 On the seventh day the priest shall examine the diseased spot; if the scale has not spread and has no yellow hair in it, and the scale does not look deeper than the skin, 33 then he shall shave himself, but he shall not shave the scale; and the priest shall isolate the person with the scale for seven more days. 34 Then on the seventh day the priest shall look at the scale; if the scale has not spread on the skin and appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; he shall wash his clothes and be clean. 35 But if the scale spreads farther on the skin after his cleansing, 36 then the priest shall examine him, and if the scale has spread on the skin, the priest need not look for the yellowish hair; he is unclean. 37 If, in the priest’s estimation, the scale has remained [without spreading], and black hair has grown in it, the scale is healed; he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
38 “When a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the body, even white bright spots, 39 then the priest shall look, and if the bright spots on the skin of their bodies is a dull white, it is [only] a rash that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.
40 “If a man loses the hair on his head, he is bald, but he is clean. 41 And if he loses the hair on front of his head, he is bald on the forehead, but he is clean. 42 But if there is a reddish-white infection on the bald head or forehead, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or forehead. 43 Then the priest shall examine him, and if the diseased swelling is reddish-white on his bald head or forehead like the appearance of leprosy on the skin of the body, 44 he is a leprous man; he is unclean; the priest shall most certainly pronounce him unclean; his disease is on his head.
45 “As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered (disheveled), and he shall cover his mustache and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 He shall remain [ceremonially] unclean as long as the disease is on him; he is unclean. He shall live alone; he shall live outside the camp.
47 “When a garment has a mark of leprosy in it, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment,(A) 48 whether in woven or knitted material or in the warp (lengthwise strands) or woof (crosswise strands) of linen or of wool, or in a skin or on anything made of leather, 49 if the mark is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather or in the warp or woof or in any article made of leather, it is an infestation of leprosy and shall be shown to the priest. 50 The priest shall examine the mark and shall quarantine the article with the mark for seven days. 51 He shall examine the mark on the seventh day; if it has spread in the garment, whether in the warp or the woof, or in the leather, whatever the leather’s purpose, the mark is a malignant leprosy; it is unclean. 52 So he shall burn the garment, whether the warp or woof, in wool or linen, or on anything made of leather in which the mark occurs; for it is a malignant leprosy; it shall be burned in the fire.
53 “But if the priest sees that the mark has not spread in the garment, either in the warp or the woof, or on anything made of leather, 54 then the priest shall order that they wash the thing in which the mark occurs, and he shall quarantine it for seven more days. 55 The priest shall examine the article with the mark after it has been washed, and if the mark has not changed color, even though the mark has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire; it is a corroding mildew, whether on the top or on the front of it.
56 “If the priest looks and the mark has faded after it is washed, he shall tear it out of the garment, or the leather, or out of the warp or woof. 57 If it still appears in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or on anything made of leather, it is an outbreak; you shall burn the marked part in the fire. 58 The garment, whether the warp or the woof, or anything made of leather from which the mildew has departed after washing, shall then be washed a second time and it will be [ceremonially] clean.”
59 This is the law for a leprous disease in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp or woof, or on anything made of leather, to pronounce it clean or unclean.
Teaching at Nazareth
6 Jesus left there and came to His hometown [Nazareth]; and His disciples followed Him.(A) 2 When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many who listened to Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things [this knowledge and spiritual insight]? What is this wisdom [this confident understanding of the Scripture] that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 Is this not the carpenter, [a]the son of Mary, and the brother of [b]James and Joses and [c]Judas and Simon? Are His sisters not here with us?” And they were [deeply] offended by Him [and their disapproval blinded them to the fact that He was anointed by God as the Messiah]. 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor (respect) except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And He could not do a miracle there at all [because of their unbelief] except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 He wondered at their unbelief.
And He was going around in the villages teaching.
The Twelve Sent Out
7 And He called the twelve [disciples] and began to send them out [as His special messengers] two by two, and gave them authority and power over the unclean spirits. 8 He told them to take nothing for the journey except a mere walking stick—no bread, no [traveler’s] bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals; and [He told them] not to wear [d]two tunics. 10 And He told them, “Wherever you go into a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 Any place that does not welcome you or listen to you, when you leave there, [e]shake the dust off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them [breaking all ties with them because they rejected My message].”(B) 12 So they went out and preached that men should repent [that is, think differently, recognize sin, turn away from it, and live changed lives]. 13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many who were sick, and healing them.
John’s Fate Recalled
14 King Herod [Antipas] heard about this, for Jesus’ name and reputation had become well known. People were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15 But others were saying, “He is [f]Elijah!” And others were saying, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets [of old].” 16 But when Herod heard [of it], he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen [from the dead]!”
17 For Herod himself had sent [guards] and had John arrested and shackled in prison because of [g]Herodias, the wife of his [half-] brother Philip, because he (Herod) had married her.(C) 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful [under Mosaic Law] for you to have your brother’s wife.”(D) 19 Herodias had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she could not, 20 because Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he continually kept him safe. When he heard John [speak], he was very perplexed; but he enjoyed listening to him. 21 But an opportune time [finally] came [for Herodias]. Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his officials (nobles, courtiers) and [h]military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 Now [Salome] the daughter of Herodias came in and danced [for the men]. She pleased and beguiled Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the [i]girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” 23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give it to you; [j]up to half of my kingdom.”(E) 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And Herodias replied, “The head of John the Baptist!” 25 And she rushed back to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter!” 26 The king was deeply grieved, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests [who might have regarded him as weak], he was unwilling to [break his word and] refuse her. 27 So the king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring back John’s head. And he went and had John beheaded in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away John’s body and laid it in a tomb.
The Vanity of Life.
To the Chief Musician; for Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will guard my ways
That I may not sin with my tongue;
I will muzzle my mouth
While the wicked are in my presence.”
2
I was mute and silent [before my enemies],
I refrained even from good,
And my [a]distress grew worse.
3
My heart was hot within me.
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4
“Lord, let me know my [life’s] end
And [to appreciate] the extent of my days;
Let me know how frail I am [how transient is my stay here].
5
“Behold, You have made my days as [short as] hand widths,
And my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight.
Surely every man at his best is a mere breath [a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes]!(A) Selah.
6
“Surely every man walks around like a shadow [in a charade];
Surely they make an uproar for nothing;
Each one builds up riches, not knowing who will receive them.(B)
7
“And now, Lord, for what do I expectantly wait?
My hope [my confident expectation] is in You.
8
“Save me from all my transgressions;
Do not make me the scorn and reproach of the [self-righteous, arrogant] fool.
9
“I am mute, I do not open my mouth,
Because it is You who has done it.
10
“Remove Your plague from me;
I am wasting away because of the conflict and opposition of Your hand.
11
“With rebukes You discipline man for sin;
You consume like a moth what is precious to him;
Surely every man is a mere breath [a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes]. Selah.
12
“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and listen to my cry;
Do not be silent at my tears;
For I am Your temporary guest,
A sojourner like all my fathers.
13
“O look away from me, that I may smile and again know joy
Before I depart and am no more.”
10
He who [maliciously] winks the eye [of evil intent] causes trouble;
And the babbling fool [who is arrogant and thinks himself wise] will come to ruin.
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