1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt:
2 “The Israelites are to observe the Passover at its appointed time. 3 In the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you are to observe it at its appointed time; you must keep it in accordance with all its statutes and all its customs.” 4 So Moses instructed the Israelites to observe the Passover. 5 And they observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight in the desert of Sinai; in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did.
6 It happened that some men who were ceremonially defiled by the dead body of a man could not keep the Passover on that day, so they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day. 7 And those men said to Moses, “We are ceremonially defiled by the dead body of a man; why are we kept back from offering the Lord’s offering at its appointed time among the Israelites?” 8 So Moses said to them, “Remain here and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”
9 The Lord spoke to Moses: 10 “Tell the Israelites, ‘If any of you or of your posterity become ceremonially defiled by touching a dead body, or are on a journey far away, then he may observe the Passover to the Lord. 11 They may observe it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight; they are to eat it with bread made without yeast and with bitter herbs. 12 They must not leave any of it until morning, nor break any of its bones; they must observe it in accordance with every statute of the Passover.
13 “‘But the man who is ceremonially clean, and was not on a journey, and fails to keep the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people. Because he did not bring the Lord’s offering at its appointed time, that man must bear his sin. 14 If a resident foreigner lives among you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, he must do so according to the statute of the Passover, and according to its custom. You must have the same statute for the resident foreigner and for the one who was born in the land.’”
15 On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle—the tent of the testimony—and from evening until morning there was a fiery appearance over the tabernacle. 16 This is the way it used to be continually: The cloud would cover it by day, and there was a fiery appearance by night. 17 Whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the Israelites would begin their journey; and in whatever place the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp. 18 At the commandment of the Lord the Israelites would begin their journey, and at the commandment of the Lord they would make camp; as long as the cloud remained settled over the tabernacle they would camp. 19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle many days, then the Israelites obeyed the instructions of the Lord and did not journey.
20 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a number of days, they remained camped according to the Lord’s commandment, and according to the Lord’s commandment they would journey. 21 And when the cloud remained only from evening until morning, when the cloud was taken up the following morning, then they traveled on. Whether by day or by night, when the cloud was taken up they traveled. 22 Whether it was for two days, or a month, or a year that the cloud prolonged its stay over the tabernacle, the Israelites remained camped without traveling; but when it was taken up, they traveled on. 23 At the commandment of the Lord they camped, and at the commandment of the Lord they traveled on; they kept the instructions of the Lord according to the commandment of the Lord, by the authority of Moses.
1 My heart is stirred by a beautiful song.
I say, “I have composed this special song for the king;
my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.”
2 You are the most handsome of all men.
You speak in an impressive and fitting manner.
For this reason God grants you continual blessings.
3 Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior.
Appear in your majestic splendor.
4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious.
Ride forth for the sake of what is right,
on behalf of justice.
Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts.
5 Your arrows are sharp
and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
Nations fall at your feet.
6 Your throne, O God, is permanent.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
7 You love justice and hate evil.
For this reason God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of joy, elevating you above your companions.
8 All your garments are perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From the luxurious palaces comes the music of stringed instruments that makes you happy.
9 Princesses are among your honored women.
Your bride stands at your right hand, wearing jewelry made with gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, O princess.
Observe and pay attention!
Forget your homeland and your family.
11 Then the king will be attracted by your beauty.
After all, he is your master. Submit to him.
12 Rich people from Tyre
will seek your favor by bringing a gift.
13 The princess looks absolutely magnificent,
decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold.
14 In embroidered robes she is escorted to the king.
Her attendants, the maidens of honor who follow her,
are led before you.
15 They are bubbling with joy as they walk in procession
and enter the royal palace.
16 Your sons will carry on the dynasty of your ancestors;
you will make them princes throughout the land.
17 I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years,
then the nations will praise you forever.
1 (7:2) How beautiful are your sandaled feet,
O nobleman’s daughter!
The curves of your thighs are like jewels,
the work of the hands of a master craftsman.
2 Your navel is a round mixing bowl—
may it never lack mixed wine!
Your belly is a mound of wheat,
encircled by lilies.
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like a tower made of ivory.
Your eyes are the pools in Heshbon
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
overlooking Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.
The locks of your hair are like royal tapestries—
the king is held captive in its tresses!
6 How beautiful you are! How lovely,
O love, with your delights!
7 Your stature is like a palm tree,
and your breasts are like clusters of grapes.
8 I want to climb the palm tree,
and take hold of its fruit stalks.
May your breasts be like the clusters of grapes,
and may the fragrance of your breath be like apples!
9 May your mouth be like the best wine,
flowing smoothly for my beloved,
gliding gently over our lips as we sleep together.
10 I am my beloved’s,
and he desires me!
11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside;
let us spend the night in the villages.
12 Let us rise early to go to the vineyards,
to see if the vines have budded,
to see if their blossoms have opened,
if the pomegranates are in bloom—
there I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes send out their fragrance;
over our door is every delicacy,
both new and old, which I have stored up for you, my lover.
1 Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him. 2 To him also Abraham apportioned a tithe of everything. His name first means king of righteousness, then king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life but is like the son of God, and he remains a priest for all time. 4 But see how great he must be, if Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe of his plunder. 5 And those of the sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have authorization according to the law to collect a tithe from the people, that is, from their fellow countrymen, although they too are descendants of Abraham. 6 But Melchizedek who does not share their ancestry collected a tithe from Abraham and blessed the one who possessed the promise. 7 Now without dispute the inferior is blessed by the superior, 8 and in one case tithes are received by mortal men, while in the other by him who is affirmed to be alive. 9 And it could be said that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid a tithe through Abraham. 10 For he was still in his ancestor Abraham’s loins when Melchizedek met him.
11 So if perfection had in fact been possible through the Levitical priesthood—for on that basis the people received the law—what further need would there have been for another priest to arise, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in Aaron’s order? 12 For when the priesthood changes, a change in the law must come as well. 13 Yet the one these things are spoken about belongs to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever officiated at the altar. 14 For it is clear that our Lord is descended from Judah, yet Moses said nothing about priests in connection with that tribe. 15 And this is even clearer if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest not by a legal regulation about physical descent but by the power of an indestructible life. 17 For here is the testimony about him: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” 18 On the one hand a former command is set aside because it is weak and useless, 19 for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. 20 And since this was not done without a sworn affirmation—for the others have become priests without a sworn affirmation, 21 but Jesus did so with a sworn affirmation by the one who said to him, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever’”— 22 accordingly Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. 23 And the others who became priests were numerous, because death prevented them from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently since he lives forever. 25 So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 26 For it is indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need to do every day what those priests do, to offer sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people, since he did this in offering himself once for all. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men subject to weakness, but the word of solemn affirmation that came after the law appoints a son made perfect forever.
