1 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, namely, the vow of a Nazirite, to live as a Nazirite for the Lord, 3 he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall consume no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. 4 All the days of his consecration he shall not eat anything that is produced from the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin.
5 ‘All the days of his vow of consecration no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days are fulfilled which he lives as a Nazirite for the Lord; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long.
6 ‘All the days of his life as a Nazirite for the Lord he shall not come up to a dead person. 7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for his sister, when they die, because his consecration to God is on his head. 8 All the days of his consecration he is holy to the Lord.
9 ‘But if someone dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head of hair, then he shall shave his head on the day when he becomes clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day. 10 Then on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young doves to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting. 11 And the priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him regarding his sin because of the dead person. And on that same day he shall consecrate his head, 12 and shall live his days of consecration as a Nazirite for the Lord, and shall bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering; but the preceding days will not count, because his consecration was defiled.
13 ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the days of his consecration are fulfilled: he shall bring his offering to the entrance of the tent of meeting. 14 And he shall present his offering to the Lord: one male lamb a year old without defect as a burnt offering, one ewe lamb a year old without defect as a sin offering, one ram without defect as a peace offering, 15 and a basket of unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers spread with oil, along with their grain offering and their drink offering. 16 Then the priest shall present them before the Lord and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering. 17 He shall also offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall also offer its grain offering and its drink offering. 18 The Nazirite shall then shave his consecrated head of hair at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and take the consecrated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings. 19 And the priest shall take the ram’s shoulder when it has been boiled, and one unleavened loaf from the basket and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated hair. 20 Then the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. It is holy for the priest, together with the breast offered as a wave offering, and the thigh offered as a contribution; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.’
21 “This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord according to his consecration, in addition to what else he can afford; corresponding to his vow which he makes, so he shall do according to the law of his consecration.”
22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘In this way you shall bless the sons of Israel. You are to say to them:
24 The Lord bless you, and keep you;
25 The Lord cause His face to shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord lift up His face to you,
And give you peace.’
27 So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and then I will bless them.”
1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He reached down to me and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud;
And He set my feet on a rock, making my footsteps firm.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.
4 How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who become involved in falsehood.
5 Many, Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is no one to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.
6 You have not desired sacrifice and meal offering;
You have opened my ears;
You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
It is written of me in the scroll of the book.
8 I delight to do Your will, my God;
Your Law is within my heart.”
9 I have proclaimed good news of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips,
Lord, You know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your mercy and Your truth from the great congregation.
11 You, Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
Your mercy and Your truth will continually watch over me.
12 For evils beyond number have surrounded me;
My guilty deeds have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has failed me.
13 Be pleased, Lord, to rescue me;
Hurry, Lord, to help me.
14 May those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my life to destroy it;
May those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight in my hurt.
15 May those be appalled because of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
May those who love Your salvation continually say,
“The Lord be exalted!”
17 But I am afflicted and needy;
May the Lord be mindful of me.
You are my help and my savior;
Do not delay, my God.
1 Blessed is one who considers the helpless;
The Lord will save him on a day of trouble.
2 The Lord will protect him and keep him alive,
And he will be called blessed upon the earth;
And do not turn him over to the desire of his enemies.
3 The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed;
In his illness, You restore him to health.
4 As for me, I said, “Lord, be gracious to me;
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
5 My enemies speak evil against me,
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 And when he comes to see me, he speaks empty words;
His heart gathers wickedness to itself;
When he goes outside, he tells it.
7 All who hate me whisper together against me;
They plot my harm against me, saying,
8 “A wicked thing is poured out upon him,
So that when he lies down, he will not get up again.”
9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread,
Has lifted up his heel against me.
10 But You, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up,
That I may repay them.
11 By this I know that You are pleased with me,
Because my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.
12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,
And You place me in Your presence forever.
13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
1 “How beautiful you are, my darling,
How beautiful you are!
Your eyes are like doves behind your veil;
Your hair is like a flock of goats
That have descended from Mount Gilead.
2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
Which have come up from their watering place,
All of which bear twins,
And not one among them has lost her young.
3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
And your mouth is beautiful.
Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate
Behind your veil.
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built with layers of stones
On which are hung a thousand shields,
All the round shields of the warriors.
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle
That graze among the lilies.
6 Until the cool of the day
When the shadows flee,
I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.
7 “You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
And there is no blemish on you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
You shall come with me from Lebanon.
You shall come down from the summit of Amana,
From the summit of Senir and Hermon,
From the dens of lions,
From the mountains of leopards.
9 You have enchanted my heart, my sister, my bride;
You have enchanted my heart with a single glance of your eyes,
With a single strand of your necklace.
10 How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much sweeter is your love than wine,
And the fragrance of your oils
Than that of all kinds of balsam oils!
11 Your lips drip honey, my bride;
Honey and milk are under your tongue,
And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 A locked garden is my sister, my bride,
A locked spring, a sealed fountain.
13 Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates
With delicious fruits, henna with nard plants,
14 Nard and saffron, spice reed and cinnamon,
With all the trees of frankincense,
Myrrh, and aloes, along with all the finest balsam oils.
15 You are a garden spring,
A well of fresh water,
And flowing streams from Lebanon.”
16 “Awake, north wind,
And come, wind of the south;
Make my garden breathe out fragrance,
May its balsam oils flow.
May my beloved come into his garden
And eat its delicious fruits!”
1 Therefore, we must fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also did; but the word they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united with those who listened with faith. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,
“As I swore in My anger,
They certainly shall not enter My rest,”
although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this passage, “They certainly shall not enter My rest.” 6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who previously had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 He again sets a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before,
“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. 9 Consequently, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11 Therefore let’s make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we must answer.
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.
