1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Now the sons of Israel are to celebrate the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall celebrate it at its appointed time; you shall celebrate it in accordance with all its statutes and all its ordinances.” 4 So Moses told the sons of Israel to celebrate the Passover. 5 And they celebrated the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; in accordance with everything that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel did. 6 But there were some men who were unclean because of contact with a dead person, so that they could not celebrate Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. 7 Those men said to him, “Though we are unclean because of a dead person, why are we kept from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” 8 Moses then said to them, “Wait, and I will listen to what the Lord will command concerning you.”
9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If any one of you or of your generations becomes unclean because of a dead person, or is on a distant journey, he may, however, celebrate the Passover to the Lord. 11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight, they shall celebrate it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall not leave any of it until morning, nor break a bone of it; they shall celebrate it in accordance with the whole statute of the Passover. 13 But the person who is clean and is not on a journey, yet refrains from celebrating the Passover, that person shall then be cut off from his people, because he did not present the offering of the Lord at its appointed time. That person will bear the responsibility for his sin. 14 And if a stranger resides among you and celebrates the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and its ordinance, so he shall celebrate it; you shall have the same statute, both for the stranger and for the native of the land.’”
15 Now on the day that the tabernacle was erected, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and in the evening it was like the appearance of fire over the tabernacle until morning. 16 That is how it was continuously; the cloud would cover it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17 Whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent, afterward the sons of Israel would set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the sons of Israel would camp. 18 At the command of the Lord the sons of Israel would set out, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; as long as the cloud settled over the tabernacle, they remained camped. 19 Even when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, the sons of Israel would comply with the Lord’s ordinance and not set out. 20 If sometimes the cloud remained a few days over the tabernacle, in accordance with the command of the Lord they remained camped. Then in accordance with the command of the Lord they set out. 21 If sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning, when the cloud was lifted in the morning they would set out; or if it remained in the daytime and at night, whenever the cloud was lifted, they would set out. 22 Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud lingered over the tabernacle, staying above it, the sons of Israel remained camped and did not set out; but when it was lifted, they did set out. 23 At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out; they did what the Lord required, in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses.
1 My heart is moved with a good theme;
I address my verses to the King;
My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
2 You are the most handsome of the sons of mankind;
Grace is poured upon Your lips;
Therefore God has blessed You forever.
3 Strap Your sword on Your thigh, Mighty One,
In Your splendor and majesty!
4 And in Your majesty ride on victoriously,
For the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness;
Let Your right hand teach You awesome things.
5 Your arrows are sharp;
The peoples fall under You;
Your arrows are in the heart of the King’s enemies.
6 Your throne, God, is forever and ever;
The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of joy above Your companions.
8 All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia;
From ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You joyful.
9 Kings’ daughters are among Your noble women;
At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, daughter, look and incline your ear:
Forget your people and your father’s house;
11 Then the King will crave your beauty.
Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him.
12 The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;
The wealthy among the people will seek your favor.
13 The King’s daughter is all glorious within;
Her clothing is interwoven with gold.
14 She will be brought to the King in colorful garments;
The virgins, her companions who follow her,
Will be brought to You.
15 They will be brought with joy and rejoicing;
They will enter into the King’s palace.
16 In place of your fathers will be your sons;
You shall make them princes in all the earth.
17 I will make Your name known among all generations;
Therefore the peoples will praise You forever and ever.
1 “How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
Prince’s daughter!
The curves of your hips are like jewels,
The work of the hands of an artist.
2 Your navel is like a round goblet
That never lacks mixed wine;
Your belly is like a heap of wheat,
Surrounded with lilies.
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like a tower of ivory,
Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon
By the gate of Bath-rabbim;
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,
Which looks toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Carmel,
And the flowing hair of your head is like purple threads;
The king is captivated by your tresses.
6 How beautiful and how delightful you are,
My love, with all your delights!
7 Your stature is like a palm tree,
And your breasts are like its clusters.
8 I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree,
I will grasp its fruit stalks.’
Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
And the fragrance of your breath like apples,
9 And your mouth like the best wine!”
“It goes down smoothly for my beloved,
Flowing gently through the lips of those who are asleep.
10 “I am my beloved’s,
And his desire is for me.
11 Come, my beloved, let’s go out to the country,
Let’s spend the night in the villages.
12 Let’s rise early and go to the vineyards;
Let’s see whether the vine has grown
And its buds have opened,
And whether the pomegranates have bloomed.
There I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes have given forth fragrance;
And over our doors are all delicious fruits,
New as well as old,
Which I have saved for you, my beloved.
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. 3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.
4 Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. 5 And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have a commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their countrymen, although they are descended from Abraham. 6 But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. 7 But without any dispute the lesser person is blessed by the greater. 8 In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. 9 And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, has paid tithes, 10 for he was still in the loins of his forefather when Melchizedek met him.
11 So if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? 12 For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. 13 For the one about whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses said nothing concerning priests. 15 And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is attested of Him,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
18 For, on the one hand, there is the nullification of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness 19 (for the Law made nothing perfect); on the other hand, there is the introduction of a better hope, through which we come near to God. 20 And to the extent that it was not without an oath 21 (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him,
“The Lord has sworn
And will not change His mind,
‘You are a priest forever’”);
22 by the same extent Jesus also has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
23 The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing; 24 Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. 25 Therefore He is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens; 27 who has no daily need, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because He did this once for all time when He offered up Himself. 28 For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has been made perfect forever.
