Finally he told her his secret. ¹  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ²  for I have been dedicated to God ³  from the time I was conceived. ⁴  If my head ⁵  were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.”

Then they said to one another, “It’s not right what we’re doing! This is a day to celebrate, but we haven’t told anyone. ¹  If we wait until dawn, ²  we’ll be punished. ³  So come on, let’s go and inform the royal palace.”

You will report to Amariah the chief priest in all matters pertaining to the Lord’s law, and to Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the family of Judah, in all matters pertaining to the king. ¹  The Levites will serve as officials before you. Confidently carry out your duties! ²  May the Lord be with those who do well!”

I will remove the one from the north ¹  far from you. I will drive him out to a dry and desolate place. Those in front will be driven eastward into the Dead Sea, ²  and those in back westward into the Mediterranean Sea. ³  His stench will rise up as a foul smell.” ⁴  Indeed, the Lord ⁵  has accomplished great things.

Then the man said, “This one at last ¹  is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called ²  ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of ³  man.” ⁴ 

The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. ¹ 

Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. ¹  He joined his ancestors. ² 

Ishmael lived a total of ¹  137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. ² 

She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. ¹  Then she stopped having children.

When her labor was at its hardest, ¹  the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.” ² 

So Jacob came back to his father Isaac in Mamre, ¹  to Kiriath Arba ²  (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. ³ 

Joseph stored up a vast amount of grain, like the sand of the sea, ¹  until he stopped measuring it because it was impossible to measure.

So Pharaoh sent and summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time! ¹  The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are guilty. ² 

Then they came to Marah, ¹  but they were not able to drink ²  the waters of Marah, because ³  they were bitter. ⁴  (That is ⁵  why its name was ⁶  Marah.)

“You must observe ¹  the Feast of Weeks – the firstfruits of the harvest of wheat – and the Feast of Ingathering at the end ²  of the year.

They made a plate, the holy diadem, of pure gold and wrote on it an inscription, as on the engravings of a seal, “Holiness to the Lord.”

And he set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar, and put the curtain at the gate of the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.

Finally, the one presenting the offering ¹  must wash its entrails and its legs in water and the priest must offer all of it up in smoke on the altar ²  – it is ³  a burnt offering, a gift ⁴  of a soothing aroma to the Lord.

Finally, he set the turban ¹  on his head and attached the gold plate, the holy diadem, ²  to the front of the turban just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Finally, Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before the Lord from the ram of ordination. It was Moses’ share just as the Lord had commanded Moses.