“All the service of the Gershonites, whether ¹  carrying loads ²  or for any of their work, will be at the direction of ³  Aaron and his sons. You will assign them all their tasks ⁴  as their responsibility.

“You must exact ¹  a tribute for the Lord from the fighting men who went out to battle: one life out of five hundred, from the people, the cattle, and from the donkeys and the sheep.

I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they ¹  should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens ²  and judge fairly, ³  whether between one citizen and another ⁴  or a citizen and a resident foreigner. ⁵ 

You must not make for yourself an image ¹  of anything in heaven above, on earth below, or in the waters beneath. ² 

Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: ¹  Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby? Why then do I see all these strong men grabbing their stomachs in pain like ²  a woman giving birth? And why do their faces turn so deathly pale?

Who knows? Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, ¹  and leave blessing in his wake ²  – a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God! ³ 

and said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” ¹  They replied, ²  “No, we have not even ³  heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

You must have one law for the person who sins unintentionally, both for the native-born among the Israelites and for the resident foreigner who lives among them.

I say this ¹  so you will not corrupt yourselves by making an image in the form of any kind of figure. This includes the likeness of a human male or female,

You may eat it in your villages, ¹  whether you are ritually impure or clean, ²  just as you would eat a gazelle or an ibex.

Is it your opinion ¹  that God ²  should recompense it, because you reject this? ³  But you must choose, and not I, so tell us what you know.

What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin,

But I will come to you soon, if the Lord is willing, and I will find out not only the talk of these arrogant people, but also their power.

nor to seek glory from people, either from you or from others,

“‘When ¹  the days of her purification are completed for a son or for a daughter, she must bring a one year old lamb ²  for a burnt offering ³  and a young pigeon or turtledove for a sin offering ⁴  to the entrance of the Meeting Tent, to the priest.

“This is to be a perpetual statute for you. ¹  In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you must humble yourselves ²  and do no work of any kind, ³  both the native citizen and the foreigner who resides ⁴  in your midst,

You must not do injustice in the regulation of measures, whether of length, weight, or volume. ¹ 

“Tell ¹  all the leaders of Shechem this: ‘Why would you want ²  to have seventy men, all Jerub-Baal’s sons, ruling over you, when you can have just one ruler? Recall that I am your own flesh and blood.’” ³ 

“Don’t imagine that because you are part of the king’s household you will be the one Jew ¹  who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear ²  from another source, ³  while you and your father’s household perish. It may very well be ⁴  that you have achieved royal status ⁵  for such a time as this!”