The Day of Atonement
1 The Lord spoke to Moses after cthe death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, 2 and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to dcome at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For eI will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: fwith a bull from the herd for a sin offering and ga ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on hthe holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. iHe shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. 5 And he shall take from jthe congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6 “Aaron shall koffer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall lmake atonement for himself and for his house. 7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for mAzazel.1 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for mAzazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to mAzazel.
11 “Aaron shall present kthe bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself. 12 And he shall take na censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil 13 oand put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover pthe mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die. 14 And qhe shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
15 r“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood sinside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16 Thus he shall tmake atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. 17 uNo one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is vbefore the Lord and wmake atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.
20 “And when he has made an end of xatoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall yput them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall zbear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and ahe shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.
23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and bshall take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy Place and shall leave them there. 24 And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments and come out and coffer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 And dthe fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. 26 And he who lets the goat go to eAzazel shall wash his clothes and fbathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 27 gAnd the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. Their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be burned up with fire. 28 And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.
29 “And it shall be a statute to you forever that hin the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall iafflict yourselves2 and shall do no work, either jthe native or the stranger who sojourns among you. 30 For on this day shall atonement be made for you kto cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins. 31 lIt is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall iafflict yourselves; it is a statute forever. 32 mAnd the priest who is anointed and nconsecrated as priest in his father’s place oshall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. 33 He shall make atonement for pthe holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for qthe altar, and he shall make atonement for rthe priests and for sall the people of the assembly. 34 And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel tonce in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron3 did as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Place of Sacrifice
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel and say to them, This is the thing that the Lord has commanded. 3 If any one of the house of Israel ukills an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or kills it outside the camp, 4 and vdoes not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a gift to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man wshall be cut off from among his people. 5 This is to the end that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice xin the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and sacrifice them yas sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord. 6 And the priest shall ythrow the blood on the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting and burn the fat zfor a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 7 So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they awhore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.
8 “And you shall say to them, Any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who boffers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and cdoes not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the Lord, wthat man shall be cut off from his people.
Laws Against Eating Blood
10 “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them deats any blood, I will eset my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. 11 fFor the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar gto make atonement for your souls, hfor it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. 12 Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.
13 “Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall ipour out its blood and jcover it with earth. 14 For the life of every creature4 is its kblood: its blood is its life.5 Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off. 15 lAnd every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, mwhether he is a native or a sojourner, nshall wash his clothes and obathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his flesh, phe shall bear his iniquity.”
Unlawful Sexual Relations
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, qI am the Lord your God. 3 rYou shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and syou shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. 4 tYou shall follow my rules6 and keep my statutes and walk in them. qI am the Lord your God. 5 tYou shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; uif a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.
6 “None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord. 7 vYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 wYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness. 9 xYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home. 10 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or of your daughter’s daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. 11 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, brought up in your father’s family, since she is your sister. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s relative. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s relative. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15 yYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 zYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. 17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity. 18 And you shall not take a woman as a arival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness bwhile her sister is still alive.
19 c“You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. 20 dAnd you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife and so make yourself unclean with her. 21 You shall not give any of your children to eoffer them7 to fMolech, and so gprofane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22 hYou shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23 iAnd you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is jperversion.
24 k“Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, lfor by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, 25 and the mland became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land nvomited out its inhabitants. 26 But oyou shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the pnative or the stranger who sojourns among you 27 (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), 28 lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 qSo keep my charge never to practice rany of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: sI am the Lord your God.”
1 g“Behold, I send hmy messenger, and ihe will prepare the way before me. And the Lord jwhom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and kthe messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But lwho can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For mhe is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit nas a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring oofferings in righteousness to the Lord.1 4 pThen the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be qa swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those rwho oppress the hired worker in his wages, sthe widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
Robbing God
6 “For tI the Lord do not change; utherefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 vFrom the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. wReturn to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. xBut you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. xBut you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ yIn your tithes and contributions. 9 zYou are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 aBring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby bput me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open cthe windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke dthe devourer2 for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then eall nations will call you blessed, for you will be fa land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
13 g“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. hBut you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, i‘It is vain to serve God. jWhat is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call kthe arrogant blessed. kEvildoers not only prosper but lthey put God to the test and they escape.’”
The Book of Remembrance
16 Then those who feared the Lord mspoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and na book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, oin the day when I make up pmy treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall qsee the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
3The Great Day of the Lord
1 “For behold, rthe day is coming, sburning like an oven, when tall the arrogant and tall evildoers uwill be stubble. The day that is coming ushall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you vwho fear my name, wthe sun xof righteousness shall rise ywith healing in its wings. You shall go out zleaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, aon the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.
4 b“Remember cthe law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules4 that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 d“Behold, I will send you eElijah the prophet fbefore the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will gturn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and hstrike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”5
Jesus at the Feast of Booths
1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because pthe Jews1 were seeking to kill him. 2 Now qthe Jews’ Feast of rBooths was at hand. 3 sSo his brothers2 said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, tshow yourself to the world.” 5 uFor not even vhis brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, w“My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but xit hates me because I testify about it that yits works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not3 going up to this feast, for zmy time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
10 But after ahis brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 bThe Jews cwere looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much dmuttering about him among the people. eWhile some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, fhe is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet gfor fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.
14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up hinto the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore imarveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,4 when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, j“My teaching is not mine, but his kwho sent me. 17 lIf anyone’s will is to do God’s5 will, mhe will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I nam speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority oseeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 pHas not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. qWhy do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, r“You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did sone work, and you all marvel at it. 22 tMoses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but ufrom the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, vare you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 wDo not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Can This Be the Christ?
25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom xthey seek to kill? 26 And here he is, yspeaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that zthe authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But awe know bwhere this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, cno one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, das he taught in the temple, a“You know me, and you know where I come from. But eI have not come of my own accord. fHe who sent me is true, gand him you do not know. 29 hI know him, for I come ifrom him, and jhe sent me.” 30 kSo they were seeking to arrest him, but lno one laid a hand on him, mbecause his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet nmany of the people believed in him. They said, o“When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”
Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd pmuttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent qofficers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, r“I will be with you a little longer, and then sI am going to him who sent me. 34 tYou will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? uDoes he intend to go to vthe Dispersion among wthe Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, x‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”
Rivers of Living Water
37 yOn the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, z“If anyone thirsts, let him acome to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, bas6 the Scripture has said, c‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of dliving water.’” 39 Now ethis he said about the Spirit, fwhom those who believed in him were to receive, gfor as yet the Spirit had not been hgiven, ibecause Jesus was not yet glorified.
Division Among the People
40 When they heard these words, jsome of the people said, “This really is kthe Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is lthe Christ.” But some said, m“Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes nfrom the offspring of David, and comes ofrom Bethlehem, the village pwhere David was?” 43 So there was qa division among the people over him. 44 rSome of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
45 sThe officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, t“No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, u“Have you also been deceived? 48 vHave any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 wNicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 x“Does our law judge a man without first ygiving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, z“Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that ano prophet arises from Galilee.”
[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]7
The Woman Caught in Adultery
53 [[They went each to his own house, 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 bEarly in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and che sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now din the Law, Moses commanded us eto stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said fto test him, gthat they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, h“Let him who is without sin among you ibe the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, j“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on ksin no more.”]]
I Am the Light of the World
12 lAgain Jesus spoke to them, saying, m“I am the light of the world. Whoever nfollows me will not owalk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, p“You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, qmy testimony is true, for I know rwhere I came from and swhere I am going, but tyou do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 uYou judge according to the flesh; vI judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, wmy judgment is true, for xit is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father8 who sent me. 17 yIn your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and zthe Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, a“You know neither me nor my Father. bIf you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in cthe treasury, as he taught in the temple; but dno one arrested him, because ehis hour had not yet come.
21 So he said to them again, f“I am going away, and gyou will seek me, and hyou will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, i“Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, j“You are from below; I am from above. kYou are of this world; lI am not of this world. 24 I told you that you mwould die in your sins, for nunless you believe that oI am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, p“Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but qhe who sent me is true, and I declare rto the world swhat I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that the had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have ulifted up the Son of Man, vthen you will know that wI am he, and that xI do nothing on my own authority, but yspeak just as the Father taught me. 29 And zhe who sent me is with me. zHe has not left me alone, for aI always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, bmany believed in him.
The Truth Will Set You Free
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, c“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will dknow the truth, and the truth ewill set you free.” 33 They answered him, f“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, geveryone who practices sin is a slave9 to sin. 35 hThe slave does not remain in the house forever; ithe son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet jyou seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 kI speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard lfrom your father.”
You Are of Your Father the Devil
39 They answered him, m“Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, n“If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now oyou seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth pthat I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, q“We were not born of sexual immorality. We have rone Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, s“If God were your Father, you would love me, for tI came from God and uI am here. vI came not of my own accord, but whe sent me. 43 xWhy do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot ybear to hear my word. 44 zYou are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. aHe was a murderer from the beginning, and bdoes not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. cWhen he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 dWhoever is of God hears the words of God. eThe reason why you do not hear them is that fyou are not of God.”
Before Abraham Was, I Am
48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and ghave a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but hI honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet iI do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, jI say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never ksee death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! lAbraham died, as did the prophets, yet myou say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never ntaste death.’ 53 oAre you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, p“If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. qIt is my Father who glorifies me, rof whom you say, ‘He is our God.’10 55 But syou have not known him. tI know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be ua liar vlike you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 wYour father Abraham xrejoiced ythat he would see my day. zHe saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”11 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, aI am.” 59 So bthey picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, c“Rabbi, dwho sinned, ethis man or fhis parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but gthat the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must hwork the works of him who sent me iwhile it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, jI am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, khe spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. lThen he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in mthe pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and ncame back seeing.
8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, o“Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, p“The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 qNow it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 rSo the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not sfrom God, tfor he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, u“How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And vthere was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, w“He is a prophet.”
18 xThe Jews12 did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things ybecause they feared the Jews, for zthe Jews had already agreed that if anyone should aconfess Jesus13 to be Christ, bhe was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, c“He is of age; ask him.”
24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, d“Give glory to God. We know that ethis man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I fwas blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, g“I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but hwe are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, iwe do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is jan amazing thing! kYou do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that lGod does not listen to sinners, but mif anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 nIf this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, o“You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they pcast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in qthe Son of Man?”14 36 He answered, r“And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and sit is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, t“For judgment I came into this world, uthat those who do not see may see, and vthose who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, w“Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, xyou would have no guilt;15 but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.
I Am the Good Shepherd
1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 yA stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus zused with them, but they adid not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, bI am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, che will be saved and will go in and out and dfind pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and ekill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 fI am the good shepherd. The good shepherd glays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is ha hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ileaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and jscatters them. 13 He flees because khe is a hired hand and lcares nothing for the sheep. 14 mI am the good shepherd. nI know my own and omy own know me, 15 pjust as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and qI lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And rI have other sheep that are not of this fold. sI must bring them also, and tthey will listen to my voice. So there will be uone flock, vone shepherd. 17 wFor this reason the Father loves me, xbecause yI lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 zNo one takes it from me, but yI lay it down aof my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and bI have authority to take it up again. cThis charge I have received from my Father.”
19 dThere was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, e“He has a demon, and fis insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. gCan a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
19 Now we know that whatever vthe law says it speaks to those who are under the law, wso that every mouth may be stopped, and xthe whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For yby works of the law no human being1 will be justified in his sight, since zthrough the law comes knowledge of sin.
The Righteousness of God Through Faith
21 But now athe righteousness of God bhas been manifested apart from the law, although cthe Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God dthrough faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. eFor there is no distinction: 23 for fall have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 gand are justified hby his grace as a gift, ithrough the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God jput forward as ka propitiation lby his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in mhis divine forbearance he had passed over nformer sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
27 oThen what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith papart from works of the law.
Israel’s Unbelief
30 What shall we say, then? sThat Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, ta righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel uwho pursued a law that would lead to righteousness1 vdid not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the wstumbling stone, 33 as it is written,
x“Behold, I am laying in Zion ya stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
1 Brothers,2 my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that bthey have a zeal for God, cbut not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of dthe righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For eChrist is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.3
The Message of Salvation to All
5 For fMoses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that gthe person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But hthe righteousness based on faith says, i“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the jabyss?’” (that is, kto bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? l“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if myou confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and nbelieve in your heart othat God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, p“Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 qFor there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; rfor the same Lord is Lord of all, sbestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For t“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Sexual Immorality Defiles the Church
1 It is actually reported that there is wsexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, xfor a man has his father’s wife. 2 And yyou are arrogant! Ought you znot rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
3 For though aabsent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled bin the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are cto deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so dthat his spirit may be saved ein the day of the Lord.1
6 fYour boasting is not good. Do you not know that ga little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, hnot with the old leaven, ithe leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote to you in my letter jnot to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 knot at all meaning lthe sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, msince then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone nwho bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging ooutsiders? pIs it not those inside the church2 whom you are to judge? 13 God judges3 those outside. q“Purge the evil person from among you.”
1 For I made up my mind unot to make another painful visit to you. 2 For vif I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? 3 And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, wfor I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. 4 For xI wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.
Forgive the Sinner
5 Now yif anyone has caused pain, zhe has caused it not to me, but ain some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, bthis punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so cyou should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might dtest you and know ewhether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for fwe are not ignorant of his designs.
Triumph in Christ
12 When gI came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though ha door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 my spirit iwas not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.
14 But jthanks be to God, who in Christ always kleads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads lthe fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among mthose who are being saved and among nthose who are perishing, 16 oto one a fragrance from death to death, oto the other a fragrance from life to life. pWho is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
10 For all who rely on works of the law are munder a curse; for it is written, n“Cursed be everyone who does not oabide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that pno one is justified before God by the law, for q“The righteous shall live by faith.”1 12 But the law is not of faith, rather r“The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ sredeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, t“Cursed is everyone who is hanged uon a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might vcome to the Gentiles, so that wwe might receive xthe promised Spirit2 through faith.
23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues jforever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost1 kthose who draw near to God lthrough him, since he always lives mto make intercession for them.
26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, nholy, innocent, unstained, oseparated from sinners, and pexalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, qfirst for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this ronce for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men sin their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made tperfect forever.
Jesus, High Priest of a Better Covenant
1 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, uone who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in vthe true tent2 that the Lord wset up, not man. 3 For xevery high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus yit is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve za copy and ashadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, b“See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But as it is, Christ3 has obtained a ministry that is cas much more excellent than the old as dthe covenant ehe mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 fFor if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
8 For he finds fault with them when he says:4
g“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah,
9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
10 hFor this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and iwrite them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall jall know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
kand I will remember their sins no more.”
13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And lwhat is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
The Earthly Holy Place
1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and man earthly place of holiness. 2 For na tent5 was prepared, the first section, in which were othe lampstand and pthe table and qthe bread of the Presence.6 It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind rthe second curtain was a second section7 called the Most Holy Place, 4 having the golden saltar of incense and tthe ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was ua golden urn holding the manna, and vAaron’s staff that budded, and wthe tablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were xthe cherubim of glory overshadowing ythe mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 These preparations having thus been made, zthe priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only athe high priest goes, and he but aonce a year, and not without taking blood, bwhich he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that cthe way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age).8 According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered dthat cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with efood and drink and fvarious washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.
Redemption Through the Blood of Christ
11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest gof the good things that have come,9 then through hthe greater and more perfect tent (inot made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he jentered konce for all into the holy places, not by means of lthe blood of goats and calves but mby means of his own blood, nthus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if othe blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with pthe ashes of a heifer, sanctify10 for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will qthe blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit roffered himself without blemish to God, spurify our11 conscience tfrom dead works uto serve the living God.
15 Therefore he is vthe mediator of a new covenant, so that wthose who are called may xreceive the promised eternal inheritance, ysince a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.12 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For za will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated awithout blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took bthe blood of calves and goats, cwith water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, d“This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both ethe tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and fwithout the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
23 Thus it was necessary for gthe copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places hmade with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God ion our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as jthe high priest enters kthe holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, lhe has appeared monce for all nat the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as oit is appointed for man to die once, and pafter that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once qto bear the sins of rmany, will appear sa second time, tnot to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly uwaiting for him.
Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All
1 For since the law has but va shadow wof the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, xit can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But yin these sacrifices zthere is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For ait is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Consequently, bwhen Christ13 came into the world, he said,
c“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in csacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, d“Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will ewe have been sanctified through the offering of fthe body of Jesus Christ gonce for all.
11 And every priest stands hdaily at his service, ioffering repeatedly the same sacrifices, jwhich can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ14 had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he ksat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time luntil his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering mhe has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 n“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”
17 then he adds,
o“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
The Full Assurance of Faith
19 pTherefore, brothers,15 since we have confidence to enter qthe holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by rthe new and living way that he opened for us through sthe curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have ta great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts usprinkled clean vfrom an evil conscience and our bodies wwashed with pure water. 23 xLet us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for yhe who promised is faithful. 24 And zlet us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 anot neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and ball the more as you see cthe Day drawing near.
