Numbers 5; Numbers 6; Mark 4:1-20

1 The Lord said to Moses,

2 "Command the Isra- elites to send away from camp anyone with a harmful skin disease. Send away anyone who gives off body fluid or who has become unclean by touching a dead body.

3 Send both men and women outside the camp so that they won't spread the disease there, where I am living among you."

4 So Israel obeyed the Lord's command and sent those people outside the camp. They did just as the Lord had told Moses.

5 The Lord said to Moses,

6 "Tell the Israelites: 'When a man or woman does something wrong to another person, that is really sinning against the Lord. That person is guilty

7 and must admit the wrong that has been done. The person must fully pay for the wrong that has been done, adding one-fifth to it, and giving it to the person who was wronged.

8 But if that person is dead and does not have any close relatives to receive the payment, the one who did wrong owes the Lord and must pay the priest. In addition, the priest must sacrifice a male sheep to remove the wrong so that the person will belong to the Lord.

9 When an Israelite brings a holy gift, it should be given to the priest.

10 No one has to give these holy gifts, but if someone does give them, they belong to the priest.'"

11 Then the Lord said to Moses,

12 "Tell the Israelites: 'A man's wife might be unfaithful to him

13 and have sexual relations with another man. Her sin might be kept hidden from her husband so that he does not know about the wrong she did. Perhaps no one saw it, and she wasn't caught.

14 But if her husband has feelings of jealousy and suspects she has sinned -- whether she has or not --

15 he should take her to the priest. The husband must also take an offering for her of two quarts of barley flour. He must not pour oil or incense on it, because this is a grain offering for jealousy, an offering of remembrance. It is to find out if she is guilty.

16 "'The priest will bring in the woman and make her stand before the Lord.

17 He will take some holy water in a clay jar, and he will put some dirt from the floor of the Holy Tent into the water.

18 The priest will make the woman stand before the Lord, and he will loosen her hair. He will hand her the offering of remembrance, the grain offering for jealousy; he will hold the bitter water that brings a curse.

19 The priest will make her take an oath and ask her, "Has another man had sexual relations with you? Have you been unfaithful to your husband? If you haven't, this bitter water that brings a curse won't hurt you.

20 But if you have been unfaithful to your husband and have had sexual relations with a man besides him" --

21 the priest will then put on her the curse that the oath will bring -- "the Lord will make the people curse and reject you. He will make your stomach get big, and he will make your body unable to give birth to another baby.

22 This water that brings a curse will go inside you and make your body unable to give birth to another baby." "'The woman must say, "I agree."

23 "'The priest should write these curses on a scroll, wash the words off into the bitter water,

24 and make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse. If she is guilty, the water will make her sick.

25 Then the priest will take the grain offering for jealousy from her. He will present it before the Lord and bring it to the altar.

26 He will take a handful of the grain, which is a memorial offering, and burn it on the altar. After that he will make the woman drink the water

27 to see if she is not pure and if she has sinned against her husband. When it goes into her, if her stomach gets big so that she is not able to have another baby, her people will reject her.

28 But if the woman has not sinned, she is pure. She is not guilty, and she will be able to have babies.

29 "'So this is the teaching about jealousy. This is what to do when a woman does wrong and is unfaithful while she is married to her husband.

30 It also should be done if the man gets jealous because he suspects his wife. The priest will have her stand before the Lord, and he will do all these things, just as the teaching commands.

31 In this way the husband can be proven correct, and the woman will suffer if she has done wrong.'"

1 The Lord said to Moses,

2 "Tell the Israelites: 'If men or women want to promise to belong to the Lord in a special way, they will be called Nazirites.

3 During this time, they must not drink wine or beer, or vinegar made from wine or beer. They must not even drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.

4 While they are Nazirites, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, even the seeds or the skin.

5 "'During the time they have promised to belong to the Lord, they must not cut their hair. They must be holy until this special time is over. They must let their hair grow long.

6 During their special time of belonging to the Lord, Nazirites must not go near a dead body.

7 Even if their own father, mother, brother, or sister dies, they must not touch them, or they will become unclean. They must still keep their promise to belong to God in a special way.

8 While they are Nazirites, they belong to the Lord in a special way.

9 "'If they are next to someone who dies suddenly, their hair, which was part of their promise, has been made unclean. So they must shave their head seven days later to be clean.

10 Then on the eighth day, they must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.

11 The priest will offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. This removes sin so they will belong to the Lord. (They had sinned because they were near a dead body.) That same day they will again promise to let their hair grow

12 and give themselves to the Lord for another special time. They must bring a male lamb a year old as a penalty offering. The days of the special time before don't count, because they became unclean during their first special time.

13 "'This is the teaching for the Nazirites. When the promised time is over, they must go the entrance of the Meeting Tent

14 and give their offerings to the Lord. They must offer a year-old male lamb that has nothing wrong with it, as a burnt offering, a year-old female lamb that has nothing wrong with it, as a sin offering, and a male sheep that has nothing wrong with it, for a fellowship offering.

15 They must also bring the grain offerings and drink offerings that go with them. And they must bring a basket of bread made without yeast, loaves made with fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers made without yeast spread with oil.

16 "'The priest will give these offerings to the Lord and make the sin offering and the burnt offering.

17 Then he will kill the male sheep as a fellowship offering to the Lord; along with it, he will present the basket of bread made without yeast, the grain offering, and the drink offering.

18 "'The Nazirites must go to the entrance of the Meeting Tent and shave off their hair that they grew for their promise. The hair will be put in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the fellowship offering.

19 "'After the Nazirites cut off their hair, the priest will give them a boiled shoulder from the male sheep. From the basket he will also give a loaf and a wafer, both made without yeast.

20 Then the priest will present them to the Lord. They are holy and belong to the priest. Also, he is to present the breast and the thigh from the male sheep. After that, the Nazirites may drink wine.

21 "'This is the teaching for the Nazirites who make a promise. Everyone who makes the Nazirite promise must give all of these gifts to the Lord. If they promised to do more, they must keep their promise, according to the teaching of the Nazirites.'"

22 The Lord said to Moses,

23 "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you should bless the Israelites. Say to them:

24 "May the Lord bless you and keep you.

25 May the Lord show you his kindness and have mercy on you.

26 May the Lord watch over you and give you peace."'

27 "So Aaron and his sons will bless the Israelites with my name, and I will bless them."

1 Again Jesus began teaching by the lake. A great crowd gathered around him, so he sat down in a boat near the shore. All the people stayed on the shore close to the water.

2 Jesus taught them many things, using stories. He said,

3 "Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed.

4 While he was planting, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate it up.

5 Some seed fell on rocky ground where there wasn't much dirt. That seed grew very fast, because the ground was not deep.

6 But when the sun rose, the plants dried up because they did not have deep roots.

7 Some other seed fell among thorny weeds, which grew and choked the good plants. So those plants did not produce a crop.

8 Some other seed fell on good ground and began to grow. It got taller and produced a crop. Some plants made thirty times more, some made sixty times more, and some made a hundred times more."

9 Then Jesus said, "You people who can hear me, listen!"

10 Later, when Jesus was alone, the twelve apostles and others around him asked him about the stories.

11 Jesus said, "You can know the secret about the kingdom of God. But to other people I tell everything by using stories

12 so that: 'They will look and look, but they will not learn. They will listen and listen, but they will not understand. If they did learn and understand, they would come back to me and be forgiven.'"

13 Then Jesus said to his followers, "Don't you understand this story? If you don't, how will you understand any story?

14 The farmer is like a person who plants God's message in people.

15 Sometimes the teaching falls on the road. This is like the people who hear the teaching of God, but Satan quickly comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them.

16 Others are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching and quickly accept it with joy.

17 But since they don't allow the teaching to go deep into their lives, they keep it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching they accepted, they quickly give up.

18 Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching,

19 but the worries of this life, the temptation of wealth, and many other evil desires keep the teaching from growing and producing fruitn in their lives.

20 Others are like the seed planted in the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce fruit -- sometimes thirty times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes a hundred times more."