Provision for Priests and Levites (1 Corinthians 9:1–18)
1 UDB "The priests, who are all from the tribe of Levi, will not receive any land in Israel. Instead, they will receive some of the food that other people offer to be burned on the altar to be sacrificed to Yahweh and some of the other sacrifices that will be offered to Yahweh. BSB BSB: The Levitical priests—indeed the whole tribe of Levi—shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They are to eat the food offerings to the LORD; that is their inheritance.
2 UDB They will not be allotted any land like the other tribes will be. What they will receive is the honor of being Yahweh's priests, which is what he said that they should have. BSB BSB: Although they have no inheritance among their brothers, the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them.
3 UDB When the people bring an ox or a sheep to be sacrificed, they must give to the priests the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach of those animals. BSB BSB: This shall be the priests’ share from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether a bull or a sheep: the priests are to be given the shoulder, the jowls, and the stomach.
4 UDB You must also give to them the first part of the grain that you harvest, and the first part of the wine that you make, and the first part of the olive oil that you make, and the first part of the wool that you shear from your sheep. BSB BSB: You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first wool sheared from your flock.
5 UDB You must do this because Yahweh our God has chosen the tribe of Levi from all of your tribes, in order that it would be ones from that tribe who would always be the priests who would serve him. BSB BSB: For the LORD your God has chosen Levi and his sons out of all your tribes to stand and minister in His name for all time.
6 UDB If any man from the tribe of Levi who has been living in one of the towns in Israel wants to come from there to the place of worship that Yahweh has chosen, and to start living there, BSB BSB: Now if a Levite moves from any town of residence throughout Israel and comes in all earnestness to the place the LORD will choose,
7 UDB he is permitted to serve Yahweh there as a priest, just like the other men from the tribe of Levi who have been serving there. BSB BSB: then he shall serve in the name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the LORD.
8 UDB He must be given the same amount of food that the other priests receive. He is permitted to keep the money that his relatives receive for selling some of their possessions and send to him. BSB BSB: They shall eat equal portions, even though he has received money from the sale of his father’s estate.
Sorcery Forbidden (Acts 8:9–25)
11 UDB Do not try to talk with spirits of dead people. Do not do magic. BSB BSB: casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead.
12 UDB Yahweh hates people who do any of those disgusting things. And as you advance through that land, he is going to drive out the people who live there because they do those disgusting things. BSB BSB: For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you.
13 UDB But you must always be faithful to Yahweh and avoid doing any of those disgusting things. BSB BSB: You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
14 UDB The people that you are about to expel from the land that you will occupy, they consult soothsayers and those who practice divination. But as for you, Yahweh our God does not allow you to do that. BSB BSB: Though these nations, which you will dispossess, listen to conjurers and diviners, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
A Prophet Like Moses (Acts 3:11–26)
16 UDB On the day that your ancestors were gathered at the bottom of Mount Sinai, they pleaded with me saying, 'We do not want Yahweh to speak to us again, and we do not want to see this huge fire that is burning on the mountain!' Your ancestors said that because they were afraid that they would die if Yahweh spoke to them again. BSB BSB: This is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God or see this great fire anymore, so that we will not die!”
17 UDB Then Yahweh said to me, 'What they have said is true. BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to me, “They have spoken well.
19 UDB He will speak for me. And I will punish anyone who does not heed what he says. BSB BSB: And I will hold accountable anyone who does not listen to My words that the prophet speaks in My name.
22 UDB The answer is that when someone speaks a message about what will happen in the future, a message that he says was revealed by Yahweh, if what he says does not happen, you will know that the message did not come from Yahweh. That person has wrongly claimed that it was revealed to him by Yahweh. So you do not need to be afraid of anything that he says. BSB BSB: When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.