Numbers 5

• 1. The LORD gave these instructions to Moses:
• 2. "Command the people of Israel to remove anyone from the camp who has a contagious skin disease or a discharge, or who has been defiled by touching a dead person.
• 3. This applies to men and women alike. Remove them so they will not defile the camp, where I live among you."
• 4. So the Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and removed such people from the camp.
• 5. Then the LORD said to Moses,
• 6. "Give these instructions to the people of Israel: If any of the people--men or women--betray the LORD by doing wrong to another person, they are guilty.
• 7. They must confess their sin and make full restitution for what they have done, adding a penalty of 20 percent and returning it to the person who was wronged.
• 8. But if the person who was wronged is dead, and there are no near relatives to whom restitution can be made, it belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest, along with a ram for atonement.
• 9. All the sacred gifts that the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him.
• 10. Each priest may keep the sacred donations that he receives."
• 11. And the LORD said to Moses,
• 12. "Say to the people of Israel: `Suppose a man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to her husband.
• 13. Suppose she sleeps with another man, but there is no witness since she was not caught in the act.
• 14. If her husband becomes jealous and suspicious of his wife, even if she has not defiled herself,
• 15. the husband must bring his wife to the priest with an offering of two quarts of barley flour to be presented on her behalf. Do not mix it with olive oil or frankincense, for it is a jealousy offering--an offering of inquiry to find out if she is guilty.
• 16. " `The priest must then present her before the LORD.
• 17. He must take some holy water in a clay jar and mix it with dust from the Tabernacle floor.
• 18. When he has presented her before the LORD, he must unbind her hair and place the offering of inquiry--the jealousy offering--in her hands to determine whether or not her husband's suspicions are justified. The priest will stand before her, holding the jar of bitter water that brings a curse to those who are guilty.
• 19. The priest will put the woman under oath and say to her, "If no other man has slept with you, and you have not defiled yourself by being unfaithful, may you be immune from the effects of this bitter water that causes the curse.
• 20. But if you have gone astray while under your husband's authority and defiled yourself by sleeping with another man"--
• 21. at this point the priest must put the woman under this oath--"then may the people see that the LORD's curse is upon you when he makes you infertile.
• 22. Now may this water that brings the curse enter your body and make you infertile. "And the woman will be required to say, "Yes, let it be so."
• 23. Then the priest will write these curses on a piece of leather and wash them off into the bitter water.
• 24. He will then make the woman drink the bitter water, so it may bring on the curse and cause bitter suffering in cases of guilt.
• 25. " `Then the priest will take the jealousy offering from the woman's hand, lift it up before the LORD, and carry it to the altar.
• 26. He will take a handful as a token portion and burn it on the altar. Then he will require the woman to drink the water.
• 27. If she has defiled herself by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings the curse will cause bitter suffering. She will become infertile, and her name will become a curse word among her people.
• 28. But if she has not defiled herself and is pure, she will be unharmed and will still be able to have children.
• 29. " `This is the ritual law for dealing with jealousy. If a woman defiles herself by being unfaithful to her husband,
• 30. or if a man is overcome with jealousy and suspicion that his wife has been unfaithful, the husband must present his wife before the LORD, and the priest will apply this entire ritual law to her.
• 31. The husband will be innocent of any guilt in this matter, but his wife will be held accountable for her sin.'"

Psalms 39

• 1. I said to myself, "I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will curb my tongue when the ungodly are around me."
• 2. But as I stood there in silence--not even speaking of good things--the turmoil within me grew to the bursting point.
• 3. My thoughts grew hot within me and began to burn, igniting a fire of words:
• 4. "LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away.
• 5. My life is no longer than the width of my hand. An entire lifetime is just a moment to you; human existence is but a breath."
• 6. We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth for someone else to spend.
• 7. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.
• 8. Rescue me from my rebellion, for even fools mock me when I rebel.
• 9. I am silent before you; I won't say a word. For my punishment is from you.
• 10. Please, don't punish me anymore! I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.
• 11. When you discipline people for their sins, their lives can be crushed like the life of a moth. Human existence is as frail as breath.
• 12. Hear my prayer, O LORD! Listen to my cries for help! Don't ignore my tears. For I am your guest--a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me.
• 13. Spare me so I can smile again before I am gone and exist no more.

Song of Songs 3

• 1. One night as I lay in bed, I yearned deeply for my lover, but he did not come.
• 2. So I said to myself, `I will get up now and roam the city, searching for him in all its streets and squares. But my search was in vain.
• 3. The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds, and I said to them, `Have you seen him anywhere, this one I love so much?
• 4. A little while later I found him and held him. I didnt let him go until I had brought him to my childhood home, into my mothers bedroom, where I had been conceived.
• 5. "Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, by the swift gazelles and the deer of the wild, not to awaken love until the time is right. "
• 6. Who is this sweeping in from the deserts like a cloud of smoke along the ground? Who is it that smells of myrrh and frankincense and every other spice?
• 7. Look, it is Solomons carriage, with sixty of Israels mightiest men surrounding it.
• 8. They are all skilled swordsmen and experienced warriors. Each one wears a sword on his thigh, ready to defend the king against an attack during the night.
• 9. "King Solomon has built a carriage for himself from wood imported from Lebanon's forests.
• 10. Its posts are of silver, its canopy is gold, and its seat is upholstered in purple cloth. Its interior was a gift of love from the young women of Jerusalem."
• 11. Go out to look upon King Solomon, O young women of Jerusalem. See the crown with which his mother crowned him on his wedding day, the day of his gladness.

New Living Translation: 118 of 365 days.