7th May

¹ When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.² And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.³ And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;⁴ Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.⁵ When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.⁶ No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man's life to pledge.⁷ If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.⁸ Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do.⁹ Remember what the LORD thy God did unto Miriam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt.¹⁰ When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.¹¹ Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.¹² And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:¹³ In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.¹⁴ Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:¹⁵ At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.¹⁶ The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.¹⁷ Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge:¹⁸ But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.¹⁹ When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.²⁰ When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.²¹ When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.²² And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.

¹ Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.² Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.³ Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.⁴ Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.⁵ Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.⁶ Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.⁷ Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.⁸ Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.⁹ Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.¹⁰ How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!¹¹ Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.¹² A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.¹³ Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,¹⁴ Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:¹⁵ A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.¹⁶ Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

¹ After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;² And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.³ And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.⁴ And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.⁵ And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.⁶ And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean; from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.⁷ And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.⁸ And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.⁹ Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:¹⁰ For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.¹¹ And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.¹² And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,¹³ Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.¹⁴ And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:¹⁵ But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.¹⁶ And he drave them from the judgment seat.¹⁷ Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.¹⁸ And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.¹⁹ And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.²⁰ When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;²¹ But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.²² And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.²³ And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.²⁴ And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.²⁵ This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.²⁶ And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.²⁷ And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:²⁸ For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.

¹ And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,² He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.³ And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.⁴ Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.⁶ And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.⁷ And all the men were about twelve.⁸ And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.⁹ But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.¹⁰ And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.¹¹ And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:¹² So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.¹³ Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the LORD Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.¹⁴ And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.¹⁵ And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?¹⁶ And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.¹⁷ And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.¹⁸ And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.¹⁹ Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.²⁰ So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.²¹ After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.²² So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.²³ And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.²⁴ For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;²⁵ Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.²⁶ Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:²⁷ So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.²⁸ And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.²⁹ And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.³⁰ And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.³¹ And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.³² Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused: and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.³³ And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people.³⁴ But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.³⁵ And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?³⁶ Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.³⁷ For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.³⁸ Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another.³⁹ But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.⁴⁰ For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.⁴¹ And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.