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Psalm 16

1  Preserve me, O God, for in you have I taken refuge; ♦︎
   I have said to the Lord, ‘You are my lord,
      all my good depends on you.’
2  All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land, ♦︎
   upon those who are noble in heart.
3  Though the idols are legion
      that many run after, ♦︎
   their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
      neither make mention of their names upon my lips.
4  The Lord himself is my portion and my cup; ♦︎
   in your hands alone is my fortune.
5  My share has fallen in a fair land; ♦︎
   indeed, I have a goodly heritage.
6  I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel, ♦︎
   and in the night watches he instructs my heart.
7  I have set the Lord always before me; ♦︎
   he is at my right hand; I shall not fall.
8  Wherefore my heart is glad and my spirit rejoices; ♦︎
   my flesh also shall rest secure.
9  For you will not abandon my soul to Death, ♦︎
   nor suffer your faithful one to see the Pit.
10  You will show me the path of life;
      in your presence is the fullness of joy ♦︎
   and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

22 Aaron lifted his hands towards the people and blessed them; and he came down after sacrificing the sin-offering, the burnt-offering, and the offering of well-being. ²³Moses and Aaron entered the tent of meeting, and then came out and blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. ²⁴Fire came out from the Lord and consumed the burnt-offering and the fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

Nadab and Abihu

10Now Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his censer, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered unholy fire before the Lord, such as he had not commanded them. ²And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. ³Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord meant when he said,
“Through those who are near me
   I will show myself holy,
and before all the people
   I will be glorified.” ’
And Aaron was silent.

4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, ‘Come forward, and carry your kinsmen away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.’ ⁵They came forward and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had ordered. ⁶And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, ‘Do not dishevel your hair, and do not tear your vestments, or you will die and wrath will strike all the congregation; but your kindred, the whole house of Israel, may mourn the burning that the Lord has sent. ⁷You shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, or you will die; for the anointing-oil of the Lord is on you.’ And they did as Moses had ordered.

8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron: ⁹Drink no wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons, when you enter the tent of meeting, that you may not die; it is a statute for ever throughout your generations. ¹⁰You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean; ¹¹and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them through Moses.

5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to pass the test! ⁶I hope you will find out that we have not failed. ⁷But we pray to God that you may not do anything wrong—not that we may appear to have passed the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. ⁸For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. This is what we pray for, that you may become perfect. ¹⁰So I write these things while I am away from you, so that when I come, I may not have to be severe in using the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.