If there is a man who lies [intimately] with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they will bear their sin. They will die childless.

If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is a hated and unclean thing; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless.

“Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites shall be Mine [in a very special sense].

So they read from the Book of the Law of God, translating and explaining it so that the people understood the reading.

“Why are we regarded as beasts,
As if [we are] stupid (senseless) in your eyes?

“She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor is in vain because she is unconcerned [for the safety of her brood],

And among the naive [the inexperienced and gullible],
I saw among the youths
A young man lacking [good] sense,

On the lips of the discerning, [skillful and godly] wisdom is found,
But discipline and the rod are for the back of the one who is without common sense and understanding.

He who despises his neighbor lacks sense,
But a man of understanding keeps silent.

He who tills his land will have plenty of bread,
But he who follows worthless things lacks common sense and good judgment.

Foolishness is joy to him who is without heart and lacks [intelligent, common] sense,
But a man of understanding walks uprightly [making his course straight].

A man lacking common sense gives a pledge
And becomes guarantor [for the debt of another] in the presence of his neighbor.

Good sense and discretion make a man slow to anger,
And it is his honor and glory to overlook a transgression or an offense [without seeking revenge and harboring resentment].

When the scoffer is punished, the naive [observes the lesson and] becomes wise;
But when the wise and teachable person is instructed, he receives knowledge.

He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.

Stop regarding man, whose breath [of life] is in his nostrils [for so little time];
For why should he be esteemed?

‘For I am with you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you;
For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,
But I will not destroy you completely.
But I will judge and discipline you fairly
And will by no means regard you as guiltless and leave you unpunished.’

Gather yourselves together [in repentance], yes, gather [in submission],
O nation without shame,