'May' in the Bible

The fat of an animal that dies naturally or is mauled by wild beasts may be used for any purpose, but you must not eat it.

Moses said, “This is what the Lord commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.”

Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair hang loose and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the Lord will become angry with the whole community. However, your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn over that tragedy when the Lord sent the fire.

But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution in any ceremonially clean place, because these portions have been assigned to you and your children from the Israelites’ fellowship sacrifices.

“Tell the Israelites: You may eat all these kinds of land animals.

You may eat any animal with divided hooves and that chews the cud.

“This is what you may eat from all that is in the water: You may eat everything in the water that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or streams.

But you may eat these kinds of all the winged insects that walk on all fours: those that have jointed legs above their feet for hopping on the ground.

You may eat these:any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, and grasshopper.

in order to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between the animals that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.”

But if she doesn’t have sufficient means for a sheep, she may take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. Then the priest will make atonement on her behalf, and she will be clean.”

The one who is to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; he is clean. Afterward he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days.

The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he may not come whenever he wants into the holy place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the most holy place until he leaves after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.

The man who released the goat for azazel is to wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.

The one who burns them is to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.

Therefore I say to the Israelites: None of you and no foreigner who lives among you may eat blood.

“Any Israelite or foreigner living among them, who hunts down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten must drain its blood and cover it with dirt.

“When you offer a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.

But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way its yield will increase for you; I am Yahweh your God.

He may make himself unclean for his young unmarried sister in his immediate family.

“Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies.

He may eat the food of his God from what is especially holy as well as from what is holy.

When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the holy offerings, for that is his food.

But if a priest purchases someone with his money, that person may eat it, and those born in his house may eat his food.

But if the priest’s daughter becomes widowed or divorced, has no children, and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may share her father’s food. But no outsider may share it.

You are not to present any animal to the Lord that is blind, injured, maimed, or has a running sore, festering rash, or scabs; you may not put any of them on the altar as a fire offering to the Lord.

You may sacrifice as a freewill offering any animal from the herd or flock that has an elongated or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable as a vow offering.

When you sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.

“Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord wherever you live.

He will wave the sheaf before the Lord so that you may be accepted; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.

so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God.”

Place pure frankincense near each row, so that it may serve as a memorial portion for the bread and a fire offering to the Lord.

You may sow your field for six years, and you may prune your vineyard and gather its produce for six years.

All of its growth may serve as food for your livestock and the wild animals in your land.

It is to be holy to you because it is the Jubilee; you may only eat its produce directly from the field.

“You are to keep My statutes and ordinances and carefully observe them, so that you may live securely in the land.

If your brother becomes destitute and sells part of his property, his nearest relative may come and redeem what his brother has sold.

he may calculate the years since its sale, repay the balance to the man he sold it to, and return to his property.

But if he cannot obtain enough to repay him, what he sold will remain in the possession of its purchaser until the Year of Jubilee. It is to be released at the Jubilee, so that he may return to his property.

The open pastureland around their cities may not be sold, for it is their permanent possession.

Let him stay with you as a hired hand or temporary resident; he may work for you until the Year of Jubilee.

Then he and his children are to be released from you, and he may return to his clan and his ancestral property.

Your male and female slaves are to be from the nations around you; you may purchase male and female slaves.

You may also purchase them from the foreigners staying with you, or from their families living among you—those born in your land. These may become your property.

You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But concerning your brothers, the Israelites, you must not rule over one another harshly.

he has the right of redemption after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him.

His uncle or cousin may redeem him, or any of his close relatives from his clan may redeem him. If he prospers, he may redeem himself.

“If the vow involves one of the animals that may be brought as an offering to the Lord, any of these he gives to the Lord will be holy.

He may not replace it or make a substitution for it, either good for bad, or bad for good. But if he does substitute one animal for another, both that animal and its substitute will be holy.

“If the vow involves any of the unclean animals that may not be brought as an offering to the Lord, the animal must be presented before the priest.

Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty.

at this point the priest must make the woman take the oath with the sworn curse, and he is to say to her—‘May the Lord make you into an object of your people’s cursing and swearing when He makes your thigh shrivel and your belly swell.

May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach, causing your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’“And the woman must reply, ‘Amen, Amen.’

The priest is to wave them as a presentation offering before the Lord. It is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.

Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a presentation offering from the Israelites, so that they may perform the Lord’s work.

After that the Levites may come to serve at the tent of meeting, once you have ceremonially cleansed them and presented them as a presentation offering.

He may assist his brothers to fulfill responsibilities at the tent of meeting, but he must not do the work. This is how you are to deal with the Levites regarding their duties.”

“Tell the Israelites: When any one of you or your descendants is unclean because of a corpse or is on a distant journey, he may still observe the Passover to the Lord.

they may not leave any of it until morning or break any of its bones. They must observe the Passover according to all its statutes.

The Lord answered Moses, “If her father had merely spit in her face, wouldn’t she remain in disgrace for seven days? Let her be confined outside the camp for seven days; after that she may be brought back in.”

“So now, may my Lord’s power be magnified just as You have spoken:

The priest must then make atonement for the entire Israelite community so that they may be forgiven, for the sin was unintentional. They are to bring their offering, one made by fire to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord for their unintentional sin.

These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the Lord’s commands and obey them and not become unfaithful by following your own heart and your own eyes.

“Separate yourselves from this community so I may consume them instantly.”

At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too!”

“Get away from this community so that I may consume them instantly.” But they fell facedown.

The Lord told Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the testimony to be kept as a sign for the rebels, so that you may put an end to their complaints before Me, or else they will die.”

But also bring your relatives with you from the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, so they may join you and assist you and your sons in front of the tent of the testimony.

They are to join you and guard the tent of meeting, doing all the work at the tent, but no unauthorized person may come near you.

“You are to guard the sanctuary and the altar so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.

You are to eat it as a most holy offering. Every male may eat it; it is to be holy to you.

“The contribution of their gifts also belongs to you. I have given all the Israelites’ presentation offerings to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your house may eat it.

The firstfruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, belong to you. Every clean person in your house may eat them.

then you and your household may eat it anywhere. It is your wage in return for your work at the tent of meeting.

Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening.

From there they went to Beer, the well the Lord told Moses about, “Gather the people so I may give them water.”

Please come and put a curse on these people for me because they are more powerful than I am. I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed.”

‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the surface of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. I may be able to fight against them and drive them away.’”

Please stay here overnight as the others did, so that I may find out what else the Lord has to tell me.”

The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord so that His burning anger may turn away from Israel.”

“May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the community

Her husband may confirm or cancel any vow or any sworn obligation to deny herself.

On the seventh day wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter the camp.”

and the land is subdued before the Lord—afterward you may return and be free from obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the Lord.

“The cities you give the Levites will include six cities of refuge, which you must provide so that the one who kills someone may flee there; in addition to these, give 42 other cities.

designate cities to serve as cities of refuge for you, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.

These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or temporary resident among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.

for the one who killed a person was supposed to live in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may the one who has killed a person return to the land he possesses.

This is what the Lord has commanded concerning Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they like provided they marry within a clan of their ancestral tribe.

May Yahweh, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times more, and bless you as He promised you.

“Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let’s send men ahead of us, so that they may explore the land for us and bring us back a report about the route we should go up and the cities we will come to.’

You may purchase food from them with silver, so that you may eat, and buy water from them to drink.

You can sell us food in exchange for silver so we may eat, and give us water for silver so we may drink. Only let us travel through on foot,

until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as He has to you, and they also take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession that I have given you.

“Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live, enter, and take possession of the land Yahweh, the God of your fathers, is giving you.

You must not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it, so that you may keep the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you.

Look, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as the Lord my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to possess.

The day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people before Me, and I will let them hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth and may instruct their children.’

Keep His statutes and commands, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper and so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”