Leviticus 22:17-23:44
Animals Accepted for Sacrifice
17 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 18 “Tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites: Israelites or foreigners may bring burnt offerings to Yahweh for anything they vowed or as freewill offerings. 19 The offering must be a male that has no defects from your cattle, sheep, or goats in order to be accepted. 20 Never bring any animal with a physical defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. 21 A person may bring Yahweh a fellowship offering to fulfill a vow or for a freewill offering. Whether it is from the cattle, sheep, or goats, it must be an animal that has no defects in order to be accepted. It must never be an animal that has defects. 22 Never bring Yahweh an animal that is blind, has broken bones, cuts, warts, scabs, or ringworm. Never give Yahweh any of these in a sacrifice by fire on the altar. 23 You may use a bull or a sheep with a deformity or one that is stunted in growth as a freewill offering. However, it will not be accepted for a vow. 24 Never bring Yahweh an animal that has bruised, crushed, torn out, or cut out testicles. Never do any of these things to an animal in your land. 25 Never bring any kind of castrated animal received from a foreigner as a food offering for your Elohim. A castrated animal will not be accepted on your behalf because castration is a physical defect.”
26 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 27 “When a calf, a lamb, or a goat is born, it must stay with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on it may be accepted as a sacrifice by fire to Yahweh. 28 Never slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young the same day.
29 “When you sacrifice a thank offering to Yahweh, do it in the proper way. 30 Eat it the same day. Never leave any of it until morning. I am Yahweh.
31 “Carefully obey my commands. I am Yahweh. 32 Never dishonor my holy name. I will show my holiness among the Israelites. I am Yahweh, who sets you apart as holy. 33 I brought you out of Egypt to be your Elohim. I am Yahweh.”
The Day of Worship
23 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites: These are the appointed festivals with Yahweh, which you must announce as holy assemblies. 3 You may work for six days. But the seventh day is a day of worship, a day when you don’t work, a holy assembly. Don’t do any work. It is Yahweh’s day of worship wherever you live.
4 “The following are Yahweh’s appointed festivals with holy assemblies, which you must announce at their appointed times.
The Spring Festivals
5 “The fourteenth day of the first month, in the evening, is Yahweh’s Passover. 6 The fifteenth day of this same month is Yahweh’s Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day there will be a holy assembly. Don’t do any regular work. 8 Bring Yahweh a sacrifice by fire for seven days. On the seventh day there will be a holy assembly. Don’t do any regular work.”
9 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 10 “Tell the Israelites: When you come to the land I am going to give you and you harvest grain, bring the priest a bundle of the first grain you harvest. 11 He will present it to Yahweh so that you will be accepted. He will present it on the day after Passover. 12 On the day you present the bundle, you must sacrifice a one-year-old male lamb that has no defects as a burnt offering to Yahweh. 13 Bring a grain offering of four quarts of flour mixed with olive oil with it. This will be a sacrifice by fire made to Yahweh, a soothing aroma. Use one quart of wine for the wine offering. 14 Don’t eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this same day, when you bring the offering to your Elohim. It is a permanent law for generations to come wherever you live.
15 “Count seven full weeks from the day after Passover (the day you bring the bundle of grain as an offering presented to the Lord) 16 until the day after the seventh week. This is a total of fifty days. Then bring a new grain offering to Yahweh. 17 Bring two loaves of bread from your homes to present to the Lord. Bake them with four quarts of flour. They are the first harvested grain for Yahweh. 18 With the bread bring seven one-year-old lambs that have no defects, one bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to Yahweh. With these offerings also bring grain and wine offerings. They will be a sacrifice by fire, a soothing aroma to Yahweh. 19 Also sacrifice one male goat as an offering for sin and two one-year-old lambs as a fellowship offering. 20 The priest must present them along with the bread of the first harvested grain as an offering to Yahweh. All this, along with the two lambs, will be holy and will belong to Yahweh’s priests. 21 Make an announcement that there will be a holy assembly on that same day. Don’t do any regular work. It is a permanent law for generations to come wherever you live.
22 “When you harvest the grain in your land, don’t harvest the grain in the corners of your fields or gather what is left after you’re finished. Leave it for poor people and foreigners. I am Yahweh your Elohim.”
The Fall Festivals
23 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 24 “Tell the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month hold a worship festival. It will be a memorial day, a holy assembly announced by the blowing of rams’ horns. 25 Don’t do any regular work. Bring a sacrifice by fire to Yahweh.”
26 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 27 “In addition, the tenth day of this seventh month is a special day for the payment for sins. There will be a holy assembly. Humble yourselves, and bring Yahweh a sacrifice by fire. 28 Don’t do any work that day. It is a special day for the payment for sins. It is a time when you make peace with Yahweh your Elohim. 29 Those who do not humble themselves on that day will be excluded from the people. 30 I will kill those who do any work on that day. 31 Don’t do any work. It is a permanent law for generations to come wherever you live. 32 It is a day of worship, a day when you don’t work. Humble yourselves starting on the evening of the ninth day of the month. From that evening to the next, observe the day of worship.”
33 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 34 “Tell the Israelites: The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Booths to Yahweh. It will last seven days. 35 On the first day there will be a holy assembly. Don’t do any regular work. 36 For seven consecutive days bring a sacrifice by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day there will be a holy assembly. Bring Yahweh a sacrifice by fire. This is the last festival of the year. Don’t do any regular work.
37 “These are Yahweh’s appointed festivals. Announce them as holy assemblies for bringing sacrifices by fire to Yahweh. Bring burnt offerings, grain offerings, other sacrifices, and wine offerings—each one on its special day. 38 This is in addition to Yahweh’s days of worship, your gifts, all your vows, and your freewill offerings to Yahweh.
39 “However, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered what the land produces, celebrate Yahweh’s festival for seven days. The first and the eighth days will be worship festivals. 40 On the first day take the best fruits, palm branches, the branches of leafy trees and poplars, and celebrate in the presence of Yahweh your Elohim for seven days. 41 It is Yahweh’s festival. Celebrate it for seven days each year. This is a permanent law for generations to come. Celebrate this festival in the seventh month. 42 Live in booths for seven days. Everyone born in Israel must live in booths 43 so that generations to come may learn how I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am Yahweh your Elohim.”
44 So Moses told the Israelites about Yahweh’s appointed festivals.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
Mark 9:30-10:12
Jesus Again Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life(A)
30 They left that place and were passing through Galilee. Yeshua did not want anyone to know where he was 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He taught them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to people. They will kill him, but on the third day he will come back to life.”
32 The disciples didn’t understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him.
Greatness in the Kingdom(B)
33 Then they came to Capernaum. While Yeshua was at home, he asked the disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 They were silent. On the road they had argued about who was the greatest.
35 He sat down and called the twelve apostles. He told them, “Whoever wants to be the most important person must take the last place and be a servant to everyone else.” 36 Then he took a little child and had him stand among them. He put his arms around the child and said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me. Whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Using the Name of Jesus(C)
38 John said to Yeshua, “Teacher, we saw someone forcing demons out of a person by using the power and authority of your name. We tried to stop him because he was not one of us.”
39 Yeshua said, “Don’t stop him! No one who works a miracle in my name can turn around and speak evil of me. 40 Whoever isn’t against us is for us. 41 I can guarantee this truth: Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.”
Causing Others to Lose Faith(D)
42 “These little ones believe in me. It would be best for the person who causes one of them to lose faith to be thrown into the sea with a large stone hung around his neck.
43 “So if your hand causes you to lose your faith, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life disabled than to have two hands and go to hell, to the fire that cannot be put out.[a] 45 If your foot causes you to lose your faith, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 If your eye causes you to lose your faith, tear it out! It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. 48 In hell worms that eat the body never die, and the fire is never put out. 49 Everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good. But if salt loses its taste, how will you restore its flavor? Have salt within you, and live in peace with one another.”
A Discussion about Divorce(E)
10 Yeshua left there and went into the territory of Judea along the other side of the Jordan River. Crowds gathered around him again, and he taught them as he usually did.
2 Some Pharisees came to test him. They asked, “Can a husband divorce his wife?”
3 Yeshua answered them, “What command did Moses give you?”
4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to give his wife a written notice to divorce her.”
5 Yeshua said to them, “He wrote this command for you because you’re heartless. 6 But God made them male and female in the beginning, at creation. 7 That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and will remain united with his wife, 8 and the two will be one. So they are no longer two but one. 9 Therefore, don’t let anyone separate what God has joined together.”
10 When they were in a house, the disciples asked him about this. 11 He answered them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman is committing adultery. 12 If a wife divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”
Footnotes:
- Mark 9:43 Some manuscripts and translations add verses 44 and 46, which both say: “In hell worms that eat the body never die, and the fire is never put out.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
Psalm 44:1-8
Psalm 44
For the choir director; a maskil by Korah’s descendants.
1 O Elohim,
we have heard it with our own ears.
Our ancestors have told us
about the miracle you performed in their day,
in days long ago.
2 By your power you forced nations out of the land,
but you planted our ancestors there.
You shattered many groups of people,
but you set our ancestors free.[a]
3 It was not with their swords that they took possession of the land.
They did not gain victory with their own strength.
It was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your presence that did it,
because you were pleased with them.
4 You alone are my Melek, O Elohim.
You won those victories for Jacob.
5 With you we can walk over our enemies.
With your name we can trample those who attack us.
6 I do not rely on my bow,
and my sword will never save me.
7 But you saved us from our enemies.
You put to shame those who hate us.
8 All day long we praise our Elohim.
We give thanks to you forever. Selah
Footnotes:
- Psalm 44:2 Or “and you sent them away.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
Proverbs 10:19
19 Sin is unavoidable when there is much talk,
but whoever seals his lips is wise.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.