The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday February 25, 2017 (NIV)

²⁹ “This will be a permanent law for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month both native Israelites and foreigners must humble themselves. They must do no work. ³⁰ On this day Aaron will make peace with the Lord to make you clean. Then you will be clean from all your sins in the Lord’s presence. ³¹ This is the most important worship festival there is for you. You will humble yourselves. It is a permanent law. ³² The priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as chief priest in his father’s place will pay for sins. He will put on the holy linen clothes ³³ and will make peace with the Lord at the holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar. He will make peace with the Lord for the priests and all the worshipers.

³⁴ “This permanent law tells you how to make peace with the Lord once a year for all the sins the Israelites committed.”

Aaron did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Eating Sacrifices

17 The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites that this is what the Lord has commanded: ³ Any Israelite who slaughters a bull, sheep, or goat inside or outside the camp ⁴ is guilty of bloodshed. He has shed blood and must be excluded from the people. Bring the animal to the entrance of the tent of meeting. Offer it to the Lord in front of the Lord’s tent. ⁵ This means that the people of Israel must take the sacrifices they have been making in the open fields and bring them to the Lord. They must bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The people will sacrifice them as fellowship offerings to the Lord. ⁶ The priest will pour the blood against the Lord’s altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He will burn the fat as a soothing aroma to the Lord. ⁷ The people must stop sacrificing to goat idols and chasing after them as though they were prostitutes. This is a permanent law for the people and for future generations.

⁸ “Tell them: If Israelites or foreigners make burnt offerings or sacrifices ⁹ but do not bring them to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer them to the Lord, they must be excluded from the people.

Eating Blood

¹⁰ “If Israelites or foreigners eat any blood, I will condemn them and exclude them from the people, ¹¹ because blood contains life. I have given this blood to you to make peace with me on the altar. Blood is needed to make peace with me. ¹² That is why I have said to the people of Israel: Neither you nor foreigners should ever eat blood.

¹³ “If Israelites or foreigners hunt any animal or bird that may be eaten, they must pour out the animal’s blood and cover it with dirt. ¹⁴ This is because the life of any creature is in its blood. So I have said to the people of Israel: Never eat any blood, because the life of any creature is in its blood. Whoever eats blood must be excluded from the people.

¹⁵ “Native Israelites or foreigners who eat the body of an animal that dies naturally or is killed by another animal must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. Then they will be clean. ¹⁶ If they don’t wash their clothes and their bodies, they will be guilty of sin.”

Forbidden Sexual Practices

18 The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites: I am the Lord your God. ³ You used to live in Egypt. Don’t live the way the Egyptians do. I am bringing you to Canaan. Don’t live the way the Canaanites do. Never live by their standards. ⁴ Follow my rules, and live by my standards. I am the Lord your God. ⁵ Live by my standards, and obey my rules. You will have life through them. I am the Lord.

⁶ “Never have sexual intercourse with anyone related to you by blood. I am the Lord.

⁷ “Never have sexual intercourse with your mother. She is your own mother. Never have sexual intercourse with her. ⁸ Never have sexual intercourse with your stepmother. She is related to you through your father. ⁹ Never have sexual intercourse with your stepsister, whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter. It makes no difference whether or not she was born in your house. ¹⁰ Never have sexual intercourse with your granddaughter, whether she is your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, because she is related to you. ¹¹ Never have sexual intercourse with a daughter of your father and his wife. She is your own sister. ¹² Never have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister. She is your paternal aunt. ¹³ Never have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister. She is your maternal aunt. ¹⁴ Never have sexual intercourse with the wife of your father’s brother. She, too, is your aunt. ¹⁵ Never have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife. Never have sexual intercourse with her. ¹⁶ Never have sexual intercourse with your sister-in-law. She is your brother’s wife. ¹⁷ Never have sexual intercourse with a woman and her daughter or a woman and her granddaughter. They are related. Doing this is perverted. ¹⁸ While your wife is living, never marry her sister as a rival wife and have sexual intercourse with her.

¹⁹ “Never have sexual intercourse with a woman while she is unclean during her monthly period. ²⁰ Never have sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife and become unclean with her. ²¹ Never give your children as sacrifices to the god Molech by burning them alive. If you do, you are dishonoring the name of your God. I am the Lord. ²² Never have sexual intercourse with a man as with a woman. It is disgusting. ²³ Never have sexual intercourse with any animal and become unclean with it. A woman must never offer herself to an animal for sexual intercourse. It is unnatural.

Punishment for Sexual Sins

²⁴ “Do not become unclean in any of these ways. By these practices all the nations which I am forcing out of your way have become unclean. ²⁵ The land has become unclean. I will punish it for its sins. The land will vomit out those who live in it. ²⁶ Live by my standards, and obey my rules. Neither you nor any foreigner should ever do any of these disgusting things. ²⁷ The people of the land who were there before you did all these disgusting things. As a result, the land has become unclean. ²⁸ If you make the land unclean, it will vomit you out as it has vomited out the people who were there before you. ²⁹ Whoever does any of these disgusting things must be excluded from the people. ³⁰ So you must follow my instructions. Don’t live by the standards of the people who lived there before you. What they do is disgusting. Never become unclean that way. I am the Lord your God.”

The Faith of a Greek Woman^(A)

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went to the territory of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know that he was staying in a house there. However, it couldn’t be kept a secret.

²⁵ A woman whose little daughter had an evil spirit heard about Jesus. She went to him and bowed down. ²⁶ The woman happened to be Greek, born in Phoenicia in Syria. She asked him to force the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷ Jesus said to her, “First, let the children eat all they want. It’s not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁸ She answered him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat some of the children’s scraps.”

²⁹ Jesus said to her, “Because you have said this, go! The demon has left your daughter.”

³⁰ The woman went home and found the little child lying on her bed, and the demon was gone.

Jesus Cures a Deaf Man

³¹ Jesus then left the neighborhood of Tyre. He went through Sidon and the territory of the Ten Cities^[a] to the Sea of Galilee.

³² Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and who also had a speech defect. They begged Jesus to lay his hand on him. ³³ Jesus took him away from the crowd to be alone with him. He put his fingers into the man’s ears, and after spitting, he touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ Then he looked up to heaven, sighed, and said to the man, “Ephphatha!” which means, “Be opened!” ³⁵ At once the man could hear and talk normally.

³⁶ Jesus ordered the people not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them, the more they spread the news. ³⁷ Jesus completely amazed the people. They said, “He has done everything well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute talk.”

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand^(B)

8 About that time there was once again a large crowd with nothing to eat. Jesus called his disciples and said to them, ² “I feel sorry for the people. They have been with me three days now and have nothing to eat. ³ If I send them home before they’ve eaten, they will become exhausted on the road. Some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴ His disciples asked him, “Where could anyone get enough bread to feed these people in this place where no one lives?”

⁵ Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”

They answered, “Seven.”

⁶ He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. He took the seven loaves and gave thanks to God. Then he broke the bread and gave it to his disciples to serve to the people. ⁷ They also had a few small fish. He blessed them and said that the fish should also be served to the people. ⁸ The people ate as much as they wanted. The disciples picked up the leftover pieces and filled seven large baskets. ⁹ About four thousand people were there. Then he sent the people on their way.

¹⁰ After that, Jesus and his disciples got into a boat and went into the region of Dalmanutha.

Psalm 41

For the choir director; a psalm by David.