Leviticus 19:1-20:21
Moral and Ceremonial Laws
19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you will keep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
4 Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves cast metal gods: I am the Lord your God.
5 When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you might be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the next day, and if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, then it is contaminated. It shall not be accepted. 8 Therefore everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has defiled what is holy of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people.
9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap up to the edge of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not glean bare your vineyard, nor shall you gather every fallen grape of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God.
11 You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.
12 You shall not swear falsely by My name, and so defile the name of your God: I am the Lord.
13 You shall not defraud your neighbor or rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not stay with you all night until the morning.
14 You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
15 You shall do no unrighteousness in a court. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person who is great, but in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.
16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, nor shall you stand by while the life of your neighbor is in danger: I am the Lord.
17 You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely reason honestly with your neighbor, and not suffer sin because of him.
18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
19 You shall keep My statutes.
You shall not let your livestock breed with a different kind.
You shall not sow your field with mixed seed, nor shall your garment be mixed from two types of fabric.
20 Whoever lies with a slave woman who is betrothed to another man and not yet ransomed or given freedom, compensation will be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 He shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22 The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin which he has done, and he will be forgiven for the sin that he has committed.
23 When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall count the fruit as forbidden.[a] Three years it shall be forbidden to you. It shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all the fruit shall be holy and an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 And in the fifth year you shall eat of the fruit that it may yield an increase to you: I am the Lord your God.
26 You shall not eat anything with the blood in it, nor shall you practice divination or fortune-telling.
27 You shall not round the corners of the hair on your head, nor shall you mar the edges of your beard.
28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.
29 Do not prostitute your daughter and cause her to be defiled, lest the land fall into whoredom and become full of wickedness.
30 You shall keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary: I am the Lord.
31 Do not turn to spirits through mediums or necromancers. Do not seek after them to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.
32 You shall rise up before a gray head, and honor the face of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord.
33 When a foreigner sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The foreigner who dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
35 You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment regarding measures in length, weight, or quantity. 36 You shall have honest balances, honest weights, an honest ephah,[b] and an honest hin:[c] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments and do them: I am the Lord.
Penalties for Violating the Law
20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: Whoever from the children of Israel or from the foreigners who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molek, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him. 3 I will set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molek to defile My sanctuary and to defile My holy name. 4 If the people of the land in any way hide their eyes from the man when he gives of his children to Molek and do not put him to death, 5 then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut them off from their people, both him and those who follow after him as whores after Molek.
6 The person who turns to spirits through mediums and necromancers in order to whore after them, I will even set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.
7 Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 You shall keep My statutes, and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
9 For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall be surely put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood guilt shall be upon him.
10 If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
11 If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has exposed his father’s nakedness. Both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood guilt shall be upon them.
12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed a perversion. Their blood guilt shall be upon them.
13 If a man lies with another man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood guilt shall be upon them.
14 If a man lies with a woman and also her mother, it is wickedness. Both he and they shall be burned with fire, so that there is no wickedness among you.
15 If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal.
16 If a woman approaches an animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood guilt shall be upon them.
17 If a man lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or mother, they have exposed each other’s nakedness; it is a wicked thing and they shall be cut off from the sight of their people. He has exposed his sister’s nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity.
18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and exposes her nakedness, her fountain of blood is then exposed. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
19 You shall not have relations with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister, for this is to expose the nakedness of one’s relative. They shall bear their iniquity.
20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has exposed his uncle’s nakedness. They shall bear their sin. They shall die childless.
21 If a man lies with his brother’s wife, it is impurity. He has exposed his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless.
Footnotes:
- Leviticus 19:23 Or uncircumcised.
- Leviticus 19:36 A dry measure of about ⅗ of a bushel, or 22 liters.
- Leviticus 19:36 A liquid measure of about 1 gallon, or 3.8 liters.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
Mark 8:11-38
The Demand for a Sign(A)
11 The Pharisees came up and began to debate with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven to test Him. 12 He sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.” 13 Then He left them and, entering the boat again, departed to the other side.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod(B)
14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread and did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. 15 He warned them, “Take heed. Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
16 They reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.”
17 Being aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why do you reason that you have no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts still hardened? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? Having ears, do you not hear?[a] And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?”
They said to Him, “Twelve.”
20 “And the seven among the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?”
They said, “Seven.”
21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
The Healing of a Blind Man at Bethsaida
22 He came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Him and entreated Him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. When He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”
24 He looked up and said, “I see men as trees, walking.”
25 Then again He put His hands on his eyes and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. 26 He sent him home away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell it to anyone in the town.”
Peter’s Declaration About Jesus(C)
27 Jesus and His disciples went out into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. On the way He asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I am?”
28 They answered, “John the Baptist, but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”
29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered Him, “You are the Christ.”
30 He warned them that they should tell no one about Him.
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection(D)
31 He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said this openly. And Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him.
33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
34 When He had called the people to Him, with His disciples, He said to them, “If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it. But whoever would lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 Whoever therefore is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Footnotes:
Cross references:
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
Psalm 42
BOOK TWO
Psalms 42–72
Psalm 42
For the Music Director. A Contemplative Maskil of the sons of Korah.
1 As the deer pants after the water brooks,
so my soul pants after You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When will I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they always say to me,
“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul within me.
For I would travel with the throng of people;
I proceeded with them to the house of God,
with the voice of joy and thanks,
with a multitude making a pilgrimage.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted in me?
Hope in God,
for I will yet thank Him
for the help of His presence.
6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me;
therefore I will remember You
from the land of Jordan,
and of the Hermon, from the hill of Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
at the noise of Your waterfalls;
all Your waves and Your billows
passed over me.
8 Yet the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
and in the night His song will be with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will say to God, my rock,
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 With shattering in my bones,
those harassing me reproach me,
when they say to me every day,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why, my soul, are you cast down?
Why do you groan within me?
Wait for God;
I will yet thank Him,
For He is my deliverance and my God.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
Proverbs 10:17
17 He who keeps instruction is in the way of life,
but he who refuses reproof errs.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.