The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday February 26, 2022 (NIV)

Laws of Holiness

19 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy^(A) because I, the Lord your God, am holy.^(B)

³ “Each of you is to respect his mother and father.^(C) You are to keep my Sabbaths; I am the Lord your God. ⁴ Do not turn to worthless idols^(D) or make cast images^(E) of gods for yourselves;^(F) I am the Lord your God.

⁵ “When you offer a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. ⁶ It is to be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day, but what remains on the third day must be burned.^{(G) 7} If any is eaten on the third day, it is a repulsive thing; it will not be accepted.^{(H) 8} Anyone who eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned what is holy to the Lord. That person is to be cut off from his people.^(I)

⁹ “When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings^(J) of your harvest. ¹⁰ Do not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor^(K) and the resident alien;^(L) I am the Lord your God.

¹¹ “Do not steal.^(M) Do not act deceptively^(N) or lie^(O) to one another. ¹² Do not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God;^(P) I am the Lord.

¹³ “Do not oppress^(Q) your neighbor or rob^(R) him. The wages due a hired worker^(S) must not remain with you until morning. ¹⁴ Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,^(T) but you are to fear your God;^(U) I am the Lord.^(V)

¹⁵ “Do not act unjustly^(W) when deciding a case. Do not be partial^(X) to the poor or give preference to the rich;^(Y) judge your neighbor fairly. ¹⁶ Do not go about spreading slander^(Z) among your people; do not jeopardize^[a] your neighbor’s life; I am the Lord.

¹⁷ “Do not harbor hatred against your brother.^[b](AA) Rebuke your neighbor directly, and you will not incur guilt because of him.^{(AB) 18} Do not take revenge^(AC) or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself;^(AD) I am the Lord.

¹⁹ “You are to keep my statutes. Do not crossbreed two different kinds of your livestock, sow your fields with two kinds of seed, or put on a garment made of two kinds of material.^(AE)

²⁰ “If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman who is a slave designated for another man, but she has not been redeemed^(AF) or given her freedom, there must be punishment.^[c] They are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. ²¹ However, he must bring a ram as his guilt^[d] offering to the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.^{(AG) 22} The priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord with the ram of the guilt offering for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.

²³ “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you are to consider the fruit forbidden.^[e] It will be forbidden to you for three years; it is not to be eaten. ²⁴ In the fourth year all its fruit is to be consecrated as a praise offering^(AH) to the Lord. ²⁵ But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way its yield will increase for you;^(AI) I am the Lord your God.

²⁶ “You are not to eat anything with blood in it.^[f](AJ) You are not to practice divination^(AK) or witchcraft.^{(AL) 27} You are not to cut off the hair at the sides of your head or mar the edge of your beard.^{(AM) 28} You are not to make gashes on your bodies for the dead^(AN) or put tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the Lord.

²⁹ “Do not debase^[g](AO) your daughter by making her a prostitute,^(AP) or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity. ³⁰ Keep my Sabbaths and revere my sanctuary;^(AQ) I am the Lord.

³¹ “Do not turn to mediums^[h](AR) or consult spiritists,^[i](AS) or you will be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God.

³² “You are to rise in the presence of the elderly and honor the old.^(AT) Fear your God; I am the Lord.

³³ “When an alien resides with you in your land, you must not oppress^(AU) him. ³⁴ You will regard the alien who resides with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself,^(AV) for you were aliens in the land of Egypt;^(AW) I am the Lord your God.

³⁵ “Do not be unfair^(AX) in measurements of length, weight, or volume. ³⁶ You are to have honest balances,^(AY) honest weights, an honest dry measure,^[j] and an honest liquid measure;^[k](AZ) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ³⁷ Keep all my statutes and all my ordinances and do them; I am the Lord.”

Molech Worship and Spiritism

20 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Say to the Israelites: Any Israelite or alien residing in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech^(BA) must be put to death; the people of the country are to stone him.^{(BB) 3} I will turn^[l] against that man and cut him off from his people, because he gave his offspring to Molech, defiling my sanctuary^(BC) and profaning my holy name.^{(BD) 4} But if the people of the country look the other way when that man^[m] gives any of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, ⁵ then I will turn against that man and his family, and cut off from their people both him and all who follow^[n] him in prostituting^(BE) themselves with Molech.

⁶ “Whoever turns to mediums^[o](BF) or spiritists^[p] and prostitutes himself with them, I will turn against that person and cut him off from his people. ⁷ Consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. ⁸ Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sets you apart.

Family and Sexual Offenses

⁹ “If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death.^(BG) He has cursed his father or mother; his death is his own fault.^[q]

¹⁰ “If a man commits adultery^(BH) with a married woman—if he commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. ¹¹ If a man sleeps with his father’s wife, he has violated the intimacy that belongs to his father.^[r](BI) Both of them must be put to death; their death is their own fault.^{[s] 12} If a man sleeps with his daughter-in-law,^(BJ) both of them must be put to death. They have acted perversely; their death is their own fault. ¹³ If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman,^(BK) they have both committed a detestable act.^(BL) They must be put to death; their death is their own fault. ¹⁴ If a man marries^[t] a woman and her mother,^(BM) it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned,^(BN) so that there will be no depravity among you. ¹⁵ If a man has sexual intercourse with^[u] an animal, he must be put to death; you are also to kill the animal. ¹⁶ If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you are to kill the woman and the animal.^(BO) They must be put to death; their death is their own fault. ¹⁷ If a man marries his sister,^(BP) whether his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and they have sexual relations,^[v](BQ) it is a disgrace.^(BR) They are to be cut off publicly from their people. He has had sexual intercourse with his sister; he will bear his iniquity. ¹⁸ If a man sleeps with a menstruating woman and has sexual intercourse with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has uncovered the source of her blood.^(BS) Both of them are to be cut off from their people. ¹⁹ You must not have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister,^(BT) for it is exposing one’s own blood relative; both people will bear their iniquity. ²⁰ If a man sleeps with his aunt, he has violated the intimacy that belongs to his uncle;^[w](BU) they will bear their guilt and die childless. ²¹ If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is impurity.^(BV) He has violated the intimacy that belongs to his brother;^[x](BW) they will be childless.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

¹¹ The^(A) Pharisees^(B) came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign^(C) from heaven^(D) to test^(E) him. ¹² Sighing deeply in his spirit,^(F) he said, “Why does this generation^(G) demand a sign? Truly I tell you,^(H) no sign will be given to this generation.” ¹³ Then he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.

¹⁴ The disciples had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵ Then^(I) he gave them strict orders: “Watch out! Beware of the leaven^[a](J) of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”^{(K) 16} They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. ¹⁷ Aware of this, he said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact you have no bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Do you have hardened hearts?^{(L) 18} Do you have eyes and not see; do you have ears and not hear?^[b](M) And do you not remember?^{(N) 19} When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?”

“Twelve,” they told him.

²⁰ “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you collect?”

“Seven,” they said.

²¹ And he said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?” ^(O)

Healing a Blind Man

²² They came to Bethsaida.^(P) They brought a blind^(Q) man to him and begged him to touch him. ²³ He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting^(R) on his eyes and laying his hands on^(S) him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴ He looked up and said, “I see people—they look like trees walking.”^(T)

²⁵ Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ Then he sent^(U) him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”^[c](V)

Peter’s Confession of the Messiah

²⁷ Jesus^(W) went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

²⁸ They answered him, “John the Baptist;^(X) others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.”^(Y)

²⁹ “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?”

Peter^(Z) answered him, “You are the Messiah.”^{(AA) 30} And he strictly warned^(AB) them to tell no one about him.

His Death and Resurrection Predicted

³¹ Then^(AC) he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man^(AD) to suffer many things and be rejected^(AE) by the elders,^(AF) chief priests, and scribes,^(AG) be killed, and rise^(AH) after three days.^{(AI) 32} He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan!^(AJ) You are not thinking about God’s concerns^[d] but human concerns.”

Take Up Your Cross

³⁴ Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself,^(AK) take up his cross,^(AL) and follow me.^{(AM) 35} For whoever wants to save^(AN) his life will lose it,^(AO) but whoever loses^(AP) his life^(AQ) because of me^(AR) and the gospel^(AS) will save it.^{(AT) 36} For what does it benefit^(AU) someone to gain^(AV) the whole world^(AW) and yet lose^(AX) his life?^{(AY) 37} What can anyone give in exchange for his life?^{(AZ) 38} For whoever is ashamed^(BA) of me and my words^(BB) in this adulterous and sinful^(BC) generation,^(BD) the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory^(BE) of his Father^(BF) with the holy^(BG) angels.”^(BH)

BOOK II

(Psalms 42–72)

Psalm 42

Longing for God

For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.