The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday February 23, 2017 (NIV)

Leviticus 14

Cleansing after Skin Diseases

14 The Lord spoke to Moses, “These are the instructions for making a person clean after a skin disease. He must be taken to the priest. The priest will go outside the camp and examine him. If the person is healed, the priest will order someone to get two living, clean birds, some cedar wood, red yarn, and a hyssop sprig to use for the cleansing. Then the priest will order someone to kill one bird over a clay bowl containing fresh water. The priest will take the living bird, the cedar wood, the red yarn, and the hyssop sprig and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. He will sprinkle the blood seven times on the one to be cleansed and will declare that person clean. Then he will let the living bird fly away into the open country.

“The one to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and wash. Then he will be clean. After that he may go into the camp. However, for seven days he will live outside his tent. On the seventh day he must shave off all the hair on his head, his beard, and his eyebrows, and he must wash his clothes and body. Then he will be clean.

10 “On the eighth day he must take two male lambs that have no defects and a one-year-old female lamb that has no defects. He must also take eight cups of flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering along with a quart of olive oil. 11 The priest who will declare him clean must bring the person and his offerings into the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12 The priest will take one of the male lambs and the quart of olive oil and present them to the Lord as a guilt offering. 13 He will slaughter the lamb in the holy place where he slaughters the offering for sin and the burnt offering. He will do this because the guilt offering, like the offering for sin, belongs to the priest. It is very holy. 14 Then the priest will take some of the blood from the guilt offering and put it on the right ear lobe, on the right thumb, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed. 15 The priest will also take some of the olive oil and pour it into his own left hand. 16 He will dip his right finger in the oil in his left hand, and with his finger sprinkle some of the oil seven times in the Lord’s presence. 17 The priest will put some of the oil that is still in his hand on the right ear lobe, on the right thumb, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed. These are the same places he had put the blood of the guilt offering. 18 The priest will put the rest of the oil in his hand on the head of the one to be cleansed. So he will make peace with the Lord for that person in the Lord’s presence. 19 The priest will also sacrifice the offering for sin to make peace with the Lord for the one who is being cleansed from his impurity. After that, he will slaughter the burnt offering. 20 The priest will sacrifice the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for that person, and the person who had the skin disease will be clean.

Cleansing for a Poor Person after a Skin Disease

21 “But if the one to be cleansed is poor and cannot afford that much, he must take one male lamb, present it to make peace with the Lord for himself, and use it for his guilt offering. He will take only eight cups of flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering, a quart of olive oil, 22 and two mourning doves or two pigeons (whatever he can afford). The one will be an offering for sin and the other a burnt offering. 23 On the eighth day he will take them to the priest for his cleansing at the entrance to the tent of meeting in the Lord’s presence. 24 The priest will take the lamb for the guilt offering and the quart of olive oil and present them to the Lord. 25 He will slaughter the lamb as a guilt offering. Then the priest will take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the right ear lobe, on the right thumb, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed. 26 The priest will pour some of the olive oil into his own left hand. 27 With his right finger he will sprinkle some of the oil seven times in the Lord’s presence. 28 The priest will put some of the oil that is in his hand on the right ear lobe, on the right thumb, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed. These are the same places he had put the blood of the guilt offering. 29 In the Lord’s presence, the priest will pour the rest of the oil in his hand on the head of the one to be cleansed in order to make a payment for him. 30 Then the one to be cleansed must take one of the mourning doves or pigeons (whichever he can afford), [a] 31 and sacrifice it as an offering for sin. He will take the other and sacrifice it as a burnt offering together with the grain offering. So in the Lord’s presence the priest will make peace with the Lord for the one who is being cleansed. 32 These are the instructions for one who has an infectious skin disease but cannot afford what is needed for his cleansing.”

Mildew in Houses

33 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, 34 “When you come to Canaan that I am going to give to you, mildew may appear in a house. 35 The owner of that house must come and tell the priest that there is something that looks like mildew in his house.

36 “Before the priest examines the house, he will order everything taken out of it so that nothing in the house will become unclean. Then the priest will go inside to examine the house. 37 He will examine the mildew area on the walls. If it is green and red in sunken areas that are deeper than the rest of the wall, 38 the priest will go out to the door of the house and close up the house for seven days. 39 On the seventh day the priest will go back and examine it again. If the mildew in the walls of the house has spread, 40 the priest must order the stones that have the mildew to be torn out and thrown outside the city in an unclean place. 41 He must have the entire inside of the house scraped. The plaster dust scraped off the walls must be dumped in an unclean place outside the city. 42 The stones must be replaced, and the house must be plastered again. 43 If the mildew develops again in the house after all this, 44 the priest will examine it one more time. If it is a spreading type of mildew, the house is unclean. 45 The house—stones, wood, and all the plaster—must be torn down and taken to an unclean place outside the city. 46 Whoever goes into the house any time it is closed up will be unclean until evening. 47 Whoever sleeps or eats in the house must wash his clothes. 48 But if the priest comes and makes an examination and the mildew has not spread in the house after it is plastered again, the priest must declare the house clean. The mildew is gone.

49 “The priest must take two birds, cedar wood, red yarn, and a hyssop sprig and use them to make the house clean. 50 He must kill the one bird over a clay bowl containing fresh water. 51 He must take the cedar wood, the hyssop sprig, the red yarn, and the living bird and dip them in the fresh water containing the blood of the bird that was killed. He must sprinkle the house seven times. 52 So he must use the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the living bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the red yarn to make the house clean. 53 Then he will let the living bird fly from the city into the open country. He will make peace with the Lord for the house, and it will be clean.

54 “These are the instructions for any kind of mildew or fungus 55 that infects clothing or houses 56 and for skin diseases where there is a sore, a rash, or an irritated area. 57 These instructions for skin diseases and mildew help you distinguish between what is clean and what is unclean.”

Footnotes:

  1. Leviticus 14:31 Greek, Syriac; Masoretic Text repeats “whichever he can afford.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Mark 6:30-56

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand(A)

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus. They reported to him everything they had done and taught. 31 So he said to them, “Let’s go to a place where we can be alone to rest for a while.” Many people were coming and going, and Jesus and the apostles didn’t even have a chance to eat.

32 So they went away in a boat to a place where they could be alone. 33 But many people saw them leave and recognized them. The people ran from all the cities and arrived ahead of them. 34 When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd and felt sorry for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he spent a lot of time teaching them.

35 When it was late, his disciples came to him. They said, “No one lives around here, and it’s already late. 36 Send the people to the closest farms and villages to buy themselves something to eat.”

37 Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “Should we go and spend about a year’s wages on bread to feed them?”

38 He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”

When they found out, they told him, “Five loaves of bread and two fish.”

39 Then he ordered all of them to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.

41 After he took the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed the food. He broke the loaves apart and kept giving them to the disciples to give to the people. He also gave pieces of the two fish to everyone. 42 All of them ate as much as they wanted. 43 When they picked up the leftover pieces, they filled twelve baskets with bread and fish. 44 There were 5,000 men who had eaten the bread.

Jesus Walks on the Sea(B)

45 Jesus quickly made his disciples get into a boat and cross to Bethsaida ahead of him while he sent the people away. 46 After saying goodbye to them, he went up a mountain to pray. 47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land.

48 Jesus saw that they were in a lot of trouble as they rowed, because they were going against the wind. Between three and six o’clock in the morning, he came to them. He was walking on the sea. He wanted to pass by them. 49 When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought, “It’s a ghost!” and they began to scream. 50 All of them saw him and were terrified.

Immediately, he said, “Calm down! It’s me. Don’t be afraid!” 51 He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped blowing. The disciples were astounded. 52 (They didn’t understand what had happened with the loaves of bread. Instead, their minds were closed.)

53 They crossed the sea, came to shore at Gennesaret, and anchored there.

54 As soon as they stepped out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran all over the countryside and began to carry the sick on cots to any place where they heard he was. 56 Whenever he would go into villages, cities, or farms, people would put their sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch the edge of his clothes. Everyone who touched his clothes was made well.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Psalm 40:1-10

Psalm 40

For the choir director; a psalm by David.

I waited patiently for the Lord.
He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
He pulled me out of a horrible pit,
out of the mud and clay.
He set my feet on a rock
and made my steps secure.
He placed a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see this and worship.
They will trust the Lord.
Blessed is the person
who places his confidence in the Lord
and does not rely on arrogant people
or those who follow lies.
You have done many miraculous things, O Lord my God.
You have made many wonderful plans for us.
No one compares to you!
I will tell others about your miracles,
which are more than I can count.

You were not pleased with sacrifices and offerings.
You have dug out two ears for me.[a]
You did not ask for burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin.
Then I said, “I have come!
(It is written about me in the scroll of the book.)
I am happy to do your will, O my God.”
Your teachings are deep within me.
I will announce the good news of righteousness
among those assembled for worship.
I will not close my lips.
You know that, O Lord.
10 I have not buried your righteousness deep in my heart.
I have been outspoken about your faithfulness and your salvation.
I have not hidden your mercy and your truth
from those assembled for worship.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 40:6 Hebrew meaning of this line uncertain.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Proverbs 10:11-12

11 The mouth of a righteous person is a fountain of life,
but the mouths of wicked people conceal violence.
12 Hate starts quarrels,
but love covers every wrong.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group