The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday February 28, 2020 (NIV)

Acceptable Sacrifices

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: Any man of the house of Israel or of the resident aliens^(A) in Israel who presents his offering^(B)—whether they present payment of vows or freewill gifts to the Lord as burnt offerings— ¹⁹ must offer an unblemished male^(C) from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for you to be accepted. ²⁰ You are not to present anything that has a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

²¹ “When a man presents a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or flock, it has to be unblemished to be acceptable; there must be no defect in it. ²² You are not to present any animal to the Lord that is blind, injured, maimed, or has a running sore, festering rash,^(D) or scabs; you may not put any of them on the altar as a fire offering to the Lord.^{(E) 23} You may sacrifice as a freewill offering any animal from the herd or flock that has an elongated or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable as a vow offering. ²⁴ You are not to present to the Lord anything that has bruised, crushed, torn, or severed testicles;^(F) you must not sacrifice them in your land. ²⁵ Neither you nor^[a] a foreigner are to present food to your God from any of these animals. They will not be accepted for you because they are deformed and have a defect.”^(G)

²⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses: ²⁷ “When an ox, sheep, or goat is born, it is to remain with^[b] its mother for seven days; from the eighth day^(H) on, it will be acceptable as an offering, a fire offering to the Lord. ²⁸ But you are not to slaughter an animal from the herd or flock on the same day as its young.^{(I) 29} When you sacrifice a thank offering^(J) to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. ³⁰ It is to be eaten on the same day.^(K) Do not let any of it remain until morning; I am the Lord.

³¹ “You are to keep my commands and do them; I am the Lord. ³² You must not profane my holy name; I must be treated as holy^(L) among the Israelites. I am the Lord who sets you apart, ³³ the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord.”

Holy Days

23 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: These are my appointed times,^(M) the times of the Lord that you will proclaim as sacred assemblies.^(N)

³ “Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there is to be a Sabbath of complete rest,^(O) a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath^(P) to the Lord wherever you live.

⁴ “These are the Lord’s appointed times, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times. ⁵ The Passover^(Q) to the Lord comes in the first month, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the month. ⁶ The Festival of Unleavened Bread^(R) to the Lord is on the fifteenth day of the same month. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. ⁷ On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any daily work. ⁸ You are to present a fire offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day there will be a sacred assembly; do not do any daily work.”

⁹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁰ “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you and reap its harvest,^[c] you are to bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest. ¹¹ He will present the sheaf before the Lord so that you may be accepted; the priest is to present it on the day after the Sabbath. ¹² On the day you present the sheaf, you are to offer a year-old male lamb^[d] without blemish^(S) as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹³ Its grain offering is to be four quarts^[e] of fine flour mixed with oil as a fire offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma, and its drink offering will be one quart^[f] of wine. ¹⁴ You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or any new grain^[g] until this very day, and until you have brought the offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live.

¹⁵ “You are to count seven^[h] complete weeks^[i](T) starting from the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the presentation offering.^{(U) 16} You are to count fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. ¹⁷ Bring two loaves of bread from your settlements as a presentation offering, each of them made from four quarts of fine flour, baked with yeast, as firstfruits^(V) to the Lord. ¹⁸ You are to present with the bread seven unblemished male lambs a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offerings and drink offerings, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁹ You are also to prepare one male goat as a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a fellowship sacrifice. ²⁰ The priest will present the lambs with the bread of firstfruits as a presentation offering before the Lord; the bread and the two lambs will be holy to the Lord for the priest. ²¹ On that same day you are to make a proclamation and hold a sacred assembly. You are not to do any daily work. This is to be a permanent statute wherever you live throughout your generations. ²² When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap all the way to the edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the resident alien;^(W) I am the Lord your God.”

²³ The Lord spoke to Moses: ²⁴ “Tell the Israelites: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a day of complete rest, commemoration, and trumpet blasts^(X)—a sacred assembly.^{(Y) 25} You must not do any daily work, but you must present a fire offering to the Lord.”

²⁶ The Lord again spoke to Moses: ²⁷ “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement.^(Z) You are to hold a sacred assembly and practice self-denial;^(AA) you are to present a fire offering to the Lord. ²⁸ On this particular day you are not to do any work, for it is a Day of Atonement to make atonement for yourselves before the Lord your God. ²⁹ If any person does not practice self-denial on this particular day, he is to be cut off from his people. ³⁰ I will destroy among his people anyone who does any work on this same day. ³¹ You are not to do any work. This is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live. ³² It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must practice self-denial. You are to observe your Sabbath from the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening.”

³³ The Lord spoke to Moses: ³⁴ “Tell the Israelites: The Festival of Shelters^[j](AB) to the Lord begins on the fifteenth day of this seventh month and continues for seven days. ³⁵ There is to be a sacred assembly on the first day; you are not to do any daily work. ³⁶ You are to present a fire offering to the Lord for seven days. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present a fire offering to the Lord. It is a solemn gathering;^(AC) you are not to do any daily work.

³⁷ “These are the Lord’s appointed times that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for presenting fire offerings to the Lord, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its designated day. ³⁸ These are in addition to the offerings for the Lord’s Sabbaths, your gifts, all your vow offerings, and all your freewill offerings that you give to the Lord.

³⁹ “You are to celebrate the Lord’s festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh month for seven days after you have gathered the produce of the land. There will be complete rest on the first day and complete rest on the eighth day. ⁴⁰ On the first day you are to take the product^(AD) of majestic trees—palm fronds,^(AE) boughs of leafy trees,^(AF) and willows of the brook^(AG)—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹ You are to celebrate it as a festival to the Lord seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for you throughout your generations; celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴² You are to live in shelters^(AH) for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must live in shelters, ⁴³ so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” ⁴⁴ So Moses declared the Lord’s appointed times to the Israelites.

The Second Prediction of His Death

³⁰ Then^(A) they left that place and made their way through Galilee, but he did not want anyone to know it.^{(B) 31} For he was teaching^(C) his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man^(D) is going to be betrayed^[a] into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after he is killed, he will rise^(E) three days later.”^{(F) 32} But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask him.^(G)

Who Is the Greatest?

³³ They^(H) came to Capernaum.^(I) When he was in the house,^(J) he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?”^{(K) 34} But they were silent,^(L) because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest.^{(M) 35} Sitting down, he called the Twelve^(N) and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last and servant of all.”^{(O) 36} He took a child,^(P) had him stand among them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever welcomes^[b] one little child such as this in my name^(Q) welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but him who sent^(R) me.”^(S)

In His Name

³⁸ John^(T) said to him, “Teacher,^(U) we saw someone^[c] driving out demons^(V) in your name,^(W) and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”^(X)

³⁹ “Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle^(Y) in my name who can soon afterward speak evil of me. ⁴⁰ For whoever is not against us is for us.^{(Z) 41} And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink^(AA) in my name, because you belong to Christ^(AB) —truly I tell you,^(AC) he will never lose his reward.^(AD)

Warnings from Jesus

⁴² “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away^(AE) —it would be better for him if a heavy millstone^(AF) were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

⁴³ “And if your hand causes you to fall away, cut it off.^(AG) It is better for you to enter life maimed^(AH) than to have two hands and go to hell, the unquenchable fire.^{[d](AI) 45} And if your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame^(AJ) than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.^{[e] 47} And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God^(AK) with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown^(AL) into hell,^{(AM) 48} where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.^{[f] 49} For everyone will be salted with fire.^{[g](AN)(AO) 50} Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you season it?^(AP) Have salt^(AQ) among yourselves, and be at peace^(AR) with one another.”

The Question of Divorce

10 He^(AS) set out from there and went to the region of Judea^(AT) and across the Jordan.^(AU) Then crowds converged on him again, and as was his custom he taught^(AV) them again.

² Some Pharisees^(AW) came to test^(AX) him, asking, “Is it lawful^(AY) for a man to divorce^(AZ) his wife?” ^(BA)

³ He replied to them, “What did Moses^(BB) command you?”

⁴ They said, “Moses permitted us to write divorce papers^(BC) and send her away.”^(BD)

⁵ But Jesus told them, “He wrote this command for you because of the hardness of your hearts. ^{(BE) 6} But from the beginning^(BF) of creation^(BG) God^[h] made them male and female.^{[i](BH) 7} For this reason a man will leave ^(BI) his father and mother ^{[j] 8} and the two will become one flesh.^[k](BJ) So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”^(BK)

¹⁰ When they were in the house again, the disciples questioned him about this matter. ¹¹ He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife^(BL) and marries^(BM) another commits adultery^(BN) against her. ¹² Also, if she divorces her husband^(BO) and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Psalm 44

Israel’s Complaint

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