Clean and Unclean Food^(A)

11 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat:^{(B) 3} You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.

⁴ “‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them.^(C) The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. ⁵ The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁶ The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁷ And the pig,^(D) though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. ⁸ You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.^(E)

⁹ “‘Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales. ¹⁰ But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean.^{(F) 11} And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean.^{(G) 12} Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you.^(H)

¹³ “‘These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle,^[a] the vulture, the black vulture, ¹⁴ the red kite, any kind^(I) of black kite, ¹⁵ any kind of raven,^{(J) 16} the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, ¹⁷ the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, ¹⁸ the white owl,^(K) the desert owl, the osprey, ¹⁹ the stork,^(L) any kind^(M) of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.^(N)

²⁰ “‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you.^{(O) 21} There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. ²² Of these you may eat any kind of locust,^(P) katydid, cricket or grasshopper. ²³ But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.

²⁴ “‘You will make yourselves unclean by these;^(Q) whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening.^{(R) 25} Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes,^(S) and they will be unclean till evening.^(T)

²⁶ “‘Every animal that does not have a divided hoof or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean. ²⁷ Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. ²⁸ Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.^(U) These animals are unclean for you.

²⁹ “‘Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you:^(V) the weasel, the rat,^(W) any kind of great lizard, ³⁰ the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. ³¹ Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening. ³² When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth.^(X) Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then it will be clean. ³³ If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot.^{(Y) 34} Any food you are allowed to eat that has come into contact with water from any such pot is unclean, and any liquid that is drunk from such a pot is unclean. ³⁵ Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean. ³⁶ A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean. ³⁷ If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean. ³⁸ But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.

³⁹ “‘If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies,^(Z) anyone who touches its carcass^(AA) will be unclean till evening. ⁴⁰ Anyone who eats some of its carcass^(AB) must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.^(AC) Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.

⁴¹ “‘Every creature that moves along the ground is to be regarded as unclean; it is not to be eaten. ⁴² You are not to eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is unclean. ⁴³ Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures.^(AD) Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. ⁴⁴ I am the Lord your God;^(AE) consecrate yourselves^(AF) and be holy,^(AG) because I am holy.^(AH) Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.^{(AI) 45} I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt^(AJ) to be your God;^(AK) therefore be holy, because I am holy.^(AL)

⁴⁶ “‘These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground. ⁴⁷ You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.^(AM)’”

Purification After Childbirth

12 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period.^{(AN) 3} On the eighth day^(AO) the boy is to be circumcised.^{(AP) 4} Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. ⁵ If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.

⁶ “‘When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over,^(AQ) she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb^(AR) for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.^{[b](AS) 7} He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood.

“‘These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. ⁸ But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons,^(AT) one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering.^(AU) In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.^(AV)’”

The Faith of the Centurion^(A)

7 When Jesus had finished saying all this^(B) to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. ² There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. ³ The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. ⁴ When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, ⁵ because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” ⁶ So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. ⁷ That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.^{(C) 8} For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

⁹ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” ¹⁰ Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son^(D)

¹¹ Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹² As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ When the Lord^(E) saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

¹⁴ Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”^{(F) 15} The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶ They were all filled with awe^(G) and praised God.^(H) “A great prophet^(I) has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.”^{(J) 17} This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.^(K)

Jesus and John the Baptist^(L)

¹⁸ John’s^(M) disciples^(N) told him about all these things. Calling two of them, ¹⁹ he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

²⁰ When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

²¹ At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses^(O) and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. ²² So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy^[a] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.^{(P) 23} Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

²⁴ After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ²⁵ If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. ²⁶ But what did you go out to see? A prophet?^(Q) Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written:

²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God^(S) is greater than he.”

²⁹ (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John.^{(T) 30} But the Pharisees and the experts in the law^(U) rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

³¹ Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:

³³ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine,^(V) and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’^{(W) 35} But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman^(X)(Y)

³⁶ When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ³⁷ A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. ³⁸ As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet,^(Z) he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

⁴⁰ Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

⁴¹ “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,^[c] and the other fifty. ⁴² Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

⁴³ Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

⁴⁴ Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet,^(AA) but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss,^(AB) but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not put oil on my head,^(AC) but she has poured perfume on my feet. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”^(AD)

⁴⁹ The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you;^(AE) go in peace.”^(AF)

Psalm 51^[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.^(A)