29 This shall be a statute forever for you: (A)In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall [a]afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who [b]dwells among you. 30 For on that day the priest shall make [c]atonement for you, to (B)cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31 (C)It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. 32 (D)And the priest, who is anointed and (E)consecrated to minister as priest in his father’s place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments; 33 then he shall make [d]atonement for [e]the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 (F)This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, (G)once a year.” And he did as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Sanctity of Blood

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying: “Whatever man of the house of Israel who (H)kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, the guilt of bloodshed shall be (I)imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be [f]cut off from among his people, to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices (J)which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the Lord. And the priest (K)shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and (L)burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the Lord. They shall no more offer their sacrifices (M)to [g]demons, after whom they (N)have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.” ’

“Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, (O)who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, and does not (P)bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the Lord, that man shall be [h]cut off from among his people.

10 (Q)‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, (R)I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the (S)life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar (T)to make atonement for your souls; for (U)it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ 12 Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’

13 “Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who (V)hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall (W)pour out its blood and (X)cover it with dust; 14 (Y)for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

15 (Z)“And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, (AA)he shall both wash his clothes and (AB)bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then (AC)he shall bear his [i]guilt.”

Laws of Sexual Morality

18 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: (AD)‘I am the Lord your God. (AE)According to [j]the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and (AF)according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their [k]ordinances. (AG)You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.

‘None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the Lord. The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of your (AH)father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness. (AI)The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover. 10 The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. 11 The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness. 12 (AJ)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is near of kin to your father. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is near of kin to your mother. 14 (AK)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law—she is your son’s wife—you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. 17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her (AL)daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near of kin to her. It is wickedness. 18 Nor shall you take a woman (AM)as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive.

19 ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as (AN)long as she is in her (AO)customary impurity. 20 (AP)Moreover you shall not lie carnally with your (AQ)neighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her. 21 And you shall not let any of your descendants (AR)pass through (AS)the fire to (AT)Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22 You shall not lie with (AU)a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. 23 Nor shall you mate with any (AV)animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.

24 (AW)‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; (AX)for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. 25 For (AY)the land is defiled; therefore I (AZ)visit[l] the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land (BA)vomits out its inhabitants. 26 (BB)You shall therefore [m]keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you 27 (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 28 lest (BC)the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be [n]cut off from among their people.

30 ‘Therefore you shall keep My [o]ordinance, so (BD)that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: (BE)I am the Lord your God.’ ”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 16:29 humble yourselves
  2. Leviticus 16:29 As a resident alien
  3. Leviticus 16:30 Lit. covering
  4. Leviticus 16:33 Lit. covering
  5. Leviticus 16:33 The Most Holy Place
  6. Leviticus 17:4 Put to death
  7. Leviticus 17:7 Having the form of a goat or satyr
  8. Leviticus 17:9 Put to death
  9. Leviticus 17:16 iniquity
  10. Leviticus 18:3 what is done in
  11. Leviticus 18:3 statutes
  12. Leviticus 18:25 bring judgment for
  13. Leviticus 18:26 obey
  14. Leviticus 18:29 Put to death
  15. Leviticus 18:30 charge

A Gentile Shows Her Faith(A)

24 (B)From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre [a]and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be (C)hidden. 25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and (D)fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a [b]Greek, a [c]Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept [d]asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

28 And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

29 Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

Jesus Heals a Deaf-Mute(E)

31 (F)Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. 32 Then (G)they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. 33 And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and (H)He spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then, (I)looking up to heaven, (J)He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”

35 (K)Immediately his ears were opened, and the [e]impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then (L)He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. 37 And they were (M)astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He (N)makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Feeding the Four Thousand(O)

In those days, (P)the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, “I have (Q)compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.”

Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”

(R)He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”

And they said, “Seven.”

So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. They also had a few small fish; and (S)having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, 10 (T)immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 7:24 NU omits and Sidon
  2. Mark 7:26 Gentile
  3. Mark 7:26 A Syrian of Phoenicia
  4. Mark 7:26 begging
  5. Mark 7:35 Lit. bond

The Blessing and Suffering of the Godly

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

41 Blessed is he who considers the [a]poor;
The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,
And he will be blessed on the earth;
(A)You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;
You will [b]sustain him on his sickbed.

I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;
(B)Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
My enemies speak evil of me:
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
And if he comes to see me, he speaks [c]lies;
His heart gathers iniquity to itself;
When he goes out, he tells it.

All who hate me whisper together against me;
Against me they [d]devise my hurt.
“An[e] evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.
And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”
(C)Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,
(D)Who ate my bread,
Has [f]lifted up his heel against me.

10 But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up,
That I may repay them.
11 By this I know that You are well pleased with me,
Because my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,
And (E)set me before Your face forever.

13 (F)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 41:1 helpless or powerless
  2. Psalm 41:3 restore
  3. Psalm 41:6 empty words
  4. Psalm 41:7 plot
  5. Psalm 41:8 Lit. A thing of Belial
  6. Psalm 41:9 Acted as a traitor

15 The (A)rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
The destruction of the poor is their poverty.

16 The labor of the righteous leads to (B)life,
The wages of the wicked to sin.

Read full chapter

Bible Gateway Recommends