The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the NIV. Switch to the NIV to read along with the audio.
Exhortation to Holiness and Obedience
22 “‘You must be sure to obey all my statutes and regulations,[a] so that[b] the land to which I am about to bring you to take up residence does not vomit you out. 23 You must not walk in the statutes of the nations[c] which I am about to drive out before you, because they have done all these things and I am filled with disgust against them. 24 So I have said to you: You yourselves will possess their land and I myself will give it to you for a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God who has set you apart from the other peoples.[d] 25 Therefore you must distinguish[e] between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean, and you must not make yourselves detestable by means of an animal or bird or anything that creeps on the ground—creatures[f] I have distinguished for you as unclean.[g] 26 You must be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the other peoples to be mine.
Prohibition against Spiritists and Mediums
27 “‘A man or woman who[h] has in them a spirit of the dead or a familiar spirit[i] must be put to death. They must pelt them with stones;[j] their blood guilt is on themselves.’”
Rules for the Priests
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron—say to them: ‘For a dead person[k] no priest[l] is to defile himself among his people,[m] 2 except for his close relative who is near to him[n]—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 and his virgin sister who is near to him,[o] who has no husband—he may defile himself for her. 4 He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself.[p] 5 Priests[q] must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body.[r]
6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane[s] the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts,[t] the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy.[u] 7 They must not take a wife defiled by prostitution,[v] nor are they to take a wife divorced from her husband,[w] for the priest[x] is holy to his God.[y] 8 You must sanctify him because he presents the food of your God. He must be holy to you because I, the Lord who sanctifies you all,[z] am holy. 9 If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution, she is profaning her father. She must be burned to death.[aa]
Rules for the High Priest
10 “‘The high[ab] priest—who is greater than his brothers, and on whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who has been ordained[ac] to wear the priestly garments—must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments.[ad] 11 He must not go where there is any dead person;[ae] he must not defile himself even for his father or for his mother. 12 He must not go out from the sanctuary and must not profane[af] the sanctuary of his God, because the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the Lord. 13 He must take a wife who is a virgin.[ag] 14 He must not marry[ah] a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people[ai] as a wife, 15 so that he does not profane his children among his people,[aj] for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”
Rules for the Priesthood
16 The Lord spoke to Moses: 17 “Tell Aaron, ‘No man from your descendants throughout their generations[ak] who has a physical flaw[al] is to approach to present the food of his God. 18 Certainly[am] no man who has a physical flaw is to approach: a blind man, or one who is lame, or one with a slit nose,[an] or who has a limb too long, 19 or a man who has had a broken leg or arm,[ao] 20 or a hunchback, or a dwarf,[ap] or one with a spot in his eye,[aq] or a festering eruption, or a feverish rash,[ar] or a crushed testicle. 21 No man from the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a physical flaw may step forward[as] to present the Lord’s gifts; he has a physical flaw, so he must not step forward to present the food of his God. 22 He may eat both the most holy and the holy food of his God, 23 but he must not go near the special curtain[at] or step forward to the altar because he has a physical flaw. Thus[au] he must not profane my holy places, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”
24 So[av] Moses spoke these things[aw] to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites.
Regulations for the Eating of Priestly Stipends
22 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons that they must deal respectfully with the holy offerings[ax] of the Israelites, which they consecrate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name.[ay] I am the Lord. 3 Say to them, ‘Throughout your generations,[az] if any man from all your descendants approaches the holy offerings, which the Israelites consecrate[ba] to the Lord, while he is impure,[bb] that person must be cut off from before me.[bc] I am the Lord. 4 No man[bd] from the descendants of Aaron who is diseased or has a discharge[be] may eat the holy offerings until he becomes clean. The one[bf] who touches anything made unclean by contact with a dead person,[bg] or with a man who has a seminal emission,[bh] 5 or with a man who touches a swarming thing by which he becomes unclean,[bi] or who touches a person[bj] by which he becomes unclean, whatever that person’s impurity[bk]— 6 the person who touches any of these[bl] will be unclean until evening and must not eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body in water. 7 When the sun goes down he will be clean, and afterward he may eat from the holy offerings, because they are his food. 8 He must not eat an animal that has died of natural causes[bm] or an animal torn by beasts and thus become unclean by it. I am the Lord. 9 They must keep my charge so that they do not incur sin on account of it[bn] and therefore die[bo] because they profane it. I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
10 “‘No lay person[bp] may eat anything holy. Neither a priest’s lodger[bq] nor a hired laborer may eat anything holy, 11 but if a priest buys a person with his own money,[br] that person[bs] may eat the holy offerings,[bt] and those born in the priest’s[bu] own house may eat his food.[bv] 12 If a priest’s daughter marries a lay person,[bw] she may not eat the holy contribution offerings,[bx] 13 but if a priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and she has no children so that she returns to live in[by] her father’s house as in her youth,[bz] she may eat from her father’s food, but no lay person may eat it.
14 “‘If a man eats a holy offering by mistake,[ca] he must add one-fifth to it and give the holy offering to the priest.[cb] 15 They[cc] must not profane the holy offerings which the Israelites contribute[cd] to the Lord,[ce] 16 and so cause them to incur a penalty for guilt[cf] when they eat their holy offerings,[cg] for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”
9 1 And he said to them, “I tell you the truth,[a] there are some standing here who will not[b] experience[c] death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.”[d]
The Transfiguration
2 Six days later[e] Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John and led them alone up a high mountain privately. And he was transfigured before them,[f] 3 and his clothes became radiantly white, more so than any launderer in the world could bleach them. 4 Then Elijah appeared before them along with Moses,[g] and they were talking with Jesus. 5 So[h] Peter said to Jesus,[i] “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters[j]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 (For they were afraid, and he did not know what to say.)[k] 7 Then[l] a cloud[m] overshadowed them,[n] and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my one dear Son.[o] Listen to him!”[p] 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down from the mountain, he gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept this statement to themselves, discussing what this rising from the dead meant.
11 Then[q] they asked him,[r] “Why do the experts in the law[s] say that Elijah must come first?” 12 He said to them, “Elijah does indeed come first, and restores all things. And why is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be despised? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has certainly come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him.”
The Disciples’ Failure to Heal
14 When they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and experts in the law[t] arguing with them. 15 When the whole crowd saw him, they were amazed and ran[u] at once and greeted him. 16 He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 A member of the crowd said to him, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that makes him mute. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to cast it out, but[v] they were not able to do so.”[w] 19 He answered them,[x] “You[y] unbelieving[z] generation! How much longer[aa] must I be with you? How much longer must I endure[ab] you?[ac] Bring him to me.” 20 So they brought the boy[ad] to him. When the spirit saw him, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He[ae] fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus[af] asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 It has often thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Then Jesus said to him, “‘If you are able?’[ag] All things are possible for the one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
25 Now when Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he rebuked[ah] the unclean spirit,[ai] saying to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 It shrieked, threw him into terrible convulsions, and came out. The boy[aj] looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus gently took his hand and raised him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 Then,[ak] after he went into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” 29 He told them, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”[al]
Psalm 43[a]
43 Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me[b] against an ungodly nation.
Deliver me[c] from deceitful and evil men.[d]
2 For you are the God who shelters me.[e]
Why do you reject me?[f]
Why must I walk around[g] mourning[h]
because my enemies oppress me?
3 Reveal[i] your light[j] and your faithfulness.
They will lead me;[k]
they will escort[l] me back to your holy hill,[m]
and to the place where you live.[n]
4 Then I will go[o] to the altar of God,
to the God who gives me ecstatic joy,[p]
so that I may express my thanks to you,[q] O God, my God, with a harp.
5 Why are you depressed,[r] O my soul?[s]
Why are you upset?[t]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[u]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.