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29 This directive stands for all time: on the tenth day of the seventh month, all of you must humble yourselves and do no work—all native-born children of Israel as well as outsiders living among you. 30 This must be a day when the high priest comes before Me to cover your sins and cleanse you from all your impurities. 31 This day will be a Sabbath of sacred rest for you and you are to humble yourselves. This directive stands for all time. 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained as high priest—succeeding his father Aaron—is to make atonement and thereby cover the sins of the people. He will clothe himself in the sacred linen garments 33 and cover the impurities of the sanctuary, the congregation tent, and the altar. He will cover the priests and the entire community. 34 This directive stands for all time: atone for the sins of My people Israel once every year.
Moses did exactly what the Eternal commanded him.
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year. On this day the high priest enters into the holiest chamber of the congregation tent, the place where the covenant chest resides. Here, in God’s immediate earthly presence, he makes reparations for the sins of the people.
Chapters 17–26 are often referred to as the “Holiness Code.” The words “holy” and “sacred” are repeated over and over again throughout these chapters. God reminds His people to be different from the rest of the nations for He chose and set them apart for a special purpose. They are to be holy for He is holy.
17 The Eternal One spoke to Moses.
Eternal One: 2 Go, say to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites: Here is what the Eternal has commanded: 3 If an Israelite slaughters an ox, lamb, or goat inside or outside the camp 4 and does not present it at the entrance of the congregation tent as an offering to Me in front of My sanctuary, then he is to be considered guilty of murder. He has spilled blood and is to be cut off from the community. 5 I want the Israelites to stop sacrificing to Me in the open field and do it only at the entrance of the congregation tent. They must present their sacrifices to the priest and sacrifice them as peace offerings to Me. 6 The priest will splatter the blood on My altar at the entrance of the congregation tent and offer the fat on the altar; and the smoke of the sacrifice will rise and become a pleasant aroma to Me. 7 They must not offer any more sacrifices to the goat demons, the pagan gods with whom they’ve been unfaithful to Me until now. This directive stands for all time throughout their generations.
8 Then warn them that if any Israelite or outsider living among you presents a burnt offering or other sacrifice 9 and fails to present it to Me at the entrance of the congregation tent, then he will be cut off from the community.
10 If anyone from the community of Israel or an outsider living among you consumes any blood, I will be at odds with him and cut him off from the community of Israel. 11 You see, the life of the body is in the blood, and I have directed that you are to take blood and offer it on the altar to atone for your lives and cover your sins. It is the life flowing in the blood that atones for you and covers you. 12 This is why I told the people of Israel, “No one of you or any outsider living among you is allowed to eat blood.”
13 Now if any Israelite or outsider living among you hunts and kills an animal or a bird that is acceptable and may be eaten, then that person must drain its blood from it and cover it up with the soil of the earth.
14 You see, the life of every creature is its blood; blood represents life. Blood is life. This is why I told the people of Israel, “Do not eat the blood of any living creature; for the life of any creature is its blood.” Anyone who consumes blood will be cut off from the community. 15 Any time a person eats an animal that has died of natural causes or has been killed by another animal—regardless of whether that person is native-born or an outsider living among you—he is to wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be regarded as impure until dusk; afterward, he will be ritually pure again. 16 But if the person does not wash his clothes or bathe his body, then he carries his guilt and will suffer the consequences.
God allowed His people to eat meat, but He had concerns about how and where these animals would be killed. The commandments can be summarized this way: every time an animal is used for food, its death must be treated as a sacred event. That’s why God tells the people to present it to Him in the sanctuary. Whenever one of God’s creatures gives its life for one of our meals, that life is to be respected.
Blood is central to life. It makes life possible. That’s why blood is so significant to the sacrifices, and violating any of these laws results in severe penalties.
18 The Eternal One spoke to Moses.
Eternal One: 2 Go, talk with the Israelites. Tell them I am the Eternal One, your God. 3 You must not act as you saw the Egyptians do when you lived in Egypt, nor should you act as they do in Canaan where I am taking you. Do not follow their practices. 4 From here on out, you will live by My commands and honor My decrees and live your lives according to them alone. I am the Eternal One, your God. 5 Stay devoted to My decrees and commands. The person who observes them will live by them.[a] I am the Eternal One.
6 You must not have sexual relations with anyone closely related to you. I am the Eternal One. 7 This includes your father and your mother. You are to honor her as your mother and not have sexual relations with her. 8 You are not to have sexual relations with your father’s wife; you might as well violate your father. 9 You are not to have sexual relations with your sister—whether she is your father’s daughter or mother’s daughter, regardless of where she has lived, with your family or elsewhere. 10 Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; since they are your own flesh and blood, such an act would bring shame to you. 11 You are not to have sexual relations with your stepsister, the daughter of your father and his wife;[b] for she is still your sister. 12 Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister, your aunt; she is your father’s flesh and blood. 13 Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, your aunt; she is your mother’s flesh and blood. 14 You are not to dishonor your father’s brother, your uncle, by approaching his wife for sexual relations. She is your aunt. 15 You are not to have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife. 16 You are not to have sexual relations with your brother’s wife, your sister-in-law;[c] you might as well violate your brother. 17 You are not to have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter, her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter; they are blood relations. It would be a disgusting act. 18 As long as your wife is living, do not marry her sister or have sexual relations with her. This would make them rivals.
19 You are not to have sexual relations with a woman while she is in her menstrual impurity. 20 Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife; such an act defiles you both. 21 Do not sacrifice your children to Molech. Such an unholy sacrifice desecrates your God’s name. I am your God, the Eternal One. 22 You are not to have sexual relations with a man in the same way you do with a woman; such a thing is detestable. 23 Do not engage in a sexual act with an animal—this includes men as well as women; such behavior defiles you and perverts the proper order of things.
24 Do not defile yourselves by engaging in any of these perverse things. I am driving out all these other nations ahead of you because they have corrupted themselves with disgusting acts like these. 25 The entire land of Canaan is so impure that I will punish the land until it vomits out those who dwell upon it. 26 I want you to keep My decrees and judgments. No Israelite and no outsider living among you should commit any of the detestable acts that 27 the people who were in Canaan before you committed when they desecrated the land. 28 Do not desecrate the land or the land will vomit you from it as it has done to those who were there before you. 29 All those who commit these disgusting acts will be cut off from their community. 30 Therefore, observe My laws and do not commit any of these disgusting acts which have been committed by the people who lived in the land before you. If you observe them, you will not defile yourselves like they did. I am the Eternal One, your God.
Although Mark specifically states that Jesus is overriding the Old Testament dietary laws and declaring all foods pure, it will be a long time before the disciples are willing to act on that message. One of the biggest controversies in the early church will be the question of dietary restrictions and how the Old Testament laws ought to be observed by Jewish and non-Jewish Christian believers. However, Jesus makes it clear in this passage that His main concern has nothing to do with what people eat. Instead, He is concerned about the hearts of His followers.
24 From there Jesus and His followers traveled to the region of Tyre [and Sidon][a] on the Mediterranean coast. He hoped to slip unnoticed into a house, but people discovered His presence. 25 Shortly after He arrived, a woman whose daughter was filled with an unclean spirit heard that He was there, so she came directly to Him and prostrated herself at His feet.
26 The woman was not a Jew, but a Syrophoenician (a Greek) by birth. All the same, she came to Jesus and begged Him to cast the unclean spirit out of her daughter.
Jesus (shaking His head): 27 I must feed the children first. It would do no good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.
Syrophoenician Woman: 28 Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table may eat of the children’s crumbs.
Jesus (smiling and nodding): 29 This is a wise saying. Go back home. Your daughter is free of the spirit that troubled her.
30 And when she returned to her house, she discovered that it was as Jesus had told her. Her daughter lay on her bed, in her right mind, whole and healthy.
Although Jesus at first answers the Greek woman harshly, He ultimately responds to her request. By healing her daughter, He demonstrates that God’s loving presence has come to all people and not just to Jews. It’s one of the first glimpses in this Gospel of the truth that will become clearer later—the truth that, through Jesus, God is making all people, and not just one chosen nation, clean and whole.
31 Jesus traveled on His way through Tyre and Sidon, eventually returning to the region of the Sea of Galilee. From there He pressed on to the area of the Ten Cities.[b] 32 Among the sick who were brought to Him was a man who was deaf and could barely speak at all, and those who brought him begged Jesus to lay His hands on the man. 33 Jesus took him aside from the crowd, alone, and touched his ears with His fingers. Then after spitting on His fingers, Jesus touched the man’s tongue. 34 Looking heavenward to God, Jesus sighed and commanded,
Jesus: Open up[c] and let this man speak.
35 [Immediately][d] the man could hear, his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 36 Jesus ordered those who had witnessed this to tell no one; but the more He insisted, the more zealously people spread the word.
People (astonished): 37 He does everything so well! He even returns sound to the deaf and mute.
8 Once again a huge crowd had followed them, and they had nothing to eat. So Jesus called His disciples together.
Jesus: 2 These people have been with Me for three days without food. They’re hungry, and I am concerned for them. 3 If I try to send them home now, they’ll faint along the way because many of them have come a long, long way to hear and see Me.
Disciples: 4 Where can we find enough bread for these people in this desolate place?
Jesus: 5 How much bread do we have left?
Disciples: Seven rounds of flatbread.
6 So, as before, He commanded the people to sit down; and He took the rounds of flatbread, gave thanks for them, and broke them. His disciples took what He gave them and fed the people. 7 They also had a few small fish, which, after He had spoken a blessing, He likewise gave His followers to pass to the people. 8 When all had eaten their fill and they had gathered up the food that remained, seven baskets were full.
9 On this occasion, there were about 4,000 people who had eaten the food that Jesus provided. Jesus sent the crowd home; 10 then, immediately, He got into a boat with His disciples and sailed away. Upon their arrival in Dalmanutha in the district of Magdala,
Psalm 41
For the worship leader. A song of David.
The first four books of Psalms end with a variation of the doxology found in verse 13: “Blessed is the Eternal, the True God of Israel. Always and Eternal. Amen and Amen.” This declaration not only provides a natural break—a seam—between the five books, but it also summarizes an essential theme of the psalms. You see, the Book of Psalms is primarily a book of praise to God for His creation, mercy, and salvation. Even when life is hard, our enemies strong, and our health poor, God can be praised for life itself and the ultimate victory to come for those who trust Him.
1 Blessed are those who consider the helpless.
The Eternal will stay near them, leading them to safety in times of bitter struggle.
2 The Eternal defends them and preserves them,
and His blessing will find them in the land He gave them.
He moves ahead to frustrate their enemies’ plans.
3 When sickness comes, the Eternal is beside them—
to comfort them on their sickbeds and restore them to health.
4 And me? I cry out to Him,
“Heal my soul, O Eternal One, and show mercy
because I have sinned against You!”
5 My enemies are talking about me even now:
“When will death come for him and his name be forgotten?”
6 As they sit with me under my roof, their well wishes are empty lies.
They listen to my story
and then turn it around to tell their own version on the street.
7 Across the city, crowds whisper lies about me.
Their hate is strong, and they search for ways to harm me.
8 Some are saying: “Some vile disease has gotten hold of him.
The bed he lies in will be his deathbed.”
9 Even my best friend, my confidant
who has eaten my bread will stab me in the back.[a]
10 But You, Eternal One, show mercy to me.
Extend Your gracious hand, and help me up.
I need to pay them back for what they’ve done to me.
11 I realize now that Your favor has come to me,
for my enemies have yet to declare victory over me.
12 You know and uphold me—a man of honor.
You grant me strength and life forever in Your presence.
13 Blessed is the Eternal, the True God of Israel.
Always and Eternal. Amen and Amen.
15 The wealth of the rich is their powerful fortress;
the poverty of the poor reduces them to rubble.
16 The reward of those who do right is a satisfied life,
but the profits gained by those who do wrong is used to sin.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.