The Daily Audio Bible
Rules About Eating Meat
11 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Tell the Israelites: These are the animals you can eat: 3 If an animal has hooves that are split into two parts, and if that animal also chews the cud, then you may eat the meat from that animal.
4-6 “Some animals chew the cud, but they don’t have split hooves. Don’t eat these animals. Camels, rock badgers, and rabbits are like that, so they are unclean for you. 7 Other animals have hooves that are split into two parts, but they don’t chew the cud. Don’t eat these animals. Pigs are like that, so they are unclean for you. 8 Don’t eat the meat from these animals. Don’t even touch their dead bodies! They are unclean for you.
Rules About Sea Food
9 “You may eat everything that lives in the sea or in a river that has fins and scales. 10-11 But you must not eat anything that lives in the sea or in a river and does not have fins and scales. Just the thought of eating such a creature should make you sick. This will never change. So don’t ever eat meat from anything like that. Don’t even touch its dead body! 12 It is a sickening thought for you to touch anything that lives in the water and does not have fins and scales.
Birds That Must Not Be Eaten
13 “You must also treat some birds as things that are wrong to eat. Stay away from them. It is a sickening thought for you to eat any of these birds: eagles, vultures, buzzards, 14 kites, all kinds of falcons, 15 all kinds of black birds, 16 ostriches, nighthawks, sea gulls, all kinds of hawks, 17 owls, cormorants, great owls, 18 water hens, pelicans, carrion vultures, 19 storks, all kinds of herons, hoopoes, and bats.
Rules About Eating Insects
20 “Don’t eat insects that have wings and crawl.[a] Even the thought of eating them should make you sick! 21 But you may eat insects if they have legs with joints above their feet so that they can jump. 22 You may also eat all kinds of locusts, all kinds of winged locusts, all kinds of crickets, and all kinds of grasshoppers.
23 “But stay away from all the other insects that have wings and crawl. 24 They will make you unclean. If you touch the dead bodies of these insects, you will become unclean until evening. 25 If you pick up one of these dead insects, you must wash your clothes. You will be unclean until evening.
More Rules About Animals
26-27 “Some animals have split hooves, but the hooves don’t make exactly two parts. Some animals don’t chew the cud. Some animals don’t have hooves—they walk on their paws.[b] All these animals are unclean for you. If you touch them, you will become unclean until evening. 28 If you pick up the dead bodies of these unclean animals, you must wash your clothes. You will be unclean until evening. These animals are unclean for you.
Rules About Crawling Animals
29 “These small animals are unclean for you: moles, mice, all kinds of great lizards, 30 geckos, crocodiles, lizards, sand reptiles, and chameleons. 31 Whoever touches their dead bodies will be unclean until evening.
Rules About Unclean Animals
32 “If any of these unclean animals dies and falls on something, that thing will become unclean. It might be something made from wood, cloth, leather, or sackcloth. Whatever it is or is used for, it must be washed with water. It will be unclean until evening. Then it will become clean again. 33 If any of these unclean animals dies and falls into a clay dish, anything in the dish will become unclean. And you must break the dish. 34 If water from the unclean clay dish touches any food, that food will become unclean. Any drink in the unclean dish will become unclean. 35 If any part of a dead, unclean animal falls on something, that thing is unclean. It may be a clay oven or a clay baking pan. It must be broken into pieces. These things will remain unclean. They will always be unclean for you.
36 “A spring or a well that collects water will remain clean, but anyone who touches the dead bodies of any unclean animal in that water will become unclean. 37 If any part of a dead, unclean animal falls on seed that is to be planted, that seed is still clean. 38 But if you put water on some seed and if any part of a dead, unclean animal falls on those seeds, they are unclean for you.
39 “Also, if an animal which you use for food dies, whoever touches its dead body will be unclean until evening. 40 If you eat meat from this animal’s body, you must wash your clothes. You will be unclean until evening. If you pick up the dead body of the animal, you must wash your clothes. You will be unclean until evening.
41 “You must treat all the crawling animals that live on the dirt as disgusting things that you must not eat. 42 You must not eat any of the reptiles that crawl on their bellies or that walk on all four feet or that have many feet. Don’t eat these animals! 43 Don’t let them make you filthy.[c] You must not become unclean, 44 because I am the Lord your God. I am holy, so you should keep yourselves holy. Don’t make yourselves unclean with these crawling things. 45 I, the Lord, brought you out of Egypt so that you could be my special people and I could be your God. I am holy, so you must be holy too.”
46 These are the rules about all the tame animals, birds, all the animals in the sea, and all the animals that crawl on the ground. 47 These rules will help the people know which animals are unclean and which animals they are allowed to eat and which ones they cannot eat.
Rules for New Mothers
12 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites:
“When a woman gives birth, she will be unclean, just as she is during her monthly time of bleeding. If the baby is a boy, the mother will be unclean for seven days. 3 The baby boy must be circumcised on the eighth day. 4 Because of the blood from childbirth, another 33 days must pass before she can touch anything that is holy. She must not enter the Holy Place until the time of her purification[d] is finished. 5 But if she gives birth to a girl, the mother will be unclean for 14 days, just as she is during her monthly time of bleeding. Because of the blood from childbirth, another 66 days must pass before she becomes clean.
6 “After the time of her purification is finished, the new mother of a baby girl or boy must bring special sacrifices to the Meeting Tent. She must give her sacrifices to the priest at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. She must bring a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a dove or young pigeon for a sin offering. 7-8 If the woman cannot afford a lamb, she may bring two doves or two young pigeons. One bird will be for a burnt offering and one for a sin offering. The priest will offer them before the Lord. In this way the priest will make her pure, and she will be clean from the blood of childbirth. These are the rules for a woman who gives birth to a baby boy or a baby girl.”
Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman(A)
21 Jesus went back to the other side of the lake in the boat. There, a large crowd of people gathered around him on the shore. 22 A leader of the synagogue came. His name was Jairus. He saw Jesus and bowed down before him. 23 He begged Jesus again and again, saying, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and lay your hands on her. Then she will be healed and will live.”
24 So Jesus went with Jairus. Many people followed Jesus. They were pushing very close around him.
25 There among the people was a woman who had been bleeding for the past twelve years. 26 She had suffered very much. Many doctors had tried to help her, and all the money she had was spent, but she was not improving. In fact, her sickness was getting worse.
27 The woman heard about Jesus, so she followed him with the other people and touched his coat. 28 She thought, “If I can just touch his clothes, that will be enough to heal me.” 29 As soon as she touched his coat, her bleeding stopped. She felt that her body was healed from all the suffering. 30 Jesus immediately felt power go out from him, so he stopped and turned around. “Who touched my clothes?” he asked.
31 The followers said to Jesus, “There are so many people pushing against you. But you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32 But Jesus continued looking for the one who touched him. 33 The woman knew that she was healed, so she came and bowed at Jesus’ feet. She was shaking with fear. She told Jesus the whole story. 34 He said to her, “Dear woman, you are made well because you believed. Go in peace. You will not suffer anymore.”
35 While Jesus was still there speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. They said, “Your daughter is dead. There is no need to bother the Teacher.”
36 But Jesus did not care what the men said. He said to the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
37 Jesus let only Peter, James, and John the brother of James go with him. 38 They went to the synagogue leader’s house, where Jesus saw many people crying loudly. There was a lot of confusion. 39 He entered the house and said, “Why are you people crying and making so much noise? This child is not dead. She is only sleeping.” 40 But everyone laughed at him.
Jesus told the people to leave the house. Then he went into the room where the child was. He brought the child’s father and mother and his three followers into the room with him. 41 Then Jesus held the girl’s hand and said to her, “Talitha, koum!” (This means “Little girl, I tell you to stand up!”) 42 The girl immediately stood up and began walking. (She was twelve years old.) The father and mother and the followers were amazed. 43 Jesus gave the father and mother very strict orders not to tell people about this. Then he told them to give the girl some food to eat.
A song of David for the day of remembrance.[a]
38 Lord, don’t criticize me when you are angry.
Don’t discipline me in anger.
2 You have hurt me.
You punished me and hurt me deeply.
3 You punished me severely, so my whole body is sore.
I sinned, and now all my bones hurt.
4 My guilt is like a heavy burden.
I am sinking beneath its weight.
5 I did a foolish thing,
and now I have infected sores that stink.
6 I am bent and bowed down.
I am depressed all day long.
7 I am burning with fever,
and my whole body hurts.
8 I hurt so much I cannot feel anything.
My pounding heart makes me scream!
9 My Lord, you heard my groaning.
You can hear my sighs.
10 My heart is pounding.
My strength is gone, and I am going blind.[b]
11 Because of my sickness,
my friends and neighbors will not visit me;
my family will not come near me.
12 My enemies say bad things about me.
They are spreading lies and rumors.
They talk about me all the time.
13 But I am like a deaf man and cannot hear.
I am like someone who cannot speak.
14 I am like those who cannot hear what people are saying about them.
I cannot answer to prove my enemies wrong.
15 Lord, you must defend me.
Lord my God, you must speak for me.
16 That’s why I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies smile at my pain.
Full of pride, they will laugh if I stumble and fall.”
17 I know I am guilty of doing wrong.
I cannot forget my pain.
18 Lord, I told you about the evil I have done.
I am sorry for my sin.
19 But my enemies are alive and healthy,
and they have told many lies.
20 I did nothing but good,
and they paid me back with evil.
I try to do what is right,
but that only makes them turn against me.
21 Lord, don’t leave me.
My God, stay close to me.
22 Come quickly and help me.
My Lord, you are the one who saves me.
8 The wise accept instruction, but fools argue and bring trouble on themselves.
9 Honest people can always feel secure, but lying cheaters will be caught.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International