The Daily Audio Bible
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22 Therefore, keep all My directives and My rules so that the land I am giving you will not vomit you out. 23 Do not follow in the footsteps of the people who lived in the land before you and whom I will remove from the land when you take possession of it, for they committed wicked acts like the ones described here; this is why I despise them. 24 As I have already told you, “You will inherit the land that was theirs. I am giving you this land flowing with milk and honey as your possession.”[a] I am the Eternal One your God who has set you apart from all the other people. 25 Consequently you must know the difference between a ritually pure and impure animal and a pure and impure bird. Do not make yourselves detestable by eating an animal, a bird, or any small creature that I have designated as ritually impure. 26 You must be holy, for I, the Eternal One, am holy, and I have chosen you from all the people of the world to be My people.
27 Any person among you who is a medium or tries to communicate with the spirits of the dead must be put to death. They are to be stoned to death, for their blood will be required of them.
21 The Eternal One addressed Moses.
While it is not a sin to handle a corpse, it makes the person ritually impure.
Eternal One: Go, talk to the priests, Aaron’s sons, and tell them that I don’t want any priest to make himself ritually impure by having contact with a dead person in Israel. 2 There is an exception: a priest is allowed to touch the dead body of his closest family members—his mother, father, son, daughter, brother, 3 and any sister who is still a virgin when she dies. Since she has no husband, the priest is her closest relative, so he is allowed to make himself impure for her. 4 A priest must not render himself impure and defile himself by touching the corpse of a person related to him only by marriage. 5 Priests are not allowed to mourn like other people by shaving their heads, trimming their beards, or cutting gashes into their bodies. 6 Priests are to be holy to Me and not treat My sacred name with contempt. They bring the fire-offerings to Me, the food of their God, and so they must be sacred. 7 Priests are not to marry women defiled by prostitution or women who are divorced, for priests are holy to Me.
8 You must set the priest apart as special and treat him as holy, for he brings the food to your God. The priests must be considered holy to you because I, the Eternal, am holy, and I have set you apart from all other nations. 9 If a priest’s daughter dabbles in prostitution, then she desecrates herself and also her father. She is to be burned to death.
10 Of the brotherhood of priests, the high priest is the one whose head has been anointed with oil and who has been ordained to wear the sacred garments. He is not to leave his hair uncombed or tear his garments when he is mourning. 11 He is not to go near any dead bodies—not even his father’s or mother’s—or else he will make himself impure. 12 The high priest is not allowed to go outside the sanctuary during the time of mourning and thereby desecrate God’s sanctuary, for he has been anointed with the sacred oil of his God. I am the Eternal One. 13 He is to marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He is not allowed to choose a widow, a divorced woman, or a prostitute as a wife—any woman who has already had sexual relations. He is only allowed to marry a virgin from his own community. 15 This arrangement will guarantee that his future offspring will not be treated badly among his people, for I am the Eternal who makes him holy.
16 The Eternal One spoke to Moses.
Eternal One: 17-18 Go, talk with Aaron, and tell him that throughout future generations those who are physically marred are not allowed to approach the sanctuary and offer food to Me. This includes those who are blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed. 19 It includes those who have a broken foot or an injured hand, 20 hunchbacks, dwarves, anyone with a defective eye or a festering rash or scabs or crushed testicles. 21 No one from Aaron’s offspring who has a physical defect is allowed to approach the sanctuary and present fire-offerings to Me; since he is not perfect, he must not approach to offer his God’s food. 22 He is allowed to eat a portion of the food offered to God, including the sacred and most sacred, 23 but he is not allowed to go behind the veil or approach the altar because of his imperfection. This is the rule so that he does not desecrate My holy places. I am the Eternal One who consecrates him.
24 So Moses told Aaron, Aaron’s sons, and all the Israelites what God had said to him.
In our world, these rules are hard to understand. But remember, it has only been in recent years that Western society has shown concern for people with disabilities. In much of the world today, people who suffer deformities or disabilities are treated differently—as somehow imperfect. Less than a century ago, “little people” and other “freaks of nature” were in circuses for the amusement of the rest of us. So we must be careful not to judge people who lived 3,000 years ago by our modern standards and sensibilities. That would not be fair. The logic is clear: just as the sacrifice must be pure and unblemished, so must the priest who offers the sacrifice be whole in body. Disabled priests are mercifully included in God’s provision because they are permitted to eat the consecrated bread.
22 The Eternal One spoke to Moses.
Eternal One: 2 Instruct Aaron and his sons to be cautious with the sacred food offerings the Israelites bring—the ones they give in My honor so that they do not desecrate My sacred name and ruin My reputation. I am the Eternal One. 3 Tell them that anyone from your present and future generations who is ritually impure and goes near the sacred gifts the Israelites have presented to Me will be cut off from My presence, for I am the Eternal One. 4 None of Aaron’s offspring who has a serious skin disease or a discharge is allowed to consume the sacred food offerings until he is ritually pure again. If anyone touches something that has become impure by having contact with a dead body or if he has a semen emission, 5 or if he touches some small creature or anyone impure, whatever the impurity may be— 6 anyone who has contact with such impurity will be impure until evening; he is not allowed to consume the sacred gifts until he has bathed in water. 7 When evening arrives, it is a new day; he will be ritually pure. Then he can consume the sacred food offerings, which are his food. 8 He should not consume any animal that dies a natural death or is torn apart by another animal; if he does, he will become impure, for I am the Eternal One. 9 The priests are to respect and keep My instructions or they will have to bear the punishment for their sin and die for treating my instructions with contempt, for I am the Eternal One who makes them holy.
10 No laypeople, guests, or hired workers who enter a priest’s house are allowed to consume the sacred food offerings. 11 But if a priest purchases a slave, then that slave and anyone born into his family can eat his food. 12 When a priest’s daughter marries a non-priest, she is no longer allowed to eat any of the sacred food offerings. 13 But if she—after being childless, and divorced or widowed—goes back to live with her father as she did when she was young, then she is allowed to consume her father’s food; but no lay person is allowed to consume it. 14 If a man consumes a sacred food offering accidentally, then when he becomes aware, he must present the same amount of food plus ⅕ to the priest. 15 When the people of Israel present their sacred offerings to Me, the priests are not to treat them lightly, 16 or else they will bear the guilt and punishment for consuming the sacred gifts; for I am the Eternal One who makes them holy.
9 Jesus: Truly, some of you who are here now will not experience death before you see the kingdom of God coming in glory and power.
2 Six days after saying this, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up onto a high mountaintop by themselves. There He was transformed 3 so that His clothing became intensely white, brighter than any earthly cleaner could bleach them. 4 Elijah and Moses appeared to them and talked with Jesus.
Peter (to Jesus): 5 Teacher, it’s a great thing that we’re here. We should build three shelters here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
6 He was babbling and did not know what he was saying because they were terrified by what they were witnessing.
7 Then a cloud surrounded them, and they heard a voice within that cloud.
Voice: This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.
8 All of a sudden, they looked about and all they had seen was gone. They stood alone on the mountain with Jesus.
9 On their way back down, He urged them not to tell anyone what they had witnessed until the Son of Man had risen from the dead, 10 so they kept it all to themselves.
Mark doesn’t usually record events with much attention to chronology; but in this case, he mentions that the transfiguration took place six days after Peter’s confession of Jesus’ identity. In a dramatic confirmation of the truth Peter has spoken, the three disciples see that Jesus is indeed the Anointed One of God. The veil of Jesus’ human nature is pulled away, and the glory of His divinity shines through.
The appearance of Moses and Elijah shows that Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the answer to all the promises of the prophets. The disciples hear God’s own voice commanding them to listen to Jesus as His beloved Son. What an incredible confirmation of the truth that Peter spoke in faith only six days before!
Disciples (to one another): What does He mean, “Until the Son of Man is risen”? 11 (to Jesus) Master, why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?
Jesus (thinking of John the Baptist): 12 Elijah does come first to restore all things. They have it right. But there is something else written in the Scriptures about the Son of Man: He will have to suffer and be rejected. 13 Here’s the truth: Elijah has come; his enemies treated him with contempt and did what they wanted to him, just as it was written.
14 When they reached the rest of the disciples, Jesus saw that a large crowd had gathered and that among them the scribes were asking questions. 15 Right when the crowd saw Jesus, they were overcome with awe and surged forward immediately, nearly running over the disciples.
Jesus (to the scribes): 16 What are you debating with My disciples? What would you like to know?
Father (in the crowd): 17 Teacher, I have brought my son to You. He is filled with an unclean spirit. He cannot speak, 18 and when the spirit takes control of him, he is thrown to the ground to wail and moan, to foam at the mouth, to grind his teeth, and to stiffen up. I brought him to Your followers, but they could do nothing with him. Can You help us?
Jesus: 19 O faithless generation, how long must I be among you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to Me.
20 They brought the boy toward Jesus; but as soon as He drew near, the spirit took control of the boy and threw him on the ground, where he rolled, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus (to the father): 21 How long has he been like this?
Father: Since he was a baby. 22 This spirit has thrown him often into the fire and sometimes into the water, trying to destroy him. I have run out of options; I have tried everything. But if there’s anything You can do, please, have pity on us and help us.
Jesus: 23 What do you mean, “If there’s anything?” All things are possible, if you only believe.
Father (crying in desperation): 24 I believe, Lord. Help me to believe!
25 Jesus noticed that a crowd had gathered around them now. He issued a command to the unclean spirit.
Jesus: Listen up, you no-talking, no-hearing demon. I Myself am ordering you to come out of him now. Come out, and don’t ever come back!
26 The spirit shrieked and caused the boy to thrash about; then it came out of the boy and left him lying as still as death. Many of those in the crowd whispered that he was dead. 27 But Jesus took the boy by the hand and lifted him to his feet.
28 Later He and His disciples gathered privately in a house.
Disciples (to Jesus): Why couldn’t we cast out that unclean spirit?
Jesus: 29 That sort of powerful spirit can only be conquered with much prayer [and fasting].[a]
Psalm 43[a]
1 Plead for me; clear my name, O God. Prove me innocent
before immoral people;
Save me from their lies,
their unjust thoughts and deeds.
2 You are the True God—my shelter, my protector, the one whom I lean on.
Why have You turned away from me? Rejected me?
Why must I go around, overwrought, mourning,
suffering under the weight of my enemies?
3 O my God, shine Your light and truth
to help me see clearly,
To lead me to Your holy mountain,
to Your home.
4 Then I will go to God’s altar with nothing to hide.
I will go to God, my rapture;
I will sing praises to You and play my strings,
unloading my cares, unleashing my joys, to You, God, my God.
5 O my soul, why are you so overwrought?
Why are you so disturbed?
Why can’t I just hope in God? Despite all my emotions, I will hope in God again.
I will believe and praise the One
who saves me and is my life,
My Savior and my God.
18 Lips that lie cover deep-seated hatred,
and whoever spreads a libelous rumor is acting as a fool.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.