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Old/New Testament

Each day includes a passage from both the Old Testament and New Testament.

Duration: 365 days

Leviticus 17-18

IV. Holiness Laws

Chapter 17

Sacredness of Blood. ¹The Lord said to Moses: ²Speak to Aaron and his sons, as well as to all the Israelites, and tell them: This is what the Lord has commanded: ³^[a]Any Israelite who slaughters an ox or a sheep or a goat, whether in the camp or outside of it, ⁴without first bringing it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the Lord’s tabernacle, shall be judged guilty of bloodshed^[b]^(A)—that individual has shed blood, and shall be cut off^(B) from the people. ⁵This is so that such sacrifices as they used to offer in the open field the Israelites shall henceforth bring to the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them there as communion sacrifices to the Lord.^(C) ⁶The priest will splash the blood on the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting and burn the fat for an odor pleasing to the Lord. ⁷No longer shall they offer their sacrifices to the demons^[c] with whom they prostituted themselves.^(D) This shall be an everlasting statute for them and their descendants.

⁸Tell them, therefore: Anyone, whether of the house of Israel or of the aliens residing among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice ⁹without bringing it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the Lord, shall be cut off from the people. ¹⁰^(E)As for anyone, whether of the house of Israel or of the aliens residing among them, who consumes any blood, I will set myself against that individual and will cut that person off from among the people, ¹¹since the life of the flesh is in the blood,^(F) and I have given it to you to make atonement^[d] on the altar for yourselves, because it is the blood as life that makes atonement. ¹²That is why I have told the Israelites: No one among you, not even a resident alien, may consume blood.

¹³Anyone hunting,^[e] whether of the Israelites or of the aliens residing among them, who catches an animal or a bird that may be eaten, shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth,^(G) ¹⁴since the life of all flesh is its blood. I have told the Israelites: You shall not consume the blood of any flesh. Since the life of all flesh is its blood, anyone who consumes it shall be cut off.

¹⁵Everyone, whether a native or an alien, who eats of an animal that died of itself or was killed by a wild beast, shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening, and then become clean.^(H) ¹⁶If one does not wash his garments and bathe, that person shall bear the penalty.

Chapter 18

Laws Concerning Sexual Behavior. ¹The Lord said to Moses: ²Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I, the Lord, am your God.^[f] ³You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you once lived, nor shall you do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you; do not conform to their customs.^(I) ⁴My decrees you shall carry out, and my statutes you shall take care to follow. I, the Lord, am your God. ⁵Keep, then, my statutes and decrees, for the person who carries them out will find life^[g] through them. I am the Lord.^(J)

⁶^[h]None of you shall approach a close relative^[i] to have sexual intercourse. I am the Lord. ⁷^[j]You shall not disgrace your father by having intercourse with your mother.^(K) She is your own mother; you shall not have intercourse with her. ⁸You shall not have intercourse with your father’s wife, for that would be a disgrace to your father. ⁹You shall not have intercourse with your sister,^[k]^(L) your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in your own household or born elsewhere. ¹⁰You shall not have intercourse with your son’s daughter or with your daughter’s daughter,^[l] for that would be a disgrace to you. ¹¹You shall not have intercourse with the daughter whom your father’s wife bore to him in his household,^(M) since she, too, is your sister. ¹²You shall not have intercourse with your father’s sister,^(N) since she is your father’s relative. ¹³You shall not have intercourse with your mother’s sister, since she is your mother’s relative. ¹⁴You shall not disgrace your father’s brother by having sexual relations with his wife,^(O) since she, too, is your aunt. ¹⁵You shall not have intercourse with your daughter-in-law;^[m]^(P) she is your son’s wife; you shall not have intercourse with her. ¹⁶You shall not have intercourse with your brother’s wife;^[n]^(Q) that would be a disgrace to your brother. ¹⁷You shall not have intercourse with a woman and also with her daughter, nor shall you marry and have intercourse with her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter;^(R) they are related to her. This would be shameful. ¹⁸While your wife is still living you shall not marry her sister as her rival and have intercourse with her.^(S)

¹⁹You shall not approach a woman to have intercourse with her while she is in her menstrual uncleanness.^(T) ²⁰You shall not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife,^[o]^(U) defiling yourself with her. ²¹^(V)You shall not offer any of your offspring for immolation to Molech,^[p] thus profaning the name of your God. I am the Lord. ²²You shall not lie with a male as with a woman;^(W) such a thing is an abomination. ²³You shall not have sexual relations with an animal, defiling yourself with it; nor shall a woman set herself in front of an animal to mate with it; that is perverse.^(X)

²⁴Do not defile yourselves by any of these things, because by them the nations whom I am driving out of your way have defiled themselves. ²⁵And so the land has become defiled, and I have punished it for its wickedness, and the land has vomited out its inhabitants.^(Y) ²⁶You, however, must keep my statutes and decrees, avoiding all these abominations, both the natives and the aliens resident among you— ²⁷because the previous inhabitants did all these abominations and the land became defiled; ²⁸otherwise the land will vomit you out also for having defiled it, just as it vomited out the nations before you. ²⁹For whoever does any of these abominations shall be cut off from the people. ³⁰Heed my charge, then, not to observe the abominable customs that have been observed before your time, and thus become impure by them.^(Z) I, the Lord, am your God.

Footnotes

17:3–4 Any animal slaughtered must be brought to the tent of meeting as an offering. This differs from Dt 12:15–28, which allows those living too far from the temple to slaughter an animal for food at home without offering it as a sacrifice.
17:4 Guilty of bloodshed: human beings and animals can incur blood guilt for killing human beings (cf. Gn 9:5–6); human beings can incur blood guilt for killing animals (see note on Lv 24:17–22).
17:7 Demons: for Hebrew śe‘îrîm, lit., “goats.” Like the demon Azazel (cf. 16:8, 10, 21–22), they dwell in the open country (17:5). Cf. Is 13:21; 34:14.
17:11 To make atonement: this is probably to be understood in the context of liability for shedding animal blood (cf. v. 4). Placing the blood on the altar exonerates the slaughterer from guilt for the killing. See note on 16:6.
17:13 Hunting: game animals are not permitted as offerings. One nonetheless has to treat the blood of these animals carefully by covering it with earth. Cf. Dt 12:16, 24.
18:2 I, the Lord, am your God: this declaration appears frequently elsewhere throughout chaps. 17–26, sometimes with a statement of God’s holiness or his sanctifying activity. It emphasizes the importance of the laws and the relationship of the divine lawgiver to the people.
18:5 Find life: in Dt 30:15–20 Moses sets before the people life and death. The alternatives are set out in detail in Lv 26 and Dt 28. Cf. Ez 20:11, 13, 21.
18:6–23 These laws deal with illicit sexual behavior. Lv 20:10–21 reiterates most of these cases, with penalties. Cf. also Dt 27:15–26; Ez 22:7–12. The ordering of the cases in Lv 18 seems to be: blood relatives (vv. 6–13), those related by marriage (vv. 14–18), then other cases (vv. 19–23).
18:6 Close relative: this refers to a blood relative and includes those not specifically mentioned in the list, such as one’s own daughter and a full sister. Have sexual intercourse: lit., “to uncover nakedness.”
18:7–8 Cf. the story of Reuben lying with Bilhah, his father’s concubine and Rachel’s maid (Gn 35:22; 49:4).
18:9, 11 Cf. actual or possible marriage to a half sister in Gn 20:12 and 2 Sm 13:13.
18:10 Daughter incest is found in the story of Lot (Gn 19:30–38).
18:15 Judah had intercourse with his daughter-in-law Tamar (Gn 38), but did not know her true identity until her pregnancy was discovered.
18:16 This refers to cohabiting with one’s sister-in-law not only while the brother is alive, but also after he is dead. Dt 25:5–10 allows for the marriage to the wife of a brother when that brother died without a male heir. Cf. Gn 38:6–14. It was the violation of this law of Leviticus which aroused the wrath of John the Baptist against Herod Antipas (Mt 14:4; Mk 6:18).
18:20 Adultery in the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near East is intercourse between a married or betrothed woman and any male. In the Bible it is generally punishable by the death of both individuals (20:10; cf. Dt 22:22–27). Intercourse with an unmarried or unbetrothed woman is not prohibited but carries responsibilities and fines (cf. Ex 22:15–16; Dt 22:28–29). Cf. Lv 19:20–22.
18:21 Immolation to Molech: the reference is to the custom of sacrificing children to the god Molech. Cf. Ez 16:20–21; 20:26, 31; 23:37. See note on Lv 20:1–5.

Matthew 27:27-50

Mockery by the Soldiers. ²⁷^(A)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium^[a] and gathered the whole cohort around him. ²⁸They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak^[b] about him. ²⁹^(B)Weaving a crown out of thorns,^[c] they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰^(C)They spat upon him^[d] and took the reed and kept striking him on the head. ³¹And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.

The Way of the Cross.^[e] ³²^(D)As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon; this man they pressed into service to carry his cross.

The Crucifixion. ³³^(E)And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull), ³⁴^(F)they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall.^[f] But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink. ³⁵^(G)After they had crucified him, they divided his garments^[g] by casting lots; ³⁶then they sat down and kept watch over him there. ³⁷And they placed over his head the written charge^[h] against him: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. ³⁸Two revolutionaries^[i] were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left. ³⁹^[j]^(H)Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰^(I)and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, if you are the Son of God, [and] come down from the cross!” ⁴¹Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said, ⁴²“He saved others; he cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel!^[k] Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. ⁴³^[l]^(J)He trusted in God; let him deliver him now if he wants him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴The revolutionaries who were crucified with him also kept abusing him in the same way.

The Death of Jesus. ⁴⁵^[m]^(K)From noon onward,^(L) darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ⁴⁶^(M)And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”^[n] which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷^[o]Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “This one is calling for Elijah.” ⁴⁸^(N)Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹But the rest said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him.” ⁵⁰^[p]But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit.

Footnotes

27:27 The praetorium: the residence of the Roman governor. His usual place of residence was at Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean coast, but he went to Jerusalem during the great feasts, when the influx of pilgrims posed the danger of a nationalistic riot. It is disputed whether the praetorium in Jerusalem was the old palace of Herod in the west of the city or the fortress of Antonia northwest of the temple area. The whole cohort: normally six hundred soldiers.
27:28 Scarlet military cloak: so Matthew as against the royal purple of Mk 15:17 and Jn 19:2.
27:29 Crown out of thorns: probably of long thorns that stood upright so that it resembled the “radiant” crown, a diadem with spikes worn by Hellenistic kings. The soldiers’ purpose was mockery, not torture. A reed: peculiar to Matthew; a mock scepter.
27:30 Spat upon him: cf. Mt 26:67 where there also is a possible allusion to Is 50:6.
27:32 See note on Mk 15:21. Cyrenian named Simon: Cyrenaica was a Roman province on the north coast of Africa and Cyrene was its capital city. The city had a large population of Greek-speaking Jews. Simon may have been living in Palestine or have come there for the Passover as a pilgrim. Pressed into service: see note on Mt 5:41.
27:34 Wine…mixed with gall: cf. Mk 15:23 where the drink is “wine drugged with myrrh,” a narcotic. Matthew’s text is probably an inexact allusion to Ps 69:22. That psalm belongs to the class called the individual lament, in which a persecuted just man prays for deliverance in the midst of great suffering and also expresses confidence that his prayer will be heard. That theme of the suffering Just One is frequently applied to the sufferings of Jesus in the passion narratives.
27:35 The clothing of an executed criminal went to his executioner(s), but the description of that procedure in the case of Jesus, found in all the gospels, is plainly inspired by Ps 22:19. However, that psalm verse is quoted only in Jn 19:24.
27:37 The offense of a person condemned to death by crucifixion was written on a tablet that was displayed on his cross. The charge against Jesus was that he had claimed to be the King of the Jews (cf. Mt 27:11), i.e., the Messiah (cf. Mt 27:17, 22).
27:38 Revolutionaries: see note on Jn 18:40 where the same Greek word as that found here is used for Barabbas.
27:39–40 Reviled him…heads: cf. Ps 22:8. You who would destroy…three days; cf. Mt 26:61. If you are the Son of God: the same words as those of the devil in the temptation of Jesus; cf. Mt 4:3, 6.
27:42 King of Israel: in their mocking of Jesus the members of the Sanhedrin call themselves and their people not “the Jews” but Israel.
27:43 Peculiar to Matthew. He trusted in God…wants him: cf. Ps 22:9. He said…of God: probably an allusion to Wis 2:12–20 where the theme of the suffering Just One appears.
27:45 Cf. Am 8:9 where on the day of the Lord “the sun will set at midday.”
27:46 Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?: Jesus cries out in the words of Ps 22:2a, a psalm of lament that is the Old Testament passage most frequently drawn upon in this narrative. In Mark the verse is cited entirely in Aramaic, which Matthew partially retains but changes the invocation of God to the Hebrew Eli, possibly because that is more easily related to the statement of the following verse about Jesus’ calling for Elijah.
27:47 Elijah: see note on Mt 3:4. This prophet, taken up into heaven (2 Kgs 2:11), was believed to come to the help of those in distress, but the evidences of that belief are all later than the gospels.
27:50 Gave up his spirit: cf. the Marcan parallel (Mk 15:37), “breathed his last.” Matthew’s alteration expresses both Jesus’ control over his destiny and his obedient giving up of his life to God.

New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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