Today's Reading

¹Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them.

²And fire came forth from before the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.

³Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke of, saying, 'I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" Aaron held his peace.

⁴Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, "Draw near, carry your brothers from before the sanctuary out of the camp."

⁵So they drew near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said.

⁶Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, "Do not let the hair of your heads go loose, neither tear your clothes; that you do not die, and that he not be angry with all the congregation: but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled.

⁷You shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die; for the anointing oil of the Lord is on you." They did according to the word of Moses.

⁸The Lord spoke to Aaron, saying,

⁹"Drink no wine nor strong drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the Tent of Meeting, that you do not die: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations:

¹⁰and that you are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean;

¹¹and that you are to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by Moses."

¹²Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons who were left, "Take the meal offering that remains of the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and eat it without yeast beside the altar; for it is most holy;

¹³and you shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your portion, and your sons' portion, of the offerings of the Lord made by fire: for so I am commanded.

¹⁴The waved breast and the heaved thigh you shall eat in a clean place, you, and your sons, and your daughters with you: for they are given as your portion, and your sons' portion, out of the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the children of Israel.

¹⁵The heaved thigh and the waved breast they shall bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering before the Lord: and it shall be yours, and your sons' with you, as a portion forever; as the Lord has commanded."

¹⁶Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burned: and he was angry with Eleazar and with Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying,

¹⁷"Why haven't you eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, seeing it is most holy, and he has given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord?

¹⁸Behold, its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary: you certainly should have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded."

¹⁹Aaron spoke to Moses, "Behold, this day they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord; and such things as these have happened to me: and if I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been pleasing in the sight of the Lord?"

²⁰When Moses heard that, it was pleasing in his sight.

¹The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them,

²"Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'These are the living things which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth.

³Whatever parts the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and chews the cud among the animals, that you may eat.

⁴"'Nevertheless these you shall not eat of those that chew the cud, or of those who part the hoof: the camel, because he chews the cud but doesn't have a parted hoof, he is unclean to you.

⁵The coney, because he chews the cud but doesn't have a parted hoof, he is unclean to you.

⁶The hare, because she chews the cud but doesn't part the hoof, she is unclean to you.

⁷The pig, because he has a split hoof, and is cloven-footed, but doesn't chew the cud, he is unclean to you.

⁸Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean to you.

⁹"'These you may eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, that you may eat.

¹⁰All that do not have fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are an abomination to you,

¹¹and you detest them. You shall not eat of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses.

¹²Whatever has no fins nor scales in the waters, that is an abomination to you.

¹³"'These you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the vulture, and the black vulture,

¹⁴and the red kite, any kind of black kite,

¹⁵any kind of raven,

¹⁶the horned owl, the screech owl, and the gull, any kind of hawk,

¹⁷the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,

¹⁸the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,

¹⁹the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.

²⁰"'All flying insects that walk on all fours are an abomination to you.

²¹Yet you may eat these: of all winged creeping things that go on all fours, which have legs above their feet, with which to hop on the earth.

²²Even of these you may eat: any kind of locust, any kind of katydid, any kind of cricket, and any kind of grasshopper.

²³But all winged creeping things which have four feet, are an abomination to you.

²⁴"'By these you will become unclean: whoever touches the carcass of them shall be unclean until the evening.

²⁵Whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.

²⁶"'Every animal which parts the hoof, and is not cloven-footed, nor chews the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean.

²⁷Whatever goes on its paws, among all animals that go on all fours, they are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening.

²⁸He who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. They are unclean to you.

²⁹"'These are they which are unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard,

³⁰the gecko, and the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink, and the chameleon.

³¹These are they which are unclean to you among all that creep. Whoever touches them when they are dead, shall be unclean until the evening.

³²On whatever any of them falls when they are dead, it shall be unclean; whether it is any vessel of wood, or clothing, or skin, or sack, whatever vessel it is, with which any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it will be clean.

³³Every earthen vessel, into which any of them falls, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it.

³⁴All food which may be eaten, that on which water comes, shall be unclean; and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean.

³⁵Everything whereupon part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether oven, or range for pots, it shall be broken in pieces: they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you.

³⁶Nevertheless a spring or a cistern in which water is a gathered shall be clean: but that which touches their carcass shall be unclean.

³⁷If part of their carcass falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean.

³⁸But if water is put on the seed, and part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.

³⁹"'If any animal, of which you may eat, dies; he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening.

⁴⁰He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.

⁴¹"'Every creeping thing that creeps on the earth is an abomination. It shall not be eaten.

⁴²Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, even all creeping things that creep on the earth, them you shall not eat; for they are an abomination.

⁴³You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps, neither shall you make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled thereby.

⁴⁴For I am the Lord your God. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy: neither shall you defile yourselves with any kind of creeping thing that moves on the earth.

⁴⁵For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

⁴⁶"'This is the law of the animal, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth,

⁴⁷to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten.'"

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'If a woman conceives, and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her monthly period she shall be unclean.

³In the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

⁴She shall continue in the blood of purification thirty-three days. She shall not touch any holy thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed.

⁵But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her period; and she shall continue in the blood of purification sixty-six days.

⁶"'When the days of her purification are completed, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the door of the Tent of Meeting, a year old lamb for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering:

⁷and he shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the fountain of her blood. "'This is the law for her who bears, whether a male or a female.

⁸If she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves, or two young pigeons; the one for a burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.'"

¹And he went out from there and came into his own country, and his disciples followed him.

²When the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things?" and, "What is the wisdom that is given to this man, that such mighty works come about by his hands?

³Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of Jacob, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us?" They were offended at him.

⁴Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own relatives, and in his own house."

⁵And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people, and healed them.

⁶And He marveled because of their unbelief. And he went around the villages teaching.

⁷And he called to himself the twelve, and began to send them out two by two; and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits.

⁸And he commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a staff only: no bread, no wallet, no money in their purse,

⁹but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.

¹⁰And he said to them, "Wherever you enter into a house, stay there until you depart from there.

¹¹Whoever will not receive you nor hear you, as you depart from there, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony against them."

¹²So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent.

¹³They cast out many demons, and anointed many with oil who were sick, and healed them.

¹⁴King Herod heard this, for his name had become known, and he said, "John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."

¹⁵But others said, "He is Elijah." Others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets."

¹⁶But Herod, when he heard this, said, "This is John, whom I beheaded. He has risen."

¹⁷For Herod himself had sent out and arrested John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, for he had married her.

¹⁸For John said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

¹⁹So Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him, but she could not,

²⁰for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed, but he heard him gladly.

²¹And then a convenient day came, that Herod on his birthday gave a supper for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.

²²And when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and those sitting with him. The king said to the young lady, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."

²³And he swore to her, "Whatever you shall ask of me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom."

²⁴So she went out, and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist."

²⁵And she came in immediately with haste to the king, and asked, "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter."

²⁶And the king was exceedingly sorry, but for the sake of his oaths, and of his dinner guests, he did not wish to refuse her.

²⁷So immediately the king sent out a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring John's head, and he went and beheaded him in the prison,

²⁸and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the young lady; and the young lady gave it to her mother.

²⁹And when his disciples heard this, they came and took up his corpse, and placed it in a tomb.

³⁰Then the apostles gathered themselves together to Jesus, and they told him all things, whatever they had done, and whatever they had taught.

³¹And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to an isolated place, and rest awhile." For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

³²So they went away in the boat to an isolated place by themselves.

³³But they saw them going, and many recognized him and ran there on foot from all the cities and they arrived before them.

³⁴And he came out, saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.

³⁵And when it was late in the day, his disciples came to him, and said, "This place is desolate, and it is late in the day.

³⁶Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages, and buy themselves something to eat."

³⁷But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." They asked him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give them something to eat?"

³⁸He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go see." When they knew, they said, "Five, and two fish."

³⁹He commanded them that everyone should sit down in groups on the green grass.

⁴⁰They sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties.

⁴¹He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves, and he gave to his disciples to set before them, and he divided the two fish among them all.

⁴²They all ate, and were filled.

⁴³They took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and also of the fish.

⁴⁴Those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

⁴⁵And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat, and to go ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself sent the multitude away.

⁴⁶After he had taken leave of them, he went up the mountain to pray.

⁴⁷When evening had come, the boat was in the midst of the sea, and he was alone on the land.

⁴⁸He saw them distressed in rowing, for the wind was against them, about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea, and he would have passed by them,

⁴⁹but they, when they saw him walking on the sea, supposed that it was a ghost, and began to scream;

⁵⁰for they all saw him, and were troubled. But he immediately spoke with them, and said to them, "Cheer up! It is I! Do not be afraid."

⁵¹He got into the boat with them; and the wind ceased, and they were very amazed among themselves;

⁵²for they had not understood about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

⁵³When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore.

⁵⁴When they had come out of the boat, immediately the people recognized him,

⁵⁵and ran around that whole region, and began to bring those who were sick, on their mats, to where they heard he was.

⁵⁶Wherever he entered, into villages, or into cities, or into the country, they placed the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch just the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched him were made well.

¹ ALEPH I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will always be in my mouth.

²My soul shall boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear of it, and be glad.

³Oh magnify the Lord with me. Let us exalt his name together.

⁴I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.

⁵They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame.

⁶This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

⁷The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

⁸Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

⁹Oh fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for there is no lack with those who fear him.

¹⁰The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

¹¹Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

¹²Who is someone who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?

¹³Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking lies.

¹⁴Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace, and pursue it.

¹⁵The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous. His ears listen to their cry.

¹⁶The Lord's face is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

¹⁷They cried, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

²⁰He protects all of his bones. Not one of them is broken.

²¹Evil shall kill the wicked. Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.

²²The Lord redeems the soul of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him shall be condemned.

¹My son, do not forget my teaching; but let your heart keep my commandments:

²for length of days, and years of life, and peace, will they add to you.

³Do not let kindness and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴So you will find favor, and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

⁶In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

⁸It will be health to your body, and nourishment to your bones.

⁹Honor the Lord with your substance, with the first fruits of all your increase:

¹⁰so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

¹¹My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline, neither be weary of his reproof:

¹²for whom the Lord loves, he reproves; even as a father reproves the son in whom he delights.

¹³Happy is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gets understanding.

¹⁴For her good profit is better than getting silver, and her return is better than fine gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies. None of the things you can desire are to be compared to her.

¹⁶Length of days is in her right hand. In her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness. All her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her. Happy is everyone who retains her.

¹⁹By wisdom the Lord founded the earth. By understanding, he established the heavens.

²⁰By his knowledge, the depths were broken up, and the skies drop down the dew.

²¹My son, let them not depart from your eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion:

²²so they will be life to your soul, and grace for your neck.

²³Then you shall walk in your way securely. Your foot won't stumble.

²⁴When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵Do not be afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes:

²⁶for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being taken.

²⁷Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it.

²⁸Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come again; tomorrow I will give it to you," when you have it by you.

²⁹Do not devise evil against your neighbor, seeing he dwells securely by you.

³⁰Do not strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.

³¹Do not envy the man of violence. Choose none of his ways.

³²For the perverse is an abomination to the Lord, but his friendship is with the upright.

³³The Lord's curse is in the house of the wicked, but he blesses the habitation of the righteous.

³⁴Surely he is scornful to scoffers, but he gives grace to the humble.

³⁵The wise will inherit glory, but shame will be the promotion of fools.