Today's Reading

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord, and died;

²and the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron your brother, not to come at all times into the Most Holy Place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark; lest he die: for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.

³"Herewith shall Aaron come into the sanctuary: with a young bull for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

⁴He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches on his body, and shall put on the linen sash, and he shall be dressed with the linen turban. They are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water, and put them on.

⁵He shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

⁶"Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house.

⁷He shall take the two goats, and set them before the Lord at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

⁸Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

⁹Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord, and offer him for a sin offering.

¹⁰But the goat, on which the lot fell for the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement for him, to send him away for the scapegoat into the wilderness.

¹¹"Aaron shall present the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.

¹²He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:

¹³and he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the testimony, so that he will not die.

¹⁴He shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

¹⁵"Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

¹⁶and he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins; and so he shall do for the Tent of Meeting, that dwells with them in the midst of their uncleanness.

¹⁷There shall be no one in the Tent of Meeting when he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, and has made atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.

¹⁸"He shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the bull's blood, and some of the goat's blood, and put it around on the horns of the altar.

¹⁹He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and make it holy from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

²⁰"When he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat.

²¹Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.

²²The goat shall carry all their iniquities on himself to a solitary land, and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.

²³"Aaron shall come into the Tent of Meeting, and shall take off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there.

²⁴Then he shall bathe himself in water in a holy place, and put on his garments, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.

²⁵The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar.

²⁶"He who lets the goat go for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

²⁷The bull for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried forth outside the camp; and they shall burn their skins, their flesh, and their dung with fire.

²⁸He who burns them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

²⁹"It shall be a statute to you forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work, the native-born, or the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you:

³⁰for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord.

³¹It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls; it is a statute forever.

³²The priest, who is anointed and who is consecrated to be priest in his father's place, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments.

³³Then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary; and he shall make atonement for the Tent of Meeting and for the altar; and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.

³⁴"This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel once in the year because of all their sins." It was done as the Lord commanded Moses.

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them: 'This is the thing which the Lord has commanded,

³Whatever man there is of the house of Israel, who kills a bull, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp,

⁴and hasn't brought it to the door of the Tent of Meeting, [so as to sacrifice it for a burnt offering or peace offering to the Lord to be acceptable for a soothing aroma, and whoever shall kill it without, and shall not bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting] to offer it as an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, blood shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people.

⁵This is to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord.

⁶The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and burn the fat for a pleasant aroma to the Lord.

⁷They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.'

⁸"You shall say to them, 'Any man there is of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice,

⁹and doesn't bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to sacrifice it to the Lord; that man shall be cut off from his people.

¹⁰"'Any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who eats any kind of blood, I will set my face against that soul who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

¹¹For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life.

¹²Therefore I have said to the children of Israel, "No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who lives as a foreigner among you eat blood."

¹³"'Whatever man there is of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who takes in hunting any animal or bird that may be eaten; he shall pour out its blood, and cover it with dust.

¹⁴For as to the life of all flesh, its blood is with its life: therefore I said to the children of Israel, "You shall not eat the blood of any kind of flesh; for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off."

¹⁵"'Every person that eats what dies of itself, or that which is torn by animals, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening: then he shall be clean.

¹⁶But if he doesn't wash them, or bathe his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity.'"

¹The Lord said to Moses,

²"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, 'I am the Lord your God.

³You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived: and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you; neither shall you walk in their statutes.

⁴You shall do my ordinances, and you shall keep my statutes, and walk in them: I am the Lord your God.

⁵You shall therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances; which if a man does, he shall live in them: I am the Lord.

⁶"'None of you shall approach anyone who are his close relatives, to uncover their nakedness: I am the Lord.

⁷"'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, nor the nakedness of your mother: she is your mother. You shall not uncover her nakedness.

⁸"'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife: it is your father's nakedness.

⁹"'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home, or born abroad.

¹⁰"'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter, or of your daughter's daughter, even their nakedness: for theirs is your own nakedness.

¹¹"'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, conceived by your father, since she is your sister.

¹²"'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister: she is your father's near kinswoman.

¹³"'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister: for she is your mother's near kinswoman.

¹⁴"'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, you shall not approach his wife: she is your aunt.

¹⁵"'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law: she is your son's wife. You shall not uncover her nakedness.

¹⁶"'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife: it is your brother's nakedness.

¹⁷"'You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter. You shall not take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are near kinswomen: it is wickedness.

¹⁸"'You shall not take a wife to her sister, to be a rival, to uncover her nakedness, while her sister is yet alive.

¹⁹"'You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness.

²⁰"'You shall not lie carnally with your neighbor's wife, and defile yourself with her.

²¹"'You shall not give any of your children to sacrifice to Molech; neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

²²"'You shall not lie with a man, as with a woman. That is detestable.

²³"'You shall not lie with any animal to defile yourself with it; neither shall any woman give herself to an animal, to lie down with it: it is a perversion.

²⁴"'Do not defile yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled.

²⁵The land was defiled: therefore I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out her inhabitants.

²⁶You therefore shall keep my statutes and my ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the native-born, nor the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you;

²⁷(for all these abominations have the men of the land done, that were before you, and the land became defiled);

²⁸that the land not vomit you out also, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.

²⁹"'For whoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people.

³⁰Therefore you shall keep my requirements, that you do not practice any of these abominable customs, which were practiced before you, and that you do not defile yourselves with them: I am the Lord your God.'"

¹In those days, when there was a great multitude, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to himself, and said to them,

²"I have compassion on the multitude, because they have stayed with me now three days, and have nothing to eat.

³If I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint on the way, and some of them have come a long way."

⁴His disciples answered him, "From where could one satisfy these people with bread here in a deserted place?"

⁵He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven."

⁶He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves. Having given thanks, he broke them, and gave them to his disciples to serve, and they served the multitude.

⁷They had a few small fish. Having blessed them, he said to serve these also.

⁸They ate, and were filled. They took up seven baskets of broken pieces that were left over.

⁹Now they were about four thousand. Then he sent them away.

¹⁰Immediately he entered into the boat with his disciples, and came into the region of Dalmanutha.

¹¹The Pharisees came out and began to question him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, and testing him.

¹²He sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation."

¹³He left them, and again entering into a boat, departed to the other side.

¹⁴Now they forgot to take bread; and they did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them.

¹⁵He warned them, saying, "Take heed: beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."

¹⁶They reasoned with one another, saying, "It's because we have no bread."

¹⁷He, perceiving it, said to them, "Why do you reason that it's because you have no bread? Do you not perceive yet, neither understand? Are your hearts hardened?

¹⁸Having eyes, do you not see? Having ears, do you not hear? Do you not remember?

¹⁹When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They told him, "Twelve."

²⁰"When the seven loaves fed the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They told him, "Seven."

²¹He asked them, "Do you not yet understand?"

²²He came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him, and begged him to touch him.

²³He took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village. When he had spit on his eyes, and laid his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything.

²⁴He looked up, and said, "I see men; they look like trees walking."

²⁵Then again he laid his hands on his eyes. He made him look up, and was restored, and saw everyone clearly.

²⁶He sent him away to his house, saying, "Do not enter into the village."

²⁷Jesus went out, with his disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?"

²⁸They answered him, "John the Baptist, and others say Elijah, but others: one of the prophets."

²⁹He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Messiah."

³⁰He commanded them that they should tell no one about him.

³¹He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

³²He spoke to them openly. Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.

³³But he, turning around, and seeing his disciples, rebuked Peter, and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you have in mind not the things of God, but the things of men."

³⁴He called the multitude to himself with his disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever will lose his life for my sake and the sake of the Good News will save it.

³⁶For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?

³⁷Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

³⁸For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

¹ An oracle is within my heart about the disobedience of the wicked: "There is no fear of God before his eyes."

²For he flatters himself in his own eyes, too much to detect and hate his sin.

³The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good.

⁴He plots iniquity on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He doesn't abhor evil.

⁵Your loving kindness, Lord, is in the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

⁶Your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like a great deep. Lord, you preserve man and animal.

⁷How precious is your loving kindness, God! The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings.

⁸They shall be abundantly satisfied with the abundance of your house. You will make them drink of the river of your pleasures.

⁹For with you is the spring of life. In your light shall we see light.

¹⁰Oh continue your loving kindness to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.

¹¹Do not let the foot of pride come against me. Do not let the hand of the wicked drive me away.

¹²There the workers of iniquity are fallen. They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise.

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:

²that you may maintain discretion, that your lips may preserve knowledge.

³For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,

⁴But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.

⁶She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn't know it.

⁷Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Do not depart from the words of my mouth.

⁸Remove your way far from her. Do not come near the door of her house,

⁹lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;

¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man's house.

¹¹You will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,

¹²and say, "How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

¹³neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!

¹⁴I have come to the brink of utter ruin, in the midst of the gathered assembly."

¹⁵Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?

¹⁷Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.

¹⁸Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹A loving doe and a graceful deer- let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.

²⁰For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?

²¹For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord. He examines all his paths.

²²The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.

²³He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.