Today's Reading

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Tell Aaron and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, which they make holy to me, and that they not profane my holy name. I am the Lord.

³"Tell them, 'If anyone of all your seed throughout your generations approaches the holy things, which the children of Israel make holy to the Lord, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from before me. I am the Lord.

⁴"'Whoever of the seed of Aaron is a leper or has an issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goes from him;

⁵or whoever touches any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatever uncleanness he has;

⁶the person that touches any such shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he bathe his body in water.

⁷When the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his bread.

⁸That which dies of itself, or is torn by animals, he shall not eat, defiling himself by it. I am the Lord.

⁹"'They shall therefore follow my requirements, lest they bear sin for it, and die therein, if they profane it. I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

¹⁰"'No stranger shall eat of the holy thing: a foreigner living with the priests, or a hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.

¹¹But if a priest buys a slave, purchased by his money, he shall eat of it; and such as are born in his house, they shall eat of his bread.

¹²If a priest's daughter is married to an outsider, she shall not eat of the heave offering of the holy things.

¹³But if a priest's daughter is a widow, or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father's house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father's bread: but no stranger shall eat any of it.

¹⁴"'If a man eats something holy unwittingly, then he shall add the fifth part of its value to it, and shall give the holy thing to the priest.

¹⁵The priests shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer to the Lord,

¹⁶and so cause them to bear the iniquity that brings guilt, when they eat their holy things: for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.'"

¹⁷The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁸"Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, 'Whoever is of the house of Israel, or of the foreigners in Israel, who offers his offering, whether it be any of their vows, or any of their freewill offerings, which they offer to the Lord for a burnt offering;

¹⁹that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without blemish, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats.

²⁰But whatever has a blemish, that you shall not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.

²¹Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to accomplish a vow, or for a freewill offering, of the herd or of the flock, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein.

²²Blind, injured, maimed, having a wart, festering, or having a running sore, you shall not offer these to the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord.

²³Either a bull or a lamb that has any deformity or lacking in his parts, that you may offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.

²⁴That which has its testicles bruised, crushed, broken, or cut, you shall not offer to the Lord; neither shall you do thus in your land.

²⁵Neither shall you offer the bread of your God from the hand of a foreigner of any of these; because their corruption is in them. There is a blemish in them. They shall not be accepted for you.'"

²⁶The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁷"When a bull, or a sheep, or a goat, is born, then it shall remain seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for the offering of an offering made by fire to the Lord.

²⁸Whether it is a cow or ewe, you shall not kill it and its young both in one day.

²⁹"When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.

³⁰It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until the morning. I am the Lord.

³¹"Therefore you shall keep my commandments, and do them. I am the Lord.

³²You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be made holy among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who makes you holy,

³³who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. I am the Lord."

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'The set feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts.

³"'Six days shall work be done: but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no manner of work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.

⁴"'These are the set feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season.

⁵In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is the Lord's Passover.

⁶On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to the Lord. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.

⁷In the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.

⁸But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation: you shall do no regular work.'"

⁹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁰"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its the harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest:

¹¹and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.

¹²On the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb without blemish a year old for a burnt offering to the Lord.

¹³The meal offering with it shall be two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord for a pleasant aroma; and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin.

¹⁴You shall eat neither bread, nor roasted grain, nor fresh grain, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

¹⁵"'You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be completed:

¹⁶even to the next day after the seventh Sabbath you shall number fifty days; and you shall offer a new meal offering to the Lord.

¹⁷You shall bring out of your habitations two loaves of bread for a wave offering made of two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast, for first fruits to the Lord.

¹⁸You shall present with the bread seven lambs without blemish a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their meal offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of a sweet aroma to the Lord.

¹⁹You shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings.

²⁰The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest.

²¹You shall make proclamation on the same day: there shall be a holy convocation to you; you shall do no regular work. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

²²"'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap into the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest: you shall leave them for the poor, and for the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.'"

²³The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁴"Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.

²⁵You shall do no regular work; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.'"

²⁶The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁷"However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.

²⁸You shall do no manner of work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God.

²⁹For whoever it is who shall not deny himself in that same day; shall be cut off from his people.

³⁰Whoever it is who does any manner of work in that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.

³¹You shall do no manner of work: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

³²It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath."

³³The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

³⁴"Speak to the children of Israel, and say, 'On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of booths for seven days to the Lord.

³⁵On the first day shall be a holy convocation: you shall do no regular work.

³⁶Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly; you shall do no regular work.

³⁷"'These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meal offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, each on its own day;

³⁸besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord.

³⁹"'So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.

⁴⁰You shall take on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.

⁴¹You shall keep it a feast to the Lord seven days in the year: it is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall keep it in the seventh month.

⁴²You shall dwell in booths seven days. All who are native-born in Israel shall dwell in booths,

⁴³that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.'"

⁴⁴Moses declared to the children of Israel the appointed feasts of the Lord.

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Com-mand the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.

³Outside of the veil of the Testimony, in the Tent of Meeting, shall Aaron keep it in order from evening to morning before the Lord continually: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.

⁴He shall keep in order the lamps on the pure gold menorah before the Lord continually.

⁵"You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenth parts of an ephah shall be in one cake.

⁶You shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure gold table before the Lord.

⁷You shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be to the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire to the Lord.

⁸Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before the Lord continually. It is on the behalf of the children of Israel an everlasting covenant.

⁹It shall be for Aaron and his sons; and they shall eat it in a holy place: for it is most holy to him of the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual statute."

¹⁰The son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and the son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp.

¹¹The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name, and cursed; and they brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.

¹²They put him in custody, until the will of the Lord should be declared to them.

¹³The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁴"Bring out of the camp him who cursed; and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.

¹⁵You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.

¹⁶He who blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him: the foreigner as well as the native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

¹⁷"'He who strikes any man mortally shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸He who strikes an animal mortally shall make it good, life for life.

¹⁹If anyone injures his neighbor; as he has done, so shall it be done to him:

²⁰fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has injured someone, so shall it be done to him.

²¹He who kills an animal shall make it good; and he who kills a man shall be put to death.

²²You shall have one kind of law, for the foreigner as well as the native-born: for I am the Lord your God.'"

²³Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they brought forth him who had cursed out of the camp, and stoned him with stones. The children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.

¹He arose from there and came into the borders of Judea and beyond the Jordan. Multitudes came together to him again. As he usually did, he was again teaching them.

²Pharisees came to him testing him, and asked him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"

³He answered, "What did Moses command you?"

⁴They said, "Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to divorce her."

⁵But Jesus said, "For your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment.

⁶But from the beginning of the creation, he made them male and female.

⁷For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife,

⁸and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.

⁹What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."

¹⁰In the house, the disciples asked him again about the same matter.

¹¹He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery against her.

¹²If she herself divorces her husband, and marries another, she commits adultery."

¹³They were bringing to him little children, that he should touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said to them, "Allow the little children to come to me! Do not forbid them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

¹⁵Truly I tell you, whoever will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child, he will in no way enter into it."

¹⁶And he took them in his arms, laying his hands on them, and blessed them.

¹⁷As he was going out into the way, one ran to him, knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"

¹⁸Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except one-God.

¹⁹You know the commandments: 'Do not murder,' 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not give false testimony,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and mother.'"

²⁰And he said to him, "Teacher, I have observed all these things from my youth."

²¹Jesus looking at him loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up the cross."

²²But his face fell at that saying, and he went away sorrowful, for he was one who had great possessions.

²³Jesus looked around, and said to his disciples, "How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God!"

²⁴The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answered again, "Children, how hard is it to enter into the Kingdom of God!

²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God."

²⁶They were exceedingly astonished, saying to him, "Then who can be saved?"

²⁷Jesus, looking at them, said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God."

²⁸Peter began to tell him, "Behold, we have left everything, and have followed you."

²⁹Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or land, for my sake, and for the sake of the Good News,

³⁰but he will receive one hundred times more now in this time, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land, with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.

³¹But many who are first will be last; and the last first."

³²They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going in front of them, and they were amazed; and those who followed were afraid. He again took the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were going to happen to him.

³³"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death, and will deliver him to the Gentiles.

³⁴They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him. After three days he will rise again."

³⁵Jacob and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him, and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask."

³⁶He said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?"

³⁷They said to him, "Grant to us that we may sit, one at your right hand, and one at your left hand, in your glory."

³⁸But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"

³⁹They said to him, "We are able." Jesus said to them, "You shall indeed drink the cup that I drink, and you shall be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with;

⁴⁰but to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give, but for whom it has been prepared."

⁴¹When the ten heard it, they began to be indignant towards Jacob and John.

⁴²Jesus summoned them, and said to them, "You know that they who are recognized as rulers over the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

⁴³But it shall not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant.

⁴⁴Whoever of you wants to become first among you, shall be bondservant of all.

⁴⁵For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

⁴⁶They came to Jericho. As he went out from Jericho, with his disciples and a great multitude, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road.

⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, and say, "Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁸Many rebuked him, that he should be quiet, but he shouted all the louder, "You son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁹Jesus stood still, and said, "Call him." They called the blind man, saying to him, "Cheer up! Get up. He is calling you!"

⁵⁰He, casting away his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

⁵¹Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "Rabboni, that I may see again."

⁵²Jesus said to him, "Go your way. Your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight, and followed himon the road.

¹ Lord, do not rebuke me in your wrath, neither chasten me in your hot displeasure.

²For your arrows have pierced me, your hand presses hard on me.

³There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation, neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin.

⁴For my iniquities have gone over my head. As a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds are loathsome and corrupt, because of my foolishness.

⁶I am pained and bowed down greatly. I go mourning all day long.

⁷For my waist is filled with burning. There is no soundness in my flesh.

⁸I am faint and severely bruised. I have groaned by reason of the anguish of my heart.

⁹Lord, all my desire is before you. My groaning is not hidden from you.

¹⁰My heart throbs. My strength fails me. As for the light of my eyes, it has also left me.

¹¹My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague. My kinsmen stand far away.

¹²They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long.

¹³But I, as a deaf man, do not hear. I am as a mute man who doesn't open his mouth.

¹⁴Yes, I am as a man who doesn't hear, in whose mouth are no reproofs.

¹⁵For in you, Lord, do I hope. You will answer, Lord my God.

¹⁶For I said, "Do not let them gloat over me, or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips."

¹⁷For I am ready to fall. My pain is continually before me.

¹⁸For I will declare my iniquity. I will be sorry for my sin.

¹⁹But my enemies are vigorous and many. Those who hate me without reason are numerous.

²⁰They who also render evil for good are adversaries to me, because I follow what is good.

²¹Do not forsake me, Lord. My God, do not be far from me.

²²Hurry to help me, Lord, my salvation.

¹My son, keep my words. Lay up my commandments within you.

²Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye.

³Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Tell wisdom, "You are my sister." Call understanding your relative,

⁵that they may keep you from the strange woman, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.

⁶For at the window of my house, I looked out through my lattice.

⁷I saw among the simple ones. I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding,

⁸passing through the street near her corner, he went the way to her house,

⁹in the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the middle of the night and in the darkness.

¹⁰Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute, and with crafty intent.

¹¹She is loud and defiant. Her feet do not stay in her house.

¹²Now she is in the streets, now in the squares, and lurking at every corner.

¹³So she caught him, and kissed him. With an impudent face she said to him:

¹⁴"Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me. This day I have paid my vows.

¹⁵Therefore I came out to meet you, to diligently seek your face, and I have found you.

¹⁶I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.

¹⁷I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let's take our fill of loving until the morning. Let's solace ourselves with loving.

¹⁹For my husband isn't at home. He has gone on a long journey.

²⁰He has taken a bag of money with him. He will come home at the full moon."

²¹With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.

²²He followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose.

²³Until an arrow strikes through his liver, as a bird hurries to the snare, and doesn't know that it will cost his life.

²⁴Now therefore, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to the words of my mouth.

²⁵Do not let your heart turn to her ways. Do not go astray in her paths,

²⁶for she has thrown down many wounded. Yes, all her slain are a mighty army.

²⁷Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.