Today's Reading

¹Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God; for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you forth out of Egypt by night.

²You shall sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.

³You shall eat no leavened bread with it. You shall eat unleavened bread with it seven days, even the bread of affliction; for you came forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that you may remember the day when you came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.

⁴No yeast shall be seen with you in all your borders seven days; neither shall any of the flesh, which you sacrifice the first day at evening, remain all night until the morning.

⁵You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates, which the Lord your God gives you;

⁶but at the place which the Lord your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell in, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at evening, at the going down of the sun, at the season that you came forth out of Egypt.

⁷You shall roast and eat it in the place which the Lord your God shall choose: and you shall turn in the morning, and go to your tents.

⁸Six days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God; you shall do no work.

⁹You shall count for yourselves seven weeks: from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain you shall begin to number seven weeks.

¹⁰You shall keep the feast of weeks to the Lord your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give, according as the Lord your God blesses you:

¹¹and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates, and the foreigner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are in the midst of you, in the place which the Lord your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.

¹²You shall remember that you were a bondservant in Egypt: and you shall observe and do these statutes.

¹³You shall keep the feast of tents seven days, after that you have gathered in from your threshing floor and from your winepress:

¹⁴and you shall rejoice in your feast, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your female servant, and the Levite, and the foreigner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates.

¹⁵You shall keep a feast to the Lord your God seven days in the place which the Lord shall choose; because the Lord your God will bless you in all your increase, and in all the work of your hands, and you shall be altogether joyful.

¹⁶Three times in a year shall all your males appear before the Lord your God in the place which he shall choose: in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tents; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty:

¹⁷every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which he has given you.

¹⁸You shall make judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.

¹⁹You shall not wrest justice: you shall not respect persons; neither shall you take a bribe; for a bribe does blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

²⁰You shall follow that which is altogether just, that you may live, and inherit the land which the Lord your God gives you.

²¹You shall not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the Lord your God, which you shall make for yourselves.

²²Neither shall you set yourself up a pillar; which the Lord your God hates.

¹You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox, or a sheep, in which is a blemish, or anything evil; for that is an abomination to the Lord your God.

²If there is found in the midst of you, within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you, man or woman, who does that which is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing his covenant,

³and has gone and served other gods, and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the army of the sky, which I have not commanded;

⁴and it be told you, and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire diligently; and behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is done in Israel,

⁵then you shall bring forth that man or that woman, who has done this evil thing, to your gates, even the man or the woman; and you shall stone them to death with stones.

⁶At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he who is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

⁷The hand of the witnesses shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from the midst of you.

⁸If there arises a matter too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within your gates; then you shall arise, and go up to the place which the Lord your God shall choose;

⁹and you shall come to the priests the Levites, and to the judge who shall be in those days: and you shall inquire; and they shall show you the sentence of judgment.

¹⁰You shall do according to the tenor of the sentence which they shall show you from that place which the Lord shall choose; and you shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach you:

¹¹according to the tenor of the law which they shall teach you, and according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside from the sentence which they shall show you, to the right hand, nor to the left.

¹²The man who does presumptuously, in not listening to the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or to the judge, even that man shall die: and you shall put away the evil from Israel.

¹³All the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.

¹⁴When you have come to the land which the Lord your God gives you, and shall possess it, and shall dwell therein, and shall say, "I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me";

¹⁵you shall surely set him king over yourselves, whom the Lord your God shall choose: one from among your brothers you shall set king over you; you may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.

¹⁶Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; because the Lord has said to you, "You shall not go back that way again."

¹⁷Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart not turn away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

¹⁸It shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

¹⁹and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them;

²⁰that his heart not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he not turn aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.

¹The priests the Levites, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and his inheritance.

²They shall have no inheritance among their brothers: the Lord is their inheritance, as he has spoken to them.

³This shall be the priests' due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep, that they shall give to the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.

⁴The first fruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.

⁵For the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for ever.

⁶If a Levite comes from any of your gates out of all Israel, where he lives as a foreigner, and comes with all the desire of his soul to the place which the Lord shall choose;

⁷then he shall minister in the name of the Lord his God, as all his brothers the Levites do, who stand there before the Lord.

⁸They shall have like portions to eat, besides that which comes of the sale of his patrimony.

⁹When you have come into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.

¹⁰There shall not be found with you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices sorcery, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer,

¹¹or a charmer, or a consulter with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

¹²For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord your God does drive them out from before you.

¹³You shall be perfect with the Lord your God.

¹⁴For these nations, that you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice sorcery, and to diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you so to do.

¹⁵The Lord your God will raise up to you a prophet from the midst of you, of your brothers, like me. You shall listen to him.

¹⁶This is according to all that you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, "Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I not die."

¹⁷The Lord said to me, "They have well said that which they have spoken.

¹⁸I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like you; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.

¹⁹It shall happen, that whoever will not listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

²⁰But the prophet, who shall speak a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die."

²¹If you say in your heart, "How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?"

²²When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing doesn't follow, nor happen, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken: the prophet has spoken it presumptuously, you shall not be afraid of him.

¹Now there were some present at the same time who told him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

²Jesus answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered these things?

³I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.

⁴Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them; do you think that they were worse offenders than all the men who dwell in Jerusalem?

⁵I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way."

⁶He spoke this parable. "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none.

⁷He said to the vine dresser, 'Behold, these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and found none. Cut it down. Why does it waste the soil?'

⁸He answered, 'Lord, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it, and fertilize it.

⁹If it bears fruit, fine; but if not, after that, you can cut it down.'"

¹⁰He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day.

¹¹Behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and she was bent over, and could in no way straighten herself up.

¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her, and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity."

¹³He laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight, and glorified God.

¹⁴The ruler of the synagogue, being indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the multitude, "There are six days in which men ought to work. Therefore come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day!"

¹⁵Therefore the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath, and lead him away to water?

¹⁶Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound eighteen long years, be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?"

¹⁷As he said these things, all his adversaries were disappointed, and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

¹⁸He said, "What is the Kingdom of God like? To what shall I compare it?

¹⁹It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and put in his own garden. It grew, and became a tree, and the birds of the sky lodged in its branches."

²⁰Again he said, "To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?

²¹It is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened."

²²He went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and traveling on to Jerusalem.

²³One said to him, "Lord, are they few who are saved?" He said to them,

²⁴"Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able.

²⁵When once the master of the house has risen up, and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside, and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us!' then he will answer and tell you, 'I do not know you or where you come from.'

²⁶Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.'

²⁷He will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.'

²⁸There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and yourselves being thrown outside.

²⁹They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in the Kingdom of God.

³⁰Behold, there are some who are last who will be first, and there are some who are first who will be last."

³¹In that same hour some Pharisees came, saying to him, "Get out of here, and go away, for Herod wants to kill you."

³²He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission.

³³Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it cannot be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem.'

³⁴"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, like a hen gathers her own brood under her wings, and you refused!

³⁵Behold, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

¹ Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until disaster has passed.

²I cry out to God Most High, to God who accomplishes my requests for me.

³He will send from heaven, and save me, he rebukes the one who is pursuing me. Selah. God will send out his loving kindness and his truth.

⁴My soul is among lions. I lie among those who are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

⁵Be exalted, God, above the heavens! Let your glory be above all the earth!

⁶They have prepared a net for my steps. My soul is bowed down. They dig a pit before me. They fall into its midst themselves. Selah.

⁷My heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises.

⁸Wake up, my glory! Wake up, psaltery and harp! I will wake up the dawn.

⁹I will give thanks to you, Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations.

¹⁰For your great loving kindness reaches to the heavens, and your truth to the skies.

¹¹Be exalted, God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.

¹Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

²Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn't come to rest.

³A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools!

⁴Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

⁶One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence.

⁷Like the legs of the lame that hang loose: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

⁸As one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thornbush that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

¹⁰As an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or he who hires those who pass by.

¹¹As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.

¹²Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!"

¹⁴As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed.

¹⁵The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion.

¹⁷Like one who grabs a dog's ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.

¹⁸Like a madman who shoots firebrands, arrows, and death,

¹⁹is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, "Am I not joking?"

²⁰For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.

²¹As coals are to hot embers, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindling strife.

²²The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, they go down into the innermost parts.

²³Like silver dross on an earthen vessel are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart.

²⁴A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but he harbors evil in his heart.

²⁵When his speech is charming, do not believe him; for there are seven abominations in his heart.

²⁶His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it. Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it hurts; and a flattering mouth works ruin.