LEVITICUS 16:29- 18:30
MARK 7:24- 8:10
PSALM 41:1- 13
PROVERBS 10:15- 16
"On the appointed day in early autumn, you must spend the day fasting and not do any work. This is a permanent law for you, and it applies to those who are Israelites by birth, as well as to the foreigners living among you. 30 On this day, atonement will be made for you, and you will be cleansed from all your sins in the LORD's presence. 31 It will be a Sabbath day of total rest, and you will spend the day in fasting. This is a permanent law for you. 32 In future generations, the atonement ceremony will be performed by the anointed high priest who serves in place of his ancestor Aaron. He will put on the holy linen garments 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tabernacle, the altar, the priests, and the entire community. 34 This is a permanent law for you, to make atonement for the Israelites once each year." Moses followed all these instructions that the LORD had given to him. 17:1 THEN the LORD said to Moses, 2 "Give Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites these commands from the LORD:3 If any Israelite sacrifices a bull or a lamb or a goat anywhere inside or outside the camp 4 and does not bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle to present it as an offering to the LORD, that person will be guilty of a capital offense. Such a person has shed blood and must be cut off from the community. 5 This rule will stop the Israelites from sacrificing animals in the open fields. It will cause them to bring their sacrifices to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle, so he can present them to the LORD as peace offerings. 6 That way the priest will be able to sprinkle the blood and burn the fat on the LORD's altar at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and it will be very pleasing to the LORD. 7 The people must no longer be unfaithful to the LORD by offering sacrifices to evil spirits out in the fields. This is a permanent law for them, to be kept generation after generation. 8" Give them this command as well, which applies both to Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. If you offer a whole burnt offering or a sacrifice 9 and do not bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle to offer it to the LORD, you will be cut off from the community. 10 "And I will turn against anyone, whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you, who eats or drinks blood in any form. I will cut off such a person from the community, 11 for the life of any creature is in its blood. I have given you the blood so you can make atonement for your sins. It is the blood, representing life, that brings you atonement. 12 That is why I said to the Israelites:`You and the foreigners who live among you must never eat or drink blood. '13" And this command applies both to Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. If you go hunting and kill an animal or bird that is approved for eating, you must drain out the blood and cover it with earth. 14 The life of every creature is in the blood. That is why I have told the people of Israel never to eat or drink it, for the life of any bird or animal is in the blood. So whoever eats or drinks blood must be cut off. 15 "And this command also applies both to Israelites and the foreigners living among you. If you eat from the carcass of an animal that died a natural death or was killed by a wild animal, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourselves in water. Then you will remain ceremonially unclean until evening; after that, you will be considered clean. 16 But if you do not wash your clothes and bathe, you will be held responsible." 18:1 THEN the LORD said to Moses, 2 "Say this to your people, the Israelites:I, the LORD, am your God. 3 So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. 4 You must obey all my regulations and be careful to keep my laws, for I, the LORD, am your God. 5 If you obey my laws and regulations, you will find life through them. I am the LORD. 6" You must never have sexual intercourse with a close relative, for I am the LORD. 7 Do not violate your father by having sexual intercourse with your mother. She is your mother; you must never have intercourse with her. 8 Do not have sexual intercourse with any of your father's wives, for this would violate your father. 9 "Do not have sexual intercourse with your sister or half sister, whether she is your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was brought up in the same family or somewhere else. 10" Do not have sexual intercourse with your granddaughter, whether your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; that would violate you. 11 Do not have sexual intercourse with the daughter of any of your father's wives; she is your half sister. 12 Do not have intercourse with your aunt, your father's sister, because she is your father's close relative. 13 Do not have sexual intercourse with your aunt, your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative. 14 And do not violate your uncle, your father's brother, by having sexual intercourse with his wife; she also is your aunt. 15 Do not have sexual intercourse with your daughter- in- law; she is your son's wife. 16 Do not have intercourse with your brother's wife; this would violate your brother. 17 "Do not have sexual intercourse with both a woman and her daughter or marry both a woman and her granddaughter, whether her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter. They are close relatives, and to do this would be a horrible wickedness. 18" Do not marry a woman and her sister because they will be rivals. But if your wife dies, then it is all right to marry her sister. 19 "Do not violate a woman by having sexual intercourse with her during her period of menstrual impurity. 20" Do not defile yourself by having sexual intercourse with your neighbor's wife. 21 "Do not give any of your children as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. 22" Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin. 23 "A man must never defile himself by having sexual intercourse with an animal, and a woman must never present herself to a male animal in order to have intercourse with it; this is a terrible perversion. 24" Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the people I am expelling from the Promised Land have defiled themselves. 25 As a result, the entire land has become defiled. That is why I am punishing the people who live there, and the land will soon vomit them out. 26 You must strictly obey all of my laws and regulations, and you must not do any of these detestable things. This applies both to you who are Israelites by birth and to the foreigners living among you. 27 "All these detestable activities are practiced by the people of the land where I am taking you, and the land has become defiled. 28 Do not give the land a reason to vomit you out for defiling it, as it will vomit out the people who live there now. 29 Whoever does any of these detestable things will be cut off from the community of Israel. 30 So be careful to obey my laws, and do not practice any of these detestable activities. Do not defile yourselves by doing any of them, for I, the LORD, am your God."
Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He tried to keep it secret that he was there, but he couldn't. As usual, the news of his arrival spread fast. 25 Right away a woman came to him whose little girl was possessed by an evil spirit. She had heard about Jesus, and now she came and fell at his feet. 26 She begged him to release her child from the demon's control. Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, 27 Jesus told her, "First I should help my own family, the Jews. It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs." 28 She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are given some crumbs from the children's plates." 29 "Good answer!" he said. "And because you have answered so well, I have healed your daughter." 30 And when she arrived home, her little girl was lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone. 31 Jesus left Tyre and went to Sidon, then back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. 32 A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him. 33 Jesus led him to a private place away from the crowd. He put his fingers into the man's ears. Then, spitting onto his own fingers, he touched the man's tongue with the spittle. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and commanded, "Be opened!" 35 Instantly the man could hear perfectly and speak plainly! 36 Jesus told the crowd not to tell anyone, but the more he told them not to, the more they spread the news, 37 for they were completely amazed. Again and again they said, "Everything he does is wonderful. He even heals those who are deaf and mute." 8:1 ABOUT this time another great crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them, 2 "I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. 3 And if I send them home without feeding them, they will faint along the road. For some of them have come a long distance." 4 "How are we supposed to find enough food for them here in the wilderness?" his disciples asked. 5 "How many loaves of bread do you have?" he asked. "Seven," they replied. 6 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, broke them into pieces, and gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd. 7 A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to pass them out. 8 They ate until they were full, and when the scraps were picked up, there were seven large baskets of food left over! 9 There were about four thousand people in the crowd that day, and he sent them home after they had eaten. 10 Immediately after this, he got into a boat with his disciples and crossed over to the region of Dalmanutha.
For the choir director:A psalm of David.
1 Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor.
The LORD rescues them in times of trouble.
2 The LORD protects them
and keeps them alive.
He gives them prosperity
and rescues them from their enemies.
3 The LORD nurses them when they are sick
and eases their pain and discomfort.
4 "O LORD," I prayed, "have mercy on me.
Heal me, for I have sinned against you."
5 But my enemies say nothing but evil about me.
"How soon will he die and be forgotten?" they ask.
6 They visit me as if they are my friends,
but all the while they gather gossip,
and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.
7 All who hate me whisper about me,
imagining the worst for me.
8 "Whatever he has, it is fatal," they say.
"He will never get out of that bed!"
9 Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely,
the one who shared my food,
has turned against me.
10 LORD, have mercy on me.
Make me well again, so I can pay them back!
11 I know that you are pleased with me,
for you have not let my enemy triumph over me.
12 You have preserved my life because I am innocent;
you have brought me into your presence forever.
13 Bless the LORD, the God of Israel,
who lives forever from eternal ages past.
Amen and amen!
The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their calamity. The earnings of the godly enhance their lives, but evil people squander their money on sin
MARK 7:24- 8:10
PSALM 41:1- 13
PROVERBS 10:15- 16
"On the appointed day in early autumn, you must spend the day fasting and not do any work. This is a permanent law for you, and it applies to those who are Israelites by birth, as well as to the foreigners living among you. 30 On this day, atonement will be made for you, and you will be cleansed from all your sins in the LORD's presence. 31 It will be a Sabbath day of total rest, and you will spend the day in fasting. This is a permanent law for you. 32 In future generations, the atonement ceremony will be performed by the anointed high priest who serves in place of his ancestor Aaron. He will put on the holy linen garments 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tabernacle, the altar, the priests, and the entire community. 34 This is a permanent law for you, to make atonement for the Israelites once each year." Moses followed all these instructions that the LORD had given to him. 17:1 THEN the LORD said to Moses, 2 "Give Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites these commands from the LORD:3 If any Israelite sacrifices a bull or a lamb or a goat anywhere inside or outside the camp 4 and does not bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle to present it as an offering to the LORD, that person will be guilty of a capital offense. Such a person has shed blood and must be cut off from the community. 5 This rule will stop the Israelites from sacrificing animals in the open fields. It will cause them to bring their sacrifices to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle, so he can present them to the LORD as peace offerings. 6 That way the priest will be able to sprinkle the blood and burn the fat on the LORD's altar at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and it will be very pleasing to the LORD. 7 The people must no longer be unfaithful to the LORD by offering sacrifices to evil spirits out in the fields. This is a permanent law for them, to be kept generation after generation. 8" Give them this command as well, which applies both to Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. If you offer a whole burnt offering or a sacrifice 9 and do not bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle to offer it to the LORD, you will be cut off from the community. 10 "And I will turn against anyone, whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you, who eats or drinks blood in any form. I will cut off such a person from the community, 11 for the life of any creature is in its blood. I have given you the blood so you can make atonement for your sins. It is the blood, representing life, that brings you atonement. 12 That is why I said to the Israelites:`You and the foreigners who live among you must never eat or drink blood. '13" And this command applies both to Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. If you go hunting and kill an animal or bird that is approved for eating, you must drain out the blood and cover it with earth. 14 The life of every creature is in the blood. That is why I have told the people of Israel never to eat or drink it, for the life of any bird or animal is in the blood. So whoever eats or drinks blood must be cut off. 15 "And this command also applies both to Israelites and the foreigners living among you. If you eat from the carcass of an animal that died a natural death or was killed by a wild animal, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourselves in water. Then you will remain ceremonially unclean until evening; after that, you will be considered clean. 16 But if you do not wash your clothes and bathe, you will be held responsible." 18:1 THEN the LORD said to Moses, 2 "Say this to your people, the Israelites:I, the LORD, am your God. 3 So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. 4 You must obey all my regulations and be careful to keep my laws, for I, the LORD, am your God. 5 If you obey my laws and regulations, you will find life through them. I am the LORD. 6" You must never have sexual intercourse with a close relative, for I am the LORD. 7 Do not violate your father by having sexual intercourse with your mother. She is your mother; you must never have intercourse with her. 8 Do not have sexual intercourse with any of your father's wives, for this would violate your father. 9 "Do not have sexual intercourse with your sister or half sister, whether she is your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was brought up in the same family or somewhere else. 10" Do not have sexual intercourse with your granddaughter, whether your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; that would violate you. 11 Do not have sexual intercourse with the daughter of any of your father's wives; she is your half sister. 12 Do not have intercourse with your aunt, your father's sister, because she is your father's close relative. 13 Do not have sexual intercourse with your aunt, your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative. 14 And do not violate your uncle, your father's brother, by having sexual intercourse with his wife; she also is your aunt. 15 Do not have sexual intercourse with your daughter- in- law; she is your son's wife. 16 Do not have intercourse with your brother's wife; this would violate your brother. 17 "Do not have sexual intercourse with both a woman and her daughter or marry both a woman and her granddaughter, whether her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter. They are close relatives, and to do this would be a horrible wickedness. 18" Do not marry a woman and her sister because they will be rivals. But if your wife dies, then it is all right to marry her sister. 19 "Do not violate a woman by having sexual intercourse with her during her period of menstrual impurity. 20" Do not defile yourself by having sexual intercourse with your neighbor's wife. 21 "Do not give any of your children as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. 22" Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin. 23 "A man must never defile himself by having sexual intercourse with an animal, and a woman must never present herself to a male animal in order to have intercourse with it; this is a terrible perversion. 24" Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the people I am expelling from the Promised Land have defiled themselves. 25 As a result, the entire land has become defiled. That is why I am punishing the people who live there, and the land will soon vomit them out. 26 You must strictly obey all of my laws and regulations, and you must not do any of these detestable things. This applies both to you who are Israelites by birth and to the foreigners living among you. 27 "All these detestable activities are practiced by the people of the land where I am taking you, and the land has become defiled. 28 Do not give the land a reason to vomit you out for defiling it, as it will vomit out the people who live there now. 29 Whoever does any of these detestable things will be cut off from the community of Israel. 30 So be careful to obey my laws, and do not practice any of these detestable activities. Do not defile yourselves by doing any of them, for I, the LORD, am your God."
Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He tried to keep it secret that he was there, but he couldn't. As usual, the news of his arrival spread fast. 25 Right away a woman came to him whose little girl was possessed by an evil spirit. She had heard about Jesus, and now she came and fell at his feet. 26 She begged him to release her child from the demon's control. Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, 27 Jesus told her, "First I should help my own family, the Jews. It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs." 28 She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are given some crumbs from the children's plates." 29 "Good answer!" he said. "And because you have answered so well, I have healed your daughter." 30 And when she arrived home, her little girl was lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone. 31 Jesus left Tyre and went to Sidon, then back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. 32 A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him. 33 Jesus led him to a private place away from the crowd. He put his fingers into the man's ears. Then, spitting onto his own fingers, he touched the man's tongue with the spittle. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and commanded, "Be opened!" 35 Instantly the man could hear perfectly and speak plainly! 36 Jesus told the crowd not to tell anyone, but the more he told them not to, the more they spread the news, 37 for they were completely amazed. Again and again they said, "Everything he does is wonderful. He even heals those who are deaf and mute." 8:1 ABOUT this time another great crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them, 2 "I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. 3 And if I send them home without feeding them, they will faint along the road. For some of them have come a long distance." 4 "How are we supposed to find enough food for them here in the wilderness?" his disciples asked. 5 "How many loaves of bread do you have?" he asked. "Seven," they replied. 6 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, broke them into pieces, and gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd. 7 A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to pass them out. 8 They ate until they were full, and when the scraps were picked up, there were seven large baskets of food left over! 9 There were about four thousand people in the crowd that day, and he sent them home after they had eaten. 10 Immediately after this, he got into a boat with his disciples and crossed over to the region of Dalmanutha.
For the choir director:A psalm of David.
1 Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor.
The LORD rescues them in times of trouble.
2 The LORD protects them
and keeps them alive.
He gives them prosperity
and rescues them from their enemies.
3 The LORD nurses them when they are sick
and eases their pain and discomfort.
4 "O LORD," I prayed, "have mercy on me.
Heal me, for I have sinned against you."
5 But my enemies say nothing but evil about me.
"How soon will he die and be forgotten?" they ask.
6 They visit me as if they are my friends,
but all the while they gather gossip,
and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.
7 All who hate me whisper about me,
imagining the worst for me.
8 "Whatever he has, it is fatal," they say.
"He will never get out of that bed!"
9 Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely,
the one who shared my food,
has turned against me.
10 LORD, have mercy on me.
Make me well again, so I can pay them back!
11 I know that you are pleased with me,
for you have not let my enemy triumph over me.
12 You have preserved my life because I am innocent;
you have brought me into your presence forever.
13 Bless the LORD, the God of Israel,
who lives forever from eternal ages past.
Amen and amen!
The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their calamity. The earnings of the godly enhance their lives, but evil people squander their money on sin
