LEVITICUS 1:1-3:17
MARK 1:29-2:12
PSALM 35:17-28
PROVERBS 9:13-18
LEVITICUS 1:1-3:17
The LORD called to Moses from the Tabernacle and said to him, 2 " Give the following instructions to the Israelites: Whenever you present offerings to the LORD, you must bring animals from your flocks and herds. 3 " If your sacrifice for a whole burnt offering is from the herd, bring a bull with no physical defects to the entrance of the Tabernacle so it will be accepted by the LORD. 4 Lay your hand on its head so the LORD will accept it as your substitute, thus making atonement for you. 5 Then slaughter the animal in the LORD's presence, and Aaron's sons, the priests, will present the blood by sprinkling it against the sides of the altar that stands in front of the Tabernacle. 6 When the animal has been skinned and cut into pieces, 7 the sons of Aaron the priest will build a wood fire on the altar. 8 Aaron's sons will then put the pieces of the animal, including its head and fat, on the wood fire. 9 But the internal organs and legs must first be washed with water. Then the priests will burn the entire sacrifice on the altar. It is a whole burnt offering made by fire, very pleasing to the LORD. 10 " If your sacrifice for a whole burnt offering is from the flock, bring a male sheep or goat with no physical defects. 11 Slaughter the animal on the north side of the altar in the LORD's presence. Aaron's sons, the priests, will sprinkle its blood against the sides of the altar. 12 Then you must cut the animal in pieces, and the priests will lay the pieces of the sacrifice, including the head and fat, on top of the wood fire on the altar. 13 The internal organs and legs must first be washed with water. Then the priests will burn the entire sacrifice on the altar. It is a whole burnt offering made by fire, very pleasing to the LORD. 14 " If you bring a bird as a burnt offering to the LORD, choose either a turtledove or a young pigeon. 15 The priest will take the bird to the altar, twist off its head, and burn the head on the altar. He must then let its blood drain out against the sides of the altar. 16 The priest must remove the crop and the feathers and throw them to the east side of the altar among the ashes. 17 Then, grasping the bird by its wings, the priest will tear the bird apart, though not completely. Then he will burn it on top of the wood fire on the altar. It is a whole burnt offering made by fire, very pleasing to the LORD.2:1 " WHEN you bring a grain offering to the LORD, the offering must consist of choice flour. You are to pour olive oil on it and sprinkle it with incense. 2 Bring this offering to one of Aaron's sons, and he will take a handful of the flour mixed with olive oil, together with all the incense, and burn this token portion on the altar fire. It is an offering made by fire, very pleasing to the LORD. 3 The rest of the flour will be given to Aaron and his sons. It will be considered a most holy part of the offerings given to the LORD by fire. 4 " When you present some kind of baked bread as a grain offering, it must be made of choice flour mixed with olive oil but without any yeast. It may be presented in the form of cakes mixed with olive oil or wafers spread with olive oil. 5 If your grain offering is cooked on a griddle, it must be made of choice flour and olive oil, and it must contain no yeast. 6 Break it into pieces and pour oil on it; it is a kind of grain offering. 7 If your offering is prepared in a pan, it also must be made of choice flour and olive oil. 8 " No matter how a grain offering has been prepared before being offered to the LORD, bring it to the priests who will present it at the altar. 9 The priests will take a token portion of the grain offering and burn it on the altar as an offering made by fire, and it will be very pleasing to the LORD. 10 The rest of the grain offering will be given to Aaron and his sons as their food. It will be considered a most holy part of the offerings given to the LORD by fire. 11 " Do not use yeast in any of the grain offerings you present to the LORD, because no yeast or honey may be burned as an offering to the LORD by fire. 12 You may add yeast and honey to the offerings presented at harvest time, but these must never be burned on the altar as an offering pleasing to the LORD. 13 Season all your grain offerings with salt, to remind you of God's covenant. Never forget to add salt to your grain offerings. 14 " If you present a grain offering to the LORD from the first portion of your harvest, bring kernels of new grain that have been roasted on a fire. 15 Since it is a grain offering, put olive oil on it and sprinkle it with incense. 16 The priests will take a token portion of the roasted grain mixed with olive oil, together with all the incense, and burn it as an offering given to the LORD by fire.3:1 " IF you want to present a peace offering from the herd, use either a bull or a cow. The animal you offer to the LORD must have no physical defects. 2 Lay your hand on the animal's head, and slaughter it at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Aaron's sons, the priests, will then sprinkle the animal's blood against the sides of the altar. 3 Part of this peace offering must be presented to the LORD as an offering made by fire. This includes the fat around the internal organs, 4 the two kidneys with the fat around them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. 5 The sons of Aaron will burn these on the altar on top of the burnt offering on the wood fire. It is an offering made by fire, very pleasing to the LORD. 6 " If you present a peace offering to the LORD from the flock, you may bring either a goat or a sheep. It may be either male or female, and it must have no physical defects. 7 If you bring a sheep as your gift, present it to the LORD 8 by laying your hand on its head and slaughtering it at the entrance of the Tabernacle. The sons of Aaron will then sprinkle the sheep's blood against the sides of the altar. 9 Part of this peace offering must be presented to the LORD as an offering made by fire. This includes the fat of the entire tail cut off near the backbone, the fat around the internal organs, 10 the two kidneys with the fat around them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. 11 The priest will burn them on the altar as food, an offering given to the LORD by fire. 12 " If you bring a goat as your offering to the LORD, 13 lay your hand on its head, and slaughter it at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Then the sons of Aaron will sprinkle the goat's blood against the sides of the altar. 14 Part of this offering must be presented to the LORD as an offering made by fire. This part includes the fat around the internal organs, 15 the two kidneys with the fat around them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. 16 The priest will burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire; these will be very pleasing to the LORD. Remember, all the fat belongs to the LORD. 17 " You must never eat any fat or blood. This is a permanent law for you and all your descendants, wherever they may live."
MARK 1:29-2:12
After Jesus and his disciples left the synagogue, they went over to Simon and Andrew's home, and James and John were with them. 30 Simon's mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. They told Jesus about her right away. 31 He went to her bedside, and as he took her by the hand and helped her to sit up, the fever suddenly left, and she got up and prepared a meal for them. 32 That evening at sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. 33 And a huge crowd of people from all over Capernaum gathered outside the door to watch. 34 So Jesus healed great numbers of sick people who had many different kinds of diseases, and he ordered many demons to come out of their victims. But because they knew who he was, he refused to allow the demons to speak. 35 The next morning Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray. 36 Later Simon and the others went out to find him. 37 They said, " Everyone is asking for you." 38 But he replied, " We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too, because that is why I came." 39 So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and expelling demons from many people. 40 A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. " If you want to, you can make me well again," he said. 41 Moved with pity, Jesus touched him. " I want to," he said. " Be healed!" 42 Instantly the leprosy disappeared--the man was healed. 43 Then Jesus sent him on his way and told him sternly, 44 " Go right over to the priest and let him examine you. Don't talk to anyone along the way. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy, so everyone will have proof of your healing." 45 But as the man went on his way, he spread the news, telling everyone what had happened to him. As a result, such crowds soon surrounded Jesus that he couldn't enter a town anywhere publicly. He had to stay out in the secluded places, and people from everywhere came to him there.2:1 SEVERAL days later Jesus returned to Capernaum, and the news of his arrival spread quickly through the town. 2 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there wasn't room for one more person, not even outside the door. And he preached the word to them. 3 Four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4 They couldn't get to Jesus through the crowd, so they dug through the clay roof above his head. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, " My son, your sins are forgiven." 6 But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there said to themselves, 7 " What? This is blasphemy! Who but God can forgive sins!" 8 Jesus knew what they were discussing among themselves, so he said to them, " Why do you think this is blasphemy? 9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man, ` Your sins are forgiven' or ` Get up, pick up your mat, and walk'? 10 I will prove that I, the Son of Man, have the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 11 " Stand up, take your mat, and go on home, because you are healed!" 12 The man jumped up, took the mat, and pushed his way through the stunned onlookers. Then they all praised God. " We've never seen anything like this before!" they exclaimed.
PSALM 35:17-28
How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing?
Rescue me from their fierce attacks.
Protect my life from these lions!
18 Then I will thank you in front of the entire congregation.
I will praise you before all the people.
19 Don't let my treacherous enemies
rejoice over my defeat.
Don't let those who hate me without cause
gloat over my sorrow.
20 They don't talk of peace;
they plot against innocent people
who are minding their own business.
21 They shout that they have seen me doing wrong.
" Aha," they say. " Aha!
With our own eyes we saw him do it!"
22 O LORD, you know all about this.
Do not stay silent.
Don't abandon me now, O Lord.
23 Wake up! Rise to my defense!
Take up my case, my God and my Lord.
24 Declare me " not guilty," O LORD my God, for you give justice.
Don't let my enemies laugh about me in my troubles.
25 Don't let them say, " Look! We have what we wanted!
Now we will eat him alive!"
26 May those who rejoice at my troubles
be humiliated and disgraced.
May those who triumph over me
be covered with shame and dishonor.
27 But give great joy to those
who have stood with me in my defense.
Let them continually say, " Great is the LORD,
who enjoys helping his servant."
28 Then I will tell everyone of your justice and goodness,
and I will praise you all day long.
PROVERBS 9:13-18
The woman named Folly is loud and brash. She is ignorant and doesn't even know it. She sits in her doorway on the heights overlooking the city. She calls out to men going by who are minding their own business. " Come home with me," she urges the simple. To those without good judgment, she says, " Stolen water is refreshing; food eaten in secret tastes the best!" But the men don't realize that her former guests are now in the grave.
