LEVITICUS 15:1-16:28
MARK 7:1-23
PSALM 40:11-17
PROVERBS 10:13-14
LEVITICUS 15:1-16:28
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 " Give these further instructions to the Israelites: Any man who has a genital discharge is ceremonially unclean because of it. 3 This defilement applies whether the discharge continues or is stopped up. In either case the man is unclean. 4 Any bedding on which he lies and anything on which he sits will be defiled. 5 " So if you touch the man's bedding, you will be required to wash your clothes and bathe in water, and you will remain ceremonially defiled until evening. 6 If you sit where the man with the discharge has sat, you will be required to wash your clothes and bathe in water. You will then remain defiled until evening. 7 The same instructions apply if you touch the man who has the unclean discharge. 8 And if he spits on you, you must undergo the same procedure. 9 Any blanket on which the man rides will be defiled. 10 If you touch or carry anything that was under him, you will be required to wash your clothes and bathe in water, and you will remain defiled until evening. 11 If the man touches you without first rinsing his hands, then you will be required to wash your clothes and bathe in water, and you will remain defiled until evening. 12 Any clay pot touched by the man with the discharge must be broken, and every wooden utensil he touches must be rinsed with water. 13 " When the man's discharge heals, he must count off a period of seven days. During that time, he must wash his clothes and bathe in fresh springwater. Then he will be ceremonially clean. 14 On the eighth day he must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons and present himself to the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle and give his offerings to the priest. 15 The priest will present the offerings there, one for a sin offering and the other for a whole burnt offering. In this way, the priest will make atonement for the man before the LORD for his discharge. 16 " Whenever a man has an emission of semen, he must wash his entire body, and he will remain ceremonially defiled until evening. 17 Any clothing or leather that comes in contact with the semen must be washed, and it will remain defiled until evening. 18 After having sexual intercourse, both the man and the woman must bathe, and they will remain defiled until evening. 19 " Whenever a woman has her menstrual period, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days. If you touch her during that time, you will be defiled until evening. 20 Anything on which she lies or sits during that time will be defiled. 21 If you touch her bed, you must wash your clothes and bathe in water, and you will remain defiled until evening. 22 The same applies if you touch an object on which she sits, 23 whether it is her bedding or any piece of furniture. 24 If a man has sexual intercourse with her during this time, her menstrual impurity will be transmitted to him. He will remain defiled for seven days, and any bed on which he lies will be defiled. 25 " If the menstrual flow of blood continues for many days beyond the normal period, or if she discharges blood unrelated to her menstruation, the woman will be ceremonially unclean as long as the discharge continues. 26 Anything on which she lies or sits during that time will be defiled, just as it would be during her normal menstrual period. 27 If you touch her bed or anything on which she sits, you will be defiled. You will be required to wash your clothes and bathe in water, and you will remain defiled until evening. 28 " When the woman's menstrual discharge stops, she must count off a period of seven days. After that, she will be ceremonially clean. 29 On the eighth day, she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons and present them to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 30 The priest will offer one for a sin offering and the other for a whole burnt offering. In this way, the priest will make atonement for her before the LORD for her menstrual discharge. 31 " In this way, you will keep the people of Israel separate from things that will defile them, so they will not die as a result of defiling my Tabernacle that is right there among them. 32 These are the instructions for dealing with a man who has been defiled by a genital discharge or an emission of semen; 33 for dealing with a woman during her monthly menstrual period; for dealing with anyone, man or woman, who has had a bodily discharge of any kind; and for dealing with a man who has had intercourse with a woman during her period."16:1 THE LORD spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons, who died when they burned a different kind of fire than the LORD had commanded. 2 The LORD said to Moses, " Warn your brother Aaron not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; the penalty for intrusion is death. For the Ark's cover--the place of atonement--is there, and I myself am present in the cloud over the atonement cover. 3 " When Aaron enters the sanctuary area, he must follow these instructions fully. He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a whole burnt offering. 4 Then he must wash his entire body and put on his linen tunic and the undergarments worn next to his body. He must tie the linen sash around his waist and put the linen turban on his head. These are his sacred garments. 5 The people of Israel must then bring him two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a whole burnt offering. 6 " Aaron will present the bull as a sin offering, to make atonement for himself and his family. 7 Then he must bring the two male goats and present them to the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 8 He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be sacrificed to the LORD and which one will be the scapegoat. 9 The goat chosen to be sacrificed to the LORD will be presented by Aaron as a sin offering. 10 The goat chosen to be the scapegoat will be presented to the LORD alive. When it is sent away into the wilderness, it will make atonement for the people. 11 " Then Aaron will present the young bull as a sin offering for himself and his family. After he has slaughtered this bull for the sin offering, 12 he will fill an incense burner with burning coals from the altar that stands before the LORD. Then, after filling both his hands with fragrant incense, he will carry the burner and incense behind the inner curtain. 13 There in the LORD's presence, he will put the incense on the burning coals so that a cloud of incense will rise over the Ark's cover--the place of atonement--that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. If he follows these instructions, he will not die. 14 Then he must dip his finger into the blood of the bull and sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover and then seven times against the front of the Ark. 15 " Then Aaron must slaughter the goat as a sin offering for the people and bring its blood behind the inner curtain. There he will sprinkle the blood on the atonement cover and against the front of the Ark, just as he did with the bull's blood. 16 In this way, he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place, and he will do the same for the entire Tabernacle, because of the defiling sin and rebellion of the Israelites. 17 No one else is allowed inside the Tabernacle while Aaron goes in to make atonement for the Most Holy Place. No one may enter until he comes out again after making atonement for himself, his family, and all the Israelites. 18 " Then Aaron will go out to make atonement for the altar that stands before the LORD by smearing some of the blood from the bull and the goat on each of the altar's horns. 19 Then he must dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it seven times over the altar. In this way, he will cleanse it from Israel's defilement and return it to its former holiness. 20 " When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tabernacle, and the altar, he must bring the living goat forward. 21 He is to lay both of his hands on the goat's head and confess over it all the sins and rebellion of the Israelites. In this way, he will lay the people's sins on the head of the goat; then he will send it out into the wilderness, led by a man chosen for this task. 22 After the man sets it free in the wilderness, the goat will carry all the people's sins upon itself into a desolate land. 23 " As Aaron enters the Tabernacle, he must take off the linen garments he wore when he entered the Most Holy Place, and he must leave the garments there. 24 Then he must bathe his entire body with water in a sacred place, put on his garments, and go out to sacrifice his own whole burnt offering and the whole burnt offering for the people. In this way, he will make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He must also burn all the fat of the sin offering on the altar. 26 " The man chosen to send the goat out into the wilderness as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe in water. Then he may return to the camp. 27 " The bull and goat given as sin offerings, whose blood Aaron brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement for Israel, will be carried outside the camp to be burned. This includes the animals' hides, the internal organs, and the dung. 28 The man who does the burning must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water before returning to the camp."
MARK 7:1-23
One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to confront Jesus. 2 They noticed that some of Jesus' disciples failed to follow the usual Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. 3 (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. 4 Similarly, they eat nothing bought from the market unless they have immersed their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to--such as their ceremony of washing cups, pitchers, and kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, " Why don't your disciples follow our age-old customs? For they eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony." 6 Jesus replied, " You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said,7 ` These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far away.
Their worship is a farce,
for they replace God's commands with their own man-made teachings.'
8 For you ignore God's specific laws and substitute your own traditions." 9 Then he said, " You reject God's laws in order to hold on to your own traditions. 10 For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ` Honor your father and mother,' and ` Anyone who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.' 11 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ` Sorry, I can't help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I could have given to you.' 12 You let them disregard their needy parents. 13 As such, you break the law of God in order to protect your own tradition. And this is only one example. There are many, many others." 14 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. " All of you listen," he said, " and try to understand. 15 You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do!"17 Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowds, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the statement he had made. 18 " Don't you understand either?" he asked. " Can't you see that what you eat won't defile you? 19 Food doesn't come in contact with your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then comes out again." (By saying this, he showed that every kind of food is acceptable.) 20 And then he added, " It is the thought-life that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God."
PSALM 40:11-17
LORD, don't hold back your tender mercies from me.
My only hope is in your unfailing love and faithfulness.
12 For troubles surround me--
too many to count!
They pile up so high
I can't see my way out.
They are more numerous than the hairs on my head.
I have lost all my courage.
13 Please, LORD, rescue me!
Come quickly, LORD, and help me.
14 May those who try to destroy me
be humiliated and put to shame.
May those who take delight in my trouble
be turned back in disgrace.
15 Let them be horrified by their shame,
for they said, " Aha! We've got him now!"
16 But may all who search for you
be filled with joy and gladness.
May those who love your salvation
repeatedly shout, " The LORD is great!"
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord is thinking about me right now.
You are my helper and my savior.
Do not delay, O my God.
PROVERBS 10:13-14
Wise words come from the lips of people with understanding, but fools will be punished with a rod. Wise people treasure knowledge, but the babbling of a fool invites trouble.
