February 27 Reading through the Bible Day 58

LEVITICUS 20:22-22:16
MARK 9:1-29
PSALM 43:1-5
PROVERBS 10:18

LEVITICUS 20:22-22:16
" You must carefully obey all my laws and regulations; otherwise the land to which I am bringing you will vomit you out. 23 Do not live by the customs of the people whom I will expel before you. It is because they do these terrible things that I detest them so much. 24 But I have promised that you will inherit their land, a land flowing with milk and honey. I, the LORD, am your God, who has set you apart from all other people. 25 " You must therefore make a distinction between ceremonially clean and unclean animals, and between clean and unclean birds. You must not defile yourselves by eating any animal or bird or creeping creature that I have forbidden. 26 You must be holy because I, the LORD, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. 27 " Men and women among you who act as mediums or psychics must be put to death by stoning. They are guilty of a capital offense."21:1 THE LORD said to Moses, " Tell the priests to avoid making themselves ceremonially unclean by touching a dead relative 2 unless it is a close relative--mother or father, son or daughter, brother 3 or virgin sister who was dependent because she had no husband. 4 As a husband among his relatives, he must not defile himself. 5 " The priests must never shave their heads, trim the edges of their beards, or cut their bodies. 6 They must be set apart to God as holy and must never dishonor his name. After all, they are the ones who present the offerings to the LORD by fire, providing God with his food, and they must remain holy.7 " The priests must not marry women defiled by prostitution or women who have been divorced, for the priests must be set apart to God as holy. 8 You must treat them as holy because they offer up food to your God. You must consider them holy because I, the LORD, am holy, and I make you holy. 9 If a priest's daughter becomes a prostitute, defiling her father's holiness as well as herself, she must be burned to death. 10 " The high priest, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the special priestly garments, must never let his hair hang loose or tear his clothing. 11 He must never defile himself by going near a dead person, even if it is his father or mother. 12 He must not desecrate the sanctuary of his God by leaving it to attend his parents' funeral, because he has been made holy by the anointing oil of his God. I am the LORD. 13 " The high priest must marry a virgin. 14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own clan, 15 that he may not dishonor his descendants among the members of his clan, because I, the LORD, have made him holy." 16 Then the LORD said to Moses, 17 " Tell Aaron that in all future generations, his descendants who have physical defects will not qualify to offer food to their God. 18 No one who has a defect may come near to me, whether he is blind or lame, stunted or deformed, 19 or has a broken foot or hand, 20 or has a humped back or is a dwarf, or has a defective eye, or has oozing sores or scabs on his skin, or has damaged testicles. 21 Even though he is a descendant of Aaron, his physical defects disqualify him from presenting offerings to the LORD by fire. Since he has a blemish, he may not offer food to his God. 22 However, he may eat from the food offered to God, including the holy offerings and the most holy offerings. 23 Yet because of his physical defect, he must never go behind the inner curtain or come near the altar, for this would desecrate my holy places. I am the LORD who makes them holy." 24 So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.22:1 THE LORD said to Moses, 2 " Tell Aaron and his sons to treat the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for me with great care, so they do not profane my holy name. I am the LORD. 3 Remind them that if any of their descendants are ceremonially unclean when they approach the sacred food presented by the Israelites, they must be cut off from my presence. I am the LORD! 4 " If any of the priests have a contagious skin disease or any kind of discharge that makes them ceremonially unclean, they may not eat the sacred offerings until they have been pronounced clean. If any of the priests become unclean by touching a corpse, or are defiled by an emission of semen, 5 or by touching a creeping creature that is unclean, or by touching someone who is ceremonially unclean for any reason, 6 they will remain defiled until evening. They must not eat any of the sacred offerings until they have purified their bodies with water. 7 When the sun goes down, they will be clean again and may eat the sacred offerings. After all, this food has been set aside for them. 8 The priests may never eat an animal that has died a natural death or has been torn apart by wild animals, for this would defile them. I am the LORD. 9 Warn all the priests to follow these instructions carefully; otherwise they will be subject to punishment and die for violating them. I am the LORD who makes them holy. 10 " No one outside a priest's family may ever eat the sacred offerings, even if the person lives in a priest's home or is one of his hired servants. 11 However, if the priest buys slaves with his own money, they may eat of his food. And if his slaves have children, they also may share his food. 12 If a priest's daughter marries someone outside the priestly family, she may no longer eat the sacred offerings. 13 But if she becomes a widow or is divorced and has no children to support her, and she returns to live in her father's home, she may eat her father's food again. But other than these exceptions, only members of the priests' families are allowed to eat the sacred offerings. 14 " Anyone who eats the sacred offerings without realizing it must pay the priest for the amount eaten, plus an added penalty of 20 percent. 15 No one may defile the sacred offerings brought to the LORD by the Israelites 16 by allowing unauthorized people to eat them. The negligent priest would bring guilt upon the people and require them to pay compensation. I am the LORD, who makes them holy."

MARK 9:1-29
Jesus went on to say, " I assure you that some of you standing here right now will not die before you see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!" 2 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain. No one else was there. As the men watched, Jesus' appearance changed, 3 and his clothing became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly process could ever make it. 4 Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus. 5 " Teacher, this is wonderful!" Peter exclaimed. " We will make three shrines--one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 6 He didn't really know what to say, for they were all terribly afraid. 7 Then a cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, " This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." 8 Suddenly they looked around, and Moses and Elijah were gone, and only Jesus was with them. 9 As they descended the mountainside, he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until he, the Son of Man, had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept it to themselves, but they often asked each other what he meant by " rising from the dead." 11 Now they began asking him, " Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?" 12 Jesus responded, " Elijah is indeed coming first to set everything in order. Why then is it written in the Scriptures that the Son of Man must suffer and be treated with utter contempt? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and he was badly mistreated, just as the Scriptures predicted." 14 At the foot of the mountain, they found a great crowd surrounding the other disciples, as some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. 15 The crowd watched Jesus in awe as he came toward them, and then they ran to greet him. 16 " What is all this arguing about?" he asked. 17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, " Teacher, I brought my son for you to heal him. He can't speak because he is possessed by an evil spirit that won't let him talk. 18 And whenever this evil spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground and makes him foam at the mouth and grind his teeth and become rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn't do it." 19 Jesus said to them, " You faithless people! How long must I be with you until you believe? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." 20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. 21 " How long has this been happening?" Jesus asked the boy's father. He replied, " Since he was very small. 22 The evil spirit often makes him fall into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us. Do something if you can." 23 " What do you mean, ` If I can'?" Jesus asked. " Anything is possible if a person believes." 24 The father instantly replied, " I do believe, but help me not to doubt!" 25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. " Spirit of deafness and muteness," he said, " I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!" 26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy lay there motionless, and he appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd, " He's dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up. 28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, " Why couldn't we cast out that evil spirit?" 29 Jesus replied, " This kind can be cast out only by prayer."

PSALM 43:1-5
O God, take up my cause!
Defend me against these ungodly people.
Rescue me from these unjust liars.
2 For you are God, my only safe haven.
Why have you tossed me aside?
Why must I wander around in darkness,
oppressed by my enemies?
3 Send out your light and your truth;
let them guide me.
Let them lead me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you live.
4 There I will go to the altar of God,
to God--the source of all my joy.
I will praise you with my harp,
O God, my God!
5 Why am I discouraged?
Why so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again--
my Savior and my God!

PROVERBS 10:18
To hide hatred is to be a liar; to slander is to be a fool.

February 26 Reading through the Bible Day 57

LEVITICUS 19:1-20:21
MARK 8:11-38
PSALM 42:1-11
PROVERBS 10:17

LEVITICUS 19:1-20:21
The LORD also said to Moses, 2 " Say this to the entire community of Israel: You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. 3 Each of you must show respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest, for I, the LORD, am your God. 4 Do not put your trust in idols or make gods of metal for yourselves. I, the LORD, am your God. 5 " When you sacrifice a peace offering to the LORD, offer it properly so it will be accepted on your behalf. 6 You must eat it on the same day you offer it or on the next day at the latest. Any leftovers that remain until the third day must be burned. 7 If any of the offering is eaten on the third day, it will be contaminated, and I will not accept it. 8 If you eat it on the third day, you will answer for the sin of profaning what is holy to the LORD and must be cut off from the community.9 " When you harvest your crops, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. 10 It is the same with your grape crop--do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners who live among you, for I, the LORD, am your God. 11 " Do not steal. " Do not cheat one another. " Do not lie. 12 " Do not use my name to swear a falsehood and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. 13 " Do not cheat or rob anyone. " Always pay your hired workers promptly. 14 " Show your fear of God by treating the deaf with respect and by not taking advantage of the blind. I am the LORD. 15 " Always judge your neighbors fairly, neither favoring the poor nor showing deference to the rich. 16 " Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. " Do not try to get ahead at the cost of your neighbor's life, for I am the LORD. 17 " Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. " Confront your neighbors directly so you will not be held guilty for their crimes. 18 " Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. 19 " You must obey all my laws. " Do not breed your cattle with other kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of fabric. 20 " If a man has sexual intercourse with a slave girl who is committed to become someone else's wife, compensation must be paid. But since she had not been freed at the time, the couple will not be put to death. 21 The man, however, must bring a ram as a guilt offering and present it to the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 22 The priest will then make atonement for him before the LORD with the sacrificial ram of the guilt offering, and the man will be forgiven. 23 " When you enter the land and plant fruit trees, leave the fruit unharvested for the first three years and consider it forbidden. 24 In the fourth year the entire crop will be devoted to the LORD as an outburst of praise. 25 Finally, in the fifth year you may eat the fruit. In this way, its yield will be increased. I, the LORD, am your God. 26 " Never eat meat that has not been drained of its blood. " Do not practice fortune-telling or witchcraft. 27 " Do not trim off the hair on your temples or clip the edges of your beards. 28 " Never cut your bodies in mourning for the dead or mark your skin with tattoos, for I am the LORD. 29 " Do not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be filled with promiscuity and detestable wickedness. 30 " Keep my Sabbath days of rest and show reverence toward my sanctuary, for I am the LORD. 31 " Do not rely on mediums and psychics, for you will be defiled by them. I, the LORD, am your God. 32 " Show your fear of God by standing up in the presence of elderly people and showing respect for the aged. I am the LORD. 33 " Do not exploit the foreigners who live in your land. 34 They should be treated like everyone else, and you must love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God. 35 " Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or volume. 36 Your scales and weights must be accurate. Your containers for measuring dry goods or liquids must be accurate. I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 You must be careful to obey all of my laws and regulations, for I am the LORD."20:1 THE LORD said to Moses, 2 " Give the Israelites these instructions, which apply to those who are Israelites by birth as well as to the foreigners living among you. If any among them devote their children as burnt offerings to Molech, they must be stoned to death by people of the community. 3 I myself will turn against them and cut them off from the community, because they have defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name by giving their children to Molech. 4 And if the people of the community ignore this offering of children to Molech and refuse to execute the guilty parents, 5 then I myself will turn against them and cut them off from the community, along with all those who commit prostitution by worshiping Molech. 6 " If any among the people are unfaithful by consulting and following mediums or psychics, I will turn against them and cut them off from the community. 7 So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I, the LORD, am your God. 8 Keep all my laws and obey them, for I am the LORD, who makes you holy. 9 " All who curse their father or mother must be put to death. They are guilty of a capital offense. 10 " If a man commits adultery with another man's wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death. 11 If a man has intercourse with his father's wife, both the man and the woman must die, for they are guilty of a capital offense. 12 If a man has intercourse with his daughter-in-law, both must be put to death. They have acted contrary to nature and are guilty of a capital offense. 13 " The penalty for homosexual acts is death to both parties. They have committed a detestable act and are guilty of a capital offense. 14 If a man has intercourse with both a woman and her mother, such an act is terribly wicked. All three of them must be burned to death to wipe out such wickedness from among you. 15 " If a man has sexual intercourse with an animal, he must be put to death, and the animal must be killed. 16 If a woman approaches a male animal to have intercourse with it, she and the animal must both be put to death. Both must die, for they are guilty of a capital offense. 17 " If a man has sexual intercourse with his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, it is a terrible disgrace. Both of them must be publicly cut off from the community. Since the man has had intercourse with his sister, he will suffer the consequences of his guilt. 18 If a man has intercourse with a woman suffering from a hemorrhage, both of them must be cut off from the community, because he exposed the source of her flow, and she allowed him to do it. 19 " If a man has sexual intercourse with his aunt, whether his mother's sister or his father's sister, he has violated a close relative. Both parties are guilty of a capital offense. 20 If a man has intercourse with his uncle's wife, he has violated his uncle. Both the man and woman involved are guilty of a capital offense and will die childless. 21 If a man marries his brother's wife, it is an act of impurity. He has violated his brother, and the guilty couple will remain childless."

MARK 8:11-38
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came to argue with him. Testing him to see if he was from God, they demanded, " Give us a miraculous sign from heaven to prove yourself." 12 When he heard this, he sighed deeply and said, " Why do you people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I assure you, I will not give this generation any such sign." 13 So he got back into the boat and left them, and he crossed to the other side of the lake. 14 But the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any food, so there was only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. 15 As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, " Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod."16 They decided he was saying this because they hadn't brought any bread. 17 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said, " Why are you so worried about having no food? Won't you ever learn or understand? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? 18 ` You have eyes--can't you see? You have ears--can't you hear?' Don't you remember anything at all? 19 What about the five thousand men I fed with five loaves of bread? How many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?" " Twelve," they said. 20 " And when I fed the four thousand with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?" " Seven," they said. 21 " Don't you understand even yet?" he asked them.22 When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch and heal the man. 23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man's eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, " Can you see anything now?" 24 The man looked around. " Yes," he said, " I see people, but I can't see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around." 25 Then Jesus placed his hands over the man's eyes again. As the man stared intently, his sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, " Don't go back into the village on your way home." 27 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, " Who do people say I am?" 28 " Well," they replied, " some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets." 29 Then Jesus asked, " Who do you say I am?" Peter replied, " You are the Messiah." 30 But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. 31 Then Jesus began to tell them that he, the Son of Man, would suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the leaders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, and three days later he would rise again. 32 As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and told him he shouldn't say things like that. 33 Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and then said to Peter very sternly, " Get away from me, Satan! You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's."34 Then he called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. " If any of you wants to be my follower," he told them, " you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. 36 And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? 38 If a person is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in the glory of my Father with the holy angels."

PSALM 42:1-11
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.
1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so I long for you, O God.
2 I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I come and stand before him?
3 Day and night, I have only tears for food,
while my enemies continually taunt me, saying,
" Where is this God of yours?"
4 My heart is breaking
as I remember how it used to be:
I walked among the crowds of worshipers,
leading a great procession to the house of God,
singing for joy and giving thanks--
it was the sound of a great celebration!
5 Why am I discouraged?
Why so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again--
my Savior and 6 my God!
Now I am deeply discouraged,
but I will remember your kindness--
from Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan,
from the land of Mount Mizar.
7 I hear the tumult of the raging seas
as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
8 Through each day the LORD pours his unfailing love upon me,
and through each night I sing his songs,
praying to God who gives me life.
9 " O God my rock," I cry,
" Why have you forsaken me?
Why must I wander in darkness,
oppressed by my enemies?"
10 Their taunts pierce me like a fatal wound.
They scoff, " Where is this God of yours?"
11 Why am I discouraged?
Why so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again--
my Savior and my God!

PROVERBS 10:17
People who accept correction are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore it will lead others astray.

February 25 Reading through the Bible Day 56

LEVITICUS 16:29-18:30
MARK 7:24-8:10
PSALM 41:1-13
PROVERBS 10:15-16

LEVITICUS 16:29-18:30
" 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."

MARK 7:24-8:10
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.

PSALM 41:1-13
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!

PROVERBS 10:15-16
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.

February 24 Reading through the Bible Day 55

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.

February 23 Reading through the Bible Day 54

LEVITICUS 14:1-57
MARK 6:30-56
PSALM 40:1-10
PROVERBS 10:11-12

LEVITICUS 14:1-57
And the LORD said to Moses, 2 " The following instructions must be followed by those seeking purification from a contagious skin disease. Those who have been healed must be brought to the priest, 3 who will examine them at a place outside the camp. If the priest finds that someone has been healed of the skin disease, 4 he will perform a purification ceremony, using two wild birds of a kind permitted for food, along with some cedarwood, a scarlet cloth, and a hyssop branch. 5 The priest will order one of the birds to be slaughtered over a clay pot that is filled with fresh spring water. 6 He will then dip the living bird, along with the cedarwood, the scarlet cloth, and the hyssop branch, into the blood of the slaughtered bird. 7 The priest will also sprinkle the dead bird's blood seven times over the person being purified, and the priest will pronounce that person to be ceremonially clean. At the end of the ceremony, the priest will set the living bird free so it can fly away into the open fields. 8 " The people being purified must complete the cleansing ceremony by washing their clothes, shaving off all their hair, and bathing themselves in water. Then they will be ceremonially clean and may return to live inside the camp. However, they must still remain outside their tents for seven days. 9 On the seventh day, they must again shave off all their hair, including the hair of the beard and eyebrows, and wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water. Then they will be pronounced ceremonially clean. 10 " On the next day, the eighth day, each person cured of the skin disease must bring two male lambs and one female year-old lamb with no physical defects, along with five quarts of choice flour mixed with olive oil and three-fifths of a pint of olive oil. 11 Then the officiating priest will present that person for cleansing, along with the offerings, before the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 12 The priest will take one of the lambs and the olive oil and offer them as a guilt offering by lifting them up before the LORD. 13 He will then slaughter the lamb there in the sacred area at the place where sin offerings and burnt offerings are slaughtered. As with the sin offering, the guilt offering will be given to the priest. It is a most holy offering. 14 The priest will then take some of the blood from the guilt offering and put it on the tip of the healed person's right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot. 15 " Then the priest will pour some of the olive oil into the palm of his own left hand. 16 He will dip his right finger into the oil and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD. 17 The priest will then put some of the oil remaining in his left hand on the tip of the healed person's right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot, in addition to the blood of the guilt offering. 18 The oil remaining in the priest's hand will then be poured over the healed person's head. In this way, the priest will make atonement before the LORD for the person being cleansed. 19 " Then the priest must offer the sin offering and again perform the atonement ceremony for the person cured of the skin disease. After that, the priest will slaughter the whole burnt offering 20 and offer it on the altar along with the grain offering. In this way, the priest will make atonement for the person being cleansed, and the healed person will be ceremonially clean. 21 " But anyone who cannot afford two lambs must bring one male lamb for a guilt offering, along with two quarts of choice flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering and three-fifths of a pint of olive oil. The guilt offering will be presented by lifting it up, thus making atonement for the person being cleansed. 22 The person being cleansed must also bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever the person can afford. One of the pair must be used for a sin offering and the other for a whole burnt offering. 23 On the eighth day, the person being cleansed must bring the offerings to the priest for the cleansing ceremony to be performed in the LORD's presence at the Tabernacle entrance. 24 The priest will take the lamb for the guilt offering, along with the olive oil, and lift them up before the LORD as an offering to him. 25 Then the priest will slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering and put some of its blood on the tip of the person's right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot. 26 " The priest will also pour some of the olive oil into the palm of his own left hand. 27 He will dip his right finger into the oil and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD. 28 The priest will then put some of the olive oil from his hand on the lobe of the person's right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot, in addition to the blood of the guilt offering. 29 The oil that is still in the priest's hand will then be poured over the person's head. In this way, the priest will make atonement for the person being cleansed. 30 " Then the priest will offer the two turtledoves or the two young pigeons, whichever the person was able to afford. 31 One of them is for a sin offering and the other for a whole burnt offering, to be presented along with the grain offering. In this way, the priest will make atonement before the LORD for the person being cleansed. 32 These are the instructions for cleansing those who have recovered from a contagious skin disease but who cannot afford to bring the sacrifices normally required for the ceremony of cleansing." 33 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 34 " When you arrive in Canaan, the land I am giving you as an inheritance, I may contaminate some of your houses with an infectious mildew. 35 The owner of such a house must then go to the priest and say, ` It looks like my house has some kind of disease.' 36 Before the priest examines the house, he must have the house emptied so everything inside will not be pronounced unclean. Then the priest will go in and inspect the house. 37 If he finds bright green or reddish streaks on the walls of the house and the contamination appears to go deeper than the wall's surface, 38 he will leave the house and lock it up for seven days. 39 On the seventh day the priest must return for another inspection. If the mildew on the walls of the house has spread, 40 the priest must order that the stones from those areas be removed. The contaminated material will then be thrown into an area outside the town designated as ceremonially unclean. 41 Next the inside walls of the entire house must be scraped thoroughly and the scrapings dumped in the unclean place outside the town. 42 Other stones will be brought in to replace the ones that were removed, and the walls will be replastered. 43 " But if the mildew reappears after all these things have been done, 44 the priest must return and inspect the house again. If he sees that the affected areas have spread, the walls are clearly contaminated with an infectious mildew, and the house is defiled. 45 It must be torn down, and all its stones, timbers, and plaster must be carried out of town to the place designated as ceremonially unclean. 46 Anyone who enters the house while it is closed will be considered ceremonially unclean until evening. 47 All who sleep or eat in the house must wash their clothing. 48 " But if the priest returns for his inspection and finds that the affected areas have not reappeared after the fresh plastering, then he will pronounce the house clean because the infectious mildew is clearly gone. 49 To purify the house the priest will need two birds, some cedarwood, a scarlet cloth, and a hyssop branch. 50 He will slaughter one of the birds over a clay pot that is filled with fresh spring water. 51 Then he will dip the cedarwood, the hyssop branch, the scarlet cloth, and the living bird into the blood of the slaughtered bird, and he will sprinkle the house seven times. 52 After he has purified the house in this way, 53 he will release the living bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way, the priest will make atonement for the house, and it will be ceremonially clean. 54 " These are the instructions for dealing with the various kinds of contagious skin disease and infectious mildew,* 55 whether in clothing, in a house, 56 in a swollen area of skin, in a skin rash, or in a shiny patch of skin. 57 These instructions must be followed when dealing with any contagious skin disease or infectious mildew, to determine when something is ceremonially clean or unclean."

MARK 6:30-56
The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and what they had taught. 31 Then Jesus said, " Let's get away from the crowds for a while and rest." There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn't even have time to eat. 32 They left by boat for a quieter spot. 33 But many people saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and met them as they landed. 34 A vast crowd was there as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things. 35 Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, " This is a desolate place, and it is getting late. 36 Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy themselves some food." 37 But Jesus said, " You feed them." " With what?" they asked. " It would take a small fortune to buy food for all this crowd!" 38 " How much food do you have?" he asked. " Go and find out." They came back and reported, " We have five loaves of bread and two fish." 39 Then Jesus told the crowd to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat in groups of fifty or a hundred. 41 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and asked God's blessing on the food. Breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples to give to the people. 42 They all ate as much as they wanted, 43 and they picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. 44 Five thousand men had eaten from those five loaves! 45 Immediately after this, Jesus made his disciples get back into the boat and head out across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. 46 Afterward he went up into the hills by himself to pray. 47 During the night, the disciples were in their boat out in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. 48 He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o'clock in the morning he came to them, walking on the water. He started to go past them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the water, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost. 50 They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. " It's all right," he said. " I am here! Don't be afraid." 51 Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were astonished at what they saw. 52 They still didn't understand the significance of the miracle of the multiplied loaves, for their hearts were hard and they did not believe. 53 When they arrived at Gennesaret on the other side of the lake, they anchored the boat 54 and climbed out. The people standing there recognized him at once, 55 and they ran throughout the whole area and began carrying sick people to him on mats. 56 Wherever he went--in villages and cities and out on the farms--they laid the sick in the market plazas and streets. The sick begged him to let them at least touch the fringe of his robe, and all who touched it were healed.

PSALM 40:1-10
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 I waited patiently for the LORD to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
3 He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be astounded.
They will put their trust in the LORD.
4 Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD,
who have no confidence in the proud,
or in those who worship idols.
5 O LORD my God, you have done many miracles for us.
Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
I would never come to the end of them.
6 You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings.
Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand--
you don't require burnt offerings or sin offerings.
7 Then I said, " Look, I have come.
And this has been written about me in your scroll:
8 I take joy in doing your will, my God,
for your law is written on my heart."
9 I have told all your people about your justice.
I have not been afraid to speak out,
as you, O LORD, well know.
10 I have not kept this good news hidden in my heart;
I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power.
I have told everyone in the great assembly
of your unfailing love and faithfulness.

PROVERBS 10:11-12
The words of the godly lead to life; evil people cover up their harmful intentions. Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love covers all offenses.

February 22 Reading through the Bible Day 53

LEVITICUS 13:1-59
MARK 6:1-29
PSALM 39:1-13
PROVERBS 10:10

LEVITICUS 13:1-59
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 " If some of the people notice a swelling or a rash or a shiny patch on their skin that develops into a contagious skin disease, they must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons. 3 The priest will then examine the affected area of a person's skin. If the hair in the affected area has turned white and appears to be more than skin-deep, then it is a contagious skin disease, and the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean. 4 " But if the affected area of the skin is white but does not appear to be more than skin-deep, and if the hair in the spot has not turned white, the priest will put the infected person in quarantine for seven days. 5 On the seventh day the priest will make another examination. If the affected area has not changed or spread on the skin, then the priest will put the person in quarantine for seven more days. 6 The priest will examine the skin again on the seventh day. If the affected area has faded and not spread, the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. It was only a temporary rash. So after washing the clothes, the person will be considered free of disease. 7 But if the rash continues to spread after this examination and pronouncement by the priest, the infected person must return to be examined again. 8 If the priest notices that the rash has spread, then he must pronounce this person ceremonially unclean, for it is a contagious skin disease.9 " Anyone who develops a contagious skin disease must go to the priest for an examination. 10 If the priest sees that some hair has turned white and an open sore appears in the affected area, 11 it is clearly a contagious skin disease, and the priest must pronounce that person ceremonially unclean. In such cases, the person need not be quarantined for further observation because it is clear that the skin is defiled by the disease. 12 " Now suppose the priest discovers after his examination that a rash has broken out all over someone's skin, covering the body from head to foot. 13 In such cases, the priest must examine the infected person to see if the disease covers the entire body. If it does, he will pronounce the person ceremonially clean because the skin has turned completely white. 14 But if any open sores appear, the infected person will be pronounced ceremonially unclean. 15 The priest must make this pronouncement as soon as he sees an open sore because open sores indicate the presence of a contagious skin disease. 16 However, if the open sores heal and turn white like the rest of the skin, the person must return to the priest. 17 If, after another examination, the affected areas have indeed turned completely white, then the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. 18 " If anyone has had a boil on the skin that has started to heal, 19 but a white swelling or a reddish white spot remains in its place, that person must go to the priest to be examined. 20 If the priest finds the disease to be more than skin-deep, and if the hair in the affected area has turned white, then the priest must pronounce that person ceremonially unclean. It is a contagious skin disease that has broken out in the boil. 21 But if the priest sees that there is no white hair in the affected area, and if it doesn't appear to be more than skin-deep and has faded, then the priest is to put the person in quarantine for seven days. 22 If during that time the affected area spreads on the skin, the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean, because it is a contagious skin disease. 23 But if the area grows no larger and does not spread, it is merely the scar from the boil, and the priest will pronounce that person ceremonially clean. 24 " If anyone has suffered a burn on the skin and the burned area changes color, becoming either a shiny reddish white or white, 25 then the priest must examine it. If the hair in the affected area turns white and the problem appears to be more than skin-deep, a contagious skin disease has broken out in the burn. The priest must then pronounce that person ceremonially unclean, for it is clearly a contagious skin disease. 26 But if the priest discovers that there is no white hair in the affected area and the problem appears to be no more than skin-deep and has faded, then the priest is to put the infected person in quarantine for seven days. 27 If at the end of that time the affected area has spread on the skin, the priest must pronounce that person ceremonially unclean, for it is clearly a contagious skin disease. 28 But if the affected area has not moved or spread on the skin and has faded, it is simply a scar from the burn. The priest must then pronounce the person ceremonially clean. 29 " If anyone, whether a man or woman, has an open sore on the head or chin, 30 the priest must examine the infection. If it appears to be more than skin-deep and fine yellow hair is found in the affected area, the priest must pronounce the infected person ceremonially unclean. The infection is a contagious skin disease of the head or chin. 31 However, if the priest's examination reveals that the infection is only skin-deep and there is no black hair in the affected area, then he must put the person in quarantine for seven days. 32 If at the end of that time the affected area has not spread and no yellow hair has appeared, and if the infection does not appear to be more than skin-deep, 33 the infected person must shave off all hair except the hair on the affected area. Then the priest must put the person in quarantine for another seven days, 34 and he will examine the infection again on the seventh day. If it has not spread and appears to be no more than skin-deep, the priest must pronounce that person ceremonially clean. After washing clothes, that person will be clean. 35 But if the infection begins to spread after the person is pronounced clean, 36 the priest must do another examination. If the infection has spread, he must pronounce the infected person ceremonially unclean, even without checking for yellow hair. 37 But if it appears that the infection has stopped spreading and black hair has grown in the affected area, then the infection has healed. The priest will then pronounce the infected person ceremonially clean. 38 " If anyone, whether a man or woman, has shiny white patches on the skin, 39 the priest must examine the affected area. If the patch is only a pale white, this is a harmless skin rash, and the person is ceremonially clean. 40 " If a man loses his hair and his head becomes bald, he is still ceremonially clean. 41 And if he loses hair on his forehead, he simply has a bald forehead; he is still clean. 42 However, if a reddish white infection appears on the front or the back of his head, this is a contagious skin disease. 43 The priest must examine him, and if he finds swelling around the reddish white sore, 44 the man is infected with a contagious skin disease and is unclean. The priest must pronounce him ceremonially unclean because of the infection. 45 " Those who suffer from any contagious skin disease must tear their clothing and allow their hair to hang loose. Then, as they go from place to place, they must cover their mouth and call out, ` Unclean! Unclean!' 46 As long as the disease lasts, they will be ceremonially unclean and must live in isolation outside the camp. 47 " Now suppose an infectious mildew contaminates some woolen or linen clothing, 48 some woolen or linen fabric, the hide of an animal, or anything made of leather. 49 If the affected area in the clothing, the animal hide, the fabric, or the leather has turned bright green or a reddish color, it is contaminated with an infectious mildew and must be taken to the priest to be examined. 50 After examining the affected spot, the priest will put it away for seven days. 51 On the seventh day the priest must inspect it again. If the affected area has spread, the material is clearly contaminated by an infectious mildew and is unclean. 52 The priest must burn the linen or wool clothing or the piece of leather because it has been contaminated by an infectious mildew. It must be completely destroyed by fire. 53 " But if the priest examines it again and the affected spot has not spread in the clothing, the fabric, or the leather, 54 the priest will order the contaminated object to be washed and then isolated for seven more days. 55 Then the priest must inspect the object again. If he sees that the affected area has not changed appearance after being washed, even if it did not spread, the object is defiled. It must be completely burned up, whether it is contaminated on the inside or outside. 56 But if the priest sees that the affected area has faded after being washed, he is to cut the spot from the clothing, the fabric, or the leather. 57 If the spot reappears at a later time, however, the mildew is clearly spreading, and the contaminated object must be burned up. 58 But if the spot disappears after the object is washed, it must be washed again; then it will be ceremonially clean. 59 " These are the instructions for dealing with infectious mildew in woolen or linen clothing or fabric, or in anything made of leather. This is how the priest will determine whether these things are ceremonially clean or unclean."

MARK 6:1-29
Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. 2 The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They asked, " Where did he get all his wisdom and the power to perform such miracles? 3 He's just the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us." They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. 4 Then Jesus told them, " A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family." 5 And because of their unbelief, he couldn't do any mighty miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief.Then Jesus went out from village to village, teaching. 7 And he called his twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two, with authority to cast out evil spirits. 8 He told them to take nothing with them except a walking stick--no food, no traveler's bag, no money. 9 He told them to wear sandals but not to take even an extra coat. 10 " When you enter each village, be a guest in only one home," he said. 11 " And if a village won't welcome you or listen to you, shake off its dust from your feet as you leave. It is a sign that you have abandoned that village to its fate." 12 So the disciples went out, telling all they met to turn from their sins. 13 And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil. 14 Herod Antipas, the king, soon heard about Jesus, because people everywhere were talking about him. Some were saying, " This must be John the Baptist come back to life again. That is why he can do such miracles." 15 Others thought Jesus was the ancient prophet Elijah. Still others thought he was a prophet like the other great prophets of the past. 16 When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, " John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead." 17 For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favor to Herodias. She had been his brother Philip's wife, but Herod had married her. 18 John kept telling Herod, " It is illegal for you to marry your brother's wife." 19 Herodias was enraged and wanted John killed in revenge, but without Herod's approval she was powerless. 20 And Herod respected John, knowing that he was a good and holy man, so he kept him under his protection. Herod was disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him. 21 Herodias's chance finally came. It was Herod's birthday, and he gave a party for his palace aides, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. 22 Then his daughter, also named Herodias, came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased them all. " Ask me for anything you like," the king said to the girl, " and I will give it to you." 23 Then he promised, " I will give you whatever you ask, up to half of my kingdom!" 24 She went out and asked her mother, " What should I ask for?" Her mother told her, " Ask for John the Baptist's head!" 25 So the girl hurried back to the king and told him, " I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!" 26 Then the king was very sorry, but he was embarrassed to break his oath in front of his guests. 27 So he sent an executioner to the prison to cut off John's head and bring it to him. The soldier beheaded John in the prison, 28 brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl, who took it to her mother. 29 When John's disciples heard what had happened, they came for his body and buried it in a tomb.

PSALM 39:1-13
For Jeduthun, the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 I said to myself, " I will watch what I do
and not sin in what I say.
I will curb my tongue
when the ungodly are around me."
2 But as I stood there in silence--
not even speaking of good things--
the turmoil within me grew to the bursting point.
3 My thoughts grew hot within me
and began to burn,
igniting a fire of words:
4 " LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered,
and that my life is fleeing away.
5 My life is no longer than the width of my hand.
An entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
human existence is but a breath."
Interlude6 We are merely moving shadows,
and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth for someone else to spend.
7 And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?
My only hope is in you.
8 Rescue me from my rebellion,
for even fools mock me when I rebel.
9 I am silent before you; I won't say a word.
For my punishment is from you.
10 Please, don't punish me anymore!
I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.
11 When you discipline people for their sins,
their lives can be crushed like the life of a moth.
Human existence is as frail as breath.
Interlude12 Hear my prayer, O LORD!
Listen to my cries for help!
Don't ignore my tears.
For I am your guest--
a traveler passing through,
as my ancestors were before me.
13 Spare me so I can smile again
before I am gone and exist no more.

PROVERBS 10:10
People who wink at wrong cause trouble, but a bold reproof promotes peace.>

February 21 Reading through the Bible Day 52

LEVITICUS 11:1-12:8
MARK 5:21-43
PSALM 38:1-22
PROVERBS 10:8-9

LEVITICUS 11:1-12:8
Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 " Give the following instructions to the Israelites: The animals you may use for food 3 include those that have completely divided hooves and chew the cud. 4 You may not, however, eat the animals named here because they either have split hooves or chew the cud, but not both. The camel may not be eaten, for though it chews the cud, it does not have split hooves. 5 The same is true of the rock badger 6 and the hare, so they also may never be eaten. 7 And the pig may not be eaten, for though it has split hooves, it does not chew the cud. 8 You may not eat the meat of these animals or touch their dead bodies. They are ceremonially unclean for you. 9 " As for marine animals, you may eat whatever has both fins and scales, whether taken from fresh water or salt water. 10 You may not, however, eat marine animals that do not have both fins and scales. You are to detest them, 11 and they will always be forbidden to you. You must never eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies. 12 I repeat, any marine animal that does not have both fins and scales is strictly forbidden to you. 13 " These are the birds you must never eat because they are detestable for you: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, 14 the buzzard, kites of all kinds, 15 ravens of all kinds, 16 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the seagull, hawks of all kinds, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the pelican, the carrion vulture, 19 the stork, herons of all kinds, the hoopoe, and the bat. 20 " You are to consider detestable all swarming insects that walk along the ground. 21 However, there are some exceptions that you may eat. These include insects that jump with their hind legs: 22 locusts of all varieties, crickets, bald locusts, and grasshoppers. All these may be eaten. 23 But you are to consider detestable all other swarming insects that walk or crawl. 24 " The following creatures make you ceremonially unclean. If you touch any of their dead bodies, you will be defiled until evening. 25 If you move the dead body of an unclean animal, you must immediately wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening. 26 " Any animal that has divided but unsplit hooves or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you. If you touch the dead body of such an animal, you will be defiled until evening. 27 Of the animals that walk on all fours, those that have paws are unclean for you. If you touch the dead body of such an animal, you will be defiled until evening. 28 If you pick up and move its carcass, you must immediately wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening. 29 " Of the small animals that scurry or creep on the ground, these are unclean for you: the mole, the mouse, the great lizard of all varieties, 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. 31 All these small animals are unclean for you. If you touch the dead body of such an animal, you will be defiled until evening. 32 If such an animal dies and falls on something, that object, whatever its use, will be unclean. This is true whether the object is made of wood, cloth, leather, or sackcloth. It must be put into water, and it will remain defiled until evening. After that, it will be ceremonially clean and may be used again. 33 " If such an animal dies and falls into a clay pot, everything in the pot will be defiled, and the pot must be smashed. 34 If the water used to cleanse an unclean object touches any food, all of that food will be defiled. And any beverage that is in such an unclean container will be defiled. 35 Any object on which the dead body of such an animal falls will be defiled. If it is a clay oven or cooking pot, it must be smashed to pieces. It has become defiled, and it will remain that way. 36 " However, if the dead body of such an animal falls into a spring or a cistern, the water will still be clean. But anyone who removes the dead body will be defiled. 37 If the dead body falls on seed grain to be planted in the field, the seed will still be considered clean. 38 But if the seed is wet when the dead body falls on it, the seed will be defiled. 39 " If an animal that is permitted for eating dies and you touch its carcass, you will be defiled until evening. 40 If you eat any of its meat or carry away its carcass, you must wash your clothes. Then you will remain defiled until evening. 41 " Consider detestable any animal that scurries along the ground; such animals may never be eaten. 42 This includes all animals that slither along on their bellies, as well as those with four legs and those with many feet. All such animals are to be considered detestable. 43 Never defile yourselves by touching such animals. 44 After all, I, the LORD, am your God. You must be holy because I am holy. So do not defile yourselves by touching any of these animals that scurry along the ground. 45 I, the LORD, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God. You must therefore be holy because I am holy. 46 " These are the instructions regarding the land animals, the birds, and all the living things that move through the water or swarm over the earth, 47 so you can distinguish between what is unclean and may not be eaten and what is clean and may be eaten."12:1 THE LORD said to Moses, " Give these instructions to the Israelites: 2 When a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is defiled during her menstrual period. 3 On the eighth day, the boy must be circumcised. 4 Then the woman must wait for thirty-three days until the time of her purification from the blood of childbirth is completed. During this time of purification, she must not touch anything that is holy. And she must not go to the sanctuary until her time of purification is over. 5 If a woman gives birth to a daughter, she will be ceremonially defiled for two weeks, just as she is defiled during her menstrual period. She must then wait another sixty-six days to be purified from the blood of childbirth. 6 " When the time of purification is completed for either a son or a daughter, the woman must bring a year-old lamb for a whole burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a purification offering. She must take her offerings to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 7 The priest will then present them to the LORD and make atonement for her. Then she will be ceremonially clean again after her bleeding at childbirth. These are the instructions to be followed after the birth of a son or a daughter. 8 " If a woman cannot afford to bring a sheep, she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One will be for the whole burnt offering and the other for the purification offering. The priest will sacrifice them, thus making atonement for her, and she will be ceremonially clean."

MARK 5:21-43
When Jesus went back across to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. 22 A leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, came and fell down before him, 23 pleading with him to heal his little daughter. " She is about to die," he said in desperation. " Please come and place your hands on her; heal her so she can live." 24 Jesus went with him, and the crowd thronged behind. 25 And there was a woman in the crowd who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors through the years and had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she was worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched the fringe of his robe. 28 For she thought to herself, " If I can just touch his clothing, I will be healed." 29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel that she had been healed! 30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, " Who touched my clothes?" 31 His disciples said to him, " All this crowd is pressing around you. How can you ask, ` Who touched me?' " 32 But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and told him what she had done. 34 And he said to her, " Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. You have been healed." 35 While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from Jairus's home with the message, " Your daughter is dead. There's no use troubling the Teacher now." 36 But Jesus ignored their comments and said to Jairus, " Don't be afraid. Just trust me." 37 Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn't let anyone go with him except Peter and James and John. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw the commotion and the weeping and wailing. 39 He went inside and spoke to the people. " Why all this weeping and commotion?" he asked. " The child isn't dead; she is only asleep." 40 The crowd laughed at him, but he told them all to go outside. Then he took the girl's father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. 41 Holding her hand, he said to her, " Get up, little girl!" 42 And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! Her parents were absolutely overwhelmed. 43 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what had happened, and he told them to give her something to eat.

PSALM 38:1-22
A psalm of David, to bring us to the LORD's remembrance.
1 O LORD, don't rebuke me in your anger!
Don't discipline me in your rage!
2 Your arrows have struck deep,
and your blows are crushing me.
3 Because of your anger, my whole body is sick;
my health is broken because of my sins.
4 My guilt overwhelms me--
it is a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and stink
because of my foolish sins.
6 I am bent over and racked with pain.
My days are filled with grief.
7 A raging fever burns within me,
and my health is broken.
8 I am exhausted and completely crushed.
My groans come from an anguished heart.
9 You know what I long for, Lord;
you hear my every sigh.
10 My heart beats wildly, my strength fails,
and I am going blind.
11 My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease.
Even my own family stands at a distance.
12 Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps for me;
they make plans to ruin me.
They think up treacherous deeds all day long.
13 But I am deaf to all their threats.
I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.
14 I choose to hear nothing,
and I make no reply.
15 For I am waiting for you, O LORD.
You must answer for me, O Lord my God.
16 I prayed, " Don't let my enemies gloat over me
or rejoice at my downfall."
17 I am on the verge of collapse,
facing constant pain.
18 But I confess my sins;
I am deeply sorry for what I have done.
19 My enemies are many;
they hate me though I have done nothing against them.
20 They repay me evil for good
and oppose me because I stand for the right.
21 Do not abandon me, LORD.
Do not stand at a distance, my God.
22 Come quickly to help me, O Lord my savior.

PROVERBS 10:8-9
The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces. People with integrity have firm footing, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall.

February 20 Reading through the Bible Day 51

LEVITICUS 9:7-10:20
MARK 4:26-5:20
PSALM 37:30-40
PROVERBS 10:6-7

LEVITICUS 9:7-10:20
Then Moses said to Aaron, " Approach the altar and present your sin offering and your whole burnt offering to make atonement for yourself. Then present the offerings to make atonement for the people, just as the LORD has commanded." 8 So Aaron went to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself. 9 His sons brought him the blood, and he dipped his finger into it and put it on the horns of the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 10 Then he burned on the altar the fat, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver from the sin offering, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 11 The meat and the hide, however, he burned outside the camp. 12 Next Aaron slaughtered the animal for the whole burnt offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he sprinkled it against the sides of the altar. 13 They handed the animal to him piece by piece, including the head, and he burned each part on the altar. 14 Then he washed the internal organs and the legs and also burned them on the altar as a whole burnt offering. 15 Next Aaron presented the sacrifices for the people. He slaughtered the people's goat and presented it as their sin offering, just as he had done previously for himself. 16 Then he brought the whole burnt offering and presented it in the prescribed way. 17 He also brought the grain offering, burning a handful of the flour on the altar, in addition to the regular morning burnt offering. 18 Then Aaron slaughtered the bull and the ram for the people's peace offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he sprinkled it against the sides of the altar. 19 Then he took the fat of the bull and the ram--the fat from the tail and from around the internal organs--along with the kidneys and the lobe of the liver. 20 He placed these fat parts on top of the breasts of these animals and then burned them on the altar. 21 Aaron then lifted up the breasts and right thighs as an offering to the LORD, just as Moses had commanded. 22 After that, Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them. Then, after presenting the sin offering, the whole burnt offering, and the peace offering, he stepped down from the altar. 23 Next Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle, and when they came back out, they blessed the people again, and the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to the whole community. 24 Fire blazed forth from the LORD's presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When the people saw all this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground.10:1 AARON'S sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over it. In this way, they disobeyed the LORD by burning before him a different kind of fire than he had commanded. 2 So fire blazed forth from the LORD's presence and burned them up, and they died there before the LORD. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, " This is what the LORD meant when he said, ` I will show myself holy
among those who are near me.
I will be glorified
before all the people.' "
And Aaron was silent. 4 Then Moses called for Mishael and Elzaphan, Aaron's cousins, the sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel. He said to them, " Come and carry the bodies of your relatives away from the sanctuary to a place outside the camp." 5 So they came forward and carried them out of the camp by their tunics as Moses had commanded. 6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, " Do not mourn by letting your hair hang loose or by tearing your clothes. If you do, you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole community of Israel. However, the rest of the Israelites, your relatives, may mourn for Nadab and Abihu, whom the LORD has destroyed by fire. 7 But you are not to leave the entrance of the Tabernacle, under penalty of death, for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you." So they did as Moses commanded. 8 Then the LORD said to Aaron, 9 " You and your descendants must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle. If you do, you will die. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be kept by all future generations. 10 You are to distinguish between what is holy and what is ordinary, what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean. 11 And you must teach the Israelites all the laws that the LORD has given through Moses." 12 Then Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, " Take what is left of the grain offering after the handful has been presented to the LORD by fire. Make sure there is no yeast in it, and eat it beside the altar, for it is most holy. 13 It must be eaten in a sacred place, for it has been given to you and your descendants as your regular share of the offerings given to the LORD by fire. These are the commands I have been given. 14 But the breast and thigh that were lifted up may be eaten in any place that is ceremonially clean. These parts have been given to you and to your sons and daughters as your regular share of the peace offerings presented by the people of Israel. 15 The thigh and breast that are lifted up must be lifted up to the LORD along with the fat of the offerings given by fire. Then they will belong to you and your descendants forever, just as the LORD has commanded." 16 When Moses demanded to know what had happened to the goat of the sin offering, he discovered that it had been burned up. As a result, he became very angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's remaining sons. 17 " Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area?" he demanded. " It is a holy offering! It was given to you for removing the guilt of the community and for making atonement for the people before the LORD. 18 Since the animal's blood was not taken into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the meat in the sanctuary area as I ordered you." 19 Then Aaron answered Moses on behalf of his sons. " Today my sons presented both their sin offering and their burnt offering to the LORD," he said. " This kind of thing has also happened to me. Would the LORD have approved if I had eaten the sin offering today?" 20 And when Moses heard this, he approved.

MARK 4:26-5:20
Jesus also said, " Here is another illustration of what the Kingdom of God is like: A farmer planted seeds in a field, 27 and then he went on with his other activities. As the days went by, the seeds sprouted and grew without the farmer's help, 28 because the earth produces crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. 29 And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle." 30 Jesus asked, " How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? 31 It is like a tiny mustard seed. Though this is one of the smallest of seeds, 32 it grows to become one of the largest of plants, with long branches where birds can come and find shelter." 33 He used many such stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they were able to understand. 34 In fact, in his public teaching he taught only with parables, but afterward when he was alone with his disciples, he explained the meaning to them. 35 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, " Let's cross to the other side of the lake." 36 He was already in the boat, so they started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water. 38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they woke him up, shouting, " Teacher, don't you even care that we are going to drown?" 39 When he woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the water, " Quiet down!" Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 And he asked them, " Why are you so afraid? Do you still not have faith in me?" 41 And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, " Who is this man, that even the wind and waves obey him?"5:1 SO they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the land of the Gerasenes. 2 Just as Jesus was climbing from the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit ran out from a cemetery to meet him. 3 This man lived among the tombs and could not be restrained, even with a chain. 4 Whenever he was put into chains and shackles--as he often was--he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to control him. 5 All day long and throughout the night, he would wander among the tombs and in the hills, screaming and hitting himself with stones. 6 When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him. He ran to meet Jesus and fell down before him. 7 He gave a terrible scream, shrieking, " Why are you bothering me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? For God's sake, don't torture me!" 8 For Jesus had already said to the spirit, " Come out of the man, you evil spirit." 9 Then Jesus asked, " What is your name?" And the spirit replied, " Legion, because there are many of us here inside this man." 10 Then the spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place. 11 There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby. 12 " Send us into those pigs," the evil spirits begged. 13 Jesus gave them permission. So the evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of two thousand pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake, where they drowned. 14 The herdsmen fled to the nearby city and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. Everyone rushed out to see for themselves. 15 A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, but they were frightened when they saw the man who had been demon possessed, for he was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane. 16 Those who had seen what happened to the man and to the pigs told everyone about it, 17 and the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone. 18 When Jesus got back into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go, too. 19 But Jesus said, " No, go home to your friends, and tell them what wonderful things the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been." 20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to tell everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.

PSALM 37:30-40
The godly offer good counsel;
they know what is right from wrong.
31 They fill their hearts with God's law,
so they will never slip from his path.
32 Those who are evil spy on the godly,
waiting for an excuse to kill them.
33 But the LORD will not let the wicked succeed
or let the godly be condemned when they are brought before the judge.
34 Don't be impatient for the LORD to act!
Travel steadily along his path.
He will honor you, giving you the land.
You will see the wicked destroyed.
35 I myself have seen it happen--
proud and evil people thriving like mighty trees.
36 But when I looked again, they were gone!
Though I searched for them, I could not find them!
37 Look at those who are honest and good,
for a wonderful future lies before those who love peace.
38 But the wicked will be destroyed;
they have no future.
39 The LORD saves the godly;
he is their fortress in times of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them,
rescuing them from the wicked.
He saves them,
and they find shelter in him.

PROVERBS 10:6-7
The godly are showered with blessings; evil people cover up their harmful intentions. We all have happy memories of the godly, but the name of a wicked person rots away.