Leviticus 7
1 ‘This is the law of the guilt offering; it is most holy. 2 In the place where they kill the burnt offering they are to kill the guilt offering, and he shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 3 Then he shall offer all its fat, the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. 5 The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire to the Lord; it is a guilt offering. 6 Every male among the priests may eat it; it shall be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy. 7 The guilt offering is like the sin offering, there is one law for [both of] them: the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it for himself. 8 The priest who presents any man’s burnt offering shall have for himself the hide of the burnt offering which he has presented. 9 Likewise, every grain offering that is baked in the oven and everything that is prepared in a pan or on a griddle shall belong to the priest who presents it. 10 Every grain offering, mixed with [olive] oil or dry, all the sons of Aaron may have, one as well as another.
11 ‘Now this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which shall be presented to the Lord: 12 If one offers it as a sacrificial meal of thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour mixed with oil. 13 With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving, he shall present his offering with cakes of leavened bread. 14 Of this he shall present one [cake] from each offering as a contribution to the Lord; it shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings.
15 ‘The meat of the sacrifice of thanksgiving presented as a peace offering shall be eaten on the day that it is offered; none of it shall be left until morning. 16 But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day that which remains of it may be eaten; 17 but what is left over from the meat of the sacrifice on the third day shall be [completely] burned in the fire. 18 If any of the meat of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is ever eaten on the third day, then it will not be accepted, and the one who brought it will not be credited with it. It shall be an abhorred (offensive) thing; the one who eats it shall bear his own guilt.
19 ‘The meat that comes in contact with anything that is unclean shall not be eaten; it shall be burned in the fire. As for other meat, everyone who is [ceremonially] clean may eat it. 20 But the one who eats meat from the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the Lord, in his uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them]. 21 When anyone touches any unclean thing—human uncleanness, or an unclean animal, or any unclean detestable thing—and then eats the meat of the sacrifice of the Lord’s peace offerings, that person shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].’”
22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘You shall not eat any fat from an ox, a sheep, or a goat. 24 The fat of an animal which dies [of natural causes] and the fat of one which is torn [to pieces by a predator] may be put to any other use, but under no circumstances are you to eat it. 25 For whoever eats the fat of the animal from which an offering by fire is presented to the Lord, that person who eats shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them]. 26 Moreover, you are not to eat any blood [of any kind], whether of bird or animal, in any of your dwelling places. 27 Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.’”
28 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 29 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the Lord shall bring his offering to the Lord from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. 30 With his own hands he is to bring offerings by fire to the Lord; he shall bring the fat with the breast, so that the breast may be presented as a wave offering before the Lord. 31 The priest shall offer up the fat in smoke on the altar, but the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons. 32 You shall give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifices of your peace offerings. 33 The son of Aaron who offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat shall have the right thigh as his portion. 34 For I have taken the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering from the Israelites, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their perpetual portion from the Israelites.
35 ‘This is the consecrated portion from the offerings by fire to the Lord that was designated for Aaron and his sons on the day he presented them to serve as priests to the Lord. 36 The Lord commanded this to be given to the priests by the Israelites on the day that He anointed them. It is their portion perpetually throughout their generations.’”
37 This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the consecration (ordination) offering, and the sacrifice of peace offerings, 38 which the Lord commanded Moses at Mount Sinai on the day He commanded the Israelites to present their offerings to the Lord, in the Wilderness of Sinai.
Psalms 7-8
1 O Lord my God, in You I take refuge;
Save me and rescue me from all those who pursue me,
2
So that my enemy will not tear me like a lion,
Dragging me away while there is no one to rescue [me].
3
O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is injustice in my hands,
4
If I have done evil to him who was at peace with me,
Or without cause robbed him who was my enemy,
5
Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me;
And let him trample my life to the ground
And lay my honor in the dust. Selah.
6
Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
Lift up Yourself against the rage of my enemies;
Rise up for me; You have commanded judgment and vindication.
7
Let the assembly of the nations be gathered around You,
And return on high over them.
8
The Lord judges the peoples;
Judge me, O Lord, and grant me justice according to my righteousness and according to the integrity within me.
9
Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous [those in right standing with You];
For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.
10
My shield and my defense depend on God,
Who saves the upright in heart.
11
God is a righteous judge,
And a God who is indignant every day.
12
If a man does not repent, God will sharpen His sword;
He has strung and bent His [mighty] bow and made it ready.
13
He has also prepared [other] deadly weapons for Himself;
He makes His arrows fiery shafts [aimed at the unrepentant].
14
Behold, the [wicked and irreverent] man is pregnant with sin,
And he conceives mischief and gives birth to lies.
15
He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has fallen into the [very] pit which he made [as a trap].
16
His mischief will return on his own head,
And his violence will come down on the top of his head [like loose dirt].
17
I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness and justice,
And I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
1 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!
You have displayed Your splendor above the heavens.
2
Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
That You might silence the enemy and make the revengeful cease.
3
When I see and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have established,
4
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him?
5
Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6
You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7
All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
8
The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9
O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!
Proverbs 22
1 A good name [earned by honorable behavior, godly wisdom, moral courage, and personal integrity] is more desirable than great riches;
And favor is better than silver and gold.
2
The rich and poor have a common bond;
The Lord is the Maker of them all.
3
A prudent and far-sighted person sees the evil [of sin] and hides himself [from it],
But the naive continue on and are punished [by suffering the consequences of sin].
4
The reward of humility [that is, having a realistic view of one’s importance] and the [reverent, worshipful] fear of the Lord
Is riches, honor, and life.
5
Thorns and snares are in the way of the obstinate [for their lack of honor and their wrong-doing traps them];
He who guards himself [with godly wisdom] will be far from them and avoid the consequences they suffer.
6
Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents],
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
7
The rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender.
8
He who sows injustice will reap [a harvest of] trouble,
And the rod of his wrath [with which he oppresses others] will fail.
9
He who is generous will be blessed,
For he gives some of his food to the poor.
10
Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go away;
Even strife and dishonor will cease.
11
He who loves purity of heart
And whose speech is gracious will have the king as his friend.
12
The eyes of the Lord keep guard over knowledge and the one who has it,
But He overthrows the words of the treacherous.
13
The lazy one [manufactures excuses and] says, “There is a lion outside!
I will be killed in the streets [if I go out to work]!”
14
The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit [deep and inescapable];
He who is cursed by the Lord [because of his adulterous sin] will fall into it.
15
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The rod of discipline [correction administered with godly wisdom and lovingkindness] will remove it far from him.
16
He who oppresses or exploits the poor to get more for himself
Or who gives to the rich [to gain influence and favor], will only come to poverty.
17
Listen carefully and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your mind to my knowledge;
18
For it will be pleasant if you keep them in mind [incorporating them as guiding principles];
Let them be ready on your lips [to guide and strengthen yourself and others].
19
So that your trust and reliance and confidence may be in the Lord,
I have taught these things to you today, even to you.
20
Have I not written to you excellent things
In counsels and knowledge,
21
To let you know the certainty of the words of truth,
That you may give a correct answer to him who sent you?
22
Do not rob the poor because he is poor [and defenseless],
Nor crush the afflicted [by legal proceedings] at the gate [where the city court is held],
23
For the Lord will plead their case
And take the life of those who rob them.
24
Do not even associate with a man given to angry outbursts;
Or go [along] with a hot-tempered man,
25
Or you will learn his [undisciplined] ways
And get yourself trapped [in a situation from which it is hard to escape].
26
Do not be among those who give pledges [involving themselves in others’ finances],
Or among those who become guarantors for others’ debts.
27
If you have nothing with which to pay [another’s debt when he defaults],
Why should his creditor take your bed from under you?
28
Do not move the ancient landmark [at the boundary of the property]
Which your fathers have set.
29
Do you see a man skillful and experienced in his work?
He will stand [in honor] before kings;
He will not stand before obscure men.
1 Thessalonians 1
1 Paul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being from God].
2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, continually mentioning you in our prayers; 3 recalling unceasingly before our God and Father your work energized by faith, and your service motivated by love and unwavering hope in [the return of] our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 Brothers and sisters beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you; 5 for our good news [regarding salvation] came to you not only in word, but also in [its inherent] power and in the Holy Spirit and with great conviction [on our part]. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your benefit. 6 You became imitators of us and [through us] of the Lord, after you welcomed our message in [a time of] great trouble with the joy supplied by the Holy Spirit; 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has resounded from you and has echoed [like thunder], not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place [the news of] your [great] faith in God has spread, so that we never need to say anything about it. 9 For they themselves report about us, telling what kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to [look forward and confidently] wait for [the coming of] His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, who [personally] rescues us from the coming wrath [and draws us to Himself, granting us all the privileges and rewards of a new life with Him].
