Leviticus 8
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments [which are symbols of their office], and the anointing oil, and the bull for the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread; 3 and assemble the entire congregation at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.” 4 Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the congregation was assembled at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. 5 Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the Lord has commanded us to do.”
6 Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7 He put the undertunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him in the robe, and put the ephod (an upper vestment) on him. He tied the [skillfully woven] band of the ephod around him, with which he secured it to Aaron. 8 Moses then put the breastpiece on Aaron, and he put in the breastpiece the Urim and the Thummim [the sacred articles the high priest used when seeking God’s will concerning the nation]. 9 He also put the turban on Aaron’s head, and on it, in the front, Moses placed the golden plate, the holy crown, just as the Lord had commanded him.
10 Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11 He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. 12 Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. 13 Next Moses brought Aaron’s sons forward, put undertunics on them, belted them with sashes, and bound caps on them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
14 Then he brought the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull. 15 Next Moses killed it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar and purified it [from sin]. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. 16 He took all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses offered them up in smoke on the altar. 17 But the bull (the sin offering) and its hide, its meat, and its refuse he burned in the fire outside the camp, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
18 He brought the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 19 Moses killed it and sprinkled the blood around on the altar. 20 When he had cut the ram into pieces, Moses offered up the head, the pieces, and the fat in smoke. 21 After he had washed the entrails and the legs in water, Moses offered up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
22 Then he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration (ordination), and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 23 Moses killed it and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 He also brought Aaron’s sons forward and put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, and the thumbs of their right hands, and the big toes of their right feet; and Moses sprinkled the rest of the blood around on the altar. 25 He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh; 26 and from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord, he took one unleavened cake, a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer and put them on the fat and on the right thigh; 27 and he put all these things in Aaron’s hands and his sons’ hands and presented them as a wave offering before the Lord. 28 Then Moses took these things from their hands and offered them up in smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. They were a consecration (ordination) offering for a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. 29 Moses also took the breast and presented it as a wave offering before the Lord; it was Moses’ portion of the ram of consecration (ordination), just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
30 So Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and also on his sons and their garments with him; so Moses consecrated Aaron and his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.
31 Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, “Boil the meat at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting and eat it there together with the bread that is in the basket of the consecration (ordination) offering, just as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ 32 And what remains of the meat and of the bread you shall burn in the fire. 33 You shall not go outside the doorway of the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration (ordination) are ended; for it will take seven days to consecrate you. 34 As has been done this day, so the Lord has commanded to do for your atonement. 35 You shall remain day and night for seven days at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, doing what the Lord has required you to do, so that you will not die; for so I (Moses) have been commanded.” 36 So Aaron and his sons did all the things which the Lord had commanded through Moses.
Psalms 9
1 I will give thanks and praise the Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell aloud all Your wonders and marvelous deeds.
2
I will rejoice and exult in you;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
3
When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and perish before You.
4
For You have maintained my right and my cause;
You have sat on the throne judging righteously.
5
You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked and unrepentant;
You have wiped out their name forever and ever.
6
The enemy has been cut off and has vanished in everlasting ruins,
You have uprooted their cities;
The very memory of them has perished.
7
But the Lord will remain and sit enthroned forever;
He has prepared and established His throne for judgment.
8
And He will judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the nations with fairness (equity).
9
The Lord also will be a refuge and a stronghold for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble;
10
And those who know Your name [who have experienced Your precious mercy] will put their confident trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You.
11
Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;
Declare among the peoples His [great and wondrous] deeds.
12
For He who avenges blood [unjustly shed] remembers them (His people);
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted and abused.
13
Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord;
See how I am afflicted by those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death,
14
That I may tell aloud all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion (Jerusalem)
I may rejoice in Your salvation and Your help.
15
The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16
The Lord has made Himself known;
He executes judgment;
The wicked are trapped by the work of their own hands. Higgaion (meditation) Selah.
17
The wicked will turn to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
Even all the nations who forget God.
18
For the poor will not always be forgotten,
Nor the hope of the burdened perish forever.
19
Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be judged before You.
20
Put them in [reverent] fear of You, O Lord,
So that the nations may know they are but [frail and mortal] men. Selah.
Proverbs 23
1 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is [set] before you;
2
For you will put a knife to your throat
If you are a man of great appetite.
3
Do not desire his delicacies,
For it is deceptive food [offered to you with questionable motives].
4
Do not weary yourself [with the overwhelming desire] to gain wealth;
Cease from your own understanding of it.
5
When you set your eyes on wealth, it is [suddenly] gone.
For wealth certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies to the heavens.
6
Do not eat the bread of a selfish man,
Or desire his delicacies;
7
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he [in behavior—one who manipulates].
He says to you, “Eat and drink,”
Yet his heart is not with you [but it is begrudging the cost].
8
The morsel which you have eaten you will vomit up,
And you will waste your compliments.
9
Do not speak in the ears of a fool,
For he will despise the [godly] wisdom of your words.
10
Do not move the ancient landmark [at the boundary of the property]
And do not go into the fields of the fatherless [to take what is theirs],
11
For their Redeemer is strong and mighty;
He will plead their case against you.
12
Apply your heart to discipline
And your ears to words of knowledge.
13
Do not withhold discipline from the child;
If you swat him with a reed-like rod [applied with godly wisdom], he will not die.
14
You shall swat him with the reed-like rod
And rescue his life from Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).
15
My son, if your heart is wise,
My heart will also be glad;
16
Yes, my heart will rejoice
When your lips speak right things.
17
Do not let your heart envy sinners [who live godless lives and have no hope of salvation],
But [continue to] live in the [reverent, worshipful] fear of the Lord day by day.
18
Surely there is a future [and a reward],
And your hope and expectation will not be cut off.
19
Listen, my son, and be wise,
And direct your heart in the way [of the Lord].
20
Do not associate with heavy drinkers of wine,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat,
21
For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And the drowsiness [of overindulgence] will clothe one with rags.
22
Listen to your father, who sired you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.
23
Buy truth, and do not sell it;
Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24
The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who sires a wise child will have joy in him.
25
Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her who gave birth to you rejoice [in your wise and godly choices].
26
My son, give me your heart
And let your eyes delight in my ways,
27
For a prostitute is a deep pit,
And an immoral woman is a narrow well.
28
She lurks and lies in wait like a robber [who waits for prey],
And she increases the faithless among men.
29
Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Whose eyes are red and dim?
30
Those who linger long over wine,
Those who go to taste mixed wine.
31
Do not look at wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the glass,
When it goes down smoothly.
32
At the last it bites like a serpent
And stings like a viper.
33
Your [drunken] eyes will see strange things
And your mind will utter perverse things [untrue things, twisted things].
34
And you will be [as unsteady] as one who lies down in the middle of the sea,
And [as vulnerable to disaster] as one who lies down on the top of a ship’s mast, saying,
35
“They struck me, but I was not hurt!
They beat me, but I did not feel it!
When will I wake up?
I will seek more wine.”
1 Thessalonians 2
1 For you know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you has not been ineffective (fruitless, in vain), 2 but after we had already suffered and been outrageously treated in Philippi, as you know, yet in [the strength of] our God we summoned the courage to proclaim boldly to you the good news of God [regarding salvation] amid great opposition. 3 For our appeal does not come from delusion or impure motives, nor [is it motivated] by deceit [our message is complete, accurate, and based on the truth—it does not change]. 4 But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel [that tells the good news of salvation through faith in Christ], so we speak, not as [if we were trying] to please people [to gain power and popularity], but to please God who examines our hearts [expecting our best]. 5 For as you well know, we never came with words of flattery nor with a pretext for greed—God is our witness— 6 nor did we seek glory and honor from people, neither from you nor from anyone else, though as apostles of Christ we had the power to assert our authority. 7 But we behaved gently when we were among you, like a devoted mother tenderly caring for her own children. 8 Having such a deep affection for you, we were delighted to share with you not only God’s good news but also our own lives, because you had become so very dear to us.
9 For you remember, believers, our labor and hardship. We worked night and day [practicing our trade] in order not to be a [financial] burden to any of you while we proclaimed the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, how unworldly and just and blameless was our behavior toward you who believe [in our Lord Jesus Christ]. 11 For you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you just as a father does [in dealing with] his own children, [guiding you] 12 to live lives [of honor, moral courage, and personal integrity] worthy of the God who [saves you and] calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
13 And we also thank God continually for this, that when you received the word of God [concerning salvation] which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe [exercising its inherent, supernatural power in those of faith]. 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same [kind of] persecution from your own countrymen, as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and harassed and drove us out; and [they] continue to be highly displeasing to God and [to show themselves] hostile to all people, 16 forbidding us from speaking to the Gentiles (non-Jews) so that they may be saved. So, as always, they fill up [to the brim] the measure of their sins [allotted to them by God]. But [God’s] wrath has come upon them at last [completely and forever].
17 But since we were taken away from you, believers, for a little while—in person, but not in heart—we endeavored, with great longing to see you face to face. 18 For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again [wanted to come], but Satan hindered us. 19 For who is [the object of] our hope or joy or our victor’s wreath of triumphant celebration [when we stand] in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are [indeed] our glory and our joy!
