Leviticus 11-12
1 The Lord spoke again to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Among all the animals which are on the earth, these are the animals which you may eat. 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof [that is, a hoof split into two parts especially at its distal extremity] and chews the cud. 4 Nevertheless, you are not to eat these, among those which chew the cud or divide the hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is [ceremonially] unclean to you. 5 And the shaphan, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you. 6 And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you. 7 And the swine, because it divides the hoof and makes a split hoof, but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. 8 You shall not eat their meat nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.
9 ‘These you may eat, whatever is in the water: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, these you may eat; 10 but whatever does not have fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, of all the teeming life in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are [to be considered] detestable to you. 11 They shall be hated things to you. You may not eat their meat; you shall detest their carcasses. 12 Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.
13 ‘These you shall detest among the birds; they are not to be eaten, for they are hated things: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, 14 the kite, every kind of falcon, 15 every kind of raven, 16 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, every species of hawk, 17 the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl, 18 the white owl, the pelican, the carrion vulture, 19 the stork, all kinds of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.
20 ‘All winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you; 21 yet of all winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those which have legs above their feet with which to leap on the ground. 22 Of these you may eat: the whole species of migratory locust, of bald locust, of cricket, and of grasshopper. 23 But all other winged insects which are four footed are detestable to you.
24 ‘By [contact with] these you will become unclean; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until the evening (dusk), 25 and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 26 Concerning all the animals which divide the hoof, but do not have a split hoof, or which do not chew the cud, they are unclean to you; whoever touches them becomes unclean. 27 Also all animals that walk on their paws, among all kinds of animals that walk on four legs, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until the evening, 28 and the one who picks up their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.
29 ‘These also are unclean to you among the swarming things that crawl around on the ground [and multiply profusely]: the mole, the mouse, and any kind of great lizard, 30 the gecko, the crocodile, the lizard, the sand reptile, and the chameleon. 31 These [creatures] are unclean to you among all that swarm; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening. 32 Also anything on which one of them falls after dying becomes unclean, whether it is an article of wood or clothing, or a skin, or a sack—any article that is used—it must be put in water, and will be unclean until the evening; then it becomes clean. 33 As for any earthenware container into which any of these [crawling things] falls, whatever is in it becomes unclean, and you shall break the container. 34 Any of the food which may be eaten, but on which [unclean] water falls, shall become unclean, and any liquid that may be drunk in every container shall become unclean. 35 Everything that part of their carcass falls on becomes unclean; an oven, or a small stove shall be smashed; they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. 36 Nevertheless a spring or a cistern (reservoir) collecting water shall be clean; but whoever touches one of these carcasses shall be unclean. 37 If a part of their carcass falls on any seed for sowing which is to be sown, it is clean; 38 but if water is put on the seed and a part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.
39 ‘If one of the animals that you may eat dies [of natural causes], whoever touches its carcass becomes unclean until the evening. 40 And whoever eats some of its meat shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening; also whoever picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
41 ‘Now everything that swarms on the ground is detestable; it is not to be eaten. 42 Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, and whatever has many feet among all things that swarm on the ground, you shall not eat; for they are detestable. 43 Do not make yourselves loathsome (impure, repulsive) by [eating] any swarming thing; you shall not make yourselves unclean by them so as to defile yourselves. 44 For I am the Lord your God; so consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm or crawls on the ground. 45 For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; therefore you shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
46 This is the law regarding the animal and the bird and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, 47 to make a distinction between the [ceremonially] unclean and the [ceremonially] clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying,
‘If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male child, she shall be [ceremonially] unclean for seven days, unclean as during her monthly period. 3 On the eighth day the flesh of the male child’s foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 Then she shall remain [intimately separated] thirty-three days to be purified from the blood; she shall not touch any consecrated thing nor enter the [courtyard of the] sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. 5 But if she gives birth to a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as during her monthly period, and she shall remain [intimately separated] sixty-six days to be purified from the blood.
6 ‘When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting a one year old lamb as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering; 7 and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who gives birth to a child, whether a male or a female child. 8 If she cannot afford a lamb then she shall take two turtledoves or young pigeons, one as a burnt offering, the other as a sin offering; the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”
Psalms 13-14
1 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2
How long must I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy exalt himself and triumph over me?
3
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Give light (life) to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4
And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
5
But I have trusted and relied on and been confident in Your lovingkindness and faithfulness;
My heart shall rejoice and delight in Your salvation.
6
I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.
1 The [spiritually ignorant] fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed repulsive and unspeakable deeds;
There is no one who does good.
2
The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the children of men
To see if there are any who understand (act wisely),
Who [truly] seek after God, [longing for His wisdom and guidance].
3
They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
4
Have all the workers of wickedness and injustice no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call upon the Lord?
5
There they tremble with great fear,
For God is with the [consistently] righteous generation.
6
You [evildoers] shamefully plan against the poor,
But the Lord is his safe refuge.
7
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores His captive people,
Then Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.
Proverbs 26
1 Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest,
So honor is not fitting for a [shortsighted] fool.
2
Like the sparrow in her wandering, like the swallow in her flying,
So the curse without cause does not come and alight [on the undeserving].
3
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
And a rod for the backs of fools [who refuse to learn].
4
Do not answer [nor pretend to agree with the frivolous comments of] a [closed-minded] fool according to his folly,
Otherwise you, even you, will be like him.
5
Answer [and correct the erroneous concepts of] a fool according to his folly,
Otherwise he will be wise in his own eyes [if he thinks you agree with him].
6
He who sends a message by the hand of a fool
Cuts off his own feet (sabotages himself) and drinks the violence [it brings on himself as a consequence].
7
Like the legs which are useless to the lame,
So is a proverb in the mouth of a fool [who cannot learn from its wisdom].
8
Like one who [absurdly] binds a stone in a sling [making it impossible to throw],
So is he who [absurdly] gives honor to a fool.
9
Like a thorn that goes [without being felt] into the hand of a drunken man,
So is a proverb in the mouth of a fool [who remains unaffected by its wisdom].
10
Like a [careless] archer who [shoots arrows wildly and] wounds everyone,
So is he who hires a fool or those who [by chance just] pass by.
11
Like a dog that returns to his vomit
Is a fool who repeats his foolishness.
12
Do you see a man [who is unteachable and] wise in his own eyes and full of self-conceit?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13
The lazy person [who is self-indulgent and relies on lame excuses] says, “There is a lion in the road!
A lion is in the open square [and if I go outside to work I will be killed]!”
14
As the door turns on its hinges,
So does the lazy person on his bed [never getting out of it].
15
The lazy person buries his hand in the dish [losing opportunity after opportunity];
It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.
16
The lazy person is wiser in his own eyes
Than seven [sensible] men who can give a discreet answer.
17
Like one who grabs a dog by the ears [and is likely to be bitten]
Is he who, passing by, stops to meddle with a dispute that is none of his business.
18
Like a madman who throws
Firebrands, arrows, and death,
19
So is the man who deceives his neighbor (acquaintance, friend)
And then says, “Was I not joking?”
20
For lack of wood the fire goes out,
And where there is no whisperer [who gossips], contention quiets down.
21
Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
So is a contentious man to kindle strife.
22
The words of a whisperer (gossip) are like dainty morsels [to be greedily eaten];
They go down into the innermost chambers of the body [to be remembered and mused upon].
23
Like a [common] clay vessel covered with the silver dross [making it appear silver when it has no real value]
Are burning lips [murmuring manipulative words] and a wicked heart.
24
He who hates, disguises it with his lips,
But he stores up deceit in his heart.
25
When he speaks graciously and kindly [to conceal his malice], do not trust him,
For seven abominations are in his heart.
26
Though his hatred covers itself with guile and deceit,
His malevolence will be revealed openly before the assembly.
27
Whoever digs a pit [for another man’s feet] will fall into it,
And he who rolls a stone [up a hill to do mischief], it will come back on him.
28
A lying tongue hates those it wounds and crushes,
And a flattering mouth works ruin.
1 Thessalonians 5
1 Now as to the times and dates, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the [return of the] Lord is coming just as a thief [comes unexpectedly and suddenly] in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety [all is well and secure!]” then [in a moment unforeseen] destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains on a woman with child, and they will absolutely not escape [for there will be no way to escape the judgment of the Lord]. 4 But you, believers, [all you who believe in Christ as Savior and acknowledge Him as God’s Son] are not in spiritual darkness [nor held by its power], that the day [of judgment] would overtake you [by surprise] like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We do not belong to the night nor to darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep [in spiritual indifference] as the rest [of the world does], but let us keep wide awake [alert and cautious] and let us be sober [self-controlled, calm, and wise]. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we [believers] belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope and confident assurance of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us to [incur His] wrath [that is, He did not select us to condemn us], but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died [willingly] for us, so that whether we are awake (alive) or asleep (dead) [at Christ’s appearing], we will live together with Him [sharing eternal life]. 11 Therefore encourage and comfort one another and build up one another, just as you are doing.
12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to appreciate those who diligently work among you [recognize, acknowledge, and respect your leaders], who are in charge over you in the Lord and who give you instruction, 13 and [we ask that you appreciate them and] hold them in the highest esteem in love because of their work [on your behalf]. Live in peace with one another. 14 We [earnestly] urge you, believers, admonish those who are out of line [the undisciplined, the unruly, the disorderly], encourage the timid [who lack spiritual courage], help the [spiritually] weak, be very patient with everyone [always controlling your temper]. 15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek that which is good for one another and for all people. 16 Rejoice always and delight in your faith; 17 be unceasing and persistent in prayer; 18 in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench [subdue, or be unresponsive to the working and guidance of] the [Holy] Spirit. 20 Do not scorn or reject gifts of prophecy or prophecies [spoken revelations—words of instruction or exhortation or warning]. 21 But test all things carefully [so you can recognize what is good]. Hold firmly to that which is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil [withdraw and keep away from it].
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [that is, separate you from profane and vulgar things, make you pure and whole and undamaged—consecrated to Him—set apart for His purpose]; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete and [be found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful and absolutely trustworthy is He who is calling you [to Himself for your salvation], and He will do it [He will fulfill His call by making you holy, guarding you, watching over you, and protecting you as His own].
25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us.
26 Greet all the believers with a holy kiss [as brothers and sisters in God’s family]. 27 I solemnly charge you by the Lord to have this letter read before all the congregation.
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
