Leviticus 9
1 On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel, 2 and said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a bull calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both flawless, and present them before the Lord. 3 Then tell the Israelites: ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering and a calf and a lamb, both a year old and flawless, for a burnt offering, 4 and an ox and a ram for peace offerings to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with olive oil, for today the Lord is going to appear to you.’” 5 So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the Meeting Tent and the whole congregation presented them and stood before the Lord. 6 Then Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” 7 Moses then said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and make your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement on behalf of yourself and on behalf of the people; and also make the people’s offering and make atonement on behalf of them just as the Lord has commanded.”
8 So Aaron approached the altar and slaughtered the sin offering calf which was for himself. 9 Then Aaron’s sons presented the blood to him and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar, and the rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar. 10 The fat and the kidneys and the protruding lobe of the liver from the sin offering he offered up in smoke on the altar just as the Lord had commanded Moses, 11 but the flesh and the hide he completely burned up outside the camp.
12 He then slaughtered the burnt offering, and his sons handed the blood to him and he splashed it against the altar’s sides. 13 The burnt offering itself they handed to him by its parts, including the head, and he offered them up in smoke on the altar, 14 and he washed the entrails and the legs and offered them up in smoke on top of the burnt offering on the altar.
15 Then he presented the people’s offering. He took the sin offering male goat which was for the people, slaughtered it, and performed a purification rite with it like the first one. 16 He then presented the burnt offering, and did it according to the standard regulation. 17 Next he presented the grain offering, filled his hand with some of it, and offered it up in smoke on the altar in addition to the morning burnt offering. 18 Then he slaughtered the ox and the ram—the peace-offering sacrifices which were for the people—and Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him and he splashed it against the altar’s sides. 19 As for the fat parts from the ox and from the ram (the fatty tail, the fat covering the entrails, the kidneys, and the protruding lobe of the liver), 20 they set those on the breasts and he offered the fat parts up in smoke on the altar. 21 Finally Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh as a wave offering before the Lord just as Moses had commanded.
22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them and descended from making the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering. 23 Moses and Aaron then entered into the Meeting Tent. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 Then fire went out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar, and all the people saw it, so they shouted loudly and fell down with their faces to the ground.
Psalms 10
1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you pay no attention during times of trouble?
2 The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed;
the oppressed are trapped by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up.
3 Yes, the wicked man boasts because he gets what he wants;
the one who robs others curses and rejects the Lord.
4 The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks,
“God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.”
5 He is secure at all times.
He has no regard for your commands;
he disdains all his enemies.
6 He says to himself,
“I will never be shaken,
because I experience no calamity.”
7 His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words;
his tongue injures and destroys.
8 He waits in ambush near the villages;
in hidden places he kills the innocent.
His eyes look for some unfortunate victim.
9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket.
He lies in ambush, waiting to catch the oppressed;
he catches the oppressed by pulling in his net.
10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;
they are trapped in his sturdy nets.
11 He says to himself,
“God overlooks it;
he does not pay attention;
he never notices.”
12 Rise up, Lord!
O God, strike him down.
Do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why does the wicked man reject God?
He says to himself, “You will not hold me accountable.”
14 You have taken notice,
for you always see one who inflicts pain and suffering.
The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you;
you deliver the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man.
Hold him accountable for his wicked deeds,
which he thought you would not discover.
16 The Lord rules forever!
The nations are driven out of his land.
17 Lord, you have heard the request of the oppressed;
you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer.
18 You defend the fatherless and oppressed,
so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them.
Proverbs 24
1 Do not envy evil people,
do not desire to be with them;
2 for their hearts contemplate violence,
and their lips speak harm.
3 By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
4 by knowledge its rooms are filled
with all kinds of precious and pleasing treasures.
5 A wise warrior is strong,
and a man of knowledge makes his strength stronger;
6 for with guidance you wage your war,
and with numerous advisers there is victory.
7 Wisdom is unattainable for a fool;
in court he does not open his mouth.
8 The one who plans to do evil
will be called a scheming person.
9 A foolish scheme is sin,
and the scorner is an abomination to people.
10 You have slacked off in the day of trouble—
your strength is small!
11 Deliver those being taken away to death,
and hold back those slipping to the slaughter.
12 If you say, “But we did not know about this,”
won’t the one who evaluates hearts discern it?
Won’t the one who guards your life realize
and repay each person according to his deeds?
13 Eat honey, my child, for it is good,
and honey from the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.
14 Likewise, know that wisdom is sweet to your soul;
if you have found it, you have a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
15 Do not lie in wait like the wicked against the place where the righteous live;
do not assault his home.
16 Indeed a righteous person will fall seven times, and then get up again,
but the guilty will collapse in calamity.
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
and when he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice,
18 lest the Lord see it, and be displeased,
and turn his wrath away from him.
19 Do not fret because of evil people
or be envious of wicked people,
20 for the evil person has no future,
and the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.
21 Fear the Lord, my child, as well as the king,
and do not associate with rebels,
22 for suddenly their destruction will overtake them,
and who knows the ruinous judgment both the Lord and the king can bring?
23 These sayings also are from the wise:
To show partiality in judgment is terrible:
24 The one who says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”
peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him.
25 But there will be delight for those who convict the guilty,
and a pleasing blessing will come on them.
26 Like a kiss on the lips
is the one who gives an honest answer.
27 Establish your work outside and get your fields ready;
afterward build your house.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
and do not deceive with your words.
29 Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me;
I will pay him back according to what he has done.”
30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,
by the vineyard of one who lacks sense.
31 I saw that thorns had grown up all over it,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I scrutinized it. I was putting my mind to it—
I saw; I took in a lesson:
33 “A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to relax,
34 and your poverty will come like a bandit,
and your need like an armed robber.”
1 Thessalonians 3
1 So when we could bear it no longer, we decided to stay on in Athens alone. 2 We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For in fact when we were with you, we were telling you in advance that we would suffer affliction, and so it has happened, as you well know. 5 So when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter somehow tempted you and our toil had proven useless.
6 But now Timothy has come to us from you and given us the good news of your faith and love and that you always think of us with affection and long to see us just as we also long to see you! 7 So in all our distress and affliction, we were reassured about you, brothers and sisters, through your faith. 8 For now we are alive again, if you stand firm in the Lord. 9 For how can we thank God enough for you, for all the joy we feel because of you before our God? 10 We pray earnestly night and day to see you in person and make up what may be lacking in your faith.
11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
