Leviticus 11-12
1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2 “Tell the Israelites: ‘This is the kind of creature you may eat from among all the animals that are on the land. 3 You may eat any among the animals that has a divided hoof (the hooves are completely split in two) and that also chews the cud. 4 However, you must not eat these from among those that chew the cud and have divided hooves: The camel is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided. 5 The rock badger is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided. 6 The hare is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided. 7 The pig is unclean to you because its hoof is divided (the hoof is completely split in two) , even though it does not chew the cud. 8 You must not eat from their meat and you must not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.
9 “‘These you can eat from all creatures that are in the water: Any creatures in the water that have both fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat. 10 But any creatures that do not have both fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams, from all the swarming things of the water and from all the living creatures that are in the water, are detestable to you. 11 Since they are detestable to you, you must not eat their meat and their carcass you must detest. 12 Any creature in the water that does not have both fins and scales is detestable to you.
13 “‘These you are to detest from among the birds—they must not be eaten, because they are detestable: the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 14 the kite, the buzzard of any kind, 15 every kind of crow, 16 the eagle owl, the short-eared owl, the long-eared owl, the hawk of any kind, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the screech owl, 18 the white owl, the scops owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.
20 “‘Every winged swarming thing that walks on all fours is detestable to you. 21 However, this you may eat from all the winged swarming things that walk on all fours, which have jointed legs to hop with on the land. 22 These you may eat from them: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, the grasshopper of any kind. 23 But any other winged swarming thing that has four legs is detestable to you.
24 “‘By these you defile yourselves—anyone who touches their carcass will be unclean until the evening, 25 and anyone who carries their carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until the evening.
26 “‘All animals that divide the hoof, but it is not completely split in two, and do not chew the cud are unclean to you; anyone who touches them becomes unclean. 27 All that walk on their paws among all the creatures that walk on all fours are unclean to you. Anyone who touches their carcass will be unclean until the evening, 28 and the one who carries their carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.
29 “‘Now this is what is unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the land: the rat, the mouse, the large lizard of any kind, 30 the Mediterranean gecko, the spotted lizard, the wall gecko, the skink, and the chameleon. 31 These are the ones that are unclean to you among all the swarming things. Anyone who touches these creatures when they die will be unclean until evening. 32 Also, anything they fall on when they die will become unclean—any wood vessel or garment or article of leather or sackcloth. Any such vessel with which work is done must be immersed in water and will be unclean until the evening. Then it will become clean. 33 As for any clay vessel they fall into, everything in it will become unclean and you must break it. 34 Any food that may be eaten which becomes soaked with water will become unclean. Anything drinkable in any such vessel will become unclean. 35 Anything their carcass may fall on will become unclean. An oven or small stove must be smashed to pieces; they are unclean, and they will stay unclean to you. 36 However, a spring or a cistern which collects water will be clean, but one who touches the creature’s carcass will be unclean. 37 Now, if such a carcass falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean, 38 but if water is put on the seed and such a carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.
39 “‘Now if an animal that you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until the evening. 40 One who eats from its carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening, and whoever carries its carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 41 Every swarming thing that swarms on the land is detestable; it must not be eaten. 42 You must not eat anything that crawls on its belly or anything that walks on all fours or on any number of legs of all the swarming things that swarm on the land, because they are detestable. 43 Do not make yourselves detestable by any of the swarming things. You must not defile yourselves by them and become unclean by them, 44 for I am the Lord your God and you are to sanctify yourselves and be holy because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any of the swarming things that creep on the ground, 45 for I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, and you are to be holy because I am holy. 46 This is the law of the land animals, the birds, all the living creatures that move in the water, and all the creatures that swarm on the land, 47 to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between the living creatures that may be eaten and the living creatures that must not be eaten.’”
1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘When a woman produces offspring and bears a male child, she will be unclean seven days, as she is unclean during the days of her menstruation. 3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin must be circumcised. 4 Then she will remain thirty-three days in blood purity. She must not touch anything holy and she must not enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. 5 If she bears a female child, she will be impure fourteen days as during her menstrual flow, and she will remain sixty-six days in blood purity.
6 “‘When the days of her purification are completed for a son or for a daughter, she must bring a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a sin offering to the entrance of the Meeting Tent, to the priest. 7 The priest is to present it before the Lord and make atonement on her behalf, and she will be clean from her flow of blood. This is the law of the one who bears a child, for the male or the female child. 8 If she cannot afford a sheep, then she must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and one for a sin offering, and the priest is to make atonement on her behalf, and she will be clean.’”
Psalms 13-14
1 How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me?
How long will you pay no attention to me?
2 How long must I worry,
and suffer in broad daylight?
How long will my enemy gloat over me?
3 Look at me! Answer me, O Lord my God!
Revive me, or else I will die.
4 Then my enemy will say, “I have defeated him.”
Then my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I trust in your faithfulness.
May I rejoice because of your deliverance.
6 I will sing praises to the Lord
when he vindicates me.
1 Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.”
They sin and commit evil deeds;
none of them does what is right.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven at the human race,
to see if there is anyone who is wise and seeks God.
3 Everyone rejects God;
they are all morally corrupt.
None of them does what is right,
not even one.
4 All those who behave wickedly do not understand—
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to the Lord.
5 They are absolutely terrified,
for God defends the godly.
6 You want to humiliate the oppressed,
even though the Lord is their shelter.
7 I wish the deliverance of Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the well-being of his people,
may Jacob rejoice,
may Israel be happy!
Proverbs 26
1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
so honor is not fitting for a fool.
2 Like a fluttering bird or like a flying swallow,
so a curse without cause does not come to rest.
3 A whip for the horse and a bridle for the donkey,
and a rod for the backs of fools!
4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
lest you yourself also be like him.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own opinion.
6 Like cutting off the feet or drinking violence,
so is sending a message by the hand of a fool.
7 Like legs dangle uselessly from the lame,
so a proverb dangles in the mouth of fools.
8 Like tying a stone in a sling,
so is giving honor to a fool.
9 Like a thorn has gone up into the hand of a drunkard,
so a proverb has gone up into the mouth of a fool.
10 Like an archer who wounds at random,
so is the one who hires a fool or hires any passerby.
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his folly.
12 You have seen a man wise in his own opinion—
there is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The sluggard has said, “There is a lion in the road!
A lion in the streets!”
14 Like a door that turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.
15 The sluggard has plunged his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own opinion
than seven people who respond with good sense.
17 Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears,
so is the person passing by who becomes furious over a quarrel not his own.
18 Like a madman who shoots
firebrands and deadly arrows,
19 so is a person who has deceived his neighbor,
and said, “Was I not only joking?”
20 Where there is no wood, a fire goes out,
and where there is no gossip, contention ceases.
21 Like charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire,
so is a contentious person to kindle strife.
22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
and they have gone down into a person’s innermost being.
23 Like a coating of glaze over earthenware
are fervent lips with an evil heart.
24 The one who hates others disguises it with his lips,
but he stores up deceit within him.
25 When he speaks graciously, do not believe him,
for there are seven abominations within him.
26 Though his hatred may be concealed by deceit,
his evil will be uncovered in the assembly.
27 The one who digs a pit will fall into it;
the one who rolls a stone—it will come back on him.
28 A lying tongue hates those crushed by it,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.
1 Thessalonians 5
1 Now on the topic of times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night. 3 Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would. 5 For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. 6 So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation. 9 For God did not destine us for wrath but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that whether we are alert or asleep we will come to life together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing.
12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who labor among you and preside over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them most highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all. 16 Always rejoice, 17 constantly pray, 18 in everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 But examine all things; hold fast to what is good. 22 Stay away from every form of evil.
23 Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this. 25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us too. 26 Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss. 27 I call on you solemnly in the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
