Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
The One Year Bible TLB (48 page)
Anyone willing to be corrected is on the pathway to life. Anyone refusing has lost his chance.
February 27“You must obey all of my laws and ordinances so that I will not throw you out of your new land.
*
23
You must not follow the customs of the nations I cast out before you, for they do all these things I have warned you against; that is the reason I abhor them.
24
I have promised you their land; I will give it to you to possess it. It is a land ‘flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God who has made a distinction between you and the people of other nations.
25
“You shall therefore make a distinction between the birds and animals I have given you permission to eat and those you may not eat. You shall not contaminate yourselves and make yourselves hateful to me by eating any animal or bird which I have forbidden, though the land teem with them.
26
You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy, and I have set you apart from all other peoples to be mine.
27
“A medium or a wizard—whether man or woman—shall surely be stoned to death. They have caused their own doom.”
21:
1
The Lord said to Moses: “Tell the priests never to defile themselves by touching a dead person,
2-3
unless it is a near relative—a mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried
*
sister for whom he has special responsibility since she has no husband.
4
For the priest is a leader among his people, and he may not ceremonially defile himself as an ordinary person can.
5
“The priests shall not clip bald spots in their hair or beards, nor cut their flesh.
6
They shall be holy unto their God and shall not dishonor and profane his name; otherwise they will be unfit to make food offerings by fire to the Lord their God.
7
A priest shall not marry a prostitute, nor a woman of another tribe, and he shall not marry a divorced woman, for he is a holy man of God.
8
The priest is set apart to offer the sacrifices of your God; he is holy, for I, the Lord who sanctifies you, am holy.
9
The daughter of any priest who becomes a prostitute, thus violating her father’s holiness as well as her own, shall be burned alive.
10
“The High Priest—anointed with the special anointing oil and wearing the special garments—must not let his hair hang loose in mourning, nor tear his clothing,
11
nor be in the presence of any dead person—not even his father or mother.
*
12
He shall not leave the sanctuary when on duty,
*
nor treat my Tabernacle like an ordinary house, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him; I am Jehovah.
13
He must marry a virgin.
14-15
He may not marry a widow, nor a woman who is divorced, nor a prostitute. She must be a virgin from his own tribe, for he must not be the father of children of mixed blood—half priestly and half ordinary.”
*
16-17
And the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron that any of his descendants from generation to generation who have any bodily defect may not offer the sacrifices to God.
18
For instance, if a man is blind or lame, or has a broken nose or any extra fingers or toes,
19
or has a broken foot or hand,
20
or has a humped back, or is a dwarf, or has a defect in his eye, or has pimples or scabby skin, or has imperfect testicles—
21
although he is a descendant of Aaron—he is not permitted to offer the fire sacrifices to the Lord because of his physical defect.
22
However, he shall be fed with the food of the priests from the offerings sacrificed to God, both from the holy and most holy offerings.
23
But he shall not go in behind the veil, nor come near the altar, because of the physical defect; this would defile my sanctuary, for it is Jehovah who sanctifies it.”
24
So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel.
22:
1-2
The Lord told Moses, “Instruct Aaron and his sons to be very careful not to defile my holy name by desecrating the people’s sacred gifts; for I am Jehovah.
3
From now on and forever, if a priest who is ceremonially defiled sacrifices the animals brought by the people or handles the gifts dedicated to Jehovah, he shall be discharged from the priesthood. For I am Jehovah!
4
“No priest who is a leper or who has a running sore may eat the holy sacrifices until healed. And any priest who touches a dead person, or who is defiled by a seminal emission,
5
or who touches any reptile or other forbidden thing, or who touches anyone who is ceremonially defiled for any reason—
6
that priest shall be defiled until evening and shall not eat of the holy sacrifices until after he has bathed that evening.
7
When the sun is down, then he shall be purified again and may eat the holy food, for it is his source of life.
8
He may not eat any animal that dies of itself or is torn by wild animals, for this will defile him. I am Jehovah.
9
Warn the priests to follow these instructions carefully, lest they be declared guilty and die for violating these rules. I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
10
“No one may eat of the holy sacrifices unless he is a priest; no one visiting the priest, for instance, nor a hired servant, may eat this food.
11
However, there is one exception—if the priest buys a slave with his own money, that slave may eat it, and any slave children born in his household may eat it.
12
If a priest’s daughter is married outside the tribe, she may not eat the sacred offerings.
*
13
But if she is a widow or divorced and has no son to support her, and has returned home to her father’s household, she may eat of her father’s food again. But otherwise, no one who is not in the priestly families may eat this food.
14
“If someone should eat of the holy sacrifices without realizing it, he shall return to the priest the amount he has used, with 20 percent added;
15
for the holy sacrifices brought by the people of Israel must not be defiled by being eaten by unauthorized persons, for these sacrifices have been offered to the Lord.
16
Anyone who violates this law is guilty and is in great danger because he has eaten the sacred offerings; for I am Jehovah who sanctifies the offerings.”
Jesus went on to say to his disciples,
“Some of you who are standing here right now will live to see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!”
2
Six days later Jesus took Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain. No one else was there.
Suddenly his face began to shine with glory,
3
and his clothing became dazzling white, far more glorious than any earthly process could ever make it!
4
Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus!
5
“Teacher, this is wonderful!” Peter exclaimed. “We will make three shelters here, one for each of you. . . . ”
6
He said this just to be talking, for he didn’t know what else to say and they were all terribly frightened.
7
But while he was still speaking these words, a cloud covered them, blotting out the sun, and a voice from the cloud said,
“This
is my beloved Son. Listen to
him.”
8
Then suddenly they looked around and Moses and Elijah were gone, and only Jesus was with them.
9
As they descended the mountainside he told them never to mention what they had seen until after he had risen
*
from the dead.
10
So they kept it to themselves, but often talked about it, and wondered what he meant by “rising from the dead.”
11
Now they began asking him about something the Jewish religious leaders often spoke of, that Elijah must return before the Messiah could come.
*
12-13
Jesus agreed that Elijah must come first and prepare the way—and that he had, in fact, already come! And that he had been terribly mistreated, just as the prophets had predicted. Then Jesus asked them what the prophets could have been talking about when they predicted that the Messiah
*
would suffer and be treated with utter contempt.
14
At the bottom of the mountain they found a great crowd surrounding the other nine disciples, as some Jewish leaders argued with them.
15
The crowd watched Jesus in awe as he came toward them, and then ran to greet him.
16
“What’s all the argument about?”
he asked.
17
One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son for you to heal—he can’t talk because he is possessed by a demon.
18
And whenever the demon is in control of him it dashes him to the ground and makes him foam at the mouth and grind his teeth and become rigid.
*
So I begged your disciples to cast out the demon, but they couldn’t do it.”
19
Jesus said to his disciples,
*
“Oh, what tiny faith you have; how much longer must I be with you until you believe? How much longer must I be patient with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20
So they brought the boy, but when he saw Jesus, the demon convulsed the child horribly, and he fell to the ground writhing and foaming at the mouth.
21
“How long has he been this way?”
Jesus asked the father.
And he replied, “Since he was very small,
22
and the demon often makes him fall into the fire or into water to kill him. Oh, have mercy on us and do something if you can.”
23
“If I can?”
Jesus asked.
“
Anything
is possible if you have faith.”
24
The father instantly replied, “I
do
have faith; oh, help me to have
more!”
25
When Jesus saw the crowd was growing, he rebuked the demon.
“O demon of deafness and dumbness,” he said, “I command you to come out of this child and enter him no more!”
26
Then the demon screamed terribly and convulsed the boy again and left him; and the boy lay there limp and motionless, to all appearance dead. A murmur ran through the crowd—“He is dead.”
27
But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet and he stood up and was all right!
28
Afterwards, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast that demon out?”
29
Jesus replied,
“Cases like this require prayer.”
*
O God, defend me from the charges of these merciless, deceitful men.
2
For you are God, my only place of refuge. Why have you tossed me aside? Why must I mourn at the oppression of my enemies?
3
Oh, send out your light and your truth—let them lead me. Let them lead me to your Temple on your holy mountain, Zion.
4
There I will go to the altar of God, my exceeding joy, and praise him with my harp. O God—my God!
5
O my soul, why be so gloomy and discouraged? Trust in God! I shall again praise him for his wondrous help; he will make me smile again,
*
for he is my God!
To hide hatred is to be a liar; to slander is to be a fool.
February 28And the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel that if an Israelite or other person living among you offers a burnt offering sacrifice to the Lord—whether it is to fulfill a promise or is a spontaneous freewill offering—
19
it will only be acceptable to the Lord if it is a male animal without defect; it must be a young bull or a sheep or a goat.
20
Anything that has a defect must not be offered, for it will not be accepted.
21
“Anyone sacrificing a peace offering to the Lord from the herd or flock, whether to fulfill a vow or as a voluntary offering, must sacrifice an animal that has no defect, or it will not be accepted:
22
An animal that is blind or disabled or mutilated, or which has sores or itch or any other skin disease, must not be offered to the Lord; it is not a fit burnt offering for the altar of the Lord.
23
If the young bull or lamb presented to the Lord has anything superfluous or lacking in its body parts, it may be offered as a freewill offering, but not for a vow.
24
An animal that has injured genitals—crushed or castrated—shall not be offered to the Lord at any time.
25
This restriction applies to the sacrifices made by foreigners among you as well as those made by yourselves, for no defective animal is acceptable for this sacrifice.”
26-27
And the Lord said to Moses, “When a bullock, sheep, or goat is born, it shall be left with its mother for seven days, but from the eighth day onward it is acceptable as a sacrifice by fire to the Lord.
28
You shall not slaughter a mother animal and her offspring the same day, whether she is a cow or ewe.
29-30
When you offer the Lord a sacrifice of thanksgiving, you must do it in the right way, eating the sacrificial animal the same day it is slain. Leave none of it for the following day. I am the Lord.
31
“You must keep all of my commandments, for I am the Lord.
32-33
You must not treat me as common and ordinary. Revere me and hallow me, for I, the Lord, made you holy to myself and rescued you from Egypt to be my own people! I am Jehovah!”
23:
1-2
The Lord said to Moses, “Announce to the people of Israel that they are to celebrate several annual festivals of the Lord—times when all Israel will assemble and worship me.
3
(These are in addition to your Sabbaths
*
—the seventh day of every week—which are always days of rest in every home, times for assembling to worship, and for resting from the normal business of the week.)
4
These are the holy festivals which are to be observed each year:
5
“The Passover of the Lord:
This is to be celebrated on the first day of April,
*
beginning at sundown.
6
“The Festival of Unleavened Bread:
This is to be celebrated beginning the day following the Passover, and for seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast.
7
On the first day of this festival, you shall gather the people for worship, and all ordinary work shall cease.
*
8
You shall do the same on the seventh day of the festival. On each of the intervening days you shall make an offering by fire to the Lord.
9-11
“The Festival of First Fruits:
When you arrive in the land I will give you and you reap your first harvest, bring the first sheaf of the harvest to the priest on the day after the Sabbath. He shall wave it before the Lord in a gesture of offering, and it will be accepted by the Lord as your gift.
12
That same day you shall sacrifice to the Lord a male yearling lamb without defect as a burnt offering.
13
A grain offering shall accompany it, consisting of a fifth of a bushel of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil, to be offered by fire to the Lord; this will be very pleasant to him. Also offer a drink offering consisting of three pints of wine.
14
Until this is done you must not eat any of the harvest for yourselves—neither fresh kernels nor bread nor parched grain. This is a permanent law throughout your nation.
15-16
“The Harvest Festival (Festival of Pentecost):
Fifty days later you shall bring to the Lord an offering of a sample of the new grain of your later crops.
17
This shall consist of two loaves of bread from your homes to be waved before the Lord in a gesture of offering. Bake this bread from a fifth of a bushel of fine flour containing yeast. It is an offering to the Lord of the first sampling of your later crops.
*
18
Along with the bread and the wine, you shall sacrifice as burnt offerings to the Lord seven yearling lambs without defects, one young bull, and two rams. All are fire offerings, very acceptable to Jehovah.
*
19
And you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male yearling lambs for a peace offering.
20
“The priests shall wave these offerings before the Lord along with the loaves representing the first sampling of your later crops. They are holy to the Lord and will be given to the priests as food.
21
That day shall be announced as a time of sacred convocation of all the people; don’t do any work that day. This is a law to be honored from generation to generation.
22
(When you reap your harvests, you must not thoroughly reap all the corners of the fields, nor pick up the fallen grain; leave it for the poor and for foreigners living among you who have no land of their own; I am Jehovah your God!)
23-24
“The Festival of Trumpets:
Mid-September
*
is a time for all the people to meet together for worship; it is a time of remembrance, and is to be announced by loud blowing of trumpets.
25
Don’t do any hard work on that day, but offer a sacrifice by fire to the Lord.
26-27
“The Day of Atonement
follows nine days later:
*
All the people are to come together before the Lord, saddened by their sin; and they shall offer sacrifices by fire to the Lord.
28
Don’t do any work that day, for it is a special day for making atonement before the Lord your God.
29
Anyone who does not spend the day in repentance and sorrow for sin shall be excommunicated from his people.
30-31
And I will put to death anyone who does any kind of work that day. This is a law of Israel from generation to generation.
32
For this is a Sabbath of rest, and in it you shall go without food and be filled with sorrow; this time for atonement begins in the evening and continues through the next day.
33-34
“The Festival of Shelters:
Five days later, on the last day of September,
*
is the Festival of Shelters to be celebrated before the Lord for seven days.
35
On the first day there will be a sacred assembly of all the people; don’t do any hard work that day.
36
On each of the seven days of the festival you are to sacrifice an offering by fire to the Lord. The eighth day requires another sacred convocation of all the people, at which time there will again be an offering by fire to the Lord. It is the closing assembly, and no regular work is permitted.
37
“(These, then, are the regular annual festivals—sacred convocations of all people—when offerings to the Lord are to be made by fire.
38
These annual festivals are in addition to your regular Sabbaths—the weekly days of holy rest. The sacrifices made during the festivals are to be in addition to your regular giving and normal fulfillment of your vows.)
39
“This last day of September, at the end of your harvesting, is the time to begin to celebrate this seven-day festival before the Lord. Remember that the first and last days of the festival are special days of rest.
40
On the first day, take boughs of fruit trees laden with fruit, and palm fronds, and the boughs of leafy trees—such as willows that grow by the brooks—and build shelters with them,
*
rejoicing before the Lord your God for seven days.
41
This seven-day annual feast is a law from generation to generation.
42
During those seven days, all of you who are native Israelites are to live in these shelters.
43
The purpose of this is to remind the people of Israel, generation after generation, that I rescued you from Egypt, and caused you to live in shelters. I am Jehovah your God.”
44
So Moses announced these annual festivals of the Lord to the people of Israel.
Leaving that region they traveled through Galilee where he tried to avoid all publicity in order to spend more time with his disciples, teaching them. He would say to them,
“I, the Messiah, am going to be betrayed and killed and three days later I will return to life again.”
32
But they didn’t understand and were afraid to ask him what he meant.
33
And so they arrived at Capernaum. When they were settled in the house where they were to stay, he asked them,
“What were you discussing out on the road?”
34
But they were ashamed to answer, for they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest!
35
He sat down and called them around him and said,
“Anyone wanting to be the greatest must be the least—the servant of all!”
36
Then he placed a little child among them; and taking the child in his arms he said to them,
37
“Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming my Father who sent me!”
38
One of his disciples, John, told him one day, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to cast out demons; but we told him not to, for he isn’t one of our group.”
39
“Don’t forbid him!”
Jesus said.
“For no one doing miracles in my name will quickly turn against me.
*
40
Anyone who isn’t against us is for us.
41
If anyone so much as gives you a cup of water because you are Christ’s—I say this solemnly—he won’t lose his reward.
42
But if someone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to lose faith—it would be better for that man if a huge millstone were tied around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
43-44
*
“If your hand does wrong, cut it off. Better live forever with one hand than be thrown into the unquenchable fires of hell with two!
45-46
If your foot carries you toward evil, cut it off! Better be lame and live forever than have two feet that carry you to hell.
47
“
And if your eye is sinful, gouge it out. Better enter the Kingdom of God half blind than have two eyes and see the fires of hell,
48
where the worm never dies, and the fire never goes out—
49
where all are salted with fire.
*
50
“Good salt is worthless if it loses its saltiness; it can’t season anything. So don’t lose your flavor! Live in peace with each other.”
10:
1
Then he left Capernaum
*
and went southward to the Judean borders and into the area east of the Jordan River. And as always there were the crowds; and as usual he taught them.
2
Some Pharisees came and asked him, “Do you permit divorce?” Of course they were trying to trap him.
3
“What did Moses say about divorce?”
Jesus asked them.
4
“He said it was all right,” they replied. “He said that all a man has to do is write his wife a letter of dismissal.”
5
“And why did he say that?”
Jesus asked.
“I’ll tell you why—it was a concession to your hardhearted wickedness.
6-7
But it certainly isn’t God’s way. For from the very first he made man and woman to be joined together permanently in marriage; therefore a man is to leave his father and mother,
8
and he and his wife are united so that they are no longer two, but one.
9
And no man may separate what God has joined together.”
10
Later, when he was alone with his disciples in the house, they brought up the subject again.
11
He told them,
“When a man divorces his wife to marry someone else, he commits adultery against her.
12
And if a wife divorces her husband and remarries, she, too, commits adultery.”