The Daily Audio Bible

²² “Now you are to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land where I am bringing you to dwell will not vomit you out. ²³ You are not to walk in the ways of the nation which I am casting out before you, for they did all these things and therefore I abhorred them. ²⁴ But I have said to you, ‘You will inherit their land and I will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am Adonai your God, who has set you apart from the peoples.

²⁵ “Also you are to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean. And you are not to make your souls detestable by an animal or by a bird, or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have set apart as unclean for you. ²⁶ You are to be holy to Me, for I, Adonai, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, so that you would be Mine.

²⁷ “A man or a woman who is a medium or is a soothsayer shall surely be put to death. They shall stone them with rocks, and their blood shall be on them.’”

Parashat Emor

Holiness Code for Kohanim

21 Then Adonai said to Moses, “Speak to the kohanim, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: A kohen is not to allow himself to become unclean for the dead among his people, ² except for his relatives that are nearest to him—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, ³ or his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband. For her he may allow himself to become unclean. ⁴ But he is not to defile himself—a husband among his people—and so profane himself.

⁵ “Kohanim are not to shave their heads, nor shave off the corners of their beards, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. ⁶ They are to be holy to their God, and not profane the Name of their God, for they present the offerings of Adonai made by fire, the bread of their God. Therefore they are to be holy. ⁷ They are not to marry women who are defiled as prostitutes, or profane. Neither should they marry women divorced from their husbands, for a kohen is holy to his God. ⁸ Therefore you are to sanctify him, because he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I, Adonai, who sanctifies you, am holy.

⁹ “The daughter of any kohen, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, profanes her father. She is to be burned with fire.

¹⁰ “He who is the kohen gadol among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured and is consecrated to put on the garments, is not to let the hair of his head hang loose or tear his clothes, ¹¹ nor should he go near any dead person, defiling himself, even for his father or his mother. ¹² He is not to go out of the Sanctuary or profane the Sanctuary of his God—for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him. I am Adonai.

¹³ “He should take a wife in her virginity. ¹⁴ A widow, or one divorced, or one who has been defiled as a prostitute, he is not to marry. He is to take a virgin from his own people as a wife, ¹⁵ so as not to corrupt his offspring among his people. For I am Adonai who sanctifies him.”

¹⁶ Adonai spoke to Moses saying: ¹⁷ “Say to Aaron: None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the food of his God. ¹⁸ Any man who has a defect is not to draw near: no one blind or lame or disfigured or deformed, ¹⁹ or a man who has a crippled foot or crippled hand ²⁰ or a hunchback or dwarf, or who has an eye defect or a rash or scabs, or who has damaged testicles. ²¹ None of the offspring of Aaron the kohen who has a defect should come near to present the offerings of Adonai made by fire. Since he has a defect, he is not to come near to offer the food of his God. ²² He may eat the food of his God, both from the most holy and the holy. ²³ But he is not to approach the curtain or come near the altar, because of the defect on him, so that he may not desecrate My sanctuaries, for I am Adonai who sanctifies them.”

²⁴ So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons, and to all Bnei-Yisrael.

22 Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of Bnei-Yisrael, which they consecrate to Me, so that they would not profane My holy Name. I am Adonai. ³ Tell them, if anyone of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things, which Bnei-Yisrael consecrate to Adonai, while in a state of uncleanness, that soul will be cut off from before Me. I am Adonai.

⁴ “None of the offspring of Aaron who has tza’arat or has a discharge should eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead or a man whose seed discharges from him ⁵ or who touches any creeping thing that may make him unclean or a person who is unclean—whatever his uncleanness— ⁶ the person who touches any such thing will be unclean until the evening, and is not to eat of the holy things, unless he has bathed his body in water. ⁷ When the sun sets, he will become clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because it is his food. ⁸ A carcass or what is torn by beasts he is not to eat, becoming unclean by it. I am Adonai.

⁹ “Therefore kohanim shall keep My charge, so that they do not become guilty of sin and die should they profane it. I am Adonai who sanctifies them.

¹⁰ “No layman is to eat from the holy offering. A foreigner living with the kohanim or a hired servant is not to eat from the holy offering. ¹¹ But if a kohen buys a slave purchased by his money, that one may eat from it. Also those born in his house may eat his food. ¹² If a kohen’s daughter is married to a layman, she is not to eat from the gifts of the holy offerings. ¹³ But if a kohen’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat from her father’s food. But no layman may eat any of it.

¹⁴ “If anyone eats something holy unwittingly, then he is to add a fifth to it and give the holy offering to the kohen. ¹⁵ They are not to profane the holy offerings of Bnei-Yisrael, which they lift up to Adonai, ¹⁶ so causing them to bear the iniquity that brings guilt when they eat the holy offerings. For I am Adonai who sanctifies them.”

9 Yeshua was telling them, “Amen, I tell you, there are some standing here who will never taste death until they see the kingdom of God come with power!”

A Glimpse of His Glory

² After six days, Yeshua takes with Him Peter and Jacob and John, and brings them up a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them. ³ His clothes became radiant and brilliantly white, whiter than any launderer on earth could bleach them. ⁴ Then Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Yeshua.

⁵ Peter responds to Yeshua, “Rabbi, it’s good for us to be here. Let’s make three sukkot—one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ (He didn’t know what to say, for they were terrified.)

⁷ Then a cloud came, overshadowing them;^[a] and out of the cloud came a voice, “This is My Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!” ^{[b] 8} Suddenly when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Yeshua.

⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain, Yeshua ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose up from the dead. ¹⁰ They kept this word to themselves, discussing among themselves what it is to rise up from the dead. ¹¹ And they questioned Him, saying, “Why do the Torah scholars say that Elijah must come first?”

¹² Now He told them, “Indeed Elijah comes first;^[c] he restores all things. And how is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be treated with contempt? ^{[d] 13} I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him.”^[e]

The Secret of Prayer

¹⁴ When they came to the disciples, they saw a big crowd around them and the Torah scholars arguing with them. ¹⁵ Suddenly, when the whole crowd saw Yeshua, they were amazed and began running to greet Him. ¹⁶ He questioned them, “What are you arguing about with them?”

¹⁷ And a man from the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a spirit that makes him mute. ¹⁸ Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes stiff. I told Your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t!”

¹⁹ And answering them, He said, “Oh faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me.”

²⁰ They brought the boy to Yeshua. When the spirit saw Him, immediately it threw the boy into a convulsion. The boy fell to the ground and began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. ²¹ Yeshua asked the father, “How long has this been happening to him?”

“Since he was a child,” the man answered. ²² “It has often thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion and help us!”

²³ “‘If You can’?” Yeshua said to him. “All things are possible for one who believes!”

²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father cried out, “I believe! Help my unbelief!”

²⁵ When Yeshua saw that a crowd was gathering fast, He rebuked the unclean spirit, telling it, “I command you, deaf and mute spirit, come out of him and do not ever enter him again!”

²⁶ After howling and shaking the boy wildly, it came out. The boy became so much like a corpse that many were saying, “He’s dead!” ²⁷ But Yeshua took him by the hand and lifted him, and the boy stood up.

²⁸ After Yeshua came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him in private, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁹ And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out except by prayer.”^[f]

Send Forth Your Light

Psalm 43