The Daily Audio Bible
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29 “This will be a Law forever for you. On the tenth day of the seventh month, you must get rid of your pride and not do any work, both those who live in the land and those who visit from another land. 30 For on this day your sin will be taken away and you will be clean. You will be made free from all your sins before the Lord. 31 It is to be a special Day of Rest for you, that you may be free from pride. It is a Law forever. 32 The chosen religious leader who is set apart to work as religious leader in his father’s place will pay for the sin. He will put on the holy linen clothing 33 and make the holy place, the meeting tent and the altar free from sin. He will make the religious leaders and all the people free from sin also. 34 This will be a Law forever for you. The people of Israel must be made free from all their sins once a year.” And Moses did what the Lord told him to do.
Blood Must Not Be Eaten
17 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord has told us to do. 3 If any man of the house of Israel kills a bull, lamb or goat, among the tents or away from the tents, 4 and has not brought it to the door of the meeting tent to give it to the Lord, he will be guilty for that blood, and will not be among God’s people. 5 The reason is so that the people of Israel may bring their gifts which were killed in the open field to the Lord, to the religious leader at the door of the meeting tent. Then they can be given as peace gifts to the Lord. 6 The religious leader will put the blood on the altar of the Lord at the door of the meeting tent. And he will burn the fat for a pleasing smell to the Lord. 7 So they will no longer give their gifts to the goat-like gods to whom they sell themselves. This will be a Law to them for all their people forever.’
8 “Then say to them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel, or visiting from another land, who gives a burnt gift or other gift, 9 and does not bring it to the door of the meeting tent to give it to the Lord, will be cut off from his people.
10 ‘If any man of the house of Israel, or visiting from another land, eats any blood, I will turn against that person who eats blood, and he will not be among God’s people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood. I have given it to you on the altar to make your souls free from sin. For the blood makes you free from sin because of the life in it.’ 12 So I have said to the people of Israel, ‘None of you should eat blood. And the man who visits you from another land should not eat blood.’ 13 If any man from the people of Israel, or from other people living among them, catches an animal or bird which may be eaten, he should pour out its blood and cover it with dust.
14 “For blood is the life of every living thing. So I said to the people of Israel, ‘Do not eat the blood of any living thing. For the life of every living thing is its blood. Whoever eats it will be cut off.’ 15 Every person, both living in the land or one who has come from another land, who eats an animal that dies or is killed by wild animals, must wash his clothes and wash himself in water. He will be unclean until evening. Then he will be clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or wash his body, he will suffer for his own sin.”
Laws about Sex
18 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord your God. 3 Do not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived. And do not do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you. Do not follow their laws. 4 You are to do what I say and keep My Laws and live by them. I am the Lord your God. 5 So keep My Laws and do what I say. If a man obeys them, My Laws will be life for him. I am the Lord.
6 ‘You should not go near a person of your own family to have sex. I am the Lord. 7 Do not put your father to shame by taking the clothes off your mother. She is your mother. Do not take her clothes off. 8 Do not take the clothes off your father’s wife. Her body is for your father. 9 Do not take the clothes off your sister, the daughter of your father or of your mother, if she is born at home or away from home. 10 Do not take the clothes off your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter. For they are of your own family. 11 Do not take the clothes off your father’s wife’s daughter, born to your father. She is your sister. 12 Do not take the clothes off your father’s sister. She is of your father’s own family. 13 Do not take the clothes off your mother’s sister. She is of your mother’s own family. 14 Do not put your father’s brother to shame. Do not go near to take the clothes off his wife. She is of your family. 15 Do not take the clothes off your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife. Do not take her clothes off. 16 Do not take the clothes off your brother’s wife. Her body is for your brother. 17 Do not take the clothes off a woman and her daughter. And do not take the clothes off her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter. They are of her own family. It is sin. 18 While your wife is still living do not marry her sister making her as important to you. Do not take off her sister’s clothes.
19 ‘And you are not to go near a woman to take off her clothes during the time when she has a flow of blood. 20 Do not have sex with your neighbor’s wife. You would be unclean. 21 Do not give any of your children as a gift on an altar to the false god Molech. Do not put the name of your God to shame. I am the Lord. 22 Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman. It is a sinful thing. 23 Do not have sex with any animal, or you will be unclean. And no woman should give herself to an animal to lie with it. It is a sin.
24 ‘Do not allow yourself to sin in any of these ways. For by doing all these things the nations that I am driving out in front of you became unclean. 25 For the land is unclean. So I have punished its sin. The land has spit out its people. 26 But as for you, you are to keep My Laws and do what I have decided. Do not do any of these sinful things, not you or the man who lives among you from another land. 27 For the men who have lived in the land before you have done all of these sinful things. The land is unclean. 28 Do none of these things or the land will spit you out when you make it sinful, as it has spit out the nation that was before you. 29 Whoever does any of these sinful things will be cut off from his people. 30 So do what I say. Do not do any of these sinful things that were done before you. Do not make yourselves sin by doing them. I am the Lord your God.’”
Jesus Puts a Demon out of a Girl (A)
24 Jesus went from their towns and cities to the cities of Tyre and Sidon. He went into a house and wanted to stay there without people knowing where He was. But He could not hide Himself. 25 A woman who had a daughter with a demon heard of Him. She came and got down at His feet. 26 The woman was not a Jew. She was from the country of Syrophenicia. She asked Jesus if He would put the demon out of her daughter. 27 Jesus said to her, “Let the children have what they want first. It is wrong to take children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the pieces that fall from the children’s table.” 29 He said to her, “Because of what you have said, go your way. The demon is gone out of your daughter.” 30 So she went to her house and found the demon was gone and her daughter was lying on the bed.
Jesus Heals the Man Who Could Not Hear or Speak Well
31 Then Jesus left the cities of Tyre and Sidon. He came back to the Sea of Galilee by way of the land of Decapolis. 32 They took a man to Him who could not hear or speak well. They asked Jesus to put His hand on him. 33 Jesus took him away from the other people. He put His fingers into the man’s ears. He spit and put His finger on the man’s tongue. 34 Then Jesus looked up to heaven and breathed deep within. He said to the man, “Be opened!” 35 At once his ears were opened. His tongue was made loose and he spoke as other people. 36 Then Jesus told them they should tell no one. The more He told them this, the more they told what He had done. 37 They were very much surprised and wondered about it. They said, “He has done all things well. He makes those who could not hear so they can hear. He makes those who could not speak so they can speak.”
The Feeding of the Four Thousand (B)
8 In those days many people were gathered together. They had nothing to eat. Jesus called His followers to Him and said, 2 “I pity these people because they have been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home without food, they may be too weak as they go. Many of them have come a long way.”
4 His followers said to Him, “Where can anyone get enough bread for them here in this desert?” 5 He asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 Then He told the people to sit down on the ground. Jesus took the seven loaves of bread and gave thanks to God. He broke the loaves and gave them to His followers to give to the people. The followers gave the bread to them. 7 They had a few small fish also. He gave thanks to God and told the followers to give the fish to them. 8 They all ate and were filled. They picked up seven baskets full of pieces of bread and fish after the people were finished eating. 9 About four thousand ate. Then Jesus sent the people away.
The Proud Religious Law-Keepers Ask for Something Special to See (C)
10 At once Jesus got in a boat with His followers and came to the country of Dalmanutha.
Prayer of a Sick Man about False Friends
41 Happy is the man who cares for the poor. The Lord will save him in times of trouble. 2 The Lord will keep him alive and safe. And he will be happy upon the earth. You will not give him over to the desire of those who hate him. 3 The Lord will give him strength on his bed of sickness. When he is sick, You will make him well again.
4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, have loving-kindness for me. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.” 5 Those who hate me speak bad words against me, saying, “When will he die, and his name be forgotten?” 6 When one comes to see me, he speaks lies. His heart gathers up bad stories. Then he goes outside and tells them. 7 All who hate me speak in secret together against me. They make plans to hurt me, saying, 8 “A bad thing has come over him. When he lies down, he will not rise again.” 9 Even a friend of mine whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has turned against me.
10 Have loving-kindness for me, O Lord. Raise me up, so that I may pay them back. 11 Then I will know that You are pleased with me, because he who hates me does not win over me. 12 As for me, You hold me up in my honesty. And You set me beside You forever.
13 Honor be to the Lord, the God of Israel, forever and ever! Let it be so!
15 The riches of a rich man are his strength, but the need of the poor is what destroys them.
16 The pay earned by those who are right with God is life, but the sinful are paid by being punished.
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