The One Year Bible TLB (43 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
February 21Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
2-3
“Tell the people of Israel that the animals which may be used for food include any animal with cloven hooves which chews its cud.
4-7
This means that the following may
not
be eaten:
The camel (it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves);
The coney, or rock badger (because although it chews the cud, it does not have cloven hooves);
The hare (because although it chews the cud, it does not have cloven hooves);
The swine (because although it has cloven hooves, it does not chew the cud).
8
You may not eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies; they are forbidden foods for you.
9
“As to fish, you may eat whatever has fins and scales, whether taken from rivers or from the sea;
10
but all other water creatures are strictly forbidden to you.
11
You mustn’t eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies.
12
I’ll repeat it again—any water creature that does not have fins or scales is forbidden to you.
13-19
“Among the birds, these are the ones you may
not
eat: the eagle, the metire, the osprey, the falcon (all kinds), the kite, the raven (all kinds), the ostrich, the nighthawk, the seagull, the hawk (all kinds), the owl, the cormorant, the ibis, the marsh hen, the pelican, the vulture, the stork, the heron (all kinds), the hoopoe, the bat.
20
“No insects may be eaten,
21-22
with the exception of those that jump; locusts of all varieties—ordinary locusts, bald locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers—may be eaten.
23
All insects that fly and walk or crawl are forbidden to you.
24
“Anyone touching their dead bodies shall be defiled until the evening
25
and must wash his clothes immediately. He must also quarantine himself until nightfall, as being ceremonially defiled.
26
“You are also defiled by touching any animal with only semiparted hoofs, or any animal that does not chew the cud.
27
Any animal that walks on paws is forbidden to you as food. Anyone touching the dead body of such an animal shall be defiled until evening.
28
Anyone carrying away the carcass shall wash his clothes and be ceremonially defiled until evening; for it is forbidden to you.
29-30
“These are the forbidden small animals which scurry about your feet or crawl upon the ground: the mole, the rat, the great lizard, the gecko, the mouse, the lizard, the snail, the chameleon.
31
Anyone touching their dead bodies shall be defiled until evening,
32
and anything upon which the carcass falls shall be defiled—any article of wood, or of clothing, a rug, or a sack; anything it touches must be put into water and is defiled until evening. After that it may be used again.
33
If it falls into a pottery bowl, anything in the bowl is defiled, and you shall smash the bowl.
34
If the water used to cleanse the defiled article touches any food, all of it is defiled. Any drink which is in the defiled bowl is also contaminated.
35
“If the dead body of such an animal touches any clay oven, it is defiled and must be smashed.
36
If the body falls into a spring or cistern where there is water, that water is not defiled; yet anyone who pulls out the carcass is defiled.
37
And if the carcass touches grain to be sown in the field, it is not contaminated;
38
but if the seeds are wet and the carcass falls upon it, the seed is defiled.
39
“If an animal which you are permitted to eat dies of disease, anyone touching the carcass shall be defiled until evening.
40
Also, anyone eating its meat or carrying away its carcass shall wash his clothes and be defiled until evening.
41-42
“Animals that crawl shall not be eaten. This includes all reptiles that slither along upon their bellies as well as those that have legs. No crawling thing with many feet may be eaten, for it is defiled.
43
Do not defile yourselves by touching it.
44
“I am the Lord your God. Keep yourselves pure concerning these things, and be holy, for I am holy; therefore do not defile yourselves by touching any of these things that crawl upon the earth.
45
For I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You must therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
46
These are the laws concerning animals, birds, and whatever swims in the water or crawls upon the ground.
47
These are the distinctions between what is ceremonially clean and may be eaten, and what is ceremonially defiled and may not be eaten, among all animal life upon the earth.
12:
1
The Lord told Moses to give these instructions to the people of Israel:
2
“When a baby boy is born, the mother shall be ceremonially defiled for seven days, and under the same restrictions as during her monthly menstrual periods.
3
On the eighth day, her son must be circumcised.
4
Then, for the next thirty-three days, while she is recovering from her ceremonial impurity, she must not touch anything sacred nor enter the Tabernacle.
5
“When a baby girl is born, the mother’s ceremonial impurity shall last two weeks, during which time she will be under the same restrictions as during menstruation. Then for a further sixty-six days she shall continue her recovery.
*
6
“When these days of purification are ended (the following instructions are applicable whether her baby is a boy or girl), she must bring a yearling lamb as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering.
She must take them to the door of the Tabernacle to the priest;
7
and the priest will offer them before the Lord and make atonement for her; then she will be ceremonially clean again after her bleeding at childbirth.
“These, then, are the procedures after childbirth.
8
But if she is too poor to bring a lamb, then she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One will be for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. The priest will make atonement for her with these, so that she will be ceremonially pure again.”
When Jesus had gone across by boat to the other side of the lake, a vast crowd gathered around him on the shore.
22
The leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, came and fell down before him,
23
pleading with him to heal his little daughter.
“She is at the point of death,” he said in desperation. “Please come and place your hands on her and make her live.”
24
Jesus went with him, and the crowd thronged behind.
25
In the crowd was a woman who had been sick for twelve years with a hemorrhage.
26
She had suffered much from many doctors through the years and had become poor from paying them, and was no better but, in fact, was worse.
27
She had heard all about the wonderful miracles Jesus did, and that is why she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his clothes.
28
For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his clothing, I will be healed.”
29
And sure enough, as soon as she had touched him, the bleeding stopped and she knew she was well!
30
Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked,
“Who touched my clothes?”
31
His disciples said to him, “All this crowd pressing around you, and you ask who touched you?”
32
But he kept on looking around to see who it was who had done it.
33
Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and told him what she had done.
34
And he said to her,
“Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, healed of your disease.”
35
While he was still talking to her, messengers arrived from Jairus’s home with the news that it was too late—his daughter was dead and there was no point in Jesus’ coming now.
36
But Jesus ignored their comments and said to Jairus,
“Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.”
37
Then Jesus halted the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go on with him to Jairus’s home except Peter and James and John.
38
When they arrived, Jesus saw that all was in great confusion, with unrestrained weeping and wailing.
39
He went inside and spoke to the people.
“Why all this weeping and commotion?”
he asked.
“The child isn’t dead; she is only asleep!”
40
They laughed at him in bitter derision, but he told them all to leave, and taking the little girl’s father and mother and his three disciples, he went into the room where she was lying.
41-42
Taking her by the hand he said to her,
“Get up, little girl!”
(She was twelve years old.) And she jumped up and walked around! Her parents just couldn’t get over it.
43
Jesus instructed them very earnestly not to tell what had happened and told them to give her something to eat.
O Lord, don’t punish me while you are angry!
2
Your arrows have struck deep; your blows are crushing me.
3-4
Because of your anger, my body is sick, my health is broken beneath my sins. They are like a flood, higher than my head; they are a burden too heavy to bear.
5-6
My wounds are festering and full of pus. Because of my sins, I am bent and racked with pain. My days are filled with anguish.
7
My loins burn with inflammation,
*
and my whole body is diseased.
8
I am exhausted and crushed; I groan in despair.
*
9
Lord, you know how I long for my health once more. You hear my every sigh.
10
My heart beats wildly, my strength fails, and I am going blind.
11
My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. Even my own family stands at a distance.
12
Meanwhile my enemies are trying to kill me. They plot my ruin and spend all their waking hours planning treachery.
13-14
But I am deaf to all their threats; I am silent before them as a man who cannot speak. I have nothing to say.
15
For I am waiting for you, O Lord my God. Come and protect me.
16
Put an end to their arrogance, these who gloat when I am cast down!
17
How constantly I find myself upon the verge of sin;
*
this source of sorrow always stares me in the face.
18
I confess my sins; I am sorry for what I have done.
19
But my enemies persecute with vigor and continue to hate me—though I have done nothing against them to deserve it.
20
They repay me evil for good and hate me for standing for the right.
21
Don’t leave me, Lord; don’t go away!
22
Come quickly! Help me, O my Savior.
The wise man is glad to be instructed, but a self-sufficient fool falls flat on his face.
9
A good man has firm footing, but a crook will slip and fall.
February 22The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “If anyone notices a swelling in his skin, or a scab or boil or pimple with transparent skin, leprosy is to be suspected. He must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons
3
for the spot to be examined. If the hair in this spot turns white, and if the spot looks to be more than skin-deep, it is leprosy, and the priest must declare him a leper.
*
4
“But if the white spot in the skin does not seem to be deeper than the skin and the hair in the spot has not turned white, the priest shall quarantine him for seven days.
5
At the end of that time, on the seventh day, the priest will examine him again, and if the spot has not changed and has not spread in the skin, then the priest must quarantine him seven days more.
6
Again on the seventh day the priest will examine him, and if the marks of the disease have become fainter and have not spread, then the priest shall pronounce him cured; it was only a scab, and the man need only wash his clothes and everything will be normal again.
7
But if the spot spreads in the skin after he has come to the priest to be examined, he must come back to the priest again,
8
and the priest shall look again, and if the spot has spread, then the priest must pronounce him a leper.
9-10
“When anyone suspected of having leprosy is brought to the priest, the priest is to look to see if there is a white swelling in the skin with white hairs in the spot, and an ulcer developing.
11
If he finds these symptoms, it is an established case of leprosy, and the priest must pronounce him defiled. The man is not to be quarantined for further observation, for he is definitely diseased.
12
But if the priest sees that the leprosy has erupted and spread all over his body from head to foot wherever he looks,
13
then the priest shall pronounce him cured of leprosy, for it has all turned white; he is cured.
14-15
But if there is raw flesh anywhere, the man shall be declared a leper. It is proved by the raw flesh.
16-17
But if the raw flesh later changes to white, the leper will return to the priest to be examined again. If the spot has indeed turned completely white, then the priest will pronounce him cured.
18
“In the case of a man who has a boil in his skin which heals,
19
but which leaves a white swelling or a bright spot, sort of reddish white, the man must go to the priest for examination.
20
If the priest sees that the trouble seems to be down under the skin, and if the hair at the spot has turned white, then the priest shall declare him defiled, for leprosy has broken out from the boil.
21
But if the priest sees that there are no white hairs in this spot, and the spot does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and if the color is gray, then the priest shall quarantine him for seven days.
22
If during that time the spot spreads, the priest must declare him a leper.
23
But if the bright spot grows no larger and does not spread, it is merely the scar from the boil, and the priest shall declare that all is well.
24
“If a man is burned in some way, and the burned place becomes bright reddish white or white,
25
then the priest must examine the spot. If the hair in the bright spot turns white and the problem seems to be more than skin-deep, it is leprosy that has broken out from the burn, and the priest must pronounce him a leper.
*
26
But if the priest sees that there are no white hairs in the bright spot and the brightness appears to be no deeper than the skin and is fading, the priest shall quarantine him for seven days
27
and examine him again the seventh day. If the spot spreads in the skin, the priest must pronounce him a leper.
28
But if the bright spot does not move or spread in the skin, and is fading, it is simply a scar from the burn, and the priest shall declare that he does not have leprosy.
29-30
“If a man or woman has a sore on the head or chin, the priest must examine him; if the infection seems to be below the skin and yellow hair is found in the sore, the priest must pronounce him a leper.
31
But if the priest’s examination reveals that the spot seems to be only in the skin but there is healthy hair in it, then he shall be quarantined for seven days,
32
and examined again on the seventh day. If the spot has not spread and no yellow hair has appeared, and if the infection does not seem to be deeper than the skin,
33
he shall shave off all the hair around the spot (but not on the spot itself) and the priest shall quarantine him for another seven days.
34
He shall be examined again on the seventh day, and if the spot has not spread, and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him well, and after washing his clothes, he is free.
*
35
But if, later on, this spot begins to spread,
36
then the priest must examine him again and, without waiting to see if any yellow hair develops, declare him a leper.
37
But if it appears that the spreading has stopped and black hairs are found in the spot, then he is healed and is not a leper, and the priest shall declare him healed.
38
“If a man or a woman has white, transparent areas in the skin,
39
but these spots are growing dimmer, this is not leprosy, but an ordinary infection that has broken out in the skin.
40
“If a man’s hair is gone, this does not make him a leper even though he is bald!
41
If the hair is gone from the front part of his head, he simply has a bald forehead, but this is not leprosy.
42
However, if in the baldness there is a reddish white spot, it may be leprosy breaking out.
43
In that case the priest shall examine him, and if there is a reddish white lump that looks like leprosy,
44
then he is a leper, and the priest must pronounce him such.
45
“Anyone who is discovered to have leprosy must tear his clothes and let his hair grow in wild disarray, and cover his upper lip and call out as he goes, “I am a leper, I am a leper.”
*
46
As long as the disease lasts, he is defiled and must live outside the camp.
47-48
“If leprosy is suspected in a woolen or linen garment or fabric, or in a piece of leather or leatherwork,
49
and there is a greenish or a reddish spot in it, it is probably leprosy, and must be taken to the priest to be examined.
50
The priest will put it away for seven days
51
and look at it again on the seventh day. If the spot has spread, it is a contagious leprosy,
52
and he must burn the clothing, fabric, linen or woolen covering, or leather article, for it is contagious and must be destroyed by fire.
53
“But if when he examines it again on the seventh day the spot has not spread,
54
the priest shall order the suspected article to be washed, then isolated for seven more days.
55
If after that time the spot has not changed its color, even though it has not spread, it is leprosy and shall be burned, for the article is infected through and through.
*
56
But if the priest sees that the spot has faded after the washing, then he shall cut it out from the garment or leather goods or whatever it is in.
57
However, if it then reappears, it is leprosy and he must burn it.
58
But if after washing it there is no further trouble, it can be put back into service after another washing.”
59
These are the regulations concerning leprosy in a garment or anything made of skin or leather, indicating whether to pronounce it leprous or not.
Soon afterwards he [Jesus] left that section of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown.
2-3
The next Sabbath he went to the synagogue to teach, and the people were astonished at his wisdom and his miracles because he was just a local man like themselves.
“He’s no better than we are,” they said. “He’s just a carpenter, Mary’s boy, and a brother of James and Joseph, Judas and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” And they were offended!
4
Then Jesus told them,
“A prophet is honored everywhere except in his hometown and among his relatives and by his own family.”
5
And because of their unbelief he couldn’t do any mighty miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
6
And he could hardly accept the fact that they wouldn’t believe in him.
Then he went out among the villages, teaching.
7
And he called his twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two, with power to cast out demons.
8-9
He told them to take nothing with them except their walking sticks—no food, no knapsack, no money, not even an extra pair of shoes or a change of clothes.
10
“Stay at one home in each village—don’t shift around from house to house while you are there,”
he said.
11
“And whenever a village won’t accept you or listen to you, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave; it is a sign that you have abandoned it to its fate.”
12
So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to turn from sin.
13
And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil.
14
King Herod soon heard about Jesus, for his miracles were talked about everywhere. The king thought Jesus was John the Baptist come back to life again. So the people were saying, “No wonder he can do such miracles.”
15
Others thought Jesus was Elijah the ancient prophet, now returned to life again; still others claimed he was a new prophet like the great ones of the past.
16
“No,” Herod said, “it is John, the man I beheaded. He has come back from the dead.”
17-18
For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John because he kept saying it was wrong for the king to marry Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife.
19
Herodias wanted John killed in revenge, but without Herod’s approval she was powerless.
20
And Herod respected John, knowing that he was a good and holy man, and so he kept him under his protection. Herod was disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so he liked to listen to him.
21
Herodias’s chance finally came. It was Herod’s birthday and he gave a stag party for his palace aides, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee.
22-23
Then Herodias’s daughter came in and danced before them and greatly pleased them all.
“Ask me for anything you like,” the king vowed, “even half of my kingdom, and I will give it to you!”
24
She went out and consulted her mother, who told her, “Ask for John the Baptist’s head!”
25
So she hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist—right now—on a tray!”
26
Then the king was sorry, but he was embarrassed to break his oath in front of his guests.
27
So he sent one of his bodyguards to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier killed John in the prison,
28
and brought back his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl and she took it to her mother.
29
When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came for his body and buried it in a tomb.
I said to myself, I’m going to quit complaining! I’ll keep quiet, especially when the ungodly are around me.
2-3
But as I stood there silently the turmoil within me grew to the bursting point. The more I mused, the hotter the fires inside. Then at last I spoke and pled with God:
4
Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more.
5-6
My life is no longer than my hand! My whole lifetime is but a moment to you. Proud man! Frail as breath! A shadow! And all his busy rushing ends in nothing. He heaps up riches for someone else to spend.
7
And so, Lord, my only hope is in you.
8
Save me from being overpowered by my sins, for even fools will mock me then.
9
Lord, I am speechless before you. I will not open my mouth to speak one word of complaint, for my punishment is from you.
*
10
Lord, don’t hit me anymore—I am exhausted beneath your hand.
11
When you punish a man for his sins, he is destroyed, for he is as fragile as a moth-infested cloth; yes, man is frail as breath.
12
Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry! Don’t sit back, unmindful of my tears. For I am your guest. I am a traveler passing through the earth, as all my fathers were.
13
Spare me, Lord! Let me recover and be filled with happiness again before my death.