The One Year Bible TLB (46 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
Men with common sense are admired
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as counselors; those without it are beaten as servants.
14
A wise man holds his tongue. Only a fool blurts out everything he knows; that only leads to sorrow and trouble.
February 25“This is a permanent law: You must do no work on the twenty-fifth day of September,
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but must spend the day in self-examination and humility. This applies whether you are born in the land or are a foreigner living among the people of Israel; for this is the day commemorating the atonement, cleansing you in the Lord’s eyes from all of your sins.
31
It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall spend the day in quiet humility;
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this is a permanent law.
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This ceremony, in later generations, shall be performed by the anointed High Priest, consecrated in place of his ancestor Aaron; he shall be the one to put on the holy linen garments,
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and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, the Tabernacle, the altar, the priests, and the people.
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This shall be an everlasting law for you, to make atonement for the people of Israel once each year, because of their sins.”
And Aaron followed all these instructions that the Lord gave to Moses.
17:
1-2
The Lord gave to Moses these additional instructions for Aaron and the priests and for all the people of Israel:
3-4
“Any Israelite who sacrifices
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an ox, lamb, or goat anywhere except at the Tabernacle is guilty of murder and shall be excommunicated from his nation.
5
The purpose of this law is to stop the people of Israel from sacrificing in the open fields, and to cause them to bring their sacrifices to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and to burn the fat as a savor the Lord will appreciate and enjoy—
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for in this way the priest will be able to sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and to burn the fat as a savor the Lord will appreciate and enjoy—
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instead of the people’s sacrificing to evil spirits
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out in the fields. This shall be a permanent law for you, from generation to generation.
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I repeat: Anyone, whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice anywhere other than at the entrance of the Tabernacle, where it will be sacrificed to the Lord, shall be excommunicated.
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“And I will turn my face against anyone, whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you, who eats blood in any form. I will excommunicate him from his people.
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For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given you the blood to sprinkle upon the altar as an atonement for your souls; it is the blood that makes atonement because it is the life.
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That is the reasoning behind my decree to the people of Israel, that neither they, nor any foreigner living among them, may eat blood.
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Anyone, whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you, who goes hunting and kills an animal or bird of a kind permitted for food, must pour out the blood and cover it with dust,
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for the blood is the life. That is why I told the people of Israel never to eat it, for the life of every bird and animal
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is its blood. Therefore, anyone who eats blood must be excommunicated.
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“And anyone—native born or foreigner—who eats the dead body of an animal that dies a natural death, or is killed by wild animals, must wash his clothes and bathe himself and be defiled until evening; after that he shall be declared cleansed.
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But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe, he shall suffer the consequence.”
18:
1-2
The Lord then told Moses to tell the people of Israel,
“I am Jehovah your God,
3
so don’t act like the heathen—like the people of Egypt where you lived so long, or the people of Canaan where I am going to take you.
4-5
You must obey only my laws, and you must carry them out in detail, for I am the Lord your God. If you obey them, you shall live.
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I am the Lord.
6
“None of you shall marry
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a near relative, for I am the Lord.
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Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with your mother,
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nor any other of your father’s wives.
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Do not have intercourse with your sister or half sister, whether the daughter of your father or your mother, whether brought up in the same household or elsewhere.
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“You shall not have intercourse with your granddaughter—the daughter of either your son or your daughter—for she is a close relative.
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11
You may not have intercourse with a half sister—your father’s wife’s daughter;
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nor your aunt—your father’s sister—because she is so closely related to your father;
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nor your aunt—your mother’s sister—because she is a close relative of your mother;
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nor your aunt—the wife of your father’s brother.
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15
“You may not marry your daughter-in-law—your son’s wife;
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nor your brother’s wife, for she is your brother’s.
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You may not marry both a woman and her daughter or granddaughter, for they are near relatives, and to do so is horrible wickedness.
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You shall not marry two sisters, for they will be rivals. However, if your wife dies, then it is all right to marry her sister.
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“There must be no sexual relationship with a woman who is menstruating;
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nor with anyone else’s wife, to defile yourself with her.
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“You shall not give any of your children to Molech, burning them upon his altar; never profane the name of your God, for I am Jehovah.
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“Homosexuality is absolutely forbidden, for it is an enormous sin.
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A man shall have no sexual intercourse with any female animal, thus defiling himself; and a woman must never give herself to a male animal, to mate with it; this is a terrible perversion.
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“Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for these are the things the heathen do; and because they do them, I am going to cast them out from the land into which you are going.
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That entire country is defiled with this kind of activity; that is why I am punishing the people living there, and will throw them out of the land.
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26
You must strictly obey all of my laws and ordinances, and you must not do any of these abominable things; these laws apply both to you who are born in the nation of Israel and to foreigners living among you.
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“Yes, all these abominations have been done continually by the people of the land where I am taking you, and the land is defiled.
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Do not do these things or I will throw you out of the land, just as I will throw out
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the nations that live there now.
29-30
Whoever does any of these terrible deeds shall be excommunicated from this nation. So be very sure to obey my laws, and do not practice any of these horrible customs. Do not defile yourselves with the evil deeds of those living in the land where you are going. For I am Jehovah your God.”
Then he [Jesus] left Galilee and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon,
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and tried to keep it a secret that he was there, but couldn’t. For as usual the news of his arrival spread fast.
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Right away a woman came to him whose little girl was possessed by a demon. She had heard about Jesus and now she came and fell at his feet,
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and pled with him to release her child from the demon’s control. (But she was Syrophoenician—a “despised Gentile”!)
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Jesus told her,
“First I should help my own family—the Jews.
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It isn’t right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
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She replied, “That’s true, sir, but even the puppies under the table are given some scraps from the children’s plates.”
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“Good!”
he said.
“You have answered well—so well that I have healed your little girl. Go on home, for the demon has left her!”
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And when she arrived home, her little girl was lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.
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From Tyre he went to Sidon, then back to the Sea of Galilee by way of the Ten Towns.
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A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and everyone begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man and heal him.
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Jesus led him away from the crowd and put his fingers into the man’s ears, then spat and touched the man’s tongue with the spittle.
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Then, looking up to heaven, he sighed and commanded,
“Open!”
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Instantly the man could hear perfectly and speak plainly!
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Jesus told the crowd not to spread the news, but the more he forbade them, the more they made it known,
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for they were overcome with utter amazement. Again and again they said, “Everything he does is wonderful; he even corrects deafness and stammering!”
8:
1-2
One day about this time as another great crowd gathered, the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples to discuss the situation.
“I pity these people,”
he said,
“for they have been here three days and have nothing left to eat.
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And if I send them home without feeding them, they will faint along the road! For some of them have come a long distance.”
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“Are we supposed to find food for them here in the desert?” his disciples scoffed.
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“How many loaves of bread do you have?”
he asked.
“Seven,” they replied.
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So he told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, broke them into pieces and passed them to his disciples; and the disciples placed them before the people.
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A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to serve them.
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And the whole crowd ate until they were full, and afterwards he sent them home. There were about 4,000 people in the crowd that day and when the scraps were picked up after the meal, there were seven very large basketfuls left over!
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Immediately after this he got into a boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
God blesses those who are kind to the poor. He helps them out of their troubles.
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He protects them and keeps them alive; he publicly honors them and destroys the power of their enemies.
3
He nurses them when they are sick and soothes their pains and worries.
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4
“O Lord,” I prayed, “be kind and heal me, for I have confessed my sins.”
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But my enemies say, “May he soon die and be forgotten!”
6
They act so friendly when they come to visit me while I am sick; but all the time they hate me and are glad that I am lying there upon my bed of pain. And when they leave, they laugh and mock.
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They whisper together about what they will do when I am dead.
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“It’s fatal, whatever it is,” they say. “He’ll never get out of that bed!”
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Even my best friend has turned against me—a man I completely trusted; how often we ate together.
10
Lord, don’t you desert me! Be gracious, Lord, and make me well again so I can pay them back!
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I know you are pleased with me because you haven’t let my enemies triumph over me.
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You have preserved me because I was honest; you have admitted me forever to your presence.
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Bless the Lord, the God of Israel, who exists from everlasting ages past—and on into everlasting eternity ahead. Amen and amen!
The rich man’s wealth is his only strength. The poor man’s poverty is his only
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curse.
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The good man’s earnings advance the cause of righteousness. The evil man squanders his on sin.