The Daily Audio Bible

Holiness in the Land

²² “You are to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances, and do them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out.^{(A) 23} You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and I abhorred them.^{(B) 24} And I promised you: You will inherit their land, since I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.^(C) I am Yahweh your God who set you apart from the peoples. ²⁵ Therefore you must distinguish the clean animal from the unclean one, and the unclean bird from the clean one. Do not become contaminated^(D) by any land animal, bird, or whatever crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you.^{(E) 26} You are to be holy to Me because I, Yahweh, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be Mine.^(F)

²⁷ A man or a woman who is^[a] a medium or a spiritist must be put to death. They are to be stoned; their blood is on their own hands.”^[b]

The Holiness of the Priests

21 The Lord said to Moses: “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them: A priest is not to make himself ceremonially unclean for a dead person among his relatives,^{(G) 2} except for his immediate family: his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother. ³ He may make himself unclean for his young unmarried sister in his immediate family. ⁴ He is not to make himself unclean for those related to him by marriage^[c] and so defile himself.

⁵ “Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies.^{(H) 6} They are to be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God.^(I) For they present the fire offerings to Yahweh, the food of their God, and they must be holy. ⁷ They are not to marry a woman defiled by prostitution.^[d](J) They are not to marry one divorced^(K) by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. ⁸ You are to consider him holy since he presents the food of your God. He will be holy to you because I, Yahweh who sets you apart, am holy. ⁹ If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by promiscuity,^[e](L) she defiles her father; she must be burned up.^(M)

¹⁰ “The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained^[f] to wear the garments, must not dishevel his hair^[g] or tear his garments.^{(N) 11} He must not go near any dead person or make himself unclean even for his father or mother.^{(O) 12} He must not leave the sanctuary or he will desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him;^(P) I am Yahweh.

¹³ “He is to marry a woman who is a virgin. ¹⁴ He is not to marry a widow,^(Q) a divorced woman,^(R) or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people, ¹⁵ so that he does not corrupt his bloodline^[h] among his people, for I am Yahweh who sets him apart.”

Physical Defects and Priests

¹⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁷ “Tell Aaron: None of your descendants throughout your generations who has a physical defect^(S) is to come near to present the food^(T) of his God. ¹⁸ No man who has any defect is to come near: no man who is blind, lame, facially disfigured, or deformed; ¹⁹ no man who has a broken foot or hand, ²⁰ or who is a hunchback or a dwarf,^[i](U) or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs,^(V) or a crushed testicle.^{(W) 21} No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to come near to present the fire offerings to the Lord. He has a defect and is not to come near to present the food of his God. ²² He may eat the food of his God from what is especially holy as well as from what is holy. ²³ But because he has a defect, he must not go near the curtain^(X) or approach the altar. He is not to desecrate My sanctuaries, for I am Yahweh who sets them apart.”^{(Y) 24} Moses said this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

Priests and Their Food

22 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to deal respectfully with the holy offerings of the Israelites that they have consecrated to Me, so they do not profane My holy name;^(Z) I am Yahweh. ³ Say to them: If any man from any of your descendants throughout your generations is in a state of uncleanness yet approaches the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person will be cut off from My presence; I am Yahweh. ⁴ No man of Aaron’s descendants who has a skin disease^[j] or a discharge is to eat from the holy offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by a dead person or by a man who has an emission of semen, ⁵ or whoever touches any swarming creature that makes him unclean or any person who makes him unclean—whatever his uncleanness— ⁶ the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening^(AA) and is not to eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body with water. ⁷ When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the holy offerings, for that is his food.^{(AB) 8} He must not eat an animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts,^[k](AC) making himself unclean by it; I am Yahweh. ⁹ They must keep My instruction,^(AD) or they will be guilty and die because they profane it; I am Yahweh who sets them apart.

¹⁰ “No one outside a priest’s family^[l](AE) is to eat the holy offering. A foreigner staying with a priest or a hired hand is not to eat the holy offering. ¹¹ But if a priest purchases someone with his money, that person may eat it, and those born in his house may eat his food. ¹² If the priest’s daughter is married to a man outside a priest’s family,^[m] she is not to eat from the holy contributions.^{[n] 13} But if the priest’s daughter becomes widowed or divorced, has no children, and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may share her father’s food. But no outsider may share it. ¹⁴ If anyone eats a holy offering in error,^(AF) he must add a fifth to its value and give the holy offering to the priest.^{(AG) 15} The priests must not profane the holy offerings the Israelites give to the Lord ¹⁶ by letting the people eat their holy offerings and having them bear the penalty of restitution.^(AH) For I am Yahweh who sets them apart.”

9 Then He said to them, “I assure you:^(A) There are some standing here who will not taste death^(B) until they see the kingdom of God come in power.”^(C)

The Transfiguration

² After^(D) six days^(E) Jesus took Peter, James, and John^(F) and led them up on a high mountain^(G) by themselves to be alone. He was transformed^[a](H) in front of them, ³ and His clothes^(I) became dazzling—extremely white^(J) as no launderer on earth could whiten^(K) them. ⁴ Elijah^(L) appeared to them with Moses,^(M) and they were talking with Jesus.

⁵ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi,^(N) it’s good^(O) for us to be here! Let us make three tabernacles:^(P) one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— ⁶ because he did not know what he should say,^(Q) since they were terrified.^(R)

⁷ A cloud^(S) appeared, overshadowing^(T) them, and a voice^(U) came from the cloud:^(V)

⁸ Then suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus alone.

⁹ As^(Z) they were coming down from the mountain,^(AA) He ordered them to tell no one what they had seen^(AB) until the Son of Man^(AC) had risen^(AD) from the dead.^{(AE) 10} They kept this word^(AF) to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.

¹¹ Then they began to question Him, “Why do the scribes^(AG) say that Elijah must come first?”^(AH)

¹² “Elijah does come first and restores^(AI) everything,”^(AJ) He replied. “How then is it written^(AK) about the Son of Man that He must suffer^(AL) many things and be treated with contempt?^{(AM) 13} But I tell you that Elijah really has come, and they did whatever they pleased to him, just as it is written^(AN) about him.”

The Power of Faith over a Demon

¹⁴ When^(AO) they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes disputing^(AP) with them. ¹⁵ All of a sudden, when the whole crowd saw Him, they were amazed^[b] and ran to greet Him. ¹⁶ Then He asked them, “What are you arguing with them about?”

¹⁷ Out of the crowd, one man answered Him, “Teacher,^(AQ) I brought my son to You. He has a spirit^(AR) that makes him unable to speak.^{(AS) 18} Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”

¹⁹ He replied to them, “You unbelieving^(AT) generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to Me.” ²⁰ So they brought him to Him. When the spirit saw Him, it immediately convulsed the boy. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. ²¹ “How long has this been happening to him?” Jesus asked his father.

“From childhood,” he said. ²² “And many times it has thrown him into fire or water to destroy^(AU) him. But if You can do anything, have compassion^(AV) on us and help us.”

²³ Then Jesus said to him, “‘If You can’?^[c][d] Everything is possible^(AW) to the one who believes.”^(AX)

²⁴ Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe! Help my unbelief.”

²⁵ When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly coming together, He rebuked^(AY) the unclean^(AZ) spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf^(BA) spirit,^[e] I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!”

²⁶ Then it came out, shrieking and convulsing^(BB) him^[f] violently. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus, taking him by the hand, raised him,^(BC) and he stood up.

²⁸ After He went into a house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁹ And He told them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer^(BD) [and fasting].”^[g](BE)

Psalm 43^[a]