The Daily Audio Bible
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7 Moses said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and present your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people; and present the offering of the people and make atonement for them, just as the Lord has commanded.”(A)
8 So Aaron approached the altar and killed the calf as the sin offering, which was designated for himself. 9 The sons of Aaron presented the blood to him; he dipped his finger in the blood and put some of it on the horns of the altar, and poured out the rest of the blood at the altar’s base; 10 but the fat, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver from the sin offering he offered up in smoke on the altar, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 11 And Aaron burned the meat and the hide in the fire outside the camp.
12 Then he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar. 13 They brought the burnt offering to him piece by piece, with the head, and Aaron offered them up in smoke on the altar. 14 He also washed the entrails and the legs, and offered them up in smoke with the burnt offering on the altar.
15 Then Aaron presented the people’s offering. He took the goat for the sin offering of the people, and killed it and offered it for sin, as he did the first.(B) 16 He also presented the burnt offering and offered it according to the ordinance. 17 Next Aaron presented the grain offering and took a handful of it and offered it up in smoke on the altar in addition to the burnt offering of the morning.
18 He also killed the bull and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings which was for the people; and Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar, 19 As for the portions of fat from the bull and from the ram—the fat tail, and the fat covering the internal organs, and the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver— 20 they now put the portions of fat on the breasts; and Aaron offered the fat up in smoke on the altar. 21 But the breasts and the right thigh Aaron presented as a wave offering before the Lord, just as Moses had commanded.
22 Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them, and came down [from the altar of burnt offering] after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings. 23 Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord [the Shekinah cloud] appeared to all the people [as promised].(C) 24 Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell face downward [in awe and worship].
The Sin of Nadab and Abihu
10 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective [ceremonial] censers, put fire in them, placed incense on it and offered [a]strange (unauthorized, unacceptable) fire before the Lord, [an act] which He had not commanded them to do. 2 And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord said:
‘I will be treated as holy by those who approach Me,
And before all the people I will be honored.’”
So Aaron, therefore, said nothing.
4 Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel who was Aaron’s uncle, and said to them, “Come here, carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary and take them outside the camp.” 5 So they came forward and carried them, still in their undertunics, outside the camp, as Moses had said. 6 Then Moses said to Aaron and to his [younger] sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not [b]uncover your heads nor let your hair hang loose nor tear your clothes [as expressions of mourning], so that you will not die [also] and so that He will not express His wrath and anger toward all the congregation. But your relatives, the whole house of Israel, may mourn the burning which the Lord has brought about. 7 You shall not even go out of the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, or you will die; for the Lord’s anointing oil is upon you.” So they did [everything] according to the word of Moses.
8 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 “[c]Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the Tent of Meeting, so that you will not die—it is a permanent statute throughout your generations— 10 and to make a distinction and recognize a difference between the holy (sacred) and the common (profane), and between the [ceremonially] unclean and the clean;(D) 11 and you are to teach the Israelites all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them [d]through Moses.”
12 Then Moses said to Aaron, and to his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that is left over from the offerings by fire to the Lord, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy. 13 You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your portion and your sons’ portion, from the offerings by fire to the Lord; for so I have been commanded. 14 But the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering you may eat in a clean place, you and your sons and daughters with you; for the breast and the thigh are your portion and your sons’ portion, given out of the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the Israelites. 15 They shall bring the thigh presented by lifting up and the breast presented by waving, along with the offerings by fire of the fat, to present as a wave offering before the Lord. This shall be yours and your sons’ with you, as your perpetual portion, just as the Lord has commanded.”
16 But Moses diligently tried to find the goat [that had been offered] as the sin offering, and discovered that it had been burned up [as waste, not eaten]! So he was angry with Aaron’s surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar, saying, 17 “Why did you not eat the sin offering in the holy place? For it is most holy; and God gave it to you to remove the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord. 18 Behold, its blood was not brought into the Holy Place; you certainly should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary, just as I commanded.” 19 Then Aaron said to Moses, “This very day they have [obediently] presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, but [such terrible things] as these have happened to me [and to them]; if I [and my sons] had eaten a sin offering today would it have been acceptable and pleasing in the sight of the Lord?”(E) 20 When Moses heard that, he was satisfied.
Parable of the Seed
26 Then He said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who throws seed on the ground; 27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up every day, and [in the meantime] the seed sprouts and grows; how [it does this], he does not know. 28 The earth produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head [of grain], then the mature grain in the head. 29 But when the crop ripens, he immediately puts in the sickle [to reap], because [the time for] the harvest has come.”
Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 And He said, “How shall we [a]picture the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use to illustrate and explain it?(A) 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown on the ground, even though it is [b]smaller than all the [other] seeds that are [sown] on the soil, 32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden herbs; and it puts out large branches, so that the birds of the sky are able to make nests and live under its shade.”(B)
33 With many such parables, Jesus spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear and understand it; 34 and He did not say anything to them without [using] a parable; He did, however, explain everything privately to His own disciples.
Jesus Stills the Sea
35 On that [same] day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee].” 36 So leaving the crowd, they took Him with them, just as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him.(C) 37 And a [c]fierce windstorm began to blow, and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already being swamped. 38 But Jesus was in the stern, asleep [with His head] on the [sailor’s leather] cushion. And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are about to die?” 39 And He got up and [sternly] rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still (muzzled)!” And the wind died down [as if it had grown weary] and there was [at once] a great calm [a perfect peacefulness]. 40 Jesus said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith and confidence [in Me]?” 41 They were filled with great fear, and said to each other, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
The Gerasene Demoniac
5 They came to the [d]other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.(D) 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, 3 and the man lived in the [e]tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with chains. 4 For he had often been bound with shackles [for the feet] and with chains, and he tore apart the chains and broke the shackles into pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue and tame him. 5 Night and day he was constantly screaming and shrieking among the tombs and on the mountains, and cutting himself with [sharp] stones. 6 Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him [in homage]; 7 and screaming with a loud voice, he said, “[f]What business do we have in common with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God [swear to me], do not torment me!”(E) 8 For Jesus had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 And he began begging Him repeatedly not to send them out of the region. 11 Now there was a large herd of pigs grazing there on the mountain. 12 And the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the pigs so that we may go into them!” 13 Jesus gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out [of the man] and entered the pigs. The herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea; and they were drowned [one after the other] in the sea.
14 The herdsmen [tending the pigs] ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had [previously] had the “legion” [of demons]; and they were frightened. 16 Those who had seen it described [in detail] to the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man, and [told them all] about the pigs. 17 So the people began to beg with Jesus to leave their region. 18 As He was stepping into the boat, the [Gentile] man who had been demon-possessed was begging with Him [asking] that he might go with Him [as a disciple]. 19 Jesus did not let him [come], but [instead] He said to him, “Go home to your family and tell them all the great things that the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” 20 So he [obeyed and] went away and began to publicly proclaim in Decapolis [the region of the ten Hellenistic cities] all the great things that Jesus had done for him; and all the people were astonished.
30
The mouth of the righteous proclaims wisdom,
And his tongue speaks justice and truth.
31
The law of his God is in his heart;
Not one of his steps will slip.
32
The wicked lies in wait for the righteous
And seeks to kill him.
33
The Lord will not leave him in his hand
Or let him be condemned when he is judged.
34
Wait for and expect the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
[In the end] when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35
I have seen a wicked, violent man [with great power]
Spreading and flaunting himself like a cedar in its native soil,
36
Yet he passed away, and lo, he was no more;
I sought him, but he could not be found.
37
Mark the blameless man [who is spiritually complete], and behold the upright [who walks in moral integrity];
There is a [good] future for the man of peace [because a life of honor blesses one’s descendants].
38
As for transgressors, they will be completely destroyed;
The future of the wicked will be cut off.
39
But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their refuge and stronghold in the time of trouble.
40
The Lord helps them and rescues them;
He rescues them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.