Bible Reading Plan – Day 34

₁The LORD told Moses ₂to say to the people of Israel, “Any of you or any foreigner living among you who gives any of his or her children to be used in the worship of the god Molech shall be stoned to death by the whole community. ₃If anyone gives one of his children to Molech and makes my sacred Tent unclean and disgraces my holy name, I will turn against him and will no longer consider him one of my people. ₄But if the community ignores what he has done and does not put him to death, ₅I myself will turn against the man and his whole family and against all who join him in being unfaithful to me and worshipping Molech. I will no longer consider them my people.

₆“If anyone goes for advice to people who consult the spirits of the dead, I will turn against him and will no longer consider him one of my people. ₇Keep yourselves holy, because I am the LORD your God. ₈Obey my laws, because I am the LORD and I make you holy.”

₉The LORD gave the following regulations. Anyone who curses his father or his mother shall be put to death; he is responsible for his own death.

₁₀If a man commits adultery with the wife of a fellow-Israelite, both he and the woman shall be put to death. ₁₁A man who has intercourse with one of his father's wives disgraces his father, and both he and the woman shall be put to death. They are responsible for their own death. ₁₂If a man has intercourse with his daughter-in-law, they shall both be put to death. They have committed incest and are responsible for their own death. ₁₃If a man has sexual relations with another man, they have done a disgusting thing, and both shall be put to death. They are responsible for their own death. ₁₄If a man marries a woman and her mother, all three shall be burnt to death because of the disgraceful thing they have done; such a thing must not be permitted among you. ₁₅If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he and the animal shall be put to death. ₁₆If a woman tries to have sexual relations with an animal, she and the animal shall be put to death. They are responsible for their own death.

₁₇If a man marries his sister or half-sister, they shall be publicly disgraced and driven out of the community. He has had intercourse with his sister and must suffer the consequences. ₁₈If a man has intercourse with a woman during her monthly period, both of them are to be driven out of the community, because they have broken the regulations about ritual uncleanness.

₁₉If a man has intercourse with his aunt, both of them must suffer the consequences for incest. ₂₀If a man has intercourse with his uncle's wife, he disgraces his uncle, and he and the woman will pay the penalty; neither of them will have children. ₂₁If a man marries his brother's wife, they will die childless. He has done a ritually unclean thing and has disgraced his brother.

₂₂The LORD said, “Keep all my laws and commands, so that you will not be rejected by the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. ₂₃Do not adopt the customs of people who live there; I am driving out those pagans so that you can enter the land. They have disgusted me with all their evil practices. ₂₄But I have promised you this rich and fertile land as your possession, and I will give it to you. I am the LORD your God, and I have set you apart from the other nations. ₂₅So then, you must make a clear distinction between animals and birds that are ritually clean and those that are not. Do not eat unclean animals or birds. I have declared them unclean, and eating them would make you unclean. ₂₆You shall be holy and belong only to me, because I am the LORD and I am holy. I have set you apart from the other nations so that you would belong to me alone.

₂₇“Any man or woman who consults the spirits of the dead shall be stoned to death; any person who does this is responsible for his own death.”

₁The LORD commanded Moses to say to the Aaronite priests, “No priest is to make himself ritually unclean by taking part in the funeral ceremonies when a relative dies, ₂unless it is his mother, father, son, daughter, brother, ₃or unmarried sister living in his house. ₄He shall not make himself unclean at the death of those related to him by marriage.

₅“No priest shall shave any part of his head or trim his beard or cut gashes on his body to show that he is in mourning. ₆He must be holy and must not disgrace my name. He offers food offerings to me, and he must be holy. ₇A priest shall not marry a woman who has been a prostitute or a woman who is not a virgin or who is divorced; he is holy. ₈The people must consider the priest holy, because he presents the food offerings to me. I am the LORD; I am holy and I make my people holy. ₉If a priest's daughter becomes a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she shall be burnt to death.

₁₀“The High Priest has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been consecrated to wear the priestly garments, so he must not leave his hair uncombed or tear his clothes to show that he is in mourning. _11-12He has been dedicated to me and is not to make himself ritually unclean nor is he to defile my sacred Tent by leaving it and entering a house where there is a dead person, even if it is his own father or mother. ₁₃He shall marry a virgin, ₁₄not a widow or a divorced woman or a woman who has been a prostitute. He shall marry only a virgin from his own clan. ₁₅Otherwise, his children, who ought to be holy, will be ritually unclean. I am the LORD and I have set him apart as the High Priest.”

₁₆The LORD commanded Moses ₁₇to say to Aaron, “None of your descendants who has any physical defect may present the food offering to me. This applies for all time to come. ₁₈No man with any physical defect may make the offering: no one who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed; ₁₉no one with a crippled hand or foot; ₂₀no one who is a hunchback or a dwarf; no one with any eye or skin disease; and no eunuch. ₂₁No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any physical defect may present the food offering to me. ₂₂Such a man may eat the food offered to me, both the holy food offering and the very holy food offering, ₂₃but because he has a physical defect, he shall not come near the sacred curtain or approach the altar. He must not profane these holy things, because I am the LORD and I make them holy.”

₂₄This, then, is what Moses said to Aaron, the sons of Aaron, and to all the people of Israel.

₁The LORD commanded Moses ₂to say to Aaron and his sons, “You must not bring disgrace on my holy name, so treat with respect the sacred offerings that the people of Israel dedicate to me. I am the LORD. ₃If any of your descendants, while he is ritually unclean, comes near the sacred offerings which the people of Israel have dedicated to me, he can never again serve at the altar. This applies for all time to come. I am the LORD.

₄“None of the descendants of Aaron who has a dreaded skin disease or a discharge may eat any of the sacred offerings until he is ritually clean. Any priest is unclean if he touches anything which is unclean through contact with a corpse or if he has an emission of semen ₅or if he has touched an unclean animal or person. ₆Any priest who becomes unclean remains unclean until evening, and even then he may not eat any of the sacred offerings until he has had a bath. ₇After the sun sets he is clean, and then he may eat the sacred offerings, which are his food. ₈He shall not eat the meat of any animal that has died a natural death or has been killed by wild animals; it will make him unclean. I am the LORD.

₉“All priests shall observe the regulations that I have given. Otherwise, they will be guilty and die, because they have disobeyed the sacred regulations. I am the LORD and I make them holy.

₁₀“Only a member of a priestly family may eat any of the sacred offerings; no one else may eat them — not even someone staying with a priest or hired by him. ₁₁But a priest's slaves, bought with his own money or born in his home, may eat the food the priest receives. ₁₂A priest's daughter who marries someone who is not a priest may not eat any of the sacred offerings. ₁₃But a widowed or divorced daughter who has no children and who has returned to live in her father's house as a dependant may eat the food her father receives as a priest. Only a member of a priestly family may eat any of it.

₁₄“If any person who is not a member of a priestly family eats any of the sacred offerings without intending to, he must repay the priest its full value plus an additional twenty per cent. ₁₅The priests shall not profane the sacred offerings ₁₆by letting any unauthorized person eat them; this would bring guilt and punishment on such a person. I am the LORD and I make the offerings holy.”

₁₇The LORD commanded Moses ₁₈to give Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel the following regulations. When any Israelite or any foreigner living in Israel presents a burnt offering, whether in fulfilment of a vow or as a freewill offering, the animal must not have any defects. ₁₉To be accepted, it must be a male without any defects. ₂₀If you offer any animal that has any defect, the LORD will not accept it. ₂₁When anyone presents a fellowship offering to the LORD, whether in fulfilment of a vow or as a freewill offering, the animal must be without any defect if it is to be accepted. ₂₂Do not offer to the LORD any animal that is blind or crippled or mutilated, or that has a running sore or a skin eruption or scabs. Do not offer any such animals on the altar as a food offering. ₂₃As a freewill offering you may offer an animal that is stunted or not perfectly formed, but it is not acceptable in fulfilment of a vow. ₂₄Do not offer to the LORD any animal whose testicles have been crushed, cut, bruised, or torn off. This is not permitted in your land.

₂₅Do not offer as a food offering any animal obtained from a foreigner. Such animals are considered defective and are not acceptable.

_26-27When a calf or a lamb or a kid is born, it must not be taken from its mother for seven days, but after that it is acceptable as a food offering. ₂₈Do not sacrifice a cow and its calf or a sheep and its lamb or a goat and its kid on the same day. ₂₉When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, follow the rules so that you will be accepted; ₃₀eat it the same day and leave none of it until the next morning.

₃₁The LORD said, “Obey my commands; I am the LORD. ₃₂Do not bring disgrace on my holy name; all the people of Israel must acknowledge me to be holy. I am the LORD and I make you holy; ₃₃and I brought you out of Egypt to become your God. I am the LORD.”