Leviticus 11; Leviticus 12; Matthew 26:1-25

Leviticus 11

1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron:

2 "Tell the Israelites: You may eat all these [kinds] of land animals.

3 You may eat any animal with divided hooves and that chews the cud.

4 But among the ones that chew the cud or have hooves you are not to eat [these]: the camel, though it chews the cud, does not have hooves-it is unclean for you;

5 the hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have hooves-it is unclean for you;

6 the hare, though it chews the cud, does not have hooves-it is unclean for you;

7 the pig, though it has divided hooves, does not chew the cud-it is unclean for you.

8 Do not eat any of their meat or touch their carcasses-they are unclean for you.

9 "This [is what] you may eat from all that is in the water: You may eat everything in the water that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or streams.

10 But these are to be detestable to you: everything that does not have fins and scales in the seas or streams, among all the swarming things and [other] living creatures in the water.

11 They are to remain detestable to you; you must not eat any of their meat, and you must detest their carcasses.

12 Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales will be detestable to you.

13 "You are to detest these birds. They must not be eaten because they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture,

14 the kite, the various kinds of falcon,

15 every kind of raven,

16 the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the gull, the various kinds of hawk,

17 the little owl, the cormorant, the long-eared owl,

18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,

19 the stork, the various kinds of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.

20 "All winged insects that walk on all fours are to be detestable to you.

21 But you may eat these kinds of all the winged insects that walk on all fours: those that have jointed legs above their feet for hopping on the ground.

22 You may eat these: the various kinds of locust, the various kinds of katydid, the various kinds of cricket, and the various kinds of grasshopper.

23 All [other] winged insects that have four feet are to be detestable to you.

24 "These will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,

25 and whoever carries any of their carcasses must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.

26 All animals that have hooves but do not have a divided hoof and do not chew the cud are unclean for you. Whoever touches them becomes unclean.

27 All the four-footed animals that walk on their paws are unclean for you. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,

28 and anyone who carries their carcasses must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening. They are unclean for you.

29 "These creatures that swarm on the ground are unclean for you: the weasel, the mouse, the various kinds of large lizard,

30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the skink, and the chameleon.

31 These are unclean for you among all the swarming creatures. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening.

32 When any one of them dies and falls on anything it becomes unclean-any item of wood, clothing, leather, sackcloth, or any implement used for work. It is to be rinsed with water and will remain unclean until evening; then it will be clean.

33 If any of them falls into any clay pot, everything in it will become unclean; you must break it.

34 Any edible food coming into contact with [that unclean] water will become unclean, and any drinkable liquid in any container will become unclean.

35 Anything one of their carcasses falls on will become unclean. If it is an oven or stove, it must be smashed; it is unclean and will remain unclean for you.

36 A spring or cistern containing water will remain clean, but someone who touches a carcass [in it] will become unclean.

37 If one of their carcasses falls on any seed that is to be sown, it is clean;

38 but if water has been put on the seed and one of their carcasses falls on it, it is unclean for you.

39 "If one of the animals that you use for food dies, anyone who touches its carcass will be unclean until evening.

40 Anyone who eats some of its carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening. Anyone who carries its carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.

41 "All the creatures that swarm on the earth are detestable; they must not be eaten.

42 Do not eat any of the creatures that swarm on the earth, anything that moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet, for they are detestable.

43 Do not become contaminated by any creature that swarms; do not become unclean or defiled by them.

44 For I am the Lord your God, so you must consecrate yourselves and be holy because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any swarming creature that crawls on the ground.

45 For I am the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, so you must be holy because I am holy.

46 "This is the law concerning animals, birds, all living creatures that move in the water, and all creatures that swarm on the ground,

47 in order to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between the animals that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten."

Leviticus 12

1 The Lord spoke to Moses:

2 "Tell the Israelites: When a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a male child, she will be unclean seven days, as she is during the days of her menstrual impurity.

3 The flesh of his foreskin must be circumcised on the eighth day.

4 She will continue in purification from her bleeding for 33 days. She must not touch any holy thing or go into the sanctuary until completing her days of purification.

5 But if she gives birth to a female child, she will be unclean for two weeks as [she is] during her [menstrual] impurity. She will continue in purification from her bleeding for 66 days.

6 "When her days of purification are complete, whether for a son or daughter, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old male lamb for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering.

7 He will present them before the Lord and make atonement on her behalf; she will be clean from her discharge of blood. This is the law for a woman giving birth, whether to a male or female.

8 But if she doesn't have sufficient means for a sheep, she may take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. Then the priest will make atonement on her behalf, and she will be clean."

Matthew 26:1-25

1 When Jesus had finished saying all this, He told His disciples,

2 "You know that the Passover takes place after two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."

3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,

4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill Him.

5 "Not during the festival," they said, "so there won't be rioting among the people."

6 While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, a man who had a serious skin disease,

7 a woman approached Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive fragrant oil. She poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table.

8 When the disciples saw it, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked.

9 "This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor."

10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for Me.

11 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.

12 By pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she has prepared Me for burial.

13 I assure you: Wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her."

14 Then one of the Twelve-the man called Judas Iscariot-went to the chief priests

15 and said, "What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?" So they weighed out 30 pieces of silver for him.

16 And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.

17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do You want us to prepare the Passover so You may eat it?"

18 "Go into the city to a certain man," He said, "and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place with My disciples. ' "

19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

20 When evening came, He was reclining at the table with the Twelve.

21 While they were eating, He said, "I assure you: One of you will betray Me."

22 Deeply distressed, each one began to say to Him, "Surely not I, Lord?"

23 He replied, "The one who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl-he will betray Me.

24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born."

25 Then Judas, His betrayer, replied, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" "You have said it," He told him.