Matthew 9:18-38; Leviticus 5; Leviticus 6; Proverbs 21

Matthew 9:18-38

18 As He was telling them these things, suddenly one of the leaders came and knelt down before Him, saying, "My daughter is near death, but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live."

19 So Jesus and His disciples got up and followed him.

20 Just then, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for 12 years approached from behind and touched the tassel on His robe,

21 for she said to herself, "If I can just touch His robe, I'll be made well!"

22 But Jesus turned and saw her. "Have courage, daughter," He said. "Your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that moment.

23 When Jesus came to the leader's house, He saw the flute players and a crowd lamenting loudly.

24 "Leave," He said, "because the girl isn't dead, but sleeping." And they started laughing at Him.

25 But when the crowd had been put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.

26 And this news spread throughout that whole area.

27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, shouting, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

28 When He entered the house, the blind men approached Him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they answered Him.

29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "Let it be done for you according to your faith!"

30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus warned them sternly, "Be sure that no one finds out!"

31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout that whole area.

32 Just as they were going out, a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to Him.

33 When the demon had been driven out, the man spoke. And the crowds were amazed, saying, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!"

34 But the Pharisees said, "He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons!"

35 Then Jesus went to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

36 When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd.

37 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.

38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

Leviticus 5

1 "When someone sins [in any of these ways]: [If] he has seen, heard, or known about something he has witnessed, and did not respond to a public call to testify, he is guilty.

2 Or [if] someone touches anything unclean-a carcass of an unclean wild animal, or unclean livestock, or an unclean swarming creature -without being aware of it, he is unclean and guilty.

3 Or [if] he touches human uncleanness-any uncleanness by which one can become defiled-without being aware of it, but [later] recognizes [it], he is guilty.

4 Or [if] someone swears rashly to do what is good or evil-concerning anything a person may speak rashly in an oath-without being aware of it, but [later] recognizes it, he incurs guilt in such an instance.

5 If someone incurs guilt in one of these cases, he is to confess he has committed that sin.

6 He must bring his restitution for the sin he has committed to the Lord: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin.

7 "But if he cannot afford an animal from the flock, then he may bring to the Lord two turtledoves or two young pigeons as restitution for his sin-one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.

8 He is to bring them to the priest, who will first present the one for the sin offering. He must twist its head at the back of the neck without severing [it].

9 Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood is to be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering.

10 He must prepare the second [bird] as a burnt offering according to the regulation. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

11 "But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he may bring two quarts of fine flour as an offering for his sin. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.

12 He is to bring it to the priest, who will take a handful from it as its memorial portion and burn [it] on the altar along with the fire offerings to the Lord; it is a sin offering.

13 In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf concerning the sin he has committed in any of these cases, and he will be forgiven. The rest will belong to the priest, like the grain offering."

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses:

15 "If someone offends by sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord's holy things, he must bring his restitution offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock by your valuation in silver shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel, as a restitution offering.

16 He must make restitution for his sin regarding any holy thing, adding a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf with the ram of the restitution offering, and he will be forgiven.

17 "If someone sins and without knowing [it] violates any of the Lord's commands concerning anything prohibited, he bears the consequences of his guilt.

18 He must bring an unblemished ram from the flock according to your valuation as a restitution offering to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the error he has committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven.

19 It is a restitution offering; he is indeed guilty before the Lord."

Leviticus 6

1 The Lord spoke to Moses:

2 "When someone sins and offends the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit, a security, or a robbery; or defrauds his neighbor;

3 or finds something lost and lies about it; or swears falsely about any of the sinful things a person may do-

4 once he has sinned and acknowledged [his] guilt-he must return what he stole or defrauded, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost item he found,

5 or anything else about which he swore falsely. He must make full restitution for it and add a fifth of its value to it. He is to pay it to its owner on the day he acknowledges [his] guilt.

6 Then he must bring his restitution offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock, according to your valuation, as a restitution offering to the priest.

7 In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord, and he will be forgiven for anything he may have done to incur guilt."

8 The Lord spoke to Moses:

9 "Command Aaron and his sons: This is the law of the burnt offering; the burnt offering itself must remain on the altar's hearth all night until morning, while the fire of the altar is kept burning on it.

10 The priest is to put on his linen robe and linen undergarments. He is to remove the ashes of the burnt offering the fire has consumed on the altar, and place them beside the altar.

11 Then he must take off his garments, put on other clothes, and bring the ashes outside the camp to a ceremonially clean place.

12 The fire on the altar is to be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest will burn wood on the fire. He is to arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat portions from the fellowship offerings on it.

13 Fire must be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not go out.

14 "Now this is the law of the grain offering: Aaron's sons will present it before the Lord in front of the altar.

15 The priest is to remove a handful of fine flour and olive oil from the grain offering, with all the frankincense that is on the offering, and burn its memorial portion on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

16 Aaron and his sons may eat the rest of it. It is to be eaten as unleavened bread in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the tent of meeting.

17 It must not be baked with yeast; I have assigned it as their portion from My fire offerings. It is especially holy, like the sin offering and the restitution offering.

18 Any male among Aaron's descendants may eat it. It is a permanent portion throughout your generations from the fire offerings to the Lord. Anything that touches the offerings will become holy."

19 The Lord spoke to Moses:

20 "This is the offering that Aaron and his sons must present to the Lord on the day that he is anointed: two quarts of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.

21 It is to be prepared with oil on a griddle; you are to bring it well-kneaded. You must present it as a grain offering of baked pieces, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

22 The priest, who is of Aaron's sons and will be anointed to take his place, is to prepare it. It must be completely burned as a permanent portion for the Lord.

23 Every grain offering for a priest will be a whole burnt offering; it is not to be eaten."

24 The Lord spoke to Moses:

25 "Tell Aaron and his sons: This is the law of the sin offering. The sin offering is most holy and must be slaughtered before the Lord at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered.

26 The priest who offers it as a sin offering is to eat it. It must be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting.

27 Anything that touches its flesh will become holy, and if any of its blood spatters on a garment, then you must wash that garment in a holy place.

28 A clay pot in which the sin offering is boiled must be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, it must be scoured and rinsed with water.

29 Any male among the priests may eat it; it is especially holy.

30 But no sin offering may be eaten if its blood has been brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place; it must be burned up.

Proverbs 21

1 A king's heart is a water channel in the Lord's hand: He directs it wherever He chooses.

2 All the ways of a man seem right to him, but the Lord evaluates the motives.

3 Doing what is righteous and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

4 The lamp that guides the wicked- haughty eyes and an arrogant heart-is sin.

5 The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit, but anyone who is reckless only becomes poor.

6 Making a fortune through a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a pursuit of death.

7 The violence of the wicked sweeps them away because they refuse to act justly.

8 A guilty man's conduct is crooked, but the behavior of the innocent is upright.

9 Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.

10 A wicked person desires evil; he has no consideration for his neighbor.

11 When a mocker is punished, the inexperienced become wiser; when one teaches a wise man, he acquires knowledge.

12 The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked; He brings the wicked to ruin.

13 The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will himself also call out and not be answered.

14 A secret gift soothes anger, and a covert bribe, fierce rage.

15 Justice executed is a joy to the righteous but a terror to those who practice iniquity.

16 The man who strays from the way of wisdom will come to rest in the assembly of the departed spirits.

17 The one who loves pleasure will become a poor man; whoever loves wine and oil will not get rich.

18 The wicked are a ransom for the righteous, and the treacherous, for the upright.

19 Better to live in a wilderness than with a nagging and hot-tempered wife.

20 Precious treasure and oil are in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man consumes them.

21 The one who pursues righteousness and faithful love will find life, righteousness, and honor.

22 The wise conquer a city of warriors and bring down its mighty fortress.

23 The one who guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

24 The proud and arrogant person, named "Mocker," acts with excessive pride.

25 A slacker's craving will kill him because his hands refuse to work.

26 He is filled with craving all day long, but the righteous give and don't hold back.

27 The sacrifice of a wicked person is detestable- how much more so when he brings it with ulterior motives!

28 A lying witness will perish, but the one who listens will speak successfully.

29 A wicked man puts on a bold face, but the upright man considers his way.

30 No wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel [will prevail] against the Lord.

31 A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory comes from the Lord.