Leviticus 19; Leviticus 20; Matthew 27:51-66

Leviticus 19

1 The LORD spoke to Moses,

2 "Tell the whole congregation of Israel: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

3 "Respect your mother and father. Observe my days of worship. I am the LORD your God.

4 "Don't turn to worthless gods or cast metal idols. Never make any gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.

5 "When you bring a fellowship offering to the LORD, sacrifice it [properly] so that you will be accepted.

6 Eat your sacrifice on the day you bring it and on the next day. On the third day burn whatever is left over.

7 If you eat any of it on the third day, it is repulsive and will not be accepted.

8 Those who eat it will be punished because they have dishonored what is holy to the LORD. They must be excluded from the people.

9 "When you harvest the grain in your land, don't harvest the grain in the corners of your fields or gather what is left after you're finished.

10 Don't harvest your vineyard a second time or pick up fallen grapes. Leave them for poor people and foreigners. I am the LORD your God.

11 "Never steal, lie, or deceive your neighbor.

12 "Never swear by my name in order to deceive anyone. This dishonors the name of your God. I am the LORD.

13 "Never oppress or rob your neighbor. Never keep the pay you owe a hired worker overnight.

14 Never curse deaf people or put anything in the way of blind people to make them stumble. Instead, fear your God. I am the LORD.

15 "Don't be corrupt when administering justice. Never give special favors to poor people, and never show preference to important people. Judge your neighbor fairly.

16 Never gossip. Never endanger your neighbor's life. I am the LORD.

17 "Never hate another Israelite. Be sure to correct your neighbor so that you will not be guilty of sinning along with him.

18 Never get revenge. Never hold a grudge against any of your people. Instead, love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the LORD.

19 "Obey my laws. Never crossbreed different kinds of animals. Never plant two kinds of crops in your field. Never wear clothes made from two kinds of material.

20 "If a man has sexual intercourse with a female slave who is engaged to another man and if her freedom was never bought or given to her, they should not be put to death. He will only pay a fine because she is a slave.

21 He must bring a ram for his guilt offering to the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

22 In the LORD's presence the priest will use them to make peace with the LORD for this sin. The man will be forgiven for this sin.

23 "When you come into the land and plant all kinds of fruit trees, you must not eat the fruit for [the first] three years.

24 In the fourth year all the fruit will be a holy offering of praise to the LORD.

25 In the fifth year you may eat the fruit. Do this to make the trees produce more for you. I am the LORD your God.

26 "Never eat any meat with blood still in it. "Never cast evil spells, and never consult fortunetellers.

27 "Never shave the hair on your foreheads, and never cut the edges of your beard.

28 Never slash your body to mourn the dead, and never get a tattoo. I am the LORD.

29 "Never dishonor your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the country will turn to prostitution and be filled with people who are perverted.

30 "Observe my days of worship and respect my holy tent. I am the LORD.

31 "Don't turn to psychics or mediums to get help. That will make you unclean. I am the LORD your God.

32 "Show respect to the elderly, and honor older people. In this way you show respect for your God. I am the LORD.

33 "Never mistreat a foreigner living in your land.

34 Foreigners living among you will be like your own people. Love them as you love yourself, because you were foreigners living in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

35 "Don't be corrupt when administering justice concerning length, weight, or measuring liquid.

36 Use honest scales, honest weights, and honest measures. I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt.

37 "Obey all my laws and all my rules, and live by them. I am the LORD."

Leviticus 20

1 The LORD spoke to Moses,

2 "Tell the Israelites: If Israelites or foreigners living among you give one of their children as a sacrifice to [the god] Molech, they must be put to death. The common people must stone them to death.

3 I will condemn them and exclude them from the people. They gave one of their children to Molech, made my holy tent unclean, and dishonored my holy name.

4 If the common people ignore those who give their children to Molech and do not put them to death,

5 I will condemn them and their families. I will exclude them from the people. I will exclude from the people everyone who chases after Molech as if he were a prostitute.

6 "I will condemn people who turn to mediums and psychics and chase after them as though they were prostitutes. I will exclude them from the people.

7 "Live holy lives. Be holy because I am the LORD your God.

8 Obey my laws, and live by them. I am the LORD who sets you apart as holy.

9 "Whoever curses his father or mother must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother and deserves to die.

10 "If a man commits adultery with another man's wife or with his neighbor's wife, both he and the woman must be put to death for their adultery.

11 Whoever has sexual intercourse with his father's wife has violated his father's marriage. Both he and his father's wife must be put to death. They deserve to die.

12 If a man has sexual intercourse with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have done a disgusting thing and deserve to die.

13 When a man has sexual intercourse with another man as with a woman, both men are doing something disgusting and must be put to death. They deserve to die.

14 When a man marries a woman and her mother, they have done a perverted thing. The man and the two women must be burned. Never do this perverted thing.

15 A man who has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death. You must kill the animal, too.

16 When a woman offers herself sexually to any animal, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death. They deserve to die.

17 Whoever takes his sister, his father's daughter or his mother's daughter, and has sexual intercourse does a shameful thing. They both must be publicly excluded from the people. He has had sexual intercourse with his sister and must be punished.

18 If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman while she has her monthly period, both of them have had sexual intercourse in blood. They must be excluded from the people.

19 Never have sexual intercourse with your mother's sister or your father's sister. Whoever has sexual intercourse with a close relative must be punished.

20 Whoever has sexual intercourse with his uncle's wife violates his uncle's marriage. That man and woman are guilty of sin. They will die without children.

21 Whoever marries his brother's wife violates his brother's marriage and does an unclean thing. That man and woman will have no children.

22 "If you carefully obey all my laws and my rules, the land I am bringing you to live in will not vomit you out.

23 Never follow the practices of the people I am forcing out of your way. I cannot stand them because they did all these things.

24 I have told you that you will take their land. I will give it to you as your own. It is a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the LORD your God who separated you from other people.

25 Separate clean and unclean animals and birds. Never become disgusting by eating any animal or bird or anything that crawls on the ground. I have separated you from every unclean thing.

26 Be my holy people because I, the LORD, am holy. I have separated you from other people to be my very own.

27 "Every man or woman who is a medium or a psychic must be put to death. They must be stoned to death because they deserve to die."

Matthew 27:51-66

51 Suddenly, the curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split open.

52 The tombs were opened, and the bodies of many holy people who had died came back to life.

53 They came out of the tombs after he had come back to life, and they went into the holy city where they appeared to many people.

54 An army officer and those watching Jesus with him saw the earthquake and the other things happening. They were terrified and said, "Certainly, this was the Son of God!"

55 Many women were there watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee and had always supported him.

56 Among them were Mary from Magdala, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

57 In the evening a rich man named Joseph arrived. He was from the city of Arimathea and had become a disciple of Jesus.

58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate ordered that it be given to him.

59 Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth.

60 Then he laid it in his own new tomb, which had been cut in a rock. After rolling a large stone against the door of the tomb, he went away.

61 Mary from Magdala and the other Mary were sitting there, facing the tomb.

62 The next day, which was the day of worship, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together and went to Pilate.

63 They said, "Sir, we remember how that deceiver said while he was still alive, 'After three days I will be brought back to life.'

64 Therefore, give the order to make the tomb secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may steal him and say to the people, 'He has been brought back to life.' Then the last deception will be worse than the first."

65 Pilate told them, "You have the soldiers you want for guard duty. Go and make the tomb as secure as you know how."

66 So they went to secure the tomb. They placed a seal on the stone and posted the soldiers on guard duty.