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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
March 4 - Old & New Testament
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Leviticus 17,18
Eating Blood Forbidden
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Speak to Aaron and his sons(a) and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: 3 Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox,[a] a lamb(b) or a goat(c) in the camp or outside of it 4 instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting(d) to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord (e)—that person shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; they have shed blood and must be cut off from their people.(f) 5 This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the Lord , at the entrance to the tent of meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings.(g) 6 The priest is to splash the blood against the altar(h) of the Lord (i) at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the Lord .(j) 7 They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols[b](k) to whom they prostitute themselves.(l) This is to be a lasting ordinance(m) for them and for the generations to come.'(n)
8 "Say to them: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and does not bring it to the entrance to the tent(o) of meeting(p) to sacrifice it to the Lord (q) must be cut off from the people of Israel.
10 "‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood,(r) and I will cut them off from the people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood,(s) and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.[c](t) 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, "None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood."
13 "‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth,(u) 14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off."(v)
15 "‘Anyone, whether native-born or foreigner, who eats anything(w) found dead or torn by wild animals(x) must wash their clothes and bathe with water,(y) and they will be ceremonially unclean till evening;(z) then they will be clean. 16 But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be held responsible.(aa)'"
Unlawful Sexual Relations
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God.(a) 3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.(b) 4 You must obey my laws(c) and be careful to follow my decrees.(d) I am the Lord your God.(e) 5 Keep my decrees and laws,(f) for the person who obeys them will live by them.(g) I am the Lord .
6 "‘No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord .
7 "‘Do not dishonor your father(h) by having sexual relations with your mother.(i) She is your mother; do not have relations with her.
8 "‘Do not have sexual relations with your father's wife;(j) that would dishonor your father.(k)
9 "‘Do not have sexual relations with your sister,(l) either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.(m)
10 "‘Do not have sexual relations with your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; that would dishonor you.
11 "‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father's wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
12 "‘Do not have sexual relations with your father's sister;(n) she is your father's close relative.
13 "‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother's sister,(o) because she is your mother's close relative.
14 "‘Do not dishonor your father's brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.(p)
15 "‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law.(q) She is your son's wife; do not have relations with her.(r)
16 "‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother's wife;(s) that would dishonor your brother.
17 "‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter.(t) Do not have sexual relations with either her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.
18 "‘Do not take your wife's sister(u) as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.
19 "‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness(v) of her monthly period.(w)
20 "‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor's wife(x) and defile yourself with her.
21 "‘Do not give any of your children(y) to be sacrificed to Molek,(z) for you must not profane the name of your God.(aa) I am the Lord .(ab)
22 "‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman;(ac) that is detestable.(ad)
23 "‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.(ae)
24 "‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you(af) became defiled.(ag) 25 Even the land was defiled;(ah) so I punished it for its sin,(ai) and the land vomited out its inhabitants.(aj) 26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws.(ak) The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, 27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. 28 And if you defile the land,(al) it will vomit you out(am) as it vomited out the nations that were before you.
29 "‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people. 30 Keep my requirements(an) and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.(ao)'"
Mark 9:1-29
Chapter 9
1 And he said to them, "Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come(a) with power."(b)
The Transfiguration(c)(d)
2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John(e) with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white,(f) whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
5 Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi,(g) it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud:(h) "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"(i)
8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone(j) what they had seen until the Son of Man(k) had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what "rising from the dead" meant.
11 And they asked him, "Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?"
12 Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man(l) must suffer much(m) and be rejected?(n) 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come,(o) and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him."
Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by an Impure Spirit(p)
14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
16 "What are you arguing with them about?" he asked.
17 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."
19 "You unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.(q)
21 Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"
"From childhood," he answered. 22 "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
23 "‘If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for one who believes."(r)
24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene,(s) he rebuked the impure spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately,(t) "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
29 He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer.[a]"
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
