Feb 22nd

“If a person sins and acts unfaithfully against Yahweh and deals falsely with his companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him or through robbery, or if he has extorted from his companion,

or has found what was lost and dealt falsely about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of the things a man may do;

then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall return what he took by robbery or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him or the lost thing which he found,

or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full and add to it one-fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his guilt offering.

Then he shall bring to the priest his guilt offering to Yahweh, a ram without blemish from the flock, according to your valuation, for a guilt offering,

and the priest shall make atonement for him before Yahweh, and he will be forgiven for any one of the things which he may have done to incur guilt.”

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

“Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law for the burnt offering: the burnt offering itself shall remain on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it.

And the priest shall put on his linen robe, and he shall put on undergarments next to his flesh; and he shall raise up the ashes to which the fire reduces the burnt offering on the altar and place them beside the altar.

Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not go out, but the priest shall burn wood on it every morning; and he shall lay out the burnt offering on it and offer up in smoke the fat portions of the peace offerings on it.

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

‘Now this is the law of the grain offering: the sons of Aaron shall bring it near before Yahweh in front of the altar.

Then one of them shall raise up from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering, with its oil and all the frankincense that is on the grain offering, and he shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, a soothing aroma, as its memorial offering to Yahweh.

What is left of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten as unleavened cakes in a holy place; they shall eat it in the court of the tent of meeting.

It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their share from My offerings by fire; it is most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering.

Every male among the sons of Aaron may eat it; it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations, from the offerings by fire to Yahweh. Whoever touches them will be set apart as holy.’ ”

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

“This is the offering which Aaron and his sons shall bring near to Yahweh on the day when he is anointed; the tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening.

It shall be prepared with oil on a griddle. When it is well stirred, you shall bring it. You shall bring near the grain offering in baked pieces as a soothing aroma to Yahweh.

And the anointed priest, who will be in his place among his sons, shall offer it. By a perpetual statute it shall be entirely offered up in smoke to Yahweh.

So every grain offering of the priest shall be burned entirely. It shall not be eaten.”

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, the sin offering shall be slaughtered before Yahweh; it is most holy.

The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting.

Anyone who touches its flesh will be set apart as holy; and when any of its blood sprinkles on a garment, in a holy place you shall wash what was sprinkled on.

Also the earthenware vessel in which it was boiled shall be broken; and if it was boiled in a bronze vessel, then it shall be scoured and rinsed in water.

And every male among the priests may eat of it; it is most holy.

But no sin offering, of which any of the blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place, shall be eaten; it shall be burned with fire.

‘Now this is the law of the guilt offering; it is most holy.

In the place where they slaughter the burnt offering they are to slaughter the guilt offering, and he shall splash its blood around on the altar.

Then he shall bring near from it all its fat: the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails,

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe on the liver he shall remove with the kidneys.

And the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire to Yahweh; it is a guilt offering.

Every male among the priests may eat of it. It shall be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.

The guilt offering is like the sin offering, there is one law for them; the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it.

Also the priest who brings near any man’s burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has brought near.

Likewise, every grain offering that is baked in the oven and everything prepared in a pan or on a griddle shall belong to the priest who brings it near.

And every grain offering, mixed with oil or dry, shall belong to all the sons of Aaron, to all alike.

‘Now this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which shall be brought near to Yahweh.

If he brings it near for thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall bring near unleavened cakes mixed with oil and unleavened wafers spread with oil and cakes of well stirred fine flour mixed with oil.

With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving, he shall bring near his offering with cakes of leavened bread.

Of this he shall bring near, one of every offering as a contribution to Yahweh; it shall belong to the priest who splashes the blood of the peace offerings.

‘Now as for the flesh of the sacrifice of his thanksgiving peace offerings, it shall be eaten on the day of his offering; he shall not leave any of it over until morning.

But if the sacrifice of his offering is a votive or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he brings near his sacrifice, and on the next day what is left of it may be eaten;

but what is left over from the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire.

So if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings should ever be eaten on the third day, he who brings it near will not be accepted, and it will not be counted to his benefit. It shall be an offensive thing, and the person who eats of it will bear his own iniquity.

‘Also the flesh that touches anything unclean shall not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. As for other flesh, anyone who is clean may eat such flesh.

But the person who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to Yahweh, in his uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from his people.

When anyone touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean detestable thing, and eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to Yahweh, that person shall be cut off from his people.’ ”

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall not eat any fat from an ox, a sheep, or a goat.

Also the fat of an animal which dies and the fat of an animal torn by beasts may be put to any other use, but you must certainly not eat it.

For whoever eats the fat of the animal from which an offering by fire is brought near to Yahweh, even the person who eats shall be cut off from his people.

And you shall not eat any blood, either of bird or animal, in any of your places of habitation.

Any person who eats any blood, even that person shall be cut off from his people.’ ”

Then they came to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes.

And when He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him,

who had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain;

because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.

And constantly, night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and gashing himself with stones.

And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him;

and crying out with a loud voice, he *said, “What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!”

For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”

And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”

And he began pleading with Him earnestly not to send them out of the region.

Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain.

And the demons pleaded with Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.”

And Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

And their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside. And the people came to see what it was that had happened.

And they *came to Jesus and *observed the demon-possessed man sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had the “legion”; and they became frightened.

And those who had seen it recounted to them how this had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine.

And they began to plead with Him to leave their region.

And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was pleading with Him that he might accompany Him.

And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”

And he went away and began to preach in the Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was marveling.

And when Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore.

And one of the synagogue officials named Jairus *came up, and on seeing Him, *fell at His feet

and *pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come, that by coming, You may lay Your hands on her, so that she will be saved and live.”

And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.