Feb 24th

and he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a calf, a bull, for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and bring them near before Yahweh.

Then to the sons of Israel you shall speak, saying, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both one year old, without blemish, for a burnt offering,

and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before Yahweh, and a grain offering mixed with oil; for today Yahweh will appear to you.’ ”

So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the whole congregation came near and stood before Yahweh.

And Moses said, “This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded you to do, that the glory of Yahweh may appear to you.”

Moses then said to Aaron, “Come near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, that you may make atonement for yourself and for the people; then offer the offering for the people, that you may make atonement for them, just as Yahweh has commanded.”

So Aaron came near to the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering which was for himself.

Then Aaron’s sons brought the blood near to him; and he dipped his finger in the blood and put some on the horns of the altar and poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

The fat and the kidneys and the lobe of the liver of the sin offering he then offered up in smoke on the altar just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

The flesh and the skin, however, he burned with fire outside the camp.

Then he slaughtered the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him, and he splashed it around on the altar.

And they handed the burnt offering to him in pieces, with the head, and he offered them up in smoke on the altar.

He also washed the entrails and the legs and offered them up in smoke with the burnt offering on the altar.

Then he brought near the people’s offering and took the goat of the sin offering which was for the people and slaughtered it and offered it for sin, like the first.

He also brought near the burnt offering and offered it according to the legal judgment.

Next he brought near the grain offering and filled his hand with some of it and offered it up in smoke on the altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning.

Then he slaughtered the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings which was for the people; and Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him, and he splashed it around on the altar.

As for the portions of fat from the ox and from the ram, the fat tail and the fat covering and the kidneys and the lobe of the liver,

they now placed the portions of fat on the breasts; and he offered them up in smoke on the altar.

But the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved as a wave offering before Yahweh, just as Moses had commanded.

Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he stepped down after offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings.

And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. Then they came out and blessed the people. And the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the people.

Then fire came out from before Yahweh and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar. And all the people saw it and shouted and fell on their faces.

Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans and put fire in them. Then they placed incense on it and offered strange fire before Yahweh, which He had not commanded them.

And fire came out from the presence of Yahweh and consumed them, and they died before Yahweh.

Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what Yahweh spoke, saying,

So Aaron kept silent.

Then Moses called to Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come near, carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to the outside of the camp.”

So they came near and carried them still in their tunics to the outside of the camp, as Moses had said.

Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, so that you will not die and that He will not become wrathful against all the congregation. But your relatives, the whole house of Israel, shall weep over the burning which Yahweh has brought about.

You shall not even go out from the doorway of the tent of meeting, lest you die; for the anointing oil of Yahweh is upon you.” So they did according to the word of Moses.

Yahweh then spoke to Aaron, saying,

“Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you will not die—it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations—

and so as to separate between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean,

and so as to instruct the sons of Israel in all the statutes which Yahweh has spoken to them through Moses.”

Then Moses spoke to Aaron and to his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the remaining grain offering from the offerings to Yahweh by fire and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy.

And you shall eat it in a holy place because it is a statute for you and a statute for your sons taken out of the offerings of Yahweh by fire; for thus I have been commanded.

The breast of the wave offering, however, and the thigh of the contribution offering you may eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you; for they have been given as a statute for you and a statute for your sons taken out of the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the sons of Israel.

The thigh contributed by raising up and the breast offered by waving they shall bring along with the offerings by fire of the portions of fat, to wave as a wave offering before Yahweh; so it shall be a perpetual statute for you and your sons with you, just as Yahweh has commanded.”

But Moses searched carefully for the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned up! So he was angry with Aaron’s remaining sons Eleazar and Ithamar, saying,

“Why did you not eat the sin offering at the holy place? For it is most holy, and He gave it to you to bear away the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before Yahweh.

Behold, since its blood had not been brought inside, into the sanctuary, you should certainly have eaten it in the sanctuary, just as I commanded.”

But Aaron spoke to Moses, “Behold, this very day they brought near their sin offering and their burnt offering before Yahweh. Then things like these happened to me. So if I had eaten a sin offering today, would it have been good in the sight of Yahweh?”

So Moses heard this, and it was good in his sight.

Yahweh spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them,

“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth.

Whatever divides a hoof, thus making split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat.

Nevertheless, you shall not eat of these, among those which chew the cud or among those which divide the hoof: the camel, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you.

Likewise, the shaphan, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you;

the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you;

and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud; it is unclean to you.

You shall not eat of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

‘These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas, or in the rivers, you may eat.

But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the swarming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you,

and they shall be detestable to you; you may not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses you shall detest.

Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

And Jesus went out from there and *came into His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him.

And when the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to this man, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?

Is this man not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they were taking offense at Him.

And Jesus was saying to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.”

And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.

And He was marveling at their unbelief.

And He was going around the villages teaching.

And He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and was giving them authority over the unclean spirits;

and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a staff only—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt—

but to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two tunics.”

And He was saying to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town.

And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.”

And they went out and preached that men should repent.

And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

And King Herod heard it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.”

But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”

But when Herod heard it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her.

For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

Now Herodias was holding a grudge against him and was wanting to put him to death and was not able;

for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he was keeping him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.

And a strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his great men and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee;

and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.”

And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.”

And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”

And immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.

And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison,

and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.

And when his disciples heard this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.