Daily Bible GNT March 08 Scroll

The Question about the Sabbath
(Mark 2.23-28; Luke 6.1-5)

Matthew 12 Not long afterward Jesus was walking through some wheat fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began to pick heads of wheat and eat the grain. ²When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Jesus, "Look, it is against our Law for your disciples to do this on the Sabbath!"

³Jesus answered, "Have you never read what David did that time when he and his men were hungry? ⁴He went into the house of God, and he and his men ate the bread offered to God, even though it was against the Law for them to eat it--only the priests were allowed to eat that bread. ⁵Or have you not read in the Law of Moses that every Sabbath the priests in the Temple actually break the Sabbath law, yet they are not guilty? ⁶I tell you that there is something here greater than the Temple. ⁷The scripture says, 'It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices.' If you really knew what this means, you would not condemn people who are not guilty; ⁸for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

The Man with a Paralyzed Hand
(Mark 3.1-6; Luke 6.6-11)

⁹Jesus left that place and went to a synagogue, ¹⁰where there was a man who had a paralyzed hand. Some people were there who wanted to accuse Jesus of doing wrong, so they asked him, "Is it against our Law to heal on the Sabbath?"

¹¹Jesus answered, "What if one of you has a sheep and it falls into a deep hole on the Sabbath? Will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹²And a human being is worth much more than a sheep! So then, our Law does allow us to help someone on the Sabbath." ¹³Then he said to the man with the paralyzed hand, "Stretch out your hand."

He stretched it out, and it became well again, just like the other one. ¹⁴Then the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.

God's Chosen Servant

¹⁵When Jesus heard about the plot against him, he went away from that place; and large crowds followed him. He healed all the sick ¹⁶and gave them orders not to tell others about him. ¹⁷He did this so as to make come true what God had said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁸"Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,

the one I love, and with whom I am pleased.

I will send my Spirit upon him,

and he will announce my judgment to the nations.

¹⁹He will not argue or shout,

or make loud speeches in the streets.

²⁰He will not break off a bent reed,

nor put out a flickering lamp.

He will persist until he causes justice to triumph,

²¹

and on him all peoples will put their hope."

Purification after Having Skin Diseases

Leviticus 14 The LORD gave Moses ²the following regulations about the ritual purification of those of you cured of a dreaded skin disease. On the day you are to be pronounced clean, you shall be brought to the priest, ³and the priest shall take you outside the camp and examine you. If the disease is healed, ⁴the priest shall order that two ritually clean birds be brought, along with a piece of cedar wood, a red cord, and a sprig of hyssop. ⁵Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over a clay bowl containing fresh spring water. ⁶He shall take the other bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the red cord, and the hyssop, in the blood of the bird that was killed. ⁷He shall sprinkle the blood seven times on the one of you who is to be purified from your skin disease, and then he shall pronounce you clean. He shall let the live bird fly away over the open fields. ⁸You shall wash your clothes, shave off all your hair, and take a bath; you will then be ritually clean. You may enter the camp, but you must live outside your tent for seven days. ⁹On the seventh day you shall again shave your head, your beard, your eyebrows, and all the rest of the hair on your body; you shall wash your clothes and take a bath, and then you will be ritually clean.

¹⁰On the eighth day you shall bring two male lambs and one female lamb a year old that are without any defects, five pounds of flour mixed with olive oil, and half a pint of olive oil. ¹¹The priest shall take you and these offerings to the entrance of the Tent of the LORD's presence. ¹²Then the priest shall take one of the male lambs and together with the half pint of oil he shall offer it as a repayment offering. He shall present them as a special gift to the LORD for the priest. ¹³He shall kill the lamb in the holy place where the animals for the sin offerings and the burnt offerings are killed. He must do this because the repayment offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest and is very holy. ¹⁴The priest shall take some of the blood of the lamb and put it on the lobe of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one of you to be declared ritually clean. ¹⁵The priest shall take some of the olive oil and pour it in the palm of his own left hand, ¹⁶dip a finger of his right hand in it, and sprinkle some of it seven times there in the LORD's presence. ¹⁷He shall take some of the oil that is in the palm of his hand and some of the blood of the lamb and put them on the lobe of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one of you to be declared ritually clean. ¹⁸He shall put the rest of the oil that is in the palm of his hand on your head. In this way he shall perform the ritual of purification.

¹⁹Then the priest shall offer the sin offering and perform the ritual of purification. After that, he shall kill the animal for the burnt offering ²⁰and offer it with the grain offering on the altar. In this way the priest shall perform the ritual of purification, and you will be ritually clean.

²¹If you are poor and cannot afford any more, you shall bring for your purification only one male lamb as your repayment offering, a special gift to the LORD for the priest. You shall bring only two pounds of flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering and half a pint of olive oil. ²²You shall also bring two doves or two pigeons, one for the sin offering and one for the burnt offering. ²³On the eighth day of your purification you shall bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Tent. ²⁴The priest shall take the lamb and the olive oil and present them as a special gift to the LORD for the priest. ²⁵He shall kill the lamb and take some of the blood and put it on the lobe of your right ear, on the thumb of your right hand, and on the big toe of your right foot. ²⁶The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand ²⁷and with a finger of his right hand sprinkle some of it seven times there in the LORD's presence. ²⁸He shall put some of the oil on the same places he put the blood: on the lobe of your right ear, on the thumb of your right hand, and on the big toe of your right foot. ²⁹The rest of the oil that is in his palm he shall put on your head and in this way perform the ritual of purification. ³⁰Then he shall offer one of the doves or pigeons ³¹as the sin offering and the other as the burnt offering with the grain offering. In this way the priest shall perform the ritual of purification. ³²This is the law for those who have a dreaded skin disease but who cannot afford the normal offerings required for his purification.

Mildew in Houses

³³The LORD gave Moses and Aaron ^34-35the following regulations about houses affected by spreading mildew. (These were to apply after the people of Israel entered the land of Canaan, which the LORD was going to give them as their possession.) If any of you find that the LORD has sent mildew on your house, then you must go and tell the priest about it. ³⁶The priest shall order everything to be moved out of the house before he goes to examine the mildew; otherwise everything in the house will be declared unclean. Then he shall go to the house ³⁷and examine the mildew. If there are greenish or reddish spots that appear to be eating into the wall, ³⁸he shall leave the house and lock it up for seven days. ³⁹On the seventh day he shall return and examine it again. If the mildew has spread, ⁴⁰he shall order that the stones on which the mildew is found be removed and thrown into some unclean place outside the city. ⁴¹After that he must have all the interior walls scraped and the plaster dumped in an unclean place outside the city. ⁴²Then other stones are to be used to replace the stones that were removed, and new plaster will be used to cover the walls.

⁴³If the mildew breaks out again in the house after the stones have been removed and the house has been scraped and plastered, ⁴⁴the priest shall go and look. If it has spread, the house is unclean. ⁴⁵It must be torn down, and its stones, its wood, and all its plaster must be carried out of the city to an unclean place. ⁴⁶Any who enter the house while it is locked up will be unclean until evening. ⁴⁷Any who lie down or eat in the house must wash their clothes.

⁴⁸If, when the priest comes to look, the mildew has not reappeared after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house ritually clean, because the mildew has been completely removed. ⁴⁹To purify the house, he shall take two birds, some cedar wood, a red cord, and a sprig of hyssop. ⁵⁰He shall kill one of the birds over a clay bowl containing fresh spring water. ⁵¹Then he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the red cord, and the live bird and shall dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed and in the fresh water. And he shall sprinkle the house seven times. ⁵²In this way he shall purify the house with the bird's blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the red cord. ⁵³Then he shall let the live bird fly away outside the city over the open fields. In this way he shall perform the ritual of purification for the house, and it will be ritually clean.

⁵⁴These are the laws about dreaded skin diseases; ^55-56sores, boils, or inflammations; and about mildew in clothes or houses. ⁵⁷These laws determine when something is unclean and when it is clean.

Proverbs 26 Praise for a fool is out of place, like snow in summer or rain at harvest time.

²Curses cannot hurt you unless you deserve them. They are like birds that fly by and never light.

³You have to whip a horse, you have to bridle a donkey, and you have to beat a fool.

⁴If you answer a silly question, you are just as silly as the person who asked it.

⁵Give a silly answer to a silly question, and the one who asked it will realize that he's not as smart as he thinks.

⁶If you let a fool deliver a message, you might as well cut off your own feet; you are asking for trouble.

⁷A fool can use a proverb about as well as crippled people can use their legs.

⁸Praising someone who is stupid makes as much sense as tying a stone in a sling.

⁹A fool quoting a wise saying reminds you of a drunk trying to pick a thorn out of his hand.

¹⁰An employer who hires any fool that comes along is only hurting everybody concerned.

¹¹A fool doing some stupid thing a second time is like a dog going back to its vomit.

¹²The most stupid fool is better off than those who think they are wise when they are not.

¹³Why don't lazy people ever get out of the house? What are they afraid of ? Lions?

¹⁴Lazy people turn over in bed. They get no farther than a door swinging on its hinges.

¹⁵Some people are too lazy to put food in their own mouths.

¹⁶A lazy person will think he is smarter than seven men who can give good reasons for their opinions.

¹⁷Getting involved in an argument that is none of your business is like going down the street and grabbing a dog by the ears.

^18-19Someone who tricks someone else and then claims that he was only joking is like a crazy person playing with a deadly weapon.

²⁰Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, quarreling stops.

²¹Charcoal keeps the embers glowing, wood keeps the fire burning, and troublemakers keep arguments alive.

²²Gossip is so tasty! How we love to swallow it!

²³Insincere talk that hides what you are really thinking is like a fine glaze on a cheap clay pot.

²⁴A hypocrite hides hate behind flattering words. ²⁵They may sound fine, but don't believe him, because his heart is filled to the brim with hate. ²⁶He may disguise his hatred, but everyone will see the evil things he does.

²⁷People who set traps for others get caught themselves. People who start landslides get crushed.

²⁸You have to hate someone to want to hurt him with lies. Insincere talk brings nothing but ruin.

This reading is from The Holy Bible, Today's English Version, Second Edition copyright © American Bible Society, 1992;
Old Testament copyright © American Bible Society, 1976, 1992; New Testament © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992.

These daily Bible readings from the Good News Translation (GNT), formerly the Today's English Version (TEV), are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. All BibleCard® images are copyrighted by iCreative. All rights reserved.