February 20

Matthew 19:1-15

Teaching About Divorce

[1] Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. [2] And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

[3] And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” [4] He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, [5] and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? [6] So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” [7] They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” [8] He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. [9] And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

[10] The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” [11] But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. [12] For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Let the Children Come to Me

[13] Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, [14] but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” [15] And he laid his hands on them and went away.

Acts 26:1-18

Paul’s Defense Before Agrippa

[1] So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense:

[2] “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, [3] especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

[4] “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. [5] They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. [6] And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, [7] to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! [8] Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

[9] “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. [10] And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. [11] And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

Paul Tells of His Conversion

[12] “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. [13] At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. [14] And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ [15] And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. [16] But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, [17] delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you [18] to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Psalm 42

Book Two

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.

    [1] As a deer pants for flowing streams,

        so pants my soul for you, O God. 

    [2] My soul thirsts for God,

        for the living God.

    When shall I come and appear before God? 

    [3] My tears have been my food

        day and night,

    while they say to me all the day long,

        “Where is your God?” 

    [4] These things I remember,

        as I pour out my soul:

    how I would go with the throng

        and lead them in procession to the house of God

    with glad shouts and songs of praise,

        a multitude keeping festival.

    [5] Why are you cast down, O my soul,

        and why are you in turmoil within me?

    Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

        my salvation  [6] and my God.

    My soul is cast down within me;

        therefore I remember you

    from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,

        from Mount Mizar. 

    [7] Deep calls to deep

        at the roar of your waterfalls;

    all your breakers and your waves

        have gone over me. 

    [8] By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,

        and at night his song is with me,

        a prayer to the God of my life. 

    [9] I say to God, my rock:

        “Why have you forgotten me?

    Why do I go mourning

        because of the oppression of the enemy?” 

    [10] As with a deadly wound in my bones,

        my adversaries taunt me,

    while they say to me all the day long,

        “Where is your God?”

    [11] Why are you cast down, O my soul,

        and why are you in turmoil within me?

    Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

        my salvation and my God.

Leviticus 14

Laws for Cleansing Lepers

[1] The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [2] “This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest, [3] and the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall look. Then, if the case of leprous disease is healed in the leprous person, [4] the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two live clean birds and cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop. [5] And the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water. [6] He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. [7] And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird go into the open field. [8] And he who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. And after that he may come into the camp, but live outside his tent seven days. [9] And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair from his head, his beard, and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair, and then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean.

[10] “And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish, and a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, and one log of oil. [11] And the priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed and these things before the LORD, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. [12] And the priest shall take one of the male lambs and offer it for a guilt offering, along with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. [13] And he shall kill the lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary. For the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. [14] The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. [15] Then the priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand [16] and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the LORD. [17] And some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. [18] And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD. [19] The priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. [20] And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

[21] “But if he is poor and cannot afford so much, then he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and a log of oil; [22] also two turtledoves or two pigeons, whichever he can afford. The one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. [23] And on the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, before the LORD. [24] And the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. [25] And he shall kill the lamb of the guilt offering. And the priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. [26] And the priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, [27] and shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD. [28] And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, in the place where the blood of the guilt offering was put. [29] And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD. [30] And he shall offer, of the turtledoves or pigeons, whichever he can afford, [31] one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, along with a grain offering. And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for him who is being cleansed. [32] This is the law for him in whom is a case of leprous disease, who cannot afford the offerings for his cleansing.”

Laws for Cleansing Houses

[33] The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, [34] “When you come into the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a case of leprous disease in a house in the land of your possession, [35] then he who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, ‘There seems to me to be some case of disease in my house.’ [36] Then the priest shall command that they empty the house before the priest goes to examine the disease, lest all that is in the house be declared unclean. And afterward the priest shall go in to see the house. [37] And he shall examine the disease. And if the disease is in the walls of the house with greenish or reddish spots, and if it appears to be deeper than the surface, [38] then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house and shut up the house seven days. [39] And the priest shall come again on the seventh day, and look. If the disease has spread in the walls of the house, [40] then the priest shall command that they take out the stones in which is the disease and throw them into an unclean place outside the city. [41] And he shall have the inside of the house scraped all around, and the plaster that they scrape off they shall pour out in an unclean place outside the city. [42] Then they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other plaster and plaster the house.

[43] “If the disease breaks out again in the house, after he has taken out the stones and scraped the house and plastered it, [44] then the priest shall go and look. And if the disease has spread in the house, it is a persistent leprous disease in the house; it is unclean. [45] And he shall break down the house, its stones and timber and all the plaster of the house, and he shall carry them out of the city to an unclean place. [46] Moreover, whoever enters the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening, [47] and whoever sleeps in the house shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes.

[48] “But if the priest comes and looks, and if the disease has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, for the disease is healed. [49] And for the cleansing of the house he shall take two small birds, with cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop, [50] and shall kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water [51] and shall take the cedarwood and the hyssop and the scarlet yarn, along with the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed and in the fresh water and sprinkle the house seven times. [52] Thus he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the fresh water and with the live bird and with the cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn. [53] And he shall let the live bird go out of the city into the open country. So he shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.”

[54] This is the law for any case of leprous disease: for an itch, [55] for leprous disease in a garment or in a house, [56] and for a swelling or an eruption or a spot, [57] to show when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the law for leprous disease.

Leviticus 15

Laws About Bodily Discharges

[1] The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, [2] “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. [3] And this is the law of his uncleanness for a discharge: whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is blocked up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness. [4] Every bed on which the one with the discharge lies shall be unclean, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. [5] And anyone who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. [6] And whoever sits on anything on which the one with the discharge has sat shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. [7] And whoever touches the body of the one with the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. [8] And if the one with the discharge spits on someone who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. [9] And any saddle on which the one with the discharge rides shall be unclean. [10] And whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries such things shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. [11] Anyone whom the one with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. [12] And an earthenware vessel that the one with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.

[13] “And when the one with a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes. And he shall bathe his body in fresh water and shall be clean. [14] And on the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and come before the LORD to the entrance of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest. [15] And the priest shall use them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD for his discharge.

[16] “If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until the evening. [17] And every garment and every skin on which the semen comes shall be washed with water and be unclean until the evening. [18] If a man lies with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them shall bathe themselves in water and be unclean until the evening.

[19] “When a woman has a discharge, and the discharge in her body is blood, she shall be in her menstrual impurity for seven days, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening. [20] And everything on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean. Everything also on which she sits shall be unclean. [21] And whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. [22] And whoever touches anything on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. [23] Whether it is the bed or anything on which she sits, when he touches it he shall be unclean until the evening. [24] And if any man lies with her and her menstrual impurity comes upon him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

[25] “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness. As in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean. [26] Every bed on which she lies, all the days of her discharge, shall be to her as the bed of her impurity. And everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her menstrual impurity. [27] And whoever touches these things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. [28] But if she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. [29] And on the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting. [30] And the priest shall use one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her before the LORD for her unclean discharge.

[31] “Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.”

[32] This is the law for him who has a discharge and for him who has an emission of semen, becoming unclean thereby; [33] also for her who is unwell with her menstrual impurity, that is, for anyone, male or female, who has a discharge, and for the man who lies with a woman who is unclean.