Shabbat, 11 Elul 5784 / September 14, 2024
Day 623 Readings
Torah: Parshat Ki Teitzei, 7th Portion (Devarim (Deuteronomy) 24:14-25:19)
Deuteronomy 24:14-25:19
Complete Jewish Bible
(vii) 14 “You are not to exploit a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or a foreigner living in your land in your town. 15 You are to pay him his wages the day he earns them, before sunset; for he is poor and looks forward to being paid. Otherwise he will cry out against you to Adonai, and it will be your sin.
16 “Fathers are not to be executed for the children, nor are children to be executed for the fathers; every person will be executed for his own sin.
17 “You are not to deprive the foreigner or the orphan of the justice which is his due, and you are not to take a widow’s clothing as collateral for a loan. 18 Rather, remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and Adonai your God redeemed you from there. That is why I am ordering you to do this.
19 “When harvesting the grain in your field, if you forgot a sheaf of grain there, you are not to go back and get it; it will remain there for the foreigner, the orphan and the widow, so that Adonai your God will bless you in all the work you do. 20 When you beat your olive tree, you are not to go back over the branches again; the olives that are left will be for the foreigner, the orphan and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes from your vineyard, you are not to return and pick grapes a second time; what is left will be for the foreigner, the orphan and the widow. 22 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. That is why I am ordering you to do this.
Deuteronomy 25
1 “If people have a dispute, seek its resolution in court, and the judges render a decision in favor of the righteous one and condemning the wicked one; 2 then, if the wicked one deserves to be flogged, the judge is to have him lie down and be flogged in his presence. The number of strokes is to be proportionate to his offense; 3 but the maximum number is forty. He is not to exceed this; if he goes over this limit and beats him more than this, your brother will be humiliated before your eyes.
4 “You are not to muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.
5 “If brothers live together, and one of them dies childless, his widow is not to marry someone unrelated to him; her husband’s brother is to go to her and perform the duty of a brother-in-law by marrying her. 6 The first child she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, so that his name will not be eliminated from Isra’el. 7 If the man does not wish to marry his brother’s widow, then his brother’s widow is to go up to the gate, to the leaders, and say, ‘My brother-in-law refuses to raise up for his brother a name in Isra’el; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother for me.’ 8 The leaders of his town are to summon him and speak to him. If, on appearing before them, he continues to say, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’ 9 then his brother’s widow is to approach him in the presence of the leaders, pull his sandal off his foot, spit in his face and say, ‘This is what is done to the man who refuses to build up his brother’s family.’ 10 From that time on, his family is to be known in Isra’el as ‘the family of the man who had his sandal pulled off.’
11 “If men are fighting with each other, and the wife of one comes up to help her husband get away from the man attacking him by grabbing the attacker’s private parts with her hand, 12 you are to cut off her hand; show no pity.
13 “You are not to have in your pack two sets of weights, one heavy, the other light. 14 You are not to have in your house two sets of measures, one big, the other small. 15 You are to have a correct and fair weight, and you are to have a correct and fair measure, so that you will prolong your days in the land Adonai your God is giving you. 16 For all who do such things, all who deal dishonestly, are destestable to Adonai your God.
(Maftir) 17 “Remember what ‘Amalek did to you on the road as you were coming out of Egypt, 18 how he met you by the road, attacked those in the rear, those who were exhausted and straggling behind when you were tired and weary. He did not fear God. 19 Therefore, when Adonai your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies in the land Adonai your God is giving you as your inheritance to possess, you are to blot out all memory of ‘Amalek from under heaven. Don’t forget!
Haftarah Ki Tetze: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 54:1–10 [Messianic adaptation: commence the reading at 52:13]
Isaiah 54:1-10
Complete Jewish Bible
1 “Sing, barren woman who has never had a child! Burst into song, shout for joy, you who have never been in labor! For the deserted wife will have more children than the woman who is living with her husband,” says Adonai. 2 Enlarge the space for your tent, extend the curtains of your dwelling; do not hold back, lengthen your cords, make your tent pegs firm. 3 For you will spread out to the right and the left, your descendants will possess the nations and inhabit the desolated cities. 4 Don’t be afraid, for you won’t be ashamed; don’t be discouraged, for you won’t be disgraced. You will forget the shame of your youth, no longer remember the dishonor of being widowed. 5 For your husband is your Maker,Adonai-Tzva’ot is his name. The Holy One of Isra’el is your Redeemer. He will be called the God of all the earth. 6 For Adonai has called you back like a wife abandoned and grief-stricken; “A wife married in her youth cannot be rejected,” says your God. 7 “Briefly I abandoned you, but with great compassion I am taking you back. 8 I was angry for a moment and hid my face from you; but with everlasting grace I will have compassion on you,” says Adonai your Redeemer. 9 “For me this is like Noach’s flood. Just as I swore that no flood like Noach’s would ever again cover the earth, so now I swear that never again will I be angry with you or rebuke you. 10 For the mountains may leave and the hills be removed, but my grace will never leave you, and my covenant of peace will not be removed,” says Adonai, who has compassion on you.
B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Ki Tetze: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:31–32; 19:3–12; 22:23–32; Mark 10:2–12; 12:18–27; Luke 20:27–38; 1 Corinthians 9:4–18; Galatians 3:9–14; 1 Timothy 5:17–18
Matthew 5:31-32
English Standard Version
Divorce
31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matthew 19:3–12
Complete Jewish Bible
3 Some P’rushim came and tried to trap him by asking, “Is it permitted for a man to divorce his wife on any ground whatever?” 4 He replied, “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female,[a] 5 and that he said, ‘For this reason a man should leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two are to become one flesh’?[b] 6 Thus they are no longer two, but one. So then, no one should split apart what God has joined together.”
7 They said to him, “Then why did Moshe give the commandment that a man should hand his wife a get and divorce her?”[c] 8 He answered, “Moshe allowed you to divorce your wives because your hearts are so hardened. But this is not how it was at the beginning. 9 Now what I say to you is that whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery!”
10 The talmidim said to him, “If that is how things are between husband and wife, it would be better not to marry!” 11 He said to them, “Not everyone grasps this teaching, only those for whom it is meant. 12 For there are different reasons why men do not marry — some because they were born without the desire, some because they have been castrated, and some because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever can grasp this, let him do so.”
Mark 12:18-27
Complete Jewish Bible
18 Then some Tz’dukim came to him. They are the ones who say there is no such thing as resurrection, so they put to him a sh’eilah: 19 “Rabbi, Moshe wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and have children to preserve the man’s family line.[a] 20 There were seven brothers. The first one took a wife, and when he died, he left no children. 21 Then the second one took her and died without leaving children, and the third likewise, 22 and none of the seven left children. Last of all, the woman also died. 23 In the Resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”
24 Yeshua said to them, “Isn’t this the reason that you go astray? because you are ignorant both of the Tanakh and of the power of God? 25 For when people rise from the dead, neither men nor women marry — they are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moshe, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov’?[b] 27 He is God not of the dead, but of the living! You are going far astray!”
1 Corinthians 9:4-18
English Standard Version
4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife,[a] as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?
Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
Galatians 3:9-14
English Standard Version
9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”[a] 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit[b] through faith.
1 Timothy 5:17-18
English Standard Version
17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”
Bible Study Together
Ezekiel 28
English Standard Version
Prophecy Against the Prince of Tyre
28 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God:
“Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god,I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god—3 you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you;4 by your wisdom and your understanding you have made wealth for yourself,and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;5 by your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth—6 therefore thus says the Lord God:Because you make your heart like the heart of a god,7 therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of the nations;and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor.8 They shall thrust you down into the pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas.9 Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who kill you,though you are but a man, and no god, in the hands of those who slay you?10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.”
A Lament over the King of Tyre
11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God:
“You were the signet of perfection,[a] full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire,[b] emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings.[c]On the day that you were created they were prepared. 14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you;[d] you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you,[e] O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. 18 By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. 19 All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”
Prophecy Against Sidon
20 The word of the Lord came to me: 21 “Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her 22 and say, Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, and I will manifest my glory in your midst.And they shall know that I am the Lord when I execute judgments in her and manifest my holiness in her;23 for I will send pestilence into her, and blood into her streets;and the slain shall fall in her midst, by the sword that is against her on every side.Then they will know that I am the Lord.
24 “And for the house of Israel there shall be no more a brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.
Israel Gathered in Security
25 “Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.”
Psalm 13
English Standard Version
How Long, O Lord?
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Acts 12:6-25
English Standard Version
Peter Is Rescued
6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.”[a] Then he departed and went to another place.
18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.
The Death of Herod
20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain,[b] they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
24 But the word of God increased and multiplied.
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from[c] Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.
ESV Readings
Scripture
Psalms 42
English Standard Version
Book Two
Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?
To the choirmaster. A Maskil[a] 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?[b]
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[c]
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.
Psalms 43
2 Samuel 3
Ezekiel 2
Ezekiel 3
Luke 9:1-50