Tuesday, 8 Nissan 5784 / April 16, 2024
Day 472 Readings
Torah: Parshat Metzora, 3rd Portion Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:21-32
Leviticus 14:21-32
English Standard Version
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[a] 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.”
BIBLE Study Together
Amos 4
English Standard Version
4 “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria,who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’2 The Lord God has sworn by his holiness that, behold, the days are coming upon you,when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks.3 And you shall go out through the breaches, each one straight ahead; and you shall be cast out into Harmon,”declares the Lord.
4 “Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression;bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days;5 offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!”declares the Lord God.
Israel Has Not Returned to the Lord
6 “I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places,yet you did not return to me,”declares the Lord.
7 “I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest;I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city;one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither;8 so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied;yet you did not return to me,”declares the Lord.
9 “I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured;yet you did not return to me,”declares the Lord.
10 “I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses,[a] and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord.
11 “I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand[b] plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
13 For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought,who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!
Amos 5
Seek the Lord and Live
1 Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:
2 “Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel; forsaken on her land, with none to raise her up.”
3 For thus says the Lord God:
“The city that went out a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went out a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”
4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
“Seek me and live;5 but do not seek Bethel,and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.”
6 Seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,7 O you who turn justice to wormwood[c] and cast down righteousness to the earth!
8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night,who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the Lord is his name; 9 who makes destruction flash forth against the strong, so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10 They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth. 11 Therefore because you trample on[d] the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. 12 For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins—you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate. 13 Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time.
14 Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. 15 Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Luke 22:39-46
English Standard Version
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.[a] 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Mark 14:43-52
English Standard Version
Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
43 And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” 45 And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 46 And they laid hands on him and seized him. 47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant[a] of the high priest and cut off his ear. 48 And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” 50 And they all left him and fled.
A Young Man Flees
51 And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.
ESV Readings
Scripture
Psalm 106
English Standard Version
Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good
1 Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!
4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them,
5 that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.
6 Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make known his mighty power.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
11 And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left.
12 Then they believed his words; they sang his praise.
13 But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.
14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert;
15 he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them.
16 When men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,
17 the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
18 Fire also broke out in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
19 They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image.
20 They exchanged the glory of God[b] for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23 Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise. 25 They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the Lord. 26 Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness, 27 and would make their offspring fall among the nations, scattering them among the lands.
28 Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;29 they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. 30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed. 31 And that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever.
32 They angered him at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account,33 for they made his spirit bitter,[c] and he spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them, 35 but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. 36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them.37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; 38 they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.39 Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the whore in their deeds.
40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage;41 he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them.42 Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power.43 Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry.45 For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.46 He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive.
47 Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!
Leviticus 13
Isaiah 13
English Standard Version
The Judgment of Babylon
13 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2 On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles.3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.[a]
4 The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The Lord of hosts is mustering a host for battle. 5 They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the Lord and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.[b]
6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; as destruction from the Almighty[c] it will come!7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.8 They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.
9 Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light;the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity;I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir.13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place,at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.14 And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them,each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land.15 Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.16 Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished.
17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.18 Their bows will slaughter[d] the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.20 It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.21 But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches[e] will dwell, and there wild goats will dance.22 Hyenas[f] will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged.
Isaiah 14
2 Corinthians 10
English Standard Version
Paul Defends His Ministry
10 I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2 I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
7 Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ's, so also are we. 8 For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. 9 I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. 10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” 11 Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. 12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.
Dear AVI,
Blessed are YOU O KING YESHUA of Glory, HOLY ONE of Israel!!! Almighty and Sovereign! Holy is YOUR Name! Toda Raba O GOD for YOUR grace and mercy for YOUR favor that surrounds us like a shield. I pray O LORD for YOUR favor to be upon me as I read YOUR WORD, I am trying my best to seek good and not evil. I am doing my best for YOU O GOD. Last night my parents seem to lose their interest with the chicken business because of the way it is not making money right now, but as I read YOUR WORD, I am thinking of just investing my own money and doing the business on my own even if they don't allow me to because it's not written in the laws of our corporation that we can't do our own business. But I don't know if this idea is from YOU, I pray O GOD that YOU will lead me continually and make things clear to me. I really love that biryani chicken made by Ronnie and I want to eat it again today but I don't know if YOU will consider me to work with the unbelievers, or be partners with them. It sounds like harder work. I am not yet even confident of our accounting or handling our own business yet, but I want to set up a smaller one so I can learn to handle things on my own. I pray O GOD, that YOU help me and enable me to do whatever YOU want me to do. If YOU do not want me to work with them then give me a clear sign and another word, just keep warning me if I am going to the wrong path, please just keep warning me and help me to keep obeying YOU. For YOU are the LORD my GOD my Shepherd who deserve all my devotion and allegiance. Please bless me LORD, and give me an accounting teacher. Please LORD JESUS have mercy on me.
Ba HaShem YESHUA HaMashiach, Amen!