Leviticus 11 - 12

Clean and Unclean Animals

Yahweh spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth. 3 Whatever divides a hoof, thus making split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat. 4 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. 5 Likewise, the shaphan, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you; 6 the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you; 7 and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud; it is unclean to you. 8 You shall not eat of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you. 9 ‘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. 10 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, 11 and they shall be detestable to you; you may not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses you shall detest. 12 Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is detestable to you. 13 ‘These, moreover, you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, 14 and the kite and the falcon in its kind, 15 every raven in its kind, 16 and the ostrich and the owl and the gull and the hawk in its kind, 17 and the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl, 18 and the white owl and the pelican and the carrion vulture, 19 and the stork, the heron in its kinds, and the hoopoe, and the bat. 20 ‘All the swarming things that fly and that walk on all fours are detestable to you. 21 Yet these you may eat among all the swarming things that fly and that walk on all fours: those which have above their feet jointed legs with which to jump on the earth. 22 These of them you may eat: the locust in its kinds and the devastating locust in its kinds and the cricket in its kinds and the grasshopper in its kinds. 23 But all other swarming things that fly and that are four-footed are detestable to you. 24 ‘By these, moreover, you will be made unclean: whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening, 25 and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. 26 Concerning all the animals which divide the hoof but do not make a split hoof or which do not chew cud, they are unclean to you: whoever touches them becomes unclean. 27 Also whatever walks on its paws, among all the creatures that walk on all fours, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening, 28 and the one who picks up their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; they are unclean to you. 29 ‘Now these are to you the unclean among the swarming things which swarm on the earth: the mole and the mouse and the great lizard in its kinds, 30 and the gecko and the crocodile and the lizard and the sand reptile and the chameleon. 31 These are to you the unclean among all the swarming things; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening. 32 Also anything on which one of them may fall when they are dead becomes unclean, including any wooden article or clothing or a skin or a sack—any article by which work is done—it shall be put in the water and be unclean until evening, then it becomes clean. 33 As for any earthenware vessel into which one of them may fall, whatever is in it becomes unclean, and you shall break the vessel. 34 Any of the food which may be eaten, on which water comes, shall become unclean, and any liquid which may be drunk in every vessel shall become unclean. 35 Everything, moreover, on which part of their carcass may fall becomes unclean; an oven or a stove shall be smashed; they are unclean and shall continue as unclean to you. 36 Nevertheless a spring or a cistern collecting water shall be clean, though the one who touches their carcass shall be unclean. 37 And if a part of their carcass falls on any seed for sowing which is to be sown, it is clean. 38 Though if water is put on the seed and a part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you. 39 ‘Also if one of the animals dies which you have for food, the one who touches its carcass becomes unclean until evening. 40 He too, who eats some of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening, and the one who picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. 41 ‘Now every swarming thing that swarms on the earth is detestable; it shall not be eaten. 42 Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, whatever has many feet, in respect to every swarming thing that swarms on the earth, you shall not eat them, for they are detestable. 43 Do not render yourselves detestable through any of the swarming things that swarm; and you shall not make yourselves unclean with them so that you become unclean. 44 For I am Yahweh your God. Therefore, set yourselves apart as holy and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that move on the earth. 45 For I am Yahweh who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’” 46 This is the law regarding the animal and the bird and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, 47 to separate between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.

Atonement After Giving Birth

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying: ‘When a woman gives birth and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days, as in the days of her menstruation she shall be unclean. 3 Now on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 Then she shall remain in the blood of her cleansing for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing; and she shall not enter the sanctuary until the days of her cleansing are fulfilled. 5 But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall remain in the blood of her cleansing for sixty-six days. 6 ‘When the days of her cleansing are fulfilled, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the tent of meeting a one year old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. 7 Then he shall bring it near before Yahweh and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, whether a male or a female. 8 But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”

Acts 7

Stephen’s Defense

And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And he said, “Hear me, brothers and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. 5 But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his seed after him, even when he had no child. 6 But God spoke in this way, that his seed would be sojourners in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. 7 ‘And I Myself will judge the nation to which they will be enslaved,’ said God, ‘and after that they will come out and serve Me in this place.’ 8 And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham was the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac was the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. 9 “And the patriarchs, becoming jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he appointed him governor over Egypt and all his household. 11 “Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family was disclosed to Pharaoh. 14 Then Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down to Egypt and there he and our fathers died. 16 And from there they were removed to Shechem and placed in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. 17 “But as the time of the promise was drawing near which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, 18 until another king arose over Egypt who did not know about Joseph. 19 It was he who deceitfully took advantage of our family and mistreated our fathers to set their infants outside so that they would not survive. 20 It was at this time that Moses was born, and he was lovely in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father’s home. 21 And after he had been set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and nurtured him as her own son. 22 And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in words and deeds. 23 But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. 24 And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took justice for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. 25 And he supposed that his brothers understood that God was granting them salvation through him, but they did not understand. 26 On the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together, and he tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers, why are you treating one another unjustly?’ 27 But the one who was treating his neighbor unjustly pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us? 28 Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this remark, Moses fled and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he was the father of two sons. 30 “And after forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was marveling at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and would not dare to look. 33 But the Lord said to him, ‘Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their groans, and I have come down to deliver them; come now, and I will send you to Egypt.’ 35 “This Moses whom they disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, doing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one who, in the congregation in the wilderness, was with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai and with our fathers; the one who received living oracles to pass on to you. 39 Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘Did you present Me with slain beasts and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 43 You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will remove you beyond Babylon.’ 44 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He, who spoke to Moses, directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen. 45 And having received it in their turn, our fathers brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations whom God drove out before our fathers, until the time of David. 46 David found favor in the sight of God, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But Solomon built a house for Him. 48 However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands, as the prophet says: 49

‘Heaven is My throne,

And earth is the footstool of My feet.

What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord,

‘Or what place is there for My rest?

Was it not My hand which made all these things?’

51 “You men—stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears—are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 And which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; 53 you who received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet did not observe it.”

Stephen Is Stoned to Death

54 Now when they heard this, they became furious in their hearts, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But crying out with a loud voice, they covered their ears and rushed at him with one accord. 58 And when they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he was calling out and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And having said this, he fell asleep.

Psalm 79

How Long, O Yahweh?

A Psalm of Asaph.

O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance;

They have defiled Your holy temple;

They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

They have given the dead bodies of Your slaves for food to the birds of the heavens,

The flesh of Your holy ones to the beasts of the earth.

They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem;

And there was no one to bury them.

We have become a reproach to our neighbors,

A mockery and derision to those around us.

How long, O Yahweh? Will You be angry forever?

Will Your jealousy burn like fire?

Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which do not know You,

And upon the kingdoms which do not call upon Your name.

For they have devoured Jacob

And laid waste his abode.

Do not remember our former iniquities against us;

Let Your compassion quickly approach us,

For we are brought very low.

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name;

And deliver us and atone for our sins for Your name’s sake.

Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Let it be known among the nations before our eyes:

Vengeance for the blood of Your slaves which has been poured out.

Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You;

According to the greatness of Your power preserve those who are doomed to die.

And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom

The reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.

But as for us, as Your people and the sheep of Your pasture,

We will give thanks to You forever;

From generation to generation we will recount Your praise.