1I said, “I will watch my ways so that I will not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are present.” 2I was speechless and still; I remained silent, even from speaking good, and my sorrow was stirred. 3My heart grew hot within me; as I mused, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue: 4“Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is. 5You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah 6Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away. 7And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You. 8Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of fools. 9I have become mute; I do not open my mouth because of what You have done. 10Remove Your scourge from me; I am perishing by the force of Your hand. 11You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity, consuming like a moth what he holds dear; surely each man is but a vapor. Selah 12Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers. 13Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may again be cheered before I depart and am no more.”
New Testament·Mark 8:1–19
1In those days the crowd once again became very large, and they had nothing to eat. Jesus called the disciples to Him and said, 2“I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a great distance.” 4His disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could anyone find enough bread to feed all these people?” 5“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied. 6And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then He took the seven loaves, gave thanks and broke them, and gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And they distributed them to the crowd. 7They also had a few small fish, and Jesus blessed them and ordered that these be set before them as well. 8The people ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 9And about four thousand men were present. As soon as Jesus had dismissed the crowd, 10He got into the boat with His disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. 11Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, testing Him by demanding from Him a sign from heaven. 12Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13And He left them, got back into the boat, and crossed to the other side. 14Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15“Watch out!” He cautioned them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.” 16So they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17Aware of their conversation, Jesus asked them, “Why are you debating about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Do you have such hard hearts? 18‘Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?’ And do you not remember? 19When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces did you collect?” “Twelve,” they answered.
Old Testament·Leviticus 22
1Then the LORD said to Moses, 2“Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name. I am the LORD. 3Tell them that for the generations to come, if any of their descendants in a state of uncleanness approaches the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person must be cut off from My presence. I am the LORD. 4If a descendant of Aaron has a skin disease or a discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything defiled by a corpse or by a man who has an emission of semen, 5or whoever touches a crawling creature or a person that makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be— 6the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening. He must not eat from the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water. 7When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the sacred offerings, for they are his food. 8He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD. 9The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them. 10No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it. 11But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food. 12If the priest’s daughter is married to a man other than a priest, she is not to eat of the sacred contributions. 13But if a priest’s daughter with no children becomes widowed or divorced and returns to her father’s house, she may share her father’s food as in her youth. But no outsider may share it. 14If anyone eats a sacred offering in error, he must add a fifth to its value and give the sacred offering to the priest. 15The priests must not profane the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD 16by allowing the people to eat the sacred offerings and thus to bear the punishment for guilt. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.” 17Then the LORD said to Moses, 18“Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any foreign resident who presents a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, 19must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf. 20You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. 21When a man presents a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or flock to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without blemish or defect to be acceptable. 22You are not to present to the LORD any animal that is blind, injured, or maimed, or anything with a running sore, a festering rash, or a scab; you must not put any of these on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD. 23You may present as a freewill offering an ox or sheep that has a deformed or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow. 24You are not to present to the LORD an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut; you are not to sacrifice them in your land. 25Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’” 26Then the LORD said to Moses, 27“When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as an offering made by fire to the LORD. 28But you must not slaughter an ox or a sheep on the same day as its young. 29When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, offer it so that it may be acceptable on your behalf. 30It must be eaten that same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the LORD. 31You are to keep My commandments and practice them. I am the LORD. 32You must not profane My holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy among the Israelites. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, 33who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.”
Reflect
Is there a command in today’s reading you can obey before tonight?