Today's Reading

1The Levitical priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance.

2They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.

3This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the internal organs and the meat from the head.

4You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,

5for the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord’s name always.

6If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the Lord will choose,

7he may minister in the name of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the Lord.

8He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions.

9When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.

10Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,

11or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.

12Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.

13You must be blameless before the Lord your God.

14The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so.

15The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.

16For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”

17The Lord said to me: “What they say is good.

18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him.

19I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.

20But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”

21You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?”

22If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.

1When the Lord your God has destroyed the nations whose land he is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses,

2then set aside for yourselves three cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.

3Determine the distances involved and divide into three parts the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that a person who kills someone may flee for refuge to one of these cities.

4This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety—anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought.

5For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life.

6Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought.

7This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.

8If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he promised on oath to your ancestors, and gives you the whole land he promised them,

9because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk always in obedience to him—then you are to set aside three more cities.

10Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.

11But if out of hate someone lies in wait, assaults and kills a neighbor, and then flees to one of these cities,

12the killer shall be sent for by the town elders, be brought back from the city, and be handed over to the avenger of blood to die.

13Show no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you.

14Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.

15One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

16If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime,

17the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time.

18The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite,

19then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you.

20The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you.

21Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

1When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you.

2When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army.

3He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them.

4For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

5The officers shall say to the army: “Has anyone built a new house and not yet begun to live in it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may begin to live in it.

6Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it.

7Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her.”

8Then the officers shall add, “Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too.”

9When the officers have finished speaking to the army, they shall appoint commanders over it.

10When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace.

11If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you.

12If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city.

13When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.

14As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies.

15This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.

16However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes.

17Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you.

18Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.

19When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees people, that you should besiege them?

20However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls.

28About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.

29As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.

30Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus.

31They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.

32Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

33As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

34While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

35A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

36When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

37The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him.

38A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.

39A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him.

40I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”

41“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

42Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father.

43And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples,

44“Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”

45But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

46An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.

47Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him.

48Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”

49“Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”

50“Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

A psalm of Asaph.

1Surely God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

2But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;

I had nearly lost my foothold.

3For I envied the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4They have no struggles;

their bodies are healthy and strong.

5They are free from common human burdens;

they are not plagued by human ills.

6Therefore pride is their necklace;

they clothe themselves with violence.

7From their callous hearts comes iniquity;

their evil imaginations have no limits.

8They scoff, and speak with malice;

with arrogance they threaten oppression.

9Their mouths lay claim to heaven,

and their tongues take possession of the earth.

10Therefore their people turn to them

and drink up waters in abundance.

11They say, “How would God know?

Does the Most High know anything?”

12This is what the wicked are like—

always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

13Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure

and have washed my hands in innocence.

14All day long I have been afflicted,

and every morning brings new punishments.

15If I had spoken out like that,

I would have betrayed your children.

16When I tried to understand all this,

it troubled me deeply

17till I entered the sanctuary of God;

then I understood their final destiny.

18Surely you place them on slippery ground;

you cast them down to ruin.

19How suddenly are they destroyed,

completely swept away by terrors!

20They are like a dream when one awakes;

when you arise, Lord,

you will despise them as fantasies.

21When my heart was grieved

and my spirit embittered,

22I was senseless and ignorant;

I was a brute beast before you.

23Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

24You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

25Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

26My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

27Those who are far from you will perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

28But as for me, it is good to be near God.

I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;

I will tell of all your deeds.

10The righteous care for the needs of their animals,

but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.