Day 57 reading

Wisdom·Psalm 37:8–16

⁸Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret—it can only bring harm. ⁹For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. ¹⁰Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. ¹¹But the meek will inherit the land and delight in abundant prosperity. ¹²The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them, ¹³but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming. ¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword and bent the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. ¹⁵But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. ¹⁶Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.

New Testament·Mark 5:1–23

¹On the other side of the sea, they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes. ²As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, He was met by a man with an unclean spirit, who was coming from the tombs. ³This man had been living in the tombs and could no longer be restrained, even with chains. ⁴Though he was often bound with chains and shackles, he had broken the chains and shattered the shackles. Now there was no one with the strength to subdue him. ⁵Night and day in the tombs and in the mountains he kept crying out and cutting himself with stones. ⁶When the man saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees before Him. ⁷And he shouted in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You before God not to torture me!” ⁸For Jesus had already declared, “Come out of this man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹“What is your name?” Jesus asked. “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” ¹⁰And he begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of that region. ¹¹There on the nearby hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding. ¹²So the demons begged Jesus, “Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them.” ¹³He gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs, and the herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the water. ¹⁴Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ¹⁶Those who had seen it described what had happened to the demon-possessed man and also to the pigs. ¹⁷And the people began to beg Jesus to leave their region. ¹⁸As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by the demons begged to go with Him. ¹⁹But Jesus would not allow him. “Go home to your own people,” He said, “and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy He has shown you.” ²⁰So the man went away and began to proclaim throughout the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed. ²¹When Jesus had again crossed by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him beside the sea. ²²A synagogue leader named Jairus arrived, and seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet ²³and pleaded with Him urgently, “My little daughter is near death. Please come and place Your hands on her, so that she will be healed and live.”

Old Testament·Leviticus 12:1–13:34

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, ²“Say to the Israelites, ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be unclean for seven days, as she is during the days of her menstruation. ³And on the eighth day the flesh of the boy’s foreskin is to be circumcised. ⁴The woman shall continue in purification from her bleeding for thirty-three days. She must not touch anything sacred or go into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are complete. ⁵If, however, she gives birth to a daughter, the woman will be unclean for two weeks as she is during her menstruation. Then she must continue in purification from her bleeding for sixty-six days. ⁶When the days of her purification are complete, whether for a son or for a daughter, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. ⁷And the priest will present them before the LORD and make atonement for her; and she shall be ceremonially cleansed from her flow of blood. This is the law for a woman giving birth, whether to a male or to a female. ⁸But if she cannot afford a lamb, she shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. Then the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”

13Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ²“When someone has a swelling or rash or bright spot on his skin that could become an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest. ³The priest is to examine the infection on his skin, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean. ⁴If, however, the spot on his skin is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days. ⁵On the seventh day the priest is to reexamine him, and if he sees that the infection is unchanged and has not spread on the skin, the priest must isolate him for another seven days. ⁶The priest will examine him again on the seventh day, and if the sore has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is a rash. The person must wash his clothes and be clean. ⁷But if the rash spreads further on his skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he must present himself again to the priest. ⁸The priest will reexamine him, and if the rash has spread on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; he has a skin disease. ⁹When anyone develops a skin disease, he must be brought to the priest. ¹⁰The priest will examine him, and if there is a white swelling on the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, ¹¹it is a chronic skin disease and the priest must pronounce him unclean. He need not isolate him, for he is unclean. ¹²But if the skin disease breaks out all over his skin so that it covers all the skin of the infected person from head to foot, as far as the priest can see, ¹³the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has covered his entire body, he is to pronounce the infected person clean. Since it has all turned white, he is clean. ¹⁴But whenever raw flesh appears on someone, he will be unclean. ¹⁵When the priest sees the raw flesh, he must pronounce him unclean. The raw flesh is unclean; it is a skin disease. ¹⁶But if the raw flesh changes and turns white, he must go to the priest. ¹⁷The priest will reexamine him, and if the infection has turned white, the priest is to pronounce the infected person clean; then he is clean. ¹⁸When a boil appears on someone’s skin and it heals, ¹⁹and a white swelling or a reddish-white spot develops where the boil was, he must present himself to the priest. ²⁰The priest shall examine it, and if it appears to be beneath the skin and the hair in it has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a diseased infection that has broken out in the boil. ²¹But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in it, and it is not beneath the skin and has faded, the priest shall isolate him for seven days. ²²If it spreads any further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is an infection. ²³But if the spot remains unchanged and does not spread, it is only the scar from the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean. ²⁴When there is a burn on someone’s skin and the raw area of the burn becomes reddish-white or white, ²⁵the priest must examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and the spot appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a diseased infection. ²⁶But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the spot, and it is not beneath the skin but has faded, the priest shall isolate him for seven days. ²⁷On the seventh day the priest is to reexamine him, and if it has spread further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a diseased infection. ²⁸But if the spot is unchanged and has not spread on the skin but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest is to pronounce him clean; for it is only the scar from the burn. ²⁹If a man or woman has an infection on the head or chin, ³⁰the priest shall examine the infection, and if it appears to be deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a scaly outbreak, an infectious disease of the head or chin. ³¹But if the priest examines the scaly infection and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days. ³²On the seventh day the priest is to reexamine the infection, and if the scaly outbreak has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it, and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, ³³then the person must shave himself except for the scaly area. Then the priest shall isolate him for another seven days. ³⁴On the seventh day the priest shall examine the scaly outbreak, and if it has not spread on the skin and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, the priest is to pronounce him clean. He must wash his clothes, and he will be clean.