Leviticus 8, Psalm 9, 10, Proverbs 23, 1 Thessalonians 2

Leviticus 8,

1 The LORD said to Moses,
 
2 "Bring Aaron and his sons, their garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams and the basket containing bread made without yeast,
 
3 and gather the entire assembly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting."
 
4 Moses did as the LORD commanded him, and the assembly gathered at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
 
5 Moses said to the assembly, "This is what the LORD has commanded to be done."
 
6 Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water.
 
7 He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him. He also tied the ephod to him by its skillfully woven waistband; so it was fastened on him.
 
8 He placed the breastpiece on him and put the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece.
 
9 Then he placed the turban on Aaron's head and set the gold plate, the sacred diadem, on the front of it, as the LORD commanded Moses.
 
10 Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, and so consecrated them.
 
11 He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them.
 
12 He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to consecrate him.
 
13 Then he brought Aaron's sons forward, put tunics on them, tied sashes around them and put headbands on them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
 
14 He then presented the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.
 
15 Moses slaughtered the bull and took some of the blood, and with his finger he put it on all the horns of the altar to purify the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. So he consecrated it to make atonement for it.
 
16 Moses also took all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys and their fat, and burned it on the altar.
 
17 But the bull with its hide and its flesh and its offal he burned up outside the camp, as the LORD commanded Moses.
 
18 He then presented the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.
 
19 Then Moses slaughtered the ram and sprinkled the blood against the altar on all sides.
 
20 He cut the ram into pieces and burned the head, the pieces and the fat.
 
21 He washed the inner parts and the legs with water and burned the whole ram on the altar as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD by fire, as the LORD commanded Moses.
 
22 He then presented the other ram, the ram for the ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.
 
23 Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.
 
24 Moses also brought Aaron's sons forward and put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Then he sprinkled blood against the altar on all sides.
 
25 He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, both kidneys and their fat and the right thigh.
 
26 Then from the basket of bread made without yeast, which was before the LORD, he took a cake of bread, and one made with oil, and a wafer; he put these on the fat portions and on the right thigh.
 
27 He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and waved them before the LORD as a wave offering.
 
28 Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering as an ordination offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD by fire.
 
29 He also took the breast-Moses' share of the ordination ram-and waved it before the LORD as a wave offering, as the LORD commanded Moses.
 
30 Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood from the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments and his sons and their garments.
 
31 Moses then said to Aaron and his sons, "Cook the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and eat it there with the bread from the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, 'Aaron and his sons are to eat it.'
 
32 Then burn up the rest of the meat and the bread.
 
33 Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed, for your ordination will last seven days.
 
34 What has been done today was commanded by the LORD to make atonement for you.
 
35 You must stay at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days and do what the LORD requires, so you will not die; for that is what I have been commanded."
 
36 So Aaron and his sons did everything the LORD commanded through Moses.

Psalm 9, 10,

1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.
 
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
 
3 My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you.
 
4 For you have upheld my right and my cause; you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.
 
5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
 
6 Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished.
 
7 The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment.
 
8 He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice.
 
9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
 
10 Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
 
11 Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.
 
12 For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
 
13 O LORD, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
 
14 that I may declare your praises in the gates of the Daughter of Zion and there rejoice in your salvation.
 
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
 
16 The LORD is known by his justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion. Selah
 
17 The wicked return to the grave, all the nations that forget God.
 
18 But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.
 
19 Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence.
 
20 Strike them with terror, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men. Selah
 

1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
 
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.
 
3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
 
4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
 
5 His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies.
 
6 He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me; I'll always be happy and never have trouble."
 
7 His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.
 
8 He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims.
 
9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
 
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.
 
11 He says to himself, "God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees."
 
12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.
 
13 Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, "He won't call me to account"?
 
14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.
 
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.
 
16 The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.
 
17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
 
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

Proverbs 23,

1 When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you,
 
2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.
 
3 Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
 
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.
 
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
 
6 Do not eat the food of a stingy man, do not crave his delicacies;
 
7 for he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost. "Eat and drink," he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
 
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.
 
9 Do not speak to a fool, for he will scorn the wisdom of your words.
 
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
 
11 for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you.
 
12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
 
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.
 
14 Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death.
 
15 My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad;
 
16 my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
 
17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.
 
18 There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.
 
19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path.
 
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,
 
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
 
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
 
23 Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.
 
24 The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.
 
25 May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice!
 
26 My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways,
 
27 for a prostitute is a deep pit and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
 
28 Like a bandit she lies in wait, and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
 
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
 
30 Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
 
31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!
 
32 In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.
 
33 Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things.
 
34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.
 
35 "They hit me," you will say, "but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?"

1 Thessalonians 2

1 You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.
 
2 We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.
 
3 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.
 
4 On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
 
5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed-God is our witness.
 
6 We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you,
 
7 but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.
 
8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
 
9 Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
 
10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.
 
11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,
 
12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
 
13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.
 
14 For you, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews,
 
15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men
 
16 in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.
 
17 But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.
 
18 For we wanted to come to you-certainly I, Paul, did, again and again-but Satan stopped us.
 
19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?
 
20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy.