Leviticus 15, Psalm 18, Proverbs 29, 2 Thessalonians 3

Leviticus 15,

1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
 
2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean.
 
3 Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness:
 
4 " 'Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean.
 
5 Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
 
6 Whoever sits on anything that the man with a discharge sat on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
 
7 " 'Whoever touches the man who has a discharge must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
 
8 " 'If the man with the discharge spits on someone who is clean, that person must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
 
9 " 'Everything the man sits on when riding will be unclean,
 
10 and whoever touches any of the things that were under him will be unclean till evening; whoever picks up those things must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
 
11 " 'Anyone the man with a discharge touches without rinsing his hands with water must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
 
12 " 'A clay pot that the man touches must be broken, and any wooden article is to be rinsed with water.
 
13 " 'When a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days for his ceremonial cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean.
 
14 On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons and come before the LORD to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and give them to the priest.
 
15 The priest is to sacrifice them, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement before the LORD for the man because of his discharge.
 
16 " 'When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
 
17 Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening.
 
18 When a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
 
19 " 'When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.
 
20 " 'Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean.
 
21 Whoever touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
 
22 Whoever touches anything she sits on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
 
23 Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, he will be unclean till evening.
 
24 " 'If a man lies with her and her monthly flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean.
 
25 " 'When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period.
 
26 Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period.
 
27 Whoever touches them will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
 
28 " 'When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean.
 
29 On the eighth day she must take two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
 
30 The priest is to sacrifice one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement for her before the LORD for the uncleanness of her discharge.
 
31 " 'You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place, which is among them.' "
 
32 These are the regulations for a man with a discharge, for anyone made unclean by an emission of semen,
 
33 for a woman in her monthly period, for a man or a woman with a discharge, and for a man who lies with a woman who is ceremonially unclean.

Psalm 18,

1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
 
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
 
3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
 
4 The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
 
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
 
6 In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.
 
7 The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry.
 
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
 
9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
 
10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
 
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him-the dark rain clouds of the sky.
 
12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
 
13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
 
14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them.
 
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
 
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
 
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
 
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.
 
19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
 
20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
 
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.
 
22 All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.
 
23 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.
 
24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
 
25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
 
26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
 
27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
 
28 You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
 
29 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.
 
30 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
 
31 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
 
32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
 
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.
 
34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
 
35 You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.
 
36 You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.
 
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
 
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.
 
39 You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet.
 
40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.
 
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them-to the LORD, but he did not answer.
 
42 I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind; I poured them out like mud in the streets.
 
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations; people I did not know are subject to me.
 
44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cringe before me.
 
45 They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.
 
46 The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!
 
47 He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me,
 
48 who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me.
 
49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name.
 
50 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.
 

Proverbs 29,

1 A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed-without remedy.
 
2 When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.
 
3 A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
 
4 By justice a king gives a country stability, but one who is greedy for bribes tears it down.
 
5 Whoever flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet.
 
6 An evil man is snared by his own sin, but a righteous one can sing and be glad.
 
7 The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.
 
8 Mockers stir up a city, but wise men turn away anger.
 
9 If a wise man goes to court with a fool, the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace.
 
10 Bloodthirsty men hate a man of integrity and seek to kill the upright.
 
11 A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.
 
12 If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked.
 
13 The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives sight to the eyes of both.
 
14 If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure.
 
15 The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
 
16 When the wicked thrive, so does sin, but the righteous will see their downfall.
 
17 Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul.
 
18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.
 
19 A servant cannot be corrected by mere words; though he understands, he will not respond.
 
20 Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
 
21 If a man pampers his servant from youth, he will bring grief in the end.
 
22 An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.
 
23 A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.
 
24 The accomplice of a thief is his own enemy; he is put under oath and dare not testify.
 
25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.
 
26 Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the LORD that man gets justice.
 
27 The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright.
 

2 Thessalonians 3

1 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.
 
2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith.
 
3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
 
4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.
 
5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
 
6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.
 
7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you,
 
8 nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
 
9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.
 
10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
 
11 We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies.
 
12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.
 
13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.
 
14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.
 
15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
 
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
 
17 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write.
 
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.