Today's Readings and Stuff -- Saturday. 15 February 2014

just a long day.  Got a lot done around here, but it would be hard to tell by looking if you didn't know the "before" and the "after" for contrast.   And I am weary.  Can't, just CAN'T come down with anything, Dear Wife is in no shape to take care of herself yet.  Doctor visit Monday, follow-up to the oral surgeon's office set for Tuesday.  One of her stitches popped a little while ago.  Did not seem to lead to any bleeding, so perhaps it's a sign of healing?  Perhaps??

The Old Testament reading: chapters 20 and 21 of Leviticus.  I may as well say here that some parts here are now no longer considered to be "politically correct" because it is here, (as well as elsewhere, but notably here), that the Lord forbids and condemns homosexual conduct.  Such a teaching is no longer permitted in the society at large, but violation of these commandments is now being ignored in many churches.  Not just in the Episcopal and Untitarian churches, but the United Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and even the Mennonite church.  So it is possible that an unwary reader here may come across some unfamiliar text.  Well, sorry about that and all that stuff.

Leviticus 20

1	And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2	Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
3	And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
4	And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:
5	Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
6	And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
7	Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
8	And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.
9	For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
10	And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
11	And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
12	And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.
13	If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
14	And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.
15	And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
16	And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
17	And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
18	And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
19	And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.
20	And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.
21	And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.
22	Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.
23	And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
24	But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.
25	Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
26	And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
27	A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

Leviticus 21

1	And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:
2	But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother.
3	And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.
4	But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.
5	They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
6	They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
7	They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.
8	Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.
9	And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.
10	And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;
11	Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
12	Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.
13	And he shall take a wife in her virginity.
14	A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.
15	Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.
16	And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
17	Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.
18	For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,
19	Or a man that is broken-footed, or broken-handed,
20	Or crookbacked, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;
21	No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.
22	He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
23	Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.
24	And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.

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The New Testament reading is chapter 28, the final one, in the Gospel of Matthew.  Yesterday we saw the Crucifixion.  Today, as Paul Harvey used to say, is "The Rest of the Story". 

Matthew 28

1	In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2	And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3	His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4	And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5	And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6	He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7	And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
8	And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
9	And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
10	Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
11	Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.
12	And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
13	Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
14	And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.
15	So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
16	Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17	And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
18	And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19	Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20	Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 14 February 2014

It's been a long day
shortly after we rolled out this morning, the plumbers showed up at the door to hook up the auxiliary heater in the living room.  They had promised to be hare Wednesday morning.  No show.  They'd called around noon of that day, advising of unexpected extra time needed on another job.  Might appear later that day, probably.  Didn't.  Never heard from them Thursday, Dear Wife was able to reach them by phone in late afternoon, might show yet.  Didn't.  Came today, stayed at it with little break until around 2 p.m., charged an extra $120 due to unexpected new issues.  Part of their work involved installing a tee off the line to furnace to feed the auxiliary unit.  Did that OK, got the aux unit going.  Then could not get the main furnace relit.  SURELY not their fault.  So we had to call the furnace techs, the ones taht were here just Monday morning,  And pay for another service call.  Their office is only a few blocks away, so it wasn't horrible, and the tech was decent and did not overcharge.  But not what we had expected.
Meanwhile, I had an errand in the late morning.  Dear Wife had chosen as her Valentine's Day give -- over and above the card and candy I'd gotten here  -- a very nice china cabinet she found on one of those on-line auction sites.  VERY nice oak and glass cabinet.  30 miles away.  So I was the one driving up too near to Lake Erie -- in the Snow Belt -- to a farm house on an unmarked back road.  Concluded the deal -- heck of a deal, well under $100 -- made the return trip, got it inside.  WE just got int into position (after rearranging half the room) and she's got the portions of it that one can see by virtue of the glass on three sides now populated with items that go back to our wedding in 1988,  Makes her happy, which is worth a lot to me.  Just got her into recliner near the gas fireplace heater and the recliner kicked back.  God is good.
Rumor has it we may actually see a few days in the 40's next week, which would be nice.  Today marks the halfway point in the month of February.  The first day of Spring is five weeks off.  Can't wait.

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The day's Old Testament reading is chapters 18 and 19 of Leviticus.

Leviticus 18

1	And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2	Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God.
3	After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.
4	Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.
5	Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.
6	None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.
7	The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
8	The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.
9	The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.
10	The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.
11	The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
12	Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman.
13	Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.
14	Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.
15	Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
16	Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.
17	Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
18	Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.
19	Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.
20	Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor's wife, to defile thyself with her.
21	And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
22	Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
23	Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.
24	Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:
25	And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.
26	Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:
27	(For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)
28	That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.
29	For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.
30	Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19

1	And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2	Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
3	Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
4	Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
5	And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.
6	It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.
7	And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.
8	Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
9	And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
10	And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.
11	Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
12	And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
13	Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
14	Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
15	Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.
16	Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor; I am the LORD.
17	Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him.
18	Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD.
19	Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woolen come upon thee.
20	And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
21	And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering.
22	And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.
23	And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.
24	But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal.
25	And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.
26	Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
27	Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
28	Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
29	Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.
30	Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.
31	Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
32	Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.
33	And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.
34	But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
35	Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.
36	Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37	Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.

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The New Testament passage is verses 32-66 o the 27th chapter in the Gospel of Matthew. The Crucifixion.  Lots of meaning is associated with those few words.

Matthew 27:32-66

32	And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
33	And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
34	They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.
35	And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
36	And sitting down they watched him there;
37	And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38	Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
39	And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
40	And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
41	Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42	He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
43	He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
44	The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.
45	Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
46	And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
47	Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
48	And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
49	The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
50	Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51	And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52	And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53	And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
54	Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
55	And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:
56	Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedees children.
57	When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:
58	He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
59	And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60	And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
61	And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.
62	Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
63	Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
64	Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
65	Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
66	So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Thursday, 13 February, 2014

almost at the halfway point for February.  Almost.  Tuesday night's low was around -2 below zero.  That constitutes cold to m.  Never have liked severe cold.  And extreme heat is not too great either.  From late 1999 to mid 2004 I worked in a plastics operation in western Arkansas.  Our first summer there, we went through a period of more than two weeks in which it was 105 degrees or above every day.  The plant was processing plastics at temperatures of nearly 500 degrees, and the plant was not air conditioned, though the front office was, though poorly.  I know a good bit about hot weather as well.  So I understand weather extremes all too well.  Have had over the last year several contacts from executive recruiters wanting me for jobs, some very well paid, in places like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and northern Michigan.  Ain't no way.
Dear wife is doing a bit better.  Was actually able to eat some mashed potatoes last night, and made them herself.  Since she's rarely been upright for most of the last few weeks, that represents real progress and we are grateful for it.
Plan is for a plumber to come by this morning and hook up the auxiliary heater in the living room, which may actually become our primary heat source.  And we will have him look at the flex line to the "new" stove.  We can sniff a gas leak there.


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Leviticus 15

1	And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying,
2	Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.
3	And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.
4	Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean.
5	And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
6	And he that sitteth on any thing whereon he sat that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
7	And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
8	And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
9	And what saddle soever he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean.
10	And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth any of those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
11	And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
12	And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
13	And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.
14	And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest:
15	And the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD for his issue.
16	And if any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.
17	And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even.
18	The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.
19	And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.
20	And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.
21	And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
22	And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
23	And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.
24	And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.
25	And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean.
26	Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation.
27	And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
28	But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.
29	And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
30	And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness.
31	Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.
32	This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;
33	And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.

Leviticus 16

1	And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died;
2	And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
3	Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
4	He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.
5	And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6	And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.
7	And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
8	And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
9	And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
10	But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
11	And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:
12	And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:
13	And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
14	And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
15	Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
16	And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
17	And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.
18	And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.
19	And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
20	And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:
21	And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
22	And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
23	And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:
24	And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.
25	And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.
26	And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.
27	And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.
28	And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
29	And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:
30	For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
31	It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.
32	And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:
33	And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
34	And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Leviticus 17 

1	And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2	Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying,
3	What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp,
4	And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people:
5	To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the LORD.
6	And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savor unto the LORD.
7	And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
8	And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice,
9	And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people.
10	And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
11	For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
12	Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.
13	And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.
14	For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.
15	And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.
16	But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.

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The New Testament reading is pretty intense.  Matthew 27, verses 1-31.  Jesus is under arrest, hauled before Pilate, sent to be crucified.

Matthew 27:1-31

1	When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
2	And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
3	Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4	Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
5	And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
6	And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
7	And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.
8	Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.
9	Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;
10	And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.
11	And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.
12	And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
13	Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?
14	And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.
15	Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.
16	And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.
17	Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
18	For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.
19	When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.
20	But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
21	The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.
22	Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
23	And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
24	When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
25	Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
26	Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
27	Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.
28	And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
29	And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
30	And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
31	And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.