23 Adar 2, 5784

Leviticus 9:24

Fire came forth from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar. And all the people saw, and shouted, and fell on their faces.

Leviticus 10:1-11

Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before the LORD alien fire, which He had not enjoined upon them. And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: Through those near to Me I show Myself holy, And gain glory before all the people.” And Aaron was silent. Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come forward and carry your kinsmen away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.” They came forward and carried them out of the camp by their tunics, as Moses had ordered. And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not bare your heads and do not rend your clothes, lest you die and anger strike the whole community. But your kinsmen, all the house of Israel, shall bewail the burning that the LORD has wrought. And so do not go outside the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die, for the LORD’s anointing oil is upon you.” And they did as Moses had bidden. And the LORD spoke to Aaron, saying: Drink no wine or other intoxicant, you or your sons, when you enter the Tent of Meeting, that you may not die. This is a law for all time throughout the ages, for you must distinguish between the sacred and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean; and you must teach the Israelites all the laws which the LORD has imparted to them through Moses.

Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, published by JPS
Copyright: JPS, 1985

Psalms 108

A song. A psalm of David. My heart is firm, O God; I will sing and chant a hymn with all my soul. Awake, O harp and lyre! I will wake the dawn. I will praise You among the peoples, O LORD, sing a hymn to You among the nations; for Your faithfulness is higher than the heavens; Your steadfastness reaches to the sky. Exalt Yourself over the heavens, O God; let Your glory be over all the earth! That those whom You love may be rescued, deliver with Your right hand and answer me. God promised in His sanctuary that I would exultingly divide up Shechem, and measure the Valley of Sukkoth; Gilead and Manasseh would be mine, Ephraim my chief stronghold, Judah my scepter; Moab would be my washbasin; on Edom I would cast my shoe; I would raise a shout over Philistia. Would that I were brought to the bastion! Would that I were led to Edom! But You have rejected us, O God; God, You do not march with our armies. Grant us Your aid against the foe, for the help of man is worthless. With God we shall triumph; He will trample our foes.

Psalms 109

For the leader. Of David. A psalm. O God of my praise, do not keep aloof, for the wicked and the deceitful open their mouth against me; they speak to me with lying tongue. They encircle me with words of hate; they attack me without cause. They answer my love with accusation and I must stand judgment. They repay me with evil for good, with hatred for my love. Appoint a wicked man over him; may an accuser stand at his right side; may he be tried and convicted; may he be judged and found guilty. May his days be few; may another take over his position. May his children be orphans, his wife a widow. May his children wander from their hovels, begging in search of [bread]. May his creditor seize all his possessions; may strangers plunder his wealth. May no one show him mercy; may none pity his orphans; may his posterity be cut off; may their names be blotted out in the next generation. May God be ever mindful of his father’s iniquity, and may the sin of his mother not be blotted out. May the LORD be aware of them always and cause their names to be cut off from the earth, because he was not minded to act kindly, and hounded to death the poor and needy man, one crushed in spirit. He loved to curse—may a curse come upon him! He would not bless—may blessing be far from him! May he be clothed in a curse like a garment, may it enter his body like water, his bones like oil. Let it be like the cloak he wraps around him, like the belt he always wears. May the LORD thus repay my accusers, all those who speak evil against me. Now You, O God, my Lord, act on my behalf as befits Your name. Good and faithful as You are, save me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is pierced within me. I fade away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like locusts. My knees give way from fasting; my flesh is lean, has lost its fat. I am the object of their scorn; when they see me, they shake their head. Help me, O LORD, my God; save me in accord with Your faithfulness, that men may know that it is Your hand, that You, O LORD, have done it. Let them curse, but You bless; let them rise up, but come to grief, while Your servant rejoices. My accusers shall be clothed in shame, wrapped in their disgrace as in a robe. My mouth shall sing much praise to the LORD; I will acclaim Him in the midst of a throng, because He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who would condemn him.

Psalms 110

Of David. A psalm. The LORD said to my lord, “Sit at My right hand while I make your enemies your footstool.” The LORD will stretch forth from Zion your mighty scepter; hold sway over your enemies! Your people come forward willingly on your day of battle. In majestic holiness, from the womb, from the dawn, yours was the dew of youth. The LORD has sworn and will not relent, “You are a priest forever, a rightful king by My decree.” The Lord is at your right hand. He crushes kings in the day of His anger. He works judgment upon the nations, heaping up bodies, crushing heads far and wide. He drinks from the stream on his way; therefore he holds his head high.

Psalms 111

Hallelujah. I praise the LORD with all my heart in the assembled congregation of the upright. The works of the LORD are great, within reach of all who desire them. His deeds are splendid and glorious; His beneficence is everlasting; He has won renown for His wonders. The LORD is gracious and compassionate; He gives food to those who fear Him; He is ever mindful of His covenant. He revealed to His people His powerful works, in giving them the heritage of nations. His handiwork is truth and justice; all His precepts are enduring, well-founded for all eternity, wrought of truth and equity. He sent redemption to His people; He ordained His covenant for all time; His name is holy and awesome. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD; all who practice it gain sound understanding. Praise of Him is everlasting.

Psalms 112

Hallelujah. Happy is the man who fears the LORD, who is ardently devoted to His commandments. His descendants will be mighty in the land, a blessed generation of upright men. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his beneficence lasts forever. A light shines for the upright in the darkness; he is gracious, compassionate, and beneficent. All goes well with the man who lends generously, who conducts his affairs with equity. He shall never be shaken; the beneficent man will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firm, he trusts in the LORD. His heart is resolute, he is unafraid; in the end he will see the fall of his foes. He gives freely to the poor; his beneficence lasts forever; his horn is exalted in honor. The wicked man shall see it and be vexed; he shall gnash his teeth; his courage shall fail. The desire of the wicked shall come to nothing.

Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, published by JPS
Copyright: JPS, 1985

“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”

And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said:

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Yeshua of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

“And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be immersed and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

“When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.

But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.

(ESV)