Shemini, שְּׁמִינִי

Passages

Torah: Leviticus 10:12 - 10:15
Gospel: Matthew 12:22-50

Torah — Leviticus 10:12 - 10:15

10:12 Then Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “As for the remaining parts, take the remainder of the grain offering from Yahweh’s offerings made by fire and eat it, the unleavened bread, beside the altar, because it is a most holy thing.

10:13 And you shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your allotted portion and the allotted portion of your sons from Yahweh’s offerings made by fire, for so I have been commanded.

10:14 And the wave offering’s breast section and the upper thigh of the contribution offering you must eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, because they are given as your allotted portion and your sons’ allotted portion from the sacrifices of the Israelites’ fellowship offerings.

10:15 They must bring the thigh of the contribution offering and the breast section of the wave offering in addition to the offerings made by fire, consisting of the fat portions, to wave as a wave offering before Yahweh; and it will be for you and for your sons with you as a lasting rule, just as Yahweh had commanded.”

Gospel — Matthew 12:22-50

12:22 A House Divided Cannot Stand Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to him. And he healed him so that the man who was mute could speak and see.

12:23 And all the crowds were amazed and began saying, “Perhaps this one is the Son of David!”

12:24 But the Pharisees, when they heard it, said, “This man does not expel demons except by Beelzebul the ruler of demons!”

12:25 But knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

12:26 And if Satan expels Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

12:27 And if I expel demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons expel them? For this reason they will be your judges!

12:28 But if I expel demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you!

12:29 Or how can someone enter into the house of a strong man and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he can thoroughly plunder his house.

12:30 The one who is not with me is against me, and the one who does not gather with me scatters.

12:31 For this reason I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven!

12:32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the coming one!

12:33 Good Trees and Good Fruit or Bad Trees and Bad Fruit “Either make the tree good and its fruit is good, or make the tree bad and its fruit is bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.

12:34 Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say good things when you are evil? For from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

12:35 The good person from his good treasury brings out good things, and the evil person from his evil treasury brings out evil things.

12:36 But I tell you that every worthless word that they speak, people will give an account for it on the day of judgment!

12:37 For by your words you will be vindicated, and by your words you will be condemned.”

12:38 The Sign of Jonah Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you!”

12:39 But he answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation desires a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah!

12:40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

12:41 The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here!

12:42 The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here!

12:43 An Unclean Spirit Returns “Now whenever an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it travels through waterless places searching for rest, and does not find it.

12:44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came out.’ And when it arrives it finds the house unoccupied and swept and put in order.

12:45 Then it goes and brings along with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there. And the last state of that person becomes worse than the first. So it will be for this evil generation also!”

12:46 Jesus’ Mother and Brothers And while he was still speaking to the crowds, behold, his mother and brothers were standing there outside, desiring to speak to him.

12:47 And someone told him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers are standing there outside desiring to speak to you.”

12:48 But he answered and said to the one who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”

12:49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Behold my mother and my brothers!

12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

12:22 Jesus and Beelzebub A man controlled by demons was brought to Jesus. The man was blind and could not speak. Jesus healed him. Then the man could speak and see.

12:23 All the people were amazed. They said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

12:24 The Pharisees heard this. So they said, “This fellow drives out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons.”

12:25 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Every kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. Every city or family that is divided against itself will not stand.

12:26 If Satan drives out Satan, he fights against himself. Then how can his kingdom stand?

12:27 You say I drive out demons by the power of Beelzebub. Then by whose power do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

12:28 But suppose I drive out demons by the Spirit of God. Then God’s kingdom has come to you.

12:29 “Or think about this. How can you enter a strong man’s house and just take what the man owns? You must first tie him up. Then you can rob his house.

12:30 “Anyone who is not with me is against me. Anyone who does not gather sheep with me scatters them.

12:31 So here is what I tell you. Every sin and every evil word spoken against God will be forgiven. But speaking evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

12:32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. A person like that won’t be forgiven either now or in days to come.

12:33 “If you make a tree good, its fruit will be good. If you make a tree bad, its fruit will be bad. You can tell a tree by its fruit.

12:34 “You nest of poisonous snakes! How can you who are evil say anything good? Your mouths say everything that is in your hearts.

12:35 A good man says good things. These come from the good that is put away inside him. An evil man says evil things. These come from the evil that is put away inside him.

12:36 But here is what I tell you. On judgment day, people will have to account for every careless word they have spoken.

12:37 By your words you will be found guilty or not guilty.”

12:38 The Miraculous Sign of Jonah Some of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law came to Jesus. They said, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”

12:39 He answered, “Evil and unfaithful people ask for a miraculous sign! But none will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

12:40 Jonah was in the stomach of a huge fish for three days and three nights. Something like that will happen to the Son of Man. He will spend three days and three nights in the grave.

12:41 “The men of Nineveh will stand up on judgment day with the people now living. And the Ninevites will prove that those people are guilty. The men of Nineveh turned away from their sins when Jonah preached to them. And now one who is more important than Jonah is here.

12:42 “The Queen of the South will stand up on judgment day with the people now living. And she will prove that they are guilty. She came from very far away to listen to Solomon’s wisdom. And now one who is more important than Solomon is here.

12:43 “What happens when an evil spirit comes out of a man? It goes through dry areas looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find it.

12:44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives there, it finds the house empty. The house has been swept clean and put in order.

12:45 Then the evil spirit goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and live there. That man is worse off than before. That is how it will be with the evil people of today.”

12:46 Jesus’ Mother and Brothers While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside. They wanted to speak to him.

12:47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside. They want to speak to you.”

12:48 Jesus replied to him, “Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?”

12:49 Jesus pointed to his disciples. He said, “Here is my mother! Here are my brothers!

12:50 Anyone who does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother or sister or mother.”

Passages

Torah — Leviticus 10:12 - 10:15

LEB translation

NIRV translation

Gospel — Matthew 12:22-50

LEB translation

NIRV translation