Leviticus 10

NADAB AND ABIHU
Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own firepan, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and presented unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do.
2 Then fire came from the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3 Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has spoken:

I will demonstrate my holiness
to those who are near me,
and I will reveal my glory
before all the people.”
And Aaron remained silent.

4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here and carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.” 5 So they came forward and carried them in their tunics outside the camp, as Moses had said.

6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair hang loose and do not tear your clothes, or else you will die, and the Lord will become angry with the whole community. However, your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may weep over the fire that the Lord caused. 7 You must not go outside the entrance to the tent of meeting or you will die, for the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” So they did as Moses said.

REGULATIONS FOR PRIESTS
8 The Lord spoke to Aaron: 9 “You and your sons are not to drink wine or beer when you enter the tent of meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations. 10 You must distinguish between the holy and the common, and the clean and the unclean, 11 and teach the Israelites all the statutes that the Lord has given to them through Moses.”

12 Moses spoke to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar: “Take the grain offering that is left over from the food offerings to the Lord, and eat it prepared without yeast beside the altar, because it is especially holy. 13 You must eat it in a holy place because it is your portion and your sons’ from the food offerings to the Lord, for this is what I was commanded. 14 But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution in any ceremonially clean place, because these portions have been assigned to you and your children from the Israelites’ fellowship sacrifices. 15 They are to bring the thigh of the contribution and the breast of the presentation offering, together with the food offerings of fat portions, to present as a presentation offering before the Lord. It will belong permanently to you and your children, as the Lord commanded.”

16 Then Moses inquired carefully about the male goat of the sin offering, but it had already been burned up. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s surviving sons, and asked, 17 “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? For it is especially holy, and he has assigned it to you to take away the guilt of the community and make atonement for them before the Lord. 18 Since its blood was not brought inside the sanctuary, you should have eaten it in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.”

19 But Aaron replied to Moses, “See, today they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord. Since these things have happened to me, if I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been acceptable in the Lord’s sight? ” 20 When Moses heard this, it was acceptable to him.

Psalm 11

REFUGE IN THE LORD
For the choir director. Of David.

I have taken refuge in the Lord.
How can you say to me,
“Escape to the mountains like a bird!
2 For look, the wicked string bows;
they put their arrows on bowstrings
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.
3 When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do? ”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord—his throne is in heaven.
His eyes watch;
his gaze examines everyone.
5 The Lord examines the righteous,
but he hates the wicked
and those who love violence.
6 Let him rain burning coals and sulfur on the wicked;
let a scorching wind be the portion in their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds.
The upright will see his face.

Psalm 12

OPPRESSION BY THE WICKED
For the choir director: according to Sheminith. A psalm of David.

Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.
2 They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.
4 They say, “Through our tongues we have power;
our lips are our own ​— ​who can be our master? ”
5 “Because of the devastation of the needy
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will provide safety for the one who longs for it.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times.
7 You, Lord, will guard us;
you will protect us from this generation forever.
8 The wicked prowl all around,
and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.

Proverbs 25

HEZEKIAH’S COLLECTION
These too are proverbs of Solomon,
which the men of King Hezekiah of Judah copied.
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter
and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.
3 As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,
so the hearts of kings cannot be investigated.
4 Remove impurities from silver,
and material will be produced for a silversmith.
5 Remove the wicked from the king’s presence,
and his throne will be established in righteousness.
6 Don’t boast about yourself before the king,
and don’t stand in the place of the great;
7 for it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here! ”
than to demote you in plain view of a noble.
8 Don’t take a matter to court hastily.
Otherwise, what will you do afterward
if your opponent humiliates you?
9 Make your case with your opponent
without revealing another’s secret;
10 otherwise, the one who hears will disgrace you,
and you’ll never live it down.
11 A word spoken at the right time
is like gold apples in silver settings.
12 A wise correction to a receptive ear
is like a gold ring or an ornament of gold.
13 To those who send him, a trustworthy envoy
is like the coolness of snow on a harvest day;
he refreshes the life of his masters.
14 The one who boasts about a gift that does not exist
is like clouds and wind without rain.
15 A ruler can be persuaded through patience,
and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
16 If you find honey, eat only what you need;
otherwise, you’ll get sick from it and vomit.
17 Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house;
otherwise, he’ll get sick of you and hate you.
18 A person giving false testimony against his neighbor
is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.
19 Trusting an unreliable person in a difficult time
is like a rotten tooth or a faltering foot.
20 Singing songs to a troubled heart
is like taking off clothing on a cold day
or like pouring vinegar on soda.
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
22 for you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.
23 The north wind produces rain,
and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.
24 Better to live on the corner of a roof
than to share a house with a nagging wife.
25 Good news from a distant land
is like cold water to a parched throat.
26 A righteous person who yields to the wicked
is like a muddied spring or a polluted well.
27 It is not good to eat too much honey
or to seek glory after glory.
28 A person who does not control his temper
is like a city whose wall is broken down.

1 Thessalonians 4

THE CALL TO SANCTIFICATION
Additionally then, brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received instruction from us on how you should live and please God ​— ​as you are doing ​— ​do this even more.
2 For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

3 For this is God’s will, your sanctification: that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4 that each of you knows how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not with lustful passions, like the Gentiles, who don’t know God. 6 This means one must not transgress against and take advantage of a brother or sister in this manner, because the Lord is an avenger of all these offenses, as we also previously told and warned you. 7 For God has not called us to impurity but to live in holiness. 8 Consequently, anyone who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

LOVING AND WORKING
9 About brotherly love: You don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. 10 In fact, you are doing this toward all the brothers and sisters in the entire region of Macedonia. But we encourage you, brothers and sisters, to do this even more, 11 to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 so that you may behave properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone.

THE COMFORT OF CHRIST’S COMING
13 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

— Leviticus 10, Psalm 11‐12, Proverbs 25, 1 Thessalonians 4 (CSB)