AME ZION Universal Reading May 14th 2023

Sunday School Zoom Link

First Portion

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 25 1And the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying,2Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them: When you come to the land that I am giving you, the land shall rest a Sabbath to the Lord.3You may sow your field for six years, and for six years you may prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce,4But in the seventh year, the land shall have a complete rest a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field, nor shall you prune your vineyard.5You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest, and you shall not pick the grapes you had set aside [for yourself], [for] it shall be a year of rest for the land.6And [the produce of] the Sabbath of the land shall be yours to eat for you, for your male and female slaves, and for your hired worker and resident who live with you,7And all of its produce may be eaten [also] by your domestic animals and by the beasts that are in your land.8And you shall count for yourself seven sabbatical years, seven years seven times. And the days of these seven sabbatical years shall amount to forty nine years for you.9You shall proclaim [with] the shofar blasts, in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month; on the Day of Atonement, you shall sound the shofar throughout your land.10And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim freedom [for slaves] throughout the land for all who live on it. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and you shall return, each man to his property, and you shall return, each man to his family.11This fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee for you you shall not sow, nor shall you reap its aftergrowth or pick [its grapes] that you had set aside [for yourself].12For it is Jubilee. It shall be holy for you; you shall eat its produce from the field.13During this Jubilee year, you shall return, each man to his property.14And when you make a sale to your fellow Jew or make a purchase from the hand of your fellow Jew, you shall not wrong one another.15According to the number of years after the Jubilee, you shall purchase from your fellow Jew; according to the number of years of crops, he shall sell to you.16The more [the remaining] years, you shall increase its purchase [price], and the fewer the [remaining] years, you shall decrease its purchase [price], because he is selling you a number of crops.17And you shall not wrong, one man his fellow Jew, and you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord, your God.18You shall perform My statutes, keep My ordinances and perform them then you will live on the land securely.

Acts 3:1–11 (NLT): Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar

Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.

4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

7 Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.

9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.

Second Portion

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 25 19And the land will then yield its fruit and you will eat to satiety, and live upon it securely.20And if you should say, "What will we eat in the seventh year? We will not sow, and we will not gather in our produce!"21[Know then, that] I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will yield produce for three years.22And you will sow in the eighth year, while [still] eating from the old crops until the ninth year; until the arrival of its crop, you will eat the old [crop].23The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land belongs to Me, for you are strangers and [temporary] residents with Me.24Therefore, throughout the land of your possession, you shall give redemption for the land.25If your brother becomes destitute and sells some of his inherited property, his redeemer who is related to him shall come forth and redeem his brother's sale.26And if a man does not have a redeemer, but he gains enough means to afford its redemption,27he shall calculate the years for which the land has been sold, and return the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, and [then] he may return to his inheritance.28But if he cannot afford enough to repay him, his sale shall remain in the possession of the one who has purchased it, until the Jubilee year. And then, in the Jubilee year, it shall go out and revert to his inheritance.

Monday

Luke 10:1–9 (NLT): Jesus Sends Out His Disciples

The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. 3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.

5 “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ 6 If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. 7 Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.

8 “If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. 9 Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’

Third Portion

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 25 29And when a man sells a residential house in a walled city, its redemption may take place until the completion of the year of its sale. Its [period of] redemption shall be a full year.30But if it is not redeemed by the end of a complete year, then that house which is in the city that has a wall, shall remain permanently [the property] of the one who purchased it throughout his generations. It will not leave [his possession] in the Jubilee.31But houses in open cities, which do not have a wall surrounding them, are to be considered as the field of the land. It may have redemption and shall leave [the purchaser's possession] in the Jubilee.32And, [regarding] the cities of the Levites, the houses of their inherited cities shall forever have a [right of] redemption for the Levites.33And if one purchases from the Levites, whether a house or an inherited city, will leave [the possession of the purchaser] in the Jubilee, because the houses of the cities of the Levites, are their inherited property amidst the children of Israel.34And a field in the open areas of their cities cannot be sold, because it is their eternal inheritance.35If your brother becomes destitute and his hand falters beside you, you shall support him [whether] a convert or a resident, so that he can live with you.36You shall not take from him interest or increase, and you shall fear your God, and let your brother live with you.37You shall not give him your money with interest, nor shall you give your food with increase.38I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be a God to you.

Tuesday

Luke 10:10–24 (NLT):

10 But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’ 12 I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day.

13 “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. 14 Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. 15 And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.”

16 Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.”

17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

Jesus’ Prayer of Thanksgiving

21 At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.

22 “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

23 Then when they were alone, he turned to the disciples and said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you have seen. 24 I tell you, many prophets and kings longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.”

Fourth Portion

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 25 39And if your brother becomes destitute with you, and is sold to you, do not work him with slave labor.40As an employee or a [hired] resident, he shall be with you; until the Jubilee year he shall work with you.41Then, he shall leave you he, and his children with him, and he shall return to his family and resume the status of his fathers.42For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt they shall not be sold as a slave is sold.43You shall not work him with rigor, and you shall fear your God.44Your male slave or female slave whom you may have from the nations that are around you, from them you may acquire a male slave or a female slave.45And also from the children of the residents that live among you, from them you may acquire [slaves] and from their family that is with you whom they begot in your land, and they shall become your inheritance.46You shall hold onto them as an inheritance for your children after you, as acquired property, and may thus have them serve you forever. But as for your brethren, the children of Israel, a man shall not work his brother with rigor.47If a resident non Jew gains wealth with you, and your brother becomes destitute with him and is sold to a resident non Jew among you or to an idol of the family of a non Jew.48After he is sold, he shall have redemption; one of his brothers shall redeem him.49Or his uncle or his cousin shall redeem him, or the closest [other] relative from his family shall redeem him; or, if he becomes able to afford it, he can be redeemed [on his own].50He shall calculate with his purchaser [the number of years] from the year of his being sold to him until the Jubilee year; then, the purchase price shall be [divided] by the number of years; as the days of a hired worker, he shall be with him.51If there are still many years, according to them, he shall return his redemption [money] out of the money for which he was purchased.52But if only a few years remain until the Jubilee year, he shall make the [same] calculation; according to his years [that remain until Jubilee], he shall return the redemption [money]._53He shall be with him as an employee hired year by year; he shall not enslave him with rigor in your sight.54And if he is not redeemed through [any of] these [ways], he shall go out in the Jubilee year he and his children with him.55For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants, whom I took out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God.Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 26 1You shall not make idols for yourselves, nor shall you set up a statue or a monument for yourselves. And in your land you shall not place a pavement stone on which to prostrate yourselves, for I am the Lord, your God.2You shall keep My Sabbaths and fear My Sanctuary. I am the Lord.3If you follow My statutes and observe My commandments and perform them,4I will give your rains in their time, the Land will yield its produce, and the tree of the field will give forth its fruit.5Your threshing will last until the vintage, and the vintage will last until the sowing; you will eat your food to satiety, and you will live in security in your land.6And I will grant peace in the Land, and you will lie down with no one to frighten [you]; I will remove wild beasts from the Land, and no army will pass through your land;7You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you;8Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.9I will turn towards you, and I will make you fruitful and increase you, and I will set up My covenant with you.

Wednesday

Psalm 41:1–13 (NLT):

1 Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor!

The Lord rescues them when they are in trouble.

2 The Lord protects them

and keeps them alive.

He gives them prosperity in the land

and rescues them from their enemies.

3 The Lord nurses them when they are sick

and restores them to health.

4 “O Lord,” I prayed, “have mercy on me.

Heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

5 But my enemies say nothing but evil about me.

“How soon will he die and be forgotten?” they ask.

6 They visit me as if they were my friends,

but all the while they gather gossip,

and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.

7 All who hate me whisper about me,

imagining the worst.

8 “He has some fatal disease,” they say.

“He will never get out of that bed!”

9 Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely,

the one who shared my food, has turned against me.

10 Lord, have mercy on me.

Make me well again, so I can pay them back!

11 I know you are pleased with me,

for you have not let my enemies triumph over me.

12 You have preserved my life because I am innocent;

you have brought me into your presence forever.

13 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,

who lives from everlasting to everlasting.

Amen and amen!

Fifth Portion

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 26 10You will eat very old [produce], and you will clear out the old from before the new.11And I will place My dwelling in your midst, and My Spirit will not reject you;12I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people.13I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt from being slaves to them; and I broke the pegs of your yoke and led you upright.14But if you do not listen to Me and do not perform all these commandments,15and if you despise My statutes and reject My ordinances, not performing any of My commandments, thereby breaking My covenant16then I too, will do the same to you; I will order upon you shock, consumption, fever, and diseases that cause hopeless longing and depression. You will sow your seed in vain, and your enemies will eat it.17I will set My attention against you, and you will be smitten before your enemies. Your enemies will rule over you; you will flee, but no one will be pursuing you.18And if, during these, you will not listen to Me, I will add another seven punishments for your sins:19I will break the pride of your strength and make your skies like iron and your land like copper.20Your strength will be expended in vain; your land will not yield its produce, neither will the tree of the earth give forth its fruit.21And if you treat Me as happenstance, and you do not wish to listen to Me, I will add seven punishments corresponding to your sins:22I will incite the wild beasts of the field against you, and they will bereave you, utterly destroy your livestock and diminish you, and your roads will become desolate.23And if, through these, you will still not be chastised [to return] to Me, and if you [continue to] treat Me happenstance,24Then I too, will treat you as happenstance. I will again add seven punishments for your sins:25I will bring upon you an army that avenges the avenging of a covenant, and you will gather into your cities. I will incite the plague in your midst, and you will be delivered into the enemy's hands,26when I break for you the staff of bread, and ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread by weight, and you will eat, yet not be satisfied.27And if, despite this, you still do not listen to Me, still treating Me as happenstance,28I will treat you with a fury of happenstance, adding again seven [chastisements] for your sins:29You will eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters you will eat.30I will demolish your edifices and cut down your sun idols; I will make your corpses [fall] upon the corpses of your idols, and My Spirit will reject you.31I will lay your cities waste and make your holy places desolate, and I will not partake of your pleasant fragrances.32I will make the Land desolate, so that it will become desolate [also] of your enemies who live in it.33And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you. Your land will be desolate, and your cities will be laid waste.34Then, the land will be appeased regarding its sabbaticals. During all the days that it remains desolate while you are in the land of your enemies, the Land will rest and thus appease its sabbaticals.35It will rest during all the days that it remains desolate, whatever it had not rested on your sabbaticals, when you lived upon it.36And those of you who survive I will bring fear in their hearts in the lands of their enemies, and the sound of a rustling leaf will pursue them; they will flee as one flees the sword, and they will fall, but there will be no pursuer.37Each man will stumble over his brother, [fleeing] as if from the sword, but without a pursuer. You will not be able to stand up against your enemies.38You will become lost among the nations, and the land of your enemies will consume you.39And because of their iniquity, those of you who survive will rot away in the lands of your enemies; moreover, they will rot away because the iniquities of their fathers are still within them.40They will then confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers their betrayal that they dealt Me, and that they also treated Me as happenstance.41Then I too, will treat them as happenstance and bring them [back while] in the land of their enemies. If then, their clogged heart becomes humbled, then, [their sufferings] will gain appeasement for their iniquity,42and I will remember My covenant [with] Jacob, and also My covenant [with] Isaac, and also My covenant [with] Abraham I will remember. And I will remember the Land,43[For] the Land will be bereft of them, appeasing its sabbaticals when it had been desolate of them, and they will gain appeasement for their iniquity. This was all in retribution for their having despised My ordinances and in retribution for their having rejected My statutes.44But despite all this, while they are in the land of their enemies, I will not despise them nor will I reject them to annihilate them, thereby breaking My covenant that is with them, for I am the Lord their God.45I will remember for them the covenant [made with] the ancestors, whom I took out from the land of Egypt before the eyes of the nations, to be a God to them. I am the Lord.46These are the statutes, the ordinances, and the laws that the Lord gave between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai, by the hand of Moses.

Thursday

Psalm 42:1–11 (NLT):

1 As the deer longs for streams of water,

so I long for you, O God.

2 I thirst for God, the living God.

When can I go and stand before him?

3 Day and night I have only tears for food,

while my enemies continually taunt me, saying,

“Where is this God of yours?”

4 My heart is breaking

as I remember how it used to be:

I walked among the crowds of worshipers,

leading a great procession to the house of God,

singing for joy and giving thanks

amid the sound of a great celebration!

5 Why am I discouraged?

Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise him again—

my Savior and 6 my God!

Now I am deeply discouraged,

but I will remember you—

even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan,

from the land of Mount Mizar.

7 I hear the tumult of the raging seas

as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.

8 But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,

and through each night I sing his songs,

praying to God who gives me life.

9 “O God my rock,” I cry,

“Why have you forgotten me?

Why must I wander around in grief,

oppressed by my enemies?”

10 Their taunts break my bones.

They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?”

11 Why am I discouraged?

Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise him again—

my Savior and my God!

Sixth Portion

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 27 1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,2Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When a man expresses a vow, [pledging the] value of lives to the Lord,3the [fixed] value of a male shall be as follows: From twenty years old until sixty years old, the value is fifty silver shekels, according to the holy shekel;4And if she is a female, the value is thirty shekels;5And if [the person is] from five years old until twenty years old, the value of a male shall be twenty shekels, while that of a female shall be ten shekels;6And if [the person is] from one month old until five years old, the value of a male shall be five silver shekels, while the value of a female shall be three silver shekels;7And if [the person is] sixty years old or over, if it is a male, the value shall be fifteen shekels, while for a female, it shall be ten shekels.8But if he is [too] poor to [pay] the valuation [amount], he shall stand him up before the kohen, and the kohen shall evaluate him according to how much the one who is vowing his value can afford.9Now, if an animal of whose type is [fit] to be brought as an offering to the Lord, whatever part of it the person donates to the Lord, shall become holy.10He shall not exchange it or offer a substitute for it, whether it be a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one. But if he does substitute one animal for another animal, [both] that one and its replacement shall be holy.11And if it is any unclean animal, of whose type shall not be brought as an offering to the Lord, then he shall stand up the animal before the kohen.12The kohen shall then evaluate it whether it is good or bad; like the evaluation of the kohen, so shall it be.13But if he redeems it, he shall add its fifth to its value.14And if a man consecrates his house [to be] holy to the Lord, the kohen shall evaluate it whether good or bad; as the kohen evaluates it, so shall it remain.15But if the one who consecrated it redeems his house, he shall add to it a fifth of its valuation money, and it shall be his.

Friday

Isaiah 35:1–10 (NLT): Hope for Restoration

1 Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.

The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.

2 Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers

and singing and joy!

The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,

as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.

There the Lord will display his glory,

the splendor of our God.

3 With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,

and encourage those who have weak knees.

4 Say to those with fearful hearts,

“Be strong, and do not fear,

for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.

He is coming to save you.”

5 And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind

and unplug the ears of the deaf.

6 The lame will leap like a deer,

and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!

Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,

and streams will water the wasteland.

7 The parched ground will become a pool,

and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.

Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish

where desert jackals once lived.

8 And a great road will go through that once deserted land.

It will be named the Highway of Holiness.

Evil-minded people will never travel on it.

It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways;

fools will never walk there.

9 Lions will not lurk along its course,

nor any other ferocious beasts.

There will be no other dangers.

Only the redeemed will walk on it.

10 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.

They will enter Jerusalem singing,

crowned with everlasting joy.

Sorrow and mourning will disappear,

and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

Seventh Portion

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 27 16And if a man consecrates some of the field of his inherited property to the Lord, the valuation shall be according to its sowing: an area which requires a chomer of barley seeds at fifty silver shekels.17Now, if he consecrates his field from [when] the Jubilee year [has ended], it shall remain at [its full] valuation.18But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, the kohen shall calculate the money for him, according to the remaining years until the [next] Jubilee year, and it shall be deducted from the valuation.19If the one who consecrated it redeems the field, he shall add to it a fifth of the valuation money, and it shall be his.20But if he does not redeem the field, and if he has sold the field to someone else it may no longer be redeemed.21But, when the field leaves in the Jubilee, it shall be holy to the Lord like a field devoted; his inherited property shall belong to the kohen.22And if he consecrates to the Lord a field that he had acquired, that is not part of his inherited property,23the kohen shall calculate for him the amount of the valuation until the Jubilee year, and he shall give the valuation on that day, holy to the Lord.24In the Jubilee year, the field shall return to the one from whom he bought it namely, the one whose inherited land it was.25Every valuation shall be made according to the holy shekel, whereby one shekel is the equivalent of twenty gerahs.26However, a firstborn animal that must be [sacrificed as] a firstborn to the Lord no man may consecrate it; whether it be an ox or sheep, it belongs to the Lord.27Now, if [someone consecrates] an unclean animal, he may redeem [it] by [paying] the valuation, and he shall add its fifth to it, and if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold for the valuation [price].28However, anything that a man devotes to the Lord from any of his property whether a person, an animal, or part of his inherited field shall not be sold, nor shall it be redeemed, [for] all devoted things are holy of holies to the Lord.29Any devoting of a person who has been devoted, need not be redeemed [for] he is to be put to death.30Any tithe of the Land, whether it be from the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree it is the Lord's. It is holy to the Lord.31And if a man redeems some of his tithe, he shall add its fifth to it.32Any tithe of cattle or flock of all that pass under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to the Lord.33He shall not inspect [a tithed animal] for a good or a bad one, nor shall he offer a substitute for it. And if he does replace it, then [both] that one and its replacement are holy; it cannot be redeemed.34These are the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses to [tell] the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.

Saturday

Acts 3:1–11 (NLT): Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar

Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.

4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

7 Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.

9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.

Maftir Portion

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 27 32Any tithe of cattle or flock of all that pass under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to the Lord.33He shall not inspect [a tithed animal] for a good or a bad one, nor shall he offer a substitute for it. And if he does replace it, then [both] that one and its replacement are holy; it cannot be redeemed.34These are the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses to [tell] the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.

Haftarah

Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) Chapter 16 19O Lord, Who are my power and my strength and my refuge in the day of trouble, to You nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, "Only lies have our fathers handed down to us, emptiness in which there is nothing of any avail!20Can a man make gods for himself, and they are no gods?"21Therefore, behold I let them know; at this time I will let them know My power and My might, and they shall know that My Name is the Lord.Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) Chapter 17 1The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, with a diamond point, engraved on the tablet of their heart and on the horns of your altars.2As they remember their children, [so do they remember] their altars, and their asherim by the green trees upon the high hillocks.3You, who sit upon the mountain in the field, I will give your substance, all your treasures for a spoil! Your high places are made for sin within all your borders.4And you shall release, and [I will avenge Myself] of you because of your heritage that I gave you, and I will make you serve your enemies in the land that you did not know, for you have kindled fire in My nostrils that shall burn forever.5So says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart turns away from the Lord.6He shall be like a lone tree in the plain, and will not see when good comes, and will dwell on parched land in the desert, on salt-sodden soil that is not habitable.7Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord; the Lord shall be his trust.8For he shall be like a tree planted by the water, and by a rivulet spreads its roots, and will not see when heat comes, and its leaves shall be green, and in the year of drought will not be anxious, neither shall it cease from bearing fruit.9The heart is deceitful above all things, and when it is sick, who will recognize it?10I, the Lord, search the heart, test the kidneys, to give everyone according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.11The cuckoo calls but has not laid, so it is he who gathers riches but not by right; he shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end he stands dishonored.12As a Throne of Glory, exalted from the beginning, so is the place of our Sanctuary.13The Lord who is the source of the hopes of Israel, all that forsake You shall be shamed, and they who turn away from me shall be marked out on the earth that they have forsaken the source of living waters, the Lord.14Heal me, O Lord, then shall I be healed; help me, then I shall be helped, for You are my praise!