Clean and Unclean Animals

111 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the animals which ye shall eat of all the beasts which are on the earth. 3 Whatever hath cloven hoofs, and feet quite split open, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts—that shall ye eat. 4 Only these shall ye not eat of those that chew the cud, or of those with cloven hoofs: the camel, for it cheweth the cud, but hath not cloven hoofs—it shall be unclean unto you; 5 and the rock-badger, for it cheweth the cud, but hath not cloven hoofs—it shall be unclean unto you; 6 and the hare, for it cheweth the cud, but hath not cloven hoofs—it shall be unclean unto you; 7 and the swine, for it hath cloven hoofs, and feet quite split open, but it cheweth not the cud—it shall be unclean unto you. 8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch: they shall be unclean unto you.

9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatever hath fins and scales in waters, in seas and in rivers, these shall ye eat; 10 but all that have not fins and scales in seas and in rivers, of all that swarm in the waters, and of every living soul which is in the waters—they shall be an abomination unto you. 11 They shall be even an abomination unto you: of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase ye shall have in abomination. 12 Whatever in the waters hath no fins and scales, that shall be an abomination unto you. 13 And these shall ye have in abomination of the fowls; they shall not be eaten; an abomination shall they be: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the sea-eagle, 14 and the falcon, and the kite, after its kind; 15 every raven after its kind; 16 and the female ostrich and the male ostrich, and the sea-gull, and the hawk, after its kind; 17 and the owl, and the gannet, and the ibis, 18 and the swan, and the pelican, and the carrion vulture, 19 and the stork; the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.

20 Every winged crawling thing that goeth upon all four shall be an abomination unto you. 21 Yet these shall ye eat of every winged crawling thing that goeth upon all four: those which have legs above their feet with which to leap upon the earth. 22 These shall ye eat of them: the arbeh after its kind, and the solam after its kind, and the hargol after its kind, and the hargab after its kind. 23 But every winged crawling thing that hath four feet shall be an abomination unto you. 24 And by these ye shall make yourselves unclean; whoever toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even. 25 And whoever carrieth [ought] of their carcase shall wash his garments, and be unclean until the even. 26 Every beast that hath cloven hoofs, but not feet quite split open, nor cheweth the cud, shall be unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean. 27 And whatever goeth on its paws, among all manner of beasts that go upon all four, those are unclean unto you: whoever toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even. 28 And he that carrieth their carcase shall wash his garments, and be unclean until the even: they shall be unclean unto you. 29 And these shall be unclean unto you among the crawling things which crawl on the earth: the mole, and the field-mouse, and the lizard, after its kind; 30 and the groaning lizard, and the great red lizard, and the climbing lizard, and the chomet, and the chameleon. 31 These shall be unclean unto you among all that crawl: whoever toucheth them when they are dead, shall be unclean until the even. 32 And on whatever any of them when they are dead doth fall, it shall be unclean; all vessels of wood, or garment, or skin, or sack, every vessel wherewith work is done—it shall be put into water, and be unclean until the even; then shall it be clean. 33 And every earthen vessel into which [any] of them falleth—whatever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it. 34 All food that is eaten on which [such] water hath come shall be unclean; and all drink that is drunk shall be unclean, in every [such] vessel. 35 And everything where upon [any part] of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; oven and hearth shall be broken down: they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you. 36 Nevertheless, a spring or a well, a quantity of water, shall be clean. But he that toucheth their carcase shall be unclean. 37 And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing-seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean; 38 but if water have been put on the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you. 39 And if any beast which is to you for food die, he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even. 40 And he that eateth of its carcase shall wash his garments, and be unclean until the even: he also that carrieth its carcase shall wash his garments, and be unclean until the even. 41 And every crawling thing which crawleth on the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. 42 Whatever goeth on the belly, and whatever goeth on all four, and all that have a great many feet, of every manner of crawling thing which crawleth on the earth—these ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.

43 Ye shall not make yourselves abominable through any crawling thing which crawleth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. 44 For I am Jehovah your God; and ye shall hallow yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy; and ye shall not make yourselves unclean through any manner of crawling thing which creepeth on the earth. 45 For I am Jehovah who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. 46 This is the law of cattle, and of fowl, and of every living soul that moveth in the waters, and of every soul that crawleth on the earth; 47 to make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that is to be eaten and the beast that is not to be eaten.

The Purification of Women after Childbirth

121 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman conceive seed, and bear a male, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of the separation of her infirmity shall she be unclean. 3 And on the eighth day shall the flesh of his foreskin be circumcised. 4 And she shall continue thirty-three days in the blood of her cleansing; no holy thing shall she touch, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her cleansing are fulfilled. 5 And if she bear a female, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation; and she shall continue sixty-six days in the blood of her cleansing.

6 And when the days of her cleansing are fulfilled, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring a yearling lamb for a burnt-offering, and a young pigeon or a turtle-dove for a sin-offering, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, unto the priest. 7 And he shall present it before Jehovah, and make atonement for her; and she shall be clean from the flux of her blood. This is the law for her that hath borne a male or a female. 8 And if her hand cannot find what is sufficient for a sheep, she shall bring two turtle-doves or two young pigeons; one for a burnt-offering, and the other for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her; and she shall be clean.

The Leaders Plot against Jesus

261 And it came to pass when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 Ye know that after two days the passover takes place, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified. 3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together to the palace of the high priest who was called Caiaphas, 4 and took counsel together in order that they might seize Jesus by subtlety and kill him; 5 but they said, Not in the feast, that there be not a tumult among the people.

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

6 But Jesus being in Bethany, in Simon the leper's house, 7 a woman, having an alabaster flask of very precious ointment, came to him and poured it out upon his head as he lay at table. 8 But the disciples seeing it became indignant, saying, To what end [was] this waste? 9 for this might have been sold for much and been given to the poor. 10 But Jesus knowing [it] said to them, Why do ye trouble the woman? for she has wrought a good work toward me. 11 For ye have the poor always with you, but me ye have not always. 12 For in pouring out this ointment on my body, she has done it for my burying. 13 Verily I say to you, Wheresoever these glad tidings may be preached in the whole world, that also which this [woman] has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

14 Then one of the twelve, he who was called Judas Iscariote, went to the chief priests 15 and said, What are ye willing to give me, and I will deliver him up to you? And they appointed to him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that time he sought a good opportunity that he might deliver him up.

Jesus Eats the Passover with His Disciples

17 Now on the first [day] of [the feast of] unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? 18 And he said, Go into the city unto such a one, and say to him, The Teacher says, My time is near, I will keep the passover in thy house with my disciples. 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the passover. 20 And when the evening was come he lay down at table with the twelve. 21 And as they were eating he said, Verily I say to you, that one of you shall deliver me up. 22 And being exceedingly grieved they began to say to him, each of them, Is it I, Lord? 23 But he answering said, He that dips his hand with me in the dish, he it is who shall deliver me up. 24 The Son of man goes indeed, according as it is written concerning him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is delivered up; it were good for that man if he had not been born. 25 And Judas, who delivered him up, answering said, Is it I, Rabbi? He says to him, Thou hast said.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 26:1-25

Commentary on Matthew 26:1-5

(Read Matthew 26:1-5)

Our Lord had often told of his sufferings as at a distance, now he speaks of them as at hand. At the same time the Jewish council consulted how they might put him to death secretly. But it pleased God to defeat their intention. Jesus, the true paschal Lamb, was to be sacrificed for us at that very time, and his death and resurrection rendered public.

Commentary on Matthew 26:6-13

(Read Matthew 26:6-13)

The pouring ointment upon the head of Christ was a token of the highest respect. Where there is true love in the heart to Jesus Christ, nothing will be thought too good to bestow upon him. The more Christ's servants and their services are cavilled at, the more he manifests his acceptance. This act of faith and love was so remarkable, that it would be reported, as a memorial of Mary's faith and love, to all future ages, and in all places where the gospel should be preached. This prophecy is fulfilled.

Commentary on Matthew 26:14-16

(Read Matthew 26:14-16)

There were but twelve called apostles, and one of them was like a devil; surely we must never expect any society to be quite pure on this side heaven. The greater profession men make of religion, the greater opportunity they have of doing mischief, if their hearts be not right with God. Observe, that Christ's own disciple, who knew so well his doctrine and manner of his life, and was false to him, could not charge him with any thing criminal, though it would have served to justify his treachery. What did Judas want? Was not he welcome wherever his Master was? Did he not fare as Christ fared? It is not the lack, but the love of money, that is the root of all evil. After he had made that wicked bargain, Judas had time to repent, and to revoke it; but when lesser acts of dishonesty have hardened the conscience men do without hesitation that which is more shameful.

Commentary on Matthew 26:17-25

(Read Matthew 26:17-25)

Observe, the place for their eating the passover was pointed out by Christ to the disciples. He knows those hidden ones who favour his cause, and will graciously visit all who are willing to receive him. The disciples did as Jesus had appointed. Those who would have Christ's presence in the gospel passover, must do what he says. It well becomes the disciples of Christ always to be jealous over themselves, especially in trying times. We know not how strongly we may be tempted, nor how far God may leave us to ourselves, therefore we have reason not to be high-minded, but to fear. Heart-searching examination and fervent prayer are especially proper before the Lord's supper, that, as Christ our Passover is now sacrificed for us, we may keep this feast, renewing our repentance, our faith in his blood, and surrendering ourselves to his service.