1 Chron. 2:1–24

2:1 These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar and Zebulun;

2Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin;

Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

3The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, and Shelah. These three were born to him by Bathshua, a Canaanite woman. Er, Judah’s firstborn, displeased the Lord, so the Lord killed him.

4Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, bore to him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.

5The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.

6The sons of Zerah: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Kalkol, Dara—five in all.

7The son of Carmi: Achan, who brought the disaster on Israel when he stole what was devoted to God.

8The son of Ethan: Azariah.

9The sons born to Hezron: Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb.

10Ram was the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, the tribal chief of Judah. 11Nahshon was the father of Salma, and Salma was the father of Boaz. 12Boaz was the father of Obed, and Obed was the father of Jesse.

13Jesse was the father of Eliab, his firstborn; Abinadab was born second, Shimea third, 14Nethanel fourth, Raddai fifth, 15Ozem sixth, and David seventh. 16Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah’s three sons were Abshai, Joab, and Asahel. 17Abigail bore Amasa, whose father was Jether the Ishmaelite.

18Caleb son of Hezron fathered sons by his wife Azubah (also known as Jerioth). Her sons were Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. 19When Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrath, who bore him Hur. 20Hur was the father of Uri, and Uri was the father of Bezalel.

21Later Hezron slept with the daughter of Makir, the father of Gilead. (He had married her when he was sixty years old.) She bore him Segub. 22Segub was the father of Jair, who owned twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. 23(Geshur and Aram captured the towns of Jair, along with Kenath and its sixty surrounding towns.) All these were descendants of Makir, the father of Gilead.

24After Hezron’s death, Caleb slept with Ephrath, his father Hezron’s widow, and she bore to him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.

Ps. 104:1–18

104:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, you are magnificent.

You are robed in splendor and majesty.

2He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.

He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain

3and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds.

He makes the clouds his chariot

and travels on the wings of the wind.

4He makes the winds his messengers

and the flaming fire his attendant.

5He established the earth on its foundations;

it will never be moved.

6The watery deep covered it like a garment;

the waters reached above the mountains.

7Your shout made the waters retreat;

at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off—

8as the mountains rose up

and the valleys went down—

to the place you appointed for them.

9You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross,

so that they would not cover the earth again.

10He turns springs into streams;

they flow between the mountains.

11They provide water for all the animals in the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12The birds of the sky live beside them;

they chirp among the bushes.

13He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace;

the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow.

14He provides grass for the cattle

and crops for people to cultivate,

so they can produce food from the ground

15as well as wine that makes people glad,

and olive oil to make their faces shine

as well as bread that sustains them.

16The trees of the Lord receive all the rain they need,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted,

17where the birds make nests

near the evergreens in which the herons live.

18The wild goats live in the high mountains;

the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.

Mark 7:1–13

7:1 Now the Pharisees and some of the experts in the law who came from Jerusalem gathered around him. 2And they saw that some of Jesus’ disciples ate their bread with unclean hands, that is, unwashed. 3(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing, holding fast to the tradition of the elders. 4And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches.) 5The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with unwashed hands?” 6He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:

“‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

7They worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.’

8Having no regard for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.” 9He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up your tradition. 10For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ 11But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’ (that is, a gift for God), 12then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother. 13Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”