Leviticus contains regulations for worship and religious ceremonies in ancient Israel, and for the priests who were responsible for carrying out these instructions.

The main theme of the book is the holiness of God and the ways in which his people were to worship and live so as to maintain their relationship with “the holy God of Israel.”

The best known words from the book, found in 19.18, are those which Jesus called the second great commandment: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

Laws about offerings and sacrifices 1.1—7.38 The ordination of Aaron and his sons as priests 8.1—10.20 Laws about ritual cleanness and uncleanness 11.1—15.33 The Day of Atonement 16.1–34 Laws about holiness in life and worship 17.1—27.34 Sacrifices Burned Whole

1   The Lord called to Moses from the Tent of the Lord's presence and gave him the following rules

2   for the Israelites to observe when they offer their sacrifices.

2   When anyone offers an animal sacrifice, it may be one of his cattle or one of his sheep or goats.

3   If he is offering one of his cattle as a burnt offering, he must bring a bull without any defects. He must present it at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence so that the Lord will accept him.

4   The man shall put his hand on its head, and it will be accepted as a sacrifice to take away his sins.

5   He shall kill the bull there, and the Aaronite priests shall present the blood to the Lord and then throw it against all four sides of the altar located at the entrance of the Tent.

6   Then he shall skin the animal and cut it up,

7   and the priests shall arrange firewood on the altar and light it.

8   They shall put on the fire the pieces of the animal, including the head and the fat.

9   The man must wash the internal organs and the hind legs, and the officiating priest will burn the whole sacrifice on the altar. The odor of this food offering is pleasing to the Lord.

10   If the man is offering one of his sheep or goats, it must be a male without any defects.

11   He shall kill it on the north side of the altar, and the priests shall throw its blood on all four sides of the altar.

12   After the man cuts it up, the officiating priest shall put on the fire all the parts, including the head and the fat.

13   The man must wash the internal organs and the hind legs, and the priest will present the sacrifice to the Lord and burn all of it on the altar. The odor of this food offering is pleasing to the Lord.

14   If the man is offering a bird as a burnt offering, it must be a dove or a pigeon.

15   The priest shall present it at the altar, wring its neck, and burn its head on the altar. Its blood shall be drained out against the side of the altar.

16   He shall remove the crop and its contents and throw them away on the east side of the altar where the ashes are put.

17   He shall take hold of its wings and tear its

body open, without tearing the wings off, and then burn it whole on the altar. The odor of this food offering is pleasing to the Lord. Grain Offerings

1   When anyone presents an offering of grain to the Lord, he must first grind it into flour. He must put olive oil and incense on it

2   and bring it to the Aaronite priests. The officiating priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil and all of the incense and burn it on the altar as a token that it has all been offered to the Lord. The odor of this food offering is pleasing to the Lord.

3   The rest of the grain offering belongs to the priests; it is very holy, since it is taken from the food offered to the Lord.

4   If the offering is bread baked in an oven, it must be made without yeast. It may be thick loaves made of flour mixed with olive oil or thin cakes brushed with olive oil.

5   If the offering is bread cooked on a griddle, it is to be made of flour mixed with olive oil but without yeast.

6   Crumble it up and pour the oil on it when you present it as an offering.

7   If the offering is bread cooked in a pan, it is to be made of flour and olive oil.

8   Bring it as an offering to the Lord and present it to the priest, who will take it to the altar.

9   The priest will take part of it as a token that it has all been offered to the Lord, and he will burn it on the altar. The odor of this food offering is pleasing to the Lord.

10   The rest of the offering belongs to the priests; it is very holy, since it is taken from the food offered to the Lord.

11   None of the grain offerings which you present to the Lord may be made with yeast; you must never use yeast or honey in food offered to the Lord.

12   An offering of the first grain that you harvest each year shall be brought to the Lord, but it is not to be burned on the altar.

13   Put salt on every grain offering, because salt represents the covenant between you and God. (You must put salt on all your offerings.)

14   When you bring to the Lord an offering of the first grain harvested, offer roasted grain or ground meal.

15   Add olive oil and put incense on it.

16   The priest will burn that part of the meal and oil that is to serve as a token, and also all the incense, as a food offering to the Lord. Fellowship Offerings

1   When anyone offers one of his cattle as a fellowship offering, it is to be a bull or a cow without any defects.

2   The man shall put his hand on the head of the animal and kill it at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence. The Aaronite priests shall throw the blood against all four sides of the altar

3   and present the following parts of the animal as a food offering to the Lord: all the fat on the internal organs,

4   the kidneys and the fat on them, and the best part of the liver.

5   The priests shall burn all this on the altar along with the burnt offerings. The odor of this food offering is pleasing to the Lord.

6   If a sheep or goat is used as a fellowship offering, it may be male or female, but it must be without any defects.

7   If a man offers a sheep,

8   he shall put his hand on its head and kill it in front of the Tent. The priests shall throw its blood against all four sides of the altar

9   and present the following parts of the animal as a food offering to the Lord: the fat, the entire fat tail cut off near the backbone, all the fat covering the internal organs,

10   the kidneys and the fat on them, and the best part of the liver.

11   The officiating priest shall burn all this on the altar as a food offering to the Lord.

12   If a man offers a goat,

13   he shall put his hand on its head and kill it in front of the Tent. The priests shall throw its blood against all four sides of the altar

14   and present the following parts as a food offering to the Lord: all the fat on the internal organs,

15   the kidneys and the fat on them, and the best part of the liver.

16   The priest shall burn all this on the altar as a food offering pleasing to the Lord. All the fat belongs to the

Lord.

17   No Israelite may eat any fat or any blood; this is a rule to be kept forever by all Israelites wherever they live. Offerings for Unintentional Sins

1   The Lord commanded Moses

2   to tell the people of Israel that anyone who sinned and broke any of the Lord's commands without intending to, would have to observe the following rules.

3   If it is the High Priest who sins and so brings guilt on the people, he shall present a young bull without any defects and sacrifice it to the Lord for his sin.

4   He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent, put his hand on its head, and kill it there in the Lord's presence.

5   Then the High Priest shall take some of the bull's blood and carry it into the Tent.

6   He shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it in front of the sacred curtain seven times.

7   Then he shall put some of the blood on the projections at the corners of the incense altar in the Tent. He shall pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar used for burning sacrifices, which is at the entrance of the Tent.

8   From this bull he shall take all the fat, the fat on the internal organs,

9   the kidneys and the fat on them, and the best part of the liver.

10   The priest shall take this fat and burn it on the altar used for the burnt offerings, just as he does with the fat from the animal killed for the fellowship offering.

11   But he shall take its skin, all its flesh, its head, its legs, and its internal organs, including the intestines,

12   carry it all outside the camp to the ritually clean place where the ashes are poured out, and there he shall burn it on a wood fire.

13   If it is the whole community of Israel that sins and becomes guilty of breaking one of the Lord's commands without intending to,

14   then as soon as the sin becomes known, the community shall bring a young bull as a sin offering. They shall bring it to the Tent of the Lord's presence;

15   the leaders of the community shall put their hands on its head, and it shall be killed there.

16   The High Priest shall take some of the bull's blood into the Tent,

17   dip his finger in it, and sprinkle it in front of the curtain seven times.

18   He shall put some of the blood on the projections at the corners of the incense altar inside the Tent and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar used for burning sacrifices, which is at the entrance of the Tent.

19   Then he shall take all its fat and burn it on the altar.

20   He shall do the same thing with this bull as he does with the bull for the sin offering, and in this way he shall make the sacrifice for the people's sin, and they will be forgiven.

21   Then he shall take the bull outside the camp and burn it, just as he burns the bull offered for his own sin. This is an offering to take away the sin of the community.

22   If it is a ruler who sins and becomes guilty of breaking one of the Lord's commands without intending to,

23   then as soon as the sin is called to his attention, he shall bring as his offering a male goat without any defects.

24   He shall put his hand on its head and kill it on the north side of the altar, where the animals for the burnt offerings are killed. This is an offering to take away sin.

25   The priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the animal, put it on the projections at the corners of the altar, and pour out the rest of it at the

base of the altar.

26   Then he shall burn all of its fat on the altar, just as he burns the fat of the animals killed for the fellowship offerings. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the sin of the ruler, and he will be forgiven.

27   If it is one of the common people who sins and becomes guilty of breaking one of the Lord's commands without intending to,

28   then as soon as the sin is called to his attention, he shall bring as his offering a female goat without any defects.

29   He shall put his hand on its head and kill it on the north side of the altar, where the animals for the burnt offerings are killed.

30   The priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the animal, put it on the projections at the corners of the altar, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar.

31   Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat is removed from the animals killed for the fellowship offerings, and he shall burn it on the altar as an odor pleasing to the Lord. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven. ^note

32   If a man brings a sheep as a sin offering, it must be a female without any defects.

33   He shall put his hand on its head and kill it on the north side of the altar, where the animals for the burnt offerings are killed.

34   The priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the animal, put it on the projections at the corners of the altar, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar.

35   Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat is removed from the sheep killed for the fellowship offerings, and he shall burn it on the altar along with the food offerings given to the Lord. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven. Cases Requiring Sin Offerings

1   Sin offerings are required in the following cases.

1   If someone is officially summoned to give evidence in court and does not give information about something he has seen or heard, he must suffer the consequences.

2   If someone unintentionally touches anything ritually unclean, such as a dead animal, he is unclean and guilty as soon as he realizes what he has done.

3   If someone unintentionally touches anything of human origin that is unclean, whatever it may be, he is guilty as soon as he realizes what he has done.

4   If someone makes a careless vow, no matter what it is about, he is guilty as soon as he realizes what he has done.

5   When a person is guilty, he must confess the sin,

6   and as the penalty for his sin he must bring to the Lord a female sheep or goat as an offering. The priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin.

7   If a man cannot afford a sheep or a goat, he shall bring to the Lord as the payment for his sin two doves or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.

8   He shall bring them to the priest, who will first offer the bird for the sin offering. He will break its neck without pulling off its head

9   and sprinkle some of its blood against the side of the altar. The rest of the blood will be drained out at the base of the altar. This is an offering to take away sin.

10   Then he shall offer the second bird as a burnt offering, according to the regulations. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven.

11   If a man cannot afford two doves or two pigeons, he shall bring two pounds of flour as a sin offering. He shall not put any olive oil or any incense on it, because it is a sin offering, not a grain offering.

12   He shall bring it to the priest, who will take a handful of it as a token that it has all been offered to the Lord, and he will burn it on the altar as a food offering. It is an offering to take away sin.

13   In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven. The rest

of the flour belongs to the priest, just as in the case of a grain offering. Repayment Offerings

14   The Lord gave the following regulations to Moses.

15   If anyone sins unintentionally by failing to hand over the payments that are sacred to the Lord, he shall bring as his repayment offering to the Lord a male sheep or goat without any defects. Its value is to be determined according to the official standard.

16   He must make the payments he has failed to hand over and must pay an additional 20 percent. He shall give it to the priest, and the priest shall offer the animal as a sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven.

17   If anyone sins unintentionally by breaking any of the Lord's commands, he is guilty and must pay the penalty.

18   He must bring to the priest as a repayment offering a male sheep or goat without any defects. Its value is to be determined according to the official standard. The priest shall offer the sacrifice for the sin which the man committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven.

19   It is a repayment offering for the sin he committed against the Lord.

1   The Lord gave the following regulations to Moses.

2   An offering is to be made if anyone sins against the Lord by refusing to return what a fellow Israelite has left as a deposit or by stealing something from him or by cheating him

3   or by lying about something that has been lost and swearing that he did not find it.

4    5   When a man sins in any of these ways, he must repay whatever he got by dishonest means. On the day he is found guilty, he must repay the owner in full, plus an additional 20 percent.

6   He shall bring to the priest as his repayment offering to the Lord a male sheep or goat without any defects. Its value is to be determined according to the official standard.

7   The priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven. ^note Sacrifices Burned Whole

8   The Lord commanded Moses

9   to give Aaron and his sons the following regulations for burnt offerings. A burnt offering is to be left on the altar all night long, and the fire is to be kept burning.

10   Then the priest, wearing his linen robe and linen shorts, shall remove the greasy ashes left on the altar and put them at the side of the altar.

11   Then he shall change his clothes and take the ashes outside the camp to a ritually clean place.

12   The fire on the altar must be kept burning and never allowed to go out. Every morning the priest shall put firewood on it, arrange the burnt offering on it, and burn the fat of the fellowship offering.

13   The fire must always be kept burning on the altar and never allowed to go out. Grain Offerings

14   The following are the regulations for grain offerings. An Aaronite priest shall present the grain offering to the Lord in front of the altar.

15   Then he shall take a handful of the flour and oil, and the incense on it, and burn it on the altar as a token that all of it has been offered to the Lord. The odor of this offering is pleasing to the Lord.

16    17   The priests shall eat the rest of it. It shall be made into bread baked without yeast and eaten in a holy place, the courtyard of the Tent of the Lord's presence. The Lord has given it to the priests as their part of the food offerings. It is very holy, like the sin offerings and the repayment offerings.

18   For all time to come any of the male descendants of Aaron may eat it as their continuing share of the food offered to the Lord. Anyone else who touches a food offering will be harmed by the power of its holiness.

19   The Lord gave Moses the following regulations

20   for the ordination of an Aaronite priest. On the day he is ordained, he shall present as an offering to the Lord two pounds of flour (the same amount as the daily grain offering), half in the morning and half in the evening.

21   It is to be mixed with oil and cooked on a griddle and then crumbled and presented as a grain offering, an odor pleasing to the Lord.

22   For all time to come this offering is to be made by every descendant of Aaron who is serving as High Priest. It shall be completely burned as a sacrifice to the Lord.

23   No part of a grain offering that a priest makes may be eaten; all of it must be burned. Sin Offerings

24   The Lord commanded Moses

25   to give Aaron and his sons the following regulations for sin offerings. The animal for a sin offering shall be killed on the north side of the altar, where the animals for the burnt offerings are killed. This is a very holy offering.

26   The priest who sacrifices the animal shall eat it in a holy place, the courtyard of the Tent of the Lord's presence.

27   Anyone or anything that touches the flesh of the animal will be harmed by the power of its holiness. If any article of clothing is spattered with the animal's blood, it must be washed in a holy place.

28   Any clay pot in which the meat is boiled must be broken, and if a metal pot is used, it must be scrubbed and rinsed with water.

29   Any male of the priestly families may eat this offering; it is very holy.

30   But if any of the blood is brought into the Tent and used in the ritual to take away sin, the animal must not be eaten; it must be burned. Repayment Offerings

1   The following are the regulations for repayment offerings, which are very holy.

2   The animal for this offering is to be killed on the north side of the altar, where the animals for the burnt offerings are killed, and its blood is to be thrown against all four sides of the altar.

3   All of its fat shall be removed and offered on the altar: the fat tail, the fat covering the internal organs,

4   the kidneys and the fat on them, and the best part of the liver.

5   The priest shall burn all the fat on the altar as a food offering to the Lord. It is a repayment offering.

6   Any male of the priestly families may eat it, but it must be eaten in a holy place, because it is very holy.

7   There is one regulation that applies to both the sin offering and the repayment offering: the meat belongs to the priest who offers the sacrifice.

8   The skin of an animal offered as a burnt offering belongs to the priest who offers the sacrifice.

9   Every grain offering that has been baked in an oven or prepared in a pan or on a griddle belongs to the priest who has offered it to God.

10   But all uncooked grain offerings, whether mixed with oil or dry, belong to all the Aaronite priests and must be shared equally among them. Fellowship Offerings

11   The following are the regulations for the fellowship offerings presented to the Lord.

12   If a man makes this offering as a thanksgiving offering to God, he shall present, together with the animal to be sacrificed, an offering of bread made without yeast: either thick loaves made of flour mixed with olive oil or thin cakes brushed with olive oil or cakes made of flour mixed with olive oil.

13   In addition, he shall offer loaves of bread baked with yeast.

14   He shall present one part of each kind of bread as a special contribution to the Lord; it belongs to the priest who takes the blood of the animal and throws it against the altar.

15   The flesh of the animal must be eaten on the day it is sacrificed; none of it may be left until the next morning.

16   If a man brings a fellowship offering as fulfillment of a vow or as his own freewill offering, not all of it has to be eaten on the day it is offered, but any that is left over may

be eaten on the following day.

17   Any meat that still remains on the third day must be burned.

18   If any of it is eaten on the third day, God will not accept the man's offering. The offering will not be counted to his credit but will be considered unclean, and whoever eats it will suffer the consequences.

19   If the meat comes into contact with anything ritually unclean, it must not be eaten, but must be burned.

19   Anyone who is ritually clean may eat the meat,

20   but if anyone who is not clean eats it, he shall no longer be considered one of God's people.

21   Also, if anyone eats the meat of this offering after he has touched anything ritually unclean, whether from a man or an animal, he shall no longer be considered one of God's people.

22   The Lord gave Moses the following regulations

23   for the people of Israel. No fat of cattle, sheep, or goats shall be eaten.

24   The fat of an animal that has died a natural death or has been killed by a wild animal must not be eaten, but it may be used for any other purpose.

25   Anyone who eats the fat of an animal that may be offered as a food offering to the Lord will no longer be considered one of God's people.

26   No matter where the Israelites live, they must never use the blood of birds or animals for food.

27   Anyone who breaks this law will no longer be considered one of God's people. ^note

28   The Lord gave Moses the following regulations

29   for the people of Israel. Whoever offers a fellowship offering must bring part of it as a special gift to the Lord,

30   bringing it with his own hands as a food offering. He shall bring the fat of the animal with its breast and present it as a special gift to the Lord.

31   The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall belong to the priests.

32   The right hind leg of the animal shall be given as a special contribution

33   to the priest who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering.

34   The breast of the animal is a special gift, and the right hind leg is a special contribution that the Lord has taken from the people of Israel and given to the priests. This is what the people of Israel must give to the priests for all time to come.

35   This is the part of the food offered to the Lord that was given to Aaron and his sons on the day they were ordained as priests.

36   On that day the Lord commanded the people of Israel to give them this part of the offering. It is a regulation that the people of Israel must obey for all time to come.

37   These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, the sin offerings, the repayment offerings, the ordination offerings, and the fellowship offerings.

38   There on Mount Sinai in the desert, the Lord gave these commands to Moses on the day he told the people of Israel to make their offerings. The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons (Exodus 29.1–37)

1   The Lord said to Moses,

2   “Take Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of my presence and bring the priestly garments, the anointing oil, the young bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread.

3   Then call the whole community together there.”

4   Moses did as the Lord had commanded, and when the community had assembled,

5   he said to them, “What I am now about to do is what the Lord has commanded.”

6   Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and had them take a ritual bath.

7   He put the shirt and the robe on Aaron and the sash around his waist. He put the ephod ^note on him and fastened it by putting its finely woven belt around his waist.

8   He put the breastpiece on him and put the Urim and Thummim ^note in it.

9   He placed the turban on his head, and

on the front of it he put the gold ornament, the sacred sign of dedication, just as the Lord had commanded him.

10   Then Moses took the anointing oil and put it on the Tent of the Lord's presence and everything that was in it, and in this way he dedicated it all to the Lord.

11   He took some of the oil and sprinkled it seven times on the altar and its equipment and on the basin and its base, in order to dedicate them to the Lord.

12   He ordained Aaron by pouring some of the anointing oil on his head.

13   Next, Moses brought the sons of Aaron forward and put shirts on them, put sashes around their waists, and tied caps on their heads, just as the Lord had commanded.

14   Then Moses brought the young bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head.

15   Moses killed it and took some of the blood, and with his finger put it on the projections at the corners of the altar, in order to dedicate it. He then poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. In this way he dedicated it and purified it.

16   Moses took all the fat on the internal organs, the best part of the liver, and the kidneys with the fat on them, and burned it all on the altar.

17   He took the rest of the bull, including its skin, flesh, and intestines, and burned it outside the camp, just as the Lord had commanded.

18   Next, Moses brought the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head.

19   Moses killed it and threw the blood on all four sides of the altar.

20    21   He cut the ram in pieces, washed the internal organs and the hind legs with water, and burned the head, the fat, and all the rest of the ram on the altar, just as the Lord had commanded. This burnt offering was a food offering, and its odor was pleasing to the Lord.

22   Then Moses brought the second ram, which was for the ordination of priests, and Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head.

23   Moses killed it and took some of the blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

24   Then he brought Aaron's sons forward and put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Moses then threw the rest of the blood on all four sides of the altar.

25   He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat covering the internal organs, the best part of the liver, the kidneys with the fat on them, and the right hind leg.

26   Then he took one loaf of bread from the basket of unleavened bread dedicated to the Lord, one loaf made with oil, and one thin cake, and he put them on top of the fat and the right hind leg.

27   He put all of this food in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and they presented it as a special gift to the Lord.

28   Then Moses took the food from them and burned it on the altar, on top of the burnt offering, as an ordination offering. This was a food offering, and its odor was pleasing to the Lord.

29   Then Moses took the breast and presented it as a special gift to the Lord. It was Moses' part of the ordination ram. Moses did everything just as the Lord had commanded.

30   Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his sons and on their clothes. In this way he consecrated

them and their clothes to the Lord.

31   Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Take the meat to the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence, boil it, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, just as the Lord commanded.

32   Burn up any meat or bread that is left over.

33   You shall not leave the entrance of the Tent for seven days, until your ordination rites are completed.

34   The Lord commanded us to do what we have done today, in order to take away your sin.

35   You must stay at the entrance of the Tent day and night for seven days, doing what the Lord has commanded. If you don't, you will die. This is what the Lord has commanded me.”

36   So Aaron and his sons did everything that the Lord had commanded through Moses. Aaron Offers Sacrifices

1   The day after the ordination rites were completed, Moses called Aaron and his sons and the leaders of Israel.

2   He said to Aaron, “Take a young bull and a ram without any defects and offer them to the Lord, the bull for a sin offering and the ram for a burnt offering.

3   Then tell the people of Israel to take a male goat for a sin offering, a one-year-old calf, and a one-year-old lamb without any defects for a burnt offering,

4   and a bull and a ram for a fellowship offering. They are to sacrifice them to the Lord with the grain offering mixed with oil. They must do this because the Lord will appear to them today.”

5   They brought to the front of the Tent everything that Moses had commanded, and the whole community assembled there to worship the Lord.

6   Moses said, “The Lord has commanded you to do all this, so that the dazzling light of his presence can appear to you.”

7   Then he said to Aaron, “Go to the altar and offer the sin offering and the burnt offering to take away your sins and the sins of the people. Present this offering to take away the sins of the people, just as the Lord commanded.” ^note

8   Aaron went to the altar and killed the young bull which was for his own sin offering.

9   His sons brought him the blood, and he dipped his finger in it, put some of it on the projections at the corners of the altar, and poured out the rest of it at the base of the altar.

10   Then he burned on the altar the fat, the kidneys, and the best part of the liver, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

11   But he burned the meat and the skin outside the camp.

12   He killed the animal which was for his own burnt offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he threw it on all four sides of the altar.

13   They handed him the head and the other pieces of the animal, and he burned them on the altar.

14   Then he washed the internal organs and the hind legs and burned them on the altar on top of the rest of the burnt offering.

15   After that, he presented the people's offerings. He took the goat that was to be offered for the people's sins, killed it, and offered it, as he had done with his own sin offering.

16   He also brought the animal for the burnt offering and offered it according to the regulations.

17   He presented the grain offering and took a handful of flour and burned it on the altar. (This was in addition to the daily burnt offering.)

18   He killed the bull and the ram as a fellowship offering for the people. His sons brought him the blood, and he threw it on all four sides of the altar. ^note

19   Aaron put the fat parts of the bull and the ram

20   on top of the breasts of the animals and carried it all to the altar. He burned the fat on the altar

21   and presented the breasts and the right hind legs as the special gift to the Lord for the priests, as Moses had commanded.

22   When Aaron had finished all the sacrifices, he raised his hands over

the people and blessed them, and then stepped down. ^note

23   Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of the Lord's presence, and when they came out, they blessed the people, and the dazzling light of the Lord's presence appeared to all the people.

24   Suddenly the Lord sent a fire, and it consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar. When the people saw it, they all shouted and bowed down with their faces to the ground. The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

1   Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan, put live coals in it, added incense, and presented it to the Lord. But this fire was not holy, because the Lord had not commanded them to present it.

2   Suddenly the Lord sent fire, and it burned them to death there in the presence of the Lord.

3   Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord was speaking about when he said, ‘All who serve me must respect my holiness; I will reveal my glory to my people.’” ^noteBut Aaron remained silent.

4   Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, Aaron's uncle, and said to them, “Come here and carry your cousins' bodies away from the sacred Tent and put them outside the camp.”

5   So they came and took hold of the clothing on the corpses and carried them outside the camp, just as Moses had commanded.

6   Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not leave your hair uncombed or tear your clothes to show that you are in mourning. If you do, you will die, and the Lord will be angry with the whole community. But all your fellow Israelites are allowed to mourn this death caused by the fire which the Lord sent.

7   Do not leave the entrance of the Tent or you will die, because you have been consecrated by the anointing oil of the Lord.” So they did as Moses said. Rules for Priests

8   The Lord said to Aaron,

9   “You and your sons are not to enter the Tent of my presence after drinking wine or beer; if you do, you will die. This is a law to be kept by all your descendants.

10   You must distinguish between what belongs to God and what is for general use, between what is ritually clean and what is unclean.

11   You must teach the people of Israel all the laws which I have given to you through Moses.”

12   Moses said to Aaron and his two remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that is left over from the food offered to the Lord, make unleavened bread with it and eat it beside the altar, because this offering is very holy.

13   Eat it in a holy place; it is the part that belongs to you and your sons from the food offered to the Lord. That is what the Lord commanded me. ^note

14   But you and your families may eat the breast and the hind leg that are presented as the special gift and the special contribution to the Lord for the priests. You may eat them in any ritually clean place. These offerings have been given to you and your children as the part that belongs to you from the fellowship offerings of the people of Israel.

15   They shall bring the hind leg and the breast at the time the fat is presented as a food offering to the Lord. These parts belong to you and your children forever, just as the Lord commanded.” ^note

16   Moses asked about the goat for the sin offering and learned that it had already been burned. This made him angry at Eleazar and Ithamar, and he demanded,

17   “Why didn't you eat the sin offering in a sacred place? It is very holy, and the Lord has given it to you in order to take away the sin of the community. ^note

18   Since its blood was not brought into the sacred Tent, you should have eaten the sacrifice there, as I commanded.”

19   Aaron answered, “If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the

Lord have approved? The people presented their sin offering to the Lord today, and they brought their burnt offering, but still these terrible things have happened to me.”

20   When Moses heard this, he was satisfied. Animals That May Be Eaten (Deuteronomy 14.3–21)

1   The Lord gave Moses and Aaron the following regulations

2   for the people of Israel. You may eat any land animal

3   that has divided hoofs and that also chews the cud,

4    5    6   but you must not eat camels, rock badgers, or rabbits. These must be considered unclean; they chew the cud, but do not have divided hoofs.

7   Do not eat pigs. They must be considered unclean; they have divided hoofs, but do not chew the cud.

8   Do not eat these animals or even touch their dead bodies; they are unclean.

9   You may eat any kind of fish that has fins and scales,

10   but anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales must not be eaten.

11   Such creatures must be considered unclean. You must not eat them or even touch their dead bodies.

12   You must not eat anything that lives in the water and does not have fins and scales.

13    14    15    16    17    18    19   You must not eat any of the following birds: eagles, owls, hawks, falcons; buzzards, vultures, crows; ostriches; seagulls, storks, herons, pelicans, cormorants; ^note hoopoes; or bats.

20   All winged insects are unclean,

21   except those that hop.

22   You may eat locusts, crickets, or grasshoppers.

23   But all other small things that have wings and also crawl must be considered unclean.

24    25    26    27    28   Whoever touches the dead bodies of the following animals will be unclean until evening: all animals with hoofs, unless their hoofs are divided and they chew the cud, and all four-footed animals with paws. Whoever carries their dead bodies must wash his clothes, but he will still be unclean until evening.

29    30   Moles, rats, mice, and lizards must be considered unclean.

31   Whoever touches them or their dead bodies will be unclean until evening.

32   And if their dead bodies fall on anything, it will be unclean. This applies to any article of wood, cloth, leather, or sacking, no matter what it is used for. It shall be dipped in water, but it will remain unclean until evening.

33   And if their bodies fall

into a clay pot, everything that is in it shall be unclean, and you must break the pot.

34   Any food which could normally be eaten, but on which water from such a pot has been poured, will be unclean, and anything drinkable in such a pot is unclean.

35   Anything on which the dead bodies fall is unclean; a clay stove or oven shall be broken,

36   but a spring or a cistern remains clean, although anything else that touches their dead bodies is unclean.

37   If one of them falls on seed that is going to be planted, the seed remains clean.

38   But if the seed is soaking in water and one of them falls on it, the seed is unclean.

39   If any animal that may be eaten dies, anyone who touches it will be unclean until evening.

40   And if anyone eats any part of the animal, he must wash his clothes, but he will still be unclean until evening; anyone who carries the dead body must wash his clothes, but he will still be unclean until evening.

41   You must not eat any of the small animals that move on the ground,

42   whether they crawl, or walk on four legs, or have many legs.

43   Do not make yourselves unclean by eating any of these.

44   I am the Lord your God, and you must keep yourselves holy, because I am holy. ^note

45   I am the Lord who brought you out of Egypt so that I could be your God. You must be holy, because I am holy.

46   This, then, is the law about animals and birds, about everything that lives in the water, and everything that moves on the ground.

47   You must be careful to distinguish between what is ritually clean and unclean, between animals that may be eaten and those that may not. The Purification of Women after Childbirth

1   The Lord gave Moses the following regulations

2   for the people of Israel. For seven days after a woman gives birth to a son, she is ritually unclean, as she is during her monthly period.

3   On the eighth day, the child shall be circumcised. ^note

4   Then it will be thirty-three more days until she is ritually clean from her loss of blood; she must not touch anything that is holy or enter the sacred Tent until the time of her purification is completed.

5   For fourteen days after a woman gives birth to a daughter, she is ritually unclean, as she is during her monthly period. Then it will be sixty-six more days until she is ritually clean from her loss of blood.

6   When the time of her purification is completed, whether for a son or daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.

7   The priest shall present her offering to the Lord and perform the ritual to take away her impurity, and she will be ritually clean. This, then, is what a woman must do after giving birth.

8   If the woman cannot afford a lamb, she shall bring two doves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering, and the priest shall perform the ritual to take away her impurity, and she will be ritually clean. ^note Laws concerning Skin Diseases

1   The Lord gave Moses and Aaron these regulations.

2   If anyone has a sore on his skin or a boil or an inflammation which could develop into a dreaded skin disease, he shall be brought to the Aaronite priest.

3   The priest shall examine the sore, and if the hairs in it have turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the surrounding skin, it is a dreaded skin disease, and the priest shall pronounce the person unclean.

4   But if the sore is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin around it and the hairs have not turned white, the priest shall isolate the person for seven days.

5   The priest shall examine him again on

the seventh day, and if in his opinion the sore looks the same and has not spread, he shall isolate him for another seven days.

6   The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the sore has faded and has not spread, he shall pronounce him ritually clean; it is only a sore. The person shall wash his clothes and be ritually clean.

7   But if the sore spreads after the priest has examined him and pronounced him clean, he must appear before the priest again.

8   The priest will examine him again, and if it has spread, he shall pronounce him unclean; it is a dreaded skin disease.

9   If anyone has a dreaded skin disease, he shall be brought to the priest,

10   who will examine him. If there is a white sore on his skin which turns the hairs white and is full of pus,

11   it is a chronic skin disease. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; there is no need to isolate him, because he is obviously unclean.

12   If the skin disease spreads and covers the person from head to foot,

13   the priest shall examine him again. If he finds that it actually has covered the whole body, he shall pronounce the person ritually clean. If his whole skin has turned white, he is ritually clean.

14   But from the moment an open sore appears, he is unclean.

15   The priest shall examine him again, and if he sees an open sore, he shall pronounce him unclean. An open sore means a dreaded skin disease, and the person is unclean.

16   But when the sore heals and becomes white again, the person shall go to the priest,

17   who will examine him again. If the sore has turned white, he is ritually clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

18   If anyone has a boil that has healed

19   and if afterward a white swelling or a reddish-white spot appears where the boil was, he shall go to the priest.

20   The priest shall examine him, and if the spot seems to be deeper than the surrounding skin and the hairs in it have turned white, he shall pronounce him unclean. It is a dreaded skin disease that has started in the boil.

21   But if the priest examines it and finds that the hairs in it have not turned white and that it is not deeper than the surrounding skin, but is light in color, the priest shall isolate him for seven days.

22   If the spot spreads, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he is diseased.

23   But if it remains unchanged and does not spread, it is only the scar left from the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him ritually clean.

24   In the case of a person who has been burned, if the raw flesh becomes white or reddish-white,

25   the priest shall examine him. If the hairs in the spot have turned white and it appears deeper than the surrounding skin, it is a dreaded skin disease that has started in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean.

26   But if the hairs in it have not turned white and it is not deeper than the surrounding skin, but is light in color, the priest shall isolate him for seven days.

27   The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if it is spreading, it is a dreaded skin disease, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean.

28   But if the spot remains unchanged and does not spread and is light in color, it is not a dreaded skin disease. The priest shall pronounce him ritually clean, because it is only a scar from the burn.

29   When a man or a woman has a sore on the head or the chin,

30   the priest shall examine it. If it seems to be deeper than the surrounding skin and the hairs in it are yellowish and thin, it is a dreaded skin disease, and he shall pronounce the person unclean.

31   If, when the priest examines him, the sore does not appear to be deeper than the surrounding skin, but there are still no healthy hairs in it, he shall isolate him for seven days.

32   The priest shall examine the sore again on the seventh day, and if it has not spread and there are no yellowish hairs in it and it does not seem to be deeper than the surrounding skin,

33   the person shall shave the area around the sore. The priest shall then isolate him for another seven days.

34   On the seventh day the priest shall again examine the sore, and if it has not spread and does not seem to be deeper than the surrounding skin, he shall pronounce him ritually clean. The person shall wash his clothes, and he will be clean.

35   But if the sore spreads after he has been pronounced clean,

36   the priest shall examine him again. If the sore has spread, he need not look for yellowish hairs; the person is obviously unclean.

37   But if in the priest's opinion the sore has not spread and healthy hairs are growing in it, the sore has healed, and the priest shall pronounce him ritually clean.

38   When a man or a woman has white spots on the skin,

39   the priest shall examine that person. If the spots are dull white, it is only a blemish that has broken out on the skin; the person is ritually clean.

40    41   If a man loses his hair at the back or the front of his head, this does not make him unclean.

42   But if a reddish-white sore appears on the bald spot, it is a dreaded skin disease.

43   The priest shall examine him, and if there is a reddish-white sore,

44   the priest shall pronounce him unclean, because of the dreaded skin disease on his head.

45   A person who has a dreaded skin disease must wear torn clothes, leave his hair uncombed, cover the lower part of his face, and call out, “Unclean, unclean!”

46   He remains unclean as long as he has the disease, and he must live outside the camp, away from others. Laws concerning Mildew

47   When there is mildew ^note on clothing, whether wool or linen,

48   or on any piece of linen or wool cloth or on leather or anything made of leather,

49   if it is greenish or reddish, it is a spreading mildew and must be shown to the priest.

50   The priest shall examine it and put the object away for seven days.

51   He shall examine it again on the seventh day, and if the mildew has spread, the object is unclean.

52   The priest shall burn it, because it is a spreading mildew which must be destroyed by fire.

53   But if, when he examines it, the priest finds that the mildew has not spread on the object,

54   he shall order that it be washed and put away for another seven days.

55   Then he shall examine it, and if the mildew has not changed color, even though it has not spread, it is still unclean; you must burn the object, whether the rot is on the front or the back.

56   But if, when the priest examines it again, the mildew has faded, he shall tear it out of the clothing or leather.

57   Then, if the mildew reappears, it is spreading again, and the owner shall burn the object.

58   If he washes the object and the spot disappears, he shall wash it again, and it will be ritually clean.

59   This, then, is the law about mildew on clothing, whether it is wool or linen or on linen or wool cloth or on anything made of leather. Purification after Having Skin Diseases

1   The Lord gave Moses

2   the following regulations about the ritual purification of a person cured of a dreaded skin disease. On

the day he is to be pronounced clean, he shall be brought to the priest, ^note

3   and the priest shall take him outside the camp and examine him. If the disease is healed,

4   the priest shall order that two ritually clean birds be brought, along with a piece of cedar wood, a red cord, and a sprig of hyssop.

5   Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over a clay bowl containing fresh spring water.

6   He shall take the other bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the red cord, and the hyssop, in the blood of the bird that was killed.

7   He shall sprinkle the blood seven times on the person who is to be purified from his skin disease, and then he shall pronounce him clean. He shall let the live bird fly away over the open fields.

8   The person shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and take a bath; he will then be ritually clean. He may enter the camp, but he must live outside his tent for seven days.

9   On the seventh day he shall again shave his head, his beard, his eyebrows, and all the rest of the hair on his body; he shall wash his clothes and take a bath, and then he will be ritually clean.

10   On the eighth day he shall bring two male lambs and one female lamb a year old that are without any defects, five pounds of flour mixed with olive oil, and half a pint of olive oil.

11   The priest shall take the man and these offerings to the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence.

12   Then the priest shall take one of the male lambs and together with the half pint of oil he shall offer it as a repayment offering. He shall present them as a special gift to the Lord for the priest.

13   He shall kill the lamb in the holy place where the animals for the sin offerings and the burnt offerings are killed. He must do this because the repayment offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest and is very holy.

14   The priest shall take some of the blood of the lamb and put it on the lobe of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of the man who is to be declared ritually clean.

15   The priest shall take some of the olive oil and pour it in the palm of his own left hand,

16   dip a finger of his right hand in it, and sprinkle some of it seven times there in the Lord's presence.

17   He shall take some of the oil that is in the palm of his hand and some of the blood of the lamb and put them on the lobe of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of the man who is to be declared ritually clean.

18   He shall put the rest of the oil that is in the palm of his hand on the man's head. In this way he shall perform the ritual of purification.

19   Then the priest shall offer the sin offering and perform the ritual of purification. After that, he shall kill the animal for the burnt offering

20   and offer it with the grain offering on the altar. In this way the priest shall perform the ritual of purification, and the man will be ritually clean.

21   If the man is poor and cannot afford any more, he shall bring for his purification only one male lamb as his repayment offering, a special gift to the Lord for the priest. He shall bring only two pounds of flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering and half a pint of olive oil.

22   He shall also bring two doves or two pigeons, one for the sin offering and one for the burnt offering.

23   On the eighth day of his purification he shall bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Tent.

24   The priest shall take the lamb and the olive oil and present them as a special gift to the Lord for the priest.

25   He shall kill the lamb and take some of the blood and put it on the lobe of the man's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

26   The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand

27   and with a finger of his right hand sprinkle some of it seven times there in the Lord's presence.

28   He shall put some of the oil on the same places he put the blood: on the lobe of the man's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

29   The rest of the oil that is in his palm he shall put on the man's head and in

this way perform the ritual of purification.

30   Then he shall offer one of the doves or pigeons

31   as the sin offering and the other as the burnt offering with the grain offering. In this way the priest shall perform the ritual of purification.

32   This is the law for the man who has a dreaded skin disease but who cannot afford the normal offerings required for his purification. Mildew in Houses

33   The Lord gave Moses and Aaron

34   the following regulations about houses affected by spreading mildew. (These were to apply after the people of Israel entered the land of Canaan, which the Lord was going to give them as their possession.)

35   Anyone who finds mildew in his house must go and tell the priest about it.

36   The priest shall order everything to be moved out of the house before he goes to examine the mildew; otherwise everything in the house will be declared unclean. Then he shall go to the house

37   and examine the mildew. If there are greenish or reddish spots that appear to be eating into the wall,

38   he shall leave the house and lock it up for seven days.

39   On the seventh day he shall return and examine it again. If the mildew has spread,

40   he shall order that the stones on which the mildew is found be removed and thrown into some unclean place outside the city.

41   After that he must have all the interior walls scraped and the plaster dumped in an unclean place outside the city.

42   Then other stones are to be used to replace the stones that were removed, and new plaster will be used to cover the walls.

43   If the mildew breaks out again in the house after the stones have been removed and the house has been scraped and plastered,

44   the priest shall go and look. If it has spread, the house is unclean.

45   It must be torn down, and its stones, its wood, and all its plaster must be carried out of the city to an unclean place.

46   Anyone who enters the house while it is locked up will be unclean until evening.

47   Anyone who lies down or eats in the house must wash his clothes.

48   If, when the priest comes to look, the mildew has not reappeared after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house ritually clean, because the mildew has been completely removed.

49   To purify the house, he shall take two birds, some cedar wood, a red cord, and a sprig of hyssop.

50   He shall kill one of the birds over a clay bowl containing fresh spring water.

51   Then he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the red cord, and the live bird and shall dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed and in the fresh water. And he shall sprinkle the house seven times.

52   In this way he shall purify the house with the bird's blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the red cord.

53   Then he shall let the live bird fly away outside the city over the open fields. In this way he shall perform the ritual of purification for the house, and it will be ritually clean.

54   These are the laws about dreaded skin diseases;

55    56   sores, boils, or inflammations; and about mildew in clothes or houses.

57   These laws determine when something is unclean and when it is clean. Unclean Bodily Discharges

1   The Lord gave Moses and Aaron the following regulations

2   for the people of Israel. When any man has a discharge from his penis, the discharge is unclean,

3   whether the penis runs with it or is stopped up by it.

4   Any bed on which

he sits or lies is unclean.

5   Anyone who touches his bed

6   or sits on anything the man has sat on must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

7   Anyone who touches the man with the discharge must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

8   If the man with the discharge spits on anyone who is ritually clean, that person must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

9   Any saddle or seat on which the man with the discharge sits is unclean.

10   Anyone who touches anything on which the man sat is unclean until evening. Anyone who carries anything on which the man sat must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

11   If a man who has a discharge touches someone without first having washed his hands, that person must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

12   Any clay pot that the man touches must be broken, and any wooden bowl that he touches must be washed.

13   After the man is cured of his discharge, he must wait seven days and then wash his clothes and take a bath in fresh spring water, and he will be ritually clean.

14   On the eighth day he shall take two doves or two pigeons to the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence and give them to the priest.

15   The priest shall offer one of them as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way he will perform the ritual of purification for the man.

16   When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body, and he remains unclean until evening.

17   Anything made of cloth or leather on which the semen falls must be washed, and it remains unclean until evening.

18   After sexual intercourse both the man and the woman must take a bath, and they remain unclean until evening.

19   When a woman has her monthly period, she remains unclean for seven days. Anyone who touches her is unclean until evening.

20   Anything on which she sits or lies during her monthly period is unclean.

21    22    23   Anyone who touches her bed or anything on which she has sat must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

24   If a man has sexual intercourse with her during her period, he is contaminated by her impurity and remains unclean for seven days, and any bed on which he lies is unclean.

25   If a woman has a flow of blood for several days outside her monthly period or if her flow continues beyond her regular period, she remains unclean as long as the flow continues, just as she is during her monthly period.

26   Any bed on which she lies and anything on which she sits during this time is unclean.

27   Anyone who touches them is unclean and must wash his clothes and take a bath; he remains unclean until evening.

28   After her flow stops, she must wait seven days, and then she will be ritually clean.

29   On the eighth day she shall take two doves or two pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence.

30   The priest shall offer one of them as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and in this way he will perform the ritual of purification for her.

31   The Lord told Moses to warn the people of Israel about their uncleanness, so that they would not defile the Tent of his presence, which was in the middle of the camp. If they did, they would be killed.

32   These are the regulations about a man who has a discharge or an emission of semen,

33   a woman during her monthly period, or a man who has sexual intercourse with a woman who is ritually unclean. The Day of Atonement

1   The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who were killed when they offered unholy fire to the Lord.

2   He

said, “Tell your brother Aaron that only at the proper time is he to go behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place, because that is where I appear in a cloud above the lid on the Covenant Box. If he disobeys, he will be killed. ^note

3   He may enter the Most Holy Place only after he has brought a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.” ^note

4   Then the Lord gave the following instructions. Before Aaron goes into the Most Holy Place, he must take a bath and put on the priestly garments: the linen robe and shorts, the belt, and the turban.

5   The community of Israel shall give Aaron two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

6   He shall offer a bull as a sacrifice to take away his own sins and those of his family.

7   Then he shall take the two goats to the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence.

8   There he shall draw lots, using two stones, one marked “for the Lord” and the other “for Azazel.” ^note

9   Aaron shall sacrifice the goat chosen by lot for the Lord and offer it as a sin offering.

10   The goat chosen for Azazel shall be presented alive to the Lord and sent off into the desert to Azazel, in order to take away the sins of the people.

11   When Aaron sacrifices the bull as the sin offering for himself and his family,

12   he shall take a fire pan full of burning coals from the altar and two handfuls of fine incense and bring them into the Most Holy Place.

13   There in the Lord's presence he shall put the incense on the fire, and the smoke of the incense will hide the lid of the Covenant Box so that he will not see it and die.

14   He shall take some of the bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the lid and then sprinkle some of it seven times in front of the Covenant Box.

15   After that, he shall kill the goat for the sin offering for the people, bring its blood into the Most Holy Place, and sprinkle it on the lid and then in front of the Covenant Box, as he did with the bull's blood. ^note

16   In this way he will perform the ritual to purify the Most Holy Place from the uncleanness of the people of Israel and from all their sins. He must do this to the Tent, because it stands in the middle of the camp, which is ritually unclean.

17   From the time Aaron enters the Most Holy Place to perform the ritual of purification until he comes out, there must be no one in the Tent. When he has performed the ritual for himself, his family, and the whole community,

18   he must then go out to the altar for burnt offerings and purify it. He must take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood and put it all over the projections at the corners of the altar.

19   With his finger he must sprinkle some of the blood on the altar seven times. In this way he is to purify it from the sins of the people of Israel and make it holy. The Scapegoat

20   When Aaron has finished performing the ritual to purify the Most Holy Place, the rest of the Tent of the Lord's presence, and the altar, he shall present to the Lord the live goat chosen for Azazel. ^note

21   He shall put both of his hands on the goat's head and confess over it all the evils, sins, and rebellions of the people of Israel, and so transfer them to the

goat's head. Then the goat is to be driven off into the desert by a man appointed to do it.

22   The goat will carry all their sins away with him into some uninhabited land. ^note

23   Then Aaron shall go into the Tent, take off the priestly garments that he had put on before entering the Most Holy Place, and leave them there. ^note

24   He must take a bath in a holy place and put on his own clothes. After that, he shall go out and offer the burnt offering to remove his own sins and those of the people.

25   He shall burn on the altar the fat of the animal for the sin offering.

26   The man who drove the goat into the desert to Azazel must wash his clothes and take a bath before he comes back into camp.

27   The bull and the goat used for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to take away sin, shall be carried outside the camp and burned. Skin, meat, and intestines shall all be burned. ^note

28   The one who burns them must wash his clothes and take a bath before he returns to camp. Observing the Day of Atonement

29   The following regulations are to be observed for all time to come. On the tenth day of the seventh month the Israelites and the foreigners living among them must fast and must not do any work.

30   On that day the ritual is to be performed to purify them from all their sins, so that they will be ritually clean.

31   That day is to be a very holy day, one on which they fast and do no work at all. These regulations are to be observed for all time to come.

32   The High Priest, properly ordained and consecrated to succeed his father, is to perform the ritual of purification. He shall put on the priestly garments

33   and perform the ritual to purify the Most Holy Place, the rest of the Tent of the Lord's presence, the altar, the priests, and all the people of the community.

34   These regulations are to be observed for all time to come. This ritual must be performed once a year to purify the people of Israel from all their sins. ^note

34   So Moses ^note did as the Lord had commanded. The Sacredness of Blood

1   The Lord commanded Moses

2   to give Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel the following regulations.

3    4   An Israelite who kills a cow or a sheep or a goat as an offering to the Lord anywhere except at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence has broken the Law. He has shed blood and shall no longer be considered one of God's people.

5   The meaning of this command is that the people of Israel shall now bring to the Lord the animals which they used to kill in the open country. They shall now bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Tent and kill them as fellowship offerings.

6   The priest shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar at the entrance of the Tent and burn the fat to produce an odor that is pleasing to the Lord.

7   The people of Israel must no longer be unfaithful to the Lord by killing their animals in the fields as sacrifices to the goat demons. The people of Israel must keep this regulation for all time to come.

8   Any Israelite or any foreigner living in the community who offers a burnt offering or any other sacrifice

9   as an offering to the Lord anywhere except at the entrance of the Tent shall no longer be considered one of God's people.

10   If any Israelite or any foreigner living in the community eats meat with blood still in it, the Lord will turn against him and no longer consider him one of his people. ^note

11   The life of every living thing is in the blood, and that is why the Lord has commanded that all blood be poured out on the altar to take away the people's sins. Blood, which is life,

takes away sins. ^note

12   That is why the Lord has told the people of Israel that neither they nor any foreigner living among them shall eat any meat with blood still in it.

13   If any Israelite or any foreigner living in the community catches an animal or a bird which is ritually clean, he must pour its blood out on the ground and cover it with dirt.

14   The life of every living thing is in the blood, and that is why the Lord has told the people of Israel that they shall not eat any meat with blood still in it and that anyone who does so will no longer be considered one of his people.

15   Any person, Israelite or foreigner, who eats meat from an animal that has died a natural death or has been killed by wild animals must wash his clothes, take a bath, and wait until evening before he is ritually clean.

16   If he does not, he must suffer the consequences. Forbidden Sexual Practices

1   The Lord told Moses

2   to say to the people of Israel, “I am the Lord your God.

3   Do not follow the practices of the people of Egypt, where you once lived, or of the people in the land of Canaan, where I am now taking you.

4   Obey my laws and do what I command. I am the Lord your God.

5   Follow the practices and the laws that I give you; you will save your life by doing so. I am the Lord.” ^note

6   The Lord gave the following regulations. Do not have sexual intercourse with any of your relatives.

7   Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with your mother. You must not disgrace your own mother.

8   Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with any of his other wives. ^note

9   Do not have intercourse with your sister or your stepsister, whether or not she was brought up in the same house with you. ^note

10   Do not have intercourse with your granddaughter; that would be a disgrace to you.

11   Do not have intercourse with a half sister; she, too, is your sister.

12    13   Do not have intercourse with an aunt, whether she is your father's sister or your mother's sister.

14   Do not have intercourse with your uncle's wife; she, too, is your aunt. ^note

15   Do not have intercourse with your daughter-in-law ^note

16   or with your brother's wife. ^note

17   Do not have intercourse with the daughter or granddaughter of a woman with whom you have had intercourse; they may be related to you, and that would be incest. ^note

18   Do not take your wife's sister as one of your wives, as long as your wife is living.

19   Do not have intercourse with a woman during her monthly period, because she is ritually unclean. ^note

20   Do not have intercourse with another man's wife; that would make you ritually unclean. ^note

21   Do not hand over any of your children to be used in the worship of the god Molech, because that would bring disgrace on the name of God, the Lord. ^note

22   No man is to have sexual relations with another man; God hates that. ^note

23   No man or woman is to have sexual relations with an animal; that perversion makes you ritually unclean. ^note

24   Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these acts, for that is how the pagans made themselves unclean, those pagans who lived in the land before you and whom the Lord is driving out so that you can go in.

25   Their actions made the land unclean, and so the Lord is punishing the land and making it reject the people who lived there.

26    27   They did all these disgusting things and made the land unclean, but you must not do them. All of you, whether Israelites or foreigners living with you, must keep the Lord's laws and commands,

28   and then the land will not reject you, as it rejected the pagans who lived there before you.

29   You know that whoever does any of these disgusting things will no

longer be considered one of God's people.

30   And the Lord said, “Obey the commands I give and do not follow the practices of the people who lived in the land before you, and do not make yourselves unclean by doing any of these things. I am the Lord your God.” Laws of Holiness and Justice

1   The Lord told Moses

2   to say to the community of Israel, “Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy. ^note

3   Each of you must respect his mother and his father, and must keep the Sabbath, as I have commanded. I am the Lord your God. ^note

4   “Do not abandon me and worship idols; do not make gods of metal and worship them. I am the Lord your God. ^note

5   “When you kill an animal for a fellowship offering, keep the regulations that I have given you, and I will accept the offering.

6   The meat must be eaten on the day the animal is killed or on the next day. Any meat left on the third day must be burned,

7   because it is ritually unclean, and if anyone eats it, I will not accept the offering.

8   Anyone who eats it will be guilty of treating as ordinary what is dedicated to me, and he will no longer be considered one of my people.

9   “When you harvest your fields, do not cut the grain at the edges of the fields, and do not go back to cut the heads of grain that were left.

10   Do not go back through your vineyard to gather the grapes that were missed or to pick up the grapes that have fallen; leave them for poor people and foreigners. I am the Lord your God. ^note

11   “Do not steal or cheat or lie. ^note

12   Do not make a promise in my name if you do not intend to keep it; that brings disgrace on my name. I am the Lord your God. ^note

13   “Do not take advantage of anyone or rob him. Do not hold back the wages of someone you have hired, not even for one night. ^note

14   Do not curse a deaf man or put something in front of a blind man so as to make him stumble over it. Have reverence for me; I am the Lord your God. ^note

15   “Be honest and just when you make decisions in legal cases; do not show favoritism to the poor or fear the rich. ^note

16   Do not spread lies about anyone, and when someone is on trial for his life, speak out if your testimony can help him. I am the Lord.

17   “Do not bear a grudge against anyone, but settle your differences with him, so that you will not commit a sin because of him. ^{note note}

18   Do not take revenge on anyone or continue to hate him, but love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord. ^note

19   “Obey my commands. Do not crossbreed domestic animals. Do not plant two kinds of seed in the same field. Do not wear clothes made of two kinds of material. ^note

20   “If a slave girl is the recognized concubine of a man and she has not been paid for and freed, then if another man has sexual relations with her, they will be punished, but ^note not put to death, since she is a slave.

21   The man shall bring a ram to the entrance of the Tent of my presence as his repayment offering,

22   and with it the priest shall perform the ritual of purification to remove the man's sin, and God will forgive him.

23   “When you come into the land of Canaan and plant any kind of fruit tree, consider the fruit ritually unclean for the first three years. During that time you must not eat it.

24   In the fourth year all the fruit shall be dedicated as an offering to show

your gratitude to me, ^note the Lord.

25   But in the fifth year you may eat the fruit. If you do all this, your trees will bear more fruit. I am the Lord your God.

26   “Do not eat any meat with blood still in it. Do not practice any kind of magic. ^note

27   Do not cut the hair on the sides of your head or trim your beard

28   or tattoo yourselves or cut gashes in your body to mourn for the dead. I am the Lord. ^note

29   “Do not disgrace your daughters by making them temple prostitutes; ^note if you do, you will turn to other gods and the land will be full of immorality. ^note

30   Keep the Sabbath, and honor the place where I am worshiped. I am the Lord. ^note

31   “Do not go for advice to people who consult the spirits of the dead. If you do, you will be ritually unclean. I am the Lord your God. ^note

32   “Show respect for old people and honor them. Reverently obey me; I am the Lord.

33   “Do not mistreat foreigners who are living in your land.

34   Treat them as you would a fellow Israelite, and love them as you love yourselves. Remember that you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. ^note

35   “Do not cheat anyone by using false measures of length, weight, or quantity.

36   Use honest scales, honest weights, and honest measures. I am the Lord your God, and I brought you out of Egypt. ^note

37   Obey all my laws and commands. I am the Lord.” Penalties for Disobedience

1   The Lord told Moses

2   to say to the people of Israel, “Any of you or any foreigner living among you who gives any of his children to be used in the worship of the god Molech shall be stoned to death by the whole community.

3   If anyone gives one of his children to Molech and makes my sacred Tent unclean and disgraces my holy name, I will turn against him and will no longer consider him one of my people.

4   But if the community ignores what he has done and does not put him to death,

5   I myself will turn against the man and his whole family and

against all who join him in being unfaithful to me and worshiping Molech. I will no longer consider them my people.

6   “If anyone goes for advice to people who consult the spirits of the dead, I will turn against him and will no longer consider him one of my people.

7   Keep yourselves holy, because I am the Lord your God.

8   Obey my laws, because I am the Lord and I make you holy.”

9   The Lord gave the following regulations. Anyone who curses his father or his mother shall be put to death; he is responsible for his own death. ^note

10   If a man commits adultery with the wife of a fellow Israelite, both he and the woman shall be put to death. ^note

11   A man who has intercourse with one of his father's wives disgraces his father, and both he and the woman shall be put to death. ^note They are responsible for their own death.

12   If a man has intercourse with his daughter-in-law, they shall both be put to death. They have committed incest and are responsible for their own death. ^note

13   If a man has sexual relations with another man, they have done a disgusting thing, and both shall be put to death. They are responsible for their own death. ^note

14   If a man marries a woman and her mother, all three shall be burned to death because of the disgraceful thing they have done; such a thing must not be permitted among you. ^note

15   If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he and the animal shall be put to death.

16   If a woman tries to have sexual relations with an animal, she and the animal shall be put to death. They are responsible for their own death. ^note

17   If a man marries his sister or half sister, they shall be publicly disgraced and driven out of the community. He has had intercourse with his sister and must suffer the consequences. ^note

18   If a man has intercourse with a woman during her monthly period, both of them are to be driven out of the community, because they have broken the regulations about ritual uncleanness. ^note

19   If a man has intercourse with his aunt, both of them must suffer the consequences for incest.

20   If a man has intercourse with his uncle's wife, he disgraces his uncle, and he and the woman will pay the penalty; neither one will have children. ^note

21   If a man takes his brother's wife, they will die childless. He has done a ritually unclean thing and has disgraced his brother. ^note

22   The Lord said, “Keep all my laws and commands, so that you will not be rejected by the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you.

23   Do not adopt the customs of the people who live there; I am driving out those pagans so that you can enter the land. They have disgusted me with all their evil practices.

24   But I have promised you this rich and fertile land as your possession, and I will give it to you. I am the Lord your God, and I have set you apart from the other nations.

25   So then, you must make a clear distinction between animals and birds that are ritually clean and those that are not. Do not eat unclean animals or birds. I have declared them unclean, and eating them would make you unclean.

26   You shall be holy and belong only to me, because I am the Lord and I am holy. I have set you apart from the other nations so that you would belong to me alone.

27   “Any man or woman who consults the spirits of the dead shall be stoned to death; any person who does this is responsible for his own death.” The Holiness of the Priests

1   The Lord commanded Moses to tell the Aaronite priests, “No priest is to make himself ritually unclean by taking part in the funeral ceremonies when a relative

dies,

2   unless it is his mother, father, son, daughter, brother,

3   or unmarried sister living in his house.

4   He shall not make himself unclean at the death of those related to him by marriage. ^note

5   “No priest shall shave any part of his head or trim his beard or cut gashes on his body to show that he is in mourning. ^note

6   He must be holy and must not disgrace my name. He offers food offerings to me, and he must be holy.

7   A priest shall not marry a woman who has been a prostitute or a woman who is not a virgin or who is divorced; he is holy.

8   The people must consider the priest holy, because he presents the food offerings to me. I am the Lord; I am holy and I make my people holy.

9   If a priest's daughter becomes a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she shall be burned to death.

10   “The High Priest has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been consecrated to wear the priestly garments, so he must not leave his hair uncombed or tear his clothes to show that he is in mourning.

11    12   He has been dedicated to me and is not to make himself ritually unclean nor is he to defile my sacred Tent by leaving it and entering a house where there is a dead person, even if it is his own father or mother.

13   He shall marry a virgin,

14   not a widow or a divorced woman or a woman who has been a prostitute. He shall marry only a virgin from his own clan.

15   Otherwise, his children, who ought to be holy, will be ritually unclean. I am the Lord and I have set him apart as the High Priest.”

16   The Lord commanded Moses

17   To tell Aaron, “None of your descendants who has any physical defects may present the food offering to me. This applies for all time to come.

18   No man with any physical defects may make the offering: no one who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed;

19   no one with a crippled hand or foot;

20   no one who is a hunchback or a dwarf; no one with any eye or skin disease; and no eunuch.

21   No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any physical defects may present the food offering to me.

22   Such a man may eat the food offered to me, both the holy food offering and the very holy food offering,

23   but because he has a physical defect, he shall not come near the sacred curtain or approach the altar. He must not profane these holy things, because I am the Lord and I make them holy.”

24   This, then, is what Moses said to Aaron, the sons of Aaron, and to all the people of Israel. The Holiness of the Offerings

1   The Lord commanded Moses

2   to tell Aaron and his sons, “You must not bring disgrace on my holy name, so treat with respect the sacred offerings that the people of Israel dedicate to me. I am the Lord.

3   If any of your descendants, while he is ritually unclean, comes near the sacred offerings which the people of Israel have dedicated to me, he can never again serve at the altar. This applies for all time to come. I am the Lord.

4   “None of the descendants of Aaron who has a dreaded skin disease or a discharge may eat any of the sacred offerings until he is ritually clean. Any priest is unclean if he touches anything which is unclean through contact with a corpse or if he has an emission of semen

5   or if he has touched an unclean animal or person.

6   Any priest who becomes unclean remains unclean until evening, and even then he may not eat any of the sacred offerings until he has taken a bath.

7   After the sun sets he is clean, and then he may eat the sacred offerings, which are his food.

8   He shall not eat the meat of any animal that has died a natural death or has been killed by wild animals; it will make him unclean. I am the Lord.

9   “All priests shall observe the regulations that I have given. Otherwise, they will become guilty and

die, because they have disobeyed the sacred regulations. I am the Lord and I make them holy.

10   “Only a member of a priestly family may eat any of the sacred offerings; no one else may eat them— not even someone staying with a priest or hired by him.

11   But a priest's slaves, bought with his own money or born in his home, may eat the food the priest receives.

12   A priest's daughter who marries someone who is not a priest may not eat any of the sacred offerings.

13   But a widowed or divorced daughter who has no children and who has returned to live in her father's house as a dependent may eat the food her father receives as a priest. Only a member of a priestly family may eat any of it.

14   “If any person who is not a member of a priestly family eats any of the sacred offerings without intending to, he must repay the priest its full value plus an additional 20 percent.

15   The priests shall not profane the sacred offerings

16   by letting any unauthorized person eat them; this would bring guilt and punishment on such a person. I am the Lord and I make the offerings holy.”

17   The Lord commanded Moses

18   to give Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel the following regulations. When any Israelite or any foreigner living in Israel presents a burnt offering, whether as fulfillment of a vow or as a freewill offering, the animal must not have any defects.

19   To be accepted, it must be a male without any defects. ^note

20   If you offer any animal that has any defects, the Lord will not accept it.

21   When anyone presents a fellowship offering to the Lord, whether as fulfillment of a vow or as a freewill offering, the animal must be without any defects if it is to be accepted.

22   Do not offer to the Lord any animal that is blind or crippled or mutilated, or that has a running sore or a skin eruption or scabs. Do not offer any such animals on the altar as a food offering.

23   As a freewill offering you may offer an animal that is stunted or not perfectly formed, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow.

24   Do not offer to the Lord any animal whose testicles have been crushed, cut, bruised, or torn off. This is not permitted in your land.

25   Do not offer as a food offering any animal obtained from a foreigner. Such animals are considered defective and are not acceptable.

26    27   When a calf or a lamb or a kid is born, it must not be taken from its mother for seven days, but after that it is acceptable as a food offering.

28   Do not sacrifice a cow and its calf or a sheep and its lamb or a goat and its kid on the same day.

29   When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, follow the rules so that you will be accepted;

30   eat it the same day and leave none of it until the next morning.

31   The Lord said, “Obey my commands; I am the Lord.

32   Do not bring disgrace on my holy name; all the people of Israel must acknowledge me to be holy. I am the Lord and I make you holy;

33   and I brought you out of Egypt to become your God. I am the Lord.” The Religious Festivals

1   The Lord gave Moses

2   the following regulations for the religious festivals, when the people of Israel are to gather for worship.

3   You have six days in which to do your work, but remember that the seventh day, the Sabbath, is a day of rest. On that day do not work, but gather for worship. The Sabbath belongs to the Lord, no matter where you live. ^note

4   Proclaim the following festivals at the appointed times. Passover and Unleavened Bread (Numbers 28.16–25)

5   The Passover, celebrated to honor the Lord, begins at sunset on the fourteenth day of the first month. ^note

6   On the fifteenth day the Festival of

Unleavened Bread begins, and for seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast.

7   On the first of these days you shall gather for worship and do none of your daily work.

8   Offer your food offerings to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day you shall again gather for worship, but you shall do none of your daily work. ^note

9    10   When you come into the land that the Lord is giving you and you harvest your grain, take the first sheaf to the priest.

11   He shall present it as a special offering to the Lord, so that you may be accepted. The priest shall present it the day after the Sabbath.

12   On the day you present the offering of grain, also sacrifice as a burnt offering a one-year-old male lamb that has no defects.

13   With it you shall present four pounds of flour mixed with olive oil as a food offering. The odor of this offering is pleasing to the Lord. You shall also present with it an offering of one quart of wine.

14   Do not eat any of the new grain, whether raw, roasted, or baked into bread, until you have brought this offering to God. This regulation is to be observed by all your descendants for all time to come. The Harvest Festival (Numbers 28.26–31)

15   Count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath on which you bring your sheaf of grain to present to the Lord.

16   On the fiftieth day, the day after the seventh Sabbath, present to the Lord another new offering of grain.

17   Each family is to bring two loaves of bread and present them to the Lord as a special gift. Each loaf shall be made of four pounds of flour baked with yeast and shall be presented to the Lord as an offering of the first grain to be harvested.

18   And with the bread the community is to present seven one-year-old lambs, one bull, and two goats, none of which may have any defects. They shall be offered as a burnt offering to the Lord, along with a grain offering and a wine offering. The odor of this offering is pleasing to the Lord.

19   Also offer one male goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering.

20   The priest shall present the bread with the two lambs as a special gift to the Lord for the priests. These offerings are holy.

21   On that day do none of your daily work, but gather for worship. Your descendants are to observe this regulation for all time to come, no matter where they live. ^note

22   When you harvest your fields, do not cut the grain at the edges of the fields, and do not go back to cut the heads of grain that were left; leave them for poor people and foreigners. The Lord is your God. ^note The New Year Festival (Numbers 29.1–6)

23    24   On the first day of the seventh month observe a special day of rest, and come together for worship when the trumpets sound.

25   Present a food offering to the Lord and do none of your daily work.

The Day of Atonement (Numbers 29.7–11)

26    27   The tenth day of the seventh month is the day when the annual ritual is to be performed to take away the sins of the people. On that day do not eat anything at all; come together for worship, and present a food offering to the Lord.

28   Do no work on that day, because it is the day for performing the ritual to take away sin.

29   Anyone who eats anything on that day will no longer be considered one of God's people.

30   And if anyone does any work on that day, the Lord himself will put him to death.

31   This regulation applies to all your descendants, no matter where they live.

32   From sunset on the ninth day of the month to sunset on the tenth observe this day as a special day of rest, during which nothing may be eaten. ^note The Festival of Shelters (Numbers 29.12–40)

33    34   The Festival of Shelters begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and continues for seven days.

35   On the first of these days come together for worship and do none of your daily work.

36   Each day for seven days you shall present a food offering. On the eighth day come together again for worship and present a food offering. It is a day for worship, and you shall do no work. ^note

37   (These are the religious festivals on which you honor the Lord by gathering together for worship and presenting food offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and wine offerings, as required day by day.

38   These festivals are in addition to the regular Sabbaths, and these offerings are in addition to your regular gifts, your offerings as fulfillment of vows, and your free-will offerings that you give to the Lord.)

39   When you have harvested your fields, celebrate this festival for seven days, beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The first day shall be a special day of rest.

40   On that day take some of the best fruit from your trees, take palm branches and limbs from leafy trees, and begin a religious festival to honor the Lord your God.

41   Celebrate it for seven days. This regulation is to be kept by your descendants for all time to come.

42   All the people of Israel shall live in shelters for seven days,

43   so that your descendants may know that the Lord made the people of Israel live in simple shelters when he led them out of Egypt. He is the Lord your God.

44   So in this way Moses gave the people of Israel the regulations for observing the religious festivals to honor the Lord. Taking Care of the Lamps (Exodus 27.20–21)

1   The Lord told Moses

2   to command the people of Israel to bring pure olive oil of the finest quality for the lamps in the Tent, so that a light might be kept burning regularly.

3   Each evening Aaron shall light them and keep them burning until morning, there in the Lord's presence outside the curtain in front of the Covenant Box, which is in the Most Holy Place. This regulation is to be observed for all time to come.

4   Aaron shall take care of the lamps on the lampstand of pure gold and must see that they burn regularly in the Lord's presence. The Bread Offered to God

5   Take twenty-four pounds of flour and bake twelve loaves of bread.

6   Put the loaves in two rows, six in each row, on the table covered with pure gold, which is in the Lord's presence. ^note

7   Put some pure incense on each row, as a token food offering to the Lord to take the place of the bread.

8   Every Sabbath, for all time to come, the bread must be placed in the presence of the Lord. This is Israel's duty forever.

9   The bread belongs to Aaron and his

descendants, and they shall eat it in a holy place, because this is a very holy part of the food offered to the Lord for the priests. ^note An Example of Just and Fair Punishment

10    11   There was a man whose father was an Egyptian and whose mother was an Israelite named Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri from the tribe of Dan. There in the camp this man quarreled with an Israelite. During the quarrel he cursed the Lord, so they took him to Moses,

12   put him under guard, and waited for the Lord to tell them what to do with him.

13   The Lord said to Moses,

14   “Take that man out of the camp. Everyone who heard him curse shall put his hands on the man's head to testify that he is guilty, and then the whole community shall stone him to death.

15   Then tell the people of Israel that anyone who curses God must suffer the consequences

16   and be put to death. Any Israelite or any foreigner living in Israel who curses the Lord shall be stoned to death by the whole community.

17   “Anyone who commits murder shall be put to death, ^note

18   and anyone who kills an animal belonging to someone else must replace it. The principle is a life for a life.

19   “If anyone injures another person, whatever he has done shall be done to him.

20   If he breaks a bone, one of his bones shall be broken; if he puts out an eye, one of his eyes shall be put out; if he knocks out a tooth, one of his teeth shall be knocked out. Whatever injury he causes another person shall be done to him in return. ^note

21   Whoever kills an animal shall replace it, but whoever kills a man shall be put to death.

22   This law applies to all of you, to Israelites and to foreigners living among you, because I am the Lord your God.” ^note

23   When Moses had said this to the people of Israel, they took the man outside the camp and stoned him to death. In this way the people of Israel did what the Lord had commanded Moses. The Seventh Year (Deuteronomy 15.1–11)

1   The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai and commanded him

2   to give the following regulations to the people of Israel. When you enter the land that the Lord is giving you, you shall honor the Lord by not cultivating the land every seventh year.

3   You shall plant your fields, prune your vineyards, and gather your crops for six years.

4   But the seventh year is to be a year of complete rest for the land, a year dedicated to the Lord. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards.

5   Do not even harvest the grain that grows by itself without being planted, and do not gather the grapes from your unpruned vines; it is a year of complete rest for the land.

6   Although the land has not been cultivated during that year, it will provide food for you, your slaves, your hired men, the foreigners living with you,

7   your domestic animals, and the wild animals in your fields. Everything that it produces may be eaten. ^note The Year of Restoration

8   Count seven times seven years, a total of forty-nine years.

9   Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement, send a man to blow a trumpet throughout the whole land.

10   In this way you shall set the fiftieth year apart and proclaim freedom to all the inhabitants of the land. During this year all property that has been sold shall be restored to the original owner or his descendants, and anyone who has been sold as a slave shall return to his family.

11   You shall not plant your fields or harvest the grain that grows by itself or gather the grapes in your unpruned vineyards.

12   The whole year shall be sacred for you;

you shall eat only what the fields produce of themselves.

13   In this year all property that has been sold shall be restored to its original owner.

14   So when you sell land to your fellow Israelite or buy land from him, do not deal unfairly.

15   The price is to be set according to the number of years the land can produce crops before the next Year of Restoration.

16   If there are many years, the price shall be higher, but if there are only a few years, the price shall be lower, because what is being sold is the number of crops the land can produce.

17   Do not cheat a fellow Israelite, but have obedient reverence for the Lord your God. The Problem of the Seventh Year

18   Obey all the Lord's laws and commands, so that you may live in safety in the land.

19   The land will produce its crops, and you will have all you want to eat and will live in safety.

20   But someone may ask what there will be to eat during the seventh year, when no fields are planted and no crops gathered.

21   The Lord will bless the land in the sixth year so that it will produce enough food for two years.

22   When you plant your fields in the eighth year, you will still be eating what you harvested during the sixth year, and you will have enough to eat until the crops you plant that year are harvested. Restoration of Property

23   Your land must not be sold on a permanent basis, because you do not own it; it belongs to God, and you are like foreigners who are allowed to make use of it.

24   When land is sold, the right of the original owner to buy it back must be recognized.

25   If an Israelite becomes poor and is forced to sell his land, his closest relative is to buy it back.

26   A man who has no relative to buy it back may later become prosperous and have enough to buy it back himself.

27   In that case he must pay to the man who bought it a sum that will make up for the years remaining until the next Year of Restoration, when he would in any event recover his land.

28   But if he does not have enough money to buy the land back, it remains under the control of the man who bought it until the next Year of Restoration. In that year it will be returned to its original owner.

29   If a man sells a house in a walled city, he has the right to buy it back during the first full year from the date of sale.

30   But if he does not buy it back within the year, he loses the right of repurchase, and the house becomes the permanent property of the purchaser and his descendants; it will not be returned in the Year of Restoration.

31   But houses in unwalled villages are to be treated like fields, the original owner has the right to buy them back, and they are to be returned in the Year of Restoration.

32   However, Levites have the right to buy back at any time their property in the cities assigned to them.

33   If a house in one of these cities is sold by a Levite and is not bought back, it must be returned in the Year of Restoration, ^note because the houses which the Levites own in their cities are their permanent property among the people of Israel.

34   But the pasture land around the Levite cities shall never be sold; it is their property forever. Loans to the Poor

35   If a fellow Israelite living near you becomes poor and cannot support himself, you must provide for him as you would for a hired man, so that he can continue to live near you. ^note

36   Do not charge him any interest, but obey God and let your fellow Israelite live near you.

37   Do not make him pay interest on the money you lend him, and do not make a profit on the food you sell him. ^note

38   This is the command of the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt in order to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. Release of Slaves

39   If a fellow Israelite living near you becomes so poor that he sells himself to you as a slave, you shall not make him do the work of a slave.

40   He shall stay with you as a hired man and serve you until the next Year of Restoration.

41   At that time he and his children shall leave you and return to his family and to the property of his ancestors.

42   The people of Israel are the Lord's slaves, and he brought them out of Egypt; they must not be sold into slavery.

43   Do not treat them harshly, but obey your God.

44   If you need slaves, you may buy them from the nations around you.

45   You may also buy the children of the foreigners who are living among you. Such children born in your land may become your property,

46   and you may leave them as an inheritance to your sons, whom they must serve as long as they live. But you must not treat any of your fellow Israelites harshly. ^note

47   Suppose a foreigner living with you becomes rich, while a fellow Israelite becomes poor and sells himself as a slave to that foreigner or to a member of his family.

48   After he is sold, he still has the right to be bought back. One of his brothers

49   or his uncle or his cousin or another of his close relatives may buy him back; or if he himself earns enough, he may buy his own freedom.

50   He must consult the one who bought him, and they must count the years from the time he sold himself until the next Year of Restoration and must set the price for his release on the basis of the wages paid a hired man.

51    52   He must refund a part of the purchase price according to the number of years left,

53   as if he had been hired on an annual basis. His master must not treat him harshly.

54   If he is not set free in any of these ways, he and his children must be set free in the next Year of Restoration.

55   An Israelite cannot be a permanent slave, because the people of Israel are the Lord's slaves. He brought them out of Egypt; he is the Lord their God. Blessings for Obedience (Deuteronomy 7.12–24; 28.1–14)

1   The Lord said, “Do not make idols or set up statues, stone pillars, or carved stones to worship. I am the Lord your God. ^note

2   Keep the religious festivals and honor the place where I am worshiped. I am the Lord.

3   “If you live according to my laws and obey my commands,

4   I will send you rain at the right time, so that the land will produce crops and the trees will bear fruit.

5   Your crops will be so plentiful that you will still be harvesting grain when it is time to pick grapes, and you will still be picking grapes when it is time to plant grain. You will have all that you want to eat, and you can live in safety in your land. ^note

6   “I will give you peace in your land, and you can sleep without being afraid of anyone. I will get rid of the dangerous animals in the land, and there will be no more war there.

7   You will be victorious over your enemies;

8   five of you will be able to defeat a hundred, and a hundred will

be able to defeat ten thousand.

9   I will bless you and give you many children; I will keep my part of the covenant that I made with you.

10   Your harvests will be so plentiful that they will last for a year, and even then you will have to throw away what is left of the old harvest to make room for the new.

11   I will live among you in my sacred Tent, and I will never turn away from you.

12   I will be with you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. ^note

13   I, the Lord your God, brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves. I broke the power that held you down and I let you walk with your head held high.” Punishment for Disobedience (Deuteronomy 28.15–68)

14   The Lord said, “If you will not obey my commands, you will be punished.

15   If you refuse to obey my laws and commands and break the covenant I have made with you,

16   I will punish you. I will bring disaster on you—incurable diseases and fevers that will make you blind and cause your life to waste away. You will plant your crops, but it will do you no good, because your enemies will conquer you and eat what you have grown.

17   I will turn against you, so that you will be defeated, and those who hate you will rule over you; you will be so terrified that you will run when no one is chasing you.

18   “If even after all of this you still do not obey me, I will increase your punishment seven times.

19   I will break your stubborn pride; there will be no rain, and your land will be dry and as hard as iron.

20   All your hard work will do you no good, because your land will not produce crops and the trees will not bear fruit.

21   “If you still continue to resist me and refuse to obey me, I will again increase your punishment seven times.

22   I will send dangerous animals among you, and they will kill your children, destroy your livestock, and leave so few of you that your roads will be deserted.

23   “If after all of this punishment you still do not listen to me, but continue to defy me,

24   then I will turn on you and punish you seven times harder than before.

25   I will bring war on you to punish you for breaking our covenant, and if you gather in your cities for safety, I will send incurable diseases among you, and you will be forced to surrender to your enemies.

26   I will cut off your food supply, so that ten women will need only one oven to bake all the bread they have. They will ration it out, and when you have eaten it all, you will still be hungry.

27   “If after all of this you still continue to defy me and refuse to obey me,

28   then in my anger I will turn on you and again make your punishment seven times worse than before.

29   Your hunger will be so great that you will eat your own children.

30   I will destroy your places of worship on the hills, tear down your incense altars, and throw your dead bodies on your fallen idols. In utter disgust

31   I will turn your cities into ruins, destroy your places of worship, and refuse to accept your sacrifices.

32   I will destroy your land so completely that the enemies who occupy it will be shocked at the destruction.

33   I will bring war on you and scatter you in foreign lands. Your land will be deserted, and your cities left in ruins. ^note

34    35   Then the land will enjoy the years of complete rest that you would not give it; it will lie abandoned and get its rest while you are in exile in the land of your enemies.

36   “I will make those of you who are in exile so terrified that the sound of a leaf blowing in the wind will make you run. You will run as if you were being pursued in battle, and you will fall when there is no enemy near you.

37   You will stumble over one another when no one is chasing you, and you will be unable to fight against any enemy.

38   You will die in exile, swallowed up by the land of your enemies.

39   The few of you who survive in the land of your

enemies will waste away because of your own sin and the sin of your ancestors.

40   “But your descendants will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors, who resisted me and rebelled against me,

41   and caused me to turn against them and send them into exile in the land of their enemies. At last, when your descendants are humbled and they have paid the penalty for their sin and rebellion,

42   I will remember my covenant with Jacob and with Isaac and with Abraham, and I will renew my promise to give my people the land. ^note

43   First, however, the land must be rid of its people, so that it can enjoy its complete rest, and they must pay the full penalty for having rejected my laws and my commands.

44   But even then, when they are still in the land of their enemies, I will not completely abandon them or destroy them. That would put an end to my covenant with them, and I am the Lord their God.

45   I will renew the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I showed all the nations my power by bringing my people out of Egypt, in order that I, the Lord, might be their God.”

46   All these are the laws and commands that the Lord gave to Moses on Mount Sinai for the people of Israel. Laws concerning Gifts to the Lord

1   The Lord gave Moses

2   the following regulations for the people of Israel. When a person has been given to the Lord in fulfillment of a special vow, that person may be set free by the payment of the following sums of money,

3    4    5    6    7   according to the official standard:

3    4    5    6    7   –adult male, twenty to sixty years old: 50 pieces of silver

3    4    5    6    7   –adult female: 30 pieces of silver

3    4    5    6    7   –young male, five to twenty years old: 20 pieces of silver

3    4    5    6    7   –young female: 10 pieces of silver

3    4    5    6    7   –infant male under five: 5 pieces of silver

3    4    5    6    7   –infant female: 3 pieces of silver

3    4    5    6    7   –male above sixty years of age: 15 pieces of silver

3    4    5    6    7   –female above sixty: 10 pieces of silver

8   If the man who made the vow is too poor to pay the standard price, he shall bring the person to the priest, and the priest will set a lower price, according to the ability of the man to pay.

9   If the vow concerns an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord, then every gift made to the Lord is sacred,

10   and the man who made the vow may not substitute another animal for it. If he does, both animals belong to the Lord.

11   But if the vow concerns a ritually unclean animal, which is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord, the man shall take the animal to the priest.

12   The priest shall set a price for it, according to its good or bad qualities, and the price will be final.

13   If the man wishes to buy it back, he must pay the price plus an additional 20 percent.

14   When someone dedicates his house to the Lord, the priest shall set the price according to its good or bad points, and the price will be final.

15   If the one who dedicated the house wishes to buy it back, he must pay the price plus an additional 20 percent.

16   If a man dedicates part of his land to the Lord, the price shall be set according to the amount of seed it takes to sow it, at the rate of ten pieces of silver per bushel of barley.

17   If he dedicates the land immediately after a Year of Restoration, the full price applies.

18   If he dedicates it any time later, the priest shall estimate the cash value according to the number of years left until the next Year of Restoration, and set a reduced price.

19   If the man who dedicated the field wishes to buy it back, he must pay the price plus an

additional 20 percent.

20   If he sells the field to someone else without first buying it back from the Lord, he loses the right to buy it back.

21   At the next Year of Restoration the field will become the Lord's permanent property; it shall belong to the priests.

22   If a man dedicates to the Lord a field that he has bought,

23   the priest shall estimate its value according to the number of years until the next Year of Restoration, and the man must pay the price that very day; the money belongs to the Lord.

24   At the Year of Restoration the field shall be returned to the original owner or to his descendants.

25   All prices shall be set according to the official standard.

26   The first-born of an animal already belongs to the Lord, so no one may dedicate it to him as a freewill offering. A calf, a lamb, or a kid belongs to the Lord,

27   but the first-born of an unclean animal may be bought back at the standard price plus an additional 20 percent. If it is not bought back, it may be sold to someone else at the standard price.

28   No one may sell or buy back what he has unconditionally dedicated ^note to the Lord, whether it is a human being, an animal, or land. It belongs permanently to the Lord. ^note

29   Not even a human being who has been unconditionally dedicated may be bought back; he must be put to death.

30   One tenth of all the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, belongs to the Lord.

31   If a man wishes to buy any of it back, he must pay the standard price plus an additional 20 percent.

32   One of every ten domestic animals belongs to the Lord. When the animals are counted, every tenth one belongs to the Lord.

33   The owner may not arrange the animals so that the poor animals are chosen, and he may not make any substitutions. If he does substitute one animal for another, then both animals will belong to the Lord and may not be bought back. ^note

34   These are the commands that the Lord gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the people of Israel.

Previous section

Next section