The Appointed Festivals

23 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals,^(A) the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.^(B)

The Sabbath

³ “‘There are six days when you may work,^(C) but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest,^(D) a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work;^(E) wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread^(F)

⁴ “‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:^{(G) 5} The Lord’s Passover^(H) begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.^{(I) 6} On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread^(J) begins; for seven days^(K) you must eat bread made without yeast. ⁷ On the first day hold a sacred assembly^(L) and do no regular work. ⁸ For seven days present a food offering to the Lord.^(M) And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.’”

Offering the Firstfruits

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰ “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you^(N) and you reap its harvest,^(O) bring to the priest a sheaf^(P) of the first grain you harvest.^{(Q) 11} He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord^(R) so it will be accepted^(S) on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. ¹² On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old^(T) without defect,^{(U) 13} together with its grain offering^(V) of two-tenths of an ephah^[a](W) of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering^(X) of a quarter of a hin^[b] of wine.^{(Y) 14} You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain,^(Z) until the very day you bring this offering to your God.^(AA) This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,^(AB) wherever you live.^(AC)

The Festival of Weeks^(AD)

¹⁵ “‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. ¹⁶ Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath,^(AE) and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. ¹⁷ From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah^(AF) of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits^(AG) to the Lord. ¹⁸ Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings^(AH)—a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. ¹⁹ Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering^[c] and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. ²⁰ The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering,^(AI) together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. ²¹ On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly^(AJ) and do no regular work.^(AK) This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

²² “‘When you reap the harvest^(AL) of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.^(AM) Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you.^(AN) I am the Lord your God.’”

The Festival of Trumpets^(AO)

²³ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly^(AP) commemorated with trumpet blasts.^{(AQ) 25} Do no regular work,^(AR) but present a food offering to the Lord.^(AS)’”

The Day of Atonement^(AT)

²⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁷ “The tenth day of this seventh month^(AU) is the Day of Atonement.^(AV) Hold a sacred assembly^(AW) and deny yourselves,^[d] and present a food offering to the Lord. ²⁸ Do not do any work^(AX) on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. ²⁹ Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people.^{(AY) 30} I will destroy from among their people^(AZ) anyone who does any work on that day. ³¹ You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance^(BA) for the generations to come, wherever you live. ³² It is a day of sabbath rest^(BB) for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”^(BC)

The Festival of Tabernacles^(BD)

³³ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁴ “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh^(BE) month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles^(BF) begins, and it lasts for seven days. ³⁵ The first day is a sacred assembly;^(BG) do no regular work.^{(BH) 36} For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly^(BI) and present a food offering to the Lord.^(BJ) It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

³⁷ (“‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings^(BK) required for each day. ³⁸ These offerings^(BL) are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths^(BM) and^[e] in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings^(BN) you give to the Lord.)

³⁹ “‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival^(BO) to the Lord for seven days;^(BP) the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. ⁴⁰ On the first day you are to take branches^(BQ) from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees^(BR)—and rejoice^(BS) before the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹ Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴² Live in temporary shelters^(BT) for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters ⁴³ so your descendants will know^(BU) that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

⁴⁴ So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed festivals of the Lord.

Olive Oil and Bread Set Before the Lord^(BV)

24 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually. ³ Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance^(BW) for the generations to come. ⁴ The lamps on the pure gold lampstand^(BX) before the Lord must be tended continually.

⁵ “Take the finest flour and bake twelve loaves of bread,^(BY) using two-tenths of an ephah^[f](BZ) for each loaf. ⁶ Arrange them in two stacks, six in each stack, on the table of pure gold^(CA) before the Lord. ⁷ By each stack put some pure incense^(CB) as a memorial^[g] portion^(CC) to represent the bread and to be a food offering presented to the Lord. ⁸ This bread is to be set out before the Lord regularly,^(CD) Sabbath after Sabbath,^(CE) on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant. ⁹ It belongs to Aaron and his sons,^(CF) who are to eat it in the sanctuary area,^(CG) because it is a most holy^(CH) part of their perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord.”

A Blasphemer Put to Death

¹⁰ Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. ¹¹ The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name^(CI) with a curse;^(CJ) so they brought him to Moses.^(CK) (His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.)^{(CL) 12} They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them.^(CM)

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses: ¹⁴ “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him.^{(CN) 15} Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who curses their God^(CO) will be held responsible;^{(CP) 16} anyone who blasphemes^(CQ) the name of the Lord is to be put to death.^(CR) The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.

¹⁷ “‘Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death.^{(CS) 18} Anyone who takes the life of someone’s animal must make restitution^(CT)—life for life. ¹⁹ Anyone who injures their neighbor is to be injured in the same manner: ²⁰ fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.^(CU) The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury. ²¹ Whoever kills an animal must make restitution,^(CV) but whoever kills a human being is to be put to death.^{(CW) 22} You are to have the same law for the foreigner^(CX) and the native-born.^(CY) I am the Lord your God.’”

²³ Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him.^(CZ) The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way^(A)

1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,^[a] the Son of God,^{[b](B) 2} as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

⁴ And so John the Baptist^(E) appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance^(F) for the forgiveness of sins.^{(G) 5} The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶ John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist,^(H) and he ate locusts^(I) and wild honey. ⁷ And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.^{(J) 8} I baptize you with^[e] water, but he will baptize you with^[f] the Holy Spirit.”^(K)

The Baptism and Testing of Jesus^(L)(M)

⁹ At that time Jesus came from Nazareth^(N) in Galilee and was baptized by John^(O) in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.^{(P) 11} And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son,^(Q) whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”^(R)

¹² At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, ¹³ and he was in the wilderness forty days,^(S) being tempted^[g] by Satan.^(T) He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

Jesus Announces the Good News^(U)

¹⁴ After John^(V) was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee,^(W) proclaiming the good news of God.^{(X) 15} “The time has come,”^(Y) he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe^(Z) the good news!”^(AA)

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

¹⁶ As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” ¹⁸ At once they left their nets and followed him.^(AB)

¹⁹ When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. ²⁰ Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit^(AC)

²¹ They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.^{(AD) 22} The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.^(AE)