6 ^[a]The Lord said to Moses: ² “If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord^(A) by deceiving a neighbor^(B) about something entrusted to them or left in their care^(C) or about something stolen, or if they cheat^(D) their neighbor, ³ or if they find lost property and lie about it,^(E) or if they swear falsely^(F) about any such sin that people may commit— ⁴ when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return^(G) what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, ⁵ or whatever it was they swore falsely about. They must make restitution^(H) in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering.^{(I) 6} And as a penalty they must bring to the priest, that is, to the Lord, their guilt offering,^(J) a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value.^{(K) 7} In this way the priest will make atonement^(L) for them before the Lord, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.”

The Burnt Offering

⁸ The Lord said to Moses: ⁹ “Give Aaron and his sons this command: ‘These are the regulations for the burnt offering^(M): The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar.^{(N) 10} The priest shall then put on his linen clothes,^(O) with linen undergarments next to his body,^(P) and shall remove the ashes^(Q) of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar. ¹¹ Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean.^{(R) 12} The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood^(S) and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat^(T) of the fellowship offerings^(U) on it. ¹³ The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.

The Grain Offering

¹⁴ “‘These are the regulations for the grain offering:^(V) Aaron’s sons are to bring it before the Lord, in front of the altar. ¹⁵ The priest is to take a handful of the finest flour and some olive oil, together with all the incense^(W) on the grain offering,^(X) and burn the memorial^[b] portion^(Y) on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. ¹⁶ Aaron and his sons^(Z) shall eat the rest^(AA) of it, but it is to be eaten without yeast^(AB) in the sanctuary area;^(AC) they are to eat it in the courtyard^(AD) of the tent of meeting.^{(AE) 17} It must not be baked with yeast; I have given it as their share^(AF) of the food offerings presented to me.^(AG) Like the sin offering^[c] and the guilt offering, it is most holy.^{(AH) 18} Any male descendant of Aaron may eat it.^(AI) For all generations to come^(AJ) it is his perpetual share^(AK) of the food offerings presented to the Lord. Whatever touches them will become holy.^[d](AL)’”

¹⁹ The Lord also said to Moses, ²⁰ “This is the offering Aaron and his sons are to bring to the Lord on the day he^[e] is anointed:^(AM) a tenth of an ephah^[f](AN) of the finest flour^(AO) as a regular grain offering,^(AP) half of it in the morning and half in the evening. ²¹ It must be prepared with oil on a griddle;^(AQ) bring it well-mixed and present the grain offering broken^[g] in pieces as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. ²² The son who is to succeed him as anointed priest^(AR) shall prepare it. It is the Lord’s perpetual share and is to be burned completely.^{(AS) 23} Every grain offering of a priest shall be burned completely; it must not be eaten.”

The Sin Offering

²⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁵ “Say to Aaron and his sons: ‘These are the regulations for the sin offering:^(AT) The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord^(AU) in the place^(AV) the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. ²⁶ The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in the sanctuary area,^(AW) in the courtyard^(AX) of the tent of meeting.^{(AY) 27} Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy,^(AZ) and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary area. ²⁸ The clay pot^(BA) the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water. ²⁹ Any male in a priest’s family may eat it;^(BB) it is most holy.^{(BC) 30} But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement^(BD) in the Holy Place^(BE) must not be eaten; it must be burned up.^(BF)

The Guilt Offering

7 “‘These are the regulations for the guilt offering,^(BG) which is most holy: ² The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be splashed against the sides of the altar. ³ All its fat^(BH) shall be offered: the fat tail and the fat that covers the internal organs, ⁴ both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys.^{(BI) 5} The priest shall burn them on the altar^(BJ) as a food offering presented to the Lord. It is a guilt offering. ⁶ Any male in a priest’s family may eat it,^(BK) but it must be eaten in the sanctuary area; it is most holy.^(BL)

⁷ “‘The same law applies to both the sin offering^[h](BM) and the guilt offering:^(BN) They belong to the priest^(BO) who makes atonement with them.^{(BP) 8} The priest who offers a burnt offering for anyone may keep its hide^(BQ) for himself. ⁹ Every grain offering baked in an oven^(BR) or cooked in a pan^(BS) or on a griddle^(BT) belongs to the priest who offers it, ¹⁰ and every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.

The Fellowship Offering

¹¹ “‘These are the regulations for the fellowship offering anyone may present to the Lord:

¹² “‘If they offer it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering^(BU) they are to offer thick loaves^(BV) made without yeast^(BW) and with olive oil mixed in, thin loaves^(BX) made without yeast and brushed with oil,^(BY) and thick loaves of the finest flour well-kneaded and with oil mixed in. ¹³ Along with their fellowship offering of thanksgiving^(BZ) they are to present an offering with thick loaves of bread made with yeast.^{(CA) 14} They are to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the Lord; it belongs to the priest who splashes the blood of the fellowship offering against the altar. ¹⁵ The meat of their fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; they must leave none of it till morning.^(CB)

¹⁶ “‘If, however, their offering is the result of a vow^(CC) or is a freewill offering,^(CD) the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day.^{(CE) 17} Any meat of the sacrifice left over till the third day must be burned up.^{(CF) 18} If any meat of the fellowship offering^(CG) is eaten on the third day, the one who offered it will not be accepted.^(CH) It will not be reckoned^(CI) to their credit, for it has become impure; the person who eats any of it will be held responsible.^(CJ)

¹⁹ “‘Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean must not be eaten; it must be burned up. As for other meat, anyone ceremonially clean may eat it. ²⁰ But if anyone who is unclean^(CK) eats any meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord, they must be cut off from their people.^{(CL) 21} Anyone who touches something unclean^(CM)—whether human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean creature that moves along the ground^[i]—and then eats any of the meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord must be cut off from their people.’”

Eating Fat and Blood Forbidden

²² The Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Say to the Israelites: ‘Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats.^{(CN) 24} The fat of an animal found dead or torn by wild animals^(CO) may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it. ²⁵ Anyone who eats the fat of an animal from which a food offering may be^[j] presented to the Lord must be cut off from their people. ²⁶ And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood^(CP) of any bird or animal. ²⁷ Anyone who eats blood^(CQ) must be cut off from their people.’”

The Priests’ Share

²⁸ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁹ “Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who brings a fellowship offering to the Lord is to bring part of it as their sacrifice to the Lord. ³⁰ With their own hands they are to present the food offering to the Lord; they are to bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the breast before the Lord as a wave offering.^{(CR) 31} The priest shall burn the fat on the altar,^(CS) but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons.^{(CT) 32} You are to give the right thigh of your fellowship offerings to the priest as a contribution.^{(CU) 33} The son of Aaron who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering shall have the right thigh as his share. ³⁴ From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh^(CV) that is presented and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons^(CW) as their perpetual share from the Israelites.’”

³⁵ This is the portion of the food offerings presented to the Lord that were allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day they were presented to serve the Lord as priests. ³⁶ On the day they were anointed,^(CX) the Lord commanded that the Israelites give this to them as their perpetual share for the generations to come.

³⁷ These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offering,^(CY) the grain offering,^(CZ) the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering^(DA) and the fellowship offering, ³⁸ which the Lord gave Moses^(DB) at Mount Sinai^(DC) in the Desert of Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the Lord.^(DD)

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like^(A) ten virgins who took their lamps^(B) and went out to meet the bridegroom.^{(C) 2} Five of them were foolish and five were wise.^{(D) 3} The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.^(E)

⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

⁷ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’^(F)

⁹ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.^(G) And the door was shut.

¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’^(H)

¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.^(I)

The Parable of the Bags of Gold^(J)

¹⁴ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey,^(K) who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,^[a] each according to his ability.^(L) Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.^{(M) 20} The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.^(N) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.^(O) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.^{(P) 30} And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’^(Q)