Rules for Burnt Offerings

1 The Lord called out to Moses. He spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said, ² “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘Suppose anyone among you brings an offering to the Lord. They must bring an animal from their herd or flock.

³ “ ‘If someone brings a burnt offering from the herd, they must offer a male animal. It must not have any flaws. They must bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then the Lord will accept it. ⁴ They must place their hand on the head of the burnt offering. Then the Lord will accept it in place of them. It will pay for their sin. ⁵ The young bull must be killed there in the sight of the Lord. Then the priests in Aaron’s family line must bring its blood to the altar. They must splash it against the sides of the altar. The altar stands at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁶ The skin must be removed from the animal brought for the burnt offering. Then the animal must be cut into pieces. ⁷ The priests in Aaron’s family line must build a fire on the altar. They must place wood on the fire. ⁸ Then they must place the pieces of the animal on the burning wood on the altar. The pieces include the head and the fat. ⁹ The inside parts of the animal must be washed with water. The legs must also be washed. The priest must burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering. It is a food offering. Its smell pleases the Lord.

¹⁰ “ ‘If someone offers a burnt offering from the flock, it must be a male animal. It can be a sheep or a goat. It must not have any flaws. ¹¹ They must kill it at the north side of the altar in the sight of the Lord. The priests in Aaron’s family line must splash its blood against the sides of the altar. ¹² They must cut the animal into pieces. The priest must place the pieces on the burning wood on the altar. The pieces include the head and the fat. ¹³ They must wash the inside parts with water. The legs must also be washed. The priest must bring all the parts to the altar. He must burn them there. It is a burnt offering. It is a food offering. Its smell pleases the Lord.

¹⁴ “ ‘If someone offers to the Lord a burnt offering of birds, it must be a dove or a young pigeon. ¹⁵ The priest must bring it to the altar. He must twist its head off. Then he must burn the rest of the bird on the altar. Its blood must be emptied out on the side of the altar. ¹⁶ The priest must remove the small bag inside the bird’s throat. He must also remove the feathers. Then he must throw them to the east side of the altar. That is where the ashes are. ¹⁷ He must take hold of the wings of the bird and tear it open. But he must not tear it in two. Then the priest will burn it on the wood burning on the altar. It is a burnt offering. It is a food offering. Its smell pleases the Lord.

Rules for Grain Offerings

2 “ ‘Suppose anyone brings a grain offering to the Lord. Then their offering must be made out of the finest flour. They must pour olive oil on it. They must also put incense on it. ² They must take it to the priests in Aaron’s family line. A priest must take a handful of the flour and oil. He must mix them with all the incense. Then he must burn that part on the altar. It will be a reminder that all good things come from the Lord. It is a food offering. Its smell pleases the Lord. ³ The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and to the priests in his family line. It is a very holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord.

⁴ “ ‘If you bring a grain offering baked in an oven, make it out of the finest flour. It can be thick loaves of bread made without yeast. Mix them with olive oil. Or it can be thin loaves of bread that are made without yeast. Spread olive oil on them. ⁵ If your grain offering is cooked on a metal plate, make your offering out of the finest flour. Mix it with oil. Make it without yeast. ⁶ Break it into pieces. Pour oil on it. It is a grain offering. ⁷ If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, make your offering out of the finest flour and some olive oil. ⁸ Bring to the Lord your grain offering made out of all these things. Give it to the priest. He must take it to the altar. ⁹ All good things come from the Lord. The priest must take out the part of the grain offering that reminds you of this. He must burn it on the altar. It is a food offering. Its smell pleases the Lord. ¹⁰ The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and the priests in his family line. It is a very holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord.

¹¹ “ ‘Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast. You must not add any yeast or honey to a food offering presented to the Lord. ¹² You can bring them to the Lord as an offering of the first share of food you gather or produce. But they must not be offered on the altar as a pleasant smell. ¹³ Put salt on all your grain offerings. Salt stands for the lasting covenant between you and your God. So do not leave it out of your grain offerings. Add salt to all your offerings.

¹⁴ “ ‘Suppose you bring to the Lord a grain offering of the first share of your food. Then offer crushed heads of your first grain that have been cooked in fire. ¹⁵ Put olive oil and incense on the grain. It is a grain offering. ¹⁶ The priest must burn part of the crushed grain and the oil. It will remind you that all good things come from the Lord. The priest must burn it together with all the incense. It is a food offering presented to the Lord.

Rules for Friendship Offerings

3 “ ‘Suppose someone brings a friendship offering. If they offer an animal from the herd, it can be either male or female. It must not have any flaws. They must offer it in the sight of the Lord. ² They must place their hand on the animal’s head. It must be killed at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then the priests in Aaron’s family line must splash the blood against the sides of the altar. ³ Part of the friendship offering must be given to the Lord as a food offering. It must include all the fat that is connected to them. ⁴ It must include both kidneys with the fat on them next to the lower back muscles. It must also include the long part of the liver. All of it must be removed together with the kidneys. ⁵ Then the priests in Aaron’s family line must burn it on the altar. They must burn it on top of the burnt offering that is lying on the burning wood. It is a food offering. Its smell pleases the Lord.

⁶ “ ‘Suppose someone brings an animal from the flock as a friendship offering to the Lord. It can be either male or female. It must not have any flaws. ⁷ If they bring a lamb, they must offer it in the sight of the Lord. ⁸ They must place their hand on the lamb’s head. It must be killed there in front of the tent of meeting. Then the priests in Aaron’s family line must splash its blood against the sides of the altar. ⁹ Part of the offering must be brought as a sacrifice presented to the Lord. It must include the lamb’s fat and the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone. It must include all the fat that is connected to them. ¹⁰ It must include both kidneys with the fat on them next to the lower back muscles. The offering must also include the long part of the liver. That must be removed together with the kidneys. ¹¹ Then the priest must burn the offering on the altar as food. It is a food offering presented to the Lord.

¹² “ ‘If someone brings a goat, they must offer it in the sight of the Lord. ¹³ They must place their hand on its head. It must be killed there in front of the tent of meeting. Then the priests in Aaron’s family line must splash its blood against the sides of the altar. ¹⁴ Part of the offering must be brought as a food offering presented to the Lord. It must include all the fat that is connected to them. ¹⁵ It must include both kidneys with the fat on them next to the lower back muscles. It must also include the long part of the liver. That must be removed together with the kidneys. ¹⁶ Then the priest must burn the offering on the altar as food. It is a food offering. It has a pleasant smell. All the fat belongs to the Lord.

¹⁷ “ ‘You must not eat any fat or any blood. That is a law that will last for all time to come. It applies no matter where you live.’ ”

Rules for Sin Offerings

4 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ² “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘Suppose someone sins without meaning to. And that person does something the Lord commands us not to do.

³ “ ‘Suppose it is the anointed priest who sins. And suppose he brings guilt on the people. Then he must bring a young bull to the Lord. It must not have any flaws. He must bring it as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. ⁴ He must bring the bull to the entrance to the tent of meeting in the sight of the Lord. He must place his hand on its head. He must kill it there in the sight of the Lord. ⁵ Then the anointed priest must take some of the bull’s blood. He must carry it into the tent of meeting. ⁶ He must dip his finger into the blood. He must sprinkle some of it seven times in the sight of the Lord. He must do it in front of the curtain of the Most Holy Room. ⁷ Then the priest must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for burning incense. The horns stick out from the upper four corners of the altar. The incense burned on that altar has a sweet smell. The altar stands in front of the Lord in the tent of meeting. The priest must pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the bottom of the altar for burnt offerings. That altar stands at the entrance to the tent. ⁸ He must remove all the fat from the bull for the sin offering. It includes the fat that is connected to the inside parts. ⁹ It includes both kidneys with the fat on them next to the lower back muscles. It also includes the long part of the liver. He must remove all of it together with the kidneys. ¹⁰ He must remove it in the same way the fat is removed from an ox sacrificed as a friendship offering. Then the priest must burn all of it on the altar for burnt offerings. ¹¹ But the bull’s hide must be taken away. So must all its meat. So must its head and legs. And so must its inside parts and guts. ¹² In other words, all the rest of the bull must be taken away. The priest must take it outside the camp. He must take it to a “clean” place. He must take it to the place where the ashes are thrown. Then he must burn it there in a wood fire on a pile of ashes.

¹³ “ ‘Or suppose the whole community of Israel sins without meaning to. They do something the Lord commands us not to do. Suppose they realize their guilt. ¹⁴ And suppose their sin becomes known. Then they must bring a young bull as a sin offering. They must offer it in front of the tent of meeting. ¹⁵ The elders of the community must place their hands on the bull’s head in the sight of the Lord. The bull must be killed in the sight of the Lord. ¹⁶ Then the anointed priest must take some of the bull’s blood into the tent of meeting. ¹⁷ He must dip his finger into the blood. He must sprinkle it seven times in the sight of the Lord. He must do it in front of the curtain. ¹⁸ He must put some of the blood on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar. The altar stands in front of the Lord in the tent of meeting. The priest must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar for burnt offerings. That altar stands at the entrance to the tent. ¹⁹ He must remove all the fat from the bull. He must burn it on the altar. ²⁰ He must do the same thing with that bull as he did with the bull for the sin offering. When he does, he will pay for the sin of the community. And they will be forgiven. ²¹ Then he must take the bull outside the camp. He must burn it just as he burned the first bull. It is the sin offering for the whole community.

²² “ ‘Or suppose a leader sins without meaning to. He disobeys any of the commands of the Lord his God. ²³ And suppose he realizes his guilt and his sin becomes known. Then he must bring an offering. It must be a male goat. It must not have any flaws. ²⁴ He must place his hand on the goat’s head. He must kill it. He must do it at the place where the animals for burnt offerings are killed in the sight of the Lord. His offering is a sin offering. ²⁵ Then the priest must dip his finger into some of the blood of the sin offering. He must put it on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar for burnt offerings. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. ²⁶ He must burn all the fat on the altar. He must burn it in the same way he burned the fat of the friendship offering. When he does, he will pay for the sin of the leader. And the leader will be forgiven.

²⁷ “ ‘Or suppose someone in the community sins without meaning to. They disobey any of the Lord’s commands. ²⁸ And suppose they realize their guilt and their sin becomes known. Then they must bring an offering for the sin they have committed. It must be a female goat. It must not have any flaws. ²⁹ They must place their hand on the head of the animal for the sin offering. It must be killed at the place where the animals for burnt offerings are killed. ³⁰ Then the priest must dip his finger into some of the blood. He must put it on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar for burnt offerings. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. ³¹ They must remove all the fat in the same way the fat is removed from the friendship offering. The priest must burn it on the altar. Its smell pleases the Lord. When the priest burns the offering, he will pay for their sin. And they will be forgiven.

³² “ ‘Suppose someone brings a lamb as their sin offering. Then they must bring a female animal. It must not have any flaws. ³³ They must place their hand on its head. They must kill it as a sin offering. They must do it at the place where the animals for burnt offerings are killed. ³⁴ Then the priest must dip his finger into some of the blood of the sin offering. He must put it on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar for burnt offerings. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. ³⁵ They must remove all the fat in the same way the fat is removed from the lamb for the friendship offering. The priest must burn it on the altar on top of the food offerings presented to the Lord. When he does, he will pay for the sin they have committed. And they will be forgiven.