Laws for Grain Offerings

2 “When anyone brings a ^(A)grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. ^(B)He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it ² and bring it to Aaron's sons the priests. And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its ^(C)memorial portion on the altar, a food ^(D)offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ³ But the ^(E)rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; ^(F)it is a most holy part of the Lord's food offerings.

⁴ “When you bring a grain offering baked in the oven as an offering, it shall be ^(G)unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers smeared with oil. ⁵ And if your offering is a grain offering ^(H)baked on a griddle, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mixed with oil. ⁶ You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. ⁷ And if your offering is a grain offering cooked in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. ⁸ And you shall bring the grain offering that is made of these things to the Lord, and when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar. ⁹ And the priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, a food ^(I)offering with a ^(J)pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁰ But the ^(K)rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; ^(L)it is a most holy part of the Lord's food offerings.

¹¹ “No grain offering that you bring to the Lord shall be made with ^(M)leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey as a food offering to the Lord. ^12 (N)As an offering of firstfruits you may bring them to the Lord, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a pleasing aroma. ¹³ You ^(O)shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the ^(P)salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; ^(Q)with all your offerings you shall offer salt.

¹⁴ “If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh ^(R)ears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain. ¹⁵ And ^(S)you shall put oil on it and lay frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. ¹⁶ And the priest shall burn as its ^(T)memorial portion some of the crushed grain and some of the oil with all of its frankincense; it is a food offering to the Lord.

⁴ By faith ^(A)Abel offered to God ^(B)a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And ^(C)through his faith, though he died, he ^(D)still speaks.

Love One Another

¹¹ For ^(A)this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, ^(B)that we should love one another. ¹² We should not be like ^(C)Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? ^(D)Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.

²² Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and ^(A)without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

³ This is my defense to those who would examine me. ^4 (A)Do we not have the right to eat and drink? ^5 (B)Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife,^[a] as do the other apostles and ^(C)the brothers of the Lord and ^(D)Cephas? ⁶ Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? ^7 (E)Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? ^(F)Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

⁸ Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? ⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses, ^(G)“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? ¹⁰ Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written ^(H)for our sake, because ^(I)the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. ^11 (J)If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?