Leviticus 1

EasyEnglish Bible

Rules for the people's gifts

1 The Lord spoke to Moses from the Tent of Meeting.^[a] He told him the rules that Israel's people must obey. ² The Lord said, ‘Speak to Israel's people. Tell them this. When a person gives an animal to the Lord, it must be a cow or a sheep or a goat. ³ A person may want to give a gift to the Lord. That gift must be a male animal from his group of animals. It must be perfect. He must burn the whole animal as a gift to the Lord. The person must bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting. If he does, the Lord will accept his gift. ⁴ The person must put his hand on the animal's head. Then he must kill it. The animal's death will pay for the person's sins. ⁵ The person must kill the young bull in front of the Lord. The priests who are the sons of Aaron will take the blood. They will throw it onto the sides of the altar. That is the altar near to the door of the Tent of Meeting. ⁶ The person must take the skin from the dead animal and then he must cut up the meat. ⁷ The sons of Aaron the priest will light a fire on the altar. Then they will put wood on it. ⁸ The priests will put the pieces of meat on the fire. They will put the head and the fat on the fire with the meat. ⁹ The person must wash the legs and the inside parts with water. Then the priest will burn the whole animal on the altar. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure.^[b]

¹⁰ A person may want to give a sheep or a goat as a gift to God. It must be a male animal. It must be perfect. ¹¹ The person must kill it at the north side of the altar. The priests will throw the blood onto the sides of the altar in front of the Lord. ¹² The person must cut the animal up. The priests will take the pieces of meat, the head and the fat. They will put them on the fire that is burning on the altar. ¹³ The person must wash the legs and the inside parts with water. The priest will burn the whole animal on the altar. It is a burnt offering. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure.

Moses tells Israel's people what to do with gifts that are birds

¹⁴ If a person wants to give a bird to the Lord, it must be a dove or a pigeon. ¹⁵ The priest will bring the bird to the altar. He will tear off the head and he will burn it on the altar. The priest will pour the blood onto the side of the altar. ¹⁶ Then the priest will remove the part of the bird where the food is stored. He will throw it on the east side of the altar, with the ashes. ¹⁷ He will hold the parts that the bird uses to fly. And then he will tear open the body. But he must not tear it completely. He will burn all of it on the fire that is on the altar. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure.