Old/New Testament
A Ritual for Sacrifices[a]
Regulations for the Children of Israel
Chapter 1
Burnt Offerings.[b] 1 The Lord spoke to Moses from the meeting tent and said to him,[c] 2 “Speak to the children of Israel and tell them: When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your animal from the herd or the flock. 3 If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, let him offer a male without defect. He shall offer it at the entrance to the meeting tent, that it might be pleasing to the Lord. 4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted for atonement on his behalf. 5 He shall kill the young bull before the Lord, and the priests, the sons of Aaron, shall take its blood and sprinkle it on the altar that is at the entrance to the meeting tent.[d] 6 He shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron, the priests shall set a fire on the altar and arrange the wood upon the fire. 8 Then the sons of Aaron, the priests shall place the pieces of the animal, and its head and its fat, on the burning wood upon the altar. 9 He shall wash the entrails and the legs with water. Then the priest shall burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord.
10 “If the burnt offering is from the flock, a sheep or a goat, he shall offer a male without defect. 11 He shall slay it on the northern side of the altar before the Lord. The priests, the sons of Aaron, shall sprinkle its blood around the altar. 12 He shall cut it into pieces, and the priest shall take them, together with its head and its fat, and lay them upon the wood which is burning upon the altar. 13 He shall wash the entrails and the legs with water, and then the priest shall burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord.
14 “If the burnt offering to the Lord consists of birds,[e] then let him bring his offering of turtledoves or young pigeons. 15 The priest shall bring them to the altar and wring off their heads. He shall burn them upon the altar, but their blood is to be drained out on the side of the altar. 16 He shall tear out their crops with their feathers and toss them to the east side of the altar, the place where the ashes are kept. 17 He shall split the birds into two halves holding on to their wings, but he shall not separate the pieces. Then the priest shall burn them on the burning wood upon the altar. It is a burnt offering, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord.
Chapter 2
Grain Offerings.[f] 1 “When anyone brings a grain offering as a sacrifice to the Lord, it is to be an offering of fine flour. He shall pour oil upon it and put incense on it 2 and bring it to the sons of Aaron, the priests. He shall take a handful of the flour and the oil and all of the incense. The priest shall burn it on the altar as a memorial portion, a burnt offering, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord.[g] 3 The rest of the grain offering will be for Aaron and his sons, the most holy part[h] of the burnt offering to the Lord.
4 “When someone brings a cereal offering that has been baked in the oven, it is to be unleavened cakes made of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers sprinkled with oil. 5 If your cereal offering was prepared on the griddle, it is to be made of fine flour that has been mixed with oil. 6 You shall break it into pieces and pour oil on it. It is a cereal offering. 7 If the cereal offering was prepared in a pan, it is to be made of fine flour with oil. 8 You shall bring your cereal offering made of these things to the priest who will bring it to the altar. 9 Then the priest shall take the memorial portion from the cereal offering and burn it on the altar. It will be a burnt offering, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord. 10 The rest of the cereal offering will be for Aaron and his sons. It is the most holy part of the burnt offering to the Lord.
11 “None of the cereal offerings that you offer to the Lord will be leavened, for you are not to make burnt offerings of leaven or honey[i] to the Lord. 12 As to the offering of firstfruits, you may bring them to the Lord, but you are not to bring them to the altar as a pleasing fragrance. 13 You are to season all of your cereal offerings with salt. You shall not permit your cereal offerings to be offered without the salt of your covenant.[j] You shall bring salt with all of your offerings.
14 “If you offer a cereal offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer the cereal offering of firstfruits in the form of crushed grain from newly ripened heads of grain that have been parched with fire. 15 You shall pour oil on it, and place incense upon it. It is a cereal offering. 16 Then the priest shall burn a part of the grain and of the oil and all of the incense as the memorial portion of the offering. It is a burnt offering to the Lord.
Chapter 3
Peace Offerings.[k] 1 “If the offering is a peace offering, if someone offers a young cow, whether it be male or female, it is to be without defect. He shall offer it to the Lord. 2 He shall lay his hand on the head of the offering and slay it at the entrance to the meeting tent. The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall sprinkle its blood around the altar. 3 From the peace offering he shall offer up the following as a burnt offering to the Lord: the fat above and surrounding the entrails, 4 the two kidneys and their fat, the fat around the loins, and the lobe of the liver that he will detach along with the kidneys. 5 The sons of Aaron shall burn it on the altar, on the burnt offering[l] that is on the burning wood. It is a burnt offering, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord.
6 “If one’s peace offering to the Lord is from the flock, whether it be male or female, it is to be without defect. 7 If he presents a lamb as an offering, he shall offer it before the Lord. 8 He shall lay his hand on the head of the victim and slay it in front of the meeting tent. The sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around the altar. 9 From the peace offering he shall offer up the following as a burnt offering to the Lord: the fat, the entire fat of the tail, cutting it away from the end of the backbone, the fat around the entrails and all that is above them, 10 the two kidneys with their fat and the fat around the loins, and the lobe of the liver that he will detach along with the kidneys. 11 Then the priest shall burn them on the altar as food offered up to the Lord by fire.
12 “If his offering is a goat, he shall offer it before the Lord. 13 He shall lay his hand on its head and slay it in front of the meeting tent. The sons of Aaron will sprinkle its blood around the altar. 14 From it he will offer up the following as a burnt offering to the Lord: the fat covering and above its entrails, 15 its two kidneys with their fat, the fat around the loins, and the lobe of the liver that he will detach along with the kidneys. 16 Then the priest shall burn them on the altar as food offered to the Lord by fire. All fat belongs to the Lord.
17 “It will be a perpetual statute throughout all your generations in all of your dwellings: you must not eat fat or blood.”
Instructions for the Coming of the Kingdom[a]
Chapter 24
The Time of the End[b]
Jesus Announces the Destruction of the Temple.[c] 1 As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, his disciples came up to him to call his attention to the buildings of the temple. 2 He thereupon said to them, “Do you see all these? Amen, I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another; every one will be thrown down.”
The End Has Not Yet Come.[d] 3 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached and spoke to him when they were alone. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered them, “Take care that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Do not be alarmed, for those things are bound to happen, but the end is still to come. 7 For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are only the beginning of the labor pains.
9 “Then you will be handed over to be tortured and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10 At that time, many will fall away from the faith; they will betray and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will appear and lead many astray, 12 and with the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But whoever endures to the end will be saved. 14 And the good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the entire world as a testimony offered to all the nations. And then the end will come.
15 The Great Trial.[e]“Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, about which the prophet Daniel spoke, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, 17 the one who is standing on the roof must not come down to collect what is in his house, 18 and someone who is in the field must not turn back to retrieve his coat.
19 “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that you will not have to take flight in the winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great suffering that has not been equaled since the beginning of the world until now, and will never again be duplicated. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect they will be shortened.
23 False Messiahs and False Prophets.“Therefore, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There he is,’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform great signs and wonders that are impressive enough to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
25 “Remember, I have forewarned you about this. 26 So if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there. If they say, ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even in the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.[f]
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