Old/New Testament
1 The Lord now spoke to Moses from the Tabernacle, 2-3 and commanded him to give the following instructions to the people of Israel: “When you sacrifice to the Lord, use animals from your herds and flocks.
“If your sacrifice is to be an ox given as a burnt offering, use only a bull with no physical defects. Bring the animal to the entrance of the Tabernacle where the priests will accept your gift for the Lord. 4 The person bringing it is to lay his hand upon its head, and it then becomes his substitute: the death of the animal will be accepted by God instead of the death of the man who brings it, as the penalty for his sins.[a] 5 The man shall then kill the animal there before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, will present the blood before the Lord, sprinkling it upon all sides of the altar at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 6-7 Then the priests will skin[b] the animal and quarter it, and build a wood fire upon the altar, 8 and put the sections of the animal and its head and fat upon the wood. 9 The internal organs and the legs are to be washed, then the priests will burn them upon the altar, and they will be an acceptable burnt offering with which the Lord is pleased.[c]
10 “If the animal used as a burnt offering is a sheep or a goat, it too must be a male, and without any blemishes. 11 The man who brings it will kill it before the Lord on the north side of the altar, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, will sprinkle its blood back and forth upon the altar. 12 Then the man will quarter it, and the priests will lay the pieces, with the head and the fat, on top of the wood on the altar. 13 But the internal organs and the legs shall first be washed with water. Then the priests shall burn it all upon the altar as an offering to the Lord; for burnt offerings give much pleasure to the Lord.
14 “If anyone wishes to use a bird as his burnt offering, he may choose either turtledoves or young pigeons. 15-17 A priest will take the bird to the altar and wring off its head, and the blood shall be drained out at the side of the altar. Then the priest will remove the crop and the feathers and throw them on the east side of the altar with the ashes. Then, grasping it by the wings, he shall tear it apart, but not completely. And the priest shall burn it upon the altar, and the Lord will have pleasure in this sacrifice.[d]
2 “Anyone who wishes to sacrifice a grain offering to the Lord is to bring fine flour and is to pour olive oil and incense upon it. 2 Then he is to take a handful, representing the entire amount,[e] to one of the priests to burn, and the Lord will be fully pleased. 3 The remainder of the flour is to be given to Aaron and his sons as their food; but all of it is counted as a holy burnt offering to the Lord.
4 “If bread baked in the oven is brought as an offering to the Lord, it must be made from finely ground flour, baked with olive oil but without yeast. Wafers made without yeast and spread with olive oil may also be used as an offering. 5 If the offering is something from the griddle, it shall be made of finely ground flour without yeast, and mingled with olive oil. 6 Break it into pieces and pour oil upon it—it is a form of grain offering. 7 If your offering is cooked in a pan, it too shall be made of fine flour mixed with olive oil.
8 “However it is prepared—whether baked, fried, or grilled—you are to bring this grain offering to the priest and he shall take it to the altar to present it to the Lord.
9 “The priests are to burn only a representative portion[f] of the offering, but all of it will be fully appreciated by the Lord. 10 The remainder belongs to the priests for their own use, but it is all counted as a holy burnt offering to the Lord.
11 “Use no yeast with your offerings of flour; for no yeast or honey is permitted in burnt offerings to the Lord. 12 You may offer yeast bread and honey as thanksgiving offerings at harvest time, but not as burnt offerings.[g]
13 “Every offering must be seasoned with salt,[h] because the salt is a reminder of God’s covenant.
14 “If you are offering from the first of your harvest, remove the kernels from a fresh ear, crush and roast them, then offer them to the Lord. 15 Put olive oil and incense on the offering, for it is a grain offering. 16 Then the priests shall burn part of the bruised grain mixed with oil and all of the incense as a representative portion before the Lord.
3 “When anyone wants to give an offering of thanksgiving to the Lord, he may use either a bull or a cow, but the animal must be entirely without defect if it is to be offered to the Lord! 2 The man who brings the animal shall lay his hand upon its head and kill it at the door of the Tabernacle. Then Aaron’s sons shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar 3-5 and shall burn before the Lord the fat that covers the inward parts, the two kidneys and the loin fat on them, and the gall bladder. And it will give the Lord much pleasure.
6 “If a goat or sheep is used as a thank offering to the Lord, it must have no defect and may be either a male or female.
7-8 “If it is a lamb, the man who brings it shall lay his hand upon its head and kill it at the entrance of the Tabernacle; the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar, 9-11 and shall offer upon the altar the fat, the tail removed close to the backbone, the fat covering the internal organs, the two kidneys with the loin fat on them, and the gall bladder, as a burnt offering to the Lord.
12 “If anyone brings a goat as his offering to the Lord, 13 he shall lay his hand upon its head and kill it at the entrance of the Tabernacle. The priest shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar, 14 and shall offer upon the altar, as a burnt offering to the Lord, the fat that covers the insides, 15-16 the two kidneys and the loin fat on them, and the gall bladder. This burnt offering is very pleasing to the Lord. All the fat is Jehovah’s. 17 This is a permanent law throughout your land, that you shall eat neither fat nor blood.”
24 As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples came along and wanted to take him on a tour of the various Temple buildings.
2 But he told them, “All these buildings will be knocked down, with not one stone left on top of another!”
3 “When will this happen?” the disciples asked him later, as he sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. “What events will signal your return and the end of the world?”[a]
4 Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone fool you. 5 For many will come claiming to be the Messiah and will lead many astray. 6 When you hear of wars beginning, this does not signal my return; these must come, but the end is not yet. 7 The nations and kingdoms of the earth will rise against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in many places. 8 But all this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come.
9 “Then you will be tortured and killed and hated all over the world because you are mine, 10 and many of you shall fall back into sin and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and lead many astray. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere and will cool the love of many. 13 But those enduring to the end shall be saved.
14 “And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it, and then, finally, the end will come.
15 “So, when you see the horrible thing[b] (told about by Daniel the prophet) standing in a holy place (Note to the reader: You know what is meant!), 16 then those in Judea must flee into the Judean hills. 17 Those on their porches[c] must not even go inside to pack before they flee. 18 Those in the fields should not return to their homes for their clothes.
19 “And woe to pregnant women and to those with babies in those days. 20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter, or on the Sabbath.[d] 21 For there will be persecution such as the world has never before seen in all its history and will never see again.
22 “In fact, unless those days are shortened, all mankind will perish. But they will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen people.[e]
23 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘The Messiah has arrived at such and such a place, or has appeared here or there,’ don’t believe it. 24 For false Christs shall arise, and false prophets, and will do wonderful miracles so that if it were possible, even God’s chosen ones[f] would be deceived. 25 See, I have warned you.
26 “So if someone tells you the Messiah has returned and is out in the desert, don’t bother to go and look. Or, that he is hiding at a certain place, don’t believe it! 27 For as the lightning flashes across the sky from east to west, so shall my coming be, when I, the Messiah,[g] return. 28 And wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.