Old/New Testament
6 And the Lord said to Moses, 2 “If anyone sins against me by refusing to return a deposit on something borrowed or rented, or by refusing to return something entrusted to him, or by robbery, or by oppressing his neighbor, 3 or by finding a lost article and lying about it, swearing that he doesn’t have it— 4-5 on the day he is found guilty of any such sin, he shall restore what he took, adding a 20 percent fine, and give it to the one he has harmed; and on the same day he shall bring his guilt offering to the Tabernacle. 6 His guilt offering shall be a ram without defect, and must be worth whatever value you demand. He shall bring it to the priest, 7 and the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven.”
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, 9 “Give Aaron and his sons these regulations concerning the burnt offering:
“The burnt offering shall be left upon the hearth of the altar all night, with the altar fire kept burning. 10 The next morning the priest shall put on his linen undergarments and his linen outer garments, and clean out the ashes of the burnt offering, and put them beside the altar. 11 Then he shall change his clothes and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. 12 Meanwhile, the fire on the altar must be kept burning—it must not go out. The priest shall put on fresh wood each morning, and lay the daily burnt offering on it, and burn the fat of the daily peace offering. 13 The fire must be kept burning upon the altar continually. It must never go out.
14 “These are the regulations concerning the grain offering:
“Aaron’s sons shall stand in front of the altar to offer it before the Lord. 15 The priest shall then take out a handful of the finely ground flour, with the olive oil and the incense mixed into it, and burn it upon the altar as a representative portion for the Lord; and it will be received with pleasure by the Lord. 16 After taking out this handful, the remainder of the flour will belong to Aaron and his sons for their food; it shall be eaten without yeast in the courtyard of the Tabernacle. 17 (Stress this instruction, that if it is baked, it must be without yeast.) I have given to the priests this part of the burnt offerings made to me. However, all of it is most holy, just as is the entire sin offering and the entire guilt offering. 18 It may be eaten by any male descendant of Aaron, any priest, generation after generation. But only the priests[a] may eat these offerings made by fire to the Lord.”
19-20 And Jehovah said to Moses, “On the day Aaron and his sons are anointed and inducted into the priesthood, they shall bring to the Lord a regular grain offering—a tenth of a bushel of fine flour, half to be offered in the morning and half in the evening. 21 It shall be cooked on a griddle, using olive oil, and should be well cooked, then brought to the Lord as an offering that pleases him very much. 22-23 As the sons of the priests replace their fathers, they shall be inducted into office by offering this same sacrifice on the day of their anointing. This is a perpetual law. These offerings shall be entirely burned up before the Lord; none of it shall be eaten.”
24 Then the Lord said to Moses, 25 “Tell Aaron and his sons that these are the instructions concerning the sin offering:
“This sacrifice is most holy, and shall be killed before the Lord at the place where the burnt offerings are killed. 26 The priest who performs the ceremony shall eat it in the courtyard of the Tabernacle. 27 Only those who are sanctified—the priests—may touch this meat; if any blood sprinkles onto their clothing, it must be washed in a holy place. 28 Then the clay pot in which the clothing is boiled shall be broken; or if a bronze kettle is used, it must be scoured and rinsed out thoroughly. 29 Every male among the priests may eat this offering, but only they, for it is most holy. 30 No sin offering may be eaten by the priests if any of its blood is taken into the Tabernacle to make atonement in the Holy Place. That carcass must be entirely burned with fire before the Lord.
7 “Here are the instructions concerning the most holy offering for guilt:
2 “The sacrificial animal shall be killed at the place where the burnt offering sacrifices are slain, and its blood shall be sprinkled back and forth upon the altar. 3 The priest will offer upon the altar all its fat, including the tail, the fat that covers the insides, 4 the two kidneys and the loin fat, and the gall bladder—all shall be set aside for sacrificing. 5 The priests will burn them upon the altar as a guilt offering to the Lord. 6 Only males among the priests may then eat the carcass, and it must be eaten in a holy place, for this is a most holy sacrifice.
7 “The same instructions apply to both the sin offering and the guilt offering—the carcass shall be given to the priest who is in charge of the atonement ceremony, for his food. 8 (When the offering is a burnt sacrifice, the priest who is in charge shall also be given the animal’s hide.) 9 The priests who present the people’s grain offerings to the Lord shall be given whatever remains of the sacrifice after the ceremony is completed. This rule applies whether the sacrifice is baked, fried, or grilled. 10 All other grain offerings, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, are the common property of all sons of Aaron.
11 “Here are the instructions concerning the sacrifices given to the Lord as special peace offerings:
12 “If it is an offering of thanksgiving, unleavened short bread[b] shall be included with the sacrifice, along with unleavened wafers spread with olive oil and loaves from a batter of flour mixed with olive oil. 13 This thanksgiving peace offering shall be accompanied with loaves of leavened bread. 14 Part of this sacrifice shall be presented to the Lord by a gesture of waving it before the altar, then it shall be given to the assisting priest, the one who sprinkles the blood of the animal presented for the sacrifice. 15 After the animal has been sacrificed and presented to the Lord as a peace offering to show special appreciation and thanksgiving to him, its meat is to be eaten that same day, and none left to be eaten the next day.
16 “However, if someone brings a sacrifice that is not for thanksgiving, but is because of a vow or is simply a voluntary offering to the Lord, any portion of the sacrifice that is not eaten the day it is sacrificed may be eaten the next day. 17-18 But anything left over until the third day shall be burned. For if any of it is eaten on the third day, the Lord will not accept it; it will have no value as a sacrifice, and there will be no credit to the one who brought it to be offered; and the priest who eats it shall be guilty, for it is detestable to the Lord, and the person who eats it must answer for his sin.
19 “Any meat that comes into contact with anything that is ceremonially unclean shall not be eaten, but burned; and as for the meat that may be eaten, it may be eaten only by a person who is ceremonially clean. 20 Any priest who is ceremonially unclean but eats the thanksgiving offering anyway, shall be cut off from his people, for he has defiled what is sacred.[c] 21 Anyone who touches anything that is ceremonially unclean, whether it is uncleanness from man or beast, and then eats the peace offering, shall be cut off from his people, for he has defiled what is holy.”
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell the people of Israel never to eat fat, whether from oxen, sheep, or goats. 24 The fat of an animal that dies of disease, or is attacked and killed by wild animals, may be used for other purposes, but never eaten. 25 Anyone who eats fat from an offering sacrificed by fire to the Lord shall be outlawed from his people.
26-27 “Never eat blood, whether of birds or animals. Anyone who does shall be excommunicated from his people.”
28 And the Lord said to Moses, 29 “Tell the people of Israel that anyone bringing a thanksgiving offering to the Lord must bring it personally with his own hands. 30 He shall bring the offering of the fat and breast, which is to be presented to the Lord by waving it before the altar. 31 Then the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar, but the breast shall belong to Aaron and his sons, 32-33 while the right thigh shall be given to the officiating priest. 34 For I have designated the breast and thigh as donations from the people of Israel to the sons of Aaron. Aaron and his sons must always be given this portion of the sacrifice. 35 This is their pay! It is to be set apart from the burnt offerings, and given to all who have been appointed to minister to the Lord as priests—to Aaron and to his sons. 36 For on the day the Lord anointed them, he commanded that the people of Israel give these portions to them; it is their right forever throughout all their generations.”
37 These were the instructions concerning the burnt offering, grain offering, sin offering, and guilt offering, and concerning the consecration offering and the peace offering; 38 these instructions were given to Moses by the Lord on Mount Sinai, to be passed on to the people of Israel so that they would know how to offer their sacrifices to God in the Sinai Desert.
25 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of ten bridesmaids[a] who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2-4 But only five of them were wise enough to fill their lamps with oil, while the other five were foolish and forgot.
5-6 “So, when the bridegroom was delayed, they lay down to rest until midnight, when they were roused by the shout, ‘The bridegroom is coming! Come out and welcome him!’
7-8 “All the girls jumped up and trimmed their lamps. Then the five who hadn’t any oil begged the others to share with them, for their lamps were going out.
9 “But the others replied, ‘We haven’t enough. Go instead to the shops and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were gone, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.
11 “Later, when the other five returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Sir, open the door for us!’
12 “But he called back, ‘Go away! It is too late!’[b]
13 “So stay awake and be prepared, for you do not know the date or moment of my return.[c]
14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going into another country, who called together his servants and loaned them money to invest for him while he was gone.
15 “He gave $5,000 to one, $2,000 to another, and $1,000 to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities—and then left on his trip. 16 The man who received the $5,000 began immediately to buy and sell with it and soon earned another $5,000. 17 The man with $2,000 went right to work, too, and earned another $2,000.
18 “But the man who received the $1,000 dug a hole in the ground and hid the money for safekeeping.
19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to him to account for his money. 20 The man to whom he had entrusted the $5,000 brought him $10,000.
21 “His master praised him for good work. ‘You have been faithful in handling this small amount,’ he told him, ‘so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Begin the joyous tasks I have assigned to you.’
22 “Next came the man who had received the $2,000, with the report, ‘Sir, you gave me $2,000 to use, and I have doubled it.’
23 “‘Good work,’ his master said. ‘You are a good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over this small amount, so now I will give you much more.’
24-25 “Then the man with the $1,000 came and said, ‘Sir, I knew you were a hard man, and I was afraid you would rob me of what I earned,[d] so I hid your money in the earth and here it is!’
26 “But his master replied, ‘Wicked man! Lazy slave! Since you knew I would demand your profit, 27 you should at least have put my money into the bank so I could have some interest. 28 Take the money from this man and give it to the man with the $10,000. 29 For the man who uses well what he is given shall be given more, and he shall have abundance. But from the man who is unfaithful, even what little responsibility he has shall be taken from him. 30 And throw the useless servant out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.