Old/New Testament
How Priests Must Behave
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell these things to Aaron’s sons, the priests: ‘A priest must not make himself unclean [C in a ritual sense] ·by touching a dead person [L for a death among his people/relatives]. 2 ·But if the dead person was one of his close relatives, he may touch him [L …except for a close relative]. The priest may make himself unclean if the dead person is his mother or father, son or daughter, brother or 3 ·unmarried [L virgin] sister who is close to him because she has no husband. The priest may make himself unclean for her if she dies. 4 But a priest must not make himself unclean ·if the dead person was only related to him by marriage [L as a husband among his people].
5 “‘Priests must not shave their heads, or shave off the edges of their beards, or cut their bodies [C as pagan priests often did]. 6 They must be holy to their God and ·show respect for [L not defile] God’s name, because they present the offerings made by fire to the Lord, which is the food of their God. So they must be holy [19:27–28].
7 “‘A priest must not marry ·a defiled prostitute [or a prostitute or a defiled woman] or a divorced woman, because he is holy to his God. 8 Treat him as holy, because he offers up the food of your God. Think of him as holy; I am the Lord who ·makes you holy [consecrates/sanctifies you], and I am holy.
9 “‘If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she ·shames [defiles] her father. She must be burned with fire.
10 “‘The high priest, who was ·chosen from among his brothers [L exalted among his brothers], had the ·special [L anointing] olive oil poured on his head. He was also ·appointed [consecrated] to wear the priestly clothes. So he must not let his hair go uncombed or tear his clothes [C signs of mourning]. 11 He must not go into a house where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean [C in a ritual sense], even if it is for his own father or mother. 12 The high priest must not go out of the ·Holy Place [sanctuary], because if he does and becomes ·unclean [defiled], he will make God’s ·Holy Place [sanctuary] unclean. The ·special oil used in appointing priests [L anointing oil] was poured on his head to separate him from the rest of the people. I am the Lord.
13 “‘The high priest must marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or ·a defiled prostitute [or a defiled woman or a prostitute; v. 7]. He must marry a virgin from his own people 15 so ·the people will respect his children as his own [he will not defile his children]. I am the Lord. I have ·set the high priest apart for his special job [sanctified/consecrated him].’”
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Tell Aaron: ‘If any of your descendants have ·something wrong with them [a blemish], they must never come near to offer the special food of their God. 18 Anyone who has ·something wrong with him [a blemish] must not come near: blind men, crippled men, men with damaged faces, deformed men, 19 men with a crippled foot or hand, 20 hunchbacks, dwarfs, men who have something wrong with their eyes, men who have an itching disease or a skin disease, or men who ·have damaged testicles [are eunuchs; Acts 8:27].
21 “‘If one of Aaron’s descendants has ·something wrong with him [a blemish], he cannot come near to make the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has ·something wrong with him [a blemish]; he cannot offer the food of his God. 22 He may eat the most holy food and also the holy food. 23 But he may not go through the curtain into the ·Most Holy Place [sanctuary], and he may not go near the altar, because he has ·something wrong with him [a blemish]. He must not defile my ·Holy Place [sanctuary]. I am the Lord who makes these places holy.’”
24 So Moses told these things to Aaron, Aaron’s sons, and all the people of Israel.
22 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons: ‘The ·people [L sons; children] of Israel will give offerings to me. These offerings are ·holy, and they are mine [L consecrated/sanctified to me], so you must ·respect [be scrupulous with] them to show that you ·respect [L do not defile] my holy name. I am the Lord.’ 3 Say to them: ‘If any one of your descendants ·from now on [L throughout your generations] is unclean [C in a ritual sense] and comes near the offerings that the Israelites ·made holy for [consecrated/sanctified to] me, that person must be cut off from appearing before me. I am the Lord.
4 “‘If one of Aaron’s descendants has a harmful skin disease [13:2], or if he discharges a body fluid [15:1–18], he cannot eat the holy offerings until he becomes clean [C in a ritual sense]. He could also become unclean from touching a dead body, from his own semen, 5 from touching any unclean crawling animal, or from touching an unclean person (no matter what made the person unclean). 6 Anyone who touches those things will become unclean until evening. That person must not eat the holy offerings unless he washes with water. 7 He will be clean only after the sun goes down. Then he may eat the holy offerings; the offerings are his food.
8 “‘If a priest finds an animal that died by itself or that was killed by some other animal, he must not eat it. If he does, he will become unclean [C in a ritual sense]. I am the Lord [11:39–40; 17:15].
9 “‘If the priests ·keep [guard] all the rules I have given, they will not become guilty; ·if they are careful, they will not die [or…and die in it/the sanctuary because they defiled it]. I am the Lord who has made them holy. 10 ·Only people in a priest’s family [L No stranger/layperson] may eat the holy offering. A visitor staying with the priest or a hired worker must not eat it. 11 But if the priest buys a slave with his own money, that slave may eat the holy offerings; ·slaves [L those] who were born in his house may also eat his food. 12 If a priest’s daughter marries a ·person who is not a priest [layperson; L stranger], she must not eat any of the holy offerings. 13 But if the priest’s daughter becomes widowed or divorced, with no children to support her, and if she goes back to her father’s house where she lived as a child, she may eat some of her father’s food. But ·only people from a priest’s family [no layperson/L stranger] may eat this food.
14 “‘If someone eats some of the holy offering by mistake, that person must pay back the priest for that holy food, adding another one-fifth of the price of that food.
15 “‘When the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] give their holy offerings to the Lord, ·the priest must not treat these holy things as though they were not holy [L no one will profane them]. 16 The priests must not allow those who are not priests to eat the holy offerings. If they do, they cause the ones who eat the holy offerings to become guilty, and they will have to ·pay for it [L offer a penalty/guilt/reparation offering; 5:14–6:7]. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.’”
17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Tell Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel: ‘A ·citizen of [L person from the house of] Israel or a ·foreigner living [sojourner; wanderer; resident alien] in Israel might want to bring a whole burnt offering [1:1–17], either for ·some special promise he has made [a vow] or for a ·special gift he wants to give [freewill offering] to the Lord. 19 If he does, he must bring a male animal that has ·nothing wrong with it [no blemish]—a bull, a sheep, or a goat—so it might be accepted for him. 20 He must not bring an animal that has ·something wrong with it [a blemish], or it will not be accepted for him.
21 “‘If someone brings a ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offering [3:1] to the Lord, either as ·payment [fulfillment] for a ·special promise the person has made [vow] or as a ·special gift the person wants to give the Lord [freewill offering], it might be from the herd or from the flock. But it must be ·healthy [perfect], with ·nothing wrong with it [no blemish], so that it will be accepted. 22 You must not offer to the Lord any animal that is blind, that has broken bones or is crippled, that has running sores or any sort of ·skin disease [L itch or scabs]. You must not offer any animals like these on the altar as an offering by fire to the Lord.
23 “‘If an ox or lamb ·is smaller than normal [or has a short tail] or is not perfectly formed, you may give it as a ·special gift to the Lord [freewill offering]; it will be accepted. But it will not be accepted as payment for a ·special promise you have made [vow].
24 “‘If an animal has bruised, crushed, torn, or cut testicles, you must not offer it to the Lord. You must not do this in your own land, 25 and you must not ·take [get] such animals from foreigners as sacrifices to the Lord. Because the animals have been hurt in some way and have ·something wrong with them [blemishes], they will not be accepted for you.’”
26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born, it must stay seven days with its mother. But from the eighth day on, this animal will be accepted as a sacrifice by fire to the Lord. 28 But you must not ·kill [slaughter] the animal and its mother on the same day, either an ox or a sheep.
29 “If you want to offer ·some special offering of thanks [a thank offering] to the Lord, you must do it in a way that pleases him. 30 You must eat the whole animal that same day and not leave any of the meat for the next morning. I am the Lord.
31 “·Remember [Keep; Guard] my commands and obey them; I am the Lord. 32 ·Show respect for [L Do not defile] my holy name. ·You Israelites must remember that I am holy [L I must be sanctified/considered holy among the sons/T children of Israel]; I am the Lord, who has ·made you holy [consecrated/sanctified you]. 33 I brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”
Jesus Rises from the Dead(A)
28 After the Sabbath day, at dawn on the first day the week, Mary Magdalene and ·another woman named Mary [L the other Mary; 27:56] went to look at the tomb.
2 ·At that time [Suddenly; T And behold] there was a strong earthquake. [L For] An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, went to the tomb, and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on the stone. 3 ·He was shining as bright as [L His appearance was like] lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The soldiers guarding the tomb shook with fear because of the angel, and they ·became like dead men [C perhaps they were paralyzed by fear, or they fainted].
5 The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, who has been crucified. 6 He is not here. He has ·risen [been raised] from the dead as he said he would. Come and see the place where ·his body was [he lay]. 7 And go quickly and tell his ·followers [disciples], ‘Jesus has risen from the dead. He is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there.’” Then the angel said, “·Now [L Look; T Behold] I have told you.”
8 The women left the tomb quickly. They were afraid, but they were also ·very happy [filled with great joy]. They ran to tell Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] what had happened. 9 ·Suddenly [L And look/T behold], Jesus met them and said, “Greetings.” The women came up to him, ·took hold of [clasped] his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my ·followers [disciples] to go on to Galilee, and they will see me there.”
The Soldiers Report to the Leaders
11 While the women ·went to tell Jesus’ followers [were on their way], some of the soldiers who had been guarding the tomb went into the city to tell the ·leading [T chief] priests everything that had happened. 12 Then the priests met with the elders and made a plan. They paid the soldiers a ·large amount of money [substantial bribe] 13 and said to them, “Tell the people that Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] came during the night and stole ·the body [him away] while you were asleep. 14 If the governor hears about this, we will satisfy him and save you from trouble.” 15 So the soldiers kept the money and did as they were ·told [instructed]. And that story is still spread among the ·people [L Jews] even ·today [to this day].
Jesus Talks to His Followers
16 The eleven ·followers [disciples] went to Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had ·told [designated; arranged for] them to go. 17 When they saw Jesus, they worshiped him, but some of them ·did not believe it was really Jesus [doubted]. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All ·power [authority] in heaven and on earth ·is [has been] given to me. 19 So go and make ·followers [disciples] of all ·people in the world [the nations]. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach them to obey everything that I have ·taught [commanded] you, and I will be with you always, even until the end of ·this age [the world; time].
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