Old/New Testament
Rules for the Priests
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron—say to them: ‘For a dead person[a] no priest[b] is to defile himself among his people,[c] 2 except for his close relative who is near to him[d]—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 and his virgin sister who is near to him,[e] who has no husband—he may defile himself for her. 4 He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself.[f] 5 Priests[g] must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body.[h]
6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane[i] the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts,[j] the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy.[k] 7 They must not take a wife defiled by prostitution,[l] nor are they to take a wife divorced from her husband,[m] for the priest[n] is holy to his God.[o] 8 You must sanctify him because he presents the food of your God. He must be holy to you because I, the Lord who sanctifies you all,[p] am holy. 9 If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution, she is profaning her father. She must be burned to death.[q]
Rules for the High Priest
10 “‘The high[r] priest—who is greater than his brothers, and on whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who has been ordained[s] to wear the priestly garments—must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments.[t] 11 He must not go where there is any dead person;[u] he must not defile himself even for his father or for his mother. 12 He must not go out from the sanctuary and must not profane[v] the sanctuary of his God, because the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the Lord. 13 He must take a wife who is a virgin.[w] 14 He must not marry[x] a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people[y] as a wife, 15 so that he does not profane his children among his people,[z] for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”
Rules for the Priesthood
16 The Lord spoke to Moses: 17 “Tell Aaron, ‘No man from your descendants throughout their generations[aa] who has a physical flaw[ab] is to approach to present the food of his God. 18 Certainly[ac] no man who has a physical flaw is to approach: a blind man, or one who is lame, or one with a slit nose,[ad] or who has a limb too long, 19 or a man who has had a broken leg or arm,[ae] 20 or a hunchback, or a dwarf,[af] or one with a spot in his eye,[ag] or a festering eruption, or a feverish rash,[ah] or a crushed testicle. 21 No man from the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a physical flaw may step forward[ai] to present the Lord’s gifts; he has a physical flaw, so he must not step forward to present the food of his God. 22 He may eat both the most holy and the holy food of his God, 23 but he must not go near the special curtain[aj] or step forward to the altar because he has a physical flaw. Thus[ak] he must not profane my holy places, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”
24 So[al] Moses spoke these things[am] to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites.
Regulations for the Eating of Priestly Stipends
22 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons that they must deal respectfully with the holy offerings[an] of the Israelites, which they consecrate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name.[ao] I am the Lord. 3 Say to them, ‘Throughout your generations,[ap] if any man from all your descendants approaches the holy offerings, which the Israelites consecrate[aq] to the Lord, while he is impure,[ar] that person must be cut off from before me.[as] I am the Lord. 4 No man[at] from the descendants of Aaron who is diseased or has a discharge[au] may eat the holy offerings until he becomes clean. The one[av] who touches anything made unclean by contact with a dead person,[aw] or with a man who has a seminal emission,[ax] 5 or with a man who touches a swarming thing by which he becomes unclean,[ay] or who touches a person[az] by which he becomes unclean, whatever that person’s impurity[ba]— 6 the person who touches any of these[bb] will be unclean until evening and must not eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body in water. 7 When the sun goes down he will be clean, and afterward he may eat from the holy offerings, because they are his food. 8 He must not eat an animal that has died of natural causes[bc] or an animal torn by beasts and thus become unclean by it. I am the Lord. 9 They must keep my charge so that they do not incur sin on account of it[bd] and therefore die[be] because they profane it. I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
10 “‘No lay person[bf] may eat anything holy. Neither a priest’s lodger[bg] nor a hired laborer may eat anything holy, 11 but if a priest buys a person with his own money,[bh] that person[bi] may eat the holy offerings,[bj] and those born in the priest’s[bk] own house may eat his food.[bl] 12 If a priest’s daughter marries a lay person,[bm] she may not eat the holy contribution offerings,[bn] 13 but if a priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and she has no children so that she returns to live in[bo] her father’s house as in her youth,[bp] she may eat from her father’s food, but no lay person may eat it.
14 “‘If a man eats a holy offering by mistake,[bq] he must add one-fifth to it and give the holy offering to the priest.[br] 15 They[bs] must not profane the holy offerings which the Israelites contribute[bt] to the Lord,[bu] 16 and so cause them to incur a penalty for guilt[bv] when they eat their holy offerings,[bw] for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”
Regulations for Offering Votive and Freewill Offerings
17 The Lord spoke to Moses: 18 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘When any man[bx] from the house of Israel or from the resident foreigners[by] in Israel presents his offering for any of the votive or freewill offerings, which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering, 19 if it is to be acceptable for your benefit[bz] it must be a flawless male from the cattle, sheep, or goats. 20 You must not present anything that has a flaw,[ca] because it will not be acceptable for your benefit.[cb] 21 If a man presents a peace-offering sacrifice to the Lord for a special votive offering[cc] or for a freewill offering from the herd or the flock, it must be flawless to be acceptable;[cd] it must have no flaw.[ce]
22 “‘You must not present to the Lord something blind, or with a broken bone, or mutilated, or with a running sore,[cf] or with a festering eruption, or with a feverish rash.[cg] You must not give any of these as a gift[ch] on the altar to the Lord. 23 As for an ox[ci] or a sheep with a limb too long or stunted,[cj] you may present it as a freewill offering, but it will not be acceptable for a votive offering.[ck] 24 You must not present to the Lord something with testicles that are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut off;[cl] you must not do this in your land. 25 Even from a foreigner[cm] you must not present the food of your God from such animals as these, for they are ruined and flawed;[cn] they will not be acceptable for your benefit.’”
26 The Lord spoke to Moses: 27 “When an ox, lamb, or goat is born, it must be under the care of[co] its mother seven days, but from the eighth day onward it will be acceptable as an offering gift[cp] to the Lord. 28 You must not slaughter an ox or a sheep and its young[cq] on the same day.[cr] 29 When you sacrifice a thanksgiving offering to the Lord, you must sacrifice it so that it is acceptable for your benefit.[cs] 30 On that very day[ct] it must be eaten; you must not leave any part of it[cu] over until morning. I am the Lord.
31 “You must be sure to do my commandments.[cv] I am the Lord. 32 You must not profane my holy name, and I will be sanctified in the midst of the Israelites. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 the one who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God.[cw] I am the Lord.”
The Resurrection
28 Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord[a] descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. 3 His[b] appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The[c] guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him. 5 But the angel said[d] to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know[e] that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.[f] 6 He is not here, for he has been raised,[g] just as he said. Come and see the place where he[h] was lying. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead. He[i] is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you!” 8 So[j] they left the tomb quickly, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 But[k] Jesus met them, saying, “Greetings!” They[l] came to him, held on to his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”
The Guards’ Report
11 While[m] they were going, some[n] of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 After[o] they had assembled with the elders and formed a plan, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came at night and stole his body[p] while we were asleep.’ 14 If[q] this matter is heard before the governor,[r] we will satisfy him[s] and keep you out of trouble.”[t] 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story is told among the Jews to this day.[u]
The Great Commission
16 So[v] the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain Jesus had designated. 17 When[w] they saw him, they worshiped him,[x] but some doubted.[y] 18 Then Jesus came up and said to them,[z] “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go[aa] and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,[ab] 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember,[ac] I am with you[ad] always, to the end of the age.”[ae]
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