Exodus 29-30
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 29
Consecration of the Priests. 1 This is the rite you shall perform in consecrating them as my priests.(A) Procure a young bull and two unblemished rams. 2 With bran flour make unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, 3 and put them in a basket. Take the basket of them along with the bull and the two rams. 4 Aaron and his sons you shall also bring to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and there wash them with water. 5 Take the vestments and clothe Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself, and the breastpiece, fastening the embroidered belt of the ephod around him. 6 Put the turban on his head, the sacred diadem on the turban. 7 Then take the anointing oil and pour it on his head, and anoint him. 8 Bring forward his sons also and clothe them with the tunics, 9 gird them with the sashes, and tie the skullcaps on them.(B) Thus shall the priesthood be theirs by a perpetual statute, and thus shall you install Aaron and his sons.
Installation Sacrifices. 10 (C)Now bring forward the bull in front of the tent of meeting. There Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. 11 Then slaughter the bull before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 12 Take some of its blood and with your finger put it on the horns of the altar. All the rest of the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar. 13 All the fat that covers its inner organs, as well as the lobe of its liver and its two kidneys, together with the fat that is on them, you shall take and burn on the altar. 14 But the meat and hide and dung of the bull you must burn up outside the camp, since this is a purification offering.(D)
15 Then take one of the rams, and after Aaron and his sons have laid their hands on its head, 16 slaughter it. The blood you shall take and splash on all the sides of the altar. 17 Cut the ram into pieces; you shall wash its inner organs and shanks and put them with the pieces and with the head. 18 Then you shall burn the entire ram on the altar, since it is a burnt offering, a sweet-smelling oblation to the Lord.
19 After this take the other ram, and when Aaron and his sons have laid their hands on its head, 20 slaughter it. Some of its blood you shall take and put on the tip of Aaron’s right ear and on the tips of his sons’ right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and the great toes of their right feet. Splash the rest of the blood on all the sides of the altar. 21 Then take some of the blood that is on the altar, together with some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle this on Aaron and his vestments, as well as on his sons and their vestments, that he and his sons and their vestments may be sacred.
22 Now, from this ram you shall take its fat: its fatty tail,[a] the fat that covers its inner organs, the lobe of its liver, its two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and its right thigh, since this is the ram for installation; 23 then, out of the basket of unleavened food that you have set before the Lord, you shall take one of the loaves of bread, one of the cakes made with oil, and one of the wafers. 24 All these things you shall put into the hands of Aaron and his sons, so that they may raise them as an elevated offering[b] before the Lord. 25 After you receive them back from their hands, you shall burn them on top of the burnt offering on the altar as a sweet-smelling oblation to the Lord. 26 Finally, take the brisket of Aaron’s installation ram and raise it as an elevated offering before the Lord; this is to be your own portion.
27 [c]Thus shall you set aside the brisket of whatever elevated offering is raised,(E) as well as the thigh of whatever contribution is raised up, whether this be the installation ram or anything else belonging to Aaron or to his sons. 28 Such things are due to Aaron and his sons from the Israelites by a perpetual statute as a contribution. From their communion offerings, too, the Israelites shall make a contribution, their contribution to the Lord.
29 The sacred vestments(F) of Aaron shall be passed down to his sons after him, that in them they may be anointed and installed. 30 The son who succeeds him as priest and who is to enter the tent of meeting to minister in the sanctuary shall be clothed with them for seven days.
31 (G)You shall take the installation ram and boil its meat in a holy place. 32 At the entrance of the tent of meeting Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket. 33 They themselves are to eat of these things by which atonement was made at their installation and consecration; but no unauthorized person may eat of them, since they are sacred. 34 If some of the meat of the installation sacrifice or some of the bread remains over on the next day, this remnant you must burn up; it is not to be eaten, since it is sacred.
35 Carry out all these commands in regard to Aaron and his sons just as I have given them to you.(H) Seven days you shall spend installing them, 36 (I)sacrificing a bull each day as a purification offering, to make atonement. Thus you shall purify the altar[d] by purging it, and you shall anoint it in order to consecrate it. 37 Seven days you shall spend in purging the altar and in consecrating it. Then the altar will be most sacred, and whatever touches it will become sacred.
38 [e]Now, this is what you shall regularly offer on the altar: two yearling lambs(J) as the sacrifice established for each day; 39 one lamb in the morning and the other lamb at the evening twilight. 40 With the first lamb there shall be a tenth of an ephah of bran flour mixed with a fourth of a hin[f] of oil of crushed olives and, as its libation, a fourth of a hin of wine. 41 The other lamb you shall offer at the evening twilight, with the same grain offering and libation as in the morning. You shall offer this as a sweet-smelling oblation to the Lord. 42 Throughout your generations this regular burnt offering shall be made before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, where I will meet you and speak to you.
43 There, at the altar, I will meet the Israelites; hence, it will be made sacred by my glory.(K) 44 Thus I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar, just as I also consecrate Aaron and his sons to be my priests. 45 I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites and will be their God. 46 They shall know that I, the Lord, am their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I, the Lord, their God, might dwell among them.
Chapter 30
Altar of Incense. 1 For burning incense you shall make an altar of acacia wood,(L) 2 with a square surface, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high, with horns that are of one piece with it. 3 Its grate on top, its walls on all four sides, and its horns you shall plate with pure gold. Put a gold molding around it. 4 Underneath the molding you shall put gold rings, two on one side and two on the opposite side, as holders for the poles used in carrying it. 5 Make the poles, too, of acacia wood and plate them with gold. 6 This altar you are to place in front of the veil that hangs before the ark of the covenant where I will meet you.(M)
7 On it Aaron shall burn fragrant incense. Morning after morning, when he prepares the lamps, 8 and again in the evening twilight, when he lights the lamps, he shall burn incense. Throughout your generations this shall be the regular incense offering before the Lord. 9 On this altar you shall not offer up any profane incense, or any burnt offering or grain offering; nor shall you pour out a libation upon it. 10 Once a year Aaron shall purge its horns.(N) Throughout your generations he is to purge it once a year with the blood of the atoning purification offering. This altar is most sacred to the Lord.
Census Tax. 11 The Lord also told Moses: 12 When you take a census(O) of the Israelites who are to be enrolled, each one, as he is enrolled, shall give the Lord a ransom for his life, so that no plague may come upon them for being enrolled. 13 This is what everyone who is enrolled must pay: a half-shekel, according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel—twenty gerahs to the shekel—a half-shekel contribution to the Lord.(P) 14 Everyone who is enrolled, of twenty years or more, must give the contribution to the Lord. 15 The rich need not give more, nor shall the poor give less, than a half-shekel in this contribution to the Lord to pay the ransom for their lives. 16 (Q)When you receive this ransom money from the Israelites, you shall donate it to the service of the tent of meeting, that there it may be a reminder of the Israelites before the Lord of the ransom paid for their lives.
The Basin. 17 The Lord told Moses: 18 For ablutions you shall make a bronze basin with a bronze stand. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.(R) 19 Aaron and his sons shall use it in washing their hands and feet.(S) 20 When they are about to enter the tent of meeting, they must wash with water, lest they die. Likewise when they approach the altar to minister, to offer an oblation to the Lord, 21 they must wash their hands and feet, lest they die. This shall be a perpetual statute for him and his descendants throughout their generations.
The Anointing Oil. 22 The Lord told Moses: 23 Take the finest spices: five hundred shekels of free-flowing myrrh; half that amount, that is, two hundred and fifty shekels, of fragrant cinnamon; two hundred and fifty shekels of fragrant cane; 24 five hundred shekels of cassia—all according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel; together with a hin of olive oil; 25 and blend them into sacred anointing oil,(T) perfumed ointment expertly prepared.(U) With this sacred anointing oil 26 you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the covenant, 27 the table and all its utensils, the menorah and its utensils, the altar of incense 28 and the altar for burnt offerings with all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 29 When you have consecrated them, they shall be most sacred; whatever touches them shall be sacred. 30 Aaron and his sons you shall also anoint and consecrate as my priests.(V) 31 Tell the Israelites: As sacred anointing oil this shall belong to me throughout your generations. 32 It may not be used in any ordinary anointing of the body, nor may you make any other oil of a like mixture. It is sacred, and shall be treated as sacred by you. 33 Whoever prepares a perfume like this, or whoever puts any of this on an unauthorized person, shall be cut off from his people.
The Incense. 34 (W)The Lord told Moses: Take these aromatic substances: storax and onycha and galbanum, these and pure frankincense in equal parts; 35 and blend them into incense. This fragrant powder, expertly prepared, is to be salted and so kept pure and sacred. 36 Grind some of it into fine dust and put this before the covenant in the tent of meeting where I will meet you. This incense shall be treated as most sacred by you. 37 You may not make incense of a like mixture for yourselves; you must treat it as sacred to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes an incense like this for his own enjoyment of its fragrance, shall be cut off from his people.
Footnotes
- 29:22 Fatty tail: the thick layer of fat surrounding the tails of sheep and rams bred in the Middle East. It is regarded as a choice food. Cf. Lv 3:9.
- 29:24–26 Elevated offering: the portions of a communion offering, brisket and right thigh, which the officiating priest raised in the presence of the Lord. They were reserved for Aaron and his sons.
- 29:27–30 These verses are a parenthetical interruption of the installation ritual; v. 31 belongs logically immediately after v. 26.
- 29:36–37 Purify the altar: the purpose of the purification offering here is to cleanse, or purify, the newly constructed altar of any defilement resulting from presumably minor and inadvertent sins, but the text is not explicit about what the offenses were or who committed them. So various theories have been proposed to explain the cause of the altar’s contamination. Note, however, that the offering appears to be demanded of Aaron and his sons; they are the ones who lay hands upon it (v. 10).
- 29:38–42 A parenthesis inserted into the rubrics for consecrating the altar; v. 43 belongs directly after v. 37.
- 29:40 Hin: see note on Ez 45:24.
Psalm 50
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 50[a]
The Acceptable Sacrifice
1 A psalm of Asaph.
I
The God of gods, the Lord,
has spoken and summoned the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.(A)
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.(B)
3 Our God comes and will not be silent!
Devouring fire precedes him,
it rages strongly around him.(C)
4 He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth to judge his people:
5 “Gather my loyal ones to me,
those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for God himself is the judge.(D)
Selah
II
7 “Listen, my people, I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you;
God, your God, am I.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
your burnt offerings are always before me.
9 I will not take a bullock from your house,
or he-goats from your folds.(E)
10 For every animal of the forest is mine,
beasts by the thousands on my mountains.
11 I know every bird in the heights;
whatever moves in the wild is mine.
12 Were I hungry, I would not tell you,
for mine is the world and all that fills it.(F)
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of he-goats?
14 Offer praise as your sacrifice to God;(G)
fulfill your vows to the Most High.
15 Then call on me on the day of distress;(H)
I will rescue you, and you shall honor me.”
III
16 But to the wicked God says:
“Why do you recite my commandments
and profess my covenant with your mouth?
17 You hate discipline;
you cast my words behind you!
18 If you see a thief, you run with him;
with adulterers you throw in your lot.
19 You give your mouth free rein for evil;
you yoke your tongue to deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother,
slandering your mother’s son.
21 When you do these things should I be silent?
Do you think that I am like you?
I accuse you, I lay out the matter before your eyes.
IV
22 “Now understand this, you who forget God,
lest I start ripping apart and there be no rescuer.
23 Those who offer praise as a sacrifice honor me;
I will let him whose way is steadfast
look upon the salvation of God.”(I)
Footnotes
- Psalm 50 A covenant lawsuit stating that the sacrifice God really wants is the sacrifice of praise accompanied by genuine obedience (cf. Mi 6:1–8). It begins with a theophany and the summoning of the court (Ps 50:1–6). Then in direct address God explains what is required of the faithful (Ps 50:7–15), rebukes the hypocritical worshiper (Ps 50:16–21), and concludes with a threat and a promise (Ps 50:22–23; cf. Is 1:19–20).
Matthew 26:1-25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
VII. The Passion and Resurrection
Chapter 26
The Conspiracy Against Jesus. 1 [a]When Jesus finished all these words,[b] he said to his disciples, 2 (A)“You know that in two days’ time it will be Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” 3 [c]Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 (B)and they consulted together to arrest Jesus by treachery and put him to death. 5 But they said, “Not during the festival,[d] that there may not be a riot among the people.”
The Anointing at Bethany.[e] 6 (C)Now when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster jar of costly perfumed oil, and poured it on his head while he was reclining at table. 8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and said, “Why this waste? 9 It could have been sold for much, and the money given to the poor.” 10 Since Jesus knew this, he said to them, “Why do you make trouble for the woman? She has done a good thing for me. 11 (D)The poor you will always have with you; but you will not always have me. 12 [f]In pouring this perfumed oil upon my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 Amen, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be spoken of, in memory of her.”
The Betrayal by Judas. 14 (E)Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,[g] went to the chief priests 15 [h](F)and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, 16 and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
Preparations for the Passover. 17 (G)On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,[i] the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”(H) 18 [j]He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”’” 19 The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.
The Betrayer. 20 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”[k] 22 Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” 23 He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. 24 [l](I)The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” 25 [m]Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 26:1–28:20 The five books with alternating narrative and discourse (Mt 3:1–25:46) that give this gospel its distinctive structure lead up to the climactic events that are the center of Christian belief and the origin of the Christian church, the passion and resurrection of Jesus. In his passion narrative (Mt 26 and 27) Matthew follows his Marcan source closely but with omissions (e.g., Mk 14:51–52) and additions (e.g., Mt 27:3–10, 19). Some of the additions indicate that he utilized traditions that he had received from elsewhere; others are due to his own theological insight (e.g., Mt 26:28 “…for the forgiveness of sins”; Mt 27:52). In his editing Matthew also altered Mark in some minor details. But there is no need to suppose that he knew any passion narrative other than Mark’s.
- 26:1–2 When Jesus finished all these words: see note on Mt 7:28–29. “You know…crucified”: Matthew turns Mark’s statement of the time (Mk 14:1) into Jesus’ final prediction of his passion. Passover: see note on Mk 14:1.
- 26:3 Caiaphas was high priest from A.D. 18 to 36.
- 26:5 Not during the festival: the plan to delay Jesus’ arrest and execution until after the festival was not carried out, for according to the synoptics he was arrested on the night of Nisan 14 and put to death the following day. No reason is given why the plan was changed.
- 26:6–13 See notes on Mk 14:3–9 and Jn 12:1–8.
- 26:12 To prepare me for burial: cf. Mk 14:8. In accordance with the interpretation of this act as Jesus’ burial anointing, Matthew, more consistent than Mark, changes the purpose of the visit of the women to Jesus’ tomb; they do not go to anoint him (Mk 16:1) but “to see the tomb” (Mt 28:1).
- 26:14 Iscariot: see note on Lk 6:16.
- 26:15 The motive of avarice is introduced by Judas’s question about the price for betrayal, which is absent in the Marcan source (Mk 14:10–11). Hand him over: the same Greek verb is used to express the saving purpose of God by which Jesus is handed over to death (cf. Mt 17:22; 20:18; 26:2) and the human malice that hands him over. Thirty pieces of silver: the price of the betrayal is found only in Matthew. It is derived from Zec 11:12 where it is the wages paid to the rejected shepherd, a cheap price (Zec 11:13). That amount is also the compensation paid to one whose slave has been gored by an ox (Ex 21:32).
- 26:17 The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread: see note on Mk 14:1. Matthew omits Mark’s “when they sacrificed the Passover lamb.”
- 26:18 By omitting much of Mk 14:13–15, adding My appointed time draws near, and turning the question into a statement, in your house I shall celebrate the Passover, Matthew has given this passage a solemnity and majesty greater than that of his source.
- 26:21 Given Matthew’s interest in the fulfillment of the Old Testament, it is curious that he omits the Marcan designation of Jesus’ betrayer as “one who is eating with me” (Mk 14:18), since that is probably an allusion to Ps 41:10. However, the shocking fact that the betrayer is one who shares table fellowship with Jesus is emphasized in Mt 26:23.
- 26:24 It would be better…born: the enormity of the deed is such that it would be better not to exist than to do it.
- 26:25 Peculiar to Matthew. You have said so: cf. Mt 26:64; 27:11. This is a half-affirmative. Emphasis is laid on the pronoun and the answer implies that the statement would not have been made if the question had not been asked.
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