Reward for Obedience

26 “‘Do not make idols^(A) or set up an image^(B) or a sacred stone^(C) for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone^(D) in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God.

² “‘Observe my Sabbaths^(E) and have reverence for my sanctuary.^(F) I am the Lord.

³ “‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey^(G) my commands, ⁴ I will send you rain^(H) in its season,^(I) and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.^{(J) 5} Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want^(K) and live in safety in your land.^(L)

⁶ “‘I will grant peace in the land,^(M) and you will lie down^(N) and no one will make you afraid.^(O) I will remove wild beasts^(P) from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. ⁷ You will pursue your enemies,^(Q) and they will fall by the sword before you. ⁸ Five^(R) of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.^(S)

⁹ “‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers,^(T) and I will keep my covenant^(U) with you. ¹⁰ You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.^{(V) 11} I will put my dwelling place^[a](W) among you, and I will not abhor you.^{(X) 12} I will walk^(Y) among you and be your God,^(Z) and you will be my people.^{(AA) 13} I am the Lord your God,^(AB) who brought you out of Egypt^(AC) so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke^(AD) and enabled you to walk with heads held high.

Punishment for Disobedience

¹⁴ “‘But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands,^{(AE) 15} and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws^(AF) and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant,^{(AG) 16} then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever^(AH) that will destroy your sight and sap your strength.^(AI) You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.^{(AJ) 17} I will set my face^(AK) against you so that you will be defeated^(AL) by your enemies;^(AM) those who hate you will rule over you,^(AN) and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.^(AO)

¹⁸ “‘If after all this you will not listen to me,^(AP) I will punish^(AQ) you for your sins seven times over.^{(AR) 19} I will break down your stubborn pride^(AS) and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.^{(AT) 20} Your strength will be spent in vain,^(AU) because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit.^(AV)

²¹ “‘If you remain hostile^(AW) toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over,^(AX) as your sins deserve. ²² I will send wild animals^(AY) against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few^(AZ) in number that your roads will be deserted.^(BA)

²³ “‘If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction^(BB) but continue to be hostile toward me, ²⁴ I myself will be hostile^(BC) toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over. ²⁵ And I will bring the sword^(BD) on you to avenge^(BE) the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague^(BF) among you, and you will be given into enemy hands. ²⁶ When I cut off your supply of bread,^(BG) ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.

²⁷ “‘If in spite of this you still do not listen to me^(BH) but continue to be hostile toward me, ²⁸ then in my anger^(BI) I will be hostile^(BJ) toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over.^{(BK) 29} You will eat^(BL) the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.^{(BM) 30} I will destroy your high places,^(BN) cut down your incense altars^(BO) and pile your dead bodies^[b] on the lifeless forms of your idols,^(BP) and I will abhor^(BQ) you. ³¹ I will turn your cities into ruins^(BR) and lay waste^(BS) your sanctuaries,^(BT) and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings.^{(BU) 32} I myself will lay waste the land,^(BV) so that your enemies who live there will be appalled.^{(BW) 33} I will scatter^(BX) you among the nations^(BY) and will draw out my sword^(BZ) and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste,^(CA) and your cities will lie in ruins.^{(CB) 34} Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate^(CC) and you are in the country of your enemies;^(CD) then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. ³⁵ All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest^(CE) it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.

³⁶ “‘As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf^(CF) will put them to flight.^(CG) They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them.^{(CH) 37} They will stumble over one another^(CI) as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before your enemies.^{(CJ) 38} You will perish^(CK) among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you.^{(CL) 39} Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their ancestors’^(CM) sins they will waste away.^(CN)

⁴⁰ “‘But if they will confess^(CO) their sins^(CP) and the sins of their ancestors^(CQ)—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me, ⁴¹ which made me hostile^(CR) toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts^(CS) are humbled^(CT) and they pay^(CU) for their sin, ⁴² I will remember my covenant with Jacob^(CV) and my covenant with Isaac^(CW) and my covenant with Abraham,^(CX) and I will remember the land. ⁴³ For the land will be deserted^(CY) by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected^(CZ) my laws and abhorred my decrees.^{(DA) 44} Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies,^(DB) I will not reject them or abhor^(DC) them so as to destroy them completely,^(DD) breaking my covenant^(DE) with them. I am the Lord their God. ⁴⁵ But for their sake I will remember^(DF) the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt^(DG) in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.’”

⁴⁶ These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the Lord established at Mount Sinai^(DH) between himself and the Israelites through Moses.^(DI)

Redeeming What Is the Lord’s

27 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If anyone makes a special vow^(A) to dedicate a person to the Lord by giving the equivalent value, ³ set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels^[a] of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel^[b];^{(B) 4} for a female, set her value at thirty shekels^[c]; ⁵ for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels^[d](C) and of a female at ten shekels^[e]; ⁶ for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels^[f](D) of silver and that of a female at three shekels^[g] of silver; ⁷ for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels^[h] and of a female at ten shekels. ⁸ If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay^(E) the specified amount, the person being dedicated is to be presented to the priest, who will set the value^(F) according to what the one making the vow can afford.

⁹ “‘If what they vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord,^(G) such an animal given to the Lord becomes holy.^{(H) 10} They must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one;^(I) if they should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute become holy. ¹¹ If what they vowed is a ceremonially unclean animal^(J)—one that is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord—the animal must be presented to the priest, ¹² who will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, that is what it will be. ¹³ If the owner wishes to redeem^(K) the animal, a fifth must be added to its value.^(L)

¹⁴ “‘If anyone dedicates their house as something holy to the Lord, the priest will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, so it will remain. ¹⁵ If the one who dedicates their house wishes to redeem it,^(M) they must add a fifth to its value, and the house will again become theirs.

¹⁶ “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord part of their family land, its value is to be set according to the amount of seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver to a homer^[i] of barley seed. ¹⁷ If they dedicate a field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains. ¹⁸ But if they dedicate a field after the Jubilee,^(N) the priest will determine the value according to the number of years that remain^(O) until the next Year of Jubilee, and its set value will be reduced. ¹⁹ If the one who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it,^(P) they must add a fifth to its value, and the field will again become theirs. ²⁰ If, however, they do not redeem the field, or if they have sold it to someone else, it can never be redeemed. ²¹ When the field is released in the Jubilee,^(Q) it will become holy,^(R) like a field devoted to the Lord;^(S) it will become priestly property.

²² “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord a field they have bought, which is not part of their family land, ²³ the priest will determine its value up to the Year of Jubilee,^(T) and the owner must pay its value on that day as something holy to the Lord. ²⁴ In the Year of Jubilee the field will revert to the person from whom it was bought,^(U) the one whose land it was. ²⁵ Every value is to be set according to the sanctuary shekel,^(V) twenty gerahs^(W) to the shekel.

²⁶ “‘No one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the Lord;^(X) whether an ox^[j] or a sheep, it is the Lord’s. ²⁷ If it is one of the unclean animals,^(Y) it may be bought back at its set value, adding a fifth of the value to it. If it is not redeemed, it is to be sold at its set value.

²⁸ “‘But nothing that a person owns and devotes^[k](Z) to the Lord—whether a human being or an animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy^(AA) to the Lord.

²⁹ “‘No person devoted to destruction^[l] may be ransomed; they are to be put to death.^(AB)

³⁰ “‘A tithe^(AC) of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy^(AD) to the Lord. ³¹ Whoever would redeem^(AE) any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value^(AF) to it. ³² Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod^(AG)—will be holy to the Lord. ³³ No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution.^(AH) If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.^(AI)’”

³⁴ These are the commands the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai^(AJ) for the Israelites.^(AK)

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

10 The law is only a shadow^(A) of the good things^(B) that are coming—not the realities themselves.^(C) For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect^(D) those who draw near to worship.^{(E) 2} Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.^{(F) 3} But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.^{(G) 4} It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats^(H) to take away sins.^(I)

⁵ Therefore, when Christ came into the world,^(J) he said:

⁸ First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”^(N)—though they were offered in accordance with the law. ⁹ Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.”^(O) He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy^(P) through the sacrifice of the body^(Q) of Jesus Christ once for all.^(R)

¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices,^(S) which can never take away sins.^{(T) 12} But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins,^(U) he sat down at the right hand of God,^{(V) 13} and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.^{(W) 14} For by one sacrifice he has made perfect^(X) forever those who are being made holy.^(Y)

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies^(Z) to us about this. First he says:

¹⁷ Then he adds:

¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

A Call to Persevere in Faith

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence^(AC) to enter the Most Holy Place^(AD) by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way^(AE) opened for us through the curtain,^(AF) that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest^(AG) over the house of God,^{(AH) 22} let us draw near to God^(AI) with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings,^(AJ) having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience^(AK) and having our bodies washed with pure water.^{(AL) 23} Let us hold unswervingly to the hope^(AM) we profess,^(AN) for he who promised is faithful.^{(AO) 24} And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,^{(AP) 25} not giving up meeting together,^(AQ) as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another^(AR)—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.^(AS)

²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning^(AT) after we have received the knowledge of the truth,^(AU) no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire^(AV) that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.^{(AW) 29} How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God^(AX) underfoot,^(AY) who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant^(AZ) that sanctified them,^(BA) and who has insulted the Spirit^(BB) of grace?^{(BC) 30} For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[d](BD) and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”^{[e](BE) 31} It is a dreadful thing^(BF) to fall into the hands^(BG) of the living God.^(BH)

³² Remember those earlier days after you had received the light,^(BI) when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering.^{(BJ) 33} Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution;^(BK) at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.^{(BL) 34} You suffered along with those in prison^(BM) and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.^{(BN) 35} So do not throw away your confidence;^(BO) it will be richly rewarded.

³⁶ You need to persevere^(BP) so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.^{(BQ) 37} For,

³⁸ And,

³⁹ But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.