The Fellowship Offering

3 “‘If your offering is a fellowship offering,^(A) and you offer an animal from the herd, whether male or female, you are to present before the Lord an animal without defect.^{(B) 2} You are to lay your hand on the head^(C) of your offering and slaughter it^(D) at the entrance to the tent of meeting.^(E) Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall splash^(F) the blood against the sides^(G) of the altar.^{(H) 3} From the fellowship offering you are to bring a food offering to the Lord: the internal organs^(I) and all the fat^(J) that is connected to them, ⁴ both kidneys^(K) with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. ⁵ Then Aaron’s sons^(L) are to burn it on the altar^(M) on top of the burnt offering^(N) that is lying on the burning wood;^(O) it is a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.^(P)

⁶ “‘If you offer an animal from the flock as a fellowship offering^(Q) to the Lord, you are to offer a male or female without defect. ⁷ If you offer a lamb,^(R) you are to present it before the Lord,^{(S) 8} lay your hand on its head and slaughter it^(T) in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar. ⁹ From the fellowship offering you are to bring a food offering^(U) to the Lord: its fat, the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them, ¹⁰ both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. ¹¹ The priest shall burn them on the altar^(V) as a food offering^(W) presented to the Lord.^(X)

¹² “‘If your offering is a goat,^(Y) you are to present it before the Lord, ¹³ lay your hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splash^(Z) its blood against the sides of the altar.^{(AA) 14} From what you offer you are to present this food offering to the Lord: the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them, ¹⁵ both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys.^{(AB) 16} The priest shall burn them on the altar^(AC) as a food offering,^(AD) a pleasing aroma.^(AE) All the fat^(AF) is the Lord’s.^(AG)

¹⁷ “‘This is a lasting ordinance^(AH) for the generations to come,^(AI) wherever you live:^(AJ) You must not eat any fat or any blood.^(AK)’”

²⁰ When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.^(A)

²¹ When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war^(B) against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.

²² But this word of God came to Shemaiah^(C) the man of God:^{(D) 23} “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, ²⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.

Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan

²⁵ Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem^(E) in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.^[a](F)

²⁶ Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. ²⁷ If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem,^(G) they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”

²⁸ After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves.^(H) He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”^{(I) 29} One he set up in Bethel,^(J) and the other in Dan.^{(K) 30} And this thing became a sin;^(L) the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.^[b]

³¹ Jeroboam built shrines^(M) on high places and appointed priests^(N) from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. ³² He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth^(O) month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel,^(P) sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. ³³ On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel.^(Q) So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.

⁵⁸ This is what the Lord Almighty says:

⁵⁹ This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah,^(AK) the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah^(AL) king of Judah in the fourth^(AM) year of his reign. ⁶⁰ Jeremiah had written on a scroll^(AN) about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. ⁶¹ He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. ⁶² Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate^(AO) forever.’ ⁶³ When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.^{(AP) 64} Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more^(AQ) because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people^(AR) will fall.’”^(AS)

The words of Jeremiah end^(AT) here.

Psalm 78

A maskil^[a] of Asaph.

Mary’s Song^(A)

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Sexual Immorality

¹² “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.^(A) “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. ¹³ You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.”^(B) The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord,^(C) and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴ By his power God raised the Lord from the dead,^(D) and he will raise us also.^{(E) 15} Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?^(F) Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶ Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”^{[a](G) 17} But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.^[b](H)

¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality.^(I) All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.^{(J) 19} Do you not know that your bodies are temples^(K) of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;^{(L) 20} you were bought at a price.^(M) Therefore honor God with your bodies.^(N)