Leviticus 22-24

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Priests and Their Food

22 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to deal respectfully with the holy offerings of the Israelites that they have consecrated to Me, so they do not profane My holy name;^(A) I am Yahweh. ³ Say to them: If any man from any of your descendants throughout your generations is in a state of uncleanness yet approaches the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person will be cut off from My presence; I am Yahweh. ⁴ No man of Aaron’s descendants who has a skin disease^[a] or a discharge is to eat from the holy offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by a dead person or by a man who has an emission of semen, ⁵ or whoever touches any swarming creature that makes him unclean or any person who makes him unclean—whatever his uncleanness— ⁶ the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening^(B) and is not to eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body with water. ⁷ When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the holy offerings, for that is his food.^{(C) 8} He must not eat an animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts,^[b](D) making himself unclean by it; I am Yahweh. ⁹ They must keep My instruction,^(E) or they will be guilty and die because they profane it; I am Yahweh who sets them apart.

¹⁰ “No one outside a priest’s family^[c](F) is to eat the holy offering. A foreigner staying with a priest or a hired hand is not to eat the holy offering. ¹¹ But if a priest purchases someone with his money, that person may eat it, and those born in his house may eat his food. ¹² If the priest’s daughter is married to a man outside a priest’s family,^[d] she is not to eat from the holy contributions.^{[e] 13} But if the priest’s daughter becomes widowed or divorced, has no children, and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may share her father’s food. But no outsider may share it. ¹⁴ If anyone eats a holy offering in error,^(G) he must add a fifth to its value and give the holy offering to the priest.^{(H) 15} The priests must not profane the holy offerings the Israelites give to the Lord ¹⁶ by letting the people eat their holy offerings and having them bear the penalty of restitution.^(I) For I am Yahweh who sets them apart.”

Acceptable Sacrifices

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: Any man of the house of Israel or of the foreign residents^(J) in Israel who presents his offering^(K)—whether they present freewill gifts or payment of vows to the Lord as burnt offerings— ¹⁹ must offer an unblemished male^(L) from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for you to be accepted. ²⁰ You are not to present anything that has a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

²¹ “When a man presents a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or flock, it has to be unblemished to be acceptable; there must be no defect in it. ²² You are not to present any animal to the Lord that is blind, injured, maimed, or has a running sore, festering rash,^(M) or scabs; you may not put any of them on the altar as a fire offering to the Lord.^{(N) 23} You may sacrifice as a freewill offering any animal from the herd or flock that has an elongated or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable as a vow offering. ²⁴ You are not to present to the Lord anything that has bruised, crushed, torn, or severed testicles;^(O) you must not sacrifice them in your land. ²⁵ Neither you nor^[f] a foreigner are to present food to your God from any of these animals. They will not be accepted for you because they are deformed and have a defect.”^(P)

²⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses: ²⁷ “When an ox, sheep, or goat is born, it must remain with^[g] its mother for seven days; from the eighth day^(Q) on, it will be acceptable as a gift, a fire offering to the Lord. ²⁸ But you are not to slaughter an animal from the herd or flock on the same day as its young.^{(R) 29} When you sacrifice a thank offering^(S) to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. ³⁰ It is to be eaten on the same day.^(T) Do not let any of it remain until morning; I am Yahweh.

³¹ “You are to keep My commands and do them; I am Yahweh. ³² You must not profane My holy name; I must be treated as holy^(U) among the Israelites. I am Yahweh who sets you apart, ³³ the One who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am Yahweh.”

Holy Days

23 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: These are My appointed times,^(V) the times of the Lord that you will proclaim as sacred assemblies.^(W)

³ “Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest,^(X) a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath^(Y) to the Lord wherever you live.

⁴ “These are the Lord’s appointed times, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times. ⁵ The Passover^(Z) to the Lord comes in the first month, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the month. ⁶ The Festival of Unleavened Bread^(AA) to the Lord is on the fifteenth day of the same month. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. ⁷ On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any daily work. ⁸ You are to present a fire offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day there will be a sacred assembly; you must not do any daily work.”

⁹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁰ “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you and reap its harvest,^[h] you are to bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest. ¹¹ He will wave the sheaf before the Lord so that you may be accepted; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. ¹² On the day you wave the sheaf, you are to offer a year-old male lamb^[i] without blemish^(AB) as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹³ Its grain offering is to be four quarts^[j] of fine flour mixed with oil as a fire offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma, and its drink offering will be one quart^[k] of wine. ¹⁴ You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or any new grain^[l] until this very day, and until you have brought the offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live.

¹⁵ “You are to count seven^[m] complete weeks^[n](AC) starting from the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the presentation offering.^{(AD) 16} You are to count 50 days until the day after the seventh Sabbath and then present an offering of new grain^[o] to the Lord. ¹⁷ Bring two loaves of bread from your settlements as a presentation offering, each of them made from four quarts^[p] of fine flour, baked with yeast, as firstfruits^(AE) to the Lord. ¹⁸ You are to present with the bread seven unblemished male lambs a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offerings and drink offerings, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁹ You are also to prepare one male goat as a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a fellowship sacrifice. ²⁰ The priest will wave the lambs with the bread of firstfruits as a presentation offering before the Lord; the bread and the two lambs will be holy to the Lord for the priest. ²¹ On that same day you are to make a proclamation and hold a sacred assembly. You are not to do any daily work. This is to be a permanent statute wherever you live throughout your generations. ²² When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap all the way to the edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident;^(AF) I am Yahweh your God.”

²³ The Lord spoke to Moses: ²⁴ “Tell the Israelites: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a day of complete rest, commemoration, and joyful shouting^[q](AG)—a sacred assembly.^{(AH) 25} You must not do any daily work, but you must present a fire offering to the Lord.”

²⁶ The Lord again spoke to Moses: ²⁷ “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement.^(AI) You are to hold a sacred assembly and practice self-denial;^[r](AJ) you are to present a fire offering to the Lord. ²⁸ On this particular day you are not to do any work, for it is a Day of Atonement to make atonement for yourselves before the Lord your God. ²⁹ If any person does not practice self-denial on this particular day, he must be cut off from his people. ³⁰ I will destroy among his people anyone who does any work on this same day. ³¹ You are not to do any work. This is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live. ³² It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must practice self-denial. You are to observe your Sabbath from the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening.”

³³ The Lord spoke to Moses: ³⁴ “Tell the Israelites: The Festival of Booths^[s](AK) to the Lord begins on the fifteenth day of this seventh month and continues for seven days. ³⁵ There is to be a sacred assembly on the first day; you are not to do any daily work. ³⁶ You are to present a fire offering to the Lord for seven days. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present a fire offering to the Lord. It is a solemn gathering;^(AL) you are not to do any daily work.

³⁷ “These are the Lord’s appointed times that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for presenting fire offerings to the Lord, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its designated day. ³⁸ These are in addition to the offerings for the Lord’s Sabbaths, your gifts, all your vow offerings, and all your freewill offerings that you give to the Lord.

³⁹ “You are to celebrate the Lord’s festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh month for seven days after you have gathered the produce of the land. There will be complete rest on the first day and complete rest on the eighth day. ⁴⁰ On the first day you are to take the product^(AM) of majestic trees—palm fronds,^(AN) boughs of leafy trees,^(AO) and willows of the brook^(AP)—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹ You are to celebrate it as a festival to the Lord seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for you throughout your generations; you must celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴² You are to live in booths^(AQ) for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must live in booths, ⁴³ so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God.” ⁴⁴ So Moses declared the Lord’s appointed times to the Israelites.

Tabernacle Oil and Bread

24 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Command the Israelites to bring you pure oil from crushed olives for the light, in order to keep the lamp burning continually.^{(AR) 3} Aaron is to tend it continually from evening until morning before the Lord outside the veil^(AS) of the testimony^(AT) in the tent of meeting. This is a permanent statute throughout your generations. ⁴ He must continually tend the lamps on the pure gold lampstand in the Lord’s presence.^(AU)

⁵ “Take fine flour and bake it into 12 loaves;^(AV) each loaf is to be made with four quarts.^{[t] 6} Arrange them in two rows, six to a row, on the pure gold table^(AW) before the Lord. ⁷ Place pure frankincense^(AX) near each row, so that it may serve as a memorial portion^(AY) for the bread and a fire offering^(AZ) to the Lord. ⁸ The bread is to be set out before the Lord every Sabbath day as a perpetual covenant^(BA) obligation on the part of the Israelites. ⁹ It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place, for it is the holiest portion for him from the fire offerings to the Lord; this is a permanent rule.”

A Case of Blasphemy

¹⁰ Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father was^[u] among the Israelites. A fight broke out in the camp between the Israelite woman’s son and an Israelite man. ¹¹ Her son cursed and blasphemed the Name,^(BB) and they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith, a daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan.^(BC)) ¹² They put him in custody^(BD) until the Lord’s decision^(BE) could be made clear to them.

¹³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁴ “Bring the one who has cursed to the outside of the camp and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole community stone him.^{(BF) 15} And tell the Israelites: If anyone curses his God, he will bear the consequences of his sin. ¹⁶ Whoever blasphemes the name of Yahweh is to be put to death;^(BG) the whole community must stone him. If he blasphemes the Name, he is to be put to death, whether the foreign resident or the native.

¹⁷ “If a man kills anyone, he must be put to death.^{(BH) 18} Whoever kills an animal is to make restitution for it, life for life. ¹⁹ If any man inflicts a permanent injury on his neighbor, whatever he has done is to be done to him: ²⁰ fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Whatever injury he inflicted on the person, the same is to be inflicted on him.^{(BI) 21} Whoever kills an animal is to make restitution for it, but whoever kills a person is to be put to death.^{(BJ) 22} You are to have the same law for the foreign resident and the native, because I am Yahweh your God.”

²³ After Moses spoke to the Israelites, they brought the one who had cursed to the outside of the camp and stoned him. So the Israelites did as the Lord had commanded Moses.