Psalm 48^[a]

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

Eating Fat and Blood Forbidden

²² The Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Say to the Israelites: ‘Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats.^{(A) 24} The fat of an animal found dead or torn by wild animals^(B) may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it. ²⁵ Anyone who eats the fat of an animal from which a food offering may be^[a] presented to the Lord must be cut off from their people. ²⁶ And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood^(C) of any bird or animal. ²⁷ Anyone who eats blood^(D) must be cut off from their people.’”

The Priests’ Share

²⁸ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁹ “Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who brings a fellowship offering to the Lord is to bring part of it as their sacrifice to the Lord. ³⁰ With their own hands they are to present the food offering to the Lord; they are to bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the breast before the Lord as a wave offering.^{(E) 31} The priest shall burn the fat on the altar,^(F) but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons.^{(G) 32} You are to give the right thigh of your fellowship offerings to the priest as a contribution.^{(H) 33} The son of Aaron who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering shall have the right thigh as his share. ³⁴ From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh^(I) that is presented and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons^(J) as their perpetual share from the Israelites.’”

³⁵ This is the portion of the food offerings presented to the Lord that were allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day they were presented to serve the Lord as priests. ³⁶ On the day they were anointed,^(K) the Lord commanded that the Israelites give this to them as their perpetual share for the generations to come.

³⁷ These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offering,^(L) the grain offering,^(M) the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering^(N) and the fellowship offering, ³⁸ which the Lord gave Moses^(O) at Mount Sinai^(P) in the Desert of Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the Lord.^(Q)

The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons^(R)

8 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Bring Aaron and his sons,^(S) their garments,^(T) the anointing oil,^(U) the bull for the sin offering,^[b](V) the two rams^(W) and the basket containing bread made without yeast,^{(X) 3} and gather the entire assembly^(Y) at the entrance to the tent of meeting.” ⁴ Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the assembly gathered at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

⁵ Moses said to the assembly, “This is what the Lord has commanded to be done.^(Z)” ⁶ Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water.^{(AA) 7} He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him. He also fastened the ephod with a decorative waistband, which he tied around him.^{(AB) 8} He placed the breastpiece^(AC) on him and put the Urim and Thummim^(AD) in the breastpiece. ⁹ Then he placed the turban^(AE) on Aaron’s head and set the gold plate, the sacred emblem,^(AF) on the front of it, as the Lord commanded Moses.^(AG)

¹⁰ Then Moses took the anointing oil^(AH) and anointed^(AI) the tabernacle^(AJ) and everything in it, and so consecrated them. ¹¹ He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them.^{(AK) 12} He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed^(AL) him to consecrate him.^{(AM) 13} Then he brought Aaron’s sons^(AN) forward, put tunics^(AO) on them, tied sashes around them and fastened caps on them, as the Lord commanded Moses.^(AP)

¹⁴ He then presented the bull^(AQ) for the sin offering,^(AR) and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.^{(AS) 15} Moses slaughtered the bull and took some of the blood,^(AT) and with his finger he put it on all the horns of the altar^(AU) to purify the altar.^(AV) He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. So he consecrated it to make atonement for it.^{(AW) 16} Moses also took all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys and their fat, and burned it on the altar. ¹⁷ But the bull with its hide and its flesh and its intestines^(AX) he burned up outside the camp,^(AY) as the Lord commanded Moses.

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners^(A)

¹³ Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him,^(B) and he began to teach them. ¹⁴ As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”^(C) Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

¹⁵ While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees^(D) saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”^(E)

¹⁷ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”^(F)

Jesus Questioned About Fasting^(G)

¹⁸ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting.^(H) Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

¹⁹ Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. ²⁰ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them,^(I) and on that day they will fast.

²¹ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. ²² And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath^(J)(K)

²³ One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.^{(L) 24} The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”^(M)

²⁵ He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? ²⁶ In the days of Abiathar the high priest,^(N) he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat.^(O) And he also gave some to his companions.”^(P)

²⁷ Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man,^(Q) not man for the Sabbath.^{(R) 28} So the Son of Man^(S) is Lord even of the Sabbath.”