The Burnt Offering

1 The Lord ·called to [summoned] Moses and spoke to him from the Meeting Tent, saying, ² “Tell the ·people [^Lsons; children] of Israel: ‘When you bring an offering [^Lof livestock] to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from the herd or flock.

³ “‘If the offering is a whole burnt offering from the herd, it must be a male ·that has nothing wrong with it [without blemish/defect]. The person must take the animal to the entrance of the Meeting Tent so that the Lord will accept the offering. ⁴ He must ·put [lay] his hand on the animal’s head [^Cto identify with the animal that served as a substitute], and ·the Lord will accept it to remove the person’s sin so he will belong to God [^Lit will be acceptable as atonement/expiation for him]. ⁵ He must ·kill [slaughter] the young bull before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, must bring its blood and ·sprinkle [dash] it on all sides of the altar at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. ⁶ After that he will skin the ·animal [^Lwhole burnt offering] and cut it into pieces. ⁷ The [^Lsons of Aaron, the] priests, when they have ·put [arranged] wood and fire on the altar, ⁸ [^Lthe sons of Aaron, the priests,] are to ·lay [arrange] the head, the ·fat [suet], and other pieces on the wood that is on the fire of the altar. ⁹ The animal’s inner organs and legs must be washed with water. Then the priest must ·burn all the animal’s parts [^Lturn it into smoke] on the altar. It is a whole burnt offering, an offering made by fire, and its smell is pleasing to the Lord.

¹⁰ “‘If the ·burnt offering [^Loffering; gift] is a sheep or a goat from the flock [^Cacceptable if the worshiper could not afford a bull], it must be a male ·that has nothing wrong with it [without blemish/defect]. ¹¹ The person must ·kill [slaughter] the animal on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, must ·sprinkle [dash] its blood on all sides of the altar. ¹² The person must cut the animal into pieces, and the priest must ·lay [arrange] them, with the head and ·fat [suet], on the wood that is on the fire of the altar. ¹³ The person must wash the animal’s inner organs and legs with water, and then the priest must ·burn all its parts [^Lturn it into smoke] on the altar. It is a whole burnt offering, an offering made by fire, and its smell is pleasing to the Lord.

¹⁴ “‘If the ·whole burnt offering [offering; gift] for the Lord is a bird [^Cpresumably because the worshiper could not afford an animal from the herd or flock], it must be a dove or a young pigeon. ¹⁵ The priest will bring it to the altar and ·pull [wring] off its head, which he will ·burn [^Lturn into smoke] on the altar; its blood must be drained out on the side of the altar. ¹⁶ The priest must remove the bird’s crop [^Ca part of its digestive system] and its contents and throw them on the east side of the altar, where the ashes are. ¹⁷ Then he must tear the bird open by its wings without dividing it into two parts. The priest must ·burn the bird [^Lturn it into smoke] on the altar, on the wood which is on the fire. It is a whole burnt offering, an offering made by fire, and its smell is pleasing to the Lord.