Tithes

²² Be sure to set aside a tenth^(A) of all that your fields produce each year. ²³ Eat^(B) the tithe of your grain, new wine^(C) and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name,^(D) so that you may learn^(E) to revere^(F) the Lord your God always. ²⁴ But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), ²⁵ then exchange^(G) your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. ²⁶ Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink,^(H) or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice.^{(I) 27} And do not neglect the Levites^(J) living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.^(K)

²⁸ At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes^(L) of that year’s produce and store it in your towns,^{(M) 29} so that the Levites (who have no allotment^(N) or inheritance^(O) of their own) and the foreigners,^(P) the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied,^(Q) and so that the Lord your God may bless^(R) you in all the work of your hands.

The Year for Canceling Debts^(S)

15 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.^{(T) 2} This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. ³ You may require payment from a foreigner,^(U) but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you. ⁴ However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless^(V) you, ⁵ if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow^(W) all these commands I am giving you today. ⁶ For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.^(X)

⁷ If anyone is poor^(Y) among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted^(Z) toward them. ⁸ Rather, be openhanded^(AA) and freely lend them whatever they need. ⁹ Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts,^(AB) is near,” so that you do not show ill will^(AC) toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.^{(AD) 10} Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart;^(AE) then because of this the Lord your God will bless^(AF) you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. ¹¹ There will always be poor people^(AG) in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.^(AH)

Freeing Servants^(AI)(AJ)

¹² If any of your people—Hebrew men or women—sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free.^{(AK) 13} And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. ¹⁴ Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor^(AL) and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. ¹⁵ Remember that you were slaves^(AM) in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you.^(AN) That is why I give you this command today.

¹⁶ But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, ¹⁷ then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant.

¹⁸ Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because their service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

The Firstborn Animals

¹⁹ Set apart for the Lord^(AO) your God every firstborn male^(AP) of your herds and flocks.^(AQ) Do not put the firstborn of your cows to work, and do not shear the firstborn of your sheep.^{(AR) 20} Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose.^{(AS) 21} If an animal has a defect,^(AT) is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God.^{(AU) 22} You are to eat it in your own towns. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it, as if it were gazelle or deer.^{(AV) 23} But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.^(AW)

The Passover^(AX)

16 Observe the month of Aviv^(AY) and celebrate the Passover^(AZ) of the Lord your God, because in the month of Aviv he brought you out of Egypt by night. ² Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his Name.^{(BA) 3} Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction,^(BB) because you left Egypt in haste^(BC)—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.^{(BD) 4} Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening^(BE) of the first day remain until morning.^(BF)

⁵ You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the Lord your God gives you ⁶ except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary^[a](BG) of your departure from Egypt. ⁷ Roast^(BH) it and eat it at the place the Lord your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. ⁸ For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly^(BI) to the Lord your God and do no work.^(BJ)

The Festival of Weeks^(BK)

⁹ Count off seven weeks^(BL) from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.^{(BM) 10} Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you. ¹¹ And rejoice^(BN) before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name^(BO)—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites^(BP) in your towns, and the foreigners,^(BQ) the fatherless and the widows living among you.^{(BR) 12} Remember that you were slaves in Egypt,^(BS) and follow carefully these decrees.

The Festival of Tabernacles^(BT)

¹³ Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor^(BU) and your winepress.^{(BV) 14} Be joyful^(BW) at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. ¹⁵ For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy^(BX) will be complete.

¹⁶ Three times a year all your men must appear^(BY) before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(BZ) the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles.^(CA) No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed:^{(CB) 17} Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.

³⁵ “‘On the eighth day hold a closing special assembly^(A) and do no regular work. ³⁶ Present as an aroma pleasing to the Lord^(B) a food offering consisting of a burnt offering of one bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old,^(C) all without defect. ³⁷ With the bull, the ram and the lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified. ³⁸ Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

³⁹ “‘In addition to what you vow^(D) and your freewill offerings,^(E) offer these to the Lord at your appointed festivals:^(F) your burnt offerings,^(G) grain offerings, drink offerings and fellowship offerings.^(H)’”

⁴⁰ Moses told the Israelites all that the Lord commanded him.^[a]

Vows

30 ^[b]Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel:^(I) “This is what the Lord commands:

⁵⁴ When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the Lord, he rose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. ⁵⁵ He stood and blessed^(A) the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:

The Dedication of the Temple^(J)

⁶² Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices^(K) before the Lord. ⁶³ Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated^(L) the temple of the Lord.

⁶⁴ On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat^(M) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar^(N) that stood before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings.^(O)

⁶⁵ So Solomon observed the festival^(P) at that time, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath^(Q) to the Wadi of Egypt.^(R) They celebrated it before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. ⁶⁶ On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good^(S) things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

The Lord Appears to Solomon^(T)

9 When Solomon had finished^(U) building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do,

The Transfiguration^(A)(B)

17 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John^(C) the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³ Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.^(D) Listen to him!”^(E)

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”^{(F) 8} When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone^(G) what you have seen, until the Son of Man^(H) has been raised from the dead.”^(I)

The Greatest Commandment^(A)

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law^(B) came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{[a] 30} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^{[b](C) 31} The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[c](D) There is no commandment greater than these.”

³² “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.^{(E) 33} To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”^(F)