The Altar Is Rebuilt

3 In early autumn,^[a] when the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people assembled in Jerusalem with a unified purpose.

Divisions in the Church

¹⁰ I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

The Believers Share Their Possessions

³² All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.

²⁴ “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. On the first day of the appointed month in early autumn,^[a] you are to observe a day of complete rest. It will be an official day for holy assembly, a day commemorated with loud blasts of a trumpet.

⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity^[a]—

¹⁴ As they studied the Law, they discovered that the Lord had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in shelters during the festival to be held that month.^[a]

Ezra Reads the Law

In October,^[a] when the Israelites had settled in their towns, 8 ¹ all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey.

² So on October 8^[b] Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand.

Israel’s War with Benjamin

20 Then all the Israelites were united as one man, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, including those from across the Jordan in the land of Gilead. The entire community assembled in the presence of the Lord at Mizpah.

Offerings for the Festival of Trumpets

29 “Celebrate the Festival of Trumpets each year on the first day of the appointed month in early autumn.^[a] You must call an official day for holy assembly, and you may do no ordinary work. ² On that day you must present a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ³ These must be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts^[b] with the bull, four quarts^[c] with the ram, ⁴ and two quarts^[d] with each of the seven lambs. ⁵ In addition, you must sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord.^{[e] 6} These special sacrifices are in addition to your regular monthly and daily burnt offerings, and they must be given with their prescribed grain offerings and liquid offerings. These offerings are given as a special gift to the Lord, a pleasing aroma to him.

Offerings for the Day of Atonement

⁷ “Ten days later, on the tenth day of the same month,^[f] you must call another holy assembly. On that day, the Day of Atonement, the people must go without food and must do no ordinary work. ⁸ You must present a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ⁹ These offerings must be accompanied by the prescribed grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts of choice flour with the bull, four quarts of choice flour with the ram, ¹⁰ and two quarts of choice flour with each of the seven lambs. ¹¹ You must also sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering. This is in addition to the sin offering of atonement and the regular daily burnt offering with its grain offering, and their accompanying liquid offerings.

Offerings for the Festival of Shelters

¹² “Five days later, on the fifteenth day of the same month,^[g] you must call another holy assembly of all the people, and you may do no ordinary work on that day. It is the beginning of the Festival of Shelters,^[h] a seven-day festival to the Lord. ¹³ On the first day of the festival, you must present a burnt offering as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ¹⁴ Each of these offerings must be accompanied by a grain offering of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts for each of the thirteen bulls, four quarts for each of the two rams, ¹⁵ and two quarts for each of the fourteen lambs. ¹⁶ You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

¹⁷ “On the second day of this seven-day festival, sacrifice twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ¹⁸ Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ¹⁹ You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.