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13 Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
    the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
    and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
    I want no more of your pious meetings.

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But those who choose their own ways—
    delighting in their detestable sins—
    will not have their offerings accepted.
When such people sacrifice a bull,
    it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice.
When they sacrifice a lamb,
    it’s as though they had sacrificed a dog!
When they bring an offering of grain,
    they might as well offer the blood of a pig.
When they burn frankincense,
    it’s as if they had blessed an idol.

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10 “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings.

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Their worship is a farce,
    for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 15:8-9 Isa 29:13 (Greek version).

39 “As for you, O people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go right ahead and worship your idols, but sooner or later you will obey me and will stop bringing shame on my holy name by worshiping idols.

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42 “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,[a] but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

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Footnotes

  1. 11:42 Greek tithe the mint, the rue, and every herb.

15 Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem!
    Announce a time of fasting;
call the people together
    for a solemn meeting.

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He has broken down his Temple
    as though it were merely a garden shelter.
The Lord has blotted out all memory
    of the holy festivals and Sabbath days.
Kings and priests fall together
    before his fierce anger.

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30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own,[a] guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

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Footnotes

  1. 4:30 Or has put his seal on you.

Order at the Lord’s Supper

17 But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together.

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14 Announce a time of fasting;
    call the people together for a solemn meeting.
Bring the leaders
    and all the people of the land
into the Temple of the Lord your God,
    and cry out to him there.

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Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, 10 and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, “We are safe!”—only to go right back to all those evils again?

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27 The sacrifice of an evil person is detestable,
    especially when it is offered with wrong motives.

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40 Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
    and grieved his heart in that dry wasteland.

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31 They assisted with the burnt offerings that were presented to the Lord on Sabbath days, at new moon celebrations, and at all the appointed festivals. The required number of Levites served in the Lord’s presence at all times, following all the procedures they had been given.

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Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread

16 “In honor of the Lord your God, celebrate the Passover each year in the early spring, in the month of Abib,[a] for that was the month in which the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. Your Passover sacrifice may be from either the flock or the herd, and it must be sacrificed to the Lord your God at the designated place of worship—the place he chooses for his name to be honored. Eat it with bread made without yeast. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, as when you escaped from Egypt in such a hurry. Eat this bread—the bread of suffering—so that as long as you live you will remember the day you departed from Egypt. Let no yeast be found in any house throughout your land for those seven days. And when you sacrifice the Passover lamb on the evening of the first day, do not let any of the meat remain until the next morning.

“You may not sacrifice the Passover in just any of the towns that the Lord your God is giving you. You must offer it only at the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. Sacrifice it there in the evening as the sun goes down on the anniversary of your exodus from Egypt. Roast the lamb and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses. Then you may go back to your tents the next morning. For the next six days you may not eat any bread made with yeast. On the seventh day proclaim another holy day in honor of the Lord your God, and no work may be done on that day.

The Festival of Harvest

“Count off seven weeks from when you first begin to cut the grain at the time of harvest. 10 Then celebrate the Festival of Harvest[b] to honor the Lord your God. Bring him a voluntary offering in proportion to the blessings you have received from him. 11 This is a time to celebrate before the Lord your God at the designated place of worship he will choose for his name to be honored. Celebrate with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites from your towns, and the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live among you. 12 Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, so be careful to obey all these decrees.

The Festival of Shelters

13 “You must observe the Festival of Shelters[c] for seven days at the end of the harvest season, after the grain has been threshed and the grapes have been pressed. 14 This festival will be a happy time of celebrating with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows from your towns. 15 For seven days you must celebrate this festival to honor the Lord your God at the place he chooses, for it is he who blesses you with bountiful harvests and gives you success in all your work. This festival will be a time of great joy for all.

16 “Each year every man in Israel must celebrate these three festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. On each of these occasions, all men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he chooses, but they must not appear before the Lord without a gift for him. 17 All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God.

Justice for the People

18 “Appoint judges and officials for yourselves from each of your tribes in all the towns the Lord your God is giving you. They must judge the people fairly. 19 You must never twist justice or show partiality. Never accept a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the decisions of the godly. 20 Let true justice prevail, so you may live and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

21 “You must never set up a wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build for the Lord your God. 22 And never set up sacred pillars for worship, for the Lord your God hates them.

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Footnotes

  1. 16:1 Hebrew Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto the Lord your God. Abib, the first month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar, usually occurs within the months of March and April.
  2. 16:10 Hebrew Festival of Weeks; also in 16:16. This was later called the Festival of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1). It is celebrated today as Shavuot (or Shabuoth).
  3. 16:13 Or Festival of Booths, or Festival of Tabernacles; also in 16:16. This was earlier called the Festival of the Final Harvest or Festival of Ingathering (see Exod 23:16b). It is celebrated today as Sukkot (or Succoth).

The Appointed Festivals

23 The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as official days for holy assembly.

“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the Lord’s Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live.

“In addition to the Sabbath, these are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the official days for holy assembly that are to be celebrated at their proper times each year.

Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread

“The Lord’s Passover begins at sundown on the fourteenth day of the first month.[a] On the next day, the fifteenth day of the month, you must begin celebrating the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This festival to the Lord continues for seven days, and during that time the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, all the people must stop their ordinary work and observe an official day for holy assembly. For seven days you must present special gifts to the Lord. On the seventh day the people must again stop all their ordinary work to observe an official day for holy assembly.”

Celebration of First Harvest

Then the Lord said to Moses, 10 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you enter the land I am giving you and you harvest its first crops, bring the priest a bundle of grain from the first cutting of your grain harvest. 11 On the day after the Sabbath, the priest will lift it up before the Lord so it may be accepted on your behalf. 12 On that same day you must sacrifice a one-year-old male lamb with no defects as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 With it you must present a grain offering consisting of four quarts[b] of choice flour moistened with olive oil. It will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. You must also offer one quart[c] of wine as a liquid offering. 14 Do not eat any bread or roasted grain or fresh kernels on that day until you bring this offering to your God. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live.

The Festival of Harvest

15 “From the day after the Sabbath—the day you bring the bundle of grain to be lifted up as a special offering—count off seven full weeks. 16 Keep counting until the day after the seventh Sabbath, fifty days later. Then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 From wherever you live, bring two loaves of bread to be lifted up before the Lord as a special offering. Make these loaves from four quarts of choice flour, and bake them with yeast. They will be an offering to the Lord from the first of your crops. 18 Along with the bread, present seven one-year-old male lambs with no defects, one young bull, and two rams as burnt offerings to the Lord. These burnt offerings, together with the grain offerings and liquid offerings, will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 19 Then you must offer one male goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a peace offering.

20 “The priest will lift up the two lambs as a special offering to the Lord, together with the loaves representing the first of your crops. These offerings, which are holy to the Lord, belong to the priests. 21 That same day will be proclaimed an official day for holy assembly, a day on which you do no ordinary work. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live.[d]

22 “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.”

The Festival of Trumpets

23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. On the first day of the appointed month in early autumn,[e] 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. 25 You must do no ordinary work on that day. Instead, you are to present special gifts to the Lord.”

The Day of Atonement

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, 27 “Be careful to celebrate the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of that same month—nine days after the Festival of Trumpets.[f] You must observe it as an official day for holy assembly, a day to deny yourselves[g] and present special gifts to the Lord. 28 Do no work during that entire day because it is the Day of Atonement, when offerings of purification are made for you, making you right with[h] the Lord your God. 29 All who do not deny themselves that day will be cut off from God’s people. 30 And I will destroy anyone among you who does any work on that day. 31 You must not do any work at all! This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live. 32 This will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and on that day you must deny yourselves. This day of rest will begin at sundown on the ninth day of the month and extend until sundown on the tenth day.”

The Festival of Shelters

33 And the Lord said to Moses, 34 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. Begin celebrating the Festival of Shelters[i] on the fifteenth day of the appointed month—five days after the Day of Atonement.[j] This festival to the Lord will last for seven days. 35 On the first day of the festival you must proclaim an official day for holy assembly, when you do no ordinary work. 36 For seven days you must present special gifts to the Lord. The eighth day is another holy day on which you present your special gifts to the Lord. This will be a solemn occasion, and no ordinary work may be done that day.

37 (“These are the Lord’s appointed festivals. Celebrate them each year as official days for holy assembly by presenting special gifts to the Lord—burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and liquid offerings—each on its proper day. 38 These festivals must be observed in addition to the Lord’s regular Sabbath days, and the offerings are in addition to your personal gifts, the offerings you give to fulfill your vows, and the voluntary offerings you present to the Lord.)

39 “Remember that this seven-day festival to the Lord—the Festival of Shelters—begins on the fifteenth day of the appointed month,[k] after you have harvested all the produce of the land. The first day and the eighth day of the festival will be days of complete rest. 40 On the first day gather branches from magnificent trees[l]—palm fronds, boughs from leafy trees, and willows that grow by the streams. Then celebrate with joy before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You must observe this festival to the Lord for seven days every year. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed in the appointed month[m] from generation to generation. 42 For seven days you must live outside in little shelters. All native-born Israelites must live in shelters. 43 This will remind each new generation of Israelites that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I rescued them from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

44 So Moses gave the Israelites these instructions regarding the annual festivals of the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. 23:5 This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late March, April, or early May.
  2. 23:13a Hebrew 2⁄10 of an ephah [4.4 liters]; also in 23:17.
  3. 23:13b Hebrew 1⁄4 of a hin [1 liter].
  4. 23:21 This celebration, called the Festival of Harvest or the Festival of Weeks, was later called the Festival of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1). It is celebrated today as Shavuot (or Shabuoth).
  5. 23:24 Hebrew On the first day of the seventh month. This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in September or October. This festival is celebrated today as Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.
  6. 23:27a Hebrew on the tenth day of the seventh month; see 23:24 and the note there. This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in September or October. It is celebrated today as Yom Kippur.
  7. 23:27b Or to fast; similarly in 23:29, 32.
  8. 23:28 Or when atonement is made for you before.
  9. 23:34a Or Festival of Booths, or Festival of Tabernacles. This was earlier called the Festival of the Final Harvest or Festival of Ingathering (see Exod 23:16b). It is celebrated today as Sukkot (or Succoth).
  10. 23:34b Hebrew on the fifteenth day of the seventh month; see 23:27a and the note there.
  11. 23:39 Hebrew on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.
  12. 23:40 Or gather fruit from majestic trees.
  13. 23:41 Hebrew the seventh month.

16 On the first day of the festival and again on the seventh day, all the people must observe an official day for holy assembly. No work of any kind may be done on these days except in the preparation of food.

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The Daily Offerings

28 The Lord said to Moses, “Give these instructions to the people of Israel: The offerings you present as special gifts are a pleasing aroma to me; they are my food. See to it that they are brought at the appointed times and offered according to my instructions.

“Say to the people: This is the special gift you must present to the Lord as your daily burnt offering. You must offer two one-year-old male lambs with no defects. Sacrifice one lamb in the morning and the other in the evening. With each lamb you must offer a grain offering of two quarts[a] of choice flour mixed with one quart[b] of pure oil of pressed olives. This is the regular burnt offering instituted at Mount Sinai as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Along with it you must present the proper liquid offering of one quart of alcoholic drink with each lamb, poured out in the Holy Place as an offering to the Lord. Offer the second lamb in the evening with the same grain offering and liquid offering. It, too, is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

The Sabbath Offerings

“On the Sabbath day, sacrifice two one-year-old male lambs with no defects. They must be accompanied by a grain offering of four quarts[c] of choice flour moistened with olive oil, and a liquid offering. 10 This is the burnt offering to be presented each Sabbath day, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its accompanying liquid offering.

The Monthly Offerings

11 “On the first day of each month, present an extra burnt offering to the Lord of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. 12 These must be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts[d] with each bull, four quarts with the ram, 13 and two quarts with each lamb. This burnt offering will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 14 You must also present a liquid offering with each sacrifice: two quarts[e] of wine for each bull, a third of a gallon[f] for the ram, and one quart[g] for each lamb. Present this monthly burnt offering on the first day of each month throughout the year.

15 “On the first day of each month, you must also offer one male goat for a sin offering to the Lord. This is in addition to the regular burnt offering and its accompanying liquid offering.

Offerings for the Passover

16 “On the fourteenth day of the first month,[h] you must celebrate the Lord’s Passover. 17 On the following day—the fifteenth day of the month—a joyous, seven-day festival will begin, but no bread made with yeast may be eaten. 18 The first day of the festival will be an official day for holy assembly, and no ordinary work may be done on that day. 19 As a special gift you must present a burnt offering to the Lord—two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. 20 These will be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, 21 and two quarts with each of the seven lambs. 22 You must also offer a male goat as a sin offering to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord.[i] 23 Present these offerings in addition to your regular morning burnt offering. 24 On each of the seven days of the festival, this is how you must prepare the food offering that is presented as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. These will be offered in addition to the regular burnt offerings and liquid offerings. 25 The seventh day of the festival will be another official day for holy assembly, and no ordinary work may be done on that day.

Offerings for the Festival of Harvest

26 “At the Festival of Harvest,[j] when you present the first of your new grain to the Lord, you must call an official day for holy assembly, and you may do no ordinary work on that day. 27 Present a special burnt offering on that day as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs. 28 These will be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, 29 and two quarts with each of the seven lambs.

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Footnotes

  1. 28:5a Hebrew 1⁄10 of an ephah [2.2 liters]; also in 28:13, 21, 29.
  2. 28:5b Hebrew 1⁄4 of a hin [1 liter]; also in 28:7.
  3. 28:9 Hebrew 2⁄10 of an ephah [4.4 liters]; also in 28:12, 20, 28.
  4. 28:12 Hebrew 3⁄10 of an ephah [6.6 liters]; also in 28:20, 28.
  5. 28:14a Hebrew 1⁄2 of a hin [2 liters].
  6. 28:14b Hebrew 1⁄3 of a hin [1.3 liters].
  7. 28:14c Hebrew 1⁄4 of a hin [1 liter].
  8. 28:16 This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late March, April, or early May.
  9. 28:22 Or to make atonement for yourselves; also in 28:30.
  10. 28:26 Hebrew Festival of Weeks. This was later called the Festival of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1). It is celebrated today as Shavuot (or Shabuoth).

15 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives.

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