22 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they ^(A)abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they ^(B)dedicate to me, so that they do not ^(C)profane my holy name: I am the Lord. ³ Say to them, ‘If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while ^(D)he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the Lord. ⁴ None of the offspring of Aaron who has a leprous disease or a ^(E)discharge may eat of the holy things ^(F)until he is clean. ^(G)Whoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or ^(H)a man who has had an emission of semen, ⁵ and ^(I)whoever touches a swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or ^(J)a person from whom he may take uncleanness, whatever his uncleanness may be— ⁶ the person who touches such a thing shall be unclean until the evening and shall not eat of the holy things unless he has ^(K)bathed his body in water. ⁷ When the sun goes down he shall be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because ^(L)they are his food. ^8 (M)He shall not eat what dies of itself or is torn by beasts, and so make himself unclean by it: I am the Lord.’ ⁹ They shall therefore keep my charge, ^(N)lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: ^(O)I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

^10 (P)“A lay person shall not eat of a holy thing; no foreign guest of the priest or hired worker shall eat of a holy thing, ¹¹ but if a priest buys a slave^[a] as his property for money, the slave^[b] may eat of it, and ^(Q)anyone born in his house may eat of his food. ¹² If a priest's daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat of the contribution of the holy things. ¹³ But if a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced and has no child and ^(R)returns to her father's house, ^(S)as in her youth, she may eat of her father's food; yet no lay person shall eat of it. ^14 (T)And if anyone eats of a holy thing unintentionally, he shall add ^(U)the fifth of its value to it and give the holy thing to the priest. ¹⁵ They ^(V)shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, which they contribute to the Lord, ¹⁶ and so cause them ^(W)to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: ^(X)for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.”

Acceptable Offerings

¹⁷ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them, ^(Y)When any one of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering, for any of their vows or freewill offerings that they offer to the Lord, ¹⁹ if it is to be accepted for you it shall be a ^(Z)male without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats. ^20 (AA)You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you. ²¹ And when anyone ^(AB)offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord ^(AC)to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it. ²² Animals ^(AD)blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or ^(AE)an itch or scabs you shall not offer to the Lord or give them to the Lord as a food ^(AF)offering on the altar. ²³ You may present a bull or a lamb that has a part ^(AG)too long or too short for a freewill offering, but for a vow offering it cannot be accepted. ²⁴ Any animal that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut you shall not offer to the Lord; you shall not do it within your land, ²⁵ neither shall you offer as ^(AH)the bread of your God any such animals gotten from a foreigner. Since there is a ^(AI)blemish in them, because of their mutilation, they will not be accepted for you.”

²⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^27 (AJ)“When an ox or sheep or goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as a food offering to the Lord. ²⁸ But you shall not kill an ox or a sheep ^(AK)and her young in one day. ²⁹ And when you sacrifice a ^(AL)sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. ³⁰ It shall be eaten on the same day; ^(AM)you shall leave none of it until morning: I am the Lord.

^31 (AN)“So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. ^32 (AO)And you shall not profane my holy name, that ^(AP)I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. ^(AQ)I am the Lord who sanctifies you, ³³ who brought you out of the land of Egypt ^(AR)to be your God: I am the Lord.”

Feasts of the Lord

23 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ^(AS)These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall ^(AT)proclaim as ^(AU)holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.

The Sabbath

^3 (AV)“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.

The Passover

^4 (AW)“These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, the ^(AX)holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. ^5 (AY)In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight,^[c] is the Lord's Passover. ⁶ And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. ^7 (AZ)On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. ⁸ But you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.”

The Feast of Firstfruits

⁹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ^(BA)When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of ^(BB)the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, ¹¹ and he shall ^(BC)wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. ¹² And on the day when you ^(BD)wave the sheaf, you shall offer a ^(BE)male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord. ^13 (BF)And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah^[d] of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma, ^(BG)and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin.^{[e] 14} And you shall eat neither bread nor grain ^(BH)parched or ^(BI)fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

The Feast of Weeks

^15 (BJ)“You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the ^(BK)wave offering. ¹⁶ You shall count ^(BL)fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of ^(BM)new grain to the Lord. ¹⁷ You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as ^(BN)firstfruits to the Lord. ¹⁸ And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁹ And you shall offer one ^(BO)male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of ^(BP)peace offerings. ²⁰ And the priest shall ^(BQ)wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. ^(BR)They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. ²¹ And you shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

²² “And ^(BS)when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

The Feast of Trumpets

²³ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In ^(BT)the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, ^(BU)a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. ²⁵ You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the Lord.”

The Day of Atonement

²⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷ “Now ^(BV)on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves^[f] and present a food offering to the Lord. ²⁸ And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. ²⁹ For whoever is not afflicted^[g] on that very day ^(BW)shall be cut off from his people. ³⁰ And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. ³¹ You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. ³² It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.”

The Feast of Booths

³³ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁴ “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, ^(BX)On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths^[h] to the Lord. ³⁵ On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. ³⁶ For seven days you shall present food offerings to the Lord. ^(BY)On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the Lord. It is a ^(BZ)solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work.

^37 (CA)“These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day, ^38 (CB)besides the Lord's Sabbaths and besides your gifts and besides all your vow offerings and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord.

³⁹ “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have ^(CC)gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. ⁴⁰ And ^(CD)you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and ^(CE)you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. ^41 (CF)You shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. ^42 (CG)You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, ⁴³ that ^(CH)your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

⁴⁴ Thus Moses ^(CI)declared to the people of Israel the appointed feasts of the Lord.

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

12 In the meantime, ^(A)when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, ^(B)“Beware of ^(C)the leaven of the Pharisees, ^(D)which is hypocrisy. ^2 (E)Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ³ Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in ^(F)private rooms shall be proclaimed on ^(G)the housetops.

Have No Fear

⁴ “I tell you, my friends, ^(H)do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him ^(I)who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.^[a] Yes, I tell you, fear him! ⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?^[b] And ^(J)not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷ Why, ^(K)even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; ^(L)you are of more value than many sparrows.

Acknowledge Christ Before Men

⁸ “And I tell you, ^(M)everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge ^(N)before the angels of God, ⁹ but ^(O)the one who denies me before men ^(P)will be denied ^(Q)before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And ^(R)everyone who speaks a word ^(S)against the Son of Man ^(T)will be forgiven, but the one who ^(U)blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ^11 (V)And when they ^(W)bring you before the synagogues and ^(X)the rulers and ^(Y)the authorities, ^(Z)do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, ^12 (AA)for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

^13 (AB)Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, ^(AC)“Man, ^(AD)who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And he said to them, ^(AE)“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, ^(AF)“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ^(AG)‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my ^(AH)barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up ^(AI)for many years; relax, ^(AJ)eat, drink, be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ^(AK)‘Fool! ^(AL)This night ^(AM)your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, ^(AN)whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is the one ^(AO)who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Be Anxious

²² And he said to his disciples, ^(AP)“Therefore I tell you, ^(AQ)do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ^24 (AR)Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. ^(AS)Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ^(AT)span of life?^{[c] 26} If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,^[d] yet I tell you, ^(AU)even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, ^(AV)O you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor ^(AW)be worried. ³⁰ For ^(AX)all the nations of the world seek after these things, and ^(AY)your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, ^(AZ)seek ^(BA)his^[e] kingdom, ^(BB)and these things will be added to you.

^32 (BC)“Fear not, little ^(BD)flock, for ^(BE)it is your Father's good pleasure to give you ^(BF)the kingdom. ^33 (BG)Sell your possessions, and ^(BH)give to the needy. ^(BI)Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with ^(BJ)a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ^34 (BK)For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

You Must Be Ready

^35 (BL)“Stay dressed for action^[f] and ^(BM)keep your lamps burning, ³⁶ and be like men who are ^(BN)waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and ^(BO)knocks. ^37 (BP)Blessed are those servants^[g] whom the master finds ^(BQ)awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, ^(BR)he will dress himself for service and ^(BS)have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. ³⁸ If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! ^39 (BT)But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour ^(BU)the thief was coming, he^[h] would not have left his house to be broken into. ⁴⁰ You also must be ^(BV)ready, for ^(BW)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

⁴¹ Peter said, “Lord, ^(BX)are you telling this parable for us or for all?” ⁴² And the Lord said, “Who then is ^(BY)the faithful and ^(BZ)wise ^(CA)manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? ^43 (CB)Blessed is that servant^[i] whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁴ Truly, I say to you, ^(CC)he will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master ^(CD)is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and ^(CE)get drunk, ⁴⁶ the master of that servant will come ^(CF)on a day when he does not expect him and ^(CG)at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. ^47 (CH)And that servant who ^(CI)knew his master's will but ^(CJ)did not get ready ^(CK)or act according to his will, will receive a ^(CL)severe beating. ^48 (CM)But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, ^(CN)will receive a light beating. ^(CO)Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Not Peace, but Division

^49 (CP)“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! ^50 (CQ)I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how ^(CR)great is my distress until it is accomplished! ^51 (CS)Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? ^(CT)No, I tell you, but rather division. ⁵² For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. ⁵³ They will be divided, ^(CU)father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Interpreting the Time

⁵⁴ He also said to the crowds, ^(CV)“When you see ^(CW)a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. ⁵⁵ And ^(CX)when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be ^(CY)scorching heat,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! ^(CZ)You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Settle with Your Accuser

⁵⁷ “And why ^(DA)do you not judge ^(DB)for yourselves what is right? ^58 (DC)As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. ⁵⁹ I tell you, ^(DD)you will never get out until you have paid the very last ^(DE)penny.”^[j]