Flawless Animals for Sacrifice

17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘(A)Anyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers in Israel who presents his offering, whether it is any of their [a]vows or any of their [b]voluntary offerings, which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering— 19 (B)for you to be accepted—it must be a male without defect [c]from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats. 20 (C)Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you. 21 When someone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord (D)to fulfill a special vow or for a [d]voluntary offering, [e]of the herd or [f]of the flock, it must be without defect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22 Those that are blind, fractured, maimed, or have a wart, a festering rash, or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make of them an offering by fire on the altar to the Lord. 23 Now as for an ox or a lamb which has an [g]overgrown or stunted member, you may present it as a [h]voluntary offering, but for a vow it will not be accepted. 24 Also (E)anything with its testicles squashed, crushed, torn off, or cut off, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor [i]sacrifice in your land, 25 nor shall you offer any of these animals taken from the hand of a [j]foreigner (F)as the [k]food of your God; for their deformity is in them, they have an impairment. They will not be accepted for you.’”

26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall [l]remain (G)seven days [m]with its mother, and from the eighth day on it will be considered acceptable as a sacrifice of an offering by fire to the Lord. 28 (H)But, whether it is an ox or a sheep, you shall not slaughter both it and its young in one day. 29 When you sacrifice (I)a 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; you shall leave none of it until morning. I am the Lord. 31 (J)So you shall keep My commandments, and do them; I am the Lord.

32 “And you shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 (K)who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the Lord.”

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 22:18 Or vowed offerings
  2. Leviticus 22:18 Or freewill offerings
  3. Leviticus 22:19 Lit among
  4. Leviticus 22:21 Or freewill offering
  5. Leviticus 22:21 Lit among
  6. Leviticus 22:21 Lit among
  7. Leviticus 22:23 Or a deformed
  8. Leviticus 22:23 Or freewill offering
  9. Leviticus 22:24 Lit do
  10. Leviticus 22:25 Lit son of a stranger
  11. Leviticus 22:25 Lit bread
  12. Leviticus 22:27 Lit be
  13. Leviticus 22:27 Lit under

Acceptable Offerings

17 And the Lord said to Moses, 18 “Say to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel, When any one of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents his offering, whether in payment of a vow or as a freewill offering which is offered to the Lord as a burnt offering, 19 to be accepted you shall offer a male without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats. 20 You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you. 21 And when any one offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, to fulfil 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 blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or an itch or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord or make of them an offering by fire upon the altar to the Lord. 23 A bull or a lamb which has a part too long or too short you may present for a freewill offering; but for a votive offering it cannot be accepted. 24 Any animal which has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut, you shall not offer to the Lord or sacrifice within your land; 25 neither shall you offer as the bread of your God any such animals gotten from a foreigner. Since there is a blemish in them, because of their mutilation, they will not be accepted for you.”

26 And the Lord said to Moses, 27 “When a bull 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 an offering by fire to the Lord. 28 And whether the mother is a cow or a ewe, you shall not kill both her and her young in one day. 29 And when you sacrifice a 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, you shall leave none of it until morning: I am the Lord.

31 “So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. 32 And you shall not profane my holy name, but I will be hallowed among the people of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctify you, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord.”

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Unacceptable Sacrifices

17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘If any of you—whether an Israelite or a foreigner residing in Israel(A)—presents a gift(B) for a burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow(C) or as a freewill offering,(D) 19 you must present a male without defect(E) from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf.(F) 20 Do not bring anything with a defect,(G) because it will not be accepted on your behalf.(H) 21 When anyone brings from the herd or flock(I) a fellowship offering(J) to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering,(K) it must be without defect or blemish(L) to be acceptable.(M) 22 Do not offer to the Lord the blind, the injured or the maimed, or anything with warts or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord. 23 You may, however, present as a freewill offering an ox[a] or a sheep that is deformed or stunted, but it will not be accepted in fulfillment of a vow. 24 You must not offer to the Lord an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn or cut.(N) You must not do this in your own land, 25 and you must not accept such animals from the hand of a foreigner and offer them as the food of your God.(O) They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and have defects.(P)’”

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “When a calf, a lamb or a goat(Q) is born, it is to remain with its mother for seven days.(R) From the eighth day(S) on, it will be acceptable(T) as a food offering presented to the Lord. 28 Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day.(U)

29 “When you sacrifice a thank offering(V) to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 30 It must be eaten that same day; leave none of it till morning.(W) I am the Lord.(X)

31 “Keep(Y) my commands and follow them.(Z) I am the Lord. 32 Do not profane my holy name,(AA) for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites.(AB) I am the Lord, who made you holy(AC) 33 and who brought you out of Egypt(AD) to be your God.(AE) I am the Lord.”

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 22:23 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.