Leviticus 22:17-33

Living Bible

^17-18 And the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel that if an Israelite or other person living among you offers a burnt offering sacrifice to the Lord—whether it is to fulfill a promise or is a spontaneous freewill offering— ¹⁹ it will only be acceptable to the Lord if it is a male animal without defect; it must be a young bull or a sheep or a goat. ²⁰ Anything that has a defect must not be offered, for it will not be accepted.

²¹ “Anyone sacrificing a peace offering to the Lord from the herd or flock, whether to fulfill a vow or as a voluntary offering, must sacrifice an animal that has no defect, or it will not be accepted: ²² An animal that is blind or disabled or mutilated, or which has sores or itch or any other skin disease, must not be offered to the Lord; it is not a fit burnt offering for the altar of the Lord. ²³ If the young bull or lamb presented to the Lord has anything superfluous or lacking in its body parts, it may be offered as a freewill offering, but not for a vow. ²⁴ An animal that has injured genitals—crushed or castrated—shall not be offered to the Lord at any time. ²⁵ This restriction applies to the sacrifices made by foreigners among you as well as those made by yourselves, for no defective animal is acceptable for this sacrifice.”

^26-27 And the Lord said to Moses, “When a bullock, sheep, or goat is born, it shall be left with its mother for seven days, but from the eighth day onward it is acceptable as a sacrifice by fire to the Lord. ²⁸ You shall not slaughter a mother animal and her offspring the same day, whether she is a cow or ewe. ^29-30 When you offer the Lord a sacrifice of thanksgiving, you must do it in the right way, eating the sacrificial animal the same day it is slain. Leave none of it for the following day. I am the Lord.

³¹ “You must keep all of my commandments, for I am the Lord. ^32-33 You must not treat me as common and ordinary. Revere me and hallow me, for I, the Lord, made you holy to myself and rescued you from Egypt to be my own people! I am Jehovah!”