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Leviticus 22-23
Easy-to-Read Version

22 The Lord God said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons: The gifts that the Israelites bring to me become holy. They belong to me, so you priests must show respect for these things. If you don’t, you will show that you don’t respect my holy name. I am the Lord. 3 If any one of your descendants touches these things, that person will become unclean. That person must be separated from me. The Israelites gave these things to me. I am the Lord.

4 “If any of Aaron’s descendants has a serious skin disease[a] or a discharge, he cannot eat the holy food until he becomes clean. This rule is for any priest who becomes unclean. That priest can become unclean from a dead body or from his own semen. 5 He can also become unclean if he touches any unclean crawling animal. And he can become unclean if he touches an unclean person. It doesn’t matter what made that person unclean. 6 If he touches any of these things, he will become unclean until evening. He must not eat any of the holy food. Even if he washes with water, he cannot eat the holy food. 7 He will be clean only after the sun goes down. Then he can eat the holy food because it is his share.

8 “A priest must not eat any animal that died by itself or that was killed by wild animals. If he eats that animal, he will be unclean. I am the Lord.

9 “The priests must be very careful when it comes time to serve me. They must be careful not to dishonor the holy things. If they are careful, they will not die. I, the Lord, have separated them from the rest of the people for this special job. 10 Only a priest’s family can eat the holy food. A visitor staying with the priest or a hired worker must not eat any of the holy food. 11 But if the priest buys a person as a slave with his own money, that person may eat some of the holy things. Slaves who were born in the priest’s house may also eat some of the priest’s food. 12 A priest’s daughter might marry a man who is not a priest. If she does that, she cannot eat any of the holy offerings. 13 A priest’s daughter might become a widow, or she might be divorced. If she does not have any children to support her, and she goes back to her father’s house where she lived as a child, she can eat some of her father’s food. But only people from a priest’s family can eat this food.

14 “Whoever eats some of the holy food by mistake must give the priest the price of that food and add another one-fifth of the price as a fine.

15 “The Israelites will bring offerings to the Lord. These offerings become holy, so the priests must not let them be used in a wrong way. 16 They must not let the people eat these offerings. If they do, they are guilty of doing wrong, and they must pay for it. I am the Lord, the one who makes these offerings holy.”

17 The Lord God said to Moses, 18 “Tell Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites: A citizen of Israel or a foreigner might want to bring an offering. It might be because of a promise that person made, or it might just be a special sacrifice that person wanted to give to the Lord as a burnt offering. 19-20 These are gifts that the people bring because they really want to give a gift to God. If the gift is a bull, or a sheep, or a goat, the animal must be a male. And it must not have anything wrong with it. You must not accept any offering that has anything wrong with it. I will not accept that gift.

21 “You might bring a fellowship offering to the Lord. That fellowship offering might be payment for a special promise that you made. Or maybe it is a special gift that you wanted to give to the Lord. It can be a bull or a sheep, but it must be healthy. There must be nothing wrong with that animal. 22 You must not offer to the Lord any animal that is blind, that has broken bones or is crippled, or that has a discharge or a serious skin disease. You must not offer sick animals as a gift to the Lord. You must not put anything like that on his altar.

23 “Sometimes a bull or lamb will have a leg that is too long, or a foot that did not grow right. If you want to give that animal as a special gift to the Lord, it will be accepted. But it will not be accepted as payment for a special promise that you made.

24 “If an animal has bruised, crushed, or torn testicles, you must not offer that animal to the Lord. You must not do this anywhere in your land.

25 “You must not take animals from foreigners as sacrifices to your God. The animals might have been hurt in some way. They might have something wrong with them, so they will not be accepted.”

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “When a calf, or a sheep, or a goat is born, it must stay seven days with its mother. Then from the eighth day on, this animal will be accepted as a sacrifice offered as a gift to the Lord. 28 But you must not kill the animal and its mother on the same day. This rule is the same for cattle and sheep.

29 “If you want to offer some special offering of thanks to the Lord, you are free to offer that gift. But you must do it in a way that pleases God. 30 You must eat the whole animal that day. You must not leave any of the meat for the next morning. I am the Lord.

31 “Remember my commands, and obey them. I am the Lord. 32 Show respect for my holy name. I must be very special to the Israelites. I, the Lord, have made you my special people. 33 I brought you out of Egypt in order to be your God. I am the Lord.”

The Special Festivals

23 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites: You will announce the Lord’s chosen festivals as holy meetings. These are my special festivals.

Sabbath

3 “Work for six days, but the seventh day, the Sabbath, will be a special day of rest, a holy meeting. You must not do any work. It is a day of rest to honor the Lord in all your homes.

Passover

4 “These are the Lord’s chosen festivals. You will announce the holy meetings at the times chosen for them. 5 The Lord’s Passover is on the 14th day of the first month[b] just before dark.

Festival of Unleavened Bread

6 “The Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread is on the 15th day of the same month. You will eat unleavened bread for seven days. 7 On the first day of this festival, you will have a special meeting. You must not do any work on that day. 8 For seven days, you will bring sacrifices offered as gifts to the Lord. Then there will be another special meeting on the seventh day. You must not do any work on that day.”

Festival of the First Harvests

9 The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Tell the Israelites: You will enter the land that I will give you and reap its harvest. At that time you must bring in the first sheaf[c] of your harvest to the priest. 11 The priest will lift the sheaf to show it was offered before the Lord. Then you will be accepted. The priest will present the sheaf on Sunday morning.[d]

12 “On the day when you present the sheaf, you will offer a one-year-old male lamb. There must be nothing wrong with that lamb. That lamb will be a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 You must also offer a grain offering of 16 cups[e] of fine flour mixed with olive oil. You must also offer 1 quart[f] of wine. The smell of that offering will please the Lord. 14 You must not eat any of the new grain, or fruit, or bread made from the new grain until you bring that offering to your God. This law will always continue through your generations, wherever you live.

Festival of Harvest

15 “From that Sunday morning (the day you bring the sheaf to be presented to God), count seven weeks. 16 On the Sunday following the seventh week (that is, 50 days later), you will bring a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 On that day bring two loaves of bread from your homes. That bread will be lifted up to show it was offered to God. Use yeast and 16 cups of flour to make those loaves of bread. That will be your gift to the Lord from your first harvest.

18 “With these grain offerings bring one bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs for burnt offerings to the Lord. There must be nothing wrong with these animals. Offer them together with the grain offerings and the drink offerings. The smell of these offerings made by fire will be pleasing to the Lord. 19 You will also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering.

20 “The priest will lift them up with the bread from the first harvest to show they were offered with the two lambs before the Lord. They are holy to the Lord. They will belong to the priest. 21 On that same day you will call a holy meeting. You must not do any work. This law continues forever in all your homes.

22 “Also, when you harvest the crops on your land, don’t cut all the way to the corners of your field. Don’t pick up the grain that falls on the ground. Leave it for poor people and for foreigners traveling through your country. I am the Lord your God.”

Festival of Trumpets

23 Again the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Tell the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month, you must have a special day of rest. Blow the trumpet to remind the people that this is a holy meeting. 25 You must not do any work. You must bring an offering as a gift to the Lord.”

Day of Atonement

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The Day of Atonement will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. There will be a holy meeting. You must not eat food,[g] and you must bring an offering as a gift to the Lord. 28 You must not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement. On that day the priests will go before the Lord and perform the ceremony that makes you pure.

29 “Anyone who refuses to fast on this day must be separated from their people. 30 If anyone does any work on this day, I will destroy that person from among the people. 31 You must not do any work at all. This is a law that continues forever for you, wherever you live. 32 It will be a special day of rest for you. You must not eat food. You will start this special day of rest on the evening following the ninth day of the month.[h] This special day of rest continues from that evening until the next evening.”

Festival of Shelters

33 Again the Lord said to Moses, 34 “Tell the Israelites: On the 15th day of the seventh month is the Festival of Shelters. This festival to the Lord will continue for seven days. 35 There will be a holy meeting on the first day. You must not do any work. 36 You will bring offerings as gifts to the Lord for seven days. On the eighth day, you will have another holy meeting. You must not do any work. You will bring an offering as a gift to the Lord.

37 “These are the Lord’s special festivals. There will be holy meetings during these festivals. You will bring offerings as gifts to the Lord—burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and drink offerings. You will bring these gifts at the right time. 38 You will celebrate these festivals in addition to remembering the Lord’s Sabbath days. You will offer these gifts in addition to your other gifts and any offerings you give as payment for your special promises. They will be in addition to any special offerings you want to give to the Lord.

39 “On the 15th day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you will celebrate the Lord’s festival for seven days. The first day will be a special day of rest, and then the eighth day will also be a special day of rest. 40 On the first day you will take good fruit from fruit trees. And you will take branches from palm trees, poplar trees, and willow trees by the brook. You will celebrate before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You will celebrate this festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This law will continue forever. You will celebrate this festival in the seventh month. 42 You will live in temporary shelters for seven days. All the people born in Israel will live in them. 43 Why? So all your descendants will know that I made the Israelites live in temporary shelters during the time I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

44 So Moses told the Israelites about all the special meetings to honor the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 22:4 serious skin disease This could be leprosy, or it could be another kind of contagious skin disease. Also in verse 22.
  2. Leviticus 23:5 first month Abib (or Nisan). See “Abib” in the Word List.
  3. Leviticus 23:10 sheaf A stack of grain. Also in verses 12, 15.
  4. Leviticus 23:11 Sunday morning Literally, “the morning after the Sabbath.” Also in verse 15.
  5. Leviticus 23:13 16 cups Literally, “2/10 of an ephah” (4.4 l). Also in verse 17.
  6. Leviticus 23:13 1 quart Literally, “1/4 hin” (.8 l).
  7. Leviticus 23:27 You must not eat food Literally, “You must humble yourselves.” Also in verse 32.
  8. Leviticus 23:32 evening following … month A day starts at sunset.
Listen to Leviticus 22-23
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Leviticus 22-23
New International Version

22 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings(A) the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name.(B) I am the Lord.(C)

3 “Say to them: ‘For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord,(D) that person must be cut off from my presence.(E) I am the Lord.

4 “‘If a descendant of Aaron has a defiling skin disease[a] or a bodily discharge,(F) he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is cleansed. He will also be unclean if he touches something defiled by a corpse(G) or by anyone who has an emission of semen, 5 or if he touches any crawling thing(H) that makes him unclean, or any person(I) who makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be. 6 The one who touches any such thing will be unclean(J) till evening.(K) He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.(L) 7 When the sun goes down, he will be clean, and after that he may eat the sacred offerings, for they are his food.(M) 8 He must not eat anything found dead(N) or torn by wild animals,(O) and so become unclean(P) through it. I am the Lord.(Q)

9 “‘The priests are to perform my service(R) in such a way that they do not become guilty(S) and die(T) for treating it with contempt. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.(U)

10 “‘No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired worker eat it.(V) 11 But if a priest buys a slave with money, or if slaves are born in his household, they may eat his food.(W) 12 If a priest’s daughter marries anyone other than a priest, she may not eat any of the sacred contributions. 13 But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or is divorced, yet has no children, and she returns to live in her father’s household as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat it.

14 “‘Anyone who eats a sacred offering by mistake(X) must make restitution to the priest for the offering and add a fifth of the value(Y) to it. 15 The priests must not desecrate the sacred offerings(Z) the Israelites present to the Lord(AA) 16 by allowing them to eat(AB) the sacred offerings and so bring upon them guilt(AC) requiring payment.(AD) I am the Lord, who makes them holy.(AE)’”

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(AF)—presents a gift(AG) for a burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow(AH) or as a freewill offering,(AI) 19 you must present a male without defect(AJ) from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf.(AK) 20 Do not bring anything with a defect,(AL) because it will not be accepted on your behalf.(AM) 21 When anyone brings from the herd or flock(AN) a fellowship offering(AO) to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering,(AP) it must be without defect or blemish(AQ) to be acceptable.(AR) 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[b] 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.(AS) 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.(AT) They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and have defects.(AU)’”

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

29 “When you sacrifice a thank offering(BA) 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.(BB) I am the Lord.(BC)

31 “Keep(BD) my commands and follow them.(BE) I am the Lord. 32 Do not profane my holy name,(BF) for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites.(BG) I am the Lord, who made you holy(BH) 33 and who brought you out of Egypt(BI) to be your God.(BJ) I am the Lord.”

The Appointed Festivals

23 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals,(BK) the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.(BL)

The Sabbath

3 “‘There are six days when you may work,(BM) but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest,(BN) a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work;(BO) wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread(BP)

4 “‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:(BQ) 5 The Lord’s Passover(BR) begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.(BS) 6 On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread(BT) begins; for seven days(BU) you must eat bread made without yeast. 7 On the first day hold a sacred assembly(BV) and do no regular work. 8 For seven days present a food offering to the Lord.(BW) And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.’”

Offering the Firstfruits

9 The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you(BX) and you reap its harvest,(BY) bring to the priest a sheaf(BZ) of the first grain you harvest.(CA) 11 He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord(CB) so it will be accepted(CC) on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. 12 On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old(CD) without defect,(CE) 13 together with its grain offering(CF) of two-tenths of an ephah[c](CG) of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering(CH) of a quarter of a hin[d] of wine.(CI) 14 You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain,(CJ) until the very day you bring this offering to your God.(CK) This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,(CL) wherever you live.(CM)

The Festival of Weeks(CN)

15 “‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. 16 Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath,(CO) and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah(CP) of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits(CQ) to the Lord. 18 Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings(CR)—a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 19 Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering[e] and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. 20 The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering,(CS) together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. 21 On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly(CT) and do no regular work.(CU) This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

22 “‘When you reap the harvest(CV) of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.(CW) Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you.(CX) I am the Lord your God.’”

The Festival of Trumpets(CY)

23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly(CZ) commemorated with trumpet blasts.(DA) 25 Do no regular work,(DB) but present a food offering to the Lord.(DC)’”

The Day of Atonement(DD)

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month(DE) is the Day of Atonement.(DF) Hold a sacred assembly(DG) and deny yourselves,[f] and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 Do not do any work(DH) on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. 29 Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people.(DI) 30 I will destroy from among their people(DJ) anyone who does any work on that day. 31 You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance(DK) for the generations to come, wherever you live. 32 It is a day of sabbath rest(DL) for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”(DM)

The Festival of Tabernacles(DN)

33 The Lord said to Moses, 34 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh(DO) month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles(DP) begins, and it lasts for seven days. 35 The first day is a sacred assembly;(DQ) do no regular work.(DR) 36 For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly(DS) and present a food offering to the Lord.(DT) It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

37 (“‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings(DU) required for each day. 38 These offerings(DV) are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths(DW) and[g] in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings(DX) you give to the Lord.)

39 “‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival(DY) to the Lord for seven days;(DZ) the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. 40 On the first day you are to take branches(EA) from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees(EB)—and rejoice(EC) before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in temporary shelters(ED) for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters 43 so your descendants will know(EE) that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

44 So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed festivals of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 22:4 The Hebrew word for defiling skin disease, traditionally translated “leprosy,” was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
  2. Leviticus 22:23 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.
  3. Leviticus 23:13 That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms; also in verse 17
  4. Leviticus 23:13 That is, about 1 quart or about 1 liter
  5. Leviticus 23:19 Or purification offering
  6. Leviticus 23:27 Or and fast; similarly in verses 29 and 32
  7. Leviticus 23:38 Or These festivals are in addition to the Lord’s Sabbaths, and these offerings are
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