The Feast of Firstfruits

⁹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ^(A)‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of ^(B)the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. ¹¹ He shall ^(C)wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. ¹² And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹³ Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord, for a ^[a]sweet aroma; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. ¹⁴ You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

The Race of Faith

12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, ^(A)let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and ^(B)let us run ^(C)with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the ^[a]author and ^[b]finisher of our faith, ^(D)who for the joy that was set before Him ^(E)endured the cross, despising the shame, and ^(F)has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³⁹ But we are not of those ^(A)who draw back to ^[a]perdition, but of those who ^(B)believe to the saving of the soul.

¹⁷ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The Command to Crown Joshua

⁹ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ¹⁰ “Receive the gift from the captives—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon—and go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah. ¹¹ Take the silver and gold, make ^(A)an^[a] elaborate crown, and set it on the head of ^(B)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹² Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying:

¹⁴ “Now the ^[d]elaborate crown shall be ^(H)for a memorial in the temple of the Lord ^[e]for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. ¹⁵ Even ^(I)those from afar shall come and build the temple of the Lord. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”

¹⁷ Therefore, in all things He had ^(A)to be made like His brethren, that He might be ^(B)a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ^18 (C)For in that He Himself has suffered, being ^[a]tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Our Compassionate High Priest

¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great ^(A)High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, ^(B)let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For ^(C)we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but ^(D)was in all points tempted as we are, ^(E)yet without sin. ^16 (F)Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.