The Burnt Offering

1 The Lord called to Moses^(A) and spoke to him from the tent of meeting.^(B) He said, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When anyone among you brings an offering to the Lord,^(C) bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.^(D)

³ “‘If the offering is a burnt offering^(E) from the herd,^(F) you are to offer a male without defect.^(G) You must present it at the entrance to the tent^(H) of meeting so that it will be acceptable^(I) to the Lord. ⁴ You are to lay your hand on the head^(J) of the burnt offering,^(K) and it will be accepted^(L) on your behalf to make atonement^(M) for you. ⁵ You are to slaughter^(N) the young bull^(O) before the Lord, and then Aaron’s sons^(P) the priests shall bring the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar^(Q) at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁶ You are to skin^(R) the burnt offering and cut it into pieces.^{(S) 7} The sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on the altar and arrange wood^(T) on the fire. ⁸ Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat,^(U) on the wood^(V) that is burning on the altar. ⁹ You are to wash the internal organs and the legs with water,^(W) and the priest is to burn all of it^(X) on the altar.^(Y) It is a burnt offering,^(Z) a food offering,^(AA) an aroma pleasing to the Lord.^(AB)

¹⁰ “‘If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock, from either the sheep^(AC) or the goats,^(AD) you are to offer a male without defect. ¹¹ You are to slaughter it at the north side of the altar^(AE) before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar.^{(AF) 12} You are to cut it into pieces, and the priest shall arrange them, including the head and the fat,^(AG) on the wood that is burning on the altar. ¹³ You are to wash the internal organs and the legs with water,^(AH) and the priest is to bring all of them and burn them^(AI) on the altar.^(AJ) It is a burnt offering,^(AK) a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

¹⁴ “‘If the offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, you are to offer a dove or a young pigeon.^{(AL) 15} The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off the head^(AM) and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar.^{(AN) 16} He is to remove the crop and the feathers^[a] and throw them down east of the altar where the ashes^(AO) are. ¹⁷ He shall tear it open by the wings, not dividing it completely,^(AP) and then the priest shall burn it on the wood^(AQ) that is burning on the altar. It is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

The Grain Offering

2 “‘When anyone brings a grain offering^(AR) to the Lord, their offering is to be of the finest flour.^(AS) They are to pour olive oil^(AT) on it,^(AU) put incense on it^{(AV) 2} and take it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the flour^(AW) and oil, together with all the incense,^(AX) and burn this as a memorial^[b] portion^(AY) on the altar, a food offering,^(AZ) an aroma pleasing to the Lord.^{(BA) 3} The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons;^(BB) it is a most holy^(BC) part of the food offerings presented to the Lord.

⁴ “‘If you bring a grain offering baked in an oven,^(BD) it is to consist of the finest flour: either thick loaves made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in or thin loaves^(BE) made without yeast and brushed with olive oil.^{(BF) 5} If your grain offering is prepared on a griddle,^(BG) it is to be made of the finest flour mixed with oil, and without yeast. ⁶ Crumble it and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. ⁷ If your grain offering is cooked in a pan,^(BH) it is to be made of the finest flour and some olive oil. ⁸ Bring the grain offering made of these things to the Lord; present it to the priest, who shall take it to the altar. ⁹ He shall take out the memorial portion^(BI) from the grain offering and burn it on the altar as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.^{(BJ) 10} The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons;^(BK) it is a most holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord.^(BL)

¹¹ “‘Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast,^(BM) for you are not to burn any yeast or honey in a food offering presented to the Lord. ¹² You may bring them to the Lord as an offering of the firstfruits,^(BN) but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma. ¹³ Season all your grain offerings with salt.^(BO) Do not leave the salt of the covenant^(BP) of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.

¹⁴ “‘If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits^(BQ) to the Lord, offer crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire. ¹⁵ Put oil and incense^(BR) on it; it is a grain offering. ¹⁶ The priest shall burn the memorial portion^(BS) of the crushed grain and the oil, together with all the incense,^(BT) as a food offering presented to the Lord.^(BU)

The Fellowship Offering

3 “‘If your offering is a fellowship offering,^(BV) and you offer an animal from the herd, whether male or female, you are to present before the Lord an animal without defect.^{(BW) 2} You are to lay your hand on the head^(BX) of your offering and slaughter it^(BY) at the entrance to the tent of meeting.^(BZ) Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall splash^(CA) the blood against the sides^(CB) of the altar.^{(CC) 3} From the fellowship offering you are to bring a food offering to the Lord: the internal organs^(CD) and all the fat^(CE) that is connected to them, ⁴ both kidneys^(CF) with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. ⁵ Then Aaron’s sons^(CG) are to burn it on the altar^(CH) on top of the burnt offering^(CI) that is lying on the burning wood;^(CJ) it is a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.^(CK)

⁶ “‘If you offer an animal from the flock as a fellowship offering^(CL) to the Lord, you are to offer a male or female without defect. ⁷ If you offer a lamb,^(CM) you are to present it before the Lord,^{(CN) 8} lay your hand on its head and slaughter it^(CO) in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar. ⁹ From the fellowship offering you are to bring a food offering^(CP) to the Lord: its fat, the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them, ¹⁰ both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. ¹¹ The priest shall burn them on the altar^(CQ) as a food offering^(CR) presented to the Lord.^(CS)

¹² “‘If your offering is a goat,^(CT) you are to present it before the Lord, ¹³ lay your hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splash^(CU) its blood against the sides of the altar.^{(CV) 14} From what you offer you are to present this food offering to the Lord: the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them, ¹⁵ both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys.^{(CW) 16} The priest shall burn them on the altar^(CX) as a food offering,^(CY) a pleasing aroma.^(CZ) All the fat^(DA) is the Lord’s.^(DB)

¹⁷ “‘This is a lasting ordinance^(DC) for the generations to come,^(DD) wherever you live:^(DE) You must not eat any fat or any blood.^(DF)’”

Psalm 18^[a](A)

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

3 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue,^(A) and a man with a shriveled hand was there. ² Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely^(B) to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.^{(C) 3} Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

⁴ Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

⁵ He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians^(D) how they might kill Jesus.^(E)

Crowds Follow Jesus^(F)

⁷ Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.^{(G) 8} When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.^{(H) 9} Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. ¹⁰ For he had healed many,^(I) so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.^{(J) 11} Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”^{(K) 12} But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.^(L)

Jesus Appoints the Twelve^(M)

¹³ Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.^{(N) 14} He appointed twelve^[a](O) that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons.^{(P) 16} These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter),^{(Q) 17} James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law^(R)(S)

²⁰ Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered,^(T) so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.^{(U) 21} When his family^[b] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”^(V)

²² And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem^(W) said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul!^(X) By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”^(Y)

²³ So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables:^(Z) “How can Satan^(AA) drive out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. ²⁷ In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.^{(AB) 28} Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”^(AC)

³⁰ He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

³¹ Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived.^(AD) Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

³³ “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

³⁴ Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

The Parable of the Sower^(AE)(AF)

4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake.^(AG) The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. ² He taught them many things by parables,^(AH) and in his teaching said: ³ “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.^{(AI) 4} As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”^(AJ)

⁹ Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”^(AK)

¹⁰ When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. ¹¹ He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God^(AL) has been given to you. But to those on the outside^(AM) everything is said in parables ¹² so that,

¹³ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? ¹⁴ The farmer sows the word.^{(AO) 15} Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan^(AP) comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. ¹⁶ Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ¹⁸ Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth^(AQ) and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²⁰ Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

A Lamp on a Stand

²¹ He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?^{(AR) 22} For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.^{(AS) 23} If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”^(AT)

²⁴ “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.^{(AU) 25} Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”^(AV)

The Parable of the Growing Seed

²⁶ He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like.^(AW) A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷ Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸ All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹ As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”^(AX)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(AY)

³⁰ Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like,^(AZ) or what parable shall we use to describe it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. ³² Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

³³ With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.^{(BA) 34} He did not say anything to them without using a parable.^(BB) But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Jesus Calms the Storm^(BC)

³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.^(BD) There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”^(BE)

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”