22 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they ^(A)abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they ^(B)dedicate to me, so that they do not ^(C)profane my holy name: I am the Lord. ³ Say to them, ‘If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while ^(D)he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the Lord. ⁴ None of the offspring of Aaron who has a leprous disease or a ^(E)discharge may eat of the holy things ^(F)until he is clean. ^(G)Whoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or ^(H)a man who has had an emission of semen, ⁵ and ^(I)whoever touches a swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or ^(J)a person from whom he may take uncleanness, whatever his uncleanness may be— ⁶ the person who touches such a thing shall be unclean until the evening and shall not eat of the holy things unless he has ^(K)bathed his body in water. ⁷ When the sun goes down he shall be clean, and afterwards he may eat of the holy things, because ^(L)they are his food. ^8 (M)He shall not eat what dies of itself or is torn by beasts, and so make himself unclean by it: I am the Lord.’ ⁹ They shall therefore keep my charge, ^(N)lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: ^(O)I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

^10 (P)“A lay person shall not eat of a holy thing; no foreign guest of the priest or hired servant shall eat of a holy thing, ¹¹ but if a priest buys a slave as his property for money, the slave^[a] may eat of it, and ^(Q)anyone born in his house may eat of his food. ¹² If a priest's daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat of the contribution of the holy things. ¹³ But if a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced and has no child and ^(R)returns to her father's house, ^(S)as in her youth, she may eat of her father's food; yet no lay person shall eat of it. ^14 (T)And if anyone eats of a holy thing unintentionally, he shall add ^(U)the fifth of its value to it and give the holy thing to the priest. ¹⁵ They ^(V)shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, which they contribute to the Lord, ¹⁶ and so cause them ^(W)to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: ^(X)for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.”

Acceptable Offerings

¹⁷ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them, ^(Y)When any one of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering, for any of their vows or freewill offerings that they offer to the Lord, ¹⁹ if it is to be accepted for you it shall be a ^(Z)male without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats. ^20 (AA)You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you. ²¹ And when anyone ^(AB)offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord ^(AC)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 ^(AD)blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or ^(AE)an itch or scabs you shall not offer to the Lord or give them to the Lord as a food ^(AF)offering on the altar. ²³ You may present a bull or a lamb that has a part ^(AG)too long or too short for a freewill offering, but for a vow offering it cannot be accepted. ²⁴ Any animal that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut you shall not offer to the Lord; you shall not do it within your land, ²⁵ neither shall you offer as ^(AH)the bread of your God any such animals obtained from a foreigner. Since there is a ^(AI)blemish in them, because of their mutilation, they will not be accepted for you.”

²⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^27 (AJ)“When an ox or sheep or goat is born, it shall remain for seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as a food offering to the Lord. ²⁸ But you shall not kill an ox or a sheep ^(AK)and her young in one day. ²⁹ And when you sacrifice a ^(AL)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; ^(AM)you shall leave none of it until morning: I am the Lord.

^31 (AN)“So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. ^32 (AO)And you shall not profane my holy name, that ^(AP)I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. ^(AQ)I am the Lord who sanctifies you, ³³ who brought you out of the land of Egypt ^(AR)to be your God: I am the Lord.”

The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield

Of David.

Ascribe to the Lord Glory

A Psalm of David.

Fear God

5 ^{[a] (A)}Guard your steps when you go to ^(B)the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to ^(C)offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. ^2 [b] Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore ^(D)let your words be few. ³ For a dream comes with much busyness, and a fool's voice with ^(E)many words.

⁴ When ^(F)you vow a vow to God, ^(G)do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. ^(H)Pay what you vow. ^5 (I)It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. ⁶ Let not your mouth lead you^[c] into sin, and do not say before ^(J)the messenger^[d] that it was ^(K)a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷ For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity;^[e] but ^(L)God is the one you must fear.

The Vanity of Wealth and Honour

^8 (M)If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, ^(N)do not be amazed at the matter, ^(O)for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. ⁹ But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.^[f]

¹⁰ He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. ¹¹ When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? ¹² Sweet is the sleep of a labourer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

^13 (P)There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, ¹⁴ and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. ^15 (Q)As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. ¹⁶ This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what ^(R)gain is there to him who ^(S)toils for the wind? ¹⁷ Moreover, all his days he ^(T)eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

¹⁸ Behold, what I have seen to be ^(U)good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment^[g] in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his ^(V)lot. ¹⁹ Everyone also to whom ^(W)God has given ^(X)wealth and possessions ^(Y)and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is ^(Z)the gift of God. ²⁰ For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.