Priests and Their Food

22 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to deal respectfully with the holy offerings of the Israelites that they have consecrated to me, so they do not profane my holy name;^(A) I am the Lord. ³ Say to them: If any man from any of your descendants throughout your generations is in a state of uncleanness yet approaches the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person will be cut off from my presence; I am the Lord. ⁴ No man of Aaron’s descendants who has a skin disease^[a] or a discharge is to eat from the holy offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by a dead person or by a man who has an emission of semen, ⁵ or whoever touches any swarming creature that makes him unclean or any person who makes him unclean—whatever his uncleanness— ⁶ the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening^(B) and is not to eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body with water. ⁷ When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the holy offerings, for that is his food.^{(C) 8} He must not eat an animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts,^[b](D) making himself unclean by it; I am the Lord. ⁹ They must keep my instruction,^(E) or they will be guilty and die because they profane it; I am the Lord who sets them apart.

¹⁰ “No one outside a priest’s family^[c](F) is to eat the holy offering. A foreigner staying with a priest or a hired worker is not to eat the holy offering. ¹¹ But if a priest purchases someone with his own silver, that person may eat it, and those born in his house may eat his food. ¹² If the priest’s daughter is married to a man outside a priest’s family,^[d] she is not to eat from the holy contributions.^{[e] 13} But if the priest’s daughter becomes widowed or divorced, has no children, and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may share her father’s food. But no outsider may share it. ¹⁴ If anyone eats a holy offering in error,^(G) he is to add a fifth to its value and give the holy offering to the priest.^{(H) 15} The priests must not profane the holy offerings the Israelites give to the Lord ¹⁶ by letting the people eat their holy offerings and having them bear the penalty of restitution.^(I) For I am the Lord who sets them apart.”

Acceptable Sacrifices

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: Any man of the house of Israel or of the resident aliens^(J) in Israel who presents his offering^(K)—whether they present payment of vows or freewill gifts to the Lord as burnt offerings— ¹⁹ must offer an unblemished male^(L) from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for you to be accepted. ²⁰ You are not to present anything that has a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

²¹ “When a man presents a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or flock, it has to be unblemished to be acceptable; there must be no defect in it. ²² You are not to present any animal to the Lord that is blind, injured, maimed, or has a running sore, festering rash,^(M) or scabs; you may not put any of them on the altar as a food offering to the Lord.^{(N) 23} You may sacrifice as a freewill offering any animal from the herd or flock that has an elongated or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable as a vow offering. ²⁴ You are not to present to the Lord anything that has bruised, crushed, torn, or severed testicles;^(O) you must not sacrifice them in your land. ²⁵ Neither you nor^[f] a foreigner are to present food to your God from any of these animals. They will not be accepted for you because they are deformed and have a defect.”^(P)

²⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses: ²⁷ “When an ox, sheep, or goat is born, it is to remain with^[g] its mother for seven days; from the eighth day^(Q) on, it will be acceptable as an offering, a food offering to the Lord. ²⁸ But you are not to slaughter an animal from the herd or flock on the same day as its young.^{(R) 29} When you offer a thanksgiving sacrifice^(S) to the Lord, offer it so that you may be accepted. ³⁰ It is to be eaten on the same day.^(T) Do not let any of it remain until morning; I am the Lord.

³¹ “You are to keep my commands and do them; I am the Lord. ³² You must not profane my holy name; I must be treated as holy^(U) among the Israelites. I am the Lord who sets you apart, ³³ the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord.”

Psalm 28

My Strength

Of David.

Psalm 29

The Voice of the Lord

A psalm of David.

Caution in God’s Presence

5 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to approach in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do,^(A) for they ignorantly do wrong. ² Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.^{(B) 3} Just as dreams accompany much labor, so also a fool’s voice comes with many words.^{(C) 4} When you make a vow to God,^(D) don’t delay fulfilling it, because he does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow. ⁵ Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.^{(E) 6} Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you,^(F) and do not say in the presence of the messenger that it was a mistake.^(G) Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷ For many dreams bring futility; so do many words.^(H) Therefore, fear God.

The Realities of Wealth

⁸ If you see oppression of the poor^(I) and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation,^(J) because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them. ⁹ The profit from the land is taken by all; the king is served by the field.^[a](K)

¹⁰ The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile. ¹¹ When good things increase, the ones who consume them multiply; what, then, is the profit to the owner, except to gaze at them with his eyes? ¹² The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.

¹³ There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.^{(L) 14} That wealth was lost in a bad venture, so when he fathered a son, he was empty-handed. ¹⁵ As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came;^(M) he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands. ¹⁶ This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain^(N) who struggles for the wind?^{(O) 17} What is more, he eats in darkness all his days,^(P) with much frustration, sickness, and anger.

¹⁸ Here is what I have seen to be good:^(Q) It is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.^{(R) 19} Furthermore, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth,^(S) he has also allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor.^(T) This is a gift of God,^{(U) 20} for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

Greeting

1 Paul,^(A) an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will,^(B) for the sake of the promise of life^(C) in Christ Jesus:

² To Timothy, my dearly loved son.

Grace, mercy, and peace^(D) from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thanksgiving

³ I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience^(E) as my ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day.^{(F) 4} Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I recall your sincere faith^(G) that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice^(H) and now, I am convinced, is in you also.

⁶ Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands.^{(I) 7} For God has not given us a spirit of fear,^(J) but one of power,^[a](K) love,^(L) and sound judgment.

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

⁸ So don’t be ashamed^(M) of the testimony about our Lord,^(N) or of me his prisoner.^(O) Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power^(P) of God. ⁹ He has saved us and called us with a holy calling,^(Q) not according to our works,^(R) but according to his own purpose^(S) and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. ¹⁰ This has now been made evident through the appearing^(T) of our Savior Christ Jesus, who has abolished death^(U) and has brought life^(V) and immortality to light through the gospel. ¹¹ For this gospel I was appointed^(W) a herald, apostle, and teacher,^{[b] 12} and that is why I suffer^(X) these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to guard what has been entrusted to me^[c](Y) until that day.^(Z)

Be Loyal to the Faith

¹³ Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching^(AA) that you have heard from me,^(AB) in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us. ¹⁵ You know that all those in the province of Asia^(AC) have deserted me,^(AD) including Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy^(AE) to the household of Onesiphorus,^(AF) because he often refreshed me^(AG) and was not ashamed of my chains.^{(AH) 17} On the contrary, when he was in Rome,^(AI) he diligently searched for me and found me. ¹⁸ May the Lord grant that he obtain mercy^(AJ) from him on that day. You know very well how much he ministered at Ephesus.^(AK)