Leviticus 22:17-33

Evangelical Heritage Version

Acceptable Offerings for the Israelites

¹⁷ The Lord told Moses ¹⁸ to speak to Aaron and his sons and the whole people of Israel and tell them this:

Whenever anyone of the house of Israel or any of the aliens residing in Israel presents their offerings—whether it is any kind of offering to fulfill a vow or any kind of voluntary^[a] offering, which may be presented to the Lord as a burnt offering— ¹⁹ in order for the offering to be accepted it must be a male without blemish, from the cattle or the sheep or the goats. ²⁰ You shall not present any animal with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

²¹ If anyone presents a sacrifice as a fellowship offering to the Lord from the herd or the flock to fulfill a vow or as a voluntary offering, it must be without blemish for it to be accepted on your behalf. There must not be any defect in it. ²² Any animal that is blind, injured, or maimed, with a growth in the eye, a festering boil, or sores—these you shall not present to the Lord. You shall not put any of these on the altar as an offering made by fire to the Lord. ²³ You may, however, make a voluntary offering with a head of cattle or with a sheep or goat that has a long or short leg, but it will not be accepted as an offering to fulfill a vow. ²⁴ You shall not present to the Lord any animal that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn out or cut off. You shall not do this in your land. ²⁵ You shall not present any of these animals from a foreigner as the food of your God. Because they are flawed, with a defect in them, they will not be accepted on your behalf.

²⁶ Then the Lord told Moses this:

²⁷ When a calf or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as an offering that is a gift made by fire to the Lord. ²⁸ But you shall not slaughter a cow or a ewe with her young on the same day.

²⁹ When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you will be accepted. ³⁰ It must be eaten on the same day. You shall not leave any of it over until the morning. I am the Lord.

³¹ So you shall keep my commandments by doing them. I am the Lord. ³² Therefore you shall not defile my holy name, so that I may be honored as holy among the Israelites. I am the Lord, who sets you apart as holy, ³³ who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.