Feasts of the Lord

23 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ^(A)These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall ^(B)proclaim as ^(C)holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.

The Sabbath

^3 (D)“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.

The Passover

^4 (E)“These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, the ^(F)holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. ^5 (G)In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight,^[a] is the Lord's Passover. ⁶ And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. ^7 (H)On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. ⁸ But you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.”

The Feast of Firstfruits

⁹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ^(I)When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of ^(J)the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, ¹¹ and he shall ^(K)wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. ¹² And on the day when you ^(L)wave the sheaf, you shall offer a ^(M)male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord. ^13 (N)And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah^[b] of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma, ^(O)and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin.^{[c] 14} And you shall eat neither bread nor grain ^(P)parched or ^(Q)fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

The Feast of Weeks

^15 (R)“You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the ^(S)wave offering. ¹⁶ You shall count ^(T)fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of ^(U)new grain to the Lord. ¹⁷ You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as ^(V)firstfruits to the Lord. ¹⁸ And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁹ And you shall offer one ^(W)male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of ^(X)peace offerings. ²⁰ And the priest shall ^(Y)wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. ^(Z)They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. ²¹ And you shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

²² “And ^(AA)when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

The Feast of Trumpets

²³ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In ^(AB)the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, ^(AC)a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. ²⁵ You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the Lord.”

The Day of Atonement

²⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷ “Now ^(AD)on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves^[d] and present a food offering to the Lord. ²⁸ And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. ²⁹ For whoever is not afflicted^[e] on that very day ^(AE)shall be cut off from his people. ³⁰ And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. ³¹ You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. ³² It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.”

The Feast of Booths

³³ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁴ “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, ^(AF)On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths^[f] to the Lord. ³⁵ On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. ³⁶ For seven days you shall present food offerings to the Lord. ^(AG)On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the Lord. It is a ^(AH)solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work.

^37 (AI)“These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day, ^38 (AJ)besides the Lord's Sabbaths and besides your gifts and besides all your vow offerings and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord.

³⁹ “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have ^(AK)gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. ⁴⁰ And ^(AL)you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and ^(AM)you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. ^41 (AN)You shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. ^42 (AO)You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, ⁴³ that ^(AP)your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

⁴⁴ Thus Moses ^(AQ)declared to the people of Israel the appointed feasts of the Lord.

The Lamps

24 ^(AR)The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly. ³ Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the Lord regularly. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. ⁴ He shall arrange the lamps on the ^(AS)lampstand of pure gold^[g] before the Lord regularly.

Bread for the Tabernacle

⁵ “You shall take fine flour and bake twelve ^(AT)loaves from it; two tenths of an ephah^[h] shall be in each loaf. ⁶ And you shall set them in two piles, six in a pile, ^(AU)on the table of pure gold^[i] before the Lord. ⁷ And you shall put pure frankincense on each pile, that it may go with the bread as a memorial portion as a food offering to the Lord. ^8 (AV)Every Sabbath day Aaron shall arrange it before the Lord regularly; it is from the people of Israel as a covenant forever. ⁹ And ^(AW)it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and ^(AX)they shall eat it in a holy place, since it is for him a most holy portion out of the Lord's food offerings, a perpetual due.”

Punishment for Blasphemy

¹⁰ Now an Israelite woman's son, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel. And the Israelite woman's son and a man of Israel fought in the camp, ¹¹ and the Israelite woman's son ^(AY)blasphemed the ^(AZ)Name, and cursed. Then they ^(BA)brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. ¹² And ^(BB)they put him in custody, ^(BC)till the will of the Lord should be clear to them.

¹³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^14 (BD)“Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him ^(BE)lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. ¹⁵ And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall ^(BF)bear his sin. ¹⁶ Whoever ^(BG)blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

An Eye for an Eye

^17 (BH)“Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. ^18 (BI)Whoever takes an animal's life shall make it good, life for life. ¹⁹ If anyone injures his neighbor, ^(BJ)as he has done it shall be done to him, ²⁰ fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him. ^21 (BK)Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, ^(BL)and whoever kills a person shall be put to death. ²² You shall have the ^(BM)same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the Lord your God.” ²³ So Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and ^(BN)they brought out of the camp the one who had cursed and stoned him with stones. Thus the people of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.

The King of Glory

A Psalm of David.

Paul Goes to Jerusalem

21 And when ^(A)we had parted from them and set sail, we ^(B)came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.^{[a] 2} And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³ When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴ And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And ^(C)through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, ^(D)accompanied us until we were outside the city. And ^(E)kneeling down on the beach, we prayed ⁶ and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.

⁷ When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted ^(F)the brothers^[b] and stayed with them for one day. ⁸ On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of ^(G)Philip ^(H)the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹ He had four unmarried daughters, ^(I)who prophesied. ¹⁰ While we were staying for many days, a prophet named ^(J)Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ And coming to us, he ^(K)took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, ^(L)“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ^(M)‘This is how the Jews^[c] at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and ^(N)deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” ¹² When we heard this, we and the people there ^(O)urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, ^(P)“What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For ^(Q)I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem ^(R)for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ And since he would not be persuaded, ^(S)we ceased and said, ^(T)“Let the will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵ After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.

Paul Visits James

¹⁷ When we had come to Jerusalem, ^(U)the brothers received us gladly. ¹⁸ On the following day Paul went in with us to ^(V)James, and all ^(W)the elders were present. ¹⁹ After greeting them, ^(X)he related one by one ^(Y)the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ^(Z)ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard it, they ^(AA)glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all ^(AB)zealous for the law, ²¹ and they have been told about you that you teach all ^(AC)the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, ^(AD)telling them ^(AE)not to circumcise their children or ^(AF)walk according to ^(AG)our customs. ²² What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. ²³ Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men ^(AH)who are under a vow; ²⁴ take these men and ^(AI)purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ^(AJ)so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. ²⁵ But as for the Gentiles who have believed, ^(AK)we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled,^[d] and from sexual immorality.” ²⁶ Then Paul took the men, and the next day ^(AL)he purified himself along with them and ^(AM)went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and ^(AN)the offering presented for each one of them.

Paul Arrested in the Temple

²⁷ When ^(AO)the seven days were almost completed, ^(AP)the Jews from Asia, ^(AQ)seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who ^(AR)is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and ^(AS)the law and ^(AT)this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and ^(AU)has defiled ^(AV)this holy place.” ²⁹ For they had previously seen ^(AW)Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰ Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and ^(AX)dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. ^31 (AY)And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of ^(AZ)the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ^32 (BA)He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him ^(BB)to be bound ^(BC)with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. ^34 (BD)Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into ^(BE)the barracks. ³⁵ And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, ³⁶ for the mob of the people followed, crying out, ^(BF)“Away with him!”

Paul Speaks to the People

³⁷ As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? ³⁸ Are you not ^(BG)the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out ^(BH)into the wilderness?” ³⁹ Paul replied, ^(BI)“I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” ⁴⁰ And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, ^(BJ)motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in ^(BK)the Hebrew language,^[e] saying: