Laws for Peace Offerings

3 “If his offering is ^(A)a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, ^(B)he shall offer it ^(C)without blemish before the Lord. ² And ^(D)he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar. ³ And from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as a food offering to the Lord, he shall offer ^(E)the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, ^4 (F)and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. ⁵ Then Aaron's sons ^(G)shall burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering, which is on the wood on the fire; it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

⁶ “If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord is an animal from the flock, male or female, he shall offer it ^(H)without blemish. ⁷ If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the Lord, ⁸ lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it in front of the tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. ⁹ Then from the sacrifice of the peace offering he shall offer as a food offering to the Lord its fat; he shall remove the whole ^(I)fat tail, cut off close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails ¹⁰ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove ^(J)with the kidneys. ¹¹ And the priest shall burn it on the altar as ^(K)a food offering to the Lord.

¹² “If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord ¹³ and lay his hand on its head and kill it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. ¹⁴ Then he shall offer from it, as his offering for a food offering to the Lord, the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails ¹⁵ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove ^(L)with the kidneys. ¹⁶ And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a ^(M)food offering with a pleasing aroma. ^(N)All fat is the Lord's. ¹⁷ It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither ^(O)fat nor ^(P)blood.”

Laws for Sin Offerings

4 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, ^(A)If anyone sins unintentionally^[a] in any of the Lord's commandments ^(B)about things not to be done, and does any one of them, ³ if it is the anointed priest who ^(C)sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for the sin that he has committed ^(D)a bull from the herd without blemish to the Lord for a sin offering. ⁴ He shall bring the bull to the ^(E)entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord and lay his hand on the head of the bull and kill the bull before the Lord. ⁵ And the anointed priest ^(F)shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting, ⁶ and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and ^(G)sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary. ⁷ And the priest ^(H)shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before the Lord that is in the tent of meeting, and ^(I)all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁸ And all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall remove from it, ^(J)the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails ^9 (K)and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys ¹⁰ (just as these are taken from the ox of the sacrifice of the peace offerings); and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. ¹¹ But ^(L)the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung— ¹² all the rest of the bull—he shall carry ^(M)outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall ^(N)burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.

^13 (O)“If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally^[b] and ^(P)the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt,^{[c] 14 (Q)}when the sin which they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting. ¹⁵ And the elders of the congregation ^(R)shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and the bull shall be killed before the Lord. ¹⁶ Then ^(S)the anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the bull into the tent of meeting, ¹⁷ and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the veil. ¹⁸ And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is in the tent of meeting before the Lord, and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ¹⁹ And all its fat he shall take from it and burn on the altar. ²⁰ Thus shall he do with the bull. As he did ^(T)with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. ^(U)And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven. ²¹ And he shall carry the bull ^(V)outside the camp and burn it up as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.

²² “When a leader sins, ^(W)doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by the commandments of the Lord his God ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, ²³ or ^(X)the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without blemish, ²⁴ and ^(Y)shall lay his hand on the head of the goat and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord; it is a sin offering. ^25 (Z)Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. ²⁶ And all its fat he shall burn on the altar, like ^(AA)the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. So ^(AB)the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin, and he shall be forgiven.

²⁷ “If ^(AC)anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, ^28 (AD)or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. ^29 (AE)And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering. ³⁰ And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. ³¹ And ^(AF)all its fat he shall remove, ^(AG)as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a ^(AH)pleasing aroma to the Lord. ^(AI)And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.

³² “If he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring ^(AJ)a female without blemish ^33 (AK)and lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. ³⁴ Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. ³⁵ And all its fat he shall remove ^(AL)as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on top of the Lord's food offerings. ^(AM)And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.

There Is None Who Does Good

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Mahalath. A Maskil^[a] of David.

The Lord Upholds My Life

To the choirmaster: with ^(A)stringed instruments. A Maskil^[a] of David, ^(B)when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”

Food Offered to Idols

8 Now concerning^{[a] (A)}food offered to idols: we know that ^(B)“all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” ^(C)puffs up, ^(D)but love builds up. ^2 (E)If anyone imagines that he knows something, ^(F)he does not yet know as he ought to know. ³ But if anyone loves God, ^(G)he is known by God.^[b]

⁴ Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ^(H)“an idol has no real existence,” and that ^(I)“there is no God but one.” ⁵ For although there may be ^(J)so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— ⁶ yet ^(K)for us there is one God, the Father, ^(L)from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and ^(M)one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and ^(N)through whom we exist.

⁷ However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, ^(O)through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and ^(P)their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ^8 (Q)Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. ⁹ But take care ^(R)that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block ^(S)to the weak. ¹⁰ For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating^[c] in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged,^[d] if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? ¹¹ And so by your knowledge this weak person is ^(T)destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. ¹² Thus, sinning against your brothers^[e] and ^(U)wounding their conscience when it is weak, ^(V)you sin against Christ. ¹³ Therefore, ^(W)if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Paul Surrenders His Rights

9 ^(A)Am I not free? ^(B)Am I not an apostle? ^(C)Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? ^(D)Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? ² If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are ^(E)the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

³ This is my defense to those who would examine me. ^4 (F)Do we not have the right to eat and drink? ^5 (G)Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife,^[a] as do the other apostles and ^(H)the brothers of the Lord and ^(I)Cephas? ⁶ Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? ^7 (J)Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? ^(K)Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

⁸ Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? ⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses, ^(L)“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? ¹⁰ Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written ^(M)for our sake, because ^(N)the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. ^11 (O)If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? ¹² If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?

Nevertheless, ^(P)we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything ^(Q)rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. ¹³ Do you not know that ^(R)those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord commanded that ^(S)those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

¹⁵ But ^(T)I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone ^(U)deprive me of my ground for boasting. ¹⁶ For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For ^(V)necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! ¹⁷ For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with ^(W)a stewardship. ¹⁸ What then is my reward? That in my preaching ^(X)I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

¹⁹ For ^(Y)though I am free from all, ^(Z)I have made myself a servant to all, that I might ^(AA)win more of them. ^20 (AB)To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. ²¹ To ^(AC)those outside the law I became ^(AD)as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but ^(AE)under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. ^22 (AF)To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. ^(AG)I have become all things to all people, that ^(AH)by all means I might save some. ²³ I do it all for the sake of the gospel, ^(AI)that I may share with them in its blessings.

²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives ^(AJ)the prize? So ^(AK)run that you may obtain it. ²⁵ Every ^(AL)athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we ^(AM)an imperishable. ²⁶ So I do not run aimlessly; I ^(AN)do not box as one ^(AO)beating the air. ²⁷ But I discipline my body and ^(AP)keep it under control,^[b] lest after preaching to others ^(AQ)I myself should be ^(AR)disqualified.