Cases Requiring Sin Offerings

5 Sin offerings are required in the following cases.

If you are officially summoned to give evidence in court and do not give information about something you have seen or heard, you must suffer the consequences.

² If you unintentionally touch anything ritually unclean, such as a dead animal, you are unclean and guilty as soon as you realize what you have done.

³ If you unintentionally touch anything of human origin that is unclean, whatever it may be, you are guilty as soon as you realize what you have done.

⁴ If you make a careless vow, no matter what it is about, you are guilty as soon as you realize what you have done.

⁵ When you are guilty, you must confess the sin, ⁶ and as the penalty for your sin you must bring to the Lord a female sheep or goat as an offering. The priest shall offer the sacrifice for your sin.

⁷ If you cannot afford a sheep or a goat, you shall bring to the Lord as the payment for your sin two doves or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. ⁸ You shall bring them to the priest, who will first offer the bird for the sin offering. He will break its neck without pulling off its head ⁹ and sprinkle some of its blood against the side of the altar. The rest of the blood will be drained out at the base of the altar. This is an offering to take away sin. ¹⁰ Then he shall offer the second bird as a burnt offering, according to the regulations. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for your sin, and you will be forgiven.

¹¹ If you cannot afford two doves or two pigeons, you shall bring two pounds of flour as a sin offering. You shall not put any olive oil or any incense on it, because it is a sin offering, not a grain offering. ¹² You shall bring it to the priest, who will take a handful of it as a token that it has all been offered to the Lord, and he will burn it on the altar as a food offering. It is an offering to take away sin. ¹³ In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for your sin, and you will be forgiven. The rest of the flour belongs to the priest, just as in the case of a grain offering.

Repayment Offerings

¹⁴ The Lord gave the following regulations to Moses. ¹⁵ If any of you sin unintentionally by failing to hand over the payments that are sacred to the Lord, you shall bring as your repayment offering to the Lord a male sheep or goat without any defects. Its value is to be determined according to the official standard. ¹⁶ You must make the payments you have failed to hand over and must pay an additional 20 percent. You shall give it to the priest, and the priest shall offer the animal as a sacrifice for your sin, and you will be forgiven.

¹⁷ If any of you sin unintentionally by breaking any of the Lord's commands, you are guilty and must pay the penalty. ¹⁸ You must bring to the priest as a repayment offering a male sheep or goat without any defects. Its value is to be determined according to the official standard. The priest shall offer the sacrifice for the sin which you committed unintentionally, and you will be forgiven. ¹⁹ It is a repayment offering for the sin you committed against the Lord.

^(A)Morning Prayer for Help^[a]

Evening Prayer for Help^[a]

20 Drinking too much makes you loud and foolish. It's stupid to get drunk.

² Fear an angry king as you would a growling lion; making him angry is suicide.

³ Any fool can start arguments; the honorable thing is to stay out of them.

⁴ A farmer too lazy to plow his fields at the right time will have nothing to harvest.

⁵ A person's thoughts are like water in a deep well, but someone with insight can draw them out.

⁶ Everyone talks about how loyal and faithful he is, but just try to find someone who really is!

⁷ Children are fortunate if they have a father who is honest and does what is right.

⁸ The king sits in judgment and knows evil when he sees it.

⁹ Can anyone really say that his conscience is clear, that he has gotten rid of his sin?

¹⁰ The Lord hates people who use dishonest weights and measures.

¹¹ Even children show what they are by what they do; you can tell if they are honest and good.

¹² The Lord has given us eyes to see with and ears to listen with.

¹³ If you spend your time sleeping, you will be poor. Keep busy and you will have plenty to eat.

¹⁴ The customer always complains that the price is too high, but then he goes off and brags about the bargain he got.

¹⁵ If you know what you are talking about, you have something more valuable than gold or jewels.

¹⁶ Anyone stupid enough to promise to be responsible for a stranger's debts ought to have their own property held to guarantee payment.

¹⁷ What you get by dishonesty you may enjoy like the finest food, but sooner or later it will be like a mouthful of sand.

¹⁸ Get good advice and you will succeed; don't go charging into battle without a plan.

¹⁹ A gossip can never keep a secret. Stay away from people who talk too much.

²⁰ If you curse your parents, your life will end like a lamp that goes out in the dark.

²¹ The more easily you get your wealth, the less good it will do you.

²² Don't take it on yourself to repay a wrong. Trust the Lord and he will make it right.

²³ The Lord hates people who use dishonest scales and weights.

²⁴ The Lord has determined our path; how then can anyone understand the direction his own life is taking?

²⁵ Think carefully before you promise an offering to God. You might regret it later.

²⁶ A wise king will find out who is doing wrong, and will punish him without pity.

²⁷ The Lord gave us mind and conscience; we cannot hide from ourselves.

²⁸ A king will remain in power as long as his rule is honest, just, and fair.

²⁹ We admire the strength of youth and respect the gray hair of age.

³⁰ Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.

3 ^(A)You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on his throne at the right side of God. ² Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ Your real life is Christ and when he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory!

The Old Life and the New

⁵ You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry). ⁶ Because of such things God's anger will come upon those who do not obey him.^{[a] 7} At one time you yourselves used to live according to such desires, when your life was dominated by them.

⁸ But now you must get rid of all these things: anger, passion, and hateful feelings. No insults or obscene talk must ever come from your lips. ^9 (B)Do not lie to one another, for you have put off the old self with its habits ^10 (C)and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in his own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of himself. ¹¹ As a result, there is no longer any distinction between Gentiles and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarians, savages, slaves, and free, but Christ is all, Christ is in all.

^12 (D)You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ^13 (E)Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you. ¹⁴ And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity. ¹⁵ The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body. And be thankful. ^16 (F)Christ's message in all its richness must live in your hearts. Teach and instruct one another with all wisdom. Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts. ¹⁷ Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father.

Personal Relations in the New Life

^18 (G)Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, for that is what you should do as Christians.

^19 (H)Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

^20 (I)Children, it is your Christian duty to obey your parents always, for that is what pleases God.

^21 (J)Parents, do not irritate your children, or they will become discouraged.

^22 (K)Slaves, obey your human masters in all things, not only when they are watching you because you want to gain their approval; but do it with a sincere heart because of your reverence for the Lord. ²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people. ²⁴ Remember that the Lord will give you as a reward what he has kept for his people. For Christ is the real Master you serve. ^25 (L)And all wrongdoers will be repaid for the wrong things they do, because God judges everyone by the same standard.