The Lord’s Power and Dominion.

The Lord Exalted for His Goodness.

A Psalm of Praise, of David.

Law of Atonement

16 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after ^(A)the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. ² The Lord said to Moses:

“Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter ^(B)at ^[a]any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the ^[b]atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; for ^(C)I will appear in the cloud over the ^[c]atoning cover. ³ Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this: with a ^[d]bull as a ^[e](D)sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. ⁴ He shall put on the ^(E)holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his ^[f]body, and he shall be wrapped about the waist with the linen sash and the linen turban wound around his forehead (these are holy garments). He shall ^(F)bathe his ^[g]body in water and put them on. ⁵ And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel ^(G)two male goats as a ^[h]sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. ⁶ Then ^(H)Aaron shall offer the bull as the ^[i]sin offering, which is for himself, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. ⁷ He shall then take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ⁸ Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for ^[j]the ^[k]scapegoat. ⁹ Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a ^[l]sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat on which the lot for ^[m]the ^[n]scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make ^(I)atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness ^[o]as the ^[p]scapegoat.

¹¹ “Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the ^[q]sin offering ^(J)which is for himself and make atonement for himself and ^(K)for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the ^[r]sin offering which is for himself. ¹² He shall take a ^(L)firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the Lord and ^[s]two handfuls of finely ground ^(M)sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. ¹³ He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud of incense may cover the ^(N)atoning cover that is on the ark of the testimony, ^(O)otherwise he will die. ¹⁴ Moreover, ^(P)he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it ^(Q)with his finger on the atoning cover on the east side; also in front of the atoning cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

¹⁵ “Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, ^(R)which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the atoning cover and in front of the atoning cover. ^16 (S)He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall do so for the tent of meeting which remains with them in the midst of their impurities. ¹⁷ When he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. ¹⁸ Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it; he shall take some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat, and ^(T)put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. ^19 (U)With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and consecrate it from the impurities of the sons of Israel.

Those Who Died in Christ

¹³ But ^(A)we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who ^[a](B)are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed ^(C)the rest of mankind do, who have ^(D)no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, ^(E)so also God will bring with Him ^(F)those who have fallen asleep ^[b]through Jesus. ¹⁵ For we say this to you ^(G)by the word of the Lord, that ^(H)we who are alive ^[c]and remain until ^(I)the coming of the Lord will not precede ^(J)those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord ^(K)Himself ^(L)will descend from heaven with a ^[d](M)shout, with the voice of ^(N)the archangel and with the ^(O)trumpet of God, and ^(P)the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then ^(Q)we who are alive, who remain, will be ^(R)caught up together with them ^(S)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always ^(T)be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore, ^[e]comfort one another with these words.

Charitable Giving to the Poor and Prayer

6 “Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, ^(A)to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

² “So when you ^[a]give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that they ^(B)will be praised by people. ^(C)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ³ But when you ^[b]give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your charitable giving will be in secret; and ^(D)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

⁵ “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to ^(E)stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners ^(F)so that they ^[c]will be seen by people. ^(G)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ⁶ But as for you, when you pray, ^(H)go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and ^(I)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth

¹⁶ “Now ^(A)whenever you fast, do not make a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they ^[a]distort their faces so that they will be noticed by people when they are fasting. ^(B)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ¹⁷ But as for you, when you fast, ^[b](C)anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that your fasting will not be noticed by people but by your Father who is in secret; and your ^(D)Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.