A Call to Praise the Lord for His Righteousness.

A Psalm.

The Lord, an Abundant Helper.

²⁰ “When he finishes atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. ²¹ Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and ^(A)confess over it all the wrongdoings of the sons of Israel and all their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall place them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands ready. ²² Then the goat shall carry on itself all their wrongdoings to an ^[a]isolated territory; he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

²³ “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off ^(B)the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. ²⁴ And ^(C)he shall bathe his ^[b]body with water in a holy place and put on ^(D)his clothes, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. ²⁵ Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar. ²⁶ The one who released the goat ^[c]as the ^[d]scapegoat ^(E)shall wash his clothes and bathe his ^[e]body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp. ²⁷ But the bull of the ^[f]sin offering and the goat of the ^[g]sin offering, ^(F)whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire. ²⁸ Then the ^(G)one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; and afterward he shall come into the camp.

An Annual Atonement

²⁹ “This shall be a permanent statute for you: ^(H)in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble ^[h]yourselves and not ^(I)do any work, whether the native, or the stranger who resides among you; ³⁰ for it is on this day that ^[i]atonement shall be made for you to ^(J)cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. ³¹ It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, so that you may ^(K)humble ^[j]yourselves; it is a permanent statute. ³² So the priest who is anointed and ^[k]ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall put on ^(L)the linen garments, the holy garments, ³³ and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for ^(M)the priests and for all the people of the assembly. ³⁴ Now you shall have this as a ^(N)permanent statute, to ^(O)make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did.

The Day of the Lord

5 Now as to the ^(A)periods and ^[a]times, brothers and sisters, you ^(B)have no need of anything to be written to you. ² For you yourselves know full well that ^(C)the day of the Lord is coming ^(D)just like a thief in the night. ³ While they are saying, “^(E)Peace and safety!” then ^(F)sudden destruction ^[b]will come upon them like ^(G)labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴ But you, brothers and sisters, are not in ^(H)darkness, so that the day would overtake you ^[c](I)like a thief; ⁵ for you are all ^(J)sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of ^(K)darkness; ⁶ so then, let’s not ^(L)sleep as ^[d](M)others do, but let’s be alert and ^[e](N)sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, ^(O)get drunk at night. ⁸ But since ^(P)we are of the day, let’s ^(Q)be ^[f]sober, having put on the ^(R)breastplate of ^(S)faith and love, and as a ^(T)helmet, the ^(U)hope of salvation. ⁹ For God has not destined us for ^(V)wrath, but for ^(W)obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ^10 (X)who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. ¹¹ Therefore, ^[g]encourage one another and ^(Y)build one another up, just as you also are doing.

⁷ “And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their ^(A)many words. ⁸ So do not be like them; for ^(B)your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

The Lord’s Prayer

⁹ “^(C)Pray, then, in this way:

^14 (J)For if you forgive other people for their ^[g]offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But ^(K)if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your ^[h]offenses.