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17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Tell Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel: ‘A ·citizen of [L person from the house of] Israel or a ·foreigner living [sojourner; wanderer; resident alien] in Israel might want to bring a whole burnt offering [1:1–17], either for ·some special promise he has made [a vow] or for a ·special gift he wants to give [freewill offering] to the Lord. 19 If he does, he must bring a male animal that has ·nothing wrong with it [no blemish]—a bull, a sheep, or a goat—so it might be accepted for him. 20 He must not bring an animal that has ·something wrong with it [a blemish], or it will not be accepted for him.

21 “‘If someone brings a ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offering [3:1] to the Lord, either as ·payment [fulfillment] for a ·special promise the person has made [vow] or as a ·special gift the person wants to give the Lord [freewill offering], it might be from the herd or from the flock. But it must be ·healthy [perfect], with ·nothing wrong with it [no blemish], so that it will be accepted. 22 You must not offer to the Lord any animal that is blind, that has broken bones or is crippled, that has running sores or any sort of ·skin disease [L itch or scabs]. You must not offer any animals like these on the altar as an offering by fire to the Lord.

23 “‘If an ox or lamb ·is smaller than normal [or has a short tail] or is not perfectly formed, you may give it as a ·special gift to the Lord [freewill offering]; it will be accepted. But it will not be accepted as payment for a ·special promise you have made [vow].

24 “‘If an animal has bruised, crushed, torn, or cut testicles, you must not offer it to the Lord. You must not do this in your own land, 25 and you must not ·take [get] such animals from foreigners as sacrifices to the Lord. Because the animals have been hurt in some way and have ·something wrong with them [blemishes], they will not be accepted for you.’”

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born, it must stay seven days with its mother. But from the eighth day on, this animal will be accepted as a sacrifice by fire to the Lord. 28 But you must not ·kill [slaughter] the animal and its mother on the same day, either an ox or a sheep.

29 “If you want to offer ·some special offering of thanks [a thank offering] to the Lord, you must do it in a way that pleases him. 30 You must eat the whole animal that same day and not leave any of the meat for the next morning. I am the Lord.

31 “·Remember [Keep; Guard] my commands and obey them; I am the Lord. 32 ·Show respect for [L Do not defile] my holy name. ·You Israelites must remember that I am holy [L I must be sanctified/considered holy among the sons/T children of Israel]; I am the Lord, who has ·made you holy [consecrated/sanctified you]. 33 I brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”

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Flawless Animals for Sacrifice

17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘(A)Anyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers in Israel who presents his offering, whether it is any of their [a]vows or any of their [b]voluntary offerings, which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering— 19 (B)for you to be accepted—it must be a male without defect [c]from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats. 20 (C)Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you. 21 When someone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord (D)to fulfill a special vow or for a [d]voluntary offering, [e]of the herd or [f]of the flock, it must be without defect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22 Those that are blind, fractured, maimed, or have a wart, a festering rash, or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make of them an offering by fire on the altar to the Lord. 23 Now as for an ox or a lamb which has an [g]overgrown or stunted member, you may present it as a [h]voluntary offering, but for a vow it will not be accepted. 24 Also (E)anything with its testicles squashed, crushed, torn off, or cut off, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor [i]sacrifice in your land, 25 nor shall you offer any of these animals taken from the hand of a [j]foreigner (F)as the [k]food of your God; for their deformity is in them, they have an impairment. They will not be accepted for you.’”

26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall [l]remain (G)seven days [m]with its mother, and from the eighth day on it will be considered acceptable as a sacrifice of an offering by fire to the Lord. 28 (H)But, whether it is an ox or a sheep, you shall not slaughter both it and its young in one day. 29 When you sacrifice (I)a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30 It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until morning. I am the Lord. 31 (J)So you shall keep My commandments, and do them; I am the Lord.

32 “And you shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 (K)who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the Lord.”

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 22:18 Or vowed offerings
  2. Leviticus 22:18 Or freewill offerings
  3. Leviticus 22:19 Lit among
  4. Leviticus 22:21 Or freewill offering
  5. Leviticus 22:21 Lit among
  6. Leviticus 22:21 Lit among
  7. Leviticus 22:23 Or a deformed
  8. Leviticus 22:23 Or freewill offering
  9. Leviticus 22:24 Lit do
  10. Leviticus 22:25 Lit son of a stranger
  11. Leviticus 22:25 Lit bread
  12. Leviticus 22:27 Lit be
  13. Leviticus 22:27 Lit under