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13 “This is a special offering that you must give:
1/6 ephah[a] of wheat for every homer of wheat;
1/6 ephah of barley for every homer of barley;
14 1/10 bath[b] of olive oil for every cor[c] of olive oil;
(Remember: Ten baths make a homer, and ten baths make a cor.)
15 and one sheep for every 200 sheep
from every watering hole in Israel.
“Those special offerings are for the grain offerings, for the burnt offerings, and for the fellowship offerings. These offerings are to remove the sins of the people.” This is what the Lord God said.
16 “Everyone in the country will give to this offering for the ruler of Israel. 17 But the ruler must give the things needed for the special holy days. The ruler must provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the drink offerings for the feast days, for the New Moon, for the Sabbaths, and for all the other special meeting days of the family of Israel. He must give all the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings that are used to make the family of Israel pure.”
18 This is what the Lord God says: “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you will take a young bull that has nothing wrong with it. You must use that bull to make the Temple pure. 19 The priest will take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the Temple and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the posts of the gate to the inner courtyard. 20 You will do the same thing on the seventh day of that month for anyone who has sinned by mistake or without knowing it. So you will make the Temple pure.
Offerings During the Passover
21 “On the 14th day of the first month, you must celebrate the Passover. The Festival of Unleavened Bread begins at this time. It continues for seven days. 22 At that time the ruler will offer a bull for himself and for all the people of Israel. The bull will be for a sin offering. 23 During the seven days of the festival, the ruler will offer seven bulls and seven rams that have nothing wrong with them. They will be burnt offerings to the Lord. The ruler will offer one bull on every day of the seven days of the festival, and he will offer a male goat every day for a sin offering. 24 The ruler will give an ephah[d] of barley as a grain offering with each bull, and an ephah of barley with each ram. He must give a hin[e] of oil for each ephah of grain. 25 He must do the same thing for the seven days of the Festival of Shelters. This festival begins on the 15th day of the seventh month. These offerings will be the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil offering.”
The Ruler and the Festivals
46 This is what the Lord God says: “The east gate of the inner courtyard will be closed on the six working days. But it will be opened on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon. 2 The ruler will go into the porch of that gate and stand by the gatepost. Then the priests will offer the ruler’s burnt offering and fellowship offerings. The ruler will worship at the opening of that gate and then go out. But the gate will not be shut until evening. 3 On the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon, the common people will also worship the Lord at that gate.
4 “The ruler will offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the Sabbath. He must provide six lambs that have nothing wrong with them and a ram that has nothing wrong with it. 5 He must give an ephah of grain offering with the ram. As for the grain offering with the lambs, the ruler can give as much as he wants. But he must give 1 hin of olive oil for each ephah of grain.
6 “On the day of the New Moon he must offer a young bull that has nothing wrong with it. He will also offer six lambs and a ram that have nothing wrong with them. 7 The ruler must give an ephah of grain as an offering with the bull and an ephah of grain as an offering with the ram. As for the grain offering with the lambs, he can give as much as he wants. But he must give 1 hin of olive oil for each ephah of grain.
8 “When the ruler goes in, he must enter at the porch of the east gate—and he must leave that same way.
9 “When the common people come to meet with the Lord at the special festivals, whoever enters through the north gate to worship will go out through the south gate, and whoever enters through the south gate will go out through the north gate. People must not return the same way they entered. Each person must go out straight ahead. 10 The ruler should be there among the people. When the people go in, the ruler will go in with them, and when they go out, the ruler will too.
11 “At the festivals and other special meetings, an ephah of grain as an offering must be offered with each young bull, and an ephah of grain as an offering must be offered with each ram. As for the grain offering with the lambs, the ruler can give as much as he wants. But he must give 1 hin of olive oil for each ephah of grain.
12 “When the ruler gives a freewill offering to the Lord—it might be a burnt offering, a fellowship offering, or a freewill offering—the east gate will be opened for him. Then he will offer his burnt offering and his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. After he leaves, the gate will be shut.
The Daily Offering
13 “Every day you will provide a year-old lamb that has nothing wrong with it. It will be for a burnt offering to the Lord. You will provide it every morning. 14 Also, you will offer a grain offering with the lamb every morning. You will give 1/6 ephah[f] of flour and 1/3 hin[g] of oil to make the fine flour moist. It will be the daily grain offering to the Lord. 15 So they will give the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil every morning for a burnt offering forever.”
Laws of Inheritance for the Ruler
16 This is what the Lord God says: “If the ruler gives a gift from part of his land to any of his sons, it will belong to his sons. It is their property. 17 But if the ruler gives a gift from part of his land to one of his slaves, the gift will belong to the slave only until the year of freedom.[h] Then the gift will go back to the ruler. Only the ruler’s sons will keep a gift of land from the ruler. 18 And the ruler will not take any of the people’s land or force them to leave their land. He must give some of his own land to his sons. In that way my people will not be forced to lose their land.”
The Special Kitchens
19 The man led me through the entrance at the side of the gate. He led me to the holy rooms for the priests on the north side. There I saw a place at the west end of the path. 20 The man said to me, “This is where the priests will boil the guilt offering and the sin offering and will bake the grain offering. Why? So they will not need to bring these offerings out into the outer courtyard. So they will not bring those holy things out where the common people are.”
21 Then the man led me out to the outer courtyard. He led me to the four corners of the courtyard. I saw smaller courtyards in each corner of the large courtyard. 22 There was a small, enclosed area in each of the four corners of the courtyard. Each small courtyard was 40 cubits[i] long and 30 cubits[j] wide. The four areas measured the same. 23 There was a brick wall around each of the four small courtyards, and there were places built into the brick walls for cooking. 24 The man said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who serve at the Temple cook the sacrifices for the people.”
A Call to Holy Living
13 So prepare your minds for service. With complete self-control put all your hope in the grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ comes. 14 In the past you did not have the understanding you have now, so you did the evil things you wanted to do. But now you are children of God, so you should obey him and not live the way you did before. 15 Be holy in everything you do, just as God is holy. He is the one who chose you. 16 In the Scriptures God says, “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a]
17 You pray to God and call him Father, but he will judge everyone the same way—by what they do. So while you are visiting here on earth, you should live with respect for God. 18 You know that in the past the way you were living was useless. It was a way of life you learned from those who lived before you. But you were saved from that way of living. You were bought, but not with things that ruin like gold or silver. 19 You were bought with the precious blood of Christ’s death. He was a pure and perfect sacrificial Lamb. 20 Christ was chosen before the world was made, but he was shown to the world in these last times for you. 21 You believe in God through Christ. God is the one who raised him from death and gave honor to him. So your faith and your hope are in God.
22 You have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. Now you can have true love for your brothers and sisters. So love each other deeply—with all your heart. 23 You have been born again. This new life did not come from something that dies. It came from something that cannot die. You were born again through God’s life-giving message that lasts forever. 24 The Scriptures say,
“Our lives are like the grass of spring,
and any glory we enjoy is like the beauty of a wildflower.
The grass dries up and dies,
and the flower falls to the ground.
25 But the word of the Lord lasts forever.” (A)
And that word is the Good News that was told to you.
The Living Stone and the Holy Nation
2 So then, stop doing anything to hurt others. Don’t lie anymore, and stop trying to fool people. Don’t be jealous or say bad things about others. 2 Like newborn babies hungry for milk, you should want the pure teaching that feeds your spirit. With it you can grow up and be saved. 3 You have already tasted the goodness of the Lord.
4 The Lord Jesus is the living stone.[b] The people of the world decided that they did not want this stone. But he is the one God chose as one of great value. So come to him. 5 You also are like living stones, and God is using you to build a spiritual house.[c] You are to serve God in this house as holy priests, offering him spiritual sacrifices that he will accept because of Jesus Christ. 6 The Scriptures say,
“Look, I have chosen a cornerstone of great value,
and I put that stone in Zion.
Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.” (B)
7 So, that stone brings honor for you who believe. But for those who don’t believe he is
“the stone that the builders refused to accept,
which became the most important stone.” (C)
8 For them he is also
“a stone that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes people fall.” (D)
People stumble because they don’t obey what God says. This is what God planned to happen to those people.
9 But you are his chosen people, the King’s priests. You are a holy nation, people who belong to God. He chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He brought you out of the darkness of sin into his wonderful light.
10 In the past you were not a special people,
but now you are God’s people.
Once you had not received mercy,
but now God has given you his mercy.[d]
He
33 Lord, teach me your laws,
and I will always follow them.
34 Help me understand your teachings,
and I will follow them.
Obeying them will be my greatest desire.
35 Help me follow your commands,
because that makes me happy.
36 Give me the desire to follow your rules,
not the desire to get rich.
37 Don’t let me look at worthless things.
Help me live your way.
38 Do what you promised me, your servant,
so that people will respect you.
39 Take away the shame I fear.
Your laws are good.
40 See how much I want to obey your instructions!
Be good to me, and let me live.
Waw
41 Lord, show me your faithful love.
Save me, as you promised.
42 Then I will have an answer for those who make fun of me
for trusting what you say.
43 Let me always say what is true.
I depend on your judgment to be fair.
44 I will follow your teachings forever and ever.
45 So I will live in freedom,
because I do my best to know your instructions.
46 I will discuss your rules with kings,
and no one will embarrass me.
47 What joy your commands give me!
How I love them!
48 Not only do I love your commands, but I also honor them.
I will study your laws.
11 The rich always think they are wise, but a poor person who is wise can see the truth.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International