Old/New Testament
29 Eternal One: Here is how to conduct the ceremony that consecrates Aaron and his sons as priests: select one flawless young bull and two flawless rams. 2 Using a good quality wheat flour, make bread without yeast, cakes without yeast with oil, and wafers without yeast spread with oil. 3 Place all these baked goods in a basket, and offer them to God along with the young bull and two rams.
4 Then escort Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the congregation tent, and wash them carefully with water. 5 Take all the ceremonial garments and put them on Aaron: the tunic, the robe worn under the vest, the vest, and the breast piece. Fasten the vest’s waistband around him as well. 6 Place the turban on his head and attach the sacred medallion to the front of it. 7 When he is completely dressed, pour the anointing oil over his head.
8 Then escort Aaron’s sons to the congregation tent, and dress them in tunics as well. 9 Fasten sashes around the waists of Aaron and his sons and put special caps on their heads. This is how you are to ordain[a] them.
10 Then bring the young bull to the entrance of the congregation tent, and Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on its head. 11 Slaughter the bull in My presence at the entrance of the congregation tent. 12 Take some of the bull’s blood and smear it on the horns of the altar with your finger. Pour out any remaining blood at the foot of the altar. 13 Remove all the fat from around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, the two kidneys, and the fat surrounding them and burn them on the altar. 14 All the remaining parts of the bull—its hide, meat, and refuse—are to be burned as a sin offering away from the camp.
15 Select one of the rams and have Aaron and his sons lay their hands on its head. 16 Slaughter the ram and splatter its blood on all sides of the altar. 17 Then cut the ram up into pieces. Clean out the intestines and wash off the legs so nothing unclean is mixed with the sacrifice. Then place them alongside the other pieces, including the head, 18 and burn the entire animal as a burnt offering to Me. This offering by fire presented to Me will give off a pleasing aroma.
19 Then bring the other ram, and have Aaron and his sons lay their hands on its head. 20 Slaughter the ram, and smear some of its blood on the right earlobe of Aaron and his sons. Then smear it on the thumbs of their right hands and the big toes of their right feet. Splatter the remaining blood on all sides of the altar. 21 Collect some of the blood from the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. This is how you are to consecrate Aaron, his sons, and their garments. 22 Next remove the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat from around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat surrounding them, and the right thigh (because this is an offering for ordination). 23 Take one loaf of bread, one cake of bread with oil, and one wafer from the basket of yeastless bread that was placed before Me. 24 Place all of these in the hands of Aaron and his sons to lift up as a wave offering to Me. 25 Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering. This offering by fire presented to Me will give off a pleasing aroma.
26 Then take the breast from Aaron’s ordination ram, and lift it up before Me as a wave offering. This will be your portion of the sacrifice. 27 Consecrate the breast and the thigh which were lifted up before Me as a wave offering from the ordination ram. They belong to Aaron and his sons. 28 From now on when the people of Israel offer a peace offering, Aaron and his descendants must receive a share of what the people offer Me in that sacrifice. It is their due for their priestly service.
This ceremony becomes the ritual by which generations of priests and high priests are consecrated for their sacred duties.
29 When Aaron dies, his sacred garments must be passed down to his descendants. They will wear them when they are anointed and ordained. 30 Aaron’s son who succeeds him as high priest to minister in the congregation tent and holy place will wear these clothes for seven days.
One difficult aspect of Old Testament life to appreciate (at least in the Western world) is the use of animal sacrifices. The Israelites are first a nomadic people; later when they are settled, they become a shepherding people. For them to offer their best and dearest to God means most naturally an animal, one without blemish and young. These animals are the basis of their economy and provide them with food, clothing, shelter, and security. To offer God an animal sacrifice is to offer a piece of their lives. So offerings are very personal and differ based on what families can afford. In some cases, the sacrifices are completely consumed, but in others the priests and the people take some of the meat home to their own tables. This way the whole community shares in the bounty of the sacrifice.
Eternal One: 31 Take the meat of the ordination ram and boil it in a sacred place. 32 Aaron and his sons are to eat it and the bread from the basket at the entrance to the congregation tent. 33 Only they are allowed to eat the bread and meat which was part of their purification rite in the ordination ceremony. An outsider may not eat them because they are holy. 34 If any meat or bread is left over from the ordination ceremony the next morning, burn it completely. No one is allowed to eat it, for it is holy.
35 The ordination period is to last for seven days. Here is what you must do to ordain Aaron and his sons to My priestly service. 36 Offer a bull as an offering every day for seven days to purify them from sin. Cleanse the altar and consecrate it by anointing it with oil. 37 For seven days you must purify the altar and consecrate it. As a result of these rituals it will be most holy and anything that touches the altar will become holy.
38 Here are the sacrifices you are to offer on the altar: every day offer two one-year-old lambs. 39 Offer one lamb in the morning, and the other at twilight. 40 With the lamb offered in the morning bring two quarts of fine flour mixed together with one quart of beaten olive oil, and one quart of wine for the drink offering. 41 With the second lamb offered at twilight, bring the same gifts of grain and drink that you offered with the morning lamb. These offerings by fire presented to Me will give off a pleasing aroma. 42 From generation to generation, the ritual of the burnt offering is to begin daily at the entrance of the congregation tent in My presence. I will meet with you and talk with you there. 43 I will meet with My people Israel there, for My glory will make that place sacred. 44 I will sanctify the congregation tent and the altar. I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve as My priests. 45 I will live among the Israelites and be their God. 46 And they will know that I am the Eternal their God, who led them out of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the Eternal One their God.
30 Eternal One: Make an altar out of acacia wood for burning incense 2 in the shape of a square—18 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 36 inches high. Carve the horns and the top of the altar out of one piece of wood. 3 Overlay the top, sides, and horns with pure gold, and attach gold trim around its edges. 4 Fashion two gold rings, and attach them beneath the trim on the two opposite sides; the rings are to hold the poles so that the altar can be carried. 5 Make the poles out of acacia wood as well and overlay them with gold. 6 Place this altar just outside of the veil that conceals the covenant chest and the seat of mercy that sits on top of the covenant chest. I will meet with you there.
7 Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he trims the lamps’ wicks 8 and every evening when he lights the lamps. Incense must be burned in My presence throughout all your generations. 9 Do not burn any strange incense, burnt offerings, or grain offerings at this altar. Also, do not pour out any drink offerings on it. 10 Since this altar is sacred to Me, Aaron is to cleanse it once each year by smearing blood from the sin offering on its horns. Throughout all your generations, the high priests are to perform this ritual.
11 The Eternal One continued giving instructions to Moses.
Eternal One (to Moses): 12 When you take a census of the population of Israel, each person should pay a ransom to Me so that no disease will spread among them when you count them. 13 Everyone who is counted must bring ⅕ ounce of silver—a weight based on the sanctuary’s measure, where ⅖ ounce equals 20 gerahs[b]—and it is to be given to Me as an offering. 14 Everyone who is 20 years old and older will be counted and must give this offering to Me. 15 The rich will not pay more, and the poor will not pay less than ⅕ of an ounce. This money will go to Me in order to ransom your lives. 16 Take all the money collected from the people of Israel and use it to provide for the service of the congregation tent. This will serve as a constant reminder of My covenant with Israel and provide a way to atone for your lives.
17 The Eternal One instructed Moses regarding the basin for ceremonial washing.
Eternal One: 18 Make a bronze basin for ceremonial washing and set it on a bronze stand. Place it between the congregation tent and the altar. Keep water in it at all times. 19-20 When Aaron and his sons enter the congregation tent, or when they approach the altar to minister before Me by offering a sacrifice by fire, they must wash their feet and hands so that they will not die. 21 It is important that they are to wash their hands and feet, so that they will not die. This directive stands forever for Aaron and his descendants, and they must observe it throughout all generations.
22 The Eternal One instructed Moses regarding the anointing oil.
Eternal One: 23 Collect the best spices: twelve and a half pounds of liquid myrrh, six pounds of fragrant cinnamon, six pounds of fragrant cane, 24 and twelve and a half pounds of cassia—in accordance with the sanctuary weights—and one gallon of olive oil. 25 Blend all these spices together like a skillful perfumer to make a holy anointing oil; this fragrant mixture will be used as a holy anointing oil. 26 Use it to anoint the congregation tent and the covenant chest, 27 the table and all its accessories, the lampstand and its tools, the altar of incense, 28 the altar for the burnt offering and all its tools, and the basin and its stand. 29 Consecrate all these furnishings and their utensils so that they are most holy. Anything that touches them will become holy.
30 Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them, so that they are able to serve as My priests. 31 Address the Israelites and say, “This is My sacred anointing oil that you will use for all generations. 32 It must not be poured on anyone else. Do not attempt to make an anointing oil for your own purposes with the same ingredients in the same proportions. It is sacred, and it is to be sacred to you. 33 Whoever makes a similar blend or anoints anyone who is not ordained as a priest will be cut off from the community.”
34 The Eternal One instructed Moses regarding the fragrant incense.
Eternal One: Gather three aromatic spices—stacte, onycha, galbanum—and mix them with pure frankincense in equal measure. 35 Have a perfumer take this mixture and blend it carefully with salt in order to create a pure and sacred incense. 36 Grind it into a fine powder, and place some of it in front of the covenant chest in the congregation tent where I will meet with you. It will be most holy to you. 37 Do not attempt to make incense for yourselves with the same ingredients in the same proportion. You must regard this as perfectly sacred to Me. 38 Whoever makes an incense like it and uses it for themselves will be cut off from the community.
23 Jesus returned to the temple and began to teach. The chief priests and elders came to Him and wanted to know who had given Him permission to disturb the temple precincts and to teach His crazy notions in this most sacred of spots.
Chief Priests and Elders: Who gave You the authority to do these things?
Jesus: 24 I will answer your question if first you answer one of Mine: 25 You saw John ritually cleansing people through baptism[a] for the redemption of their sins. Did John’s cleansing come from heaven, or was he simply washing people of his own whim?
The elders knew that this question was tricky; there was no simple answer. If they acknowledged that John’s ritual cleansing was from heaven, Jesus would ask why they had not accepted John’s authority. 26 But if they said he had dipped people simply by his own accord, they would outrage the people who believed John was a prophet.
Chief Priests and Elders: 27 We don’t know.
Jesus: Then neither will I tell you about the authority under which I am working. 28 But I will tell you a story, and you can tell Me what you make of it: There was a man who had two sons. He said to his first son,
Father: Go and work in the vineyard today.
First Son: 29 No, I will not.
But later the first son changed his mind and went. 30 Then the father went to his second son.
Father: Go and work in the vineyard today.
Second Son: Of course, Father.
But then he did not go. 31 So which of the sons did what the father wanted?
Chief Priests and Elders (answering at once): The first.
Jesus: I tell you this: the tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 John came to show you the straight path, the path to righteousness. You did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. Even as you saw the prostitutes and the tax collectors forgiven and washed clean, finding their footing on the straight path to righteousness, still you did not change your ways and believe.
33 Here is another story: A landowner planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, fitted it with a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard and left town. 34 When harvesttime came, the landowner sent his servants to collect rent—in the form of grapes—from his tenants. 35 The tenants attacked these rent-collecting servants. They killed one, stoned another, and beat a third. 36 The dismayed landowner sent another band of servants to try to collect his due, a larger group of servants this time, but the tenants did the same thing—capturing, beating, killing. 37 Finally the landowner sent his son to the tenants, thinking, “They will at least respect my son.” 38 But the tenants knew the son was the best way to get to the landowner, so when they saw the son approaching they said,
Tenants: This is the landowner’s heir apparent! Let’s kill him and take his inheritance.
39 And so they did; they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 What do you think the landowner will do when he comes and sees those tenants?
Chief Priests and Elders: 41 He will eviscerate them, to be sure! Then he will rent the vineyard to other tenants who will pay him at harvesttime.
Jesus: 42 I wonder if any of you has ever opened your own psalter:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very stone that holds together the entire foundation.
This is the work of the Eternal One,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.[b]
43 Therefore, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people who will tend its sweet fruit and who will give the Creator His due. [44 He who falls on the stone will be broken to pieces, and he on whom the stone falls will be crushed.][c]
Jesus has just confronted the spiritual leaders of the land with hard reality. They have two choices: they can believe Him and repent, or they can disbelieve Him and call His stories rabble-rousing and craziness. In their minds, the cost of believing is just too high. Everything they have—their positions and standings in the community, their worldviews, their own images of themselves—is at stake. But they can’t openly condemn this popular teacher of the people.
45 And so the chief priests and the Pharisees, the teachers and the elders, knew that when Jesus told these stories He was speaking about them. 46 Not believing, they looked for a way to arrest Him—a stealthy way, though. They were afraid to make too bold a move against Him because all the people believed He was a prophet.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.