Old/New Testament
The Calendar of Holy Times
23 The Lord told Moses 2 to speak to the Israelites and to tell them this:
These are the appointed times of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as holy convocations. These are my appointed times:
The Sabbath
3 On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work. It shall be a sabbath to the Lord in all the places you live.
4 These are the appointed times of the Lord, the holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.
The Festival of Passover
5 The first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, is the Lord’s Passover, 6 and the fifteenth day of this month is the Festival of Unleavened Bread for the Lord. You shall eat unleavened bread for seven days. 7 On the first day a holy convocation is to be proclaimed for you. You shall not do any work in your regular occupation. 8 You shall present an offering by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be proclaimed as a holy convocation. You shall not do any work for your regular occupation.
The Festival of Firstfruits
9 The Lord told Moses 10 to speak to the people of Israel and tell them this:
When you enter the land that I am giving to you and you reap its harvest, and when you bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest 11 so that he may wave the sheaf before the Lord so that you will be accepted, the priest shall wave it on the day after the Sabbath. 12 On the day that you wave the sheaf, you shall offer as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb without blemish, one year old. 13 The grain offering accompanying it is to be four quarts[a] of fine wheat flour mixed with oil, a gift to the Lord, a pleasing aroma. The drink offering accompanying it shall be a quart[b] of wine. 14 You shall not eat any of this year’s bread or roasted grain or fresh ears until this very day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a permanent regulation throughout your generations in all the places you live.
The Festival of Weeks or Pentecost
15 Then from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you bring the sheaf to be waved, you shall count off seven weeks for yourselves. They must be complete weeks. 16 You shall count fifty days, until you reach the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 From the places where you live you shall bring two loaves of bread as a wave offering. They shall be made of four quarts of fine wheat flour, baked with yeast, as first ripe produce for the Lord.
18 Then with the bread you shall present seven lambs without blemish, each of them one year old, one young bull from the herd, and two rams—they shall be a whole burnt offering for the Lord, together with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 19 You shall also present the sin offering with one male goat and the fellowship offering with two one-year-old male lambs. 20 The priest shall wave them, together with the bread from the first ripe produce, as a wave offering before the Lord, in addition to the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest.
21 On this very same day you shall make a proclamation. A holy convocation will be proclaimed for you. You shall do no work in your regular occupation. This is a permanent regulation in all the places you live throughout your generations.
22 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not completely reap the edges of your field or gather the dropped stalks from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the resident alien. I am the Lord your God.
The Festival of the Ram’s Horn[c]
23 The Lord told Moses 24 to speak to the people of Israel:
In the seventh month, on the first of the month, you shall have a complete rest, a memorial celebration with loud blasts of the ram’s horn, proclaimed as a holy convocation. 25 You shall not do any work in your regular occupation, and you shall present a gift made by fire to the Lord.
The Day of Atonement
26 The Lord spoke to Moses:
27 It is the tenth day of this seventh month that is the Day of Atonement. It shall be proclaimed as a holy convocation for you. You shall humble yourselves,[d] and you shall present an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 You shall not do any work on this special day,[e] because it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 Indeed, anyone who does not humble himself on this special day will be cut off from his people. 30 Anyone who does any work on this very special day, I will exterminate from the midst of his people. 31 You shall do no work. This is a permanent regulation throughout your generations in all your places where you live. 32 It is a sabbath of complete rest for you. You shall humble yourselves on the ninth day of the month at evening. From that evening until the next evening, you shall observe a sabbath rest.
The Festival of Shelters
33 The Lord told Moses 34 to tell the people of Israel this:
Beginning on the fifteenth day of this seventh month, celebrate the Festival of Shelters[f] for seven days for the Lord. 35 On the first day proclaim a holy convocation. You shall not do any work for your regular occupation. 36 For seven days you shall bring an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day proclaim a holy convocation for yourselves, and you shall present an offering made by fire to the Lord. This is a closing ceremony. You shall not do any work for your regular occupation.
37 These are the appointed times of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as holy convocations for the presentation of offerings made by fire to the Lord—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings as commanded for each day. 38 Offer these in addition to the Sabbath offerings of the Lord, in addition to your personal wave offerings, in addition to all your offerings to fulfill a vow, and in addition to all your voluntary[g] offerings that you give to the Lord.
39 Beginning exactly on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, when you go to celebrate the festival of the Lord for seven days as a pilgrim, there shall be a complete sabbath rest on the first day and a complete sabbath rest on the eighth day. 40 On the first day you shall select for yourselves fruit from splendid trees, branches of palm trees, boughs from leafy trees, and willows from by the stream—and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate the festival for the Lord as a pilgrim for seven days each year. This is a permanent regulation throughout your generations. In the seventh month you shall celebrate the festival as a pilgrim. 42 You shall live in temporary shelters for seven days—every native-born person in Israel shall live in shelters— 43 so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
44 That is what Moses said about the appointed times of the Lord to the people of Israel.
The Holy Oil
24 The Lord spoke to Moses:
2 Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil from beaten[h] olives for the Light so the lamps will be kept burning continually.[i] 3 Aaron shall set the Light before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is in front of the Testimony, every night from the evening to the morning. It is a permanent regulation throughout your generations. 4 He shall set the lamps regularly on the pure gold lampstand before the Lord.
The Holy Bread
5 You shall take fine flour and bake twelve round loaves from it. Each loaf shall be made with four quarts of flour. 6 You shall put them in two stacks, six to each stack, on the pure gold table before the Lord. 7 Upon the stacks you shall place clear frankincense as a memorial portion for the bread. It is a gift of food[j] to the Lord. 8 On every Sabbath day he shall arrange it before the Lord regularly. It is a permanent covenant on behalf of the Israelites. 9 The bread shall belong to Aaron and his sons, who shall eat it in a holy place, for it belongs to him as a most holy thing from the gifts of food to the Lord, a perpetual allotment.
Blasphemy Against the Holy Name
10 A man who was the son of an Israelite woman and of an Egyptian man came along with the Israelites. This son of the Israelite woman fought with another Israelite in the camp. 11 The Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name[k] and cursed, so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith, daughter of Dibri, belonging to the tribe of Dan.) 12 They put him in custody to wait for a decision from the mouth of the Lord.
13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 14 “Take the man who cursed outside the camp, and all those who heard it shall lay their hands on his head, and the whole community shall stone him. 15 Then speak to the Israelites: If anyone curses his God, he shall bear his sin, 16 but if anyone blasphemes the name of the Lord, he must certainly be put to death; the whole community must stone him. Whether he is an alien or a citizen, when he has blasphemed the Name, he must be put to death.”
17 “If anyone hits someone and kills him, he must certainly be put to death. 18 But one who strikes and kills an animal must make restitution for it, a life for a life. 19 If anyone injures his fellow citizen, he shall have the same thing done to him as he has done: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he injured that other person, the same is to be done to him. 21 One who strikes an animal so that it dies shall make restitution for it, but one who strikes a human being and kills him shall be put to death. 22 You shall have the same standard of justice for the alien who lives with you and for the citizen, for I am the Lord your God.”
23 After Moses had spoken this to the Israelites, the man who had cursed was taken outside the camp and stoned to death. The Israelites did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 This is how it is written in the prophet Isaiah:[a]
Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare the way for you.
3 A voice of one calling out in the wilderness,
“Prepare the way of the Lord.
Make his paths straight.”[b]
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 6 John was clothed in camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He preached, “One more powerful than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals! 8 I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
John Baptizes Jesus
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with you.”
Satan Tempts Jesus
12 The Spirit immediately sent Jesus out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels were serving him.
“Come, Follow Me”
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom[c] of God. 15 “The time is fulfilled,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near! Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
16 As Jesus was going along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 18 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 Going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately Jesus called them. They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. 21 Then they went into Capernaum.
Jesus Drives Out a Demon
On the next Sabbath day, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 They were amazed at his teaching, because he was teaching them as one who has authority and not as the experts in the law.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.