Old/New Testament

Rules for Burnt Offerings

1 The Lord called out to Moses. He spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said, ² “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘Suppose anyone among you brings an offering to the Lord. They must bring an animal from their herd or flock.

³ “ ‘If someone brings a burnt offering from the herd, they must offer a male animal. It must not have any flaws. They must bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then the Lord will accept it. ⁴ They must place their hand on the head of the burnt offering. Then the Lord will accept it in place of them. It will pay for their sin. ⁵ The young bull must be killed there in the sight of the Lord. Then the priests in Aaron’s family line must bring its blood to the altar. They must splash it against the sides of the altar. The altar stands at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁶ The skin must be removed from the animal brought for the burnt offering. Then the animal must be cut into pieces. ⁷ The priests in Aaron’s family line must build a fire on the altar. They must place wood on the fire. ⁸ Then they must place the pieces of the animal on the burning wood on the altar. The pieces include the head and the fat. ⁹ The inside parts of the animal must be washed with water. The legs must also be washed. The priest must burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering. It is a food offering. Its smell pleases the Lord.

¹⁰ “ ‘If someone offers a burnt offering from the flock, it must be a male animal. It can be a sheep or a goat. It must not have any flaws. ¹¹ They must kill it at the north side of the altar in the sight of the Lord. The priests in Aaron’s family line must splash its blood against the sides of the altar. ¹² They must cut the animal into pieces. The priest must place the pieces on the burning wood on the altar. The pieces include the head and the fat. ¹³ They must wash the inside parts with water. The legs must also be washed. The priest must bring all the parts to the altar. He must burn them there. It is a burnt offering. It is a food offering. Its smell pleases the Lord.

¹⁴ “ ‘If someone offers to the Lord a burnt offering of birds, it must be a dove or a young pigeon. ¹⁵ The priest must bring it to the altar. He must twist its head off. Then he must burn the rest of the bird on the altar. Its blood must be emptied out on the side of the altar. ¹⁶ The priest must remove the small bag inside the bird’s throat. He must also remove the feathers. Then he must throw them to the east side of the altar. That is where the ashes are. ¹⁷ He must take hold of the wings of the bird and tear it open. But he must not tear it in two. Then the priest will burn it on the wood burning on the altar. It is a burnt offering. It is a food offering. Its smell pleases the Lord.

Rules for Grain Offerings

2 “ ‘Suppose anyone brings a grain offering to the Lord. Then their offering must be made out of the finest flour. They must pour olive oil on it. They must also put incense on it. ² They must take it to the priests in Aaron’s family line. A priest must take a handful of the flour and oil. He must mix them with all the incense. Then he must burn that part on the altar. It will be a reminder that all good things come from the Lord. It is a food offering. Its smell pleases the Lord. ³ The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and to the priests in his family line. It is a very holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord.

⁴ “ ‘If you bring a grain offering baked in an oven, make it out of the finest flour. It can be thick loaves of bread made without yeast. Mix them with olive oil. Or it can be thin loaves of bread that are made without yeast. Spread olive oil on them. ⁵ If your grain offering is cooked on a metal plate, make your offering out of the finest flour. Mix it with oil. Make it without yeast. ⁶ Break it into pieces. Pour oil on it. It is a grain offering. ⁷ If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, make your offering out of the finest flour and some olive oil. ⁸ Bring to the Lord your grain offering made out of all these things. Give it to the priest. He must take it to the altar. ⁹ All good things come from the Lord. The priest must take out the part of the grain offering that reminds you of this. He must burn it on the altar. It is a food offering. Its smell pleases the Lord. ¹⁰ The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and the priests in his family line. It is a very holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord.

¹¹ “ ‘Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast. You must not add any yeast or honey to a food offering presented to the Lord. ¹² You can bring them to the Lord as an offering of the first share of food you gather or produce. But they must not be offered on the altar as a pleasant smell. ¹³ Put salt on all your grain offerings. Salt stands for the lasting covenant between you and your God. So do not leave it out of your grain offerings. Add salt to all your offerings.

¹⁴ “ ‘Suppose you bring to the Lord a grain offering of the first share of your food. Then offer crushed heads of your first grain that have been cooked in fire. ¹⁵ Put olive oil and incense on the grain. It is a grain offering. ¹⁶ The priest must burn part of the crushed grain and the oil. It will remind you that all good things come from the Lord. The priest must burn it together with all the incense. It is a food offering presented to the Lord.

Rules for Friendship Offerings

3 “ ‘Suppose someone brings a friendship offering. If they offer an animal from the herd, it can be either male or female. It must not have any flaws. They must offer it in the sight of the Lord. ² They must place their hand on the animal’s head. It must be killed at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then the priests in Aaron’s family line must splash the blood against the sides of the altar. ³ Part of the friendship offering must be given to the Lord as a food offering. It must include all the fat that is connected to them. ⁴ It must include both kidneys with the fat on them next to the lower back muscles. It must also include the long part of the liver. All of it must be removed together with the kidneys. ⁵ Then the priests in Aaron’s family line must burn it on the altar. They must burn it on top of the burnt offering that is lying on the burning wood. It is a food offering. Its smell pleases the Lord.

⁶ “ ‘Suppose someone brings an animal from the flock as a friendship offering to the Lord. It can be either male or female. It must not have any flaws. ⁷ If they bring a lamb, they must offer it in the sight of the Lord. ⁸ They must place their hand on the lamb’s head. It must be killed there in front of the tent of meeting. Then the priests in Aaron’s family line must splash its blood against the sides of the altar. ⁹ Part of the offering must be brought as a sacrifice presented to the Lord. It must include the lamb’s fat and the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone. It must include all the fat that is connected to them. ¹⁰ It must include both kidneys with the fat on them next to the lower back muscles. The offering must also include the long part of the liver. That must be removed together with the kidneys. ¹¹ Then the priest must burn the offering on the altar as food. It is a food offering presented to the Lord.

¹² “ ‘If someone brings a goat, they must offer it in the sight of the Lord. ¹³ They must place their hand on its head. It must be killed there in front of the tent of meeting. Then the priests in Aaron’s family line must splash its blood against the sides of the altar. ¹⁴ Part of the offering must be brought as a food offering presented to the Lord. It must include all the fat that is connected to them. ¹⁵ It must include both kidneys with the fat on them next to the lower back muscles. It must also include the long part of the liver. That must be removed together with the kidneys. ¹⁶ Then the priest must burn the offering on the altar as food. It is a food offering. It has a pleasant smell. All the fat belongs to the Lord.

¹⁷ “ ‘You must not eat any fat or any blood. That is a law that will last for all time to come. It applies no matter where you live.’ ”

When the Temple Will Be Destroyed and the Signs of the End

24 Jesus left the temple. He was walking away when his disciples came up to him. They wanted to call his attention to the temple buildings. ² “Do you see all these things?” Jesus asked. “What I’m about to tell you is true. Not one stone here will be left on top of another. Every stone will be thrown down.”

³ Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. There the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us,” they said. “When will this happen? And what will be the sign of your coming? What will be the sign of the end?”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Keep watch! Be careful that no one fools you. ⁵ Many will come in my name. They will claim, ‘I am the Messiah!’ They will fool many people. ⁶ You will hear about wars. You will also hear people talking about future wars. Don’t be alarmed. Those things must happen. But the end still isn’t here. ⁷ Nation will fight against nation. Kingdom will fight against kingdom. People will go hungry. There will be earthquakes in many places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “Then people will hand you over to be treated badly and killed. All nations will hate you because of me. ¹⁰ At that time, many will turn away from their faith. They will hate each other. They will hand each other over to their enemies. ¹¹ Many false prophets will appear. They will fool many people. ¹² Because evil will grow, most people’s love will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who remains strong in the faith will be saved. ¹⁴ This good news of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world. It will be a witness to all nations. Then the end will come.

¹⁵ “The prophet Daniel spoke about ‘the hated thing that destroys.’ (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) Someday you will see it standing in the holy place. The reader should understand this. ¹⁶ Then those who are in Judea should escape to the mountains. ¹⁷ No one on the housetop should go down into the house to take anything out. ¹⁸ No one in the field should go back to get their coat. ¹⁹ How awful it will be in those days for pregnant women! How awful for nursing mothers! ²⁰ Pray that you will not have to escape in winter or on the Sabbath day. ²¹ There will be terrible suffering in those days. It will be worse than any other from the beginning of the world until now. And there will never be anything like it again.

²² “If the time had not been cut short, no one would live. But because of God’s chosen people, it will be shortened. ²³ At that time someone may say to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ Or, ‘There he is!’ Do not believe it. ²⁴ False messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will do great signs and miracles. They will try to fool God’s chosen people if possible. ²⁵ See, I have told you ahead of time.

²⁶ “So if anyone tells you, ‘He is a long way out in the desert,’ do not go out there. Or if anyone says, ‘He is deep inside the house,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ Lightning that comes from the east can be seen in the west. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. ²⁸ The vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.