Leviticus 1–3

The Burnt Offering

1The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Meeting Tent, saying, ²“Tell the people of Israel: ‘When you bring an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from the herd or flock.

³“ ‘If the offering is a whole burnt offering from the herd, it must be a male that has nothing wrong with it. The person must take the animal to the entrance of the Meeting Tent so that the Lord will accept the offering. ⁴He must put his hand on the animal’s head, and the Lord will accept it to remove the person’s sin so he will belong to God. ⁵He must kill the young bull before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, must bring its blood and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. ⁶After that he will skin the animal and cut it into pieces. ⁷The priests, when they have put wood and fire on the altar, ⁸are to lay the head, the fat, and other pieces on the wood that is on the fire of the altar. ⁹The animal’s inner organs and legs must be washed with water. Then the priest must burn all the animal’s parts on the altar. It is a whole burnt offering, an offering made by fire, and its smell is pleasing to the Lord.

¹⁰“ ‘If the burnt offering is a sheep or a goat from the flock, it must be a male that has nothing wrong with it. ¹¹The person must kill the animal on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, must sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar. ¹²The person must cut the animal into pieces, and the priest must lay them, with the head and fat, on the wood that is on the fire of the altar. ¹³The person must wash the animal’s inner organs and legs with water, and then the priest must burn all its parts on the altar. It is a whole burnt offering, an offering made by fire, and its smell is pleasing to the Lord.

¹⁴“ ‘If the whole burnt offering for the Lord is a bird, it must be a dove or a young pigeon. ¹⁵The priest will bring it to the altar and pull off its head, which he will burn on the altar; the bird’s blood must be drained out on the side of the altar. ¹⁶The priest must remove the bird’s crop ⁿ and its contents and throw them on the east side of the altar, where the ashes are. ¹⁷Then he must tear the bird open by its wings without dividing it into two parts. He must burn the bird on the altar, on the wood which is on the fire. It is a whole burnt offering, an offering made by fire, and its smell is pleasing to the Lord.

The Grain Offering

2“ ‘When anyone offers a grain offering to the Lord, it must be made from fine flour. The person must pour oil on it, put incense on it, ²and then take it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. The priest must take a handful of the fine flour and oil and all the incense, and burn it on the altar as a memorial portion. It is an offering made by fire, and its smell is pleasing to the Lord. ³The rest of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and the priests; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the Lord.

⁴“ ‘If you bring a grain offering that was baked in the oven, it must be made from fine flour. It may be loaves made without yeast and mixed with oil, or it may be wafers made without yeast that have oil poured over them. ⁵If your grain offering is cooked on a griddle, it must be made, without yeast, of fine flour mixed with oil. ⁶Crumble it and pour oil over it; it is a grain offering. ⁷If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, it must be made from fine flour and oil. ⁸Bring the grain offering made of these things to the Lord. Give it to the priest, and he will take it to the altar. ⁹He will take out the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar, as an offering made by fire. Its smell is pleasing to the Lord. ¹⁰The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and the priests. It is a most holy part of the offerings made to the Lord by fire.

¹¹“ ‘Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast, because you must not burn any yeast or honey in an offering made by fire to the Lord. ¹²You may bring yeast and honey to the Lord as an offering from the first harvest, but they must not be burned on the altar as a pleasing smell. ¹³You must also put salt on all your grain offerings. Salt stands for your agreement with God that will last forever; do not leave it out of your grain offering. You must add salt to all your offerings.

¹⁴“ ‘If you bring a grain offering from the first harvest to the Lord, bring crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire. ¹⁵Put oil and incense on it; it is a grain offering. ¹⁶The priest will burn the memorial portion of the crushed grain and oil, with the incense on it. It is an offering by fire to the Lord.

The Fellowship Offering

3“ ‘If a person’s fellowship offering to the Lord is from the herd, it may be a male or female, but it must have nothing wrong with it. ²The person must put his hand on the animal’s head and kill it at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. Then Aaron’s sons, the priests, must sprinkle the blood on all sides of the altar. ³From the fellowship offering he must make a sacrifice by fire to the Lord. He must offer the fat of the animal’s inner organs (both the fat that is in them and that covers them), ⁴both kidneys with the fat that is on them near the lower back muscle, and the best part of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys. ⁵Then the priests will burn these parts on the altar, on the whole burnt offering that is on the wood of the fire. It is an offering made by fire, and its smell is pleasing to the Lord.

⁶“ ‘If a person’s fellowship offering to the Lord is a lamb or a goat, it may be a male or female, but it must have nothing wrong with it. ⁷If he offers a lamb, he must bring it before the Lord ⁸and put his hand on its head. Then he must kill the animal in front of the Meeting Tent, and the priests must sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar. ⁹From the fellowship offering the person must make a sacrifice by fire to the Lord. He must bring the fat, the whole fat tail cut off close to the backbone, the fat of the inner organs (both the fat that is in them and that covers them), ¹⁰both kidneys with the fat that is on them, near the lower back muscle, and the best part of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys. ¹¹Then the priest will burn these parts on the altar as food; it will be an offering made by fire to the Lord.

¹²“ ‘If a person’s offering is a goat, he must offer it before the Lord ¹³and put his hand on its head. Then he must kill it in front of the Meeting Tent, and the priests must sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar. ¹⁴From this offering the person must make a sacrifice by fire to the Lord. He must offer all the fat of the goat’s inner organs (both the fat that is in them and that covers them), ¹⁵both kidneys with the fat that is on them near the lower back muscle, and the best part of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys. ¹⁶The priest will burn these parts on the altar as food. It is an offering made by fire, and its smell is pleasing to the Lord. All the fat belongs to the Lord.

¹⁷“ ‘This law will continue for people from now on, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or blood.’ ”