Leviticus 22:1–24:23

22 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offeringsq the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name.r I am the Lord.s

3 “Say to them: ‘For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord,t that person must be cut off from my presence.u I am the Lord.

4 “ ‘If a descendant of Aaron has a defiling skin diseasea or a bodily discharge,v he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is cleansed. He will also be unclean if he touches something defiled by a corpsew or by anyone who has an emission of semen, 5 or if he touches any crawling thingx that makes him unclean, or any persony who makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be. 6 The one who touches any such thing will be uncleanz till evening.a He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.b 7 When the sun goes down, he will be clean, and after that he may eat the sacred offerings, for they are his food.c 8 He must not eat anything found deadd or torn by wild animals,e and so become uncleanf through it. I am the Lord.g

9 “ ‘The priests are to perform my serviceh in such a way that they do not become guiltyi and diej for treating it with contempt. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.k

10 “ ‘No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired worker eat it.l 11 But if a priest buys a slave with money, or if slaves are born in his household, they may eat his food.m 12 If a priest’s daughter marries anyone other than a priest, she may not eat any of the sacred contributions. 13 But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or is divorced, yet has no children, and she returns to live in her father’s household as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat it.

14 “ ‘Anyone who eats a sacred offering by mistaken must make restitution to the priest for the offering and add a fifth of the valueo to it. 15 The priests must not desecrate the sacred offeringsp the Israelites present to the Lordq 16 by allowing them to eatr the sacred offerings and so bring upon them guilts requiring payment.t I am the Lord, who makes them holy.u’ ”

Unacceptable Sacrifices

17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘If any of you—whether an Israelite or a foreigner residing in Israelv—presents a giftw for a burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vowx or as a freewill offering,y 19 you must present a male without defectz from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf.a 20 Do not bring anything with a defect,b because it will not be accepted on your behalf.c 21 When anyone brings from the herd or flockd a fellowship offeringe to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering,f it must be without defect or blemishg to be acceptable.h 22 Do not offer to the Lord the blind, the injured or the maimed, or anything with warts or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord. 23 You may, however, present as a freewill offering an oxb or a sheep that is deformed or stunted, but it will not be accepted in fulfillment of a vow. 24 You must not offer to the Lord an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn or cut.i You must not do this in your own land, 25 and you must not accept such animals from the hand of a foreigner and offer them as the food of your God.j They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and have defects.k’ ”

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “When a calf, a lamb or a goatl is born, it is to remain with its mother for seven days.m From the eighth dayn on, it will be acceptableo as a food offering presented to the Lord. 28 Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day.p

29 “When you sacrifice a thank offeringq to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 30 It must be eaten that same day; leave none of it till morning.r I am the Lord.s

31 “Keept my commands and follow them.u I am the Lord. 32 Do not profane my holy name,v for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites.w I am the Lord, who made you holyx 33 and who brought you out of Egypty to be your God.z I am the Lord.”

The Appointed Festivals

23 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals,a the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.b

The Sabbath

3 “ ‘There are six days when you may work,c but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest,d a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work;e wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread

23:4–8pp—Ex 12:14–20; Nu 28:16–25; Dt 16:1–8

4 “ ‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:f 5 The Lord’s Passoverg begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.h 6 On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Breadi begins; for seven daysj you must eat bread made without yeast. 7 On the first day hold a sacred assemblyk and do no regular work. 8 For seven days present a food offering to the Lord.l And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.’ ”

Offering the Firstfruits

9 The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give youm and you reap its harvest,n bring to the priest a sheafo of the first grain you harvest.p 11 He is to wave the sheaf before the Lordq so it will be acceptedr on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. 12 On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year olds without defect,t 13 together with its grain offeringu of two-tenths of an ephaha v of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offeringw of a quarter of a hinb of wine.x 14 You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain,y until the very day you bring this offering to your God.z This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,a wherever you live.b

The Festival of Weeks

23:15–22pp—Nu 28:26–31; Dt 16:9–12

15 “ ‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. 16 Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath,c and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephahd of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruitse to the Lord. 18 Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offeringsf—a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 19 Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offeringc and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. 20 The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering,g together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. 21 On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assemblyh and do no regular work.i This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

22 “ ‘When you reap the harvestj of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.k Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you.l I am the Lord your God.’ ”

The Festival of Trumpets

23:23–25pp—Nu 29:1–6

23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assemblym commemorated with trumpet blasts.n 25 Do no regular work,o but present a food offering to the Lord.p’ ”

The Day of Atonement

23:26–32pp—Lev 16:2–34; Nu 29:7–11

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh monthq is the Day of Atonement.r Hold a sacred assemblys and deny yourselves,d and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 Do not do any workt on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. 29 Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people.u 30 I will destroy from among their peoplev anyone who does any work on that day. 31 You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinancew for the generations to come, wherever you live. 32 It is a day of sabbath restx for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”y

The Festival of Tabernacles

23:33–43pp—Nu 29:12–39; Dt 16:13–17

33 The Lord said to Moses, 34 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventhz month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernaclesa begins, and it lasts for seven days. 35 The first day is a sacred assembly;b do no regular work.c 36 For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assemblyd and present a food offering to the Lord.e It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

37 (“ ‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offeringsf required for each day. 38 These offeringsg are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbathsh ande in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offeringsi you give to the Lord.)

39 “ ‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festivalj to the Lord for seven days;k the …