Leviticus 21-23; Psalms 37

Instructions for the Priests

21The LORD said to Moses, "Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. "A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative.H3068H559H4872H559H3548H1121H175H559H2930H5315H5971 2The only exceptions are his closest relatives—his mother or father, son or daughter, brother,H7607H7138H517H1H1121H1323H251 3or his virgin sister who depends on him because she has no husband.H269H1330H7138H376H2930 4But a priest must not defile himself and make himself unclean for someone who is related to him only by marriage.H2930H1167H5971H2490 5"The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies.H7139H7144H7218H1548H6285H2206H8295H8296H1320 6They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the LORD, gifts of food for their God.H6944H430H2490H8034H430H801H3068H801H3899H430H7126H6918 7"Priests may not marry a woman defiled by prostitution, and they may not marry a woman who is divorced from her husband, for the priests are set apart as holy to their God.H3947H802H2181H2491H3947H802H1644H376H6918H430 8You must treat them as holy because they offer up food to your God. You must consider them holy because I, the LORD, am holy, and I make you holy.H6942H7126H3899H430H6918H3068H6942H6918 9"If a priest's daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she also defiles her father's holiness, and she must be burned to death.H1323H376H3548H2490H2181H2490H1H8313H784 10"The high priest has the highest rank of all the priests. The anointing oil has been poured on his head, and he has been ordained to wear the priestly garments. He must never leave his hair uncombed

or tear his clothing.H1419H3548H251H7218H4888H8081H3332H4390H3027H3847H899H6544H7218H6533H899 11He must not defile himself by going near a dead body. He may not make himself ceremonially unclean even for his father or mother.H935H4191H5315H2930H1H517 12He must not defile the sanctuary of his God by leaving it to attend to a dead person, for he has been made holy by the anointing oil of his God. I am the LORD.H3318H4720H2490H4720H430H5145H4888H8081H430H3068 13"The high priest may marry only a virgin.H3947H802H1331 14He may not marry a widow, a woman who is divorced, or a woman who has defiled herself by prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own clan,H490H1644H2491H2181H3947H3947H1330H5971H802 15so that he will not dishonor his descendants among his clan, for I am the LORD who makes him holy."H2490H2233H5971H3068H6942 16Then the LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H559 17"Give the following instructions to Aaron: In all future generations, none of your descendants who has any defect will qualify to offer food to his God.H1696H175H559H376H2233H1755H3971H7126H7126H3899H430 18No one who has a defect qualifies, whether he is blind, lame, disfigured, deformed,H376H3971H7126H5787H376H6455H2763H8311 19or has a broken foot or arm,H376H7667H7272H7667H3027 20or is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or has a defective eye, or skin sores or scabs, or damaged testicles.H1384H1851H8400H5869H1618H3217H810H4790 21No descendant of Aaron who has a defect may approach the altar to present special gifts to the LORD. Since he has a defect, he may not approach the altar to offer food to his God.H376H3971H2233H175H3548H5066H7126H801H3068H801H3971H5066H7126H3899H430 22However, he may eat from the food offered to God, including the holy offerings and the most holy offerings.H398H3899H430H6944H6944H6944 23Yet because of his physical defect, he may not enter the room behind the inner curtain or approach the altar, for this would defile my holy places. I am the LORD who makes them holy."H935H6532H5066H4196H3971H2490H4720H3068H6942 24So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.H4872H1696H175H1121H1121H3478

22The LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H559

2"Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for me, so they do not bring shame on my holy name. I am the LORD.H1696H175H1121H5144H6944H1121H3478H2490H6944H8034H6942H3068

3Give them the following instructions. "In all future generations, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean when he approaches the sacred offerings that the people of Israel consecrate to the LORD, he must be cut off from my presence. I am the LORD.H559H376H2233H1755H7126H6944H1121H3478H6942H3068H2932H5315H3772H6440H3068

4"If any of Aaron's descendants has a skin disease

or any kind of discharge that makes him ceremonially unclean, he may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has been pronounced clean. He also becomes unclean by touching a corpse, or by having an emission of semen,H376H2233H175H6879H2100H398H6944H2891H5060H2931H5315H376H2233H7902H3318

5or by touching a small animal that is unclean, or by touching someone who is ceremonially unclean for any reason.H376H5060H8318H2930H120H2930H2932

6The man who is defiled in any of these ways will remain unclean until evening. He may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has bathed himself in water.H5315H5060H2930H6153H398H6944H518H7364H1320H4325

7When the sun goes down, he will be ceremonially clean again and may eat from the sacred offerings, for this is his food.H8121H935H2891H310H398H6944H3899

8He may not eat an animal that has died a natural death or has been torn apart by wild animals, for this would defile him. I am the LORD.H5038H2966H398H2930H3068

9"The priests must follow my instructions carefully. Otherwise they will be punished for their sin and will die for violating my instructions. I am the LORD who makes them holy.H8104H4931H5375H2399H4191H2490H3068H6942

10"No one outside a priest's family may eat the sacred offerings. Even guests and hired workers in a priest's home are not allowed to eat them.H2114H398H6944H8453H3548H7916H398H6944

11However, if the priest buys a slave for himself, the slave may eat from the sacred offerings. And if his slaves have children, they also may share his food.H3548H7069H5315H7075H3701H398H3211H1004H398H3899

12If a priest's daughter marries someone outside the priestly family, she may no longer eat the sacred offerings.H3548H1323H376H2114H398H8641H6944

13But if she becomes a widow or is divorced and has no children to support her, and she returns to live in her father's home as in her youth, she may eat her father's food again. Otherwise, no one outside a priest's family may eat the sacred offerings.H3548H1323H490H1644H2233H7725H1H1004H5271H398H1H3899H2114H398

14"Any such person who eats the sacred offerings without realizing it must pay the priest for the amount eaten, plus an additional 20 percent.H376H398H6944H7684H3254H2549H5414H3548H6944

15The priests must not let the Israelites defile the sacred offerings brought to the LORDH2490H6944H1121H3478H7311H3068

16by allowing unauthorized people to eat them. This would bring guilt upon them and require them to pay compensation. I am the LORD who makes them holy."H5375H5771H819H398H6944H3068H6942

Worthy and Unworthy Offerings

17And the LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H559

18"Give Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites these instructions, which apply both to native Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. "If you present a gift as a burnt offering to the LORD, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering,H1696H175H1121H1121H3478H559H376H1004H3478H1616H3478H7126H7133H5088H5071H7126H3068H5930

19you

will be accepted only if your offering is a male animal with no defects. It may be a bull, a ram, or a male goat.H7522H2145H8549H1241H3775H5795

20Do not present an animal with defects, because the LORD will not accept it on your behalf.H3971H7126H7522

21"If you present a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or the flock, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering, you must offer a perfect animal. It may have no defect of any kind.H376H7126H2077H8002H3068H6381H5088H5071H1241H6629H8549H7522H3971

22You must not offer an animal that is blind, crippled, or injured, or that has a wart, a skin sore, or scabs. Such animals must never be offered on the altar as special gifts to the LORD.H5788H7665H2782H2990H1618H3217H7126H3068H5414H801H4196H3068

23If a bull

or lamb has a leg that is too long or too short, it may be offered as a voluntary offering, but it may not be offered to fulfill a vow.H7794H7716H8311H7038H6213H5071H5088H7521

24If an animal has damaged testicles or is castrated, you may not offer it to the LORD. You must never do this in your own land,H7126H3068H4600H3807H5423H3772H6213H776

25and you must not accept such an animal from foreigners and then offer it as a sacrifice to your God. Such animals will not be accepted on your behalf, for they are mutilated or defective."H5236H3027H1121H7126H3899H430H4893H3971H7521

26And the LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H559

27"When a calf or lamb or goat is born, it must be left with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a special gift to the LORD.H7794H3775H5795H3205H7651H3117H517H8066H3117H1973H7521H7133H801H3068

28But you must not slaughter a mother animal and her offspring on the same day, whether from the herd or the flock.H7794H7716H7819H1121H259H3117

29When you bring a thanksgiving offering to the LORD, sacrifice it properly so you will be accepted.H2076H2077H8426H3068H2076H7522

30Eat the entire sacrificial animal on the day it is presented. Do not leave any of it until the next morning. I am the LORD.H3117H398H3498H1242H3068

31"You must faithfully keep all my commands by putting them into practice, for I am the LORD.H8104H4687H6213H3068

32Do not bring shame on my holy name, for I will display my holiness among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who makes you holy.H2490H6944H8034H6942H8432H1121H3478H3068H6942

33It was I who rescued you from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. I am the LORD."H3318H776H4714H430H3068

The Appointed Festivals

23The LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H559

2"Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. These are the LORD's appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as official days for holy assembly.H1696H1121H3478H559H4150H3068H7121H6944H4744H4150

3"You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the LORD's Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live.H8337H3117H4399H6213H7637H3117H7676H7677H6944H4744H6213H4399H7676H3068H4186

4"In addition to the Sabbath, these are the LORD's appointed festivals, the official days for holy assembly that are to be celebrated at their proper times each year.H4150H3068H6944H4744H7121H4150

Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread

5"The LORD's Passover begins at sundown on the fourteenth day of the first month

.H702H6240H7223H2320H6153H3068H6453

6On the next day, the fifteenth day of the month, you must begin celebrating the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This festival to the LORD continues for seven days, and during that time the bread you eat must be made without yeast.H2568H6240H3117H2320H2282H4682H3068H7651H3117H398H4682

7On the first day of the festival, all the people must stop their ordinary work and observe an official day for holy assembly.H7223H3117H6944H4744H6213H5656H4399

8For seven days you must present special gifts to the LORD. On the seventh day the people must again stop all their ordinary work to observe an official day for holy assembly."H7126H801H3068H7651H3117H7637H3117H6944H4744H6213H5656H4399

Celebration of First Harvest

9Then the LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H559

10"Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you enter the land I am giving you and you harvest its first crops, bring the priest a bundle of grain from the first cutting of your grain harvest.H1696H1121H3478H559H935H776H5414H7114H7105H935H6016H7225H7105H3548

11On the day after the Sabbath, the priest will lift it up before the LORD so it may be accepted on your behalf.H5130H6016H6440H3068H7522H4283H7676H3548H5130

12On that same day you must sacrifice a one-year-old male lamb with no defects as a burnt offering to the LORD.H6213H3117H5130H6016H3532H8549H1121H8141H5930H3068

13With it you must present a grain offering consisting of four quarts

of choice flour moistened with olive oil. It will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. You must also offer one quart of wine as a liquid offering.H4503H8147H6241H5560H1101H8081H801H3068H5207H7381H5262H3196H7243H1969

14Do not eat any bread or roasted grain or fresh kernels on that day until you bring this offering to your God. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live.H398H3899H7039H3759H6106H2088H3117H5704H935H7133H430H2708H5769H1755H4186

The Festival of Harvest

15"From the day after the Sabbath—the day you bring the bundle of grain to be lifted up as a special offering—count off seven full weeks.H5608H4283H7676H3117H935H6016H8573H7651H7676H1961H8549

16Keep counting until the day after the seventh Sabbath, fifty days later. Then present an offering of new grain to the LORD.H5704H4283H7637H7676H5608H2572H3117H7126H2319H4503H3068

17From wherever you live, bring two loaves of bread to be lifted up before the LORD as a special offering. Make these loaves from four quarts of choice flour, and bake them with yeast. They will be an offering to the LORD from the first of your crops.H935H4186H8147H8573H3899H8147H6241H5560H644H2557H1061H3068

18Along with the bread, present seven one-year-old male lambs with no defects, one young bull, and two rams as burnt offerings to the LORD. These burnt offerings, together with the grain offerings and liquid offerings, will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.H7126H3899H7651H3532H8549H1121H8141H259H1241H1121H6499H8147H352H5930H3068H4503H5262H801H5207H7381H3068

19Then you must offer one male goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a peace offering.H6213H259H8163H5795H2403H8147H3532H1121H8141H2077H8002

20"The priest will lift up the two lambs as a special offering to the LORD, together with the loaves representing the first of your crops. These offerings, which are holy to the LORD, belong to the priests.H3548H5130H3899H1061H8573H6440H3068H8147H3532H6944H3068H3548

21That same day will be proclaimed an official day for holy assembly, a day on which you do no ordinary work. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live

.H7121H6106H3117H6944H4744H6213H5656H4399H2708H5769H4186H1755

22"When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the LORD your God."H7114H7105H776H3615H6285H7704H7114H3950H3951H7105H5800H6041H1616H3068H430

The Festival of Trumpets

23The LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H559

24"Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. On the first day of the appointed month in early autumn

, you are to observe a day of complete rest. It will be an official day for holy assembly, a day commemorated with loud blasts of a trumpet.H1696H1121H3478H559H7637H2320H259H2320H7677H2146H8643H6944H4744

25You must do no ordinary work on that day. Instead, you are to present special gifts to the LORD."H6213H5656H4399H7126H801H3068

The Day of Atonement

26Then the LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H559

27"Be careful to celebrate the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of that same month—nine days after the Festival of Trumpets

. You must observe it as an official day for holy assembly, a day to deny yourselves and present special gifts to the LORD.H389H6218H7637H2320H3117H3725H6944H4744H6031H5315H7126H801H3068

28Do no work during that entire day because it is the Day of Atonement, when offerings of purification are made for you, making you right with

the LORD your God.H6213H4399H6106H3117H3117H3725H3722H6440H3068H430

29All who do not deny themselves that day will be cut off from God's people.H5315H6031H6106H3117H3772H5971

30And I will destroy anyone among you who does any work on that day.H5315H6213H4399H6106H3117H5315H6H7130H5971

31You must not do any work at all! This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live.H6213H4399H2708H5769H1755H4186

32This will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and on that day you must deny yourselves. This day of rest will begin at sundown on the ninth day of the month and extend until sundown on the tenth day."H7676H7677H6031H5315H8672H2320H6153H6153H6153H7673H7676

The Festival of Shelters

33And the LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H559

34"Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. Begin celebrating the Festival of Shelters

on the fifteenth day of the appointed month—five days after the Day of Atonement. This festival to the LORD will last for seven days.H1696H1121H3478H559H2568H6240H3117H7637H2320H2282H5521H7651H3117H3068

35On the first day of the festival you must proclaim an official day for holy assembly, when you do no ordinary work.H7223H3117H6944H4744H6213H5656H4399

36For seven days you must present special gifts to the LORD. The eighth day is another holy day on which you present your special gifts to the LORD. This will be a solemn occasion, and no ordinary work may be done that day.H7651H3117H7126H801H3068H8066H3117H6944H4744H7126H801H3068H6116H6213H5656H4399

37("These are the LORD's appointed festivals. Celebrate them each year as official days for holy assembly by presenting special gifts to the LORD—burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and liquid offerings—each on its proper day.H4150H3068H7121H6944H4744H7126H801H3068H5930H4503H2077H5262H1697H3117H3117

38These festivals must be observed in addition to the LORD's regular Sabbath days, and the offerings are in addition to your personal gifts, the offerings you give to fulfill your vows, and the voluntary offerings you present to the LORD.)H7676H3068H4979H5088H5071H5414H3068

39"Remember that this seven-day festival to the LORD—the Festival of Shelters—begins on the fifteenth day of the appointed month

, after you have harvested all the produce of the land. The first day and the eighth day of the festival will be days of complete rest.H2568H6240H3117H7637H2320H622H8393H776H2287H2282H3068H7651H3117H7223H3117H7677H8066H3117H7677

40On the first day gather branches from magnificent trees

—palm fronds, boughs from leafy trees, and willows that grow by the streams. Then celebrate with joy before the LORD your God for seven days.H3947H7223H3117H6529H1926H6086H3709H8558H6057H5687H6086H6155H5158H8055H6440H3068H430H7651H3117

41You must observe this festival to the LORD for seven days every year. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed in the appointed month

from generation to generation.H2287H2282H3068H7651H3117H8141H2708H5769H1755H2287H7637H2320

42For seven days you must live outside in little shelters. All native-born Israelites must live in shelters.H3427H5521H7651H3117H3478H249H3427H5521

43This will remind each new generation of Israelites that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I rescued them from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God."H1755H3045H1121H3478H3427H5521H3318H776H4714H3068H430

44So Moses gave the Israelites these instructions regarding the annual festivals of the LORD.H4872H1696H1121H3478H4150H3068

[A psalm of David.] Don't worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong.H1732H2734H7489H7065H6213H5766

2For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither.H4120H5243H2682H5034H3418H1877

3Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.H982H3068H6213H2896H7931H776H530H7462

4Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart's desires.H6026H3068H5414H4862H3820

5Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.H1556H1870H3068H982H6213

6He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.H3318H6664H216H4941H6672

7Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.H1826H3068H2342H2734H6743H1870H376H6213H4209H6213

8Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm.H7503H639H5800H2534H2734H389H7489

9For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the LORD will possess the land.H7489H3772H6960H3068H3423H776

10Soon the wicked will disappear. Though you look for them, they will be gone.H4592H7563H995H4725

11The lowly will possess the land and will live in peace and prosperity.H6035H3423H776H6026H7230H7965

12The wicked plot against the godly; they snarl at them in defiance.H7563H2161H6662H2786H8127

13But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming.H136H7832H7200H3117H935

14The wicked draw their swords and string their bows to kill the poor and the oppressed, to slaughter those who do right.H7563H6605H2719H1869H7198H5307H6041H34H2873H3477H1870

15But their swords will stab their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.H2719H935H3820H7198H7665

16It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich.H4592H6662H2896H1995H7227H7563

17For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the LORD takes care of the godly.H2220H7563H7665H3068H5564H6662

18Day by day the LORD takes care of the innocent, and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.H3068H3045H3117H8549H5159H5769

19They will not be disgraced in hard times; even in famine they will have more than enough.H954H7451H6256H3117H7459H7646

20But the wicked will die. The LORD's enemies are like flowers in a field—they will disappear like smoke.H7563H6H341H3068H3368H3733H3615H6227H3615

21The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers.H7563H3867H7999H6662H2603H5414

22Those the LORD blesses will possess the land, but those he curses will die.H1288H3423H776H7043H3772

23The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.H4703H1397H3559H3068H2654H1870

24Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.H5307H2904H3068H5564H3027

25Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.H5288H2204H7200H6662H5800H2233H1245H3899

26The godly always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing.H3117H2603H3867H2233H1293

27Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever.H5493H7451H6213H2896H7931H5769

28For the LORD loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will die.H3068H157H4941H5800H2623H8104H5769H2233H7563H3772

29The godly will possess the land and will live there forever.H6662H3423H776H7931H5703

30The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong.H6310H6662H1897H2451H3956H1696H4941

31They have made God's law their own, so they will never slip from his path.H8451H430H3820H838H4571

32The wicked wait in ambush for the godly, looking for an excuse to kill them.H7563H6822H6662H1245H4191

33But the LORD will not let the wicked succeed or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial.H3068H5800H3027H7561H8199

34Put your hope in the LORD. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed.H6960H3068H8104H1870H7311H3423H776H7563H3772H7200

35I have seen wicked and ruthless people flourishing like a tree in its native soil.H7200H7563H6184H6168H7488H249

36But when I looked again, they were gone! Though I searched for them, I could not find them!H5674H1245H4672

37Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.H8104H8535H7200H3477H319H376H7965

38But the rebellious will be destroyed; they have no future.H6586H8045H3162H319H7563H3772

39The LORD rescues the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble.H8668H6662H3068H4581H6256H6869

40The LORD helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him.H3068H5826H6403H6403H7563H3467H2620

Leviticus 21-23; Psalms 37 - Prayer Tents