Bible in 90 Days

Mildew in Houses

³³ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, ³⁴ “When you come to Canaan that I am going to give to you, mildew may appear in a house. ³⁵ The owner of that house must come and tell the priest that there is something that looks like mildew in his house.

³⁶ “Before the priest examines the house, he will order everything taken out of it so that nothing in the house will become unclean. Then the priest will go inside to examine the house. ³⁷ He will examine the mildew area on the walls. If it is green and red in sunken areas that are deeper than the rest of the wall, ³⁸ the priest will go out to the door of the house and close up the house for seven days. ³⁹ On the seventh day the priest will go back and examine it again. If the mildew in the walls of the house has spread, ⁴⁰ the priest must order the stones that have the mildew to be torn out and thrown outside the city in an unclean place. ⁴¹ He must have the entire inside of the house scraped. The plaster dust scraped off the walls must be dumped in an unclean place outside the city. ⁴² The stones must be replaced, and the house must be plastered again. ⁴³ If the mildew develops again in the house after all this, ⁴⁴ the priest will examine it one more time. If it is a spreading type of mildew, the house is unclean. ⁴⁵ The house—stones, wood, and all the plaster—must be torn down and taken to an unclean place outside the city. ⁴⁶ Whoever goes into the house any time it is closed up will be unclean until evening. ⁴⁷ Whoever sleeps or eats in the house must wash his clothes. ⁴⁸ But if the priest comes and makes an examination and the mildew has not spread in the house after it is plastered again, the priest must declare the house clean. The mildew is gone.

⁴⁹ “The priest must take two birds, cedar wood, red yarn, and a hyssop sprig and use them to make the house clean. ⁵⁰ He must kill the one bird over a clay bowl containing fresh water. ⁵¹ He must take the cedar wood, the hyssop sprig, the red yarn, and the living bird and dip them in the fresh water containing the blood of the bird that was killed. He must sprinkle the house seven times. ⁵² So he must use the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the living bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the red yarn to make the house clean. ⁵³ Then he will let the living bird fly from the city into the open country. He will make peace with the Lord for the house, and it will be clean.

⁵⁴ “These are the instructions for any kind of mildew or fungus ⁵⁵ that infects clothing or houses ⁵⁶ and for skin diseases where there is a sore, a rash, or an irritated area. ⁵⁷ These instructions for skin diseases and mildew help you distinguish between what is clean and what is unclean.”

Bodily Discharges from Men

15 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, ² “Tell the Israelites: If a man has a discharge from his penis, his discharge is unclean. ³ He is unclean because of the discharge from his penis. Whether it is chronic or not makes no difference; he is still unclean.

⁴ “The man who has a discharge makes everything he lies on or sits on unclean. ⁵ Those who touch his bed must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. ⁶ Those who sit on anything he sat on must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. ⁷ Those who touch a man who has a discharge must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. ⁸ If a man who has a discharge spits on anyone who is clean, the person he spits on must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening. ⁹ When a man who has a discharge sits on a saddle, it becomes unclean. ¹⁰ Those who carry such things must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. ¹¹ If a man who has a discharge touches anyone without first rinsing his hands, the person he touched must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening. ¹² When a man who has a discharge touches pottery, it must be broken, and any wooden bucket he touches must be rinsed.

¹³ “When a man’s discharge stops, he must wait seven days to be cleansed. He must wash his clothes and his body in fresh water. Then he will be clean. ¹⁴ On the eighth day he must take two mourning doves or two pigeons and come into the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He will give these birds to the priest. ¹⁵ The priest will sacrifice one as an offering for sin and the other as a burnt offering. So in the Lord’s presence, the priest will make peace with the Lord for the man who had a discharge.

¹⁶ “If a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body. He will be unclean until evening. ¹⁷ Any clothes or any leather with semen on it must be washed. It will be unclean until evening.

¹⁸ “When a man has sexual intercourse with a woman and has an emission of semen, they must wash themselves. They will be unclean until evening.

Bodily Discharges from Women

¹⁹ “When a woman has her monthly period, she will be unclean for seven days. Those who touch her will be unclean until evening. ²⁰ Everything she lies on or sits on during her period will be unclean. ²¹ Those who touch her bed must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. ²² Those who touch anything she sits on must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. ²³ If her blood touches anything on the bed or anything she sits on, it will be unclean until evening. ²⁴ If a man has sexual intercourse with her while she has her period, he will be unclean for seven days. Any bed he lies on will become unclean.

²⁵ “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days other than her monthly period, she is unclean. If her period lasts longer than usual, she will be unclean as long as she has a discharge. It is like her period. ²⁶ As long as she has a discharge, any bed she lies on or anything she sits on is unclean. It is like her period. ²⁷ Those who touch these things are unclean and must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening.

²⁸ “When her discharge stops, she must wait seven days. After that, she will be clean. ²⁹ On the eighth day she must take two mourning doves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ³⁰ The priest will offer one as an offering for sin and the other as a burnt offering. So in the Lord’s presence the priest will make peace with the Lord for the woman who had an unclean discharge.

³¹ “You must separate the Israelites from anything that keeps them from being presentable to me. Otherwise, they will die because they make my tent, which is among them, unclean.

³² “These are the instructions for any man who has a discharge or an emission of semen that makes him unclean, ³³ for any woman who has her period, for any man or woman who has a discharge, or for any man who has sexual intercourse with a woman when she is unclean.”

The Day for Making Peace with the Lord

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after Aaron’s two sons had come into the Lord’s presence and died. ² The Lord said, “Tell your brother Aaron that he cannot go into the holy place whenever he wants to. If he goes up to the canopy and stands in front of the throne of mercy on the ark, he will die, because I appear in the smoke above the throne of mercy.

³ “This is what Aaron must do in order to come into the holy place: He must take a bull as an offering for sin and a ram as a burnt offering. ⁴ He must put on a holy linen robe and wear linen undergarments. He must wear a linen belt and turban. These are holy clothes. He must wash his body and put them on. ⁵ He will take two male goats from the congregation of Israel as an offering for sin and a ram as a burnt offering.

⁶ “Aaron must sacrifice the bull as his own offering for sin. By doing this, he will make peace with the Lord for himself and his family. ⁷ He must take the two male goats and bring them into the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁸ Then Aaron must throw lots for the two goats. One lot will be for the Lord and the other for Azazel.^{[a] 9} Aaron must sacrifice the goat chosen by lot for the Lord as an offering for sin. ¹⁰ But he must bring the goat chosen by lot for Azazel into the Lord’s presence. He will release it in the desert to Azazel in order to make peace with the Lord for himself and his family.

¹¹ “Aaron will bring the bull. He will then slaughter it as his own offering for sin. By doing this he will make peace with the Lord for himself and his family. ¹² He will take an incense burner full of burning coals from the altar, which is in the Lord’s presence, and two handfuls of finely ground, sweet-smelling incense. He will bring them up to the canopy. ¹³ Then he will put the incense on the fire in the Lord’s presence. The cloud of incense will cover the throne of mercy, which is over the words of God’s promise, so that he will not die. ¹⁴ He will take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the throne of mercy. Then he will sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times in front of the throne of mercy.

¹⁵ “Next, Aaron will slaughter the goat for the people’s offering for sin. He will take the blood inside, go up to the canopy, and sprinkle it on the throne of mercy and in front of it, as he did with the bull’s blood. ¹⁶ So he will make peace with the Lord for all the sins the Israelites committed against the holy place. These sins happened because the Israelites were unclean and because they committed rebellious acts. He will do the same for the tent of meeting which is among an unclean people. ¹⁷ No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron enters the holy place to do this until he comes out. Aaron will make peace with the Lord for his own sins, his family’s sins, and the sins of the entire assembly of Israel. ¹⁸ Then he will go out to the altar that is in the Lord’s presence and make peace with the Lord there for the sins committed. He will take some of the blood from the bull and some of the goat’s blood and put it all around the horns of the altar. ¹⁹ With his finger he will sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times. Because the Israelites made it unclean, he will cleanse it and declare it holy.

²⁰ “When he finishes making peace with the Lord at the holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar, he will bring the living goat forward. ²¹ Aaron will place both hands on its head. He will confess over it all the sins, all the rebellious acts, and all the things the Israelites did wrong. He will transfer them to the goat’s head. A man will be appointed to release the goat in the desert. ²² The goat will take all their sins away to a deserted place. The man must release the goat in the desert.

²³ “Then Aaron will go to the tent of meeting, take off the linen clothes he had put on to go into the holy place, and leave them there. ²⁴ He will wash his body in the holy place and put on his other clothes. Then he will come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and for the people to make peace with the Lord for his own sins and the sins of the people. ²⁵ He will burn the fat of the offering for sin on the altar.

²⁶ “The man who released the goat to Azazel must wash his clothes and his body. Then he may return to the camp. ²⁷ He must take the bull and the goat outside the camp. These animals were the offering for sin whose blood was brought into the holy place to make peace with the Lord for sins. The skin, meat, and excrement from the animals must be burned. ²⁸ Whoever burns them must wash his clothes and his body. Then he may return to the camp.

²⁹ “This will be a permanent law for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month both native Israelites and foreigners must humble themselves. They must do no work. ³⁰ On this day Aaron will make peace with the Lord to make you clean. Then you will be clean from all your sins in the Lord’s presence. ³¹ This is the most important worship festival there is for you. You will humble yourselves. It is a permanent law. ³² The priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as chief priest in his father’s place will pay for sins. He will put on the holy linen clothes ³³ and will make peace with the Lord at the holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar. He will make peace with the Lord for the priests and all the worshipers.

³⁴ “This permanent law tells you how to make peace with the Lord once a year for all the sins the Israelites committed.”

Aaron did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Eating Sacrifices

17 The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites that this is what the Lord has commanded: ³ Any Israelite who slaughters a bull, sheep, or goat inside or outside the camp ⁴ is guilty of bloodshed. He has shed blood and must be excluded from the people. Bring the animal to the entrance of the tent of meeting. Offer it to the Lord in front of the Lord’s tent. ⁵ ⌞This means⌟ that the people of Israel must take the sacrifices they have been making in the open fields and bring them to the Lord. They must bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The people will sacrifice them as fellowship offerings to the Lord. ⁶ The priest will pour the blood against the Lord’s altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He will burn the fat as a soothing aroma to the Lord. ⁷ The people must stop sacrificing to goat idols and chasing after them as though they were prostitutes. This is a permanent law for the people and for future generations.

⁸ “Tell them: If Israelites or foreigners make burnt offerings or sacrifices ⁹ but do not bring them to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer them to the Lord, they must be excluded from the people.

Eating Blood

¹⁰ “If Israelites or foreigners eat any blood, I will condemn them and exclude them from the people, ¹¹ because blood contains life. I have given this blood to you to make peace with me on the altar. Blood is needed to make peace with me. ¹² That is why I have said to the people of Israel: Neither you nor foreigners should ever eat blood.

¹³ “If Israelites or foreigners hunt any animal or bird that may be eaten, they must pour out the animal’s blood and cover it with dirt. ¹⁴ This is because the life of any creature is in its blood. So I have said to the people of Israel: Never eat any blood, because the life of any creature is in its blood. Whoever eats blood must be excluded ⌞from the people⌟.

¹⁵ “Native Israelites or foreigners who eat the body of an animal that dies naturally or is killed by another animal must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. Then they will be clean. ¹⁶ If they don’t wash their clothes and their bodies, they will be guilty of sin.”

Forbidden Sexual Practices

18 The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites: I am the Lord your God. ³ You used to live in Egypt. Don’t live the way the Egyptians do. I am bringing you to Canaan. Don’t live the way the Canaanites do. Never live by their standards. ⁴ Follow my rules, and live by my standards. I am the Lord your God. ⁵ Live by my standards, and obey my rules. You will have life through them. I am the Lord.

⁶ “Never have sexual intercourse with anyone related to you by blood. I am the Lord.

⁷ “Never have sexual intercourse with your mother. She is your own mother. Never have sexual intercourse with her. ⁸ Never have sexual intercourse with your stepmother. She is related to you through your father. ⁹ Never have sexual intercourse with your stepsister, whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter. It makes no difference whether or not she was born in your house. ¹⁰ Never have sexual intercourse with your granddaughter, whether she is your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, because she is related to you. ¹¹ Never have sexual intercourse with a daughter of your father and his wife. She is your own sister. ¹² Never have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister. She is your paternal aunt. ¹³ Never have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister. She is your maternal aunt. ¹⁴ Never have sexual intercourse with the wife of your father’s brother. She, too, is your aunt. ¹⁵ Never have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife. Never have sexual intercourse with her. ¹⁶ Never have sexual intercourse with your sister-in-law. She is your brother’s wife. ¹⁷ Never have sexual intercourse with a woman and her daughter or a woman and her granddaughter. They are related. Doing this is perverted. ¹⁸ While your wife is living, never marry her sister as a rival wife and have sexual intercourse with her.

¹⁹ “Never have sexual intercourse with a woman while she is unclean during her monthly period. ²⁰ Never have sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife and become unclean with her. ²¹ Never give your children as sacrifices to the god Molech ⌞by burning them alive⌟. If you do, you are dishonoring the name of your God. I am the Lord. ²² Never have sexual intercourse with a man as with a woman. It is disgusting. ²³ Never have sexual intercourse with any animal and become unclean with it. A woman must never offer herself to an animal for sexual intercourse. It is unnatural.

Punishment for Sexual Sins

²⁴ “Do not become unclean in any of these ways. By these practices all the nations which I am forcing out of your way have become unclean. ²⁵ The land has become unclean. I will punish it for its sins. The land will vomit out those who live in it. ²⁶ Live by my standards, and obey my rules. Neither you nor any foreigner should ever do any of these disgusting things. ²⁷ The people of the land who were there before you did all these disgusting things. As a result, the land has become unclean. ²⁸ If you make the land unclean, it will vomit you out as it has vomited out the people who were there before you. ²⁹ Whoever does any of these disgusting things must be excluded from the people. ³⁰ So you must follow my instructions. Don’t live by the standards of the people who lived there before you. What they do is disgusting. Never become unclean that way. I am the Lord your God.”

Duties of the People Toward God

19 The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Tell the whole congregation of Israel: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

³ “Respect your mother and father. Observe my days of rest as holy days. I am the Lord your God.

⁴ “Don’t turn to worthless gods or cast metal idols. Never make any gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.

⁵ “When you bring a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it ⌞properly⌟ so that you will be accepted. ⁶ Eat your sacrifice on the day you bring it and on the next day. On the third day burn whatever is left over. ⁷ If you eat any of it on the third day, it is repulsive and will not be accepted. ⁸ Those who eat it will be punished because they have dishonored what is holy to the Lord. They must be excluded from the people.

Duties of the People Toward Each Other

⁹ “When you harvest the grain in your land, don’t harvest the grain in the corners of your fields or gather what is left after you’re finished. ¹⁰ Don’t harvest your vineyard a second time or pick up fallen grapes. Leave them for poor people and foreigners. I am the Lord your God.

¹¹ “Never steal, lie, or deceive your neighbor.

¹² “Never swear by my name in order to deceive anyone. This dishonors the name of your God. I am the Lord.

¹³ “Never oppress or rob your neighbor. Never keep the pay you owe a hired worker overnight. ¹⁴ Never curse deaf people or put anything in the way of blind people to make them stumble. Instead, fear your God. I am the Lord.

¹⁵ “Don’t be corrupt when administering justice. Never give special favors to poor people, and never show preference to important people. Judge your neighbor fairly. ¹⁶ Never gossip. Never endanger your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.

¹⁷ “Never hate another Israelite. Be sure to correct your neighbor so that you will not be guilty of sinning along with him. ¹⁸ Never get revenge. Never hold a grudge against any of your people. Instead, love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord.

Other Duties

¹⁹ “Obey my laws. Never crossbreed different kinds of animals. Never plant two kinds of crops in your field. Never wear clothes made from two kinds of material.

²⁰ “If a man has sexual intercourse with a female slave who is engaged to another man and if her freedom was never bought or given to her, they should not be put to death. He will only pay a fine because she is a slave. ²¹ He must bring a ram for his guilt offering to the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ²² In the Lord’s presence the priest will use them to make peace with the Lord for this sin. The man will be forgiven for this sin.

²³ “When you come into the land and plant all kinds of fruit trees, you must not eat the fruit for ⌞the first⌟ three years. ²⁴ In the fourth year all the fruit will be a holy offering of praise to the Lord. ²⁵ In the fifth year you may eat the fruit. Do this to make the trees produce more for you. I am the Lord your God.

²⁶ “Never eat any meat with blood still in it.

“Never cast evil spells, and never consult fortunetellers.

²⁷ “Never shave the hair on your foreheads, and never cut the edges of your beard. ²⁸ Never slash your body to mourn the dead, and never get a tattoo. I am the Lord.

²⁹ “Never dishonor your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the country will turn to prostitution and be filled with people who are perverted.

³⁰ “Observe my days of rest as holy days and respect my holy tent. I am the Lord.

³¹ “Don’t turn to psychics or mediums to get help. That will make you unclean. I am the Lord your God.

³² “Show respect to the elderly, and honor older people. In this way you show respect for your God. I am the Lord.

³³ “Never mistreat a foreigner living in your land. ³⁴ Foreigners living among you will be like your own people. Love them as you love yourself, because you were foreigners living in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

³⁵ “Don’t be corrupt when administering justice concerning length, weight, or measuring liquid. ³⁶ Use honest scales, honest weights, and honest measures. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt.

³⁷ “Obey all my laws and all my rules, and live by them. I am the Lord.”

Punishment for Serious Crimes

20 The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites: If Israelites or foreigners living among you give one of their children as a sacrifice to ⌞the god⌟ Molech, they must be put to death. The common people must stone them to death. ³ I will condemn them and exclude them from the people. They gave one of their children to Molech, made my holy tent unclean, and dishonored my holy name. ⁴ If the common people ignore those who give their children to Molech and do not put them to death, ⁵ I will condemn them and their families. I will exclude them from the people. I will exclude from the people everyone who chases after Molech as if he were a prostitute.

⁶ “I will condemn people who turn to mediums and psychics and chase after them as though they were prostitutes. I will exclude them from the people.

⁷ “Live holy lives. Be holy because I am the Lord your God. ⁸ Obey my laws, and live by them. I am the Lord who sets you apart as holy.

⁹ “Whoever curses his father or mother must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother and deserves to die.

¹⁰ “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife or with his neighbor’s wife, both he and the woman must be put to death for their adultery. ¹¹ Whoever has sexual intercourse with his father’s wife has violated his father’s marriage. Both he and his father’s wife must be put to death. They deserve to die. ¹² If a man has sexual intercourse with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have done a disgusting thing and deserve to die. ¹³ When a man has sexual intercourse with another man as with a woman, both men are doing something disgusting and must be put to death. They deserve to die. ¹⁴ When a man marries a woman and her mother, they have done a perverted thing. The man and the two women must be burned. Never do this perverted thing. ¹⁵ A man who has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death. You must kill the animal, too. ¹⁶ When a woman offers herself sexually to any animal, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death. They deserve to die. ¹⁷ Whoever takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and has sexual intercourse does a shameful thing. They both must be publicly excluded from the people. He has had sexual intercourse with his sister and must be punished. ¹⁸ If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman while she has her monthly period, both of them have had sexual intercourse in blood. They must be excluded from the people. ¹⁹ Never have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister. Whoever has sexual intercourse with a close relative must be punished. ²⁰ Whoever has sexual intercourse with his uncle’s wife violates his uncle’s marriage. That man and woman are guilty of sin. They will die without children. ²¹ Whoever marries his brother’s wife violates his brother’s marriage and does an unclean thing. That man and woman will have no children.

²² “If you carefully obey all my laws and my rules, the land I am bringing you to live in will not vomit you out. ²³ Never follow the practices of the people I am forcing out of your way. I cannot stand them because they did all these things. ²⁴ I have told you that you will take their land. I will give it to you as your own. It is a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God who separated you from other people. ²⁵ Separate clean and unclean ^[b] animals and birds. Never become disgusting by eating any animal or bird or anything that crawls on the ground. I have separated you from every unclean thing. ²⁶ Be my holy people because I, the Lord, am holy. I have separated you from other people to be my very own.

²⁷ “Every man or woman who is a medium or a psychic must be put to death. They must be stoned to death because they deserve to die.”

Holiness for All the Priests

21 The Lord spoke to Moses, “Tell the priests, Aaron’s sons: None of you should become unclean by touching one of your relatives who has died. ² However, you are allowed to become unclean when one of your nearest relatives dies. These relatives include your mother, father, son, daughter, or brother, ³ and especially an unmarried virgin sister who is still close to you. ⁴ As the head of your people, you should never become unclean. That would make you unholy.

⁵ “You should never mourn by shaving bald spots on your heads, shaving the edges of your beards, or slashing your bodies.

⁶ “Be God’s holy men, and don’t dishonor the name of your God. Be holy because you bring sacrifices by fire to the Lord. It is the food of your God. ⁷ You should never marry prostitutes, those who have lost their virginity, or divorced women because a priest is God’s holy man. ⁸ Be holy because you offer the food of your God. Be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I set you apart as holy. ⁹ When a priest’s daughter dishonors herself by becoming a prostitute, she dishonors her father. She must be burned.

Holiness for the Chief Priest

¹⁰ “The priest who is anointed with oil and wears the chief priest’s clothes is chief over his brothers. He must never mourn by leaving his hair uncombed or by tearing his clothes. ¹¹ He must never go near any dead bodies or become unclean, even for his father or mother. ¹² He must not leave the holy tent of his God. If he does, he will be dishonoring it, because he is dedicated with the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord.

¹³ “The anointed priest must marry a virgin. ¹⁴ He must never marry a widow, a divorced woman, a woman who has lost her virginity, or a prostitute. He may only marry a virgin from his own people. ¹⁵ He must not dishonor his children among his people because I, the Lord, set him apart as holy.”

¹⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹⁷ “Tell Aaron: If any of your descendants (now or in future generations) has a physical defect, he must never bring food to offer to God. ¹⁸ Indeed, no one who has a physical defect may ever come near ⌞the altar⌟. That means anyone who is blind or lame, who has a disfigured face, a deformity, ¹⁹ or a crippled hand or foot, ²⁰ who is a hunchback or dwarf, who has defective sight, skin diseases, or crushed testicles. ²¹ If a descendant of the priest Aaron has a physical defect, he must never bring sacrifices by fire to the Lord. He has a defect. He must never bring food to offer to God. ²² He may eat the food of his God—what is holy and what is very holy. ²³ However, he must never come up to the canopy or to the altar, since he has a physical defect. He must never dishonor the holy places because I, the Lord, set them apart as holy.”

²⁴ So Moses spoke to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

Eating the Priests’ Share of the Sacrifice

22 The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Tell Aaron and his sons that they must respect the holy offerings which the Israelites set apart for me. In this way they will not dishonor my holy name. I am the Lord.

³ “Tell them: In future generations if any of your descendants, while unclean, comes near the holy offerings the Israelites set apart for the Lord, that person must be excluded from my presence. I am the Lord.

⁴ “No descendant of Aaron who has a skin disease or a discharge may eat any of the holy offerings until he is clean. Any person who has an emission of semen or touches a dead body, ⁵ an unclean swarming creature or an unclean person ⁶ will be unclean until evening. He must not eat any of the holy offerings unless he has washed himself. ⁷ When the sun has set, he will be clean. Then he may eat the holy offerings because they are his food. ⁸ He must never eat the meat of an animal that dies naturally or is killed by wild animals. It will make him unclean. I am the Lord. ⁹ The priests must do what I order, or their sin will bring them death because they dishonored a holy offering. I am the Lord, who sets them apart as holy.

¹⁰ “Laypeople must never eat any holy offering, even if they are visiting a priest or are working for him. ¹¹ But if a priest buys a slave, the slave and anyone born in his household may eat the priest’s food. ¹² However, if a priest’s daughter marries a layman, she must never eat the food taken from the holy contributions. ¹³ If a priest’s daughter is widowed or divorced, doesn’t have any children, and comes back to live in her father’s home, she may eat her father’s food. But a layperson must never eat it.

¹⁴ “Those who eat a holy offering by mistake must give another holy offering to the priest and add one-fifth more to it. ¹⁵ Priests must not dishonor the holy offerings that the Israelites contribute to the Lord. ¹⁶ They must make those people pay the penalty for their guilt because they have eaten the priests’ holy offerings. I am the Lord, who sets them apart as holy.”

Animals Accepted for Sacrifice

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹⁸ “Tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites: Israelites or foreigners may bring burnt offerings to the Lord for anything they vowed or as freewill offerings. ¹⁹ The offering must be a male that has no defects from your cattle, sheep, or goats in order to be accepted. ²⁰ Never bring any animal with a physical defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. ²¹ A person may bring the Lord a fellowship offering to fulfill a vow or for a freewill offering. Whether it is from the cattle, sheep, or goats, it must be an animal that has no defects in order to be accepted. It must never be an animal that has defects. ²² Never bring the Lord an animal that is blind, has broken bones, cuts, warts, scabs, or ringworm. Never give the Lord any of these in a sacrifice by fire on the altar. ²³ You may use a bull or a sheep with a deformity or one that is stunted in growth as a freewill offering. However, it will not be accepted for a vow. ²⁴ Never bring the Lord an animal that has bruised, crushed, torn out, or cut out testicles. Never do any of these things to an animal in your land. ²⁵ Never bring any kind of castrated animal received from a foreigner as a food offering for your God. A castrated animal will not be accepted on your behalf because castration is a physical defect.”

²⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses, ²⁷ “When a calf, a lamb, or a goat is born, it must stay with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on it may be accepted as a sacrifice by fire to the Lord. ²⁸ Never slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young the same day.

²⁹ “When you sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord, do it in the proper way. ³⁰ Eat it the same day. Never leave any of it until morning. I am the Lord.

³¹ “Carefully obey my commands. I am the Lord. ³² Never dishonor my holy name. I will show my holiness among the Israelites. I am the Lord, who sets you apart as holy. ³³ I brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”

The Day of Rest and Other Holy Assemblies

23 The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites: These are the appointed festivals with the Lord, which you must announce as holy assemblies. ³ You may work for six days. But the seventh day is a day of rest, a day when you don’t work, a holy assembly. Don’t do any work. It is the Lord’s day of rest—a holy day wherever you live.

⁴ “The following are the Lord’s appointed festivals with holy assemblies, which you must announce at their appointed times.

The Spring Festivals

⁵ “The fourteenth day of the first month, in the evening, is the Lord’s Passover. ⁶ The fifteenth day of this same month is the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. ⁷ On the first day there will be a holy assembly. Don’t do any regular work. ⁸ Bring the Lord a sacrifice by fire for seven days. On the seventh day there will be a holy assembly. Don’t do any regular work.”

⁹ The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹⁰ “Tell the Israelites: When you come to the land I am going to give you and you harvest grain, bring the priest a bundle of the first grain you harvest. ¹¹ He will present it to the Lord so that you will be accepted. He will present it on the day after Passover. ¹² On the day you present the bundle, you must sacrifice a one-year-old male lamb that has no defects as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹³ Bring a grain offering of four quarts of flour mixed with olive oil with it. This will be a sacrifice by fire made to the Lord, a soothing aroma. Use one quart of wine for the wine offering. ¹⁴ Don’t eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this same day, when you bring the offering to your God. It is a permanent law for generations to come wherever you live.

¹⁵ “Count seven full weeks from the day after Passover (the day you bring the bundle of grain as an offering presented to the Lord) ¹⁶ until the day after the seventh week. This is a total of fifty days. Then bring a new grain offering to the Lord. ¹⁷ Bring two loaves of bread from your homes to present to the Lord. Bake them with four quarts of flour. They are the first harvested grain for the Lord. ¹⁸ With the bread bring seven one-year-old lambs that have no defects, one bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord. With these offerings also bring grain and wine offerings. They will be a sacrifice by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁹ Also sacrifice one male goat as an offering for sin and two one-year-old lambs as a fellowship offering. ²⁰ The priest must present them along with the bread of the first harvested grain as an offering to the Lord. All this, along with the two lambs, will be holy and will belong to the Lord’s priests. ²¹ Make an announcement that there will be a holy assembly on that same day. Don’t do any regular work. It is a permanent law for generations to come wherever you live.

²² “When you harvest the grain in your land, don’t harvest the grain in the corners of your fields or gather what is left after you’re finished. Leave it for poor people and foreigners. I am the Lord your God.”

The Fall Festivals

²³ The Lord spoke to Moses, ²⁴ “Tell the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month hold a worship festival. It will be a memorial day, a holy assembly announced by the blowing of rams’ horns. ²⁵ Don’t do any regular work. Bring a sacrifice by fire to the Lord.”

²⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses, ²⁷ “In addition, the tenth day of this seventh month is a special day for the payment for sins. There will be a holy assembly. Humble yourselves, and bring the Lord a sacrifice by fire. ²⁸ Don’t do any work that day. It is a special day for the payment for sins. It is a time when you make peace with the Lord your God. ²⁹ Those who do not humble themselves on that day will be excluded from the people. ³⁰ I will kill those who do any work on that day. ³¹ Don’t do any work. It is a permanent law for generations to come wherever you live. ³² It is a day of rest, a day when you don’t work. Humble yourselves starting on the evening of the ninth day of the month. From that evening to the next, observe the day of rest as a holy day.”

³³ The Lord spoke to Moses, ³⁴ “Tell the Israelites: The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Booths to the Lord. It will last seven days. ³⁵ On the first day there will be a holy assembly. Don’t do any regular work. ³⁶ For seven consecutive days bring a sacrifice by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day there will be a holy assembly. Bring the Lord a sacrifice by fire. This is the last festival of the year. Don’t do any regular work.

³⁷ “These are the Lord’s appointed festivals. Announce them as holy assemblies for bringing sacrifices by fire to the Lord. Bring burnt offerings, grain offerings, other sacrifices, and wine offerings—each one on its special day. ³⁸ These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s holy days of rest, as well as your gifts, all your vows, and your freewill offerings to the Lord.

³⁹ “However, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered what the land produces, celebrate the Lord’s festival for seven days. The first and the eighth days will be worship festivals. ⁴⁰ On the first day take the best fruits, palm branches, the branches of leafy trees and poplars, and celebrate in the presence of the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹ It is the Lord’s festival. Celebrate it for seven days each year. This is a permanent law for generations to come. Celebrate this festival in the seventh month. ⁴² Live in booths for seven days. Everyone born in Israel must live in booths ⁴³ so that generations to come may learn how I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

⁴⁴ So Moses told the Israelites about the Lord’s appointed festivals.

Duties in the Tent of Meeting^(A)

24 The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Command the Israelites to bring you pure, virgin olive oil for the lamp stand so that the lamps won’t go out. ³ In the tent of meeting, outside the canopy where the words of my promise are, Aaron must keep the lamps lit in the Lord’s presence from evening until morning. It is a permanent law for generations to come. ⁴ Aaron must keep the lamps on the pure gold lamp stand lit in the Lord’s presence.

⁵ “Also take flour and bake twelve rings of bread. Each ring will contain four quarts of flour. ⁶ Put them in two stacks of six each on the gold table in the Lord’s presence. ⁷ Lay pure incense on top of each stack. The incense on the bread will be a reminder, an offering by fire to the Lord. ⁸ Every day of rest is a holy day when the ⌞priest⌟ must arrange the bread in the Lord’s presence. It is a continual reminder of my promise ^[c] to the Israelites. ⁹ The bread will belong to Aaron and his sons. They will eat it in a holy place. It is very holy, set apart from the Lord’s offering by fire. This is a permanent law.”

The Man Who Cursed the Lord’s Name

¹⁰ A man, whose mother was Shelomith (daughter of Dibri, from the tribe of Dan in Israel) and whose father was from Egypt, got into a quarrel with an Israelite in the camp. ¹¹ The Israelite woman’s son began cursing the Lord’s name and treating it with contempt. So they brought him to Moses.^{[d] 12} They kept him in custody until the Lord told them what to do.

¹³ The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹⁴ “The man who cursed ⌞my name⌟ must be taken outside the camp. All who heard him curse ⌞my name⌟ must lay their hands on his head. Then the whole congregation must stone him to death.

¹⁵ “Also tell the Israelites: Those who treat their God with contempt will be punished for their sin. ¹⁶ But those who curse the Lord’s name must be put to death. The whole congregation must stone them to death. It makes no difference whether they are Israelites or foreigners. Whoever curses the Lord’s name must die.

¹⁷ “Whoever kills another person must be put to death. ¹⁸ Whoever kills an animal must replace it, life for life. ¹⁹ Whoever injures a neighbor must receive the same injury in return— ²⁰ a broken bone for a broken bone, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whoever injures another person must receive the same injury in return. ²¹ Whoever kills an animal must replace it. Whoever kills a person must be put to death. ²² The same rule applies to every one of you. It makes no difference whether you are a foreigner or an Israelite, because I am the Lord your God.”

²³ Moses spoke to the people of Israel. So the man who had cursed the Lord’s name was taken outside the camp. There they stoned him to death as the Lord commanded Moses. The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Year to Honor the Lord

25 The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, ² “Tell the Israelites: When you come into the land I’m giving you, the land will celebrate a year to honor the Lord. ³ Then, for six years you may plant crops in your fields, prune your vineyards, and gather what they produce. ⁴ However, the seventh year will be a festival year for the land. It will be a year to honor the Lord. Don’t plant crops in your fields or prune your vineyards. ⁵ Don’t harvest what grows by itself or harvest grapes from your vines. That year will be a festival for the land. ⁶ Whatever the land produces during that year is for all of you to eat—for you, your male and female slaves, your hired workers, foreigners among you, ⁷ your animals and the wild animals in your land. Everything the land produces will be yours to eat.

The Jubilee for the Land

⁸ “Count seven of these years seven times for a total of 49 years. ⁹ On the tenth day of the seventh month, the special day for the payment for sin, sound rams’ horns throughout the country. ¹⁰ Set apart the fiftieth year as holy, and proclaim liberty to everyone living in the land. This is your jubilee year. Every slave will be freed in order to return to his property and to his family. ¹¹ That fiftieth year will be your jubilee year. Don’t plant or harvest what grows by itself or pick grapes from the vines in the land. ¹² The jubilee ⌞year⌟ will be holy to you. You will eat what the field itself produces.

¹³ “In this jubilee year every slave will be freed in order to return to his property. ¹⁴ If you sell anything to your neighbor or buy anything from him, don’t take advantage of him. ¹⁵ When you buy property from your neighbor, take into account the number of years since the jubilee. Your neighbor must sell it to you taking into account the number of crops ⌞until the next jubilee⌟. ¹⁶ If there are still many years ⌞until the jubilee⌟, you will pay more for it. If there are only a few years ⌞until the jubilee⌟, you will pay less for it because he is selling you only the number of crops. ¹⁷ Never take advantage of each other. Fear your God, because I am the Lord your God.

¹⁸ “Obey my laws, and carefully follow my rules. Then you will live securely in the land. ¹⁹ The land will give you its products, and you will eat all you want and live there securely. ²⁰ You may ask, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or bring in our crops?’ ²¹ I will give you my blessing in the sixth year so that the land will produce enough for three years. ²² You will plant ⌞again⌟ in the eighth year but live on what the land already produced. You will eat it, even in the ninth year, until the land produces more.

²³ “Land must never be sold permanently, because the land is mine. To me you are strangers without permanent homes. ²⁴ People must always have the right to buy their property back. ²⁵ If your brother becomes poor and sells some of his property, then the one who can assume responsibility, his nearest relative, must buy back what he sold. ²⁶ If a man doesn’t have anyone to buy it back for him, but if he prospers and earns enough to buy it back himself, ²⁷ he must count the years from its sale. Then he will pay what is left to the man to whom he sold it, and it will be his property again. ²⁸ However, if he cannot earn enough to buy it back, what he sold stays in the hands of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it will be released, and he will own it again.

²⁹ “If anyone sells a home in a walled city, for one year after selling it he has the right to buy it back. He may buy it back only within that time. ³⁰ If he does not buy it back during that year, the house in the city belongs to the buyer for generations to come. It will not be released in the jubilee. ³¹ However, houses in villages without walls are regarded as belonging to the fields of the land. They can be bought back. They will be released in the jubilee.

³² “The Levites always have the right to buy back their property in the cities they own. ³³ If any Levite buys back ⌞a house⌟, in the jubilee the purchased house in the city will be released, because the houses in the Levite cities are their property among the Israelites. ³⁴ But a field that belongs to their cities must not be sold, because it is their permanent property.

The Jubilee for the People

³⁵ “If an Israelite becomes poor and cannot support himself, help him. He must live with you as a stranger without a permanent home. ³⁶ Don’t collect interest or make any profit from him. Fear your God by respecting other Israelites’ lives. ³⁷ Never collect any kind of interest on your money or on the food you give them. ³⁸ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you Canaan and to be your God.

³⁹ “If an Israelite becomes poor and sells himself to you, don’t work him like a slave. ⁴⁰ He will be like a hired worker or a visitor to you. He may work with you until the year of jubilee. ⁴¹ Then you will release him and his children to go back to their family and the property of their ancestors. ⁴² They are my servants. I brought them out of Egypt. They must never be sold as slaves. ⁴³ Do not treat them harshly. Fear your God.

⁴⁴ “You may have male and female slaves, but buy them from the nations around you. ⁴⁵ You may also buy them from the foreigners living among you and from their families born in your country. They will be your property. ⁴⁶ You may acquire them for yourselves and for your descendants as permanent property. You may work them as slaves. However, do not treat the Israelites harshly. They are your relatives.

⁴⁷ “Someone who is a foreigner without a permanent home among you may become rich, and your relative living with him may be poor. The poor Israelite may sell himself to that foreigner or a member of his family. ⁴⁸ After he has sold himself, he has the right to be bought back. One of his brothers may buy him back. ⁴⁹ His uncle, his cousin, or some other relative could also buy him back. If he becomes rich, he could buy his own freedom. ⁵⁰ Then he and his buyer must take into account the number of years from the year he was bought until the year of jubilee. His sale price will be adjusted based on the number of years he was with his buyer, like the wages of a hired worker. ⁵¹ If there are many years left, he must refund from his purchase price an amount equal ⌞to those years⌟. ⁵² If there are only a few years left until the year of jubilee, he must take them into account. He must refund from his purchase price an amount equal to those years. ⁵³ During those years he should serve his buyer as a hired worker. His buyer should not treat him harshly. ⁵⁴ If he cannot buy his freedom in these ways, he and his children will be released in the year of jubilee.

⁵⁵ “The Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants. I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

God’s Promises for Those Who Keep His Laws

26 ⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “Never make worthless idols or set up a carved statue or a sacred stone for yourselves. Never cut figures in stone to worship them in your country, because I am the Lord your God. ² Observe my days of rest as holy days and respect my holy tent. I am the Lord.

³ “This is what I will do if you will live by my laws and carefully obey my commands:

⁴ “I will give you rain at the right time. The land will produce its crops, and the trees in the field will produce their fruit. ⁵ Threshing ^[e] time will last until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until planting. You will eat all you want and live securely in your land.

⁶ “I will bring peace to your land. You will lie down with no one to scare you. I will remove dangerous animals, and there will be no war in your land. ⁷ You will chase your enemies, and you will defeat them. ⁸ Five of you will chase a hundred of them, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand of them. You will defeat your enemies, ⁹ and I will be pleased with you. Your families will be large, and I will keep my promise ^[f] to you. ¹⁰ You will clear out old food supplies to make room for new ones.

¹¹ “I will put my tent among you, and I will never look at you with disgust. ¹² So I will live among you and be your God, and you will be my people. ¹³ I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt so that you are no longer slaves of the Egyptians. I have broken their power over you and made you live as a free people.

God’s Curses for Those Who Break His Laws

¹⁴ “If you will not listen to me and obey all these commands, ¹⁵ if you reject my laws and look at my rules with disgust, if you reject my promise by disobeying my commands, ¹⁶ then this is what I will do to you: I will terrorize you with disease and fever. You will suffer from eye problems and depression. You will plant your crops and get nothing because your enemies will eat them. ¹⁷ I will condemn you so that you will go down in defeat in front of your enemies. Those who hate you will be your rulers. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.

¹⁸ “If you still will not listen to me, I will discipline you seven times for your sins. ¹⁹ I will crush your arrogance. You will have no rain, and your land will be as hard as cement. ²⁰ You will work hard for nothing because your land will produce no crops and the trees will produce no fruit.

²¹ “If you resist and don’t listen to me, I will increase the punishment for your sins seven times. ²² I will send wild animals among you. They will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle, and make you so few that your roads will be deserted.

²³ “If this discipline does not help and you still resist, ²⁴ then I, too, will resist you. I will punish you seven times for your sins. ²⁵ I will bring war on you to get revenge for my promise ⌞that you rejected⌟. When you gather in your cities, I will send plagues on you and you will fall under the control of your enemy. ²⁶ I will destroy your food supply. Ten women will need only one oven to prepare your food. You will eat and go away hungry.