The Daily Audio Bible
The Sin Offering
4 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel this: ‘When a person sins ·by accident [unintentionally; inadvertently; C in contrast to a deliberate sin; Num. 15:22–31] ·and does some things the Lord has commanded not to be done [L in any of the Lord’s commandments/regulations], ·that person must do these things [L and does any one of them]:
3 “‘If the ·appointed [L anointed] priest sins so that he brings guilt on the people, then he must offer a young bull to the Lord, ·one that has nothing wrong with it [unblemished], as a ·sin [or purification; C the offering would purify the offerer of the effects of sin] offering for the sin he has done. 4 He will bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent in front of the Lord, ·put [lay] his hand on its head [1:4], and ·kill [slaughter] it before the Lord. 5 Then the ·appointed [L anointed] priest must bring some of the bull’s blood into the Meeting Tent. 6 The priest is to dip his finger into the blood and ·sprinkle [dash] it seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain of the ·Most Holy Place [sanctuary]. 7 The priest must also put some of the blood on the ·corners [L horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar of incense that stands before the Lord in the Meeting Tent. The rest of the blood he must pour out at the ·bottom [base; foundation] of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. 8 He must remove all the fat from the bull of the ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering—the fat on and around the inner organs, 9 both kidneys with the fat that is on them near the ·lower back muscle [loins], and the ·best part [appendage] of the liver which he will remove with the kidneys. 10 (He must do this in the same way the fat is removed from the bull of the ·fellowship [peace; well-being] offering [3:3–4].) Then the priest must ·burn [L turn into smoke] the animal parts on the altar of burnt offering. 11 But the priest must carry off the skin of the bull and all its meat, along with the rest of the bull—its head, legs, intestines, and other inner organs. 12 He must take it outside the camp to the special clean [C in a ritual sense] place where the ashes are poured out. He must burn it on a wood fire on the pile of ashes.
13 “‘If the whole ·nation [congregation; assembly] of Israel sins ·accidentally [inadvertently; unintentionally; 4:2] ·without knowing it [L and the matter is hidden from the eyes of the assembly/crowd] and does something the Lord has commanded not to be done, they are guilty. 14 When they learn about the sin they have done, they must offer a young bull as a ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3] and bring it before the Meeting Tent. 15 The elders of the ·group of people [congregation; assembly] must ·put [lay; 1:4] their hands on the bull’s head before the Lord, and it must be ·killed [slaughtered] before the Lord. 16 Then the ·appointed [L anointed] priest must bring some of the bull’s blood into the Meeting Tent. 17 Dipping his finger in the blood, he must ·sprinkle [dash] it seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain. 18 Then he must put some of the blood on the ·corners [horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar that is before the Lord in the Meeting Tent. The priest must pour out the rest of the blood at the ·bottom [base; foundation] of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 19 He must remove all the fat from the animal and ·burn it [L turn it into smoke] on the altar; 20 he will do the same thing with this bull that he did with the first bull of the ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3]. In this way the priest ·removes the sins of the people so they will belong to the Lord and [L atones for them and they will] be forgiven. 21 Then the priest must carry the bull outside the camp and burn it, just as he did with the first bull. This is the ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3] for the whole ·community [assembly; crowd].
22 “‘If a ·ruler [leader; prince] sins ·by accident [inadvertently; unintentionally; 4:2] and does something the Lord his God has commanded must not be done, he is guilty. 23 When he learns about his sin, he must bring a male goat that ·has nothing wrong [is unblemished] with it as his ·offering [gift]. 24 The ·ruler [leader; prince] must ·put [lay; 1:4] his hand on the goat’s head and ·kill [slaughter] it in the place where they ·kill [slaughter] the whole burnt offering before the Lord; it is a ·sin [purification] offering [4:3]. 25 The priest must take some of the blood of the ·sin [purification] offering [4:3] on his finger and put it on the ·corners [horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the ·bottom [base; foundation] of the altar of burnt offering. 26 He must ·burn [L turn into smoke] all the goat’s fat on the altar in the same way he ·burns [L turns into smoke] the fat of the ·fellowship [peace; well-being] offerings [3:3–4]. In this way the priest ·removes the ruler’s sin so he belongs to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him [L makes atonement for him and he is forgiven].
27 “‘If any ·person in the community [ordinary/private/lay person; L of the people of the land] sins ·by accident [inadvertently; unintentionally; 4:2] and does something which the Lord has commanded must not be done, he is guilty. 28 When the person learns about his sin, he must bring a female goat ·that has nothing wrong with it [unblemished] as an ·offering [gift] for his sin. 29 He must ·put [lay] his hand on the animal’s head [1:4] and ·kill [slaughter] it at the place of the whole burnt offering. 30 Then the priest must take some of the goat’s blood on his finger and put it on the ·corners [horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of the goat’s blood at the ·bottom [base; foundation] of the altar. 31 Then the priest must remove all the goat’s fat in the same way the fat is removed from the ·fellowship [peace; well-being] offerings [3:3–4]. He must ·burn it [L turn it into smoke] on the altar as a smell pleasing to the Lord. In this way the priest ·will remove that person’s sin so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him [L makes atonement for him and he is forgiven].
32 “‘If this person brings a lamb as his ·offering [gift] for sin, he must bring a female ·that has nothing wrong with it [unblemished]. 33 He must ·put [lay] his hand on the animal’s head [1:4] and ·kill [slaughter] it as a ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3] in the place where the whole burnt offering is ·killed [slaughtered]. 34 The priest must take some of the blood from the sin offering on his finger and put it on the ·corners [horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of the lamb’s blood at the ·bottom [base; foundation] of the altar. 35 Then the priest must remove all the lamb’s fat in the same way that the lamb’s fat is removed from the ·fellowship [peace; well-being] offerings [3:3–4]. He must ·burn the pieces on the altar [L turn them into smoke] on top of the offerings made by fire for the Lord. In this way the priest ·will remove that person’s sins so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him [L makes atonement for him and he is forgiven].
Special Types of Accidental Sins
5 “‘If a person ·is ordered to tell in court [L hears a public oath and he has been a witness of] what he has seen or what he knows and he does not ·tell the court [L make it known], he is guilty of sin.
2 “‘Or someone might touch something unclean, such as the dead body of an unclean wild animal or an unclean farm animal or an unclean crawling animal [11:24–28, 32–40]. Even if he does not know that he touched it, he will still be unclean and guilty of sin.
3 “‘Someone might touch human uncleanness—anything that makes someone unclean—and not know it. But when he learns about it, he will be guilty.
4 “‘Or someone might make a promise before the Lord ·without thinking [rashly]. It might be a [rash] promise to do something bad or something good; it might be about anything. Even if he forgets about it, when he remembers, he will be guilty [Deut. 23:22–23; Eccl. 5:4].
5 “‘When anyone is guilty of any of these things, he must ·tell how he sinned [L confess his sin]. 6 He must bring an offering to the Lord as a penalty for sin; it must be a female lamb or goat from the flock. The priest will ·perform the acts to remove that person’s sin so he will belong to the Lord [L make atonement for his sin].
7 “‘But if the person cannot afford a lamb, he must bring two ·doves [turtledoves] or two young pigeons to the Lord as the penalty for his sin. One bird must be for a ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3], and the other must be for a whole burnt offering [1:1–17]. 8 He must bring them to the priest, who will first offer the one for the ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3]. He will ·pull [wring] the bird’s head from its neck, but he will not ·pull it completely off [sever it]. 9 He must ·sprinkle [dash] the blood from the ·sin [purification] offering [4:3] on the side of the altar, and then he must pour the rest of the blood at the ·bottom [base; foundation] of the altar; it is a ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3]. 10 Then the priest must offer the second bird as a whole burnt offering, as the ·law [regulation] says [1:14–17]. In this way the priest ·will remove the person’s sin so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him [L makes atonement for him and he is forgiven].
11 “‘If the person cannot afford two ·doves [turtledoves] or two pigeons, he must bring about ·two quarts of [L one-tenth of an ephah of] ·fine [choice] flour as an ·offering for sin [purification offering; 4:3]. He must not put oil or ·incense [frankincense] on the flour, because it is a ·sin [or purification] offering. 12 He must bring the flour to the priest. The priest will take a handful of the flour as a memorial offering and burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made by fire to the Lord; it is a ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3]. 13 In this way the priest ·will remove the person’s sins so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him [L makes atonement for him and he will be forgiven]. What is left of the sin offering belongs to the priest, like the ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [2:10].’”
The Penalty Offering
14 The Lord said to Moses, 15 “If a person ·accidentally [inadvertently; unintentionally; 4:2] sins and ·does something against [is unfaithful/disloyal toward] the holy things of the Lord, he must bring from the flock a male sheep ·that has nothing wrong with it [unblemished]. This will be his ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering to the Lord. Its value in silver must be correct as set by the Holy Place measure. It is a ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering. 16 That person must pay for the sin he did against the holy thing, adding one-fifth to its value. Then he must give it all to the priest. In this way the priest will ·remove the person’s sin so he will belong to the Lord [make atonement for him], by using the male sheep as the ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering. And ·the Lord will forgive the person [L he will be forgiven].
17 “If a person sins and does something the Lord has commanded not to be done, even if he does not know it, he is still guilty. He is responsible for his sin. 18 He must bring the priest a male sheep from the flock, one that ·has nothing wrong with it [is unblemished] and that is worth the correct amount. It will be a ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering. Though the person sinned without knowing it, with this offering the priest will ·remove the sin so the person will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him [make atonement for him and he will be forgiven]. 19 The person is guilty of doing wrong, so he must give the ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering to the Lord.”
Jesus Calls Levi to Follow Him(A)
13 Jesus went to the lake again. The whole crowd ·followed him [came to him] there, and he taught them. 14 While he was walking along, he saw a man named Levi son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax collector’s booth [C probably a tariff booth for taxing goods in transit]. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he stood up and followed Jesus.
15 Later, as Jesus was ·having dinner [L reclining; C around a low table, the posture for a formal banquet or dinner party] at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating there with Jesus and his followers. Many people like this followed Jesus. 16 When the ·teachers of the law [scribes] who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they asked his followers, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” [C Tax collectors were despised because they worked for the Roman rulers and were notorious for corruption and extortion.]
17 Jesus heard this and said to them, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. I did not come to ·invite [call] ·good people [the righteous; C meaning the “self-righteous” who feel no need to repent] but to ·invite [call] sinners [C those who recognize their need to repent].”
Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting(B)
18 Now the ·followers [disciples] of John [C the Baptist; 1:4–8] and the Pharisees often fasted [C giving up eating for spiritual purposes]. ·Some people [L They] came to Jesus and said, “Why do John’s ·followers [disciples] and the ·followers [disciples] of the Pharisees often fast, but your ·followers [disciples] don’t?”
19 Jesus answered, “The ·friends of the bridegroom [or wedding guests; L children of the wedding hall] do not fast while the bridegroom is still with them [C Jesus is referring to himself; John 3:29; Rev. 19:7]. As long as the bridegroom is with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the ·time [L days] will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and ·then [in that day] they will fast.
21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth over a hole in an old ·coat [garment]. Otherwise, the patch will shrink and pull away—the new patch will pull away from the old ·coat [garment]. Then the ·hole [tear] will be worse. 22 Also, no one ever pours new wine into old ·leather bags [wineskins]. Otherwise, the new wine will break the ·bags [skins; C as the wine ferments and expands], and the wine will be ·ruined [lost] along with the ·bags [skins]. But new wine should be put into new ·leather bags [wineskins].”
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath(C)
23 One Sabbath day, as Jesus was walking through some fields of grain, his ·followers [disciples] began to [make a path and] pick some grain to eat [Deut. 23:25]. 24 The Pharisees said to Jesus, “Why are your followers doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath day?” [C Gleaning was viewed as work, and therefore forbidden on the Sabbath; Ex. 34:21.]
25 Jesus answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and ·those with him [his companions] were hungry and needed food [1 Sam. 21:1–6]? 26 ·During the time of Abiathar [or, In the account about Abiathar] the high priest, David went into God’s house and ate the ·holy bread [consecrated bread; L bread of presentation], which is lawful only for priests to eat [Ex. 25:30; Lev. 24:5–9]. And David also gave some of the bread to those who were with him.”
27 Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The Sabbath day was made ·to help people [T for man]; ·they were not made to be ruled by [T not man for] the Sabbath day. 28 So then, the Son of Man is ·Lord [Master] even of the Sabbath day.”
Jesus Heals a Man’s Hand(D)
3 Another time when Jesus went into a synagogue, a man with a ·crippled [paralyzed; deformed; shriveled] hand was there. 2 ·Some people [L They; C probably the Pharisees; see 2:24, 27] watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath day so they could accuse him.
3 Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, “Stand up here in ·the middle [front] of everyone.”
4 Then Jesus asked ·the people [L them; C probably the Pharisees], “Which is lawful [C according to the law of Moses] on the Sabbath day: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” But they ·said nothing to answer him [remained silent].
5 Jesus was angry as he looked at them, and he felt very ·sad [distressed; grieved] because ·they were stubborn [of their hard hearts]. Then he said to the man, “·Hold out [stretch out] your hand.” The man ·held out [stretched out] his hand and it was ·healed [restored]. 6 Then the Pharisees left and [immediately] began ·making plans [plotting] with the Herodians [C a political group that supported king Herod and his family] about a way to ·kill [destroy] Jesus.
Wicked People and a Good God
For the director of music. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
36 ·Sin speaks to the wicked in their hearts [L Oracle/Decree of transgression to the wicked in the midst of their heart].
They have no ·fear [terror] of God [Prov. 1:7; Rom. 3:18].
2 They ·think too much of themselves [L flatter themselves in their own eyes]
so they don’t ·see [discover; find] their sin and ·hate [or change] it.
3 ·Their words [L The words of their mouth] are ·wicked lies [mischief and deceit];
they ·are no longer wise or good [L have stopped being wise/insightful in order to do good].
4 ·At night [L In their bed] they make evil plans;
·what they do leads to nothing [L they are set on a way that does no] good.
They don’t ·refuse [reject] things that are evil.
5 Lord, your ·love [loyalty; covenant love] ·reaches [extends] to the heavens,
your ·loyalty [faithfulness] to the skies.
6 Your ·goodness [righteousness] is like the mighty mountains [C majestic].
Your ·justice [judgment] is like the great ocean [C deep].
Lord, you ·protect [save] both people and animals.
7 God, ·your love is so precious [L how precious is your loyalty/covenant love?]!
You ·protect [provide refuge for] people in the shadow of your wings.
8 They ·eat [feast on; are filled with] ·the rich food [L from the fat/abundance] in your house,
and you let them drink from your river of ·pleasure [delights].
9 You are the ·giver [L fountain] of life.
·Your light lets us enjoy life [L In your light we see light].
10 Continue to ·love [show loyalty/covenant love to] those who know you
and ·to do good [L your good/righteousness] to those who are ·good [upright/virtuous in heart].
11 Don’t let ·proud people attack me [L the foot of the arrogant come near me]
·and the wicked [L or the hand of the wicked] ·force [drive] me away.
12 Those who do evil ·have been defeated [L fall there].
They are overwhelmed;
they cannot ·do evil any longer [L arise again].
The Wise Words of Solomon
10 These are the ·wise words [proverbs] of Solomon:
Wise ·children [sons] make their father happy,
but foolish ·children [sons] make their mother sad.
2 ·Riches gotten by doing wrong [L The treasures of the wicked] have no value,
but ·right living [righteousness] will save you from death.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.