The Daily Audio Bible
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The Priests’ Share
28 The Lord said to Moses, 29 “Tell the people of Israel: ‘Someone may bring a fellowship offering to the Lord. He must give part of it as his sacrifice to the Lord. 30 He must carry that part of the gift in his own hands. It will be an offering made by fire to the Lord. He must carry the fat and the breast of the animal to the priest. The breast must be presented to the Lord as the priests’ share. 31 Then the priest must burn the fat on the altar. But the breast of the animal will belong to Aaron and the priests. 32 You must also give the right thigh from the fellowship offering to the priest as a gift. 33 It will belong to the priest who offers the blood and fat of the fellowship offering. 34 I have taken the breast and the thigh of the fellowship offering. And I have given these parts to Aaron and the priests as their share from the Israelites.’”
35 This is the portion that belongs to Aaron and his sons. It is from the offerings made by fire to the Lord. Aaron and his sons were given this share on the day they were presented to the Lord as priests. 36 On the day the Lord appointed the priests, he commanded Israel to give this share to them. It is to be given to the priests as their share from now on.
37 These are the teachings about the whole burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering and the penalty offering. They are the teachings about the appointment of priests. And they are the teachings about the fellowship offerings. 38 The Lord gave these teachings to Moses on Mount Sinai. It was on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to him in the Sinai Desert.
Aaron and His Sons Appointed
8 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Bring Aaron and his sons and their clothes. Bring the special olive oil used in appointing people and things to the service of the Lord. Also bring the bull of the sin offering and the two male sheep. And bring the basket of bread made without yeast. 3 Then gather the people together at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.” 4 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. The people met together at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.
5 Then Moses spoke to the people. He said, “This is what the Lord has commanded to be done.” 6 Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward. He washed them with water. 7 He put the inner robe on Aaron. And he tied the cloth belt around Aaron. Then he put the outer robe on him. Next he put the holy vest on Aaron. Then he tied the skillfully woven belt around him. So the holy vest was tied to Aaron. 8 Then Moses put the chest covering on him. And he put the Urim and the Thummim in the chest covering. 9 He also put the turban on Aaron’s head. He put the strip of gold on the front of the turban. This strip of gold is the holy crown. Moses did this as the Lord commanded him to do.
10 Then Moses put the special oil on the Holy Tent and everything in it. In this way Moses made them holy for the Lord. 11 He sprinkled some oil on the altar seven times. He sprinkled the altar and all its tools. He also sprinkled special oil on the large bowl and its base. In this way he made them holy for the Lord. 12 Then he poured some of the special oil on Aaron’s head. In this way he made Aaron holy for the Lord. 13 Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons forward. And he put the inner robes on them. He tied cloth belts around them. Then he put headbands on them. He did these things as the Lord had commanded him.
14 Then Moses brought the bull for the sin offering. And Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head. 15 Moses killed the bull and took some of the blood. With his finger he put some of the blood on all the corners of the altar. In this way he made the altar pure. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. So he made it holy and ready for service to God. 16 Moses took all the fat from the inner organs of the bull. He took the best part of the liver. And he took both kidneys and the fat on them. Then he burned them on the altar. 17 But he took the bull’s skin, its meat and its intestines outside the camp. He burned them in a fire outside the camp. Moses did all these things as the Lord had commanded him.
18 Next Moses brought the male sheep of the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head. 19 Then Moses killed it. He sprinkled the blood on all sides of the altar. 20 Moses cut the male sheep into pieces. And he burned the head, the pieces and the fat. 21 He washed the inner organs and legs with water. Then he burned the whole sheep on the altar. It was a burnt offering made by fire to the Lord. Its smell was pleasing to the Lord. Moses did these things as the Lord had commanded him.
22 Then Moses brought the other male sheep. It was used in appointing Aaron and his sons as priests. They put their hands on its head. 23 Then Moses killed the sheep. He put some of its blood on the bottom of Aaron’s right ear. He put some on the thumb of Aaron’s right hand. And he put some on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons close to the altar. He put some of the blood on the bottom of their right ears. He put it on the thumbs of their right hands. And he put it on the big toes of their right feet. Then he sprinkled blood on all sides of the altar. 25 He took the fat and the fat tail from the sheep. He took all the fat on the inner organs. He took the best part of the liver. He also took both kidneys, their fat and the right thigh. 26 A basket of bread made without yeast is put before the Lord each day. From the basket Moses took a loaf of bread. And he took a loaf made with oil and a wafer. He put these pieces of bread on the fat and right thigh of the male sheep. 27 He put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. He presented the pieces as an offering before the Lord. 28 Then Moses took them from their hands. And he burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering. So this was the offering for appointing Aaron and his sons as priests. It was an offering made by fire to the Lord. Its smell was pleasing to the Lord. 29 Moses took the breast and presented it as an offering before the Lord. It was Moses’ share of the male sheep used in appointing the priests. This was as the Lord had commanded Moses.
30 Moses took some of the special oil and some of the blood which was on the altar. He sprinkled some of the oil on Aaron and Aaron’s clothes. He also sprinkled some on Aaron’s sons and their clothes. In this way Moses made Aaron, his clothes, his sons and their clothes holy for the Lord.
31 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “I gave you a command. I said, ‘Aaron and his sons will eat these things.’ So take the meat and basket of bread from the offering for appointing priests. Boil the meat at the door of the Meeting Tent. Eat it there with the bread. 32 If any of the meat or bread is left, burn it. 33 The time of appointing will last seven days. You must not go outside the entrance of the Meeting Tent until that time is up. Stay there until the time of your appointing is finished. 34 The Lord commanded the things that were done today. He commanded these things to remove your sins so you will belong to him. 35 You must stay at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Stay there day and night for seven days. If you don’t obey the Lord’s commands, you will die! The Lord has given me these commands.”
36 So Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord had commanded through Moses.
Aaron and His Sons Offer Sacrifices
9 On the eighth day after the time of appointing, Moses called for Aaron and his sons. He also called for the elders of Israel. 2 He said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf and a male sheep. There must be nothing wrong with these animals. The calf will be a sin offering. And the male sheep will be a whole burnt offering. Offer these animals to the Lord. 3 Tell the people of Israel, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering. And take a calf and a lamb for a whole burnt offering. The calf and the lamb must each be one year old. There must be nothing wrong with these animals. 4 Take a bull and a male sheep for fellowship offerings. Take with these animals a grain offering mixed with oil. Offer these things to the Lord. This is because the Lord will appear to you today.’”
5 So all the people came to the front of the Meeting Tent. They brought the things Moses had commanded them to bring. And they stood before the Lord. 6 Moses said, “You have done what the Lord commanded. So you will see the Lord’s glory.”
Jesus’ True Family
31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside and sent someone in to tell him to come out. 32 Many people were sitting around Jesus. They said to him, “Your mother and brothers[a] are waiting for you outside.”
33 Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 34 Then Jesus looked at those sitting around him. He said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 My true brother and sister and mother are those who do the things God wants.”
A Story About Planting Seed
4 Another time Jesus began teaching by the lake. A great crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat and went out on the lake. All the people stayed on the shore close to the water. 2 Jesus used many stories to teach them. He said, 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed. 4 While the farmer was planting, some seed fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed. 5 Some seed fell on rocky ground where there wasn’t much dirt. The seed grew very fast there because the ground was not deep. 6 But when the sun rose, the plants withered. The plants died because they did not have deep roots. 7 Some other seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew and choked the good plants. So those plants did not make grain. 8 Some other seed fell on good ground. In the good ground, the seed began to grow. It grew and made a crop of grain. Some plants made 30 times more grain, some 60 times more grain, and some 100 times more grain.”
9 Then Jesus said, “Let those with ears use them and listen!”
Jesus Tells Why He Used Stories
10 Later, when Jesus was alone, the 12 apostles and others around him asked him about the stories.
11 Jesus said, “Only you can know the secret truth about the kingdom of God. But to other people I tell everything by using stories. 12 I do this so that:
‘They will look and look, but they will not learn.
They will listen and listen, but they will not understand.
If they did learn and understand,
they would come back to me and be forgiven.’” Isaiah 6:9-10
Jesus Explains the Seed Story
13 Then Jesus said to the followers, “Do you understand this story? If you don’t, then how will you understand any story? 14 The farmer is like a person who plants God’s teaching in people. 15 Sometimes the teaching falls on the road. This is like some people. They hear the teaching of God. But Satan quickly comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them. 16 Others are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching and quickly accept it with joy. 17 But they don’t allow the teaching to go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching, they quickly give up. 18 Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching. 19 But then other things come into their lives: worries, the love of money, and wanting all kinds of other things. These things stop the teaching from growing. So that teaching does not produce fruit[b] in their lives. 20 Others are like the seed planted in the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce fruit—sometimes 30 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 100 times more.”
Use What You Have
21 Then Jesus said to them, “Do you hide a lamp under a bowl or under a bed? No! You put the lamp on a lampstand. 22 Everything that is hidden will be made clear. Every secret thing will be made known. 23 Let those with ears use them and listen!
24 “Think carefully about the things you hear. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you. But God will give you more than you give. 25 The person who has something will be given more. But the person who does not have much, even what he has will be taken from him.”
12 The wicked make evil plans against good people.
They grind their teeth at them in anger.
13 But the Lord laughs at the wicked.
He sees that their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw their swords.
They bend their bows.
They try to kill the poor and helpless.
They want to kill those who are honest.
15 But their swords will stab their own hearts.
Their bows will break.
16 It’s better to have little and be right
than to have much and be wrong.
17 The power of the wicked will be broken.
But the Lord supports those who do right.
18 The Lord watches over the lives of the innocent.
Their reward will last forever.
19 They will not be ashamed when trouble comes.
They will be full in times of hunger.
20 But the wicked will die.
The Lord’s enemies will be like the flowers of the fields.
They will disappear like smoke.
21 The wicked people borrow but don’t pay back.
But those who do right give freely to others.
22 Those people the Lord blesses will inherit the land.
But those he curses will be sent away.
23 When a man’s steps follow the Lord,
God is pleased with his ways.
24 If he stumbles, he will not fall,
because the Lord holds his hand.
25 I was young, and now I am old.
But I have never seen the Lord leave good people helpless.
I have never seen their children begging for food.
26 Good people always lend freely to others.
And their children are a blessing.
27 Stop doing evil and do good.
Then you will live forever.
28 The Lord loves justice.
He will not leave those who worship him.
He will always protect them.
But the children of the wicked will die.
29 Good people will inherit the land.
They will live in it forever.
5 A son who gathers crops when they are ready is wise.
But the son who sleeps through the harvest is a disgrace.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.