The Daily Audio Bible

The Part for Aaron and His Sons

²⁸ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁹ “Say to the people of Israel, ‘Whoever gives his peace gift to the Lord will bring a part of it as a special gift to the Lord. ³⁰ With his own hands he will bring the gift given to the Lord by fire. He will bring the fat with the breast so the breast may be given as a wave gift before the Lord. ³¹ The religious leader will burn the fat on the altar. But the breast will belong to Aaron and his sons. ³² And you will give the right thigh to the religious leader as his part of your peace gift. ³³ The son of Aaron who gives the blood and the fat of the peace gift will have the right thigh for his share. ³⁴ For I have taken the breast of the wave gift and the right thigh out of the peace gifts given by the people of Israel. And I have given them to Aaron the religious leader and to his sons as their share forever from the people of Israel.

³⁵ ‘This is the share for Aaron and his sons from the gifts made by fire to the Lord. It was set apart for them on the day they were set apart to work as religious leaders for the Lord. ³⁶ The Lord said that this should be given to them by the people of Israel on the day they were set apart. It is their share forever.’”

³⁷ This is the Law of the burnt gift, the grain gift, the sin gift, the guilt gift, the gift when the religious leader is set apart for the Lord’s work, and the peace gift. ³⁸ The Lord gave this Law to Moses on Mount Sinai on the day that He told the people of Israel to give their gifts to the Lord in the Desert of Sinai.

Aaron and His Sons Set Apart for Their Work

8 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Take Aaron and his sons, and the clothing, the oil for holy use, the bull for the sin gift, the two rams and the basket of bread without yeast. ³ And gather together all the people at the door of the meeting tent.” ⁴ So Moses did just as the Lord told him. The people were gathered together at the door of the meeting tent. ⁵ Moses said to the people, “This is what the Lord has said to do.”

⁶ Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. ⁷ He dressed him with the coat, the belt, the long piece of clothing, and the linen vest. He tied the well-made rope of the linen vest, to keep his clothing in place. ⁸ Then he put the breast-piece on him. And he put the Urim and the Thummim into the breast-piece. ⁹ He put the head covering on his head. And on the front of it he put the gold plate, the holy crown, just as the Lord had told Moses.

¹⁰ Then Moses took the oil for holy use and poured it on the meeting tent and all that was in it, and made them holy. ¹¹ He put some of it on the altar seven times. He poured this oil on the altar and all its objects, and the washing pot and its base, to make them holy. ¹² And he poured some of the oil for holy use on Aaron’s head, to make him holy. ¹³ Then Moses had Aaron’s sons come near and dressed them with coats, belts and head coverings, just as the Lord had told Moses.

¹⁴ Moses brought the bull of the sin gift. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin gift. ¹⁵ Then Moses killed it. He took some of the blood, and put it around on the horns of the altar with his finger, to make the altar clean. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar to make it holy. ¹⁶ He took all the fat that was on the inside parts, and the part that was on the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat. And Moses burned them on the altar. ¹⁷ But the bull and its skin, its meat and its waste, he burned in the fire away from the tents, just as the Lord had told Moses.

¹⁸ Moses brought the ram of the burnt gift. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the sheep. ¹⁹ Then Moses killed it and put the blood around on the altar. ²⁰ He cut the ram into pieces. And Moses burned the head, the pieces, and the fat. ²¹ After he had washed the inside parts and the legs with water, Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt gift for a pleasing smell. It was a gift by fire to the Lord, just as the Lord had told Moses. ²² Then Moses brought the ram, the ram for setting them apart. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ²³ And Moses killed it, took some of its blood, and put it on the bottom of Aaron’s right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴ Then he had Aaron’s sons come near. Moses put some of the blood on the bottom of their right ear, the thumb of their right hand, and the big toe of their right foot. Then Moses put the rest of the blood around on the altar. ²⁵ He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat that was on the inside parts, the part that is on the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh. ²⁶ From the basket of bread made without yeast that was before the Lord, he took one loaf without yeast, and one loaf of bread mixed with oil, and one piece of hard bread. And he put them on the fat parts and the right thigh. ²⁷ He put all these on the hands of Aaron and his sons, and waved them for a wave gift before the Lord. ²⁸ Then Moses took these things from their hands and burned them on the altar with the burnt gift. It was a gift to set them apart. It was a pleasing smell, a gift by fire to the Lord. ²⁹ Moses took the breast of the ram also. He gave it as a wave gift before the Lord. It was Moses’ part of the ram for setting Aaron and his sons apart, just as the Lord had told Moses.

³⁰ Moses took some of the oil for holy use and some of the blood that was on the altar. He put it on Aaron and his clothing, and on his sons and their clothing. So Aaron and his clothing and his sons and their clothing were set apart.

³¹ Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the meat at the door of the meeting tent. And eat it there with the bread which is in the basket that was set apart as an offering. Just as I said, ‘Aaron and his sons will eat it.’ ³² Burn in the fire what is left of the flesh and the bread. ³³ Do not go outside the door of the meeting tent for seven days, until the time is over for you to be set apart. For it will take seven days to set you apart. ³⁴ The Lord has told us to do what has been done today, to take away your sins. ³⁵ Stay day and night at the door of the meeting tent for seven days. Do what the Lord has told you to do, so you will not die. For this is what I have been told.” ³⁶ So Aaron and his sons did all that the Lord had told them to do by Moses.

The Religious Leaders Begin Their Work

9 On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the leaders of Israel. ² He said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf for a sin gift and a ram for a burnt gift, both of them perfect. And give them to the Lord. ³ Then say to the people of Israel, ‘Take a male goat for a sin gift, and a calf and a lamb, both a year old and perfect, for a burnt gift, ⁴ and a bull and a ram for peace gifts. Give them to the Lord with a grain gift mixed with oil. For today the Lord will show Himself to you.’” ⁵ So they brought to the front of the meeting tent what Moses had told them. All the people came near and stood before the Lord. ⁶ Moses said, “This is what the Lord has told you to do. And the shining-greatness of the Lord will be shown to you.”

The New Kind of Family ^(A)

³¹ Then His mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent for Jesus. ³² Many people were sitting around Him. They said, “See! Your mother and brothers are outside looking for You.” ³³ He said to them, “Who is My mother or My brothers?” ³⁴ He turned to those sitting around Him and said, “See! My mother and My brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does what My Father wants is My brother and My sister and My mother.”

The Picture-Story of the Man Who Planted Seed ^(B)

4 Jesus began to teach by the sea-shore again. Many people gathered around Him. There were so many He had to get into a boat and sit down. The people were on the shore. ² He taught them many things by using picture-stories. As He taught, He said, ³ “Listen! A man went out to plant seed. ⁴ As he planted the seed, some fell by the side of the road. Birds came and ate them. ⁵ Some seed fell among rocks. It came up at once because there was so little ground. ⁶ But it dried up when the sun was high in the sky because it had no root. ⁷ Some seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew and did not give the seed room to grow. This seed gave no grain. ⁸ Some seed fell on good ground. It came up and grew and gave much grain. Some gave thirty times as much grain. Some gave sixty times as much grain. Some gave one hundred times as much grain.” ⁹ He said to them, “You have ears, then listen!” ¹⁰ Those who were with Jesus and the twelve followers came to Him when He was alone. They asked about the picture-story. ¹¹ He said to them, “You were given the secrets about the holy nation of God. Everything is told in picture-stories to those who are outside the holy nation of God. ¹² They see, but do not know what it means. They hear, but do not understand. If they did, they might turn to God and have their sins forgiven.” ^(C)

Jesus Tells about the Man Who Planted the Seed

¹³ Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this picture-story? Then how will you understand any of the picture-stories? ¹⁴ What the man plants is the Word of God. ¹⁵ Those by the side of the road are the ones who hear the Word. As soon as they hear it, the devil comes and takes away the Word that is planted in their hearts. ¹⁶ The seed that fell among rocks is like people who receive the Word with joy when they hear it. ¹⁷ Their roots are not deep so they live only a short time. When sorrow and trouble come because of the Word, they give up and fall away. ¹⁸ The seed that was planted among thorns is like some people who listen to the Word. ¹⁹ But the cares of this life let thorns come up. A love for riches and always wanting other things let thorns grow. These things do not give the Word room to grow so it does not give grain. ²⁰ The seed that fell on good ground is like people who hear the Word and understand it. They give much grain. Some give thirty times as much grain. Some give sixty times as much grain. Some give one hundred times as much grain.”

The Picture-Story of the Lamp

²¹ He said to them, “Is a lamp to be put under a pail or under a bed? Should it not be put on a lamp-stand? ²² Everything that is hidden will be brought into the light. Everything that is a secret will be made known. ²³ You have ears, then listen!”

²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Be careful what you listen to. The same amount you give will be given to you, and even more. ²⁵ He who has, to him will be given. To him who does not have, even the little he has will be taken from him.”

¹² The sinful man plans against him who is right with God. And he grinds his teeth at him. ¹³ The Lord laughs at him because He sees his day is coming. ¹⁴ The sinful have taken up their sword and their bow, to bring down the poor and those in need, and to kill those whose ways are right. ¹⁵ Their sword will cut into their own heart, and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ The few things that the man right with God has is better than the riches of many sinful men. ¹⁷ For the arms of the sinful will be broken. But the Lord holds up those who are right with Him. ¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of those who are without blame. And what is theirs will last forever. ¹⁹ They will not be ashamed in the time of trouble. And in days when there is no food they will have enough. ²⁰ But the sinful will be lost forever. Those who hate the Lord will be like the beauty of the fields. They will be gone. Like smoke they will be gone. ²¹ The sinful ask for something, but do not return it. But those who are right with God are kind and give. ²² For those who are made happy by Him will be given the land. But those who are being punished by Him will be cut off.

²³ The steps of a good man are led by the Lord. And He is happy in his way. ²⁴ When he falls, he will not be thrown down, because the Lord holds his hand. ²⁵ I have been young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the man who is right with God left alone, or his children begging for bread. ²⁶ All day long he is kind and lets others use what he has. And his children make him happy.

²⁷ Turn from sin, and do good, so you will live forever. ²⁸ For the Lord loves what is fair and right. He does not leave the people alone who belong to Him. They are kept forever. But the children of the sinful will be cut off. ²⁹ Those who are right with God will be given the land, and live on it forever.

⁵ A son who gathers in summer is wise, but a son who sleeps during gathering time brings shame.