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Leviticus New Living Translation (NLT)
Chapter 1
Procedures for the Burnt Offering
1The LORD called to Moses from the Tabernacle and said to him, 2"Give the following
instructions to the Israelites: Whenever you present offerings to the LORD, you must bring
animals from your flocks and herds.
3"If your sacrifice for a whole burnt offering is from the herd, bring a bull with no physical defects
to the entrance of the Tabernacle so it will be accepted by the LORD. 4Lay your hand on its head
so the LORD will accept it as your substitute, thus making atonement for you. 5Then slaughter the
animal in the LORD's presence, and Aaron's sons, the priests, will present the blood by sprinkling
it against the sides of the altar that stands in front of the Tabernacle. 6When the animal has been
skinned and cut into pieces, 7the sons of Aaron the priest will build a wood fire on the altar.
8Aaron's sons will then put the pieces of the animal, including its head and fat, on the wood fire.
9But the internal organs and legs must first be washed with water. Then the priests will burn the
entire sacrifice on the altar. It is a whole burnt offering made by fire, very pleasing to the LORD.
10"If your sacrifice for a whole burnt offering is from the flock, bring a male sheep or goat with no
physical defects. 11Slaughter the animal on the north side of the altar in the LORD's presence.
Aaron's sons, the priests, will sprinkle its blood against the sides of the altar. 12Then you must cut
the animal in pieces, and the priests will lay the pieces of the sacrifice, including the head and fat,
on top of the wood fire on the altar. 13The internal organs and legs must first be washed with
water. Then the priests will burn the entire sacrifice on the altar. It is a whole burnt offering made
by fire, very pleasing to the LORD.
14"If you bring a bird as a burnt offering to the LORD, choose either a turtledove or a young
pigeon. 15The priest will take the bird to the altar, twist off its head, and burn the head on the
altar. He must then let its blood drain out against the sides of the altar. 16The priest must remove
the crop and the feathers and throw them to the east side of the altar among the ashes. 17Then,
grasping the bird by its wings, the priest will tear the bird apart, though not completely. Then he
will burn it on top of the wood fire on the altar. It is a whole burnt offering made by fire, very
pleasing to the LORD.
Chapter 2
Procedures for the Grain Offering
1"When you bring a grain offering to the LORD, the offering must consist of choice flour. You
are to pour olive oil on it and sprinkle it with incense. 2Bring this offering to one of Aaron's sons,
and he will take a handful of the flour mixed with olive oil, together with all the incense, and burn
this token portion on the altar fire. It is an offering made by fire, very pleasing to the LORD. 3The
rest of the flour will be given to Aaron and his sons. It will be considered a most holy part of the
offerings given to the LORD by fire.
4"When you present some kind of baked bread as a grain offering, it must be made of choice flour
mixed with olive oil but without any yeast. It may be presented in the form of cakes mixed with
olive oil or wafers spread with olive oil. 5If your grain offering is cooked on a griddle, it must be
made of choice flour and olive oil, and it must contain no yeast. 6Break it into pieces and pour oil
on it; it is a kind of grain offering. 7If your offering is prepared in a pan, it also must be made of
choice flour and olive oil.
8"No matter how a grain offering has been prepared before being offered to the LORD, bring it to
the priests who will present it at the altar. 9The priests will take a token portion of the grain
offering and burn it on the altar as an offering made by fire, and it will be very pleasing to the
LORD. 10The rest of the grain offering will be given to Aaron and his sons as their food. It will be
considered a most holy part of the offerings given to the LORD by fire.
11"Do not use yeast in any of the grain offerings you present to the LORD, because no yeast or
honey may be burned as an offering to the LORD by fire. 12You may add yeast and honey to the
offerings presented at harvesttime, but these must never be burned on the altar as an offering
pleasing to the LORD. 13Season all your grain offerings with salt, to remind you of God's
covenant. Never forget to add salt to your grain offerings.
14"If you present a grain offering to the LORD from the first portion of your harvest, bring kernels
of new grain that have been roasted on a fire. 15Since it is a grain offering, put olive oil on it and
sprinkle it with incense. 16The priests will take a token portion of the roasted grain mixed with
olive oil, together with all the incense, and burn it as an offering given to the LORD by fire.
Chapter 3
Procedures for the Peace Offering
1"If you want to present a peace offering from the herd, use either a bull or a cow. The animal you
offer to the LORD must have no physical defects. 2Lay your hand on the animal's head, and
slaughter it at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Aaron's sons, the priests, will then sprinkle the
animal's blood against the sides of the altar. 3Part of this peace offering must be presented to the
LORD as an offering made by fire. This includes the fat around the internal organs, 4the two
kidneys with the fat around them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which is to be removed
with the kidneys. 5The sons of Aaron will burn these on the altar on top of the burnt offering on
the wood fire. It is an offering made by fire, very pleasing to the LORD.
6"If you present a peace offering to the LORD from the flock, you may bring either a goat or a
sheep. It may be either male or female, and it must have no physical defects. 7If you bring a sheep
as your gift, present it to the LORD 8by laying your hand on its head and slaughtering it at the
entrance of the Tabernacle. The sons of Aaron will then sprinkle the sheep's blood against the
sides of the altar. 9Part of this peace offering must be presented to the LORD as an offering made
by fire. This includes the fat of the entire tail cut off near the backbone, the fat around the internal
organs, 10the two kidneys with the fat around them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which
is to be removed with the kidneys. 11The priest will burn them on the altar as food, an offering
given to the LORD by fire.
12"If you bring a goat as your offering to the LORD, 13lay your hand on its head, and slaughter it
at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Then the sons of Aaron will sprinkle the goat's blood against
the sides of the altar. 14Part of this offering must be presented to the LORD as an offering made
by fire. This part includes the fat around the internal organs, 15the two kidneys with the fat around
them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. 16The
priest will burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire; these will be very pleasing to
the LORD. Remember, all the fat belongs to the LORD.
17"You must never eat any fat or blood. This is a permanent law for you and all your descendants,
wherever they may live."
Chapter 4
Procedures for the Sin Offering
1Then the LORD said to Moses, 2"Give the Israelites the following instructions for dealing with
those who sin unintentionally by doing anything forbidden by the LORD's commands.
3"If the high priest sins, bringing guilt upon the entire community, he must bring to the LORD a
young bull with no physical defects. 4He must present the bull to the LORD at the entrance of the
Tabernacle, lay his hand on the bull's head, and slaughter it there in the LORD's presence. 5The
priest on duty will then take some of the animal's blood into the Tabernacle, 6dip his finger into
the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the inner curtain of the Most
Holy Place. 7The priest will put some of the blood on the horns of the incense altar that stands in
the LORD's presence in the Tabernacle. The rest of the bull's blood must be poured out at the
base of the altar of burnt offerings at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 8The priest must remove all
the fat around the bull's internal organs, 9the two kidneys with the fat around them near the loins,
and the lobe of the liver. 10Then he must burn them on the altar of burnt offerings, just as is done
with the bull or cow sacrificed as a peace offering. 11But the rest of the bull--its hide, meat, head,
legs, internal organs, and dung-- 12must be carried away to a ceremonially clean place outside the
camp, the place where the ashes are thrown. He will burn it all on a wood fire in the ash heap.
13"If the entire Israelite community does something forbidden by the LORD and the matter
escapes the community's notice, all the people will be guilty. 14When they discover their sin, the
leaders of the community must bring a young bull for a sin offering and present it at the entrance
of the Tabernacle. 15The leaders must then lay their hands on the bull's head and slaughter it there
before the LORD. 16The priest will bring some of its blood into the Tabernacle, 17dip his finger
into the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the inner curtain. 18He will
then put some of the blood on the horns of the incense altar that stands in the LORD's presence in
the Tabernacle. The rest of the blood must then be poured out at the base of the altar of burnt
offerings at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 19The priest must remove all the animal's fat and burn
it on the altar, 20following the same procedure as with the sin offering for the priest. In this way,
the priest will make atonement for the people, and they will be forgiven. 21The priest must then
take what is left of the bull outside the camp and burn it there, just as is done with the sin offering
for the high priest. This is a sin offering for the entire community of Israel.
22"If one of Israel's leaders does something forbidden by the LORD his God, he will be guilty even
if he sinned unintentionally. 23When he becomes aware of his sin, he must bring as his offering a
male goat with no physical defects. 24He is to lay his hand on the goat's head and slaughter it
before the LORD at the place where burnt offerings are slaughtered. This will be his sin offering.
25Then the priest will dip his finger into the blood of the sin offering, put it on the horns of the
altar of burnt offerings, and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 26He must burn
all the goat's fat on the altar, just as is done with the peace offering. In this way, the priest will
make atonement for the leader's sin, and he will be forgiven.
27"If any of the citizens of Israel do something forbidden by the LORD, they will be guilty even if
they sinned unintentionally. 28When they become aware of their sin, they must bring as their
offering a female goat with no physical defects. It will be offered for their sin. 29They are to lay a
hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place where burnt offerings are
slaughtered. 30The priest will then dip his finger into the blood, put the blood on the horns of the
altar of burnt offerings, and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 31Those who are
guilty must remove all the goat's fat, just as is done with the peace offering. Then the priest will
burn the fat on the altar, and it will be very pleasing to the LORD. In this way, the priest will
make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.
32"If any of the people bring a sheep as their sin offering, it must be a female with no physical
defects. 33They are to lay a hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place where
the burnt offerings are slaughtered. 34The priest will then dip his finger into the blood, put it on the
horns of the altar of burnt offerings, and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
35Those who are guilty must remove all the sheep's fat, just as is done with a sheep presented as a
peace offering. Then the priest will burn the fat on the altar on top of the offerings given to the
LORD by fire. In this way, the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.
Chapter 5
Sins Requiring a Sin Offering
1"If any of the people are called to testify about something they have witnessed, but they refuse to
testify, they will be held responsible and be subject to punishment.
2"Or if they touch something that is ceremonially unclean, such as the dead body of an animal that
is ceremonially unclean--whether a wild animal, a domesticated animal, or an animal that scurries
along the ground--they will be considered ceremonially unclean and guilty, even if they are
unaware of their defilement.
3"Or if they come into contact with any source of human defilement, even if they don't realize they
have been defiled, they will be considered guilty as soon as they become aware of it.
4"Or if they make a rash vow of any kind, whether its purpose is for good or bad, they will be
considered guilty even if they were not fully aware of what they were doing at the time.
5"When any of the people become aware of their guilt in any of these ways, they must confess
their sin 6and bring to the LORD as their penalty a female from the flock, either a sheep or a goat.
This will be a sin offering to remove their sin, and the priest will make atonement for them.
7"If any of them cannot afford to bring a sheep, they must bring to the LORD two young
turtledoves or two young pigeons as the penalty for their sin. One of the birds will be a sin
offering, and the other will be a burnt offering. 8They must bring them to the priest, who will offer
one of the birds as the sin offering. The priest will wring its neck but without severing its head
from the body. 9Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering against the sides of the
altar, and the rest will be drained out at the base of the altar. 10The priest will offer the second bird
as a whole burnt offering, following all the procedures that have been prescribed. In this way, the
priest will make atonement for those who are guilty, and they will be forgiven.
11"If any of the people cannot afford to bring young turtledoves or pigeons, they must bring two
quarts of choice flour for their sin offering. Since it is a sin offering, they must not mix it with
olive oil or put any incense on it. 12They must take the flour to the priest, who will scoop out a
handful as a token portion. He will burn this flour on the altar just like any other offering given to
the LORD by fire. This will be their sin offering. 13In this way, the priest will make atonement for
those who are guilty, and they will be forgiven. The rest of the flour will belong to the priest, just
as with the grain offering."
Procedures for the Guilt Offering
14Then the LORD said to Moses, 15"If any of the people sin by unintentionally defiling the LORD's
sacred property, they must bring to the LORD a ram from the flock as their guilt offering. The
animal must have no physical defects, and it must be of the proper value in silver as measured by
the standard sanctuary shekel. 16They must then make restitution for whatever holy things they
have defiled by paying for the loss, plus an added penalty of 20 percent. When they give their
payments to the priest, he will make atonement for them with the ram sacrificed as a guilt
offering, and they will be forgiven.
17"If any of them sin by doing something forbidden by the LORD, even if it is done
unintentionally, they will be held responsible. When they become aware of their guilt, 18they must
bring to the priest a ram from the flock as a guilt offering. The animal must have no physical
defects, and it must be of the proper value. In this way, the priest will make atonement for those
who are guilty, and they will be forgiven. 19This is a guilt offering, for they have been guilty of an
offense against the LORD."
Chapter 6
Sins Requiring a Guilt Offering
1And the LORD said to Moses, 2"Suppose some of the people sin against the LORD by falsely
telling their neighbor that an item entrusted to their safekeeping has been lost or stolen. Or
suppose they have been dishonest with regard to a security deposit, or they have taken something
by theft or extortion. 3Or suppose they find a lost item and lie about it, or they deny something
while under oath, or they commit any other similar sin. 4If they have sinned in any of these ways
and are guilty, they must give back whatever they have taken by theft or extortion, whether a
security deposit, or property entrusted to them, or a lost object that they claimed as their own, 5or
anything gained by swearing falsely. When they realize their guilt, they must restore the principal
amount plus a penalty of 20 percent to the person they have harmed. 6They must then bring a guilt
offering to the priest, who will present it before the LORD. This offering must be a ram with no
physical defects or the animal's equivalent value in silver. 7The priest will then make atonement for
them before the LORD, and they will be forgiven."
Further Instructions for the Burnt Offering
8Then the LORD said to Moses, 9"Give Aaron and his sons the following instructions regarding
the whole burnt offering. The burnt offering must be left on the altar until the next morning, and
the altar fire must be kept burning all night. 10The next morning, after dressing in his special linen
clothing and undergarments, the priest on duty must clean out the ashes of the burnt offering and
put them beside the altar. 11Then he must change back into his normal clothing and carry the ashes
outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. 12Meanwhile, the fire on the altar must be
kept burning; it must never go out. Each morning the priest will add fresh wood to the fire and
arrange the daily whole burnt offering on it. He must then burn the fat of the peace offerings on
top of this daily whole burnt offering. 13Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all
times. It must never go out.
Further Instructions for the Grain Offering
14"These are the instructions regarding the grain offering. Aaron's sons must present this offering
to the LORD in front of the altar. 15The priest on duty will take a handful of the choice flour that
has been mixed with olive oil and sprinkled with incense. He will burn this token portion on the
altar, and it will be very pleasing to the LORD. 16After burning this handful, the rest of the flour
will belong to Aaron and his sons for their food. It must, however, be baked without yeast and
eaten in a sacred place within the courtyard of the Tabernacle. 17Remember, this flour may never
be prepared with yeast. I have given it to the priests as their share of the offerings presented to me
by fire. Like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy. 18Any of Aaron's male
descendants, from generation to generation, may eat of the grain offering, because it is their
regular share of the offerings given to the LORD by fire. Anyone or anything that touches this
food will become holy."
Procedures for the Ordination Offering
19And the LORD said to Moses, 20"On the day Aaron and his sons are anointed, they must bring
to the LORD a grain offering of two quarts of choice flour, half to be offered in the morning and
half to be offered in the evening. 21It must be cooked on a griddle with olive oil, and it must be
well mixed and broken into pieces. You must present this grain offering, and it will be very
pleasing to the LORD. 22As the sons of the priests replace their fathers, they will be inducted into
office by offering this same sacrifice on the day they are anointed. It is the LORD's regular share,
and it must be completely burned up. 23All such grain offerings of the priests must be entirely
burned up. None of the flour may be eaten."
Further Instructions for the Sin Offering
24Then the LORD said to Moses, 25"Give Aaron and his sons these further instructions regarding
the sin offering. The animal given as a sin offering is most holy and must be slaughtered in the
LORD's presence at the place where the burnt offerings are slaughtered. 26The priest who offers
the sacrifice may eat his portion in a sacred place within the courtyard of the Tabernacle.
27Anything or anyone who touches the sacrificial meat will become holy, and if the sacrificial
blood splatters anyone's clothing, it must be washed off in a sacred place. 28If a clay pot is used to
boil the sacrificial meat, it must be broken. If a bronze kettle is used, it must be scoured and rinsed
thoroughly with water. 29Only males from a priest's family may eat of this offering, for it is most
holy. 30If, however, the blood of a sin offering has been taken into the Tabernacle to make
atonement in the Holy Place for the people's sins, none of that animal's meat may be eaten. It must
be completely burned up.
Chapter 7
Further Instructions for the Guilt Offering
1"These are the instructions for the guilt offering, which is most holy. 2The animal sacrificed as a
guilt offering must be slaughtered where the burnt offerings are slaughtered, and its blood
sprinkled against the sides of the altar. 3The priest will then offer all its fat on the altar, including
the fat from the tail, the fat around the internal organs, 4the two kidneys with the fat around them
near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. 5The priests will
burn these parts on the altar as an offering to the LORD made by fire. It is a guilt offering. 6All
males from a priest's family may eat the meat, and it must be eaten in a sacred place, for it is most holy.
7"For both the sin offering and the guilt offering, the meat of the sacrificed animal belongs to the
priest in charge of the atonement ceremony. 8In the case of the whole burnt offering, the hide of
the sacrificed animal also belongs to the priest. 9Any grain offering that has been baked in an oven,
prepared in a pan, or cooked on a griddle belongs to the priest who presents it. 10All other grain
offerings, whether flour mixed with olive oil or dry flour, are to be shared among all the priests
and their sons.
Further Instructions for the Peace Offering
11"These are the instructions regarding the different kinds of peace offerings that may be presented
to the LORD. 12If you present your peace offering as a thanksgiving offering, the usual animal
sacrifice must be accompanied by various kinds of bread--loaves, wafers, and cakes--all made
without yeast and soaked with olive oil. 13This peace offering of thanksgiving must also be
accompanied by loaves of yeast bread. 14One of each kind of bread must be presented as a gift to
the LORD. This bread will then belong to the priest who sprinkles the altar with blood from the
sacrificed animal. 15The animal's meat must be eaten on the same day it is offered. None of it may
be saved for the next morning.
16"However, if you bring an offering to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, the meat may be
eaten on that same day, and whatever is left over may be eaten on the second day. 17But anything
left over until the third day must be completely burned up. 18If any of the meat from this peace
offering is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted by the LORD. It will have no value as a
sacrifice, and you will receive no credit for bringing it as an offering. By then, the meat will be
contaminated; if you eat it, you will have to answer for your sin.
19"Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean may not be eaten; it must be completely
burned up. And as for meat that may be eaten, it may only be eaten by people who are
ceremonially clean. 20Anyone who is ceremonially unclean but eats meat from a peace offering
that was presented to the LORD must be cut off from the community. 21If anyone touches
anything that is unclean, whether it is human defilement or an unclean animal, and then eats meat
from the LORD's sacrifices, that person must be cut off from the community."
The Forbidden Blood and Fat
22Then the LORD said to Moses, 23"Give the Israelites these instructions: You must never eat fat,
whether from oxen or sheep or goats. 24The fat of an animal found dead or killed by a wild animal
may never be eaten, though it may be used for any other purpose. 25Anyone who eats fat from an
offering given to the LORD by fire must be cut off from the community. 26Even in your homes,
you must never eat the blood of any bird or animal. 27Anyone who eats blood must be cut off from
the community."
A Portion for the Priests
28Then the LORD said to Moses, 29"Give these further instructions to the Israelites: When you
present a peace offering to the LORD, bring part of it as a special gift to the LORD. 30Present it
to him with your own hands as an offering given to the LORD by fire. Bring the fat of the animal,
together with the breast, and present it to the LORD by lifting it up before him. 31Then the priest
will burn the fat on the altar, but the breast will belong to Aaron and his sons. 32You are to give
the right thigh of your peace offering to the priest as a gift. 33The right thigh must always be given
to the priest who sprinkles the blood and offers the fat of the peace offering. 34For I have
designated the breast and the right thigh for the priests. It is their regular share of the peace
offerings brought by the Israelites. 35This is their share. It has been set apart for Aaron and his
descendants from the offerings given to the LORD by fire from the time they were appointed to
serve the LORD as priests. 36The LORD commanded that the Israelites were to give these
portions to the priests as their regular share from the time of the priests' anointing. This regulation
applies throughout the generations to come."
37These are the instructions for the whole burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the
guilt offering, the ordination offering, and the peace offering. 38The LORD gave these instructions
to Moses on Mount Sinai when he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the LORD
in the wilderness of Sinai.
Chapter 8
Ordination of the Priests
1The LORD said to Moses, 2"Now bring Aaron and his sons, along with their special clothing, the
anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread 3to
the entrance of the Tabernacle. Then call the entire community of Israel to meet you there."
4So Moses followed the LORD's instructions, and all the people assembled at the Tabernacle
entrance. 5Moses announced to them, "The LORD has commanded what I am now going to do!"
6Then he presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7He clothed Aaron with the
embroidered tunic and tied the sash around his waist. He dressed him in the robe of the ephod,
along with the ephod itself, and attached the ephod with its decorative sash. 8Then Moses placed
the chestpiece on Aaron and put the Urim and the Thummim inside it. 9He placed on Aaron's head
the turban with the gold medallion at its front, just as the LORD had commanded him.
10Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Tabernacle and everything in it, thus making
them holy. 11He sprinkled the altar seven times, anointing it and all its utensils and the washbasin
and its pedestal, making them holy. 12Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head,
thus anointing him and making him holy for his work. 13Next Moses presented Aaron's sons and
clothed them in their embroidered tunics, their sashes, and their turbans, just as the LORD had
commanded him.
14Then Moses brought in the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on
its head 15as Moses slaughtered it. Moses took some of the blood, and with his finger he put it on
the four horns of the altar to purify it. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
In this way, he set the altar apart as holy and made atonement for it. 16He took all the fat around
the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and he burned them all
on the altar. 17The rest of the bull, including its hide, meat, and dung, was burned outside the
camp, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
18Then Moses presented the ram to the LORD for the whole burnt offering, and Aaron and his
sons laid their hands on its head 19as Moses slaughtered it. Then Moses took the ram's blood and
sprinkled it against the sides of the altar. 20Next he cut the ram into pieces and burned the head,
some of its pieces, and the fat on the altar. 21After washing the internal organs and the legs with
water, Moses burned the entire ram on the altar as a whole burnt offering. It was an offering given
to the LORD by fire, very pleasing to the LORD. All this was done just as the LORD had
commanded Moses.
22Next Moses presented the second ram, which was the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid
their hands on its head 23as Moses slaughtered it. Then Moses took some of its blood and put it on
the lobe of Aaron's right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot. 24Next
he presented Aaron's sons and put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ears, the thumb of
their right hands, and the big toe of their right feet. He then sprinkled the rest of the blood against
the sides of the altar.
25Next he took the fat, including the fat from the tail, the fat around the internal organs, the lobe
of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, along with the right thigh. 26On top of these he
placed a loaf of unleavened bread, a cake of unleavened bread soaked with olive oil, and a thin
wafer spread with olive oil. All these were taken from the basket of bread made without yeast that
was placed in the LORD's presence. 27He gave all of these to Aaron and his sons, and he
presented the portions by lifting them up before the LORD. 28Moses then took all the offerings
back and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering as an ordination offering. It was an
offering given to the LORD by fire, very pleasing to the LORD. 29Then Moses took the breast and
lifted it up in the LORD's presence. This was Moses' share of the ram of ordination, just as the
LORD had commanded him.
30Next Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, and he
sprinkled them on Aaron and his clothing and on his sons and their clothing. In this way, he made
Aaron and his sons and their clothing holy.
31Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, "Boil the rest of the meat at the Tabernacle entrance,
and eat it along with the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, just as I commanded
you. 32Any meat or bread that is left over must then be burned up. 33Do not leave the Tabernacle
entrance for seven days, for that is the time it will take to complete the ordination ceremony.
34What has been done today was commanded by the LORD in order to make atonement for you.
35Remember, you must stay at the entrance of the Tabernacle day and night for seven days, doing
everything the LORD requires. If you fail in this, you will die. This is what the LORD has said."
36So Aaron and his sons did everything the LORD had commanded through Moses.
Chapter 9
The Priests Begin Their Work
1After the ordination ceremony, on the eighth day, Moses called together Aaron and his sons and
the leaders of Israel. 2He said to Aaron, "Take a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a
whole burnt offering, both with no physical defects, and present them to the LORD. 3Then tell the
Israelites to take a male goat for a sin offering for themselves and a year-old calf and a year-old
lamb for a whole burnt offering, each with no physical defects. 4Also tell them to take a bull and a
ram for a peace offering and flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering. Tell them to present all
these offerings to the LORD because the LORD will appear to them today."
5So the people brought all of these things to the entrance of the Tabernacle, just as Moses had
commanded, and the whole community came and stood there in the LORD's presence. 6Then
Moses told them, "When you have followed these instructions from the LORD, the glorious
presence of the LORD will appear to you."
7Then Moses said to Aaron, "Approach the altar and present your sin offering and your whole
burnt offering to make atonement for yourself. Then present the offerings to make atonement for
the people, just as the LORD has commanded."
8So Aaron went to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself. 9His sons
brought him the blood, and he dipped his finger into it and put it on the horns of the altar. He
poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 10Then he burned on the altar the fat, the
kidneys, and the lobe of the liver from the sin offering, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
11The meat and the hide, however, he burned outside the camp.
12Next Aaron slaughtered the animal for the whole burnt offering. His sons brought him the blood,
and he sprinkled it against the sides of the altar. 13They handed the animal to him piece by piece,
including the head, and he burned each part on the altar. 14Then he washed the internal organs and
the legs and also burned them on the altar as a whole burnt offering.
15Next Aaron presented the sacrifices for the people. He slaughtered the people's goat and
presented it as their sin offering, just as he had done previously for himself. 16Then he brought the
whole burnt offering and presented it in the prescribed way. 17He also brought the grain offering,
burning a handful of the flour on the altar, in addition to the regular morning burnt offering.
18Then Aaron slaughtered the bull and the ram for the people's peace offering. His sons brought
him the blood, and he sprinkled it against the sides of the altar. 19Then he took the fat of the bull
and the ram--the fat from the tail and from around the internal organs--along with the kidneys and
the lobe of the liver. 20He placed these fat parts on top of the breasts of these animals and then
burned them on the altar. 21Aaron then lifted up the breasts and right thighs as an offering to the
LORD, just as Moses had commanded.
22After that, Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them. Then, after presenting
the sin offering, the whole burnt offering, and the peace offering, he stepped down from the altar.
23Next Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle, and when they came back out, they blessed the
people again, and the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to the whole community. 24Fire
blazed forth from the LORD's presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar.
When the people saw all this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground.
Chapter 10
The Sin of Nadab and Abihu
1Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense
over it. In this way, they disobeyed the LORD by burning before him a different kind of fire than
he had commanded. 2So fire blazed forth from the LORD's presence and burned them up, and
they died there before the LORD.
3Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD meant when he said,
`I will show myself holy
among those who are near me.
I will be glorified
before all the people.' "
And Aaron was silent.
4Then Moses called for Mishael and Elzaphan, Aaron's cousins, the sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel.
He said to them, "Come and carry the bodies of your relatives away from the sanctuary to a place
outside the camp." 5So they came forward and carried them out of the camp by their tunics as
Moses had commanded.
6Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not mourn by letting your hair
hang loose or by tearing your clothes. If you do, you will die, and the LORD will be angry with
the whole community of Israel. However, the rest of the Israelites, your relatives, may mourn for
Nadab and Abihu, whom the LORD has destroyed by fire. 7But you are not to leave the entrance
of the Tabernacle, under penalty of death, for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you." So
they did as Moses commanded.
Instructions for Priestly Conduct
8Then the LORD said to Aaron, 9"You and your descendants must never drink wine or any other
alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle. If you do, you will die. This is a permanent law
for you, and it must be kept by all future generations. 10You are to distinguish between what is
holy and what is ordinary, what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean. 11And you must teach
the Israelites all the laws that the LORD has given through Moses."
12Then Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, "Take what is left of the
grain offering after the handful has been presented to the LORD by fire. Make sure there is no
yeast in it, and eat it beside the altar, for it is most holy. 13It must be eaten in a sacred place, for it
has been given to you and your descendants as your regular share of the offerings given to the
LORD by fire. These are the commands I have been given. 14But the breast and thigh that were
lifted up may be eaten in any place that is ceremonially clean. These parts have been given to you
and to your sons and daughters as your regular share of the peace offerings presented by the
people of Israel. 15The thigh and breast that are lifted up must be lifted up to the LORD along
with the fat of the offerings given by fire. Then they will belong to you and your descendants
forever, just as the LORD has commanded."
16When Moses demanded to know what had happened to the goat of the sin offering, he
discovered that it had been burned up. As a result, he became very angry with Eleazar and
Ithamar, Aaron's remaining sons. 17"Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area?" he
demanded. "It is a holy offering! It was given to you for removing the guilt of the community and
for making atonement for the people before the LORD. 18Since the animal's blood was not taken
into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the meat in the sanctuary area as I ordered you."
19Then Aaron answered Moses on behalf of his sons. "Today my sons presented both their sin
offering and their burnt offering to the LORD," he said. "This kind of thing has also happened to
me. Would the LORD have approved if I had eaten the sin offering today?" 20And when Moses
heard this, he approved.
Chapter 11
Ceremonially Clean and Unclean Animals
1Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2"Give the following instructions to the Israelites: The
animals you may use for food 3include those that have completely divided hooves and chew the
cud. 4You may not, however, eat the animals named here because they either have split hooves or
chew the cud, but not both. The camel may not be eaten, for though it chews the cud, it does not
have split hooves. 5The same is true of the rock badger 6and the hare, so they also may never be
eaten. 7And the pig may not be eaten, for though it has split hooves, it does not chew the cud.
8You may not eat the meat of these animals or touch their dead bodies. They are ceremonially
unclean for you.
9"As for marine animals, you may eat whatever has both fins and scales, whether taken from fresh
water or salt water. 10You may not, however, eat marine animals that do not have both fins and
scales. You are to detest them, 11and they will always be forbidden to you. You must never eat
their meat or even touch their dead bodies. 12I repeat, any marine animal that does not have both
fins and scales is strictly forbidden to you.
13"These are the birds you must never eat because they are detestable for you: the eagle, the
vulture, the osprey, 14the buzzard, kites of all kinds, 15ravens of all kinds, 16the ostrich, the
nighthawk, the seagull, hawks of all kinds, 17the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18the
white owl, the pelican, the carrion vulture, 19the stork, herons of all kinds, the hoopoe, and the bat.
20"You are to consider detestable all swarming insects that walk along the ground. 21However,
there are some exceptions that you may eat. These include insects that jump with their hind legs:
22locusts of all varieties, crickets, bald locusts, and grasshoppers. All these may be eaten. 23But
you are to consider detestable all other swarming insects that walk or crawl.
24"The following creatures make you ceremonially unclean. If you touch any of their dead bodies,
you will be defiled until evening. 25If you move the dead body of an unclean animal, you must
immediately wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening.
26"Any animal that has divided but unsplit hooves or that does not chew the cud is unclean for
you. If you touch the dead body of such an animal, you will be defiled until evening. 27Of the
animals that walk on all fours, those that have paws are unclean for you. If you touch the dead
body of such an animal, you will be defiled until evening. 28If you pick up and move its carcass,
you must immediately wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening.
29"Of the small animals that scurry or creep on the ground, these are unclean for you: the mole,
the mouse, the great lizard of all varieties, 30the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the
sand lizard, and the chameleon. 31All these small animals are unclean for you. If you touch the
dead body of such an animal, you will be defiled until evening. 32If such an animal dies and falls on
something, that object, whatever its use, will be unclean. This is true whether the object is made
of wood, cloth, leather, or sackcloth. It must be put into water, and it will remain defiled until
evening. After that, it will be ceremonially clean and may be used again.
33"If such an animal dies and falls into a clay pot, everything in the pot will be defiled, and the pot
must be smashed. 34If the water used to cleanse an unclean object touches any food, all of that
food will be defiled. And any beverage that is in such an unclean container will be defiled. 35Any
object on which the dead body of such an animal falls will be defiled. If it is a clay oven or
cooking pot, it must be smashed to pieces. It has become defiled, and it will remain that way.
36"However, if the dead body of such an animal falls into a spring or a cistern, the water will still
be clean. But anyone who removes the dead body will be defiled. 37If the dead body falls on seed
grain to be planted in the field, the seed will still be considered clean. 38But if the seed is wet when
the dead body falls on it, the seed will be defiled.
39"If an animal that is permitted for eating dies and you touch its carcass, you will be defiled until
evening. 40If you eat any of its meat or carry away its carcass, you must wash your clothes. Then
you will remain defiled until evening.
41"Consider detestable any animal that scurries along the ground; such animals may never be
eaten. 42This includes all animals that slither along on their bellies, as well as those with four legs
and those with many feet. All such animals are to be considered detestable. 43Never defile
yourselves by touching such animals. 44After all, I, the LORD, am your God. You must be holy
because I am holy. So do not defile yourselves by touching any of these animals that scurry along
the ground. 45I, the LORD, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your
God. You must therefore be holy because I am holy.
46"These are the instructions regarding the land animals, the birds, and all the living things that
move through the water or swarm over the earth, 47so you can distinguish between what is
unclean and may not be eaten and what is clean and may be eaten."
Chapter 12
Purification after Childbirth
1The LORD said to Moses, "Give these instructions to the Israelites: 2When a woman becomes
pregnant and gives birth to a son, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is
defiled during her menstrual period. 3On the eighth day, the boy must be circumcised. 4Then the
woman must wait for thirty-three days until the time of her purification from the blood of
childbirth is completed. During this time of purification, she must not touch anything that is holy.
And she must not go to the sanctuary until her time of purification is over. 5If a woman gives birth
to a daughter, she will be ceremonially defiled for two weeks, just as she is defiled during her
menstrual period. She must then wait another sixty-six days to be purified from the blood of childbirth.
6"When the time of purification is completed for either a son or a daughter, the woman must bring
a year-old lamb for a whole burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a purification
offering. She must take her offerings to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 7The priest
will then present them to the LORD and make atonement for her. Then she will be ceremonially
clean again after her bleeding at childbirth. These are the instructions to be followed after the birth
of a son or a daughter.
8"If a woman cannot afford to bring a sheep, she must bring two turtledoves or two young
pigeons. One will be for the whole burnt offering and the other for the purification offering. The
priest will sacrifice them, thus making atonement for her, and she will be ceremonially clean."
Chapter 13
Contagious Skin Diseases
1The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2"If some of the people notice a swelling or a rash or a
shiny patch on their skin that develops into a contagious skin disease, they must be brought to
Aaron the priest or to one of his sons. 3The priest will then examine the affected area of a person's
skin. If the hair in the affected area has turned white and appears to be more than skin-deep, then
it is a contagious skin disease, and the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean.
4"But if the affected area of the skin is white but does not appear to be more than skin-deep, and if
the hair in the spot has not turned white, the priest will put the infected person in quarantine for
seven days. 5On the seventh day the priest will make another examination. If the affected area has
not changed or spread on the skin, then the priest will put the person in quarantine for seven more
days. 6The priest will examine the skin again on the seventh day. If the affected area has faded and
not spread, the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. It was only a temporary rash.
So after washing the clothes, the person will be considered free of disease. 7But if the rash
continues to spread after this examination and pronouncement by the priest, the infected person
must return to be examined again. 8If the priest notices that the rash has spread, then he must
pronounce this person ceremonially unclean, for it is a contagious skin disease.
9"Anyone who develops a contagious skin disease must go to the priest for an examination. 10If
the priest sees that some hair has turned white and an open sore appears in the affected area, 11it is
clearly a contagious skin disease, and the priest must pronounce that person ceremonially unclean.
In such cases, the person need not be quarantined for further observation because it is clear that
the skin is defiled by the disease.
12"Now suppose the priest discovers after his examination that a rash has broken out all over
someone's skin, covering the body from head to foot. 13In such cases, the priest must examine the
infected person to see if the disease covers the entire body. If it does, he will pronounce the
person ceremonially clean because the skin has turned completely white. 14But if any open sores
appear, the infected person will be pronounced ceremonially unclean. 15The priest must make this
pronouncement as soon as he sees an open sore because open sores indicate the presence of a
contagious skin disease. 16However, if the open sores heal and turn white like the rest of the skin,
the person must return to the priest. 17If, after another examination, the affected areas have indeed
turned completely white, then the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean.
18"If anyone has had a boil on the skin that has started to heal, 19but a white swelling or a reddish
white spot remains in its place, that person must go to the priest to be examined. 20If the priest
finds the disease to be more than skin-deep, and if the hair in the affected area has turned white,
then the priest must pronounce that person ceremonially unclean. It is a contagious skin disease
that has broken out in the boil. 21But if the priest sees that there is no white hair in the affected
area, and if it doesn't appear to be more than skin-deep and has faded, then the priest is to put the
person in quarantine for seven days. 22If during that time the affected area spreads on the skin, the
priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean, because it is a contagious skin disease.
23But if the area grows no larger and does not spread, it is merely the scar from the boil, and the
priest will pronounce that person ceremonially clean.
24"If anyone has suffered a burn on the skin and the burned area changes color, becoming either a
shiny reddish white or white, 25then the priest must examine it. If the hair in the affected area turns
white and the problem appears to be more than skin-deep, a contagious skin disease has broken
out in the burn. The priest must then pronounce that person ceremonially unclean, for it is clearly
a contagious skin disease. 26But if the priest discovers that there is no white hair in the affected
area and the problem appears to be no more than skin-deep and has faded, then the priest is to put
the infected person in quarantine for seven days. 27If at the end of that time the affected area has
spread on the skin, the priest must pronounce that person ceremonially unclean, for it is clearly a
contagious skin disease. 28But if the affected area has not moved or spread on the skin and has
faded, it is simply a scar from the burn. The priest must then pronounce the person ceremonially clean.
29"If anyone, whether a man or woman, has an open sore on the head or chin, 30the priest must
examine the infection. If it appears to be more than skin-deep and fine yellow hair is found in the
affected area, the priest must pronounce the infected person ceremonially unclean. The infection is
a contagious skin disease of the head or chin. 31However, if the priest's examination reveals that
the infection is only skin-deep and there is no black hair in the affected area, then he must put the
person in quarantine for seven days. 32If at the end of that time the affected area has not spread
and no yellow hair has appeared, and if the infection does not appear to be more than skin-deep,
33the infected person must shave off all hair except the hair on the affected area. Then the priest
must put the person in quarantine for another seven days, 34and he will examine the infection again
on the seventh day. If it has not spread and appears to be no more than skin-deep, the priest must
pronounce that person ceremonially clean. After washing clothes, that person will be clean. 35But
if the infection begins to spread after the person is pronounced clean, 36the priest must do another
examination. If the infection has spread, he must pronounce the infected person ceremonially
unclean, even without checking for yellow hair. 37But if it appears that the infection has stopped
spreading and black hair has grown in the affected area, then the infection has healed. The priest
will then pronounce the infected person ceremonially clean.
38"If anyone, whether a man or woman, has shiny white patches on the skin, 39the priest must
examine the affected area. If the patch is only a pale white, this is a harmless skin rash, and the
person is ceremonially clean.
40"If a man loses his hair and his head becomes bald, he is still ceremonially clean. 41And if he loses
hair on his forehead, he simply has a bald forehead; he is still clean. 42However, if a reddish white
infection appears on the front or the back of his head, this is a contagious skin disease. 43The
priest must examine him, and if he finds swelling around the reddish white sore, 44the man is
infected with a contagious skin disease and is unclean. The priest must pronounce him
ceremonially unclean because of the infection.
45"Those who suffer from any contagious skin disease must tear their clothing and allow their hair
to hang loose. Then, as they go from place to place, they must cover their mouth and call out,
`Unclean! Unclean!' 46As long as the disease lasts, they will be ceremonially unclean and must live
in isolation outside the camp.
Treatment of Contaminated Clothing
47"Now suppose an infectious mildew contaminates some woolen or linen clothing, 48some woolen
or linen fabric, the hide of an animal, or anything made of leather. 49If the affected area in the
clothing, the animal hide, the fabric, or the leather has turned bright green or a reddish color, it is
contaminated with an infectious mildew and must be taken to the priest to be examined. 50After
examining the affected spot, the priest will put it away for seven days. 51On the seventh day the
priest must inspect it again. If the affected area has spread, the material is clearly contaminated by
an infectious mildew and is unclean. 52The priest must burn the linen or wool clothing or the piece
of leather because it has been contaminated by an infectious mildew. It must be completely
destroyed by fire.
53"But if the priest examines it again and the affected spot has not spread in the clothing, the
fabric, or the leather, 54the priest will order the contaminated object to be washed and then
isolated for seven more days. 55Then the priest must inspect the object again. If he sees that the
affected area has not changed appearance after being washed, even if it did not spread, the object
is defiled. It must be completely burned up, whether it is contaminated on the inside or outside.
56But if the priest sees that the affected area has faded after being washed, he is to cut the spot
from the clothing, the fabric, or the leather. 57If the spot reappears at a later time, however, the
mildew is clearly spreading, and the contaminated object must be burned up. 58But if the spot
disappears after the object is washed, it must be washed again; then it will be ceremonially clean.
59"These are the instructions for dealing with infectious mildew in woolen or linen clothing or
fabric, or in anything made of leather. This is how the priest will determine whether these things
are ceremonially clean or unclean."
Chapter 14
Cleansing from Skin Diseases
1And the LORD said to Moses, 2"The following instructions must be followed by those seeking
purification from a contagious skin disease. Those who have been healed must be brought to the
priest, 3who will examine them at a place outside the camp. If the priest finds that someone has
been healed of the skin disease, 4he will perform a purification ceremony, using two wild birds of a
kind permitted for food, along with some cedarwood, a scarlet cloth, and a hyssop branch. 5The
priest will order one of the birds to be slaughtered over a clay pot that is filled with fresh
springwater. 6He will then dip the living bird, along with the cedarwood, the scarlet cloth, and the
hyssop branch, into the blood of the slaughtered bird. 7The priest will also sprinkle the dead bird's
blood seven times over the person being purified, and the priest will pronounce that person to be
ceremonially clean. At the end of the ceremony, the priest will set the living bird free so it can fly
away into the open fields.
8"The people being purified must complete the cleansing ceremony by washing their clothes,
shaving off all their hair, and bathing themselves in water. Then they will be ceremonially clean
and may return to live inside the camp. However, they must still remain outside their tents for
seven days. 9On the seventh day, they must again shave off all their hair, including the hair of the
beard and eyebrows, and wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water. Then they will be
pronounced ceremonially clean.
10"On the next day, the eighth day, each person cured of the skin disease must bring two male
lambs and one female year-old lamb with no physical defects, along with five quarts of choice
flour mixed with olive oil and three-fifths of a pint of olive oil. 11Then the officiating priest will
present that person for cleansing, along with the offerings, before the LORD at the entrance of the
Tabernacle. 12The priest will take one of the lambs and the olive oil and offer them as a guilt
offering by lifting them up before the LORD. 13He will then slaughter the lamb there in the sacred
area at the place where sin offerings and burnt offerings are slaughtered. As with the sin offering,
the guilt offering will be given to the priest. It is a most holy offering. 14The priest will then take
some of the blood from the guilt offering and put it on the tip of the healed person's right ear, on
the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot.
15"Then the priest will pour some of the olive oil into the palm of his own left hand. 16He will dip
his right finger into the oil and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD. 17The priest will then put
some of the oil remaining in his left hand on the tip of the healed person's right ear, on the thumb
of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot, in addition to the blood of the guilt offering.
18The oil remaining in the priest's hand will then be poured over the healed person's head. In this
way, the priest will make atonement before the LORD for the person being cleansed.
19"Then the priest must offer the sin offering and again perform the atonement ceremony for the
person cured of the skin disease. After that, the priest will slaughter the whole burnt offering 20and
offer it on the altar along with the grain offering. In this way, the priest will make atonement for
the person being cleansed, and the healed person will be ceremonially clean.
21"But anyone who cannot afford two lambs must bring one male lamb for a guilt offering, along
with two quarts of choice flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering and three-fifths of a pint of
olive oil. The guilt offering will be presented by lifting it up, thus making atonement for the person
being cleansed. 22The person being cleansed must also bring two turtledoves or two young
pigeons, whichever the person can afford. One of the pair must be used for a sin offering and the
other for a whole burnt offering. 23On the eighth day, the person being cleansed must bring the
offerings to the priest for the cleansing ceremony to be performed in the LORD's presence at the
Tabernacle entrance. 24The priest will take the lamb for the guilt offering, along with the olive oil,
and lift them up before the LORD as an offering to him. 25Then the priest will slaughter the lamb
for the guilt offering and put some of its blood on the tip of the person's right ear, on the thumb of
the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot.
26"The priest will also pour some of the olive oil into the palm of his own left hand. 27He will dip
his right finger into the oil and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD. 28The priest will
then put some of the olive oil from his hand on the lobe of the person's right ear, on the thumb of
the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot, in addition to the blood of the guilt offering.
29The oil that is still in the priest's hand will then be poured over the person's head. In this way, the
priest will make atonement for the person being cleansed.
30"Then the priest will offer the two turtledoves or the two young pigeons, whichever the person
was able to afford. 31One of them is for a sin offering and the other for a whole burnt offering, to
be presented along with the grain offering. In this way, the priest will make atonement before the
LORD for the person being cleansed. 32These are the instructions for cleansing those who have
recovered from a contagious skin disease but who cannot afford to bring the sacrifices normally
required for the ceremony of cleansing."
Treatment of Contaminated Houses
33Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 34"When you arrive in Canaan, the land I am giving
you as an inheritance, I may contaminate some of your houses with an infectious mildew. 35The
owner of such a house must then go to the priest and say, `It looks like my house has some kind
of disease.' 36Before the priest examines the house, he must have the house emptied so everything
inside will not be pronounced unclean. Then the priest will go in and inspect the house. 37If he
finds bright green or reddish streaks on the walls of the house and the contamination appears to
go deeper than the wall's surface, 38he will leave the house and lock it up for seven days. 39On the
seventh day the priest must return for another inspection. If the mildew on the walls of the house
has spread, 40the priest must order that the stones from those areas be removed. The contaminated
material will then be thrown into an area outside the town designated as ceremonially unclean.
41Next the inside walls of the entire house must be scraped thoroughly and the scrapings dumped
in the unclean place outside the town. 42Other stones will be brought in to replace the ones that
were removed, and the walls will be replastered.
43"But if the mildew reappears after all these things have been done, 44the priest must return and
inspect the house again. If he sees that the affected areas have spread, the walls are clearly
contaminated with an infectious mildew, and the house is defiled. 45It must be torn down, and all
its stones, timbers, and plaster must be carried out of town to the place designated as ceremonially
unclean. 46Anyone who enters the house while it is closed will be considered ceremonially unclean
until evening. 47All who sleep or eat in the house must wash their clothing.
48"But if the priest returns for his inspection and finds that the affected areas have not reappeared
after the fresh plastering, then he will pronounce the house clean because the infectious mildew is
clearly gone. 49To purify the house the priest will need two birds, some cedarwood, a scarlet
cloth, and a hyssop branch. 50He will slaughter one of the birds over a clay pot that is filled with
fresh springwater. 51Then he will dip the cedarwood, the hyssop branch, the scarlet cloth, and the
living bird into the blood of the slaughtered bird, and he will sprinkle the house seven times.
52After he has purified the house in this way, 53he will release the living bird in the open fields
outside the town. In this way, the priest will make atonement for the house, and it will be
ceremonially clean.
54"These are the instructions for dealing with the various kinds of contagious skin disease and
infectious mildew, 55whether in clothing, in a house, 56in a swollen area of skin, in a skin rash, or in
a shiny patch of skin. 57These instructions must be followed when dealing with any contagious
skin disease or infectious mildew, to determine when something is ceremonially clean or unclean."
Chapter 15
Bodily Discharges
1The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2"Give these further instructions to the Israelites: Any man
who has a genital discharge is ceremonially unclean because of it. 3This defilement applies whether
the discharge continues or is stopped up. In either case the man is unclean. 4Any bedding on
which he lies and anything on which he sits will be defiled.
5"So if you touch the man's bedding, you will be required to wash your clothes and bathe in water,
and you will remain ceremonially defiled until evening. 6If you sit where the man with the
discharge has sat, you will be required to wash your clothes and bathe in water. You will then
remain defiled until evening. 7The same instructions apply if you touch the man who has the
unclean discharge. 8And if he spits on you, you must undergo the same procedure. 9Any blanket
on which the man rides will be defiled. 10If you touch or carry anything that was under him, you
will be required to wash your clothes and bathe in water, and you will remain defiled until
evening. 11If the man touches you without first rinsing his hands, then you will be required to wash
your clothes and bathe in water, and you will remain defiled until evening. 12Any clay pot touched
by the man with the discharge must be broken, and every wooden utensil he touches must be
rinsed with water.
13"When the man's discharge heals, he must count off a period of seven days. During that time, he
must wash his clothes and bathe in fresh springwater. Then he will be ceremonially clean. 14On the
eighth day he must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons and present himself to the LORD
at the entrance of the Tabernacle and give his offerings to the priest. 15The priest will present the
offerings there, one for a sin offering and the other for a whole burnt offering. In this way, the
priest will make atonement for the man before the LORD for his discharge.
16"Whenever a man has an emission of semen, he must wash his entire body, and he will remain
ceremonially defiled until evening. 17Any clothing or leather that comes in contact with the semen
must be washed, and it will remain defiled until evening. 18After having sexual intercourse, both
the man and the woman must bathe, and they will remain defiled until evening.
19"Whenever a woman has her menstrual period, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days.
If you touch her during that time, you will be defiled until evening. 20Anything on which she lies or
sits during that time will be defiled. 21If you touch her bed, you must wash your clothes and bathe
in water, and you will remain defiled until evening. 22The same applies if you touch an object on
which she sits, 23whether it is her bedding or any piece of furniture. 24If a man has sexual
intercourse with her during this time, her menstrual impurity will be transmitted to him. He will
remain defiled for seven days, and any bed on which he lies will be defiled.
25"If the menstrual flow of blood continues for many days beyond the normal period, or if she
discharges blood unrelated to her menstruation, the woman will be ceremonially unclean as long
as the discharge continues. 26Anything on which she lies or sits during that time will be defiled,
just as it would be during her normal menstrual period. 27If you touch her bed or anything on
which she sits, you will be defiled. You will be required to wash your clothes and bathe in water,
and you will remain defiled until evening.
28"When the woman's menstrual discharge stops, she must count off a period of seven days. After
that, she will be ceremonially clean. 29On the eighth day, she must bring two turtledoves or two
young pigeons and present them to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 30The priest will
offer one for a sin offering and the other for a whole burnt offering. In this way, the priest will
make atonement for her before the LORD for her menstrual discharge.
31"In this way, you will keep the people of Israel separate from things that will defile them, so they
will not die as a result of defiling my Tabernacle that is right there among them. 32These are the
instructions for dealing with a man who has been defiled by a genital discharge or an emission of
semen; 33for dealing with a woman during her monthly menstrual period; for dealing with anyone,
man or woman, who has had a bodily discharge of any kind; and for dealing with a man who has
had intercourse with a woman during her period."
Chapter 16
The Day of Atonement
1The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons, who died when they burned a
different kind of fire than the LORD had commanded. 2The LORD said to Moses, "Warn your
brother Aaron not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; the
penalty for intrusion is death. For the Ark's cover--the place of atonement--is there, and I myself
am present in the cloud over the atonement cover.
3"When Aaron enters the sanctuary area, he must follow these instructions fully. He must first
bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a whole burnt offering. 4Then he must wash his
entire body and put on his linen tunic and the undergarments worn next to his body. He must tie
the linen sash around his waist and put the linen turban on his head. These are his sacred
garments. 5The people of Israel must then bring him two male goats for a sin offering and a ram
for a whole burnt offering.
6"Aaron will present the bull as a sin offering, to make atonement for himself and his family. 7Then
he must bring the two male goats and present them to the LORD at the entrance of the
Tabernacle. 8He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be sacrificed to the LORD and
which one will be the scapegoat. 9The goat chosen to be sacrificed to the LORD will be presented
by Aaron as a sin offering. 10The goat chosen to be the scapegoat will be presented to the LORD
alive. When it is sent away into the wilderness, it will make atonement for the people.
11"Then Aaron will present the young bull as a sin offering for himself and his family. After he has
slaughtered this bull for the sin offering, 12he will fill an incense burner with burning coals from the
altar that stands before the LORD. Then, after filling both his hands with fragrant incense, he will
carry the burner and incense behind the inner curtain. 13There in the LORD's presence, he will put
the incense on the burning coals so that a cloud of incense will rise over the Ark's cover--the place
of atonement--that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. If he follows these instructions, he will not
die. 14Then he must dip his finger into the blood of the bull and sprinkle it on the front of the
atonement cover and then seven times against the front of the Ark.
15"Then Aaron must slaughter the goat as a sin offering for the people and bring its blood behind
the inner curtain. There he will sprinkle the blood on the atonement cover and against the front of
the Ark, just as he did with the bull's blood. 16In this way, he will make atonement for the Most
Holy Place, and he will do the same for the entire Tabernacle, because of the defiling sin and
rebellion of the Israelites. 17No one else is allowed inside the Tabernacle while Aaron goes in to
make atonement for the Most Holy Place. No one may enter until he comes out again after
making atonement for himself, his family, and all the Israelites.
18"Then Aaron will go out to make atonement for the altar that stands before the LORD by
smearing some of the blood from the bull and the goat on each of the altar's horns. 19Then he must
dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it seven times over the altar. In this way, he will cleanse
it from Israel's defilement and return it to its former holiness.
20"When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tabernacle, and the
altar, he must bring the living goat forward. 21He is to lay both of his hands on the goat's head and
confess over it all the sins and rebellion of the Israelites. In this way, he will lay the people's sins
on the head of the goat; then he will send it out into the wilderness, led by a man chosen for this
task. 22After the man sets it free in the wilderness, the goat will carry all the people's sins upon
itself into a desolate land.
23"As Aaron enters the Tabernacle, he must take off the linen garments he wore when he entered
the Most Holy Place, and he must leave the garments there. 24Then he must bathe his entire body
with water in a sacred place, put on his garments, and go out to sacrifice his own whole burnt
offering and the whole burnt offering for the people. In this way, he will make atonement for
himself and for the people. 25He must also burn all the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26"The man chosen to send the goat out into the wilderness as a scapegoat must wash his clothes
and bathe in water. Then he may return to the camp.
27"The bull and goat given as sin offerings, whose blood Aaron brought into the Most Holy Place
to make atonement for Israel, will be carried outside the camp to be burned. This includes the
animals' hides, the internal organs, and the dung. 28The man who does the burning must wash his
clothes and bathe himself in water before returning to the camp.
29"On the appointed day in early autumn, you must spend the day fasting and not do any work.
This is a permanent law for you, and it applies to those who are Israelites by birth, as well as to
the foreigners living among you. 30On this day, atonement will be made for you, and you will be
cleansed from all your sins in the LORD's presence. 31It will be a Sabbath day of total rest, and
you will spend the day in fasting. This is a permanent law for you. 32In future generations, the
atonement ceremony will be performed by the anointed high priest who serves in place of his
ancestor Aaron. He will put on the holy linen garments 33and make atonement for the Most Holy
Place, the Tabernacle, the altar, the priests, and the entire community. 34This is a permanent law
for you, to make atonement for the Israelites once each year."
Moses followed all these instructions that the LORD had given to him.
Chapter 17
Prohibitions against Eating Blood
1Then the LORD said to Moses, 2"Give Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites these commands
from the LORD: 3If any Israelite sacrifices a bull or a lamb or a goat anywhere inside or outside
the camp 4and does not bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle to present it as an offering to the
LORD, that person will be guilty of a capital offense. Such a person has shed blood and must be
cut off from the community. 5This rule will stop the Israelites from sacrificing animals in the open
fields. It will cause them to bring their sacrifices to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle, so
he can present them to the LORD as peace offerings. 6That way the priest will be able to sprinkle
the blood and burn the fat on the LORD's altar at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and it will be
very pleasing to the LORD. 7The people must no longer be unfaithful to the LORD by offering
sacrifices to evil spirits out in the fields. This is a permanent law for them, to be kept generation
after generation.
8"Give them this command as well, which applies both to Israelites and to the foreigners living
among you. If you offer a whole burnt offering or a sacrifice 9and do not bring it to the entrance
of the Tabernacle to offer it to the LORD, you will be cut off from the community.
10"And I will turn against anyone, whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you, who eats
or drinks blood in any form. I will cut off such a person from the community, 11for the life of any
creature is in its blood. I have given you the blood so you can make atonement for your sins. It is
the blood, representing life, that brings you atonement. 12That is why I said to the Israelites: `You
and the foreigners who live among you must never eat or drink blood.'
13"And this command applies both to Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. If you go
hunting and kill an animal or bird that is approved for eating, you must drain out the blood and
cover it with earth. 14The life of every creature is in the blood. That is why I have told the people
of Israel never to eat or drink it, for the life of any bird or animal is in the blood. So whoever eats
or drinks blood must be cut off.
15"And this command also applies both to Israelites and the foreigners living among you. If you
eat from the carcass of an animal that died a natural death or was killed by a wild animal, you
must wash your clothes and bathe yourselves in water. Then you will remain ceremonially unclean
until evening; after that, you will be considered clean. 16But if you do not wash your clothes and
bathe, you will be held responsible."
Chapter 18
Forbidden Sexual Practices
1Then the LORD said to Moses, 2"Say this to your people, the Israelites: I, the LORD, am your
God. 3So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of
Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. 4You must obey all my
regulations and be careful to keep my laws, for I, the LORD, am your God. 5If you obey my laws
and regulations, you will find life through them. I am the LORD.
6"You must never have sexual intercourse with a close relative, for I am the LORD. 7Do not
violate your father by having sexual intercourse with your mother. She is your mother; you must
never have intercourse with her. 8Do not have sexual intercourse with any of your father's wives,
for this would violate your father.
9"Do not have sexual intercourse with your sister or half sister, whether she is your father's
daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was brought up in the same family or
somewhere else.
10"Do not have sexual intercourse with your granddaughter, whether your son's daughter or your
daughter's daughter; that would violate you. 11Do not have sexual intercourse with the daughter of
any of your father's wives; she is your half sister. 12Do not have intercourse with your aunt, your
father's sister, because she is your father's close relative. 13Do not have sexual intercourse with
your aunt, your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative. 14And do not violate
your uncle, your father's brother, by having sexual intercourse with his wife; she also is your aunt.
15Do not have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife. 16Do not have
intercourse with your brother's wife; this would violate your brother.
17"Do not have sexual intercourse with both a woman and her daughter or marry both a woman
and her granddaughter, whether her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter. They are close
relatives, and to do this would be a horrible wickedness.
18"Do not marry a woman and her sister because they will be rivals. But if your wife dies, then it is
all right to marry her sister.
19"Do not violate a woman by having sexual intercourse with her during her period of menstrual impurity.
20"Do not defile yourself by having sexual intercourse with your neighbor's wife.
21"Do not give any of your children as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not profane the name of
your God. I am the LORD.
22"Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin.
23"A man must never defile himself by having sexual intercourse with an animal, and a woman
must never present herself to a male animal in order to have intercourse with it; this is a terrible perversion.
24"Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the people I am expelling
from the Promised Land have defiled themselves. 25As a result, the entire land has become defiled.
That is why I am punishing the people who live there, and the land will soon vomit them out.
26You must strictly obey all of my laws and regulations, and you must not do any of these
detestable things. This applies both to you who are Israelites by birth and to the foreigners living
among you.
27"All these detestable activities are practiced by the people of the land where I am taking you,
and the land has become defiled. 28Do not give the land a reason to vomit you out for defiling it,
as it will vomit out the people who live there now. 29Whoever does any of these detestable things
will be cut off from the community of Israel. 30So be careful to obey my laws, and do not practice
any of these detestable activities. Do not defile yourselves by doing any of them, for I, the LORD,
am your God."
Chapter 19
Holiness in Personal Conduct
1The LORD also said to Moses, 2"Say this to the entire community of Israel: You must be holy
because I, the LORD your God, am holy. 3Each of you must show respect for your mother and
father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest, for I, the LORD, am your God. 4Do
not put your trust in idols or make gods of metal for yourselves. I, the LORD, am your God.
5"When you sacrifice a peace offering to the LORD, offer it properly so it will be accepted on
your behalf. 6You must eat it on the same day you offer it or on the next day at the latest. Any
leftovers that remain until the third day must be burned. 7If any of the offering is eaten on the third
day, it will be contaminated, and I will not accept it. 8If you eat it on the third day, you will
answer for the sin of profaning what is holy to the LORD and must be cut off from the community.
9"When you harvest your crops, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do
not pick up what the harvesters drop. 10It is the same with your grape crop--do not strip every last
bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them
for the poor and the foreigners who live among you, for I, the LORD, am your God.
11"Do not steal.
"Do not cheat one another.
"Do not lie.
12"Do not use my name to swear a falsehood and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
13"Do not cheat or rob anyone.
"Always pay your hired workers promptly.
14"Show your fear of God by treating the deaf with respect and by not taking advantage of the
blind. I am the LORD.
15"Always judge your neighbors fairly, neither favoring the poor nor showing deference to the rich.
16"Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.
"Do not try to get ahead at the cost of your neighbor's life, for I am the LORD.
17"Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives.
"Confront your neighbors directly so you will not be held guilty for their crimes.
18"Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am
the LORD.
19"You must obey all my laws.
"Do not breed your cattle with other kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of
seed. Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of fabric.
20"If a man has sexual intercourse with a slave girl who is committed to become someone else's
wife, compensation must be paid. But since she had not been freed at the time, the couple will not
be put to death. 21The man, however, must bring a ram as a guilt offering and present it to the
LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 22The priest will then make atonement for him before the
LORD with the sacrificial ram of the guilt offering, and the man will be forgiven.
23"When you enter the land and plant fruit trees, leave the fruit unharvested for the first three
years and consider it forbidden. 24In the fourth year the entire crop will be devoted to the LORD
as an outburst of praise. 25Finally, in the fifth year you may eat the fruit. In this way, its yield will
be increased. I, the LORD, am your God.
26"Never eat meat that has not been drained of its blood.
"Do not practice fortune-telling or witchcraft.
27"Do not trim off the hair on your temples or clip the edges of your beards.
28"Never cut your bodies in mourning for the dead or mark your skin with tattoos, for I am the
LORD.
29"Do not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be filled with
promiscuity and detestable wickedness.
30"Keep my Sabbath days of rest and show reverence toward my sanctuary, for I am the LORD.
31"Do not rely on mediums and psychics, for you will be defiled by them. I, the LORD, am your God.
32"Show your fear of God by standing up in the presence of elderly people and showing respect
for the aged. I am the LORD.
33"Do not exploit the foreigners who live in your land. 34They should be treated like everyone else,
and you must love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners in the land
of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God.
35"Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or volume. 36Your scales and
weights must be accurate. Your containers for measuring dry goods or liquids must be accurate. I,
the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37You must be careful to
obey all of my laws and regulations, for I am the LORD."
Chapter 20
Punishments for Disobedience
1The LORD said to Moses, 2"Give the Israelites these instructions, which apply to those who are
Israelites by birth as well as to the foreigners living among you. If any among them devote their
children as burnt offerings to Molech, they must be stoned to death by people of the community.
3I myself will turn against them and cut them off from the community, because they have defiled
my sanctuary and profaned my holy name by giving their children to Molech. 4And if the people of
the community ignore this offering of children to Molech and refuse to execute the guilty parents,
5then I myself will turn against them and cut them off from the community, along with all those
who commit prostitution by worshiping Molech.
6"If any among the people are unfaithful by consulting and following mediums or psychics, I will
turn against them and cut them off from the community. 7So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I,
the LORD, am your God. 8Keep all my laws and obey them, for I am the LORD, who makes you holy.
9"All who curse their father or mother must be put to death. They are guilty of a capital offense.
10"If a man commits adultery with another man's wife, both the man and the woman must be put
to death. 11If a man has intercourse with his father's wife, both the man and the woman must die,
for they are guilty of a capital offense. 12If a man has intercourse with his daughter-in-law, both
must be put to death. They have acted contrary to nature and are guilty of a capital offense.
13"The penalty for homosexual acts is death to both parties. They have committed a detestable act
and are guilty of a capital offense. 14If a man has intercourse with both a woman and her mother,
such an act is terribly wicked. All three of them must be burned to death to wipe out such
wickedness from among you.
15"If a man has sexual intercourse with an animal, he must be put to death, and the animal must be
killed. 16If a woman approaches a male animal to have intercourse with it, she and the animal must
both be put to death. Both must die, for they are guilty of a capital offense.
17"If a man has sexual intercourse with his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, it
is a terrible disgrace. Both of them must be publicly cut off from the community. Since the man
has had intercourse with his sister, he will suffer the consequences of his guilt. 18If a man has
intercourse with a woman suffering from a hemorrhage, both of them must be cut off from the
community, because he exposed the source of her flow, and she allowed him to do it.
19"If a man has sexual intercourse with his aunt, whether his mother's sister or his father's sister, he
has violated a close relative. Both parties are guilty of a capital offense. 20If a man has intercourse
with his uncle's wife, he has violated his uncle. Both the man and woman involved are guilty of a
capital offense and will die childless. 21If a man marries his brother's wife, it is an act of impurity.
He has violated his brother, and the guilty couple will remain childless.
22"You must carefully obey all my laws and regulations; otherwise the land to which I am bringing
you will vomit you out. 23Do not live by the customs of the people whom I will expel before you.
It is because they do these terrible things that I detest them so much. 24But I have promised that
you will inherit their land, a land flowing with milk and honey. I, the LORD, am your God, who
has set you apart from all other people.
25"You must therefore make a distinction between ceremonially clean and unclean animals, and
between clean and unclean birds. You must not defile yourselves by eating any animal or bird or
creeping creature that I have forbidden. 26You must be holy because I, the LORD, am holy. I have
set you apart from all other people to be my very own.
27"Men and women among you who act as mediums or psychics must be put to death by stoning.
They are guilty of a capital offense."
Chapter 21
Instructions for the Priests
1The LORD said to Moses, "Tell the priests to avoid making themselves ceremonially unclean by
touching a dead relative 2unless it is a close relative--mother or father, son or daughter, brother
3or virgin sister who was dependent because she had no husband. 4As a husband among his
relatives, he must not defile himself.
5"The priests must never shave their heads, trim the edges of their beards, or cut their bodies.
6They must be set apart to God as holy and must never dishonor his name. After all, they are the
ones who present the offerings to the LORD by fire, providing God with his food, and they must
remain holy.
7"The priests must not marry women defiled by prostitution or women who have been divorced,
for the priests must be set apart to God as holy. 8You must treat them as holy because they offer
up food to your God. You must consider them holy because I, the LORD, am holy, and I make
you holy. 9If a priest's daughter becomes a prostitute, defiling her father's holiness as well as
herself, she must be burned to death.
10"The high priest, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained to
wear the special priestly garments, must never let his hair hang loose or tear his clothing. 11He
must never defile himself by going near a dead person, even if it is his father or mother. 12He must
not desecrate the sanctuary of his God by leaving it to attend his parents' funeral, because he has
been made holy by the anointing oil of his God. I am the LORD.
13"The high priest must marry a virgin. 14He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a
woman defiled by prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own clan, 15that he may not dishonor
his descendants among the members of his clan, because I, the LORD, have made him holy."
16Then the LORD said to Moses, 17"Tell Aaron that in all future generations, his descendants who
have physical defects will not qualify to offer food to their God. 18No one who has a defect may
come near to me, whether he is blind or lame, stunted or deformed, 19or has a broken foot or
hand, 20or has a humped back or is a dwarf, or has a defective eye, or has oozing sores or scabs on
his skin, or has damaged testicles. 21Even though he is a descendant of Aaron, his physical defects
disqualify him from presenting offerings to the LORD by fire. Since he has a blemish, he may not
offer food to his God. 22However, he may eat from the food offered to God, including the holy
offerings and the most holy offerings. 23Yet because of his physical defect, he must never go
behind the inner curtain or come near the altar, for this would desecrate my holy places. I am the
LORD who makes them holy."
24So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
Chapter 22
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2"Tell Aaron and his sons to treat the sacred gifts that the Israelites
set apart for me with great care, so they do not profane my holy name. I am the LORD. 3Remind
them that if any of their descendants are ceremonially unclean when they approach the sacred
food presented by the Israelites, they must be cut off from my presence. I am the LORD!
4"If any of the priests have a contagious skin disease or any kind of discharge that makes them
ceremonially unclean, they may not eat the sacred offerings until they have been pronounced
clean. If any of the priests become unclean by touching a corpse, or are defiled by an emission of
semen, 5or by touching a creeping creature that is unclean, or by touching someone who is
ceremonially unclean for any reason, 6they will remain defiled until evening. They must not eat any
of the sacred offerings until they have purified their bodies with water. 7When the sun goes down,
they will be clean again and may eat the sacred offerings. After all, this food has been set aside for
them. 8The priests may never eat an animal that has died a natural death or has been torn apart by
wild animals, for this would defile them. I am the LORD. 9Warn all the priests to follow these
instructions carefully; otherwise they will be subject to punishment and die for violating them. I
am the LORD who makes them holy.
10"No one outside a priest's family may ever eat the sacred offerings, even if the person lives in a
priest's home or is one of his hired servants. 11However, if the priest buys slaves with his own
money, they may eat of his food. And if his slaves have children, they also may share his food. 12If
a priest's daughter marries someone outside the priestly family, she may no longer eat the sacred
offerings. 13But if she becomes a widow or is divorced and has no children to support her, and she
returns to live in her father's home, she may eat her father's food again. But other than these
exceptions, only members of the priests' families are allowed to eat the sacred offerings.
14"Anyone who eats the sacred offerings without realizing it must pay the priest for the amount
eaten, plus an added penalty of 20 percent. 15No one may defile the sacred offerings brought to
the LORD by the Israelites 16by allowing unauthorized people to eat them. The negligent priest
would bring guilt upon the people and require them to pay compensation. I am the LORD, who
makes them holy."
Worthy and Unworthy Offerings
17And the LORD said to Moses, 18"Give Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites these
instructions, which apply to those who are Israelites by birth as well as to the foreigners living
among you. If you offer a whole burnt offering to the LORD, whether to fulfill a vow or as a
freewill offering, 19it will be accepted only if it is a male animal with no physical defects. It may be
either a bull, a ram, or a male goat. 20Do not bring an animal with physical defects, because it
won't be accepted on your behalf.
21"If you bring a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or flock, whether to fulfill a vow or as
a freewill offering, you must offer an animal that has no physical defects of any kind. 22An animal
that is blind, injured, mutilated, or that has a growth, an open sore, or a scab must never be
offered to the LORD by fire on the altar. 23If the bull or lamb is deformed or stunted, it may still
be offered as a freewill offering, but it may not be offered to fulfill a vow. 24If an animal has
damaged testicles or is castrated, it may never be offered to the LORD. 25You must never accept
mutilated or defective animals from foreigners to be offered as a sacrifice to your God. Such
animals will not be accepted on your behalf because they are defective."
26And the LORD said to Moses, 27"When a bull or a ram or a male goat is born, it must be left
with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as an offering given
to the LORD by fire. 28But you must never slaughter a mother animal and her offspring on the
same day, whether from the herd or the flock. 29When you bring a thanksgiving offering to the
LORD, it must be sacrificed properly so it will be accepted on your behalf. 30Eat the entire
sacrificial animal on the day it is presented. Don't leave any of it until the second day. I am the LORD.
31"You must faithfully keep all my commands by obeying them, for I am the LORD. 32Do not treat
my holy name as common and ordinary. I must be treated as holy by the people of Israel. It is I,
the LORD, who makes you holy. 33It was I who rescued you from Egypt, that I might be your
very own God. I am the LORD."
Chapter 23
The Appointed Festivals
1The LORD said to Moses, 2"Give the Israelites instructions regarding the LORD's appointed
festivals, the days when all of you will be summoned to worship me. 3You may work for six days
each week, but on the seventh day all work must come to a complete stop. It is the LORD's
Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day to assemble for worship. It must be observed wherever
you live. 4In addition to the Sabbath, the LORD has established festivals, the holy occasions to be
observed at the proper time each year.
Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread
5"First comes the LORD's Passover, which begins at twilight on its appointed day in early spring.
6Then the day after the Passover celebration, the Festival of Unleavened Bread begins. This
festival to the LORD continues for seven days, and during that time all the bread you eat must be
made without yeast. 7On the first day of the festival, all the people must stop their regular work
and gather for a sacred assembly. 8On each of the next seven days, the people must present an
offering to the LORD by fire. On the seventh day, the people must again stop all their regular
work to hold a sacred assembly."
The Festival of Firstfruits
9Then the LORD told Moses 10to give these instructions to the Israelites: "When you arrive in the
land I am giving you and you harvest your first crops, bring the priest some grain from the first
portion of your grain harvest. 11On the day after the Sabbath, the priest will lift it up before the
LORD so it may be accepted on your behalf. 12That same day you must sacrifice a year-old male
lamb with no physical defects as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. 13A grain offering must
accompany it consisting of three quarts of choice flour mixed with olive oil. It will be an offering
given to the LORD by fire, and it will be very pleasing to him. Along with this sacrifice, you must
also offer one quart of wine as a drink offering. 14Do not eat any bread or roasted grain or fresh
kernels on that day until after you have brought this offering to your God. This is a permanent law
for you, and it must be observed wherever you live.
The Festival of Harvest
15"From the day after the Sabbath, the day the bundle of grain was lifted up as an offering, count
off seven weeks. 16Keep counting until the day after the seventh Sabbath, fifty days later, and
bring an offering of new grain to the LORD. 17From wherever you live, bring two loaves of bread
to be lifted up before the LORD as an offering. These loaves must be baked from three quarts of
choice flour that contains yeast. They will be an offering to the LORD from the first of your
crops. 18Along with this bread, present seven one-year-old lambs with no physical defects, one
bull, and two rams as burnt offerings to the LORD. These whole burnt offerings, together with
the accompanying grain offerings and drink offerings, will be given to the LORD by fire and will
be pleasing to him. 19Then you must offer one male goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old
male lambs as a peace offering.
20"The priest will lift up these offerings before the LORD, together with the loaves representing
the first of your later crops. These offerings are holy to the LORD and will belong to the priests.
21That same day, you must stop all your regular work and gather for a sacred assembly. This is a
permanent law for you, and it must be observed wherever you live.
22"When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your
fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living
among you. I, the LORD, am your God."
The Festival of Trumpets
23The LORD told Moses 24to give these instructions to the Israelites: "On the appointed day in
early autumn, you are to celebrate a day of complete rest. All your work must stop on that day.
You will call the people to a sacred assembly--the Festival of Trumpets--with loud blasts from a
trumpet. 25You must do no regular work on that day. Instead, you are to present offerings to the
LORD by fire."
The Day of Atonement
26Then the LORD said to Moses, 27"Remember that the Day of Atonement is to be celebrated on
the ninth day after the Festival of Trumpets. On that day you must humble yourselves, gather for a
sacred assembly, and present offerings to the LORD by fire. 28Do no work during that entire day
because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement will be made for you before the LORD your
God, and payment will be made for your sins. 29Anyone who does not spend that day in humility
will be cut off from the community. 30And I will destroy anyone among you who does any kind of
work on that day. 31You must do no work at all! This is a permanent law for you, and it must be
observed wherever you live. 32This will be a Sabbath day of total rest for you, and on that day you
must humble yourselves. This time of rest and fasting will begin the evening before the Day of
Atonement and extend until evening of that day."
The Festival of Shelters
33And the LORD said to Moses, 34"Tell the Israelites to begin the Festival of Shelters on the fifth
day after the Day of Atonement. This festival to the LORD will last for seven days. 35It will begin
with a sacred assembly on the first day, and all your regular work must stop. 36On each of the
seven festival days, you must present offerings to the LORD by fire. On the eighth day, you must
gather again for a sacred assembly and present another offering to the LORD by fire. This will be
a solemn closing assembly, and no regular work may be done that day.
37"These are the LORD's appointed annual festivals. Celebrate them by gathering in sacred
assemblies to present all the various offerings to the LORD by fire--whole burnt offerings and
grain offerings, sacrificial meals and drink offerings--each on its proper day. 38These festivals must
be observed in addition to the LORD's regular Sabbath days. And these offerings must be given in
addition to your personal gifts, the offerings you make to accompany your vows, and any freewill
offerings that you present to the LORD.
39"Now, on the first day of the Festival of Shelters, after you have harvested all the produce of the
land, you will begin to celebrate this seven-day festival to the LORD. Remember that the first day
and closing eighth day of the festival will be days of total rest. 40On the first day, gather fruit from
citrus trees, and collect palm fronds and other leafy branches and willows that grow by the
streams. Then rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 41You must observe this seven-day festival to the LORD every year. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be kept by all
future generations. 42During the seven festival days, all of you who are Israelites by birth must live
in shelters. 43This will remind each new generation of Israelites that their ancestors had to live in
shelters when I rescued them from the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God."
44So Moses gave these instructions regarding the annual festivals of the LORD to the Israelites.
Chapter 24
Pure Oil and Holy Bread
1The LORD said to Moses, 2"Command the people of Israel to provide you with pure olive oil for
the lampstand, so it can be kept burning continually. 3Aaron will set it up outside the inner curtain
of the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle and must arrange to have the lamps tended continually,
from evening until morning, before the LORD. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be
kept by all future generations. 4The lamps on the pure gold lampstand must be tended continually
in the LORD's presence.
5"You must bake twelve loaves of bread from choice flour, using three quarts of flour for each
loaf. 6Place the bread in the LORD's presence on the pure gold table, and arrange the loaves in
two rows, with six in each row. 7Sprinkle some pure frankincense near each row. It will serve as a
token offering, to be burned in place of the bread as an offering given to the LORD by fire. 8Every
Sabbath day this bread must be laid out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites as a continual
part of the covenant. 9The loaves of bread belong to Aaron and his male descendants, who must
eat them in a sacred place, for they represent a most holy portion of the offerings given to the
LORD by fire."
An Example of Just Punishment
10One day a man who had an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father got into a fight with one of
the Israelite men. 11During the fight, this son of an Israelite woman blasphemed the LORD's name.
So the man was brought to Moses for judgment. His mother's name was Shelomith. She was the
daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan. 12They put the man in custody until the LORD's will in the
matter should become clear.
13Then the LORD said to Moses, 14"Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and tell all those who
heard him to lay their hands on his head. Then let the entire community stone him to death. 15Say
to the people of Israel: Those who blaspheme God will suffer the consequences of their guilt and
be punished. 16Anyone who blasphemes the LORD's name must be stoned to death by the whole
community of Israel. Any Israelite or foreigner among you who blasphemes the LORD's name will
surely die.
17"Anyone who takes another person's life must be put to death.
18"Anyone who kills another person's animal must pay it back in full--a live animal for the animal
that was killed.
19"Anyone who injures another person must be dealt with according to the injury inflicted--
20fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Whatever anyone does to hurt another person
must be paid back in kind.
21"Whoever kills an animal must make full restitution, but whoever kills another person must be
put to death.
22"These same regulations apply to Israelites by birth and foreigners who live among you. I, the
LORD, am your God."
23After Moses gave all these instructions to the Israelites, they led the blasphemer outside the
camp and stoned him to death, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Chapter 25
The Sabbath Year
1While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the LORD said to him, 2"Give these instructions to the
Israelites: When you have entered the land I am giving you as an inheritance, the land itself must
observe a Sabbath to the LORD every seventh year. 3For six years you may plant your fields and
prune your vineyards and harvest your crops, 4but during the seventh year the land will enjoy a
Sabbath year of rest to the LORD. Do not plant your crops or prune your vineyards during that
entire year. 5And don't store away the crops that grow naturally or process the grapes that grow
on your unpruned vines. The land is to have a year of total rest. 6But you, your male and female
slaves, your hired servants, and any foreigners who live with you may eat the produce that grows
naturally during the Sabbath year. 7And your livestock and the wild animals will also be allowed to
eat of the land's bounty.
The Year of Jubilee
8"In addition, you must count off seven Sabbath years, seven years times seven, adding up to
forty-nine years in all. 9Then on the Day of Atonement of the fiftieth year, blow the trumpets loud
and long throughout the land. 10This year will be set apart as holy, a time to proclaim release for
all who live there. It will be a jubilee year for you, when each of you returns to the lands that
belonged to your ancestors and rejoins your clan. 11Yes, the fiftieth year will be a jubilee for you.
During that year, do not plant any seeds or store away any of the crops that grow naturally, and
do not process the grapes that grow on your unpruned vines. 12It will be a jubilee year for you,
and you must observe it as a special and holy time. You may, however, eat the produce that
grows naturally in the fields that year. 13In the Year of Jubilee each of you must return to the lands
that belonged to your ancestors.
14"When you make an agreement with a neighbor to buy or sell property, you must never take
advantage of each other. 15When you buy land from your neighbor, the price of the land should be
based on the number of years since the last jubilee. The seller will charge you only for the crop
years left until the next Year of Jubilee. 16The more the years, the higher the price; the fewer the
years, the lower the price. After all, the person selling the land is actually selling you a certain
number of harvests. 17Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I, the LORD,
am your God.
18"If you want to live securely in the land, keep my laws and obey my regulations. 19Then the land
will yield bumper crops, and you will eat your fill and live securely in it. 20But you might ask,
`What will we eat during the seventh year, since we are not allowed to plant or harvest crops that
year?' 21The answer is, `I will order my blessing for you in the sixth year, so the land will produce
a bumper crop, enough to support you for three years. 22As you plant the seed in the eighth year,
you will still be eating the produce of the previous year. In fact, you will eat from the old crop
until the new harvest comes in the ninth year.' 23And remember, the land must never be sold on a
permanent basis because it really belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenants living with me.
Redemption of Property
24"With every sale of land there must be a stipulation that the land can be redeemed at any time.
25If any of your Israelite relatives go bankrupt and are forced to sell some inherited land, then a
close relative, a kinsman redeemer, may buy it back for them. 26If there is no one to redeem the
land but the person who sold it manages to get enough money to buy it back, 27then that person
has the right to redeem it from the one who bought it. The price of the land will be based on the
number of years until the next Year of Jubilee. After buying it back, the original owner may then
return to the land. 28But if the original owner cannot afford to redeem it, then it will belong to the
new owner until the next Year of Jubilee. In the jubilee year, the land will be returned to the
original owner.
29"Anyone who sells a house inside a walled city has the right to redeem it for a full year after its
sale. During that time, the seller retains the right to buy it back. 30But if it is not redeemed within a
year, then the house within the walled city will become the permanent property of the buyer. It
will not be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee. 31But a house in a village--a
settlement without fortified walls--will be treated like property in the open fields. Such a house
may be redeemed at any time and must be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee.
32"The Levites always have the right to redeem any house they have sold within the cities
belonging to them. 33And any property that can be redeemed by the Levites--all houses within the
Levitical cities--must be returned in the Year of Jubilee. After all, the cities reserved for the
Levites are the only property they own in all Israel. 34The strip of pastureland around each of the
Levitical cities may never be sold. It is their permanent ancestral property.
Redemption of the Poor and Enslaved
35"If any of your Israelite relatives fall into poverty and cannot support themselves, support them
as you would a resident foreigner and allow them to live with you. 36Do not demand an advance
or charge interest on the money you lend them. Instead, show your fear of God by letting them
live with you as your relatives. 37Remember, do not charge your relatives interest on anything you
lend them, whether money or food. 38I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of Egypt
to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
39"If any of your Israelite relatives go bankrupt and sell themselves to you, do not treat them as
slaves. 40Treat them instead as hired servants or as resident foreigners who live with you, and they
will serve you only until the Year of Jubilee. 41At that time they and their children will no longer
be obligated to you, and they will return to their clan and ancestral property. 42The people of
Israel are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, so they must never be sold as
slaves. 43Show your fear of God by treating them well; never exercise your power over them in a
ruthless way.
44"However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among
you. 45You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have
been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, 46passing them on to your children
as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your
relatives, must never be treated this way.
47"If a resident foreigner becomes rich, and if some of your Israelite relatives go bankrupt and sell
themselves to such a foreigner, 48they still retain the right of redemption. They may be bought
back by a close relative-- 49an uncle, a nephew, or anyone else who is closely related. They may
also redeem themselves if they can get the money. 50The price of their freedom will be based on
the number of years left until the next Year of Jubilee--whatever it would cost to hire a servant for
that number of years. 51If many years still remain, they will repay most of what they received when
they sold themselves. 52If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, then they will repay a
relatively small amount for their redemption. 53The foreigner must treat them as servants hired on
a yearly basis. You must not allow a resident foreigner to treat any of your Israelite relatives
ruthlessly. 54If any Israelites have not been redeemed by the time the Year of Jubilee arrives, then
they and their children must be set free at that time. 55For the people of Israel are my servants,
whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God.
Chapter 26
Blessings for Obedience
1"Do not make idols or set up carved images, sacred pillars, or shaped stones to be worshiped in
your land. I, the LORD, am your God. 2You must keep my Sabbath days of rest and show
reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD.
3"If you keep my laws and are careful to obey my commands, 4I will send the seasonal rains. The
land will then yield its crops, and the trees will produce their fruit. 5Your threshing season will
extend until the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will extend until it is time to plant grain
again. You will eat your fill and live securely in your land.
6"I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep without fear. I will remove the
wild animals from your land and protect you from your enemies. 7In fact, you will chase down all
your enemies and slaughter them with your swords. 8Five of you will chase a hundred, and a
hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath the blows of your weapons.
9"I will look favorably upon you and multiply your people and fulfill my covenant with you. 10You
will have such a surplus of crops that you will need to get rid of the leftovers from the previous
year to make room for each new harvest. 11I will live among you, and I will not despise you. 12I
will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. 13I, the LORD, am your
God, who brought you from the land of Egypt so you would no longer be slaves. I have lifted the
yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk free with your heads held high.
Punishments for Disobedience
14"However, if you do not listen to me or obey my commands, 15and if you break my covenant by
rejecting my laws and treating my regulations with contempt, 16I will punish you. You will suffer
from sudden terrors, with wasting diseases, and with burning fevers, causing your eyes to fail and
your life to ebb away. You will plant your crops in vain because your enemies will eat them. 17I
will turn against you, and you will be defeated by all your enemies. They will rule over you, and
you will run even when no one is chasing you!
18"And if, in spite of this, you still disobey me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. 19I
will break down your arrogant spirit by making the skies above as unyielding as iron and the earth
beneath as hard as bronze. 20All your work will be for nothing, for your land will yield no crops,
and your trees will bear no fruit.
21"If even then you remain hostile toward me and refuse to obey, I will inflict you with seven more
disasters for your sins. 22I will release wild animals that will kill your children and destroy your
cattle, so your numbers will dwindle and your roads will be deserted.
23"And if you fail to learn a lesson from this and continue your hostility toward me, 24then I myself
will be hostile toward you, and I will personally strike you seven times over for your sins. 25I will
send armies against you to carry out these covenant threats. If you flee to your cities, I will send a
plague to destroy you there, and you will be conquered by your enemies. 26I will completely
destroy your food supply, so the bread from one oven will have to be stretched to feed ten
families. They will ration your food by weight, and even if you have food to eat, you will not be satisfied.
27"If after this you still refuse to listen and still remain hostile toward me, 28then I will give full
vent to my hostility. I will punish you seven times over for your sins. 29You will eat the flesh of
your own sons and daughters. 30I will destroy your pagan shrines and cut down your incense
altars. I will leave your corpses piled up beside your lifeless idols, and I will despise you. 31I will
make your cities desolate and destroy your places of worship, and I will take no pleasure in your
offerings of incense. 32Yes, I myself will devastate your land. Your enemies who come to occupy
it will be utterly shocked at the destruction they see. 33I will scatter you among the nations and
attack you with my own weapons. Your land will become desolate, and your cities will lie in
ruins. 34Then at last the land will make up for its missed Sabbath years as it lies desolate during
your years of exile in the land of your enemies. Then the land will finally rest and enjoy its
Sabbaths. 35As the land lies in ruins, it will take the rest you never allowed it to take every seventh
year while you lived in it.
36"And for those of you who survive, I will demoralize you in the land of your enemies far away.
You will live there in such constant fear that the sound of a leaf driven by the wind will send you
fleeing. You will run as though chased by a warrior with a sword, and you will fall even when no
one is pursuing you. 37Yes, though no one is chasing you, you will stumble over each other in
flight, as though fleeing in battle. You will have no power to stand before your enemies. 38You
will die among the foreign nations and be devoured in the land of your enemies. 39Those still left
alive will rot away in enemy lands because of their sins and the sins of their ancestors.
40"But at last my people will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors for betraying me and
being hostile toward me. 41Finally, when I have given full expression to my hostility and have
brought them to the land of their enemies, then at last their disobedient hearts will be humbled,
and they will pay for their sins. 42Then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, with Isaac, and
with Abraham, and I will remember the land. 43And the land will enjoy its years of Sabbath rest as
it lies deserted. At last the people will receive the due punishment for their sins, for they rejected
my regulations and despised my laws.
44"But despite all this, I will not utterly reject or despise them while they are in exile in the land of
their enemies. I will not cancel my covenant with them by wiping them out. I, the LORD, am their
God. 45I will remember my ancient covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of Egypt
while all the nations watched. I, the LORD, am their God."
46These are the laws, regulations, and instructions that the LORD gave to the Israelites through
Moses on Mount Sinai.
Chapter 27
Redeeming Gifts Offered to the L<i>ORD
1The LORD said to Moses, 2"Give the following instructions to the Israelites: If you make a
special vow to dedicate someone to the LORD by paying the value of that person, 3here is the
scale of values to be used. A man between the ages of twenty and sixty is valued at fifty pieces of
silver; 4a woman of that age is valued at thirty pieces of silver. 5A boy between five and twenty is
valued at twenty pieces of silver; a girl of that age is valued at ten pieces of silver. 6A boy between
the ages of one month and five years is valued at five pieces of silver; a girl of that age is valued at
three pieces of silver. 7A man older than sixty is valued at fifteen pieces of silver; a woman older
than sixty is valued at ten pieces of silver. 8If you desire to make such a vow but cannot afford to
pay the prescribed amount, go to the priest and he will evaluate your ability to pay. You will then
pay the amount decided by the priest.
9"If your vow involves giving a clean animal--one that is acceptable as an offering to the LORD--then your gift to the LORD will be considered holy. 10The animal should never be exchanged or
substituted for another--neither a good animal for a bad one nor a bad animal for a good one. But
if such an exchange is in fact made, then both the original animal and the substitute will be
considered holy. 11But if your vow involves an unclean animal--one that is not acceptable as an
offering to the LORD--then you must bring the animal to the priest. 12He will assess its value, and
his assessment will be final. 13If you want to redeem the animal, you must pay the value set by the
priest, plus 20 percent.
14"If you dedicate a house to the LORD, the priest must come to assess its value. The priest's
assessment will be final. 15If you wish to redeem the house, you must pay the value set by the
priest, plus 20 percent. Then the house will again belong to you.
16"If you dedicate to the LORD a piece of your ancestral property, its value will be assessed by
the amount of seed required to plant it--fifty pieces of silver for an area that produces five bushels
of barley seed. 17If the field is dedicated to the LORD in the Year of Jubilee, then the entire
assessment will apply. 18But if the field is dedicated after the Year of Jubilee, the priest must
assess the land's value in proportion to the years left until the next Year of Jubilee. 19If you decide
to redeem the dedicated field, you must pay the land's value as assessed by the priest, plus 20
percent. Then the field will again belong to you. 20But if you decide not to redeem the field, or if
the field is sold to someone else by the priests, it can never be redeemed. 21When the field is
released in the Year of Jubilee, it will be holy, a field specially set apart for the LORD. It will
become the property of the priests.
22"If you dedicate to the LORD a field that you have purchased but which is not part of your
ancestral property, 23the priest must assess its value based on the years until the next Year of
Jubilee. You must then give the assessed value of the land as a sacred donation to the LORD. 24In
the Year of Jubilee the field will be released to the original owner from whom you purchased it.
25All the value assessments must be measured in terms of the standard sanctuary shekel.
26"You may not dedicate to the LORD the firstborn of your cattle or sheep because the firstborn
of these animals already belong to him. 27However, if it is the firstborn of a ceremonially unclean
animal, you may redeem it by paying the priest's assessment of its worth, plus 20 percent. If you
do not redeem it, the priest may sell it to someone else for its assessed value.
28"However, anything specially set apart by the LORD--whether a person, an animal, or an
inherited field--must never be sold or redeemed. Anything devoted in this way has been set apart
for the LORD as holy. 29A person specially set apart by the LORD for destruction cannot be
redeemed. Such a person must be put to death.
30"A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, belongs to the LORD and must be
set apart to him as holy. 31If you want to redeem the LORD's tenth of the fruit or grain, you must
pay its value, plus 20 percent. 32The LORD also owns every tenth animal counted off from your
herds and flocks. They are set apart to him as holy. 33The tenth animal must not be selected on the
basis of whether it is good or bad, and no substitutions will be allowed. If any exchange is in fact
made, then both the original animal and the substituted one will be considered holy and cannot be redeemed."
34These are the commands that the LORD gave to the Israelites through Moses on Mount Sinai.