Leviticus 22; Leviticus 23

1 The Lord commanded Moses

2 to tell Aaron and his sons, "You must not bring disgrace on my holy name, so treat with respect the sacred offerings that the people of Israel dedicate to me. I am the Lord.

3 If any of your descendants, while he is ritually unclean, comes near the sacred offerings which the people of Israel have dedicated to me, he can never again serve at the altar. This applies for all time to come. I am the Lord.

4 "None of the descendants of Aaron who has a dreaded skin disease or a discharge may eat any of the sacred offerings until he is ritually clean. Any priest is unclean if he touches anything which is unclean through contact with a corpse or if he has an emission of semen

5 or if he has touched an unclean animal or person.

6 Any priest who becomes unclean remains unclean until evening, and even then he may not eat any of the sacred offerings until he has taken a bath.

7 After the sun sets he is clean, and then he may eat the sacred offerings, which are his food.

8 He shall not eat the meat of any animal that has died a natural death or has been killed by wild animals; it will make him unclean. I am the Lord.

9 "All priests shall observe the regulations that I have given. Otherwise, they will become guilty and die, because they have disobeyed the sacred regulations. I am the Lord and I make them holy.

10 "Only a member of a priestly family may eat any of the sacred offerings; no one else may eat them - not even someone staying with a priest or hired by him.

11 But a priest's slaves, bought with his own money or born in his home, may eat the food the priest receives.

12 A priest's daughter who marries someone who is not a priest may not eat any of the sacred offerings.

13 But a widowed or divorced daughter who has no children and who has returned to live in her father's house as a dependent may eat the food her father receives as a priest. Only a member of a priestly family may eat any of it.

14 "If any people who are not members of a priestly family eat any of the sacred offerings without intending to, they must repay the priest its full value plus an additional 20 percent.

15 The priests shall not profane the sacred offerings

16 by letting any unauthorized people eat them; this would bring guilt and punishment on such people. I am the Lord and I make the offerings holy."

17 The Lord commanded Moses

18 to give Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel the following regulations. When any Israelite or any foreigner living in Israel presents a burnt offering, whether as fulfillment of a vow or as a freewill offering, the animal must not have any defects.

19 To be accepted, it must be a male without any defects.

20 If you offer any animal that has any defects, the Lord will not accept it.

21 When anyone presents a fellowship offering to the Lord, whether as fulfillment of a vow or as a freewill offering, the animal must be without any defects if it is to be accepted.

22 Do not offer to the Lord any animal that is blind or crippled or mutilated, or that has a running sore or a skin eruption or scabs. Do not offer any such animals on the altar as a food offering.

23 As a freewill offering you may offer an animal that is stunted or not perfectly formed, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow.

24 Do not offer to the Lord any animal whose testicles have been crushed, cut, bruised, or torn off. This is not permitted in your land.

25 Do not offer as a food offering any animal obtained from a foreigner. Such animals are considered defective and are not acceptable.

26 When a calf or a lamb or a kid is born, it must not be taken from its mother for seven days, but after that it is acceptable as a food offering.

28 Do not sacrifice a cow and its calf or a sheep and its lamb or a goat and its kid on the same day.

29 When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, follow the rules so that you will be accepted;

30 eat it the same day and leave none of it until the next morning.

31 The Lord said, "Obey my commands; I am the Lord.

32 Do not bring disgrace on my holy name; all the people of Israel must acknowledge me to be holy. I am the Lord and I make you holy;

33 and I brought you out of Egypt to become your God. I am the Lord."

1 The Lord gave Moses

2 the following regulations for the religious festivals, when the people of Israel are to gather for worship.

3 You have six days in which to do your work, but remember that the seventh day, the Sabbath, is a day of rest. On that day do not work, but gather for worship. The Sabbath belongs to the Lord, no matter where you live.

4 Proclaim the following festivals at the appointed times

5 The Passover, celebrated to honor the Lord, begins at sunset on the fourteenth day of the first month.

6 On the fifteenth day the Festival of Unleavened Bread begins, and for seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast.

7 On the first of these days you shall gather for worship and do none of your daily work.

8 Offer your food offerings to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day you shall again gather for worship, but you shall do none of your daily work.

9 When you come into the land that the Lord is giving you and you harvest your grain, take the first sheaf to the priest.

11 He shall present it as a special offering to the Lord, so that you may be accepted. The priest shall present it the day after the Sabbath.

12 On the day you present the offering of grain, also sacrifice as a burnt offering a one-year-old male lamb that has no defects.

13 With it you shall present four pounds of flour mixed with olive oil as a food offering. The odor of this offering is pleasing to the Lord. You shall also present with it an offering of one quart of wine.

14 Do not eat any of the new grain, whether raw, roasted, or baked into bread, until you have brought this offering to God. This regulation is to be observed by all your descendants for all time to come

15 Count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath on which you bring your sheaf of grain to present to the Lord.

16 On the fiftieth day, the day after the seventh Sabbath, present to the Lord another new offering of grain.

17 Each family is to bring two loaves of bread and present them to the Lord as a special gift. Each loaf shall be made of four pounds of flour baked with yeast and shall be presented to the Lord as an offering of the first grain to be harvested.

18 And with the bread the community is to present seven one-year-old lambs, one bull, and two rams, none of which may have any defects. They shall be offered as a burnt offering to the Lord, along with a grain offering and a wine offering. The odor of this offering is pleasing to the Lord.

19 Also offer one male goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering

20 The priest shall present the bread with the two lambs as a special gift to the Lord for the priests. These offerings are holy.

21 On that day do none of your daily work, but gather for worship. Your descendants are to observe this regulation for all time to come, no matter where they live

22 When you harvest your fields, do not cut the grain at the edges of the fields, and do not go back to cut the heads of grain that were left; leave them for poor people and foreigners. The Lord is your God.

23 On the first day of the seventh month observe a special day of rest, and come together for worship when the trumpets sound.

25 Present a food offering to the Lord and do none of your daily work.

26 The tenth day of the seventh month is the day when the annual ritual is to be performed to take away the sins of the people. On that day do not eat anything at all; come together for worship, and present a food offering to the Lord.

28 Do no work on that day, because it is the day for performing the ritual to take away sin.

29 Any who eat anything on that day will no longer be considered God's people.

30 And if any do any work on that day, the Lord himself will put them to death.

31 This regulation applies to all your descendants, no matter where they live.

32 From sunset on the ninth day of the month to sunset on the tenth observe this day as a special day of rest, during which nothing may be eaten.

33 The Festival of Shelters begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and continues for seven days.

35 On the first of these days come together for worship and do none of your daily work.

36 Each day for seven days you shall present a food offering. On the eighth day come together again for worship and present a food offering. It is a day for worship, and you shall do no work

37 (These are the religious festivals on which you honor the Lord by gathering together for worship and presenting food offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and wine offerings, as required day by day.

38 These festivals are in addition to the regular Sabbaths, and these offerings are in addition to your regular gifts, your offerings as fulfillment of vows, and your freewill offerings that you give to the Lord.

39 When you have harvested your fields, celebrate this festival for seven days, beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The first day shall be a special day of rest.

40 On that day take some of the best fruit from your trees, take palm branches and limbs from leafy trees, and begin a religious festival to honor the Lord your God.

41 Celebrate it for seven days. This regulation is to be kept by your descendants for all time to come.

42 All the people of Israel shall live in shelters for seven days,

43 so that your descendants may know that the Lord made the people of Israel live in simple shelters when he led them out of Egypt. He is the Lord your God.

44 So in this way Moses gave the people of Israel the regulations for observing the religious festivals to honor the Lord.