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The First of the Harvest

The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Tell the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel: ‘You will enter the land I will give you and gather its harvest. At that time you must bring the first bundle of grain from your harvest to the priest. 11 The priest will ·present [wave] the bundle before the Lord, and it will be accepted for you; he will ·present [wave] the bundle on the day after the Sabbath.

12 “‘On the day when you ·present [wave; 23:15] the bundle of grain, offer a male lamb, one year old, that ·has nothing wrong with it [is perfect], as a burnt offering [1:1–17] to the Lord. 13 You must also offer a ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [2:1]—·four quarts [L two tenths of an ephah] of ·fine [choice] flour mixed with olive oil as an offering made by fire to the Lord; its smell will be pleasing to him. You must also offer ·a quart [L one-fourth of a hin] of wine as a drink offering. 14 Until the day you bring your offering to your God, do not eat any new grain, roasted grain, or bread made from new grain. This ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] will always continue ·for people from now on [L throughout your generations], wherever you live [Ex. 23:16; Num. 28:26–31; Deut. 16:9–12].

The Feast of Weeks

15 “‘Count seven full weeks from the morning after the Sabbath. (This is the Sabbath that you bring the bundle of grain to ·present [wave] as an offering [C a ritual whereby the offerer symbolically waves the offering before God but then uses it].) 16 On the fiftieth day, the first day after the seventh week, you will bring a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 On that day bring two loaves of bread from your homes to be ·presented [waved] as an offering. Use yeast and ·four quarts [L two-tenths of an ephah] of flour to make those loaves of bread; they will be your gift to the Lord from the first wheat of your harvest.

18 “‘Offer with the bread one young bull, two male sheep, and seven male lambs that are one year old and have ·nothing wrong with them [no blemish]. Offer them with their ·grain [L gift; tribute] offerings [2:1] and drink offerings, as a burnt offering [1:1–17] to the Lord. They will be an offering made by fire, and the smell will be pleasing to the Lord. 19 You must also offer one male goat for a ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering and two male, one-year-old lambs as a ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offering [3:1].

20 “‘The priest will ·present [wave; 23:15] the two lambs as an offering before the Lord, along with the bread from the first wheat of the harvest. They are holy to the Lord, and they will belong to the priest. 21 On that same day you will call a holy ·meeting [convocation]; you must not do any work that day. This ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] will continue for you ·from now on [L throughout your generations], wherever you live.

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Offering the Firstfruits

The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you(A) and you reap its harvest,(B) bring to the priest a sheaf(C) of the first grain you harvest.(D) 11 He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord(E) so it will be accepted(F) on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. 12 On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old(G) without defect,(H) 13 together with its grain offering(I) of two-tenths of an ephah[a](J) of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering(K) of a quarter of a hin[b] of wine.(L) 14 You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain,(M) until the very day you bring this offering to your God.(N) This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,(O) wherever you live.(P)

The Festival of Weeks(Q)

15 “‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. 16 Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath,(R) and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah(S) of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits(T) to the Lord. 18 Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings(U)—a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 19 Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering[c] and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. 20 The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering,(V) together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. 21 On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly(W) and do no regular work.(X) This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 23:13 That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms; also in verse 17
  2. Leviticus 23:13 That is, about 1 quart or about 1 liter
  3. Leviticus 23:19 Or purification offering