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Regulations for Offering Votive and Freewill Offerings
17 The Lord spoke to Moses: 18 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘When any man[a] from the house of Israel or from the resident foreigners[b] in Israel presents his offering for any of the votive or freewill offerings, which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering, 19 if it is to be acceptable for your benefit[c] it must be a flawless male from the cattle, sheep, or goats. 20 You must not present anything that has a flaw,[d] because it will not be acceptable for your benefit.[e] 21 If a man presents a peace-offering sacrifice to the Lord for a special votive offering[f] or for a freewill offering from the herd or the flock, it must be flawless to be acceptable;[g] it must have no flaw.[h]
22 “‘You must not present to the Lord something blind, or with a broken bone, or mutilated, or with a running sore,[i] or with a festering eruption, or with a feverish rash.[j] You must not give any of these as a gift[k] on the altar to the Lord. 23 As for an ox[l] or a sheep with a limb too long or stunted,[m] you may present it as a freewill offering, but it will not be acceptable for a votive offering.[n] 24 You must not present to the Lord something with testicles that are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut off;[o] you must not do this in your land. 25 Even from a foreigner[p] you must not present the food of your God from such animals as these, for they are ruined and flawed;[q] they will not be acceptable for your benefit.’”
26 The Lord spoke to Moses: 27 “When an ox, lamb, or goat is born, it must be under the care of[r] its mother seven days, but from the eighth day onward it will be acceptable as an offering gift[s] to the Lord. 28 You must not slaughter an ox or a sheep and its young[t] on the same day.[u] 29 When you sacrifice a thanksgiving offering to the Lord, you must sacrifice it so that it is acceptable for your benefit.[v] 30 On that very day[w] it must be eaten; you must not leave any part of it[x] over until morning. I am the Lord.
31 “You must be sure to do my commandments.[y] I am the Lord. 32 You must not profane my holy name, and I will be sanctified in the midst of the Israelites. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 the one who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God.[z] I am the Lord.”
Regulations for Israel’s Appointed Times
23 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘These are the Lord’s appointed times which you must proclaim as holy assemblies—my appointed times.[aa]
The Weekly Sabbath
3 “‘Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest,[ab] a holy assembly. You must not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all the places where you live.
The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread
4 “‘These are the Lord’s appointed times, holy assemblies, which you must proclaim at their appointed time. 5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight,[ac] is a Passover offering to the Lord. 6 Then on the fifteenth day of the same month[ad] will be the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day there will be a holy assembly for you; you must not do any regular work.[ae] 8 You must present a gift to the Lord for seven days, and the seventh day is a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”
The Presentation of Firstfruits
9 The Lord spoke to Moses: 10 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land that I am about to give to you and you gather in its harvest,[af] then you must bring the sheaf of the first portion of your harvest[ag] to the priest, 11 and he must wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for your benefit[ah]—on the day after the Sabbath the priest is to wave it.[ai] 12 On the day you wave the sheaf you must also offer[aj] a flawless yearling lamb[ak] for a burnt offering to the Lord, 13 along with its grain offering, two-tenths of an ephah of[al] choice wheat flour[am] mixed with olive oil, as a gift to the Lord, a soothing aroma,[an] and its drink offering, one-fourth of a hin of wine.[ao] 14 You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this very day,[ap] until you bring the offering to your God. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations[aq] in all the places where you live.
The Feast of Weeks
15 “‘You must count for yourselves seven weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you bring the wave offering sheaf; they must be complete weeks.[ar] 16 You must count fifty days—until the day after the seventh Sabbath—and then[as] you must present a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 From the places where you live you must bring two loaves of[at] bread for a wave offering; they must be made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine wheat flour, baked with yeast,[au] as firstfruits to the Lord. 18 Along with the loaves of bread,[av] you must also present seven flawless yearling lambs,[aw] one young bull,[ax] and two rams.[ay] They are to be a burnt offering to the Lord along with their grain offering[az] and drink offerings, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.[ba] 19 You must also offer[bb] one male goat[bc] for a sin offering and two yearling lambs for a peace-offering sacrifice, 20 and the priest is to wave them—the two lambs[bd]—along with the bread of the firstfruits, as a wave offering before the Lord; they will be holy to the Lord for the priest.
21 “‘On this very day you must proclaim an assembly; it is to be a holy assembly for you.[be] You must not do any regular work. This is a perpetual statute in all the places where you live throughout your generations.[bf] 22 When you gather in the harvest[bg] of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field,[bh] and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and the resident foreigner.[bi] I am the Lord your God.’”[bj]
The Feast of Horn Blasts
23 The Lord spoke to Moses: 24 “Tell the Israelites, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you must have a complete rest, a memorial announced by loud horn blasts,[bk] a holy assembly. 25 You must not do any regular work, but[bl] you must present a gift to the Lord.’”
The Day of Atonement
26 The Lord spoke to Moses: 27 “The[bm] tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement.[bn] It is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must humble yourselves[bo] and present a gift to the Lord. 28 You must not do any work on this particular day,[bp] because it is a day of atonement to make atonement for yourselves[bq] before the Lord your God. 29 Indeed,[br] any person who does not behave with humility on this particular day will be cut off from his people.[bs] 30 As for any person[bt] who does any work on this particular day, I will exterminate[bu] that person from the midst of his people[bv]— 31 you must not do any work! This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations[bw] in all the places where you live. 32 It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves on the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening until evening you must observe your Sabbath.”[bx]
The Feast of Temporary Shelters
33 The Lord spoke to Moses: 34 “Tell the Israelites, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Feast of Shelters[by] for seven days to the Lord. 35 On the first day is a holy assembly; you must do no regular work.[bz] 36 For seven days you must present a gift to the Lord. On the eighth day there is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must present a gift to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly day;[ca] you must not do any regular work.
37 “‘These are the appointed times of the Lord that you must proclaim as holy assemblies to present a gift to the Lord—burnt offering, grain offering, sacrifice, and drink offerings,[cb] each day according to its regulation,[cc] 38 besides[cd] the Sabbaths of the Lord and all your gifts, votive offerings, and freewill offerings which you must give to the Lord.
39 “‘On[ce] the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you gather in the produce of the land, you must celebrate a pilgrim festival of the Lord for seven days. On the first day is a complete rest and on the eighth day is complete rest. 40 On the first day you must take for yourselves branches from majestic trees[cf]—palm branches, branches of leafy trees, and willows of the brook—and you must rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You must celebrate it as a pilgrim festival to the Lord for seven days in the year. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations;[cg] you must celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You must live in temporary shelters[ch] for seven days; every native citizen in Israel must live in shelters, 43 so that your future generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”
44 So Moses spoke to the Israelites about the appointed times of the Lord.[ci]
Second Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
30 They went out from there and passed through Galilee. But[a] Jesus[b] did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men.[c] They[d] will kill him,[e] and after three days he will rise.”[f] 32 But they did not understand this statement and were afraid to ask him.
Questions About the Greatest
33 Then[g] they came to Capernaum.[h] After Jesus[i] was inside the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 After he sat down, he called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes[j] one of these little children[k] in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
On Jesus’ Side
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, because no one who does a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say anything bad about me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us. 41 For I tell you the truth,[l] whoever gives you a cup of water because[m] you bear Christ’s[n] name will never lose his reward.
42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone[o] tied around his neck and to be thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than to have[p] two hands and go into hell,[q] to the unquenchable fire.[r] 45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better to enter life lame than to have[s] two feet and be thrown into hell.[t] 47 If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out![u] It is better to enter into the kingdom of God[v] with one eye than to have[w] two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. 49 Everyone will be salted with fire.[x] 50 Salt[y] is good, but if it loses its saltiness,[z] how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”
Divorce
10 Then[aa] Jesus[ab] left that place and went to the region of Judea and[ac] beyond the Jordan River.[ad] Again crowds gathered to him, and again, as was his custom, he taught them. 2 Then some Pharisees[ae] came, and to test him[af] they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his[ag] wife?”[ah] 3 He answered them,[ai] “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.”[aj] 5 But Jesus said to them, “He wrote this commandment for you because of your hard hearts.[ak] 6 But from the beginning of creation he[al] made them male and female.[am] 7 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother,[an] 8 and the two will become one flesh.[ao] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
10 In the house once again, the disciples asked him about this. 11 So[ap] he told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”[aq]
Psalm 44[a]
For the music director, by the Korahites; a well-written song.[b]
44 O God, we have clearly heard;[c]
our ancestors[d] have told us
what you did[e] in their days,
in ancient times.[f]
2 You, by your power,[g] defeated nations and settled our fathers on their land;[h]
you crushed[i] the people living there[j] and enabled our ancestors to occupy it.[k]
3 For they did not conquer[l] the land by their swords,
and they did not prevail by their strength,[m]
but rather by your power,[n] strength,[o] and good favor,[p]
for you were partial to[q] them.
4 You are my[r] king, O God.
Decree[s] Jacob’s[t] deliverance.
5 By your power[u] we will drive back[v] our enemies;
by your strength[w] we will trample down[x] our foes.[y]
6 For I do not trust in my bow,
and I do not prevail by my sword.
7 For you deliver[z] us from our enemies;
you humiliate[aa] those who hate us.
8 In God we boast all day long,
and we will continually give thanks to your name. (Selah)
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