1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they dedicate to Me, so as not to profane My holy name; I am the Lord. 3 Say to them, ‘Any man among all your descendants throughout your generations who approaches the holy gifts which the sons of Israel consecrate to the Lord, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from My presence; I am the Lord. 4 No man of the descendants of Aaron, who has leprosy or has a discharge, may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean. And one who touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or a man who has a seminal emission, 5 or a man who touches any swarming things by which he is made unclean, or touches any person by whom he is made unclean, whatever his uncleanness; 6 a person who touches any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy gifts unless he has bathed his body in water. 7 But when the sun sets, he will be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy gifts, for it is his food. 8 He shall not eat an animal which dies or is torn by animals, becoming unclean by it; I am the Lord. 9 They shall therefore perform their duty to Me, so that they do not bear sin because of it and die by it because they profane it; I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
10 ‘No layman, however, is to eat the holy gift; a foreign resident with the priest or a hired worker shall not eat the holy gift. 11 But if a priest buys a slave as his property with his money, that person may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his food. 12 If a priest’s daughter is married to a layman, she shall not eat of the offering of the holy gifts. 13 But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or divorced, and has no child and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s food; but no layman shall eat of it. 14 If, however, someone eats a holy food unintentionally, then he shall add to it a fifth of it and shall give the holy food to the priest. 15 And they shall not profane the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, 16 and thereby bring upon them punishment for guilt by eating their holy gifts; for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘Anyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers in Israel who presents his offering, whether it is any of their vows or any of their voluntary offerings, which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering— 19 for you to be accepted—it must be a male without defect from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats. 20 Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you. 21 When someone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or for a voluntary offering, of the herd or of the flock, it must be without defect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22 Those that are blind, fractured, maimed, or have a wart, a festering rash, or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make of them an offering by fire on the altar to the Lord. 23 Now as for an ox or a lamb which has an overgrown or stunted member, you may present it as a voluntary offering, but for a vow it will not be accepted. 24 Also anything with its testicles squashed, crushed, torn off, or cut off, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor sacrifice in your land, 25 nor shall you offer any of these animals taken from the hand of a foreigner as the food of your God; for their deformity is in them, they have an impairment. They will not be accepted for you.’”
26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it will be considered acceptable as a sacrifice of an offering by fire to the Lord. 28 But, whether it is an ox or a sheep, you shall not slaughter both it and its young in one day. 29 When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30 It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until morning. I am the Lord. 31 So you shall keep My commandments, and do them; I am the Lord.
32 “And you shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the Lord.”
1 To You, Lord, I call;
My rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You are silent to me,
I will become like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear the sound of my pleadings when I cry to You for help,
When I raise my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with those who practice injustice,
Who speak peace with their neighbors,
While evil is in their hearts.
4 Give back to them according to their work and according to the evil of their practices;
Give back to them according to the work of their hands;
Repay them what is due them.
5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord
Nor the deeds of His hands,
He will tear them down and not build them up.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
Because He has heard the sound of my pleading.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart triumphs,
And with my song I shall thank Him.
8 The Lord is their strength,
And He is a refuge of salvation to His anointed.
9 Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;
Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.
1 Ascribe to the Lord, sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;
Worship the Lord in holy attire.
3 The voice of the Lord is on the waters;
The God of glory thunders,
The Lord is over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon in pieces.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord divides flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sat as King at the flood;
Yes, the Lord sits as King forever.
11 The Lord will give strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.
1 Guard your steps as you go to the house of God, and approach to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Do not be quick with your mouth or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. 3 For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of a fool through many words.
4 When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! 5 It is better that you not vow, than vow and not pay. 6 Do not let your speech cause you to sin, and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice, and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For in many dreams and in many words there is futility. Rather, fear God.
8 If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight; for one official watches over another official, and there are higher officials over them. 9 After all, a king who cultivates the field is beneficial to the land.
10 One who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor one who loves abundance with its income. This too is futility. 11 When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look at them? 12 The sleep of the laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich person does not allow him to sleep.
13 There is a sickening evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth being hoarded by its owner to his detriment. 14 When that wealth was lost through bad business and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him. 15 As he came naked from his mother’s womb, so he will return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. 16 This also is a sickening evil: exactly as a person is born, so will he die. What then is the advantage for him who labors for the wind? 17 All his life he also eats in darkness with great irritation, sickness, and anger.
18 Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink, and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he labors under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. 19 Furthermore, as for every person to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also given him the opportunity to enjoy them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not often call to mind the years of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelled in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was granted to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, 10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher. 12 For this reason I also suffer these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to protect what I have entrusted to Him until that day. 13 Hold on to the example of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 14 Protect, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
15 You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; 17 but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— 18 the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.
