To The Word – Day 26

₁The LORD called to Moses from the Tent of the LORD's presence and gave him the following rules ₂for the Israelites to observe when they offer their sacrifices.

When anyone offers an animal sacrifice, it may be one of his cattle or one of his sheep or goats. ₃If he is offering one of his cattle as a burnt offering, he must bring a bull without any defects. He must present it at the entrance of the Tent of the LORD's presence so that the LORD will accept him. ₄The man shall put his hand on its head, and it will be accepted as a sacrifice to take away his sins. ₅He shall kill the bull there, and the Aaronite priests shall present the blood to the LORD and then throw it against all four sides of the altar which is at the entrance of the Tent. ₆Then he shall skin the animal and cut it up, ₇and the priests shall arrange firewood on the altar and light it. ₈They shall put on the fire the pieces of the animal, including the head and the fat. ₉The man must wash the internal organs and the hind legs, and the officiating priest will burn the whole sacrifice on the altar. The smell of this food offering is pleasing to the LORD.

₁₀If the man is offering one of his sheep or goats, it must be a male without any defects. ₁₁He shall kill it on the north side of the altar, and the priests shall throw its blood on all four sides of the altar. ₁₂After the man cuts it up, the officiating priest shall put on the fire all the parts, including the head and the fat. ₁₃The man must wash the internal organs and the hind legs, and the priest will present the sacrifice to the LORD and burn all of it on the altar. The smell of this food offering is pleasing to the LORD.

₁₄If the man is offering a bird as a burnt offering, it must be a dove or a pigeon. ₁₅The priest shall present it at the altar, wring its neck, and burn its head on the altar. Its blood shall be drained out against the side of the altar. ₁₆He shall remove the crop and its contents and throw them away on the east side of the altar where the ashes are put. ₁₇He shall take hold of its wings and tear its body open, without tearing the wings off, and then burn it whole on the altar. The smell of this food offering is pleasing to the LORD.

₁When anyone presents an offering of grain to the LORD, he must first grind it into flour. He must put olive oil and incense on it ₂and bring it to the Aaronite priests. The officiating priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil and all of the incense and burn it on the altar as a token that it has all been offered to the LORD. The smell of this food offering is pleasing to the LORD. ₃The rest of the grain offering belongs to the priests; it is very holy, since it is taken from the food offered to the LORD.

₄If the offering is bread baked in an oven, it must be made without yeast. It may be thick loaves made of flour mixed with olive oil or biscuits brushed with olive oil.

₅If the offering is bread cooked on a griddle, it is to be made of flour mixed with olive oil but without yeast. ₆Crumble it up and pour the oil on it when you present it as an offering.

₇If the offering is bread cooked in a pan, it is to be made of flour and olive oil. ₈Bring it as an offering to the LORD and present it to the priest, who will take it to the altar. ₉The priest will take part of it as a token that it has all been offered to the LORD, and he will burn it on the altar. The smell of this food offering is pleasing to the LORD. ₁₀The rest of the offering belongs to the priests; it is very holy, since it is taken from the food offered to the LORD.

₁₁None of the grain offerings which you present to the LORD may be made with yeast; you must never use yeast or honey in food offered to the LORD. ₁₂An offering of the first corn that you harvest each year shall be brought to the LORD, but it is not to be burnt on the altar. ₁₃Put salt on every grain offering, because salt represents the covenant between you and God. (You must put salt on all your offerings.) ₁₄When you bring to the LORD an offering of the first corn harvested, offer roasted grain or ground meal. ₁₅Add olive oil and put incense on it. ₁₆The priest will burn that part of the meal and oil that is to serve as a token, and also all the incense, as a food offering to the LORD.

₁When anyone offers one of his cattle as a fellowship offering, it is to be a bull or a cow without any defects. ₂The man shall put his hand on the head of the animal and kill it at the entrance of the Tent of the LORD's presence. The Aaronite priests shall throw the blood against all four sides of the altar ₃and present the following parts of the animal as a food offering to the LORD: all the fat on the internal organs, ₄the kidneys and the fat on them, and the best part of the liver. ₅The priests shall burn all this on the altar along with the burnt offerings. The smell of this food offering is pleasing to the LORD.

₆If a sheep or goat is used as a fellowship offering, it may be male or female, but it must be without any defects. ₇If a man offers a sheep, ₈he shall put his hand on its head and kill it in front of the Tent. The priests shall throw its blood against all four sides of the altar ₉and present the following parts of the animal as a food offering to the LORD: the fat, the entire fat tail cut off near the backbone, all the fat covering the internal organs, ₁₀the kidneys and the fat on them, and the best part of the liver. ₁₁The officiating priest shall burn all this on the altar as a food offering to the LORD.

₁₂If a man offers a goat, ₁₃he shall put his hand on its head and kill it in front of the Tent. The priests shall throw its blood against all four sides of the altar ₁₄and present the following parts as a food offering to the LORD: all the fat on the internal organs, ₁₅the kidneys and the fat on them, and the best part of the liver. ₁₆The priest shall burn all this on the altar as a food offering pleasing to the LORD. All the fat belongs to the LORD. ₁₇No Israelite may eat any fat or any blood; this is a rule to be kept for ever by all Israelites wherever they live.

₁The LORD commanded Moses ₂to tell the people of Israel that anyone who sinned and broke any of the LORD's commands without intending to, would have to observe the following rules.

₃If it is the High Priest who sins and so brings guilt on the people, he shall present a young bull without any defects and sacrifice it to the LORD for his sin. ₄He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent, put his hand on its head, and kill it there in the LORD's presence. ₅Then the High Priest shall take some of the bull's blood and carry it into the Tent. ₆He shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it in front of the sacred curtain seven times. ₇Then he shall put some of the blood on the projections at the corners of the incense altar in the Tent. He shall pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar used for burning sacrifices, which is at the entrance of the Tent. ₈From this bull he shall take all the fat, the fat on the internal organs, ₉the kidneys and the fat on them, and the best part of the liver. ₁₀The priest shall take this fat and burn it on the altar used for the burnt offerings, just as he does with the fat from the animal killed for the fellowship offering. ₁₁But he shall take its skin, all its flesh, its head, its legs, and its internal organs including the intestines, ₁₂carry it all outside the camp to the ritually clean place where the ashes are poured out, and there he shall burn it on a wood fire.

₁₃If it is the whole community of Israel that sins and becomes guilty of breaking one of the LORD's commands without intending to, ₁₄then as soon as the sin becomes known, the community shall bring a young bull as a sin offering. They shall bring it to the Tent of the LORD's presence; ₁₅the leaders of the community shall put their hands on its head, and it shall be killed there. ₁₆The High Priest shall take some of the bull's blood into the Tent, ₁₇dip his finger in it, and sprinkle it in front of the curtain seven times. ₁₈He shall put some of the blood on the projections at the corners of the incense altar inside the Tent and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar used for burning sacrifices, which is at the entrance of the Tent. ₁₉Then he shall take all its fat and burn it on the altar. ₂₀He shall do the same thing with this bull as he does with the bull for the sin offering, and in this way he shall make the sacrifice for the people's sin, and they will be forgiven. ₂₁Then he shall take the bull outside the camp and burn it, just as he burns the bull offered for his own sin. This is an offering to take away the sin of the community.

₂₂If it is a ruler who sins and becomes guilty of breaking one of the LORD's commands without intending to, ₂₃then as soon as his attention is called to the sin, he shall bring as his offering a male goat without any defects. ₂₄He shall put his hand on its head and kill it on the north side of the altar, where the animals for the burnt offerings are killed. This is an offering to take away sin. ₂₅The priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the animal, put it on the projections at the corners of the altar, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. ₂₆Then he shall burn all its fat on the altar, just as he burns the fat of the animals killed for the fellowship offerings. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the sin of the ruler, and he will be forgiven.

₂₇If it is one of the common people who sins and becomes guilty of breaking one of the LORD's commands without intending to, ₂₈then as soon as his attention is called to the sin, he shall bring as his offering a female goat without any defects. ₂₉He shall put his hand on its head and kill it on the north side of the altar, where the animals for the burnt offerings are killed. ₃₀The priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the animal, put it on the projections at the corners of the altar, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. ₃₁Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat is removed from the animals killed for the fellowship offerings, and he shall burn it on the altar so that the smell pleases the LORD. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven.

₃₂If a man brings a sheep as a sin offering, it must be a female without any defects. ₃₃He shall put his hand on its head and kill it on the north side of the altar, where the animals for the burnt offerings are killed. ₃₄The priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the animal, put it on the projections at the corners of the altar, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. ₃₅Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat is removed from the sheep killed for the fellowship offerings, and he shall burn it on the altar along with the food offerings given to the LORD. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven.

₁In the past, God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets, ₂but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one through whom God created the universe, the one whom God has chosen to possess all things at the end. ₃He reflects the brightness of God's glory and is the exact likeness of God's own being, sustaining the universe with his powerful word. After achieving forgiveness for human sins, he sat down in heaven at the right-hand side of God, the Supreme Power.

₄The Son was made greater than the angels, just as the name that God gave him is greater than theirs. ₅For God never said to any of his angels:

₁₄What are the angels, then? They are spirits who serve God and are sent by him to help those who are to receive salvation.

₁That is why we must hold on all the more firmly to the truths we have heard, so that we will not be carried away. ₂The message given to our ancestors by the angels was shown to be true, and all who did not follow it or obey it received the punishment they deserved. ₃How, then, shall we escape if we pay no attention to such a great salvation? The Lord himself first announced this salvation, and those who heard him proved to us that it is true. ₄At the same time God added his witness to theirs by performing all kinds of miracles and wonders and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his will.

₅God has not placed the angels as rulers over the new world to come — the world of which we speak. ₆Instead, as it is said somewhere in the Scriptures:

₁₁He purifies people from their sins, and both he and those who are made pure all have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his family. ₁₂He says to God:

₁₄Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death, ₁₅and in this way set free those who were slaves all their lives because of their fear of death. ₁₆For it is clear that it is not the angels that he helps. Instead, he helps the descendants of Abraham. ₁₇This means that he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way, in order to be their faithful and merciful High Priest in his service to God, so that the people's sins would be forgiven. ₁₈And now he can help those who are tempted, because he himself was tempted and suffered.