Leviticus 1-4
1 Now the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of testimony, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘If a man among you should offer gifts to the Lord from the cattle—the oxen or the sheep—you shall offer your gifts. 3 If his gift should be a whole burnt offering from the oxen, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall offer it at the door of the tabernacle of testimony as acceptable before the Lord. 4 Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. 5 He shall kill the young bull before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall offer the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar by the doors of the tabernacle of testimony. 6 Then he shall skin the whole burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay the wood on the fire. 8 Then the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head and the fat, upon the wood and fire on the altar; 9 but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. The priest shall then put all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a sacrifice for a sweet aroma to the Lord.
10 ‘If his gift to the Lord should be from the sheep—from the lambs or the kids—as a whole burnt offering, he shall offer a male without blemish, and put his hand on its head. 11 He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. 12 Then they shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat; and the priests shall lay them upon the wood and fire on the altar; 13 but he shall wash the entrails and the legs with water. Then the priest shall offer all of it, and put it on the altar as a burnt offering, a sacrifice for a sweet aroma to the Lord.
14 ‘But if you should offer a gift to the Lord from the birds for a burnt offering, he shall offer his gift from the turtledoves or young pigeons. 15 The priest shall offer it on the altar, wring off its head, and put it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar. 16 Then he shall remove its crop with its feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east side, into the place for ashes. 17 Then he shall split it at its wings, but shall not divide it; and the priest shall put it upon the wood and fire on the altar as a burnt offering, a sacrifice for a sweet aroma to the Lord.
Grain Offerings
1 ‘Now if a soul should offer a gift for a grain offering to the Lord, his gift shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it. 2 He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests, one of whom shall take from it his handful of fine flour and oil with all the frankincense. Then the priest shall put it on the altar as a memorial, a sacrifice for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 3 The rest of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons. It is the most holy of the Lord’s sacrifices. 4 But if you should offer a gift as a grain offering baked in the oven, a gift of fine flour to the Lord, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. 5 But if your gift should be a grain offering fried in a pan, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, and mixed with oil. 6 You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering to the Lord. 7 If your gift should be a grain offering from the grate, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. 8 You shall offer the grain offering made of these things to the Lord; and when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar. 9 Then the priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion, and put it on the altar as a burnt offering, for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 10 But what is left of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons. It is the most holy of the Lord’s burnt offerings.
11 ‘No grain offering you offer to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven or honey in any burnt offering to the Lord. 12 As for a gift of firstfruits, you shall offer them to the Lord, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a sweet aroma. 13 Now every gift of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the Lord’s covenant to be lacking from your grain offerings. With every gift you shall offer salt to the Lord your God. 14 If you should offer a grain offering of your firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits green heads of grain roasted on the fire, grain beaten from full heads for the Lord. Thus you shall offer your grain offering of firstfruits. 15 Then you shall put oil on it, and put frankincense on it. It is a grain offering. 16 The priest shall then offer its memorial portion: its beaten grain and oil, with all the frankincense. It is a burnt offering to the Lord.
Peace Offerings
1 ‘Now if his gift for the Lord should be a peace offering, and if he should offer it from the oxen, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. 2 Then he shall put his hands on the head of his gift, and kill it at the doors of the tabernacle of testimony; and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood all around on the altar of whole burnt offering. 3 He shall then offer from the peace offering a burnt offering to the Lord; and he shall remove its fat that covers the entrails, all the fat on the entrails, 4 the two kidneys and the fat on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys; 5 and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall offer these upon the wood and fire on the altar of whole burnt offering as a burnt offering, for a sweet aroma to the Lord.
6 ‘Now if his peace offering should be a gift from the sheep, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. 7 If he should offer a lamb as his gift, then he shall offer it without blemish. 8 Then he shall put his hands on the head of his gift, and kill it before the doors of the tabernacle of testimony; and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. 9 He shall then offer from the peace offering, a burnt offering to God; and he shall remove its fat, the whole fat tail close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat on the entrails, 10 the two kidneys and the fat on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys; 11 and the priest shall offer these on the altar as a burnt offering, for a sweet aroma to the Lord.
12 ‘Now if his gift should be from the goats, then he shall offer it before the Lord. 13 He shall put his hands on its head, and kill it before the Lord at the doors of the tabernacle of testimony; and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. 14 Then he shall offer his burnt offering to the Lord; and he shall remove its fat that covers the entrails, all the fat on the entrails, 15 the two kidneys and the fat on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys; 16 and the priest shall offer these on the altar as a burnt offering, for a sweet aroma to the Lord. All the fat is the Lord’s. 17 This shall be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood.’ ”
Sin Offerings
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If a soul should sin involuntarily before the Lord against any of the Lord’s ordinances, which ought not to be done, and does anything against them, 3 even if he should be the anointed priest, and should sin to the detriment of the people, he shall offer to the Lord for the sin he committed a young bull without blemish from the oxen as a sin offering. 4 He shall offer the young bull at the door of the tabernacle of testimony before the Lord, put his hand on the young bull’s head, and kill the young bull before the Lord. 5 Then the anointed and consecrated priest shall take some of the young bull’s blood and bring it to the tabernacle of testimony. 6 The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil of the holy place. 7 Then the priest shall put some of the blood of the young bull on the horns of the altar of the incense compound before the Lord in the tabernacle of testimony; and he shall pour the remaining blood of the young bull at the base of the altar of whole burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of testimony. 8 He shall take from it all the fat of the young bull as the sin offering. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat on the entrails, 9 the two kidneys and the fat on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove, 10 as it was taken from the young bull of the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. 11 But the young bull’s hide and all its flesh, with its head and legs, its entrails and excrement— 12 the whole young bull he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned.
13 ‘Now if the whole congregation of Israel acts involuntarily in ignorance, and it is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they did something against any of the Lord’s commandments, which should not be done, and committed sin; 14 when the sin they committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for the sin, and offer it before the doors of the tabernacle of testimony. 15 Then the elders of the congregation shall put their hands on the head of the young bull before the Lord. The young bull shall then be killed before the Lord. 16 The anointed priest shall bring some of the young bull’s blood to the tabernacle of testimony. 17 Then the priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the young bull, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil of the holy place. 18 The priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of the incense compound, which is before the Lord in the tabernacle of testimony; and he shall pour the remaining blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of testimony. 19 He shall take all the fat from it and offer it on the altar. 20 Then he shall do with the young bull as he did with the young bull of the sin offering; thus he shall do with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and their sin shall be remitted them. 21 Then they shall carry the young bull outside the camp, and burn it as they burned the first young bull. It is a sin offering for the assembly. 22 Now if a ruler should sin, and do something against any of the commandments of the Lord their God, which should not be done, and commits sin involuntarily, 23 and the sin he committed comes to his knowledge, he shall offer as his gift a kid of the goats, a male without blemish. 24 He shall put his hand on the head of the kid and kill it at the place where they kill the whole burnt offering before the Lord. It is a sin offering. 25 The priest shall then take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of whole burnt offering, and pour its remaining blood at the base of the altar of whole burnt offering. 26 Then he shall offer all its fat to the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of the peace offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin, and it shall be remitted him.
27 ‘If any soul of the people of the land should sin involuntarily by doing something against any of the Lord’s commandments, which ought not to be done, and commits sin, 28 and the sin he committed comes to his knowledge, then he shall bring a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for the sin he committed. 29 He shall put his hand on the head of his sin offering and kill the kid of the sin offering at the place of the whole burnt offering. 30 Then the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of whole burnt offering, and pour all its remaining blood at the base of the altar. 31 He shall remove all its fat, as fat is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall offer it on the altar for a sweet aroma to the Lord. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be remitted him. 32 If he should bring as his gift a sheep for a sin offering, he shall offer a female without blemish. 33 Then he shall put his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill it as a sin offering at the place where they kill the whole burnt offering. 34 The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of whole burnt offering, and pour all its remaining blood at the base of the altar. 35 He shall remove all its fat, as the fat of the sheep is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering. Then the priest shall put it on the altar for a whole burnt offering to the Lord. So the priest shall make atonement for his sin he committed, and it shall be remitted him.
Psalm 32:13–22
13 The Lord looked attentively from heaven;
He saw all the sons of men.
14 From His prepared dwelling-place,
He looked upon all who dwell on the earth,
15 He who alone fashioned their hearts,
He who understands all their works.
16 A king is not saved by his large army,
And a giant shall not be saved by his immense strength;
17 A horse is a false hope for salvation,
And it shall not be saved by its enormous power.
18 Behold, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
19 To deliver their souls from death
And to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul shall wait for the Lord;
He is our helper and protector;
21 For our heart shall be glad in Him,
And we hope in His holy name.
22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
As we hope in You.
Proverbs 6:26–31
26 When you walk about, bring along this commandment
And let it be with you;
27 And as you sleep, let it guard you,
That when you arise, it may speak to you.
28 For a commandment of law is a lamp and a light,
And the way of life is reproof and instruction,
29 That you may keep yourself from a married woman
And from the slanderous tongue of a strange woman.
30 Do not let the desire of beauty conquer you;
Neither be caught by her eyes,
Nor captivated by her eyelids;
31 For the value of a prostitute is only one loaf,
And such a woman hunts for the precious souls of men.
Matthew 21:23–46
23 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”
24 But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things:
25 “The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
26 “But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.”
27 So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’
29 “He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went.
30 “Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.
32 “For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.
The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers
33 “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.
34 “Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.
35 “And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.
36 “Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.
37 “Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
38 “But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’
39 “So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”
41 They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.
44 “And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
45 Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.46 But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.