Leviticus 22, 23
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful for the holy things of the children of Israel, in what is sanctified to Me, so as not to defile My holy name: I am the Lord. 3 Say to them, ‘Throughout your generations, whoever of your seed goes near the holy things the children of Israel sanctify to the Lord while his uncleanness is upon him, that soul shall be utterly destroyed by Me: I am the Lord your God. 4 Whatever man of the seed of Aaron who is a leper or has an involuntary discharge of semen shall not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. Also whoever touches any impurity of a soul who had an emission of semen while asleep on his bed, 5 or whoever touches any unclean creeping thing by which he would be defiled, or anyone by whom he would be defiled, whatever his uncleanness may be— 6 the soul who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he washes his body with water. 7 Thus when the sun goes down, he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because it is his food. 8 Whatever dies naturally or is torn by wild animals he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the Lord. 9 They shall therefore keep My ordinances, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby, if they defile these. I the Lord God sanctify them. 10 No foreigner shall eat the holy things; one who sojourns with the priest or a hired servant shall not eat the holy things. 11 But if the priest buys a soul with his money, this one may eat the priest’s food; and one who is born in his house may eat his food. 12 If the priest’s daughter is married to a foreigner, she may not eat of the holy offerings. 13 But if the priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food; but no foreigner shall eat it. 14 Also, if a man eats the holy things in ignorance, then he shall restore the holy thing to the priest and add one-fifth to it. 15 They shall not defile the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, 16 or allow them to bear the guilt of trespass when they eat their holy things; for I the Lord sanctify them.’ ”
Acceptable and Unacceptable Offerings
17 Again, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the congregation of Israel, and say to them, ‘Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the resident aliens dwelling among them in Israel, who offers his gifts in accord with any agreed-on offering or any offering of choice which they offer to God as a whole burnt offering— 19 to be acceptable on your behalf, they must be males without blemish from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats. 20 Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer it to the Lord, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. 21 And whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord from the cattle or the sheep, to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering, or in your feasts, it must be without blemish to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22 Those blind, broken, or with a cut tongue, or afflicted with warts, or having a bad itch or a skin disease, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord. 23 Either a bull or a sheep that has any ears cut off or a shortened tail, you may offer for yourself, but for a vow of yours it shall not be accepted. 24 You shall not offer to the Lord what is castrated by crushing, bruising, tearing, or extracting; nor shall you make any offering of them in your land. 25 Nor from a foreigner’s hand shall you offer any of these as the gifts of your God, because their corruption is in them, and defects are in them. They shall not be accepted on your behalf.’ ”
26 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “When a young bull, a sheep, or a goat is born, it shall be seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thereafter it shall be accepted as a gift made by fire to the Lord. 28 Whether it is a young bull or a sheep, do not kill both her and her young on the same day. 29 Now if you offer a sacrifice, a vow of rejoicing to the Lord, you shall offer it so as to be acceptable for you. 30 On the same day it shall be eaten; you shall leave none of its flesh until morning: I am the Lord. 31 Therefore you shall keep My commandments and do them. 32 You shall not defile My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 who brings you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord.”
The Feasts of the Lord
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. 3 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath rest, a holy convocation to the Lord. You shall do no work on it; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.
Pascha and Unleavened Bread
4 ‘These are the feasts to the Lord, holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Pascha to the Lord. 6 Then on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no service work on it. 8 But you shall offer a whole burnt offering to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no service work.’ ”
Harvest
9 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you come into the land I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits from your harvest to the priest. 11 He shall offer the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf; on the morning after the first day the priest shall offer it. 12 Then you shall offer on that day on which you offer the sheaf a sheep of the first year, without blemish, as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. 13 Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a sacrifice to the Lord, for a sweet aroma to the Lord; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. 14 You shall eat neither bread nor roasted fresh ears until the same day you have offered gifts to your God; it shall be an ordinance forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
15 ‘Then you shall count for yourselves from the morning following the Sabbath day, from the day you brought the sheaf of the deposit, seven full weeks. 16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 You shall bring from your dwellings two deposit loaves of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with leaven. They are firstfruits to the Lord. 18 Then you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year without blemish, one young bull, and two rams without blemish. They shall be a whole burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and drink offerings, a sacrifice for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 19 After this, you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering, with the loaves of the firstfruits. 20 The priest shall deposit them with the loaves of the firstfruits as a deposit offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. They shall be holy things to the Lord; and for the priest who presented them, his shall they be. 21 Then you shall proclaim the same day as a holy convocation for you. You shall do no service work on it. It shall be an ordinance forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. 22 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleanings from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the resident alien: I am the Lord your God.’ ”
Trumpets: The New Year
23 Again, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a rest, a memorial of trumpets, a holy convocation for you. 25 You shall do no service work on it, and you shall offer a whole burnt offering to the Lord.’ ”
Day of Atonement
26 Moreover, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “Also, the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall humble your souls and offer a whole burnt offering to the Lord. 28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For any soul who is not humbled on that same day shall be utterly destroyed from among his people. 30 Any soul who does any work on that same day, that soul shall be destroyed from among his people. 31 You shall not do any work; this is an ordinance forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be a Sabbath of Sabbaths for you, and you shall humble your souls; from the ninth day of the month, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your Sabbaths.”
Feast of Tabernacles
33 Again, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. 35 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no service work on it. 36 For seven days you shall offer whole burnt offerings to the Lord. Then on the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer whole burnt offerings to the Lord. It is the final day of the festival for you, and you shall do no service work on it.
37 ‘These are the feasts to the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer whole burnt offerings to the Lord, whole burnt offerings and their grain and drink offerings, everything on its day— 38 besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, and besides your gifts, all your vows, and all your freewill offerings which you give to the Lord.
39 ‘Also on the fifteenth day of this seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast to the Lord for seven days; on the first day there shall be a rest, and on the eighth day a rest. 40 And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the ripe fruit of a tree, leaves of palm trees, the branches of leafy trees, and the pure willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be an ordinance forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’ ”
44 So Moses declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.
Psalm 37:1–11
1 A psalm by David; for remembrance concerning the Sabbath.
2 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
Nor chasten me in Your anger.
3 For Your arrows are fixed in me,
And Your hand rests on me;
4 There is no healing in my flesh because of Your wrath;
There is no peace in my bones because of my sins.
5 For my transgressions rise up over my head;
Like a heavy burden they are heavy on me.
6 My wounds grow foul and fester
Because of my folly.
7 I suffer misery, and I am utterly bowed down;
I go all the day long with a sad face.
8 For my loins are filled with mockeries,
And there is no healing in my flesh.
9 I am afflicted and greatly humbled;
I roar because of the groaning of my heart.
10 O Lord, all my desire is before You,
And my groaning is not hidden from You.
11 My heart is troubled; my strength fails me,
And the light of my eyes, even this is not with me.
Proverbs 8:1–5
1 You shall proclaim wisdom
That discernment may obey you;
2 For she is on the lofty summit
And stands in the midst of the paths.
3 For she sits beside the gates of princes
And sings at the entrances,
4 “You, O men, I exhort,
And I utter my voice to the sons of men;
5 Understand astuteness, O simple ones,
And put it in your heart, O uninstructed ones.
Matthew 25:31–46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33 “And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36 ‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38 ‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 ‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
43 ‘I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
45 “Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’46 “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”