Leviticus 10 Cross References - ISV

¹ Nadab and Abihu
Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own censer, placed fire in it, covered it with incense, and brought it into the LORD’s presence as unauthorized fire that he had never prescribed for them. ² As a result, fire came out from the LORD’s presence and incinerated them. They died while in the LORD’s presence. ³ Moses spoke with Aaron about what the LORD had said: “Among those who are near me, I’ll show myself holy so that I’ll be glorified before all people.” So Aaron remained silent.
⁴ After the Deaths of Nadab and AbihuThen Moses called on Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, Aaron’s uncle, and said, “Come here and carry your brothers away from the sanctuary, outside the camp.” ⁵ So they approached to carry them in their tunics outside the camp, just as Moses had commanded.
⁶ Then Moses told Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “You are not to loosen the hair of your head and you are not to rend your clothes. That way, you won’t die and wrath won’t come on the entire congregation. Your brothers and the assembly of Israel will mourn because of the fire that the LORD kindled. ⁷ Also, you are not to leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Otherwise, you’ll die, since the LORD’s anointing oil remains on you.” So they followed Moses’ instructions.
⁸ Prohibitions against Drinking WineThen the LORD told Aaron, ⁹ “You and your sons with you are not to drink wine—that is, any intoxicating drink—when you enter the Tent of Meeting. That way, you won’t die. This is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations. ¹⁰ You are to differentiate between what’s sacred and common and between what’s unclean and clean. ¹¹ You are to teach the Israelis all the statutes that the LORD commanded you by the authority of Moses.”
¹² Additional Orders for OfferingsThen Moses told Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the leftovers from the grain offering and the offerings made by fire and eat the unleavened bread beside the altar, because it is most holy to the LORD. ¹³ Eat at a sacred place, because it’s your and your sons’ prescribed portions. It’s from the offering made by fire to the LORD, since I’ve commanded it. ¹⁴ As to the breast and thigh raised offerings, you and your sons and daughters with you may eat them at a clean place, because they belong to you and are your sons’ prescribed portions and were taken from the sacrifices of peace offering presented by the Israelis. ¹⁵ They are to bring the thigh offering, the breast raised offering, and the offerings made by fire from the fat to wave as a raised offering in the LORD’s presence. It will be a perpetual portion for you and your sons with you, just as the LORD commanded.”
¹⁶ Confusion Occurs, but is ResolvedNow Moses diligently sought for the goat that had been offered as a sin offering, but it had already been incinerated, so he was angry with Aaron’s sons who remained. He asked Eleazar and Ithamar, ¹⁷ “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering at the sacred place? It’s most holy and he has given it to you so that you may bear the punishment for the iniquity of the entire congregation and make atonement for them in the LORD’s presence. ¹⁸ Look! Its blood wasn’t brought inside the sanctuary. You were to have eaten it in the sanctuary, just as I commanded.”
¹⁹ But Aaron replied to Moses, “Today they’ve offered their sin and whole burnt offerings in the LORD’s presence. Yet things such as these have happened to me. Had I eaten the sin offering today, would that have pleased the LORD?”
²⁰ When Moses heard that explanation, he was pleased.

²³ Then Aaron married Elisheba daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon. She bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

¹ The Covenant is Sealed with BloodThe LORD told Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance.

⁹ Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 of the elders of Israel went up

³ You are to make pans for removing its ashes, shovels, bowls, forks, and fire-pans for it, and you are to make all its utensils of bronze.

¹ The Garments for the Priests“You are to bring your brother Aaron, along with his sons, from among the Israelis so they can serve as priests for me: that is, Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

¹ The Altar of Incense“You are to make an altar for burning incense. You are to make it of acacia wood. ² It is to be a square, one cubit long and one cubit wide, and it is to be two cubits high, with its horns of one piece with it. ³ You are to overlay it with pure gold, its top, its sides all around, and its horns, and you are to make a molding of gold all around it.
⁴ “You are to make two gold rings for it under its molding. You are to make them on its two opposite sides, and they are to be holders for poles by which to carry it. ⁵ You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ You are to put the altar in front of the curtain that is over the Ark of the Testimony, in front of the Mercy Seat that is over the Testimony where I’ll meet with you. ⁷ Aaron is to offer fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he trims the lamps he is to offer it, ⁸ and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he is to offer it as a continual incense offering in the LORD’s presence throughout your generations. ⁹ You are not to offer strange incense, a burnt offering, or a grain offering on it, nor are you to pour out a libation on it.

³⁴ The IncenseThe LORD told Moses, “Take for yourself spices: stacte, onycha, galbanum, and spices with pure frankincense, all in equal amounts. ³⁵ You are to make it into a fragrant incense, expertly blended, pure, and holy. ³⁶ You are to grind some of it fine, and put some before the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting where I will meet with you. It is to be most holy to you.

¹¹ the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them in accordance with everything that I commanded you.”

²⁹ And he made the holy anointing oil and the pure aromatic incense, the work of a perfumer.

³ He made all the utensils for the altar—the pans, the shovels, the bowls, the forks, and the fire-pans—and he made all its utensils of bronze.

²⁷ and burned aromatic incense on it, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

²⁴ A fire came down from the LORD’s presence and consumed the burnt offering on the altar as well as the fat. When the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

¹ The Day of AtonementThe LORD spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons when they had approached the LORD and died.

¹² Then he is to take a censer and fill it with coals from the fire on the altar in the LORD’s presence. With his hands full of spiced and refined incense, he is to bring it beyond the curtain.

⁹ They are to keep my charge. By doing so, they won’t bear the punishment of sin because of it and therefore die if they’ve been defiled by it. I am the LORD, who sets them apart.”

² The sons of Aaron were Nadab the first-born, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar ³ who were anointed priests and whom he consecrated as priests. ⁴ Nadab and Abihu died in the LORD’s presence when they offered unauthorized fire before him in the Sinai wilderness. Since they didn’t have their own children, Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priest under the authority of Aaron their father.

⁶ Korah, you and your entire company are to bring censers ⁷ and put fire and incense in them in the LORD’s presence tomorrow. It will be that the man whom the LORD chooses will be holy. You’re taking too much for yourselves, you descendants of Levi.”

¹⁶ Then Moses told Korah, “You and your entire company are to present yourselves in the LORD’s presence tomorrow—you, they, and Aaron. ¹⁷ Each man is to take a censer, put incense on it, and bring it into the LORD’s presence, each man with his censer, for a total of 250 censers. You and Aaron are each to bring his own censer.”
¹⁸ So each man took his censer, put fire coals inside of it, placed incense in it, and then stood at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, accompanied by Moses and Aaron.

⁴⁶ Then Moses told Aaron. “Take the censer, put fire on it from the altar, and burn some incense. Then walk quickly to the congregation and atone for them, because wrath has already come out from the LORD—the plague has begun.”

⁶¹ But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire in the LORD’s presence.

² Do not add or subtract a thing to what I’m commanding you. Observe the commands of the LORD your God.

³² Now as to everything I’m commanding you, you must be careful to observe it. Don’t add to or subtract from it.”

³ He may be following and serving other gods by bowing down to them—that is, to the sun, the moon, or to any of the heavenly host (something I did not command).

¹ Josiah’s Desecration Predicted by a Man of GodRight when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD. ² He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: “Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: ‘Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David’s dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!’”

¹⁶ Uzziah’s Arrogance and Apostasy
But after he had become strong, in his arrogance he acted corruptly and became unfaithful to the LORD his God, and he dared to enter the LORD’s Temple to burn incense on the incense altar. ¹⁷ Azariah the priest ran after him, along with 80 of the LORD’s valiant priests, ¹⁸ and they opposed King Uzziah. “Uzziah, it’s not for you to burn incense to the LORD,” they told him, “but for the priests to do, Aaron’s descendants who are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary now, because you have been unfaithful and won’t receive any honor from the LORD God.”
¹⁹ Uzziah flew into a rage while he held in his hand a censer to burn incense. As he got angry at the priests, leprosy broke out all over his forehead right in front of the priests beside the incense altar in the LORD’s Temple. ²⁰ So Azariah the chief priest and all the priests stared at Uzziah, who was infected with leprosy in his forehead! They all rushed at him and hurried him out of the Temple. Uzziah was in a hurry to get out anyway, because the LORD had struck him.

² Let my prayer be like incense offered before you, and my uplifted hands like the evening sacrifice.

³¹ They have built high places at Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire. I didn’t command this, and it never entered my mind!

⁵ They built the high places for Baal to burn their children in the fire as a burnt offering to Baal—something I didn’t command, didn’t say, nor did it ever enter my mind!

³⁵ They built the high places of Baal that are in the Hinnom Valley in order to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech—something that I didn’t command, nor did it ever enter my mind for them to require this utterly repugnant thing—and lead Judah into sin.”

⁸ And why have you provoked me to anger by the works of your hands, by offering sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to settle so that you cut yourselves off and become an object of ridicule and scorn among all the nations of the earth?

¹⁵ The Refugees Refuse to RepentThen all the men who knew that their wives were offering sacrifices to other gods and all the women who were standing by—a large group, including all the people who were living in the land of Egypt in Pathros—answered Jeremiah:

¹⁹ Indeed, we are going to continue offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out liquid offerings to her. And do you think we have made cakes to represent her or poured out liquid offerings for her without our husbands’ approval?”
²⁰ Final Judgment ProclaimedThen Jeremiah spoke a message to all the people, to the young men, to the women, and to all the people who were answering him: ²¹ “As for the sacrifices that you, your ancestors, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land offered in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, the LORD remembered them, did he not? And they came to his attention, did they not?

⁹ he was chosen by lot to go into the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense, according to the custom of the priests. ¹⁰ And the entire congregation of people was praying outside at the time when the incense was burned.
¹¹ An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the incense altar.

⁴ which had the gold altar for incense and the Ark of the Covenant completely covered with gold. In it were the gold jar holding the manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the Tablets of the Covenant.

³ Another angel came with a gold censer and stood at the altar. He was given a large quantity of incense to offer on the gold altar before the throne, along with the prayers of all the saints. ⁴ The smoke from the incense and the prayers of the saints went up from the angel’s hand to God. ⁵ The angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth. Then there were peals of thunder, noises, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

⁵ So they approached to carry them in their tunics outside the camp, just as Moses had commanded.

³² The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, all their households, everyone who was affiliated with Korah, and all of their property. ³³ So they and all that belonged to them descended alive to Sheol. Then the earth closed over them. That’s how they were annihilated from the assembly.

³⁵ After this, fire came from the LORD and incinerated the 250 men who offered the incense.

⁴⁹ Those who died due to the plague numbered 14,700, not counting those who died due to the matter with Korah.

¹⁹ God struck down the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the Ark of the LORD. He struck down 50,070 men among the people, and the people mourned because the LORD struck down the people with a great slaughter.

⁷ Just then, the anger of the LORD blazed against Uzzah, and God struck him down right there because of his failure, and he died there beside the Ark of God.

¹⁰ Elijah responded to the leader who was in charge of the 50 soldiers, “So I’m a man of God, am I? If so, may fire fall from heaven and devour you and your 50 soldiers…” Just then, fire fell from heaven and devoured that leader and his 50 soldiers.

¹² Elijah responded to the leader and to his entire company, “So I’m a man of God, am I? If so, may fire fall from heaven and devour you and your 50 soldiers…” Just then, fire fell from heaven and devoured him and his 50 soldiers.

¹⁰ Just then, the anger of the LORD blazed against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark, and he died right there in the presence of God.

¹³ Because you didn’t carry it from the very first, the LORD our God attacked us, since we didn’t care for it appropriately.”

² But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, leaving no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar became priests.

³³ For the Fire Pit has long been prepared; truly it is for the king; it will indeed be made ready. And its pyre will be deep and wide, with abundant fire and wood. Like a stream of burning sulfur, the breath of the LORD will set it ablaze.

⁵ When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized everyone who heard about it.

¹⁰ She instantly fell down at Peter’s feet and died. When the young men came in, they found her dead. So they carried her out and buried her next to her husband.

¹¹ These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down as a warning for us in whom the culmination of the ages has been attained.

²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous along with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! The Judge of all the earth will do what is right, won’t he?”

⁴ I’ve made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so he will pursue them. But I’ll receive honor by means of Pharaoh and his army, so that the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelis did.

²² Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves. Otherwise, the LORD will attack them.”

⁴³ I’ll meet there with the Israelis, and it is to be consecrated by my glory. ⁴⁴ I’ll consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and I’ll consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve as my priests.

³⁵ Stay seven days and nights at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and attend to the service of the LORD, so that you won’t die, because this is what I’ve commanded.”

⁶ They are to be holy to their God. They are not to defile the name of their God, because they’re the ones who bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire—the food of their God—so they are to be holy.

⁸ Consecrate him, because he’s the one who offers the food of your God. He is to be holy for you, because I, the LORD, the one who sanctifies you, am holy.

¹⁵ “He is not to defile his children among his people, because I am the LORD, who sets him apart.”

¹⁷ “Tell Aaron that whoever of your descendants throughout their generations has a bodily defect is not to approach to offer the food of his God.

²¹ None of the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to approach to bring offerings of the LORD made by fire, since he has a defect. He is not to approach to offer the food of his God.

¹² The LORD Disciplines MosesBut the LORD rebuked Moses and Aaron, telling Moses: “Because you both didn’t believe me, because you didn’t consecrate me as holy in the presence of the Israelis, you won’t be the ones to bring this congregation into the land that I’m about to give them.”

⁵¹ Both of you acted unfaithfully against me among the Israelis at Meribah-kadesh in the desert of Zin, when you failed to uphold my holiness among the Israelis.

³⁰ “Therefore, the LORD God of Israel has declared, ‘I did, in fact, say that your family and your ancestor’s family would walk before me forever,’ but now the LORD declares, ‘Far be it from me! The one who honors me I’ll honor, and the one who despises me is to be treated with contempt.

¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything—he did not conceal anything from him. Eli said, “He is the LORD. May he do what seems good to him.”

²⁰ The men of Beth-shemesh asked themselves, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? And to whom will the Ark go from here?”

¹² and addressed them: “As leaders of your Levitical families, set yourselves apart, both you and your relatives, so you can be qualified to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I’ve prepared for it. ¹³ Because you didn’t carry it from the very first, the LORD our God attacked us, since we didn’t care for it appropriately.”

²⁰ Job Blesses God Despite the CatastropheThen Job stood up, tore his robe, shaved his head, fell to the ground, bowed very low, ²¹ and exclaimed: “I left my mother’s womb naked, and I will return to God naked. The LORD has given, and the LORD has taken. May the name of the LORD be blessed.”

¹⁰ But he replied to her, “You’re talking like foolish women do. Are we to accept what is good from God but not tragedy?”
Throughout all of this, Job did not sin by what he said.

⁹ I remain silent; I do not open my mouth, for you are the one who acted.

¹⁰ Be in awe and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted throughout the earth.

⁷ God is feared in the council of the holy ones, revered by all those around him.

¹²⁰ My flesh trembles out of fear of you, and I am in awe of your judgments.

⁸ “The message from the LORD that you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, since he was thinking, “…at least there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”

³ He said to me: ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.’

¹¹ “Depart! Depart! Go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.

⁴¹ “When I will have brought you from among the people and have gathered you from the lands where you were scattered, I’ll accept you as a pleasing aroma. I’ll reveal my holiness among you, and the entire world will see it.

²² Tell her: ‘Pay attention to me, Sidon! I’m against you, and I’m going to glorify myself right in your midst.’ They’ll learn that I am the LORD when I carry out these punishments and manifest my holiness in her midst.

¹³ The Place for Holy ThingsThen he told me, “The north and south chamber, which are opposite the courtyard, are consecrated areas where the priests who approach the LORD will eat consecrated offerings and lay the consecrated grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings, because the area is holy.

³⁷ The Cost of Discipleship
“The one who loves his father or mother more than me isn’t worthy of me, and the one who loves a son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me.

²⁸ Father, glorify your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again!”

³¹ The New CommandmentAfter Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “The Son of Man is now glorified, and God has been glorified by him. ³² If God has been glorified by him, God himself also will glorify the Son of Man, and he will do so quickly.

¹³ I’ll do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

¹¹ And great fear seized the whole church and everyone else who heard about this.
¹² The Apostles Perform Many MiraclesNow many signs and wonders were being performed by the apostles among the people, who were gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade. ¹³ None of the others dared join them, although the rest of the people continued to hold them in high regard.

¹⁰ when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be regarded with wonder on that day by all who have believed—including you, because you believed our testimony.

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and worship God in reverence and fear in a way that pleases him. ²⁹ For “our God is an all-consuming fire.”

¹⁷ For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who refuse to obey the gospel of God?

¹⁸ Kohath’s descendants included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Now Kohath lived for 133 years.

²² The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

¹⁹ These are the names of Kohath’s descendants according to their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

³⁰ The leader of the tribe and family of Kohath was Uzziel’s son Elizaphan.

² Kohath’s sons included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

¹² As he approached the entrance to the city, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her.

⁶ The young men got up, wrapped him up, carried him outside, and buried him.

⁹ “How could you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter asked her. “Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and these men will carry you outside as well.” ¹⁰ She instantly fell down at Peter’s feet and died. When the young men came in, they found her dead. So they carried her out and buried her next to her husband.

² Devout men buried Stephen as they mourned loudly for him.

¹³ Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons, clothed them with the tunics, girded them with the bands, and bound turbans on them, just as the LORD had commanded him.

⁵ The LORD had told Moses, “Say to the Israelis, ‘You are an obstinate people, and if for one moment I went up among you, I would put an end to you. Now take off your ornaments so I may decide what to do with you.’”

⁴⁵ The person with the infectious skin disease is to tear his garments and loosen his hair. He is to cover his mustache and shout out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

¹ Priestly HolinessThe LORD told Moses, “Speak to the priests, Aaron’s sons, and tell them that no priest is to defile himself on account of the dead among his people, ² except his close relatives—his mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or ³ virgin sister (who is a near relative of him and did not have a husband— he may defile himself for her). ⁴ Because he is a husband among his people, he is not to defile himself, thereby polluting himself.
⁵ “They are not to cut their hair in ritualistic patterns on their heads, deface the edges of their beards, or make incisions in their flesh. ⁶ They are to be holy to their God. They are not to defile the name of their God, because they’re the ones who bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire—the food of their God—so they are to be holy.
⁷ “They are not to marry a prostitute or a woman who has been dishonored or who was divorced from her husband, because the priest is holy to his God. ⁸ Consecrate him, because he’s the one who offers the food of your God. He is to be holy for you, because I, the LORD, the one who sanctifies you, am holy.
⁹ “Now if the daughter of any priest defiles herself by being a prostitute, she defiles her father. She is to be incinerated.
¹⁰ “The high priest among his relatives—whose head has been anointed with oil and who has been consecrated to put on the priestly clothing—is not to let his hair hang loose or to tear his clothes. ¹¹ He is not to come near any dead body—whether the deceased is his father or his mother—so as not to defile himself. ¹² He is not to go out of the sanctuary or defile the sanctuary of his God, because his God’s consecrating oil of anointing rests on him. I am the LORD.
¹³ “Furthermore, he is to marry a true virgin. ¹⁴ He is not to marry a widow or one who has been divorced, has been defiled, or has been a prostitute. Instead, he is to take a virgin from among his people as his wife.
¹⁵ “He is not to defile his children among his people, because I am the LORD, who sets him apart.”

⁵³ But the descendants of Levi are to encamp on all sides of the Tent of Meeting so that divine wrath won’t fall on the congregation of Israel. The descendants of Levi are to take care of the Tent of Meeting.”

¹⁸ The priest is to have the woman stand in the LORD’s presence, uncover her head, and put the grain offering as a memorial, a reminder of jealousy, into her hands. The priest is also to have in his hand the contaminated water that carries a curse.

⁶ “During the entire time of his dedication, he is not to come near a dead body. ⁷ He is not to defile himself on account of his father, mother, brother, and sister when they die, because the crown of his consecration to God is on his head.

⁶ Nun’s son Joshua and Jephunneh’s son Caleb, who had accompanied the others who also had explored the land, tore their clothes

²² Then they fell on their faces and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, will you be angry at the entire congregation on account of one man’s sin?”

⁴¹ The Israelis Continue to ComplainNevertheless, the very next day, the whole congregation of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, “You’ve killed the LORD’S people!”
⁴² When the community gathered together against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tent of Meeting. All of a sudden, a cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron entered the Tent of Meeting.
⁴⁴ The LORD told Moses, ⁴⁵ “Leave this community, so I can annihilate them in a moment.”
But they fell upon their faces. ⁴⁶ Then Moses told Aaron. “Take the censer, put fire on it from the altar, and burn some incense. Then walk quickly to the congregation and atone for them, because wrath has already come out from the LORD—the plague has begun.”
⁴⁷ So Aaron took the censer, just as Moses had spoken, and ran out to the center of the assembly, where a plague had begun among the people. He set the incense on fire and atoned for the people.

⁵ Take care of the sanctuary and the services of the altar so that there won’t be any more wrath on the Israelis.

⁹ the one who told his mother and father, ‘I don’t know them,’ and who would neither acknowledge his brothers nor know his own children. For they kept your word and guarded your covenant.

¹ Israel is Defeated at AiLater, the Israelis broke their promise regarding the things that had been turned over to destruction. Carmi’s son Achan, grandson of Zabdi and great-grandson of Zerah from the tribe of Judah, appropriated some of the things that had been turned over to destruction. As a result, the LORD became angry with the Israelis.

¹¹ Israel has sinned. They broke my covenant that I commanded them by taking some of the things that had been turned over to destruction. They have stolen, have been deceitful, and have stored what they stole among their own belongings.

¹⁸ Now then, are you turning away from following the LORD today? If you rebel against the LORD today, by tomorrow he will be angry with the entire community of Israel.

²⁰ Didn’t Zerah’s son Achan act treacherously with respect to the things banned by God, and as a result God became angry at the entire community of Israel? And that man was not the only one to die because of his iniquity.’”

¹ David Takes a Census of Israel
Later, God’s anger blazed forth against Israel, so he incited David to move against them by telling him, “Go take a census of Israel and Judah.”

¹⁵ That very morning, the LORD sent a pestilence to Israel until the conclusion of the time designated, and 70,000 men died from Dan to Beer-sheba. ¹⁶ As the angel was stretching out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD was grieved because of the calamity, so he told the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Stay your hand!” So the angel of the LORD remained near the threshing floor that belonged to Araunah the Jebusite.
¹⁷ When David saw the angel who had been attacking the people, he told the LORD, “Look, I’m the one who has sinned! I did the evil. These are only sheep! What did they do? Please, let your hand fall on me and on my household!”

²⁹ “Cut off your hair and throw it away; let your lamentations rise on the barren heights, because the LORD has rejected and abandoned the generation that is subject to his wrath.

¹⁶ “Son of Man, pay attention! I’m about to take away your most precious treasure with a single, fatal stroke, but you are not to mourn, weep, nor even let tears well up in your eyes. ¹⁷ You are to weep in silence, but you are not to participate in mourning rituals. You are to keep your turban on your head and your sandals on your feet. You are not to cover your mouth or eat what your comforters bring to you.”

¹⁶ “Shave your head and cut off your locks as you mourn your beloved children. Make yourself bald as an eagle, because they will go from you into exile!”

⁴¹ You are to put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and you are to anoint them, ordain them, and consecrate them to serve as my priests.

³⁰ You are to anoint Aaron and his sons, and you are to consecrate them to serve as my priests.

¹³ You are to clothe Aaron with the holy garments, you are to anoint him, and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. ¹⁴ You are to bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. ¹⁵ You are to anoint them just as you anointed their father so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing is to qualify them to belong to a perpetual priesthood from generation to generation.”

¹² After doing this, he poured the oil of anointing on Aaron’s head to anoint and consecrate him.

³⁰ Moses’ Oil of AnointingMoses took some anointing oil and blood that was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his clothes, on his sons, and on their clothes, consecrating Aaron, his clothes, his sons, and their clothes.

¹² He is not to go out of the sanctuary or defile the sanctuary of his God, because his God’s consecrating oil of anointing rests on him. I am the LORD.

²¹ Then another of his disciples told him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

⁶⁰ But he told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

³⁸ God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, he went around doing good and healing everyone who was oppressed by the devil.

²¹ Now the one who makes us—and you as well—secure in union with the Messiah and has anointed us is God,

¹⁷ “This is to be a lasting statute for all your generations, wherever you live. You are not to eat any fat or blood.”

³ then is to remain separate from wine and strong drink. He is not to drink vinegar or strong drink made from wine. He is not to drink grape juice or eat grapes, whether fresh or dried.

²⁰ The priest is to wave the offerings, that is, the breast and the thigh offering in the LORD’s presence. Then the Nazirite may drink wine afterward.

¹ Advice on How to Live Wine causes mocking, and beer causes fights; everyone led astray by them lacks wisdom.

⁴ It is not for kings, Lemuel— Not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to desire liquor. ⁵ Otherwise, they may drink and forget what has been ordained, perverting justice for all the oppressed.

⁷ These people also stagger from wine and reel from strong drink. Priests and prophets stagger from strong drink; they’re drunk from wine; they reel from strong drink, waver when seeing visions, and stumble when rendering decisions.

⁵ I put containers full of wine and cups in front of the members of the Rechabite clan and told them, “Drink the wine!”
⁶ But they said, “We won’t drink wine, because our ancestor, Rechab’s son Jonadab commanded us: ‘You and your descendants are never to drink wine!

²¹ None of the priests are to drink wine after entering the inner courtyard.

¹¹ “Sexual immorality, wine, and fresh wine seduce the heart of my people.

¹⁵ because he will be great in the Lord’s presence. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.

¹⁸ Stop getting drunk with wine, which leads to wild living, but keep on being filled with the Spirit.

³ He must not drink excessively or be a violent person, but instead be gentle. He must not be argumentative or love money.

⁸ Ministers, too, must be serious. They must not be two-faced, addicted to wine, or greedy for money.

²³ Stop drinking only water, but use a little wine for your stomach because of your frequent illnesses.

⁷ Because an overseer is God’s servant manager, he must be blameless. He must not be arrogant or irritable. He must not drink too much, be a violent person, or make money in shameful ways.

⁴⁷ You are to differentiate between the clean and unclean, between the living creature that can be eaten and the living creature that is not to be eaten.”

²⁵ You are to differentiate between the clean animal and the unclean and between the unclean bird and the clean. You are not to make yourselves detestable on account of any animal, bird, or any creeping creature of the ground that I’ve separated for you as unclean.
²⁶ “You are to be holy toward me, because I, the LORD, am holy. I’ve separated you from among the people to be mine.

¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the LORD says: “If you repent, I’ll take you back and you will stand before me. If you speak what is worthwhile, instead of what is worthless, then you will be my spokesman. People will turn to you, but you aren’t to turn to them.

²⁶ Her priests have violated my Law and profaned my sacred things. They didn’t differentiate between what’s sacred and what’s common. They didn’t instruct others to discern clean from unclean things. They refused to keep my Sabbaths.
“‘I’m constantly being profaned among them.

²³ Duties of Ministry“They are to teach my people how to discern what is holy in contrast to what is common, showing them how to discern between what is unclean and clean.

¹⁵ Everything is clean to those who are clean, but nothing is clean to those who are corrupt and unbelieving. Indeed, their very way of thinking and their consciences have been corrupted.

¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be shaped by the desires that used to influence you when you were ignorant. ¹⁵ Instead, be holy in every aspect of your life, just as the one who called you is holy. ¹⁶ For it is written, “You must be holy, because I am holy.”

⁸ “In cases of leprosy, be very careful to observe exactly what the Levitical priests instructed you. Carefully follow what I have commanded them.

¹⁰ They will teach your ordinances to Jacob, and your Law to Israel. They will offer incense as a pleasant aroma to you and a whole burnt offering upon your altar.

⁹ They taught throughout Judah from a copy of the Book of the Law of the LORD that they took with them as they passed through all the cities of Judah, teaching among all the people.

²² Hezekiah encouraged all the descendants of Levi who demonstrated significant insight in their service to the LORD, so they all participated in the festival meals for seven days, all the while sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD God of their ancestors.

² So on the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought out the Law before the assembled people. Both men and women were in attendance, as well as all who could understand what they were hearing.

⁸ They read from the Book of the Law of God, distinctly communicating its meaning, so they could understand the reading.

¹³ “You also came down to Mount Sinai, spoke with them from heaven, and gave them impartial regulations, true laws, statutes, and good commands. ¹⁴ You revealed to them your holy Sabbath, and you mandated precepts, statutes, and laws through Moses your servant.

⁸ “The priests didn’t say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ and those handling the Law didn’t know me. The rulers transgressed against me, the prophets prophesied by Baal, and they followed that which does not profit.

¹⁸ Jeremiah Reacts to the Plot against HimThen they said, “Come, let’s make up a plot against Jeremiah. After all, the priest’s instruction, the wise man’s counsel, and the prophet’s message won’t be destroyed. So let’s verbally attack him. Pay no attention to anything he says!”

⁷ For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he’s the messenger of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

²⁰ teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. And remember, I am with you each and every day until the end of the age.”

²⁷ because I never shrank from telling you the whole plan of God.

² You know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

² unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, which you are to make from fine wheat flour.

¹ Grain Offerings“When a person brings an offering—that is, a grain offering—to the LORD, his offering is to consist of fine flour. He is to pour olive oil mixed with frankincense over it. ² Then he is to bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. He is to take a handful of fine flour, the olive oil, and all of the frankincense. Then the priest is to offer a memorial offering by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. ³ The remnants from the grain offering is for Aaron and his sons—the holiest of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.”
⁴ Burnt Offerings of Grain“When you bring an offering—that is, a grain offering baked in an oven—it is to consist of fine flour baked into unleavened bread mixed with olive oil or of wafers made of unleavened bread and smeared with olive oil.
⁵ “If your grain offering has been prepared on a griddle, then it is to consist of fine flour mixed with olive oil. ⁶ Crumble it into morsels of bread and then pour olive oil on it. It’s a grain offering.
⁷ “When your grain offering has been prepared in a stew pan, it is to consist of fine flour mixed with olive oil. ⁸ Bring the grain offering that you prepared from these ingredients to the LORD. Present it to the priest, who will bring it to the altar. ⁹ Then the priest will dedicate some of the grain offering as a memorial offering and offer it in smoke on the altar, an offering by fire that will be a pleasing aroma to the LORD. ¹⁰ The remainder from the memorial offering is for Aaron and his sons—the holiest of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.”
¹¹ Prohibitions Regarding Yeast“Any grain offering that you bring to the LORD is not to be prepared with yeast, because anything with leaven and honey may not be offered in smoke as an offering by fire to the LORD. ¹² You may bring them to the LORD as an offering of first fruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar for a pleasing aroma.”
¹³ Requirements for Salt“Also, be sure to rub every offering from your grain offering with salt. You are not ever to remove the salt of the covenant of your God from your grain offering. Present all your offerings with salt.”
¹⁴ First Fruit Offerings“Whenever you bring a grain offering of first fruits to the LORD, bring fresh barley roasted in fire, young kernels crushed into bits. Bring the grain offering with your first fruits ¹⁵ and then pour olive oil and frankincense over it as a grain offering. ¹⁶ The priest is to offer the memorial offering in smoke—its crushed bits, olive oil, and frankincense—as an offering by fire to the LORD.”

¹⁴ Grain Offerings“This is the law concerning grain offerings: Aaron’s sons are to offer them in the LORD’s presence, in front of the altar. ¹⁵ He is to take a handful of fine flour for a grain offering, some olive oil, and all of the frankincense for the grain offering, and make a sacrifice of smoke on the altar as a memorial portion, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. ¹⁶ Aaron and his sons are to eat what remains of the unleavened offering at this sacred place—the court of the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁷ It is not to be baked with leaven. I’ve given it as their portion out of my offerings made by fire. It’s a most holy thing, like the sin and guilt offerings. ¹⁸ Every male of Aaron’s sons is to eat it as a portion continually allotted for your generations from the offerings made by fire to the Lord. Anyone who touches them is to be holy.”

⁹ Every grain offering that’s baked in the oven and everything that’s prepared in a stew pan or in the frying pan belongs to the priest who offered it.

²² However, he may eat the food of his God, including the most holy and the holy offerings,

⁹ This is what is to belong to you from consecrated offerings spared from the fire: all of their offerings, grain offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings that they render to me. They’re to be considered most sacred to you and your sons. ¹⁰ You may eat them as consecrated gifts. Every male may eat them. They’re sacred for you.

²⁹ They are to eat the grain offerings, sin offering, and guilt offering. Everything consecrated in Israel is to belong to them.

³ The remnants from the grain offering is for Aaron and his sons—the holiest of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.”

¹⁶ Aaron and his sons are to eat what remains of the unleavened offering at this sacred place—the court of the Tent of Meeting.

¹⁰ You may eat them as consecrated gifts. Every male may eat them. They’re sacred for you.

²⁴ You are to put all of these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and present them as a wave offering in the LORD’s presence. ²⁵ Then you are to take them from their hands and send them up in smoke on the altar on top of the burnt offering for a soothing aroma in the LORD’s presence. It is an offering by fire to the LORD.
²⁶ “You are to take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination, and present it as a wave offering in the LORD’s presence, and it is to be your portion. ²⁷ You are to consecrate the portion of the ram of ordination that belongs to Aaron and his sons: the breast of the wave offering that was waved and the thigh of the presented offering that was presented. ²⁸ These offerings from the Israelis are to be a perpetual ordinance for Aaron and his sons. They are presented offerings, and they are to be presented offerings from the Israelis out of their peace offerings. They are presented offerings to the LORD.

²⁹ “Tell the Israelis that whoever brings a peace offering sacrifice to the LORD is to bring his offering to the LORD from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. ³⁰ He is to bring the offering made by fire with his own hands to the LORD. He is to bring the fat with the breast, since the breast is to be waved as a raised offering to the LORD. ³¹ The priest will burn the fat on the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons. ³² From the sacrifices of your peace offerings give the right thigh to the priest as a raised offering to the LORD. ³³ The descendant of Aaron’s sons who brings the blood and the fat from the peace offering is to keep the right thigh for his own portion, ³⁴ since I’ve taken the breast and the thigh as raised offerings from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the Israelis and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as their perpetual portion from the Israelis.”

²¹ Aaron waved the breast and the right thigh as a raised offering in the LORD’s presence, just as Moses had commanded.

¹¹ The raised offering and wave offerings presented by the Israelis are yours, too. I’ve given them to you, to your sons, and to your daughters as a prescribed apportionment forever. Everyone who is clean in your household may eat it.

³⁴ Jesus told them, “My food is doing the will of the one who sent me and completing his work.

¹⁵ because I’m going to give you and your descendants all of the land that you see—forever!

⁸ I’ll give to you and to your descendants the land to which you have traveled—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession. I will be their God.”

¹³ The servant born in your house or the one purchased with money is to be circumcised. My covenant is to remain in your flesh as an eternal covenant.

¹⁷ Abraham fell to the ground, laughed, and told himself, “Can a child be born to a 100-year-old man? Can a 90-year-old Sarah give birth?”

²⁹ “Tell the Israelis that whoever brings a peace offering sacrifice to the LORD is to bring his offering to the LORD from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. ³⁰ He is to bring the offering made by fire with his own hands to the LORD. He is to bring the fat with the breast, since the breast is to be waved as a raised offering to the LORD.

³⁴ since I’ve taken the breast and the thigh as raised offerings from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the Israelis and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as their perpetual portion from the Israelis.”

¹³ You know that those who work in the Temple get their food from the Temple and that those who serve at the altar get their share of its offerings, don’t you? ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord has ordered that those who proclaim the gospel should make their living from the gospel.

¹⁹ As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he became angry. He threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the base of the mountain. ²⁰ He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, and ground it into powder. He scattered it on the water and made the Israelis drink it. ²¹ Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you brought such great sin upon them?”
²² Aaron said, “Sir, don’t be angry. You know the people—that they’re intent on evil.

²⁶ The priest who offers it as a sin offering is to eat it at a sacred place in the court of the Tent of Meeting.

³⁰ Any sin offering from which its blood was brought to the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the sacred place is not to be eaten. Instead, it is to be incinerated.”

³ He also told the Israelis, “Bring a male goat for a sin offering, a calf, a year old lamb without defect for a whole burnt offering,

¹⁵ He brought the people’s offering, presenting a goat for a sin offering on behalf of the people. He slaughtered it and offered it as the first sin offering.

³ Now the man Moses was very humble—more than any person on earth.

²² But I say to you, anyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be subject to punishment. And whoever says to his brother ‘Raka!’ will be subject to the Council. And whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hell fire.

⁵ Jesus looked around at them in anger, deeply hurt because of their hard hearts. Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held it out, and his hand was restored to health.

¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he became furious and told them, “Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom of God belongs to people like these.

²⁶ “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set while you are still angry,

³⁸ and worn on Aaron’s forehead in order to take away any guilt contained in the holy things which the Israelis consecrate as holy gifts. It is to remain on his forehead continuously, so they may be accepted in the LORD’s presence.

⁴³ They shall be on Aaron and his sons when they enter the Tent of Meeting or when they approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place so they don’t incur guilt and die. This is to be a perpetual ordinance for him and for his descendants after him.”

²⁴ Sin OfferingsThen the LORD told Moses, ²⁵ “Tell Aaron and his sons that this is the regulation concerning sin offerings: Slaughter the sin offering in the same place where the whole burnt offering is slaughtered—in the LORD’s presence. It’s a most holy thing. ²⁶ The priest who offers it as a sin offering is to eat it at a sacred place in the court of the Tent of Meeting. ²⁷ Whoever touches its meat will be holy. If some of its blood sprinkles on a garment, wash where it was sprinkled in a sacred place. ²⁸ The earthen vessel in which it was boiled is to be broken, unless it was boiled in a bronze vessel, in which case it is to be polished very well and rinsed in water. ²⁹ Every male among the priests is to eat it. It’s a most sacred thing. ³⁰ Any sin offering from which its blood was brought to the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the sacred place is not to be eaten. Instead, it is to be incinerated.”

⁶ Any male among the priests may eat it, provided that it is eaten at a sacred place as a most holy thing. ⁷ The law for the sin offering is the same as the guilt offering. It belongs to the priest who made atonement with it.

²² The male goat will bear on itself all their sins to a solitary land as Aaron sends the goat out to the wilderness.

¹⁶ thereby causing them to bear the punishment of their iniquity for wrongdoing when they eat their sacred things, because I am the LORD, who sets them apart.”

¹ Responsibilities for Priests and Descendants of LeviLater, the LORD told Aaron, “You, your sons, and your father’s tribe with you are to bear the iniquity of the sanctuary. Also, you and your sons with you are to bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned, each of us, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he didn’t open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. ⁸ “From detention and judgment he was taken away— and who can even think about his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living, he was stricken for the transgression of my people. ⁹ Then they made his grave with the wicked, and with rich people in his death, although he had committed no violence, nor was there any deceit in his mouth.”
¹⁰ The Exaltation of the Servant“Yet the LORD was willing to crush him, and he made him suffer. Although you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring, and he will prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will triumph in his hand. ¹¹ Out of the suffering of his soul he will see light and find satisfaction. And through his knowledge his servant, the righteous one, will make many righteous, and he will bear their iniquities.

⁴ “Now as for you, you are to sleep on your left side, symbolically bearing the punishment of the house of Israel while you’re counting the days you’ll be sleeping on your left side to bear symbolically the punishment for their sin. ⁵ I’ve assigned you to sleep this way for 390 days, representing the years they’ve been sinning, as you bear symbolically the punishment of the house of Israel. ⁶ When you have completed this, you are to sleep on your right side, symbolically bearing the iniquity of Judah for 40 days. Each day that I’ve assigned to you represents one year.

¹⁹ The Person who Sins will Die“Yet you keep asking, ‘Why wouldn’t the son bear the punishment of his father’s sin?’ Because the son has done what was lawful and right, and has kept all my statutes and obeyed them, he’s certainly going to live. ²⁰ The soul who sins dies. The son won’t bear the punishment of his father’s sin and the father won’t bear the punishment of his son’s sin. The righteous deeds of that righteous person will be attributed to him, while the wicked deeds of the wicked person will be charged against him.

²⁹ The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

²¹ God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that God’s righteousness would be produced in us.

²⁸ so the Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And he will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly wait for him.

²⁴ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the tree, so that we might die to those sins and live righteously. “By his wounds you have been healed.”

⁸ So Aaron drew near to the altar and slaughtered the calf for a sin offering on behalf of himself.

¹² And so the burnt offering was slaughtered, and Aaron’s sons secured for him the blood, which he poured on the altar and around it.

⁷ Then you and your household will eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with all the works of your hand with which he blessed you.

¹⁴ I haven’t eaten any part of it while mourning, nor removed any part of it while unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I’ve obeyed the voice of the LORD my God and did all that he commanded me.

⁷ Elkanah would do this year after year, as often as Hannah went up to the house of the LORD. Likewise, Peninnah would provoke her, and Hannah would cry and would not eat. ⁸ Elkanah her husband told her, “Hannah, why are you crying and why don’t you eat? Why are you upset? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

¹¹ “How do your voluminous sacrifices benefit me?” the LORD is asking. “I’ve had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts. I don’t enjoy the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.

¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer, I’ll hide my eyes from you. Even though you pray repeatedly, I won’t listen. Your hands are full of blood, your fingers drenched with iniquity.”

²⁰ What good is frankincense that comes from Sheba to me, or sweet cane from a distant country? Your burnt offerings aren’t acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me.”

¹² Although they fast, I won’t listen to their cry, and although they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I won’t accept them. Instead, I’ll put an end to them with the sword, with famine, and with a plague.”

⁴ They won’t present wine offerings to the LORD, nor will they please him. Their sacrifices will seem like food for mourners— everyone who eats them will become unclean; none of them will enter the Temple of the LORD.

¹⁰ Useless Offerings and Useless Altar Fires“Oh, that one of you would shut the Temple doors and not light useless fires on the altar! I’m not pleased with you,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, “and I’ll accept no offerings from you.

¹³ “And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and sniff contemptuously at it,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, “when you present maimed, crippled, and diseased animals, and when you bring the offering. Should I accept this from your hand?” asks the LORD.

¹³ God’s Fourth Complaint: Against His Priests—Marital Abuses“This is another thing you do: you flood the altar of the LORD with tears, weeping and wailing because he no longer pays attention to your offering nor takes pleasure in it from your hand.

⁴ Keep on rejoicing in the Lord at all times. I will say it again: Keep on rejoicing!

²⁷ He has no need to offer sacrifices every day like high priests do, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he sacrificed himself.

⁸ The Holy Spirit was indicating by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first part of the tent was still standing.

¹⁸ Even though a large crowd of people from as far away as Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not completed consecrating themselves, they still ate the Passover in a manner not proscribed by the Law, because Hezekiah had prayed like this for them: “May the good LORD extend a pardon on behalf of ¹⁹ everyone who prepares his own heart to seek God, the LORD God of his ancestors, even though he does so inconsistent with the laws of consecration.” ²⁰ The LORD listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

⁸ The Consequence of Turning from GodThis message from the LORD came to Zechariah again: ⁹ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Administer true justice, and show gracious love and mercy toward each other.

³ But he told them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ How is it that he went into the house of God and ate the Bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for him and his companions to eat but was reserved for the priests? ⁵ Or haven’t you read in the Law that on every Sabbath the priests in the Temple violate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? ⁶ But I tell you, something greater than the Temple is here! ⁷ If you had known what ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice’ means, you would not have condemned the innocent,

²⁰ He will not snap off a broken reed or snuff out a smoldering wick until he has brought justice through to victory.