1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they ^zabstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they ^adedicate to me, so that they do not ^bprofane my holy name: I am the Lord. 3 Say to them, ‘If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while ^che has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the Lord. 4 None of the offspring of Aaron who has a leprous disease or a ^ddischarge may eat of the holy things ^euntil he is clean. ^fWhoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or ^ga man who has had an emission of semen, 5 and ^hwhoever touches a swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or ⁱa person from whom he may take uncleanness, whatever his uncleanness may be— 6 the person who touches such a thing shall be unclean until the evening and shall not eat of the holy things unless he has ^jbathed his body in water. 7 When the sun goes down he shall be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because ^kthey are his food. 8 ^lHe shall not eat what dies of itself or is torn by beasts, and so make himself unclean by it: I am the Lord.’ 9 They shall therefore keep my charge, ^mlest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: ⁿI am the Lord who sanctifies them.

10 ^o“A lay person shall not eat of a holy thing; no foreign guest of the priest or hired worker shall eat of a holy thing, 11 but if a priest buys a slave¹ as his property for money, the slave² may eat of it, and ^panyone born in his house may eat of his food. 12 If a priest’s daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat of the contribution of the holy things. 13 But if a priest’s daughter is widowed or divorced and has no child and ^qreturns to her father’s house, ^ras in her youth, she may eat of her father’s food; yet no lay person shall eat of it. 14 ^sAnd if anyone eats of a holy thing unintentionally, he shall add ^tthe fifth of its value to it and give the holy thing to the priest. 15 They ^ushall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, which they contribute to the Lord, 16 and so cause them ^mto bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: ⁿfor I am the Lord who sanctifies them.”

Acceptable Offerings

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them, ^vWhen any one of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering, for any of their vows or freewill offerings that they offer to the Lord, 19 if it is to be accepted for you it shall be a ^wmale without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats. 20 ^xYou shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you. 21 And when anyone ^yoffers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord ^zto fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it. 22 Animals ^ablind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or ^ban itch or scabs you shall not offer to the Lord or give them to the Lord as a food ^coffering on the altar. 23 You may present a bull or a lamb that has a part ^dtoo long or too short for a freewill offering, but for a vow offering it cannot be accepted. 24 Any animal that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut you shall not offer to the Lord; you shall not do it within your land, 25 neither shall you offer as ^ethe bread of your God any such animals gotten from a foreigner. Since there is a ^fblemish in them, because of their mutilation, they will not be accepted for you.”

26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 ^g“When an ox or sheep or goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as a food offering to the Lord. 28 But you shall not kill an ox or a sheep ^hand her young in one day. 29 And when you sacrifice a ⁱsacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30 It shall be eaten on the same day; ^jyou shall leave none of it until morning: I am the Lord.

31 ^k“So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. 32 ^lAnd you shall not profane my holy name, that ^mI may be sanctified among the people of Israel. ⁿI am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt ^oto be your God: I am the Lord.”

The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield

Of David.

Ascribe to the Lord Glory

A Psalm of David.

Fear God

1 ⁿGuard your steps when you go to ^othe house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to ^poffer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 ¹ Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore ^qlet your words be few. 3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with ^rmany words.

4 When ^syou vow a vow to God, ^tdo not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. ^uPay what you vow. 5 ^vIt is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Let not your mouth lead you² into sin, and do not say before ^wthe messenger³ that it was ^xa mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity;⁴ but^{5 y}God is the one you must fear.

The Vanity of Wealth and Honor

8 ^zIf you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, ^ado not be amazed at the matter, ^bfor the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. 9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.⁶

10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

13 ^cThere is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, 14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. 15 ^dAs he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. 16 This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what ^egain is there to him who ^ftoils for the wind? 17 Moreover, all his days he ^geats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

18 Behold, what I have seen to be ^hgood and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment⁷ in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his ⁱlot. 19 Everyone also to whom ^jGod has given ^kwealth and possessions ^land power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is ^mthe gift of God. 20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

Greeting

1 Paul, ^aan apostle of Christ Jesus ^bby the will of God according to ^cthe promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, ^dmy beloved child:

^eGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You

3 ^fI thank God ^gwhom I serve, as did my ancestors, ^hwith a clear conscience, as I remember you ⁱconstantly in my prayers night and day. 4 ^jAs I remember your tears, ^kI long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of ^lyour sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and ^myour mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you ⁿto fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us ^oa spirit not of fear but ^pof power and love and self-control.

8 Therefore ^qdo not be ashamed of ^rthe testimony about our Lord, nor of ^sme his prisoner, but ^tshare in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 ^uwho saved us and ^vcalled us to¹ a holy calling, ^wnot because of our works but because of ^vhis own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus ^xbefore the ages began,² 10 and which now has ^ybeen manifested through ^zthe appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, ^awho abolished death and ^bbrought life and ^cimmortality to light through the gospel, 11 ^dfor which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 ^ewhich is why I suffer as I do. But ^fI am not ashamed, for ^gI know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until ^hthat day ⁱwhat has been entrusted to me.³ 13 ^jFollow ^kthe pattern of ^lthe sound⁴ words ^mthat you have heard from me, in ⁿthe faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit ^owho dwells within us, guard ⁱthe good deposit entrusted to you.

15 You are aware that ^pall who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to ^qthe household of Onesiphorus, for he often ^rrefreshed me and was not ashamed of ^smy chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome ^the searched for me earnestly and found me— 18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on ^uthat day!—and you well know all the service he ^vrendered at Ephesus.