Bible in a Year · Day 38 of 365
Today’s reading: Leviticus 22–24 (3 chapters)
Read the passage below, or open your own Bible and follow along. The text here is the World English Bible, a public-domain translation, printed in full so the day’s reading is all on one page.
About Leviticus
Leviticus is the hardest book in this plan for most readers, and it rewards patience. It is a manual for worship and life at the tent of meeting: how offerings are brought, who may serve as priest, what makes a person clean or unclean, and how a holy God can live beside an unholy people. The middle of the book carries the Day of Atonement and the scapegoat. Chapter 19 turns the same holiness into ordinary commands about harvest leftovers, wages, and honest scales. The vocabulary is unfamiliar. The concern is not. How does a holy God stay with sinners without pretending that sin is small?
What to watch for. Watch how often blood is shed and how often the reason given is God's own holiness. Then slow down at chapter 19 and notice how far the command to love your neighbour reaches.
Leviticus 22
1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Tell Aaron and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, which they make holy to me, and that they not profane my holy name. I am Yahweh. 3“Tell them, ‘If anyone of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things, which the children of Israel make holy to Yahweh, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from before me. I am Yahweh. 4“‘Whoever of the offspring of Aaron is a leper or has an issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose offspring goes from him; 5or whoever touches any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatever uncleanness he has;
6the person that touches any such shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he bathe his body in water. 7When the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his bread. 8That which dies of itself, or is torn by animals, he shall not eat, defiling himself by it. I am Yahweh. 9“‘They shall therefore follow my requirements, lest they bear sin for it, and die therein, if they profane it. I am Yahweh who sanctifies them. 10“‘No stranger shall eat of the holy thing: a foreigner living with the priests, or a hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.
11But if a priest buys a slave, purchased by his money, he shall eat of it; and such as are born in his house, they shall eat of his bread. 12If a priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she shall not eat of the heave offering of the holy things. 13But if a 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 of her father’s bread: but no stranger shall eat any of it. 14“‘If a man eats something holy unwittingly, then he shall add the fifth part of its value to it, and shall give the holy thing to the priest. 15The priests shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer to Yahweh,
16and so cause them to bear the iniquity that brings guilt, when they eat their holy things; for I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.’” 17Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 18“Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘Whoever is of the house of Israel, or of the foreigners in Israel, who offers his offering, whether it is any of their vows, or any of their freewill offerings, which they offer to Yahweh for a burnt offering; 19that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without defect, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats. 20But whatever has a defect, that you shall not offer; for it shall not be acceptable for you.
21Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh to accomplish a vow, or for a freewill offering, of the herd or of the flock, it shall be perfect to be accepted. It shall have no defect. 22Blind, injured, maimed, having a wart, festering, or having a running sore: you shall not offer these to Yahweh, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to Yahweh. 23Either a bull or a lamb that has any deformity or lacking in his parts, that you may offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. 24You must not offer to Yahweh that which has its testicles bruised, crushed, broken, or cut. You must not do this in your land. 25You must not offer the bread of your God from the hand of a foreigner as any of these; because their corruption is in them. There is a defect in them. They shall not be accepted for you.’”
26Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 27“When a bull, or a sheep, or a goat, is born, then it shall remain seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for the offering of an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 28Whether it is a cow or ewe, you shall not kill it and its young both in one day. 29“When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Yahweh, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until the morning. I am Yahweh.
31“Therefore you shall keep my commandments, and do them. I am Yahweh. 32You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be made holy among the children of Israel. I am Yahweh who makes you holy, 33who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. I am Yahweh.”
Leviticus 23
1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The set feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts. 3“‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no kind of work. It is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings. 4“‘These are the set feasts of Yahweh, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season. 5In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is Yahweh’s Passover.
6On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to Yahweh. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7In the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work. 8But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation: you shall do no regular work.’” 9Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 10“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest:
11and he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12On the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb without defect a year old for a burnt offering to Yahweh. 13The meal offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire to Yahweh for a pleasant aroma; and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin. 14You must not eat bread, or roasted grain, or fresh grain, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 15“‘You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be completed:
16even to the next day after the seventh Sabbath you shall count fifty days; and you shall offer a new meal offering to Yahweh. 17You shall bring out of your habitations two loaves of bread for a wave offering made of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast, for first fruits to Yahweh. 18You shall present with the bread seven lambs without defect a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to Yahweh, with their meal offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of a sweet aroma to Yahweh. 19You shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before Yahweh, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest.
21You shall make proclamation on the same day: there shall be a holy convocation to you; you shall do no regular work. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. 22“‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you must not wholly reap into the corners of your field, and you must not gather the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor, and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.’” 23Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 24“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25You shall do no regular work; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.’”
26Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 27“However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 28You shall do no kind of work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before Yahweh your God. 29For whoever it is who shall not deny himself in that same day; shall be cut off from his people. 30Whoever it is who does any kind of work in that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
31You shall do no kind of work: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath.” 33Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 34“Speak to the children of Israel, and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tents for seven days to Yahweh. 35On the first day shall be a holy convocation: you shall do no regular work.
36Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. It is a solemn assembly; you shall do no regular work. 37“‘These are the appointed feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh, a burnt offering, and a meal offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, each on its own day; 38besides the Sabbaths of Yahweh, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to Yahweh. 39“‘So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you shall keep the feast of Yahweh seven days: on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. 40You shall take on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God seven days.
41You shall keep it a feast to Yahweh seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations. You shall keep it in the seventh month. 42You shall dwell in temporary shelters seven days. All who are native-born in Israel shall dwell in temporary shelters, 43that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in temporary shelters, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.’” 44Moses declared to the children of Israel the appointed feasts of Yahweh.
Leviticus 24
1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. 3Outside of the veil of the Testimony, in the Tent of Meeting, shall Aaron keep it in order from evening to morning before Yahweh continually: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 4He shall keep in order the lamps on the pure gold lamp stand before Yahweh continually. 5“You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenths of an ephah shall be in one cake.
6You shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure gold table before Yahweh. 7You shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be to the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 8Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before Yahweh continually. It is on the behalf of the children of Israel an everlasting covenant. 9It shall be for Aaron and his sons; and they shall eat it in a holy place: for it is most holy to him of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire by a perpetual statute.” 10The son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and the son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp.
11The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name, and cursed; and they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. 12They put him in custody, until Yahweh’s will should be declared to them. 13Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 14“Bring out of the camp him who cursed; and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.
16He who blasphemes Yahweh’s name, he shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him. The foreigner as well as the native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death. 17“‘He who strikes any man mortally shall surely be put to death. 18He who strikes an animal mortally shall make it good, life for life. 19If anyone injures his neighbor; as he has done, so shall it be done to him: 20fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has injured someone, so shall it be done to him.
21He who kills an animal shall make it good; and he who kills a man shall be put to death. 22You shall have one kind of law for the foreigner as well as the native-born; for I am Yahweh your God.’” 23Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they brought out him who had cursed out of the camp, and stoned him with stones. The children of Israel did as Yahweh commanded Moses.
Next · Day 39: Leviticus 25–27 →
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), a public-domain translation. Day numbering follows the calendar year; you can start at Day 1 on any date.
