Through the Bible – Day 42

₁The LORD told Moses ₂to say to the community of Israel:

Death by stoning is the penalty for any citizens or foreigners in the country who sacrifice their children to the god Molech. ₃They have disgraced both the place where I am worshipped and my holy name, and so I will turn against them and no longer let them belong to my people. ₄Some of you may let them get away with human sacrifice, ₅but not me. If any of you worship Molech, I will turn against you and your entire family, and I will no longer let you belong to my people.

₆I will be your enemy if you go to someone who claims to speak with the dead, and I will destroy you from among my people. ₇Dedicate yourselves to me and be holy because I am the LORD your God. ₈I have chosen you as my people, and I expect you to obey my laws.

₉If you curse your father or mother, you will be put to death, and it will be your own fault.

₁₀If any of you men have sex with another man's wife, both you and the woman will be put to death.

₁₁Having sex with one of your father's wives disgraces him. So both you and the woman will be put to death, just as you deserve. ₁₂It isn't natural to have sex with your daughter-in-law, and both of you will be put to death, just as you deserve. ₁₃It's disgusting for men to have sex with one another, and those who do will be put to death, just as they deserve. ₁₄It isn't natural for a man to marry both a mother and her daughter, and so all three of them will be burnt to death. _15-16If any of you have sex with an animal, both you and the animal will be put to death, just as you deserve.

₁₇If you marry one of your sisters, you will be punished, and the two of you will be disgraced by being openly forced out of the community. ₁₈If you have sex with a woman during her monthly period, both you and the woman will be cut off from the people of Israel. ₁₉The sisters of your father and mother are your own relatives, and you will be punished for having sex with any of them. ₂₀If you have sex with your uncle's wife, neither you nor she will ever have any children. ₂₁And if you marry your sister-in-law, neither of you will ever have any children.

₂₂Obey my laws and teachings. Or else the land I am giving you will become sick of you and throw you out. ₂₃The nations I am chasing out did these disgusting things, and I hated them for it, so don't follow their example. ₂₄I am the LORD your God, and I have promised you their land that is rich with milk and honey. I have chosen you to be different from other people. ₂₅That's why you must make a difference between animals and birds that I have said are clean and unclean—this will keep you from becoming disgusting to me. ₂₆I am the LORD, the holy God. You have been chosen to be my people, and so you must be holy too.

₂₇If you claim to receive messages from the dead, you will be put to death by stoning, just as you deserve.

₁The LORD gave Moses these instructions for Aaron's sons, the priests:

Touching a dead body will make you unclean. So don't go near a dead relative, ₂except your mother, father, son, daughter, brother, ₃or an unmarried sister, who has no husband to take care of her. ₄Don't make yourself unclean by attending the funeral of someone related to you by marriage. ₅Don't shave any part of your head or trim your beard or cut yourself to show that you are mourning. ₆I am the LORD your God, and I have chosen you alone to offer sacrifices of food to me on the altar. That's why you must keep yourselves holy. ₇Don't marry a divorced woman or a woman who has served as a temple prostitute. You are holy, ₈because I am holy. And so, you must be treated with proper respect, since you offer food sacrifices to me, the God of holiness.

₉If any of you priests has a daughter who disgraces you by serving as a temple prostitute, she must be burnt to death.

₁₀If you are the high priest, you must not leave your hair uncombed or tear your clothes in order to mourn for the dead. ₁₁Don't make yourself unclean by going near a dead body, not even that of your own father or mother. ₁₂If you leave the sacred place to attend a funeral, both you and the sacred place become unclean, because you are the high priest.

₁₃If you are the high priest, you must marry only a virgin ₁₄from your own tribe. Don't marry a divorced woman or any other woman who has already had sex, including a temple prostitute. ₁₅In this way, your descendants will be qualified to serve me. Remember—I am the LORD, and I have chosen you.

₁₆The LORD told Moses _17-18to say to Aaron:

No descendant of yours can ever serve as my priest if he is blind or lame, if his face is disfigured, if one leg is shorter than the other, ₁₉if either a foot or a hand is crippled, ₂₀if he is a hunchback or a dwarf, if an eye or his skin is diseased, or if his testicles have been damaged. ₂₁These men may not serve as my priests and burn sacrifices to me. ₂₂They may eat the food offerings presented to me, ₂₃but they may not enter the sacred place or serve me at the altar. Remember—I am the LORD, the one who makes a priest holy.

₂₄Moses told all this to Aaron, his sons, and the people of Israel.

₁The LORD told Moses ₂to say to Aaron and his sons:

I am the LORD God, and I demand that you honour my holy name by showing proper respect for the offerings brought to me by the people of Israel. ₃If any of you are unclean when you accept an offering for me, I will no longer let you serve as a priest. ₄None of you may take part in the sacred meals while you have a skin disease or an infected penis, or after you have been near a dead body or have had a flow of semen, ₅or if you have touched an unclean creature of any sort, including an unclean person. _6-7Once you are unclean, you must take a bath, but you still cannot eat any of the sacred food until evening. ₈I command you not to eat anything that is killed by a wild animal or dies a natural death. This would make you unclean. ₉Obey me, or you will die on duty for disgracing the place of worship. Remember—I am the LORD, the one who makes a priest holy.

₁₀Only you priests and your families may eat the food offerings; these are too sacred for any of your servants. ₁₁However, any slave that you own, including those born into your household, may eat this food. ₁₂If your daughter marries someone who isn't a priest, she can no longer have any of this food. ₁₃But if she returns to your home, either widowed or divorced, and has no children, she may join in the meal. Only members of a priestly family can eat this food, ₁₄and anyone else who accidentally does so, must pay for the food plus a fine of twenty per cent.

₁₅I warn you not to treat lightly the offerings that are brought by the people of Israel. ₁₆Don't let them become guilty of eating this sacred food. Remember—I am the LORD, the one who makes these offerings holy.

₁₇The LORD told Moses ₁₈to tell Aaron and his sons and everyone else the rules for offering sacrifices. He said:

The animals that are to be completely burnt on the altar _19-20must have nothing wrong with them, or else I won't accept them. Bulls or rams or goats are the animals to be used for these sacrifices.

₂₁When you offer a sacrifice to ask my blessing, there must be nothing wrong with the animal. This is true, whether the sacrifice is part of a promise or something you do voluntarily. ₂₂Don't offer an animal that is blind or injured or that has an infection or a skin disease. ₂₃If one of your cattle or lambs has a leg that is longer or shorter than the others, you may offer it voluntarily, but not as part of a promise. ₂₄As long as you live in this land, don't offer an animal with injured testicles. ₂₅And don't bring me animals you bought from a foreigner. I won't accept them, because they are no better than one that has something wrong with it.

₂₆The LORD told Moses to say:

₂₇Newborn cattle, sheep, or goats must remain with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day, you may send them up in smoke to me, and I will accept the offering. ₂₈Don't sacrifice a newborn animal and its mother on the same day.

₂₉When you offer a sacrifice to give thanks to me, you must do it in a way that is acceptable. ₃₀Eat all the meat that same day and don't save any for the next day. I am the LORD your God!

₃₁Obey my laws and teachings—I am the LORD. _32-33I demand respect from the people of Israel, so don't disgrace my holy name. Remember—I am the one who chose you to be priests and rescued all of you from Egypt, so that I would be your LORD.