Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Leviticus 6:1–8:36

 Leviticus 6:1–8:36

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “If anyone sins and bcommits a breach of faith against the Lord by cdeceiving his neighbor in da matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or eif he has oppressed his neighbor or fhas found something lost and lied about it, gswearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby— if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore ewhat he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall hrestore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the Lord ia ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering. jAnd the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty.”

The Priests and the Offerings

2 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. 10 And kthe priest shall put on his linen garment and put his linen undergarment on his body, and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar and put them lbeside the altar. 11 Then mhe shall take off his garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes noutside the camp to a clean place. 12 The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it othe fat of the peace offerings. 13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.

14 “And this is the law of pthe grain offering. The sons of Aaron shall offer it before the Lord in front of the altar. 15 And one shall take from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering and its oil and all the frankincense that is on the grain offering and burn this as its qmemorial portion on the altar, a pleasing aroma to the Lord16 And rthe rest of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten unleavened sin a holy place. In the court of the tent of meeting they shall eat it. 17 tIt shall not be baked with leaven. uI have given it as their portion of my food offerings. vIt is a thing most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. 18 Every male among the children of Aaron may eat of it, as decreed forever throughout your generations, from the Lord’s food offerings. Whatever touches them shall become holy.”

19 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 20 w“This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall offer to the Lord on the day when he is anointed: a xtenth of an ephah3 of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. 21 It shall be made with oil yon a griddle. You shall bring it zwell mixed, in baked4 pieces like a grain offering, and offer it for a pleasing aroma to the Lord22 The priest from among Aaron’s sons, who is anointed to succeed him, shall offer it to the Lord as decreed forever. aThe whole of it shall be burned. 23 Every grain offering of a priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.”

24 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 25 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, bThis is the law of the sin offering. cIn the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the Lorddit is most holy. 26 eThe priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. fIn a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting. 27 Whatever touches its flesh shall be holy, and when any of its blood is splashed on a garment, you shall wash that on which it was splashed in a holy place. 28 And gthe earthenware vessel in which it is boiled hshall be broken. But if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, that shall be scoured and rinsed in water. 29 Every male among the priests may eat of it; dit is most holy. 30 iBut no sin offering shall be eaten from which any blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place; it shall be burned up with fire.

j“This is the law of the kguilt offering. lIt is most holy. mIn the place where they kill the burnt offering they shall kill the guilt offering, and its blood shall be thrown against the sides of the altar. And nall its fat shall be offered, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove owith the kidneys. The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering to the Lord; it is a guilt offering. pEvery male among the priests may eat of it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. qIt is most holy. The rguilt offering is just like the sin offering; there is one law for them. The priest who makes atonement with it shall have it. And the priest who offers any man’s burnt offering shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering that he has offered. And severy grain offering baked tin the oven and all that is prepared uon a pan or a griddle shall belong to the priest who offers it. 10 And every grain offering, mixed with oil or dry, shall be shared equally among all the sons of Aaron.

11 “And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings that one may offer to the Lord12 If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the thanksgiving sacrifice vunleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and loaves of fine flour wwell mixed with oil. 13 xWith the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving he shall bring his offering with loaves of leavened bread. 14 And from it he shall offer one loaf from each offering, as a ygift to the LordzIt shall belong to the priest who throws the blood of the peace offerings. 15 And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings afor thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering. He shall not leave any of it until the morning. 16 But bif the sacrifice of his offering is a vow offering or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day what remains of it shall be eaten. 17 But what remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned up with fire. 18 If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten on the third day, he who offers it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be credited to him. It is ctainted, and he who eats of it shall bear his iniquity.

19 “Flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned up with fire. All who are clean may eat flesh, 20 but the person who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of the Lord’s peace offerings dwhile an uncleanness is on him, that person shall be cut off from his people. 21 And if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether ehuman uncleanness or an funclean beast or any gunclean detestable creature, and then eats some flesh from the sacrifice of the Lord’s peace offerings, that person shall be cut off from his people.”

22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, hYou shall eat no fat, of ox or sheep or goat. 24 The fat of an animal ithat dies of itself and the fat of one that is torn by beasts may be put to any other use, but on no account shall you eat it. 25 For every person who eats of the fat of an animal of which a food offering may be made to the Lord shall be cut off from his people. 26 Moreover, jyou shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwelling places. 27 Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.”

28 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 29 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, kWhoever offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the Lord shall bring his offering to the Lord from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. 30 lHis own hands shall bring the Lord’s food offerings. He shall bring the fat with mthe breast, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before the Lord31 nThe priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but othe breast shall be for Aaron and his sons. 32 And othe right thigh you shall give to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifice of your peace offerings. 33 Whoever among the sons of Aaron offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat shall have the right thigh for a portion. 34 For the breast that is owaved and the thigh that is ocontributed I have taken from the people of Israel, out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and phave given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel. 35 This is the portion of Aaron and of his sons from the Lord’s food offerings, from the day they were presented to serve as priests of the Lord36 The Lord commanded this to be given them by the people of Israel, qfrom the day that he anointed them. It is a perpetual due throughout their generations.”

37 This is the law rof the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, sof the guilt offering, tof the ordination offering, and uof the peace offering, 38 which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day that he commanded the people of Israel vto bring their offerings to the Lord, in the wilderness of Sinai.

Consecration of Aaron and His Sons

wThe Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and xthe garments and ythe anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread. And assemble all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting.” And Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

September 1, 1939 by Wystan Hugh (W H) Auden

  Written by  Wystan Hugh (W H) Auden  |  September 1, 1939 I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-second Street Uncertain and afraid As the cle...