Ezra 6 Cross References - MSB

¹ Thus King Darius ordered a search of the archives stored in the treasury of Babylon. ² And a scroll was found in the fortress of Ecbatana, in the province of Media, with the following written on it: Memorandum: ³ In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem: Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its foundations be firmly laid. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide, ⁴ with three layers of cut stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid from the royal treasury. ⁵ Furthermore, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, must also be returned to the temple in Jerusalem and deposited in the house of God. ⁶ Therefore Darius decreed: To Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates and officials in the region: You must stay away from that place! ⁷ Leave this work on the house of God alone. Let the governor and elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its original site. ⁸ I hereby decree what you must do for these elders of the Jews who are rebuilding this house of God: The cost is to be paid in full to these men from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces west of the Euphrates, so that the work will not be hindered. ⁹ Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, as well as wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given to them daily without fail. ¹⁰ Then they will be able to offer sacrifices of a sweet aroma to the God of heaven and to pray for the lives of the king and his sons. ¹¹ I also decree that if any man interferes with this directive, a beam is to be torn from his house and raised up, and he is to be impaled on it. And his own house shall be made a pile of rubble for this offense. ¹² May God, who has caused His Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to alter this decree or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued the decree. Let it be carried out with diligence. ¹³ In response, Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed. ¹⁴ So the Jewish elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. ¹⁵ And this temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. ¹⁶ Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. ¹⁷ For the dedication of the house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and a sin offering for all Israel of twelve male goats, one for each tribe of Israel. ¹⁸ They also appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their groups to the service of God in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses. ¹⁹ On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles kept the Passover. ²⁰ All the priests and Levites had purified themselves and were ceremonially clean. And the Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their priestly brothers, and for themselves. ²¹ The Israelites who had returned from exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to seek the LORD, the God of Israel. ²² For seven days they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy, because the LORD had made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to strengthen their hands in the work on the house of the God of Israel.

¹⁵ that a search should be made of the record books of your fathers. In these books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting sedition from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.

¹⁹ I issued a decree, and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has revolted against kings from ancient times, engaging in rebellion and sedition.

¹⁷ Now, therefore, if it pleases the king, let a search be made of the royal archives in Babylon to see if King Cyrus did indeed issue a decree to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.

¹⁶ I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger.

⁷ Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll:

² It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.

² “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you during the reign of Josiah until today. ³ Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the calamity I plan to bring upon them, each of them will turn from his wicked way. Then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.” ⁴ So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah.

²⁰ So the officials went to the king in the courtyard. And having stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, they reported everything to the king. ²¹ Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing beside him. ²² Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters with a fire burning before him. ²³ And as soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut them off with a scribe’s knife and throw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll had been consumed by the fire.

²⁹ You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah that this is what the LORD says: You have burned the scroll and said, ‘Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon would surely come and destroy this land and deprive it of man and beast?’

³² Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and at Jeremiah’s dictation he wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

⁹ Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and in it was a scroll,

¹ “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”

¹ Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One seated on the throne. It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals.

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.

⁵ Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go. ⁶ To that place you are to bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and heave offerings, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, as well as the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

¹¹ then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice offerings you vow to the LORD. ¹² And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you. ¹³ Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see; ¹⁴ you must offer them only in the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribal territories, and there you shall do all that I command you.

² The house that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. ³ The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple was twenty cubits long, extending across the width of the temple and projecting out ten cubits in front of the temple.

⁶ But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I, that I should build a house for Him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before Him?

³ The foundation that Solomon laid for the house of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide, according to the old standard. ⁴ The portico at the front, extending across the width of the temple, was twenty cubits long and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.

²² In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:

¹³ In his first year, however, Cyrus king of Babylon issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. ¹⁴ He also removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles belonging to the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken and carried there from the temple in Jerusalem. King Cyrus gave these articles to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he appointed governor ¹⁵ and instructed, ‘Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.’

⁴ where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as a testimony for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD.

¹³ Then he measured the temple to be a hundred cubits long, and the temple courtyard and the building with its walls were also a hundred cubits long. ¹⁴ The width of the temple courtyard on the east, including the front of the temple, was a hundred cubits. ¹⁵ Next he measured the length of the building facing the temple courtyard at the rear of the temple, including its galleries on each side; it was a hundred cubits. The outer sanctuary, the inner sanctuary, and the porticoes facing the court,

¹⁶ The city lies foursquare, with its width the same as its length. And he measured the city with the rod, and all its dimensions were equal—12,000 stadia in length and width and height.

³⁶ Solomon built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and one row of trimmed cedar beams.

²⁰ And if anything else is needed for the house of your God that you may have occasion to supply, you may pay for it from the royal treasury. ²¹ I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it must be provided promptly, ²² up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred cors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, a hundred baths of olive oil, and salt without limit. ²³ Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for His house. For why should wrath fall on the realm of the king and his sons?

²⁹ Because of Your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring You gifts.

¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

²³ Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”

⁶ Caravans of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah, and all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and frankincense and proclaiming the praises of the LORD. ⁷ All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth will serve you and go up on My altar with acceptance; I will adorn My glorious house. ⁸ Who are these who fly like clouds, like doves to their shelters? ⁹ Surely the islands will wait for Me, with the ships of Tarshish in the lead, to bring your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you. ¹⁰ Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Although I struck you in anger, yet in favor I will show you mercy.

¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth to swallow up the river that had poured from the dragon’s mouth.

¹³ As the LORD had declared, Nebuchadnezzar also carried off all the treasures from the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD.

¹⁴ They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes, and all the articles of bronze used in the temple service. ¹⁵ The captain of the guard also took away the censers and sprinkling bowls—anything made of pure gold or fine silver.

⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jehoiakim and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. ⁷ Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon some of the articles from the house of the LORD, and he put them in his temple in Babylon.

¹⁰ In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar summoned Jehoiachin and brought him to Babylon, along with the articles of value from the house of the LORD. And he made Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁸ who carried off everything to Babylon—all the articles of the house of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king and his officials.

⁷ King Cyrus also brought out the articles belonging to the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the temple of his gods. ⁸ Cyrus king of Persia had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.

¹⁴ He also removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles belonging to the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken and carried there from the temple in Jerusalem. King Cyrus gave these articles to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he appointed governor

¹⁶ Then I said to the priests and to all this people, “This is what the LORD says: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Look, very soon now the articles from the house of the LORD will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying to you a lie.

¹⁸ If they are indeed prophets and the word of the LORD is with them, let them now plead with the LORD of Hosts that the articles remaining in the house of the LORD, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, not be taken to Babylon. ¹⁹ For this is what the LORD of Hosts says about the pillars, the sea, the bases, and the rest of the articles that remain in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. ²¹ Yes, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about the articles that remain in the house of the LORD, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: ²² ‘They will be carried to Babylon and will remain there until the day I attend to them again,’ declares the LORD. ‘Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’”

¹⁹ The captain of the guard also took away the basins, censers, sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands, pans, and drink offering bowls—anything made of pure gold or fine silver.

² And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.

² Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”

¹⁴ May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

³ At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”

⁶ This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.

¹¹ O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” (At that time I was the cupbearer to the king.)

¹⁰ Even the wrath of man shall praise You; with the survivors of wrath You will clothe Yourself.

¹ The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.

³⁰ There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.

⁸ By warfare and exile You contended with her and removed her with a fierce wind, as on the day the east wind blows.

²⁶ The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One.’ ²⁷ In fact, Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed. ²⁸ They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen.

³¹ What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

³⁸ So in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail. ³⁹ But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”

¹⁶ We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, you will have no dominion west of the Euphrates.

²⁰ And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them. ²¹ Now, therefore, issue an order for these men to stop, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order.

²³ When the text of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.

⁵ But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so that they were not stopped until a report was sent to Darius and written instructions about this matter were returned.

⁴ with three layers of cut stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid from the royal treasury.

¹⁵ Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶ together with all the silver and gold you may find in all the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests to the house of their God in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ With this money, therefore, you are to buy as many bulls, rams, and lambs as needed, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ You and your brothers may do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God. ¹⁹ You must deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles given to you for the service of the house of your God. ²⁰ And if anything else is needed for the house of your God that you may have occasion to supply, you may pay for it from the royal treasury. ²¹ I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it must be provided promptly, ²² up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred cors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, a hundred baths of olive oil, and salt without limit.

²⁹ Because of Your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring You gifts. ³⁰ Rebuke the beast in the reeds, the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations, until it submits, bringing bars of silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war. ³¹ Envoys will arrive from Egypt; Cush will stretch out her hands to God.

⁸ The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, declares the LORD of Hosts.

³⁸ This is what you are to offer regularly on the altar, each day: two lambs that are a year old. ³⁹ Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight. ⁴⁰ With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives, and a drink offering of a quarter hin of wine. ⁴¹ And offer the second lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and drink offering as in the morning, as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. ⁴² For the generations to come, this burnt offering shall be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you.

³ If one’s offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the LORD. ⁴ He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. ⁵ And he shall slaughter the young bull before the LORD, and Aaron’s sons the priests are to present the blood and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

¹⁰ If, however, one’s offering is a burnt offering from the flock—from the sheep or goats—he is to present an unblemished male.

¹ “When anyone brings a grain offering to the LORD, his offering must consist of fine flour. He is to pour olive oil on it, put frankincense on it, ² and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the frankincense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. ³ The remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD. ⁴ Now if you bring an offering of grain baked in an oven, it must consist of fine flour, either unleavened cakes mixed with oil or unleavened wafers coated with oil. ⁵ If your offering is a grain offering prepared on a griddle, it must be unleavened bread made of fine flour mixed with oil. ⁶ Crumble it and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. ⁷ If your offering is a grain offering cooked in a pan, it must consist of fine flour with oil. ⁸ When you bring to the LORD the grain offering made in any of these ways, it is to be presented to the priest, and he shall take it to the altar. ⁹ The priest is to remove the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. ¹⁰ But the remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD. ¹¹ No grain offering that you present to the LORD may be made with leaven, for you are not to burn any leaven or honey as an offering made by fire to the LORD. ¹² You may bring them to the LORD as an offering of firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma. ¹³ And you shall season each of your grain offerings with salt. You must not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offering; you are to add salt to each of your offerings. ¹⁴ If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the LORD, you shall offer crushed heads of new grain roasted on the fire. ¹⁵ And you are to put oil and frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. ¹⁶ The priest shall then burn the memorial portion of the crushed grain and the oil, together with all its frankincense, as an offering made by fire to the LORD.

² He said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and present them before the LORD.

⁴ then the one presenting his offering to the LORD shall also present a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter hin of olive oil. ⁵ With the burnt offering or sacrifice of each lamb, you are to prepare a quarter hin of wine as a drink offering. ⁶ With a ram you are to prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of olive oil, ⁷ and a third of a hin of wine as a drink offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. ⁸ When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice to fulfill a vow or as a peace offering to the LORD, ⁹ present with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of olive oil. ¹⁰ Also present half a hin of wine as a drink offering. It is an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. ¹¹ This is to be done for each bull, ram, lamb, or goat. ¹² This is how you must prepare each one, no matter how many. ¹³ Everyone who is native-born shall prepare these things in this way when he presents an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. ¹⁴ And for the generations to come, if a foreigner residing with you or someone else among you wants to prepare an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the LORD, he is to do exactly as you do. ¹⁵ The assembly is to have the same statute both for you and for the foreign resident; it is a permanent statute for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the LORD. ¹⁶ The same law and the same ordinance will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing with you.” ¹⁷ Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land to which I am bringing you ¹⁹ and you eat the food of the land, you shall lift up an offering to the LORD. ²⁰ From the first of your dough, you are to lift up a cake as a contribution; offer it just like an offering from the threshing floor. ²¹ Throughout your generations, you are to give the LORD an offering from the first of your dough. ²² Now if you stray unintentionally and do not obey all these commandments that the LORD has spoken to Moses— ²³ all that the LORD has commanded you through Moses from the day the LORD gave them and continuing through the generations to come— ²⁴ and if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, then the whole congregation is to prepare one young bull as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and drink offering according to the regulation, and one male goat as a sin offering. ²⁵ The priest is to make atonement for the whole congregation of Israel, so that they may be forgiven; for the sin was unintentional and they have brought to the LORD an offering made by fire and a sin offering, presented before the LORD for their unintentional sin. ²⁶ Then the whole congregation of Israel and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, since it happened to all the people unintentionally. ²⁷ Also, if one person sins unintentionally, he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering. ²⁸ And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the person who erred by sinning unintentionally; and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven. ²⁹ You shall have the same law for the one who acts in error, whether he is a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you. ³⁰ But the person who sins defiantly, whether a native or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD. That person shall be cut off from among his people. ³¹ He shall certainly be cut off, because he has despised the word of the LORD and broken His commandment; his guilt remains on him.”

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, ² “Command the Israelites and say to them: See that you present to Me at its appointed time the food for My offerings by fire, as a pleasing aroma to Me. ³ And tell them that this is the offering made by fire you are to present to the LORD as a regular burnt offering each day: two unblemished year-old male lambs. ⁴ Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight, ⁵ along with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives. ⁶ This is a regular burnt offering established at Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. ⁷ The drink offering accompanying each lamb shall be a quarter hin. Pour out the offering of fermented drink to the LORD in the sanctuary area. ⁸ And offer the second lamb at twilight, with the same grain offering and drink offering as in the morning. It is an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. ⁹ On the Sabbath day, present two unblemished year-old male lambs, accompanied by a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, as well as a drink offering. ¹⁰ This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering. ¹¹ At the beginning of every month, you are to present to the LORD a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished, ¹² along with three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with the ram, ¹³ and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each lamb. This is a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. ¹⁴ Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine with each bull, a third of a hin with the ram, and a quarter hin with each lamb. This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon throughout the year. ¹⁵ In addition to the regular burnt offering with its drink offering, one male goat is to be presented to the LORD as a sin offering. ¹⁶ The fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s Passover. ¹⁷ On the fifteenth day of this month, there shall be a feast; for seven days unleavened bread is to be eaten. ¹⁸ On the first day there is to be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work. ¹⁹ Present to the LORD an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished. ²⁰ The grain offering shall consist of fine flour mixed with oil; offer three-tenths of an ephah with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah with the ram, ²¹ and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven lambs. ²² Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you. ²³ You are to present these in addition to the regular morning burnt offering. ²⁴ Offer the same food each day for seven days as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. It is to be offered with its drink offering and the regular burnt offering. ²⁵ On the seventh day you shall hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work. ²⁶ On the day of firstfruits, when you present an offering of new grain to the LORD during the Feast of Weeks, you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work. ²⁷ Present a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old as a pleasing aroma to the LORD, ²⁸ together with their grain offerings of fine flour mixed with oil—three-tenths of an ephah with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah with the ram, ²⁹ and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven lambs.

²⁹ Others were put in charge of the furnishings and other articles of the sanctuary, as well as the fine flour, wine, oil, frankincense, and spices.

⁹ I have no need for a bull from your stall or goats from your pens, ¹⁰ for every beast of the forest is Mine—the cattle on a thousand hills. ¹¹ I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are Mine. ¹² If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof. ¹³ Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

⁴⁹ For everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt.

²¹ When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.

⁹ The entrails and legs must be washed with water, and the priest shall burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

¹³ The entrails and legs must be washed with water, and the priest shall bring all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

²³ Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for His house. For why should wrath fall on the realm of the king and his sons?

⁷ Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

² and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.

¹ First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone— ² for kings and all those in authority—so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.

³⁷ And Jezebel’s body will lie like dung in the field on the plot of ground at Jezreel, so that no one can say: This is Jezebel.’”

²⁷ They also demolished the sacred pillar of Baal. Then they tore down the temple of Baal and made it into a latrine, which it is to this day.

²⁶ If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a strict judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.

⁴ “If it pleases the king,” Esther replied, “may the king and Haman come today to the banquet I have prepared for the king.”

¹⁰ So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.

⁵ The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble.

²⁹ Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be cut into pieces and their houses reduced to rubble. For there is no other god who can deliver in this way.”

²⁴ You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.

⁵ Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.

¹¹ then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice offerings you vow to the LORD.

² You are to offer to the LORD your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name.

³ And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple you have built by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.

¹⁶ For I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.

¹³ In response, Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.

¹⁴ A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that they would be ready on that day. ¹⁵ The couriers left, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was in confusion.

¹⁴ The couriers rode out in haste on their royal horses, pressed on by the command of the king. And the edict was also issued in the citadel of Susa.

¹⁰ Declare them guilty, O God; let them fall by their own devices. Drive them out for their many transgressions, for they have rebelled against You.

⁸ Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You. ⁹ You will place them in a fiery furnace at the time of Your appearing. In His wrath the LORD will engulf them, and the fire will consume them. ¹⁰ You will wipe their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from the sons of men.

¹³ For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home: ¹⁴ “This is My resting place forever and ever; here I will dwell, for I have desired this home.

⁸ O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us. ⁹ Blessed is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

¹⁰ Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

¹² For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly destroyed.

¹⁰ Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever.

² “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. Judah will be besieged, as well as Jerusalem. ³ On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured. ⁴ On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and every rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah, but I will strike with blindness all the horses of the nations.

⁵ “Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” replied the Lord.

¹⁴ The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses. ¹⁵ And from His mouth proceeds a sharp double-edged sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ¹⁶ And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. ¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ so that you may eat the flesh of kings and commanders and mighty men, of horses and riders, of everyone slave and free, small and great.” ¹⁹ Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies assembled to wage war against the One seated on the horse, and against His army. ²⁰ But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. ²¹ And the rest were killed with the sword that proceeded from the mouth of the One seated on the horse. And all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

⁹ From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates—the judges and officials over Tripolis, Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,

⁶ Therefore Darius decreed: To Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates and officials in the region: You must stay away from that place!

¹¹ So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai, and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, “This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor!”

¹² He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success. ¹³ He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.

²⁶ Many seek the ruler’s favor, but a man receives justice from the LORD.

¹ In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows: ² “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. ³ Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. ⁴ And let every survivor, wherever he lives, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”

⁸ In the second month of the second year after they had arrived at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their associates including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began the work. They appointed Levites twenty years of age or older to supervise the construction of the house of the LORD.

³ But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of the families of Israel replied, “You have no part with us in building a house for our God, since we alone must build it for the LORD, the God of Israel, as Cyrus king of Persia has commanded us.”

²⁴ Thus the construction of the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

¹³ In his first year, however, Cyrus king of Babylon issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.

¹² May God, who has caused His Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to alter this decree or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued the decree. Let it be carried out with diligence. ¹³ In response, Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.

¹ Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

²⁸ who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”

⁸ Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified, says the LORD.

¹² Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. So the people feared the LORD. ¹³ Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, delivered the message of the LORD to the people: “I am with you,” declares the LORD. ¹⁴ So the LORD stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and began the work on the house of the LORD of Hosts, their God,

² “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and also to the remnant of the people. Ask them, ³ ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not appear to you like nothing in comparison?’ ⁴ But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work! For I am with you, declares the LORD of Hosts. ⁵ This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt. And My Spirit remains among you; do not be afraid.” ⁶ For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. ⁷ I will shake all the nations, and they will come with all their treasures, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of Hosts. ⁸ The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, declares the LORD of Hosts. ⁹ The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former, says the LORD of Hosts. And in this place I will provide peace, declares the LORD of Hosts.” ¹⁰ On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying, ¹¹ “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Ask the priests for a ruling. ¹² If a man carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and it touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other food, does that item become holy?’” “No,” replied the priests. ¹³ So Haggai asked, “If one who is defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled?” “Yes, it becomes defiled,” the priests answered. ¹⁴ Then Haggai replied, “So it is with this people and this nation before Me, declares the LORD, and so it is with every work of their hands; whatever they offer there is defiled. ¹⁵ Now consider carefully from this day forward: Before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD,

¹ Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. ² “Where are you going?” I asked. “To measure Jerusalem,” he replied, “and to determine its width and length.” ³ Then the angel who was speaking with me went out, and another angel came out to meet him ⁴ and said to him, “Run and tell that young man: ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock within it.

⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you.

¹ And again I lifted up my eyes and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. ² The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, ³ the third white horses, and the fourth dappled horses—all of them strong. ⁴ So I inquired of the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ And the angel told me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth from their station before the Lord of all the earth. ⁶ The one with the black horses is going toward the land of the north, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.” ⁷ As the strong horses went out, they were eager to go and patrol the earth; and the LORD said, “Go and patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. ⁸ Then the LORD summoned me and said, “Behold, those going to the land of the north have given rest to My Spirit in the land of the north.” ⁹ The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, ¹⁰ “Take an offering from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon—and go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. ¹¹ Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak. ¹² And you are to tell him that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Here is a man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build the temple of the LORD. ¹³ Yes, He will build the temple of the LORD; He will be clothed in splendor and will sit on His throne and rule. And He will be a priest on His throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two.’ ¹⁴ The crown will reside in the temple of the LORD as a memorial to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and the gracious son of Zephaniah. ¹⁵ Even those far away will come and build the temple of the LORD, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.”

⁷ In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman to determine a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.

¹³ And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.

¹² The single day appointed throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.

¹ On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them.

¹⁵ On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa came together again and put to death three hundred men there, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

¹⁷ This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, making it a day of feasting and joy.

¹⁹ This is why the rural Jews, who live in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday for sending gifts to one another.

²¹ to establish among them an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar

⁷ There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.

⁶³ And Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the house of the LORD.

² Now the first to resettle their own property in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.

²⁸ So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, and with cymbals and the music of harps and lyres.

⁵ And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

⁹ On the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for the dedication of the altar had lasted seven days, and the feast seven days more. ¹⁰ On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the good things that the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel.

²³ The whole assembly agreed to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy.

²⁶ So there was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this had happened there since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel.

¹¹ And they sang responsively with praise and thanksgiving to the LORD: “For He is good; for His loving devotion to Israel endures forever.” Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD had been laid. ¹² But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads who had seen the first temple wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple. Still, many others shouted joyfully.

¹ When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel,

²² For seven days they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy, because the LORD had made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to strengthen their hands in the work on the house of the God of Israel.

⁷³ So the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with some of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns. And by the seventh month the Israelites had settled in their towns.

¹⁰ Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

⁴³ On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.

¹ A song of ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

²² At that time the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter,

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

³ If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.

¹³ Now if the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly so that they violate any of the LORD’s commandments and incur guilt by doing what is forbidden, ¹⁴ when they become aware of the sin they have committed, then the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting.

²² When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is prohibited by any of the commandments of the LORD his God, he incurs guilt. ²³ When he becomes aware of the sin he has committed, he must bring an unblemished male goat as his offering.

²⁸ When he becomes aware of the sin he has committed, he must bring an unblemished female goat as his offering for that sin.

² And the leaders of Israel, the heads of their families, presented an offering. These men were the tribal leaders who had supervised the registration. ³ They brought as their offering before the LORD six covered carts and twelve oxen—an ox from each leader and a cart from every two leaders—and presented them before the tabernacle. ⁴ And the LORD said to Moses, ⁵ “Accept these gifts from them, that they may be used in the work of the Tent of Meeting. And give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” ⁶ So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ He gave the Gershonites two carts and four oxen, as their service required, ⁸ and he gave the Merarites four carts and eight oxen, as their service required, all under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. ⁹ But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since they were to carry on their shoulders the holy objects for which they were responsible. ¹⁰ When the altar was anointed, the leaders approached with their offerings for its dedication and presented them before the altar. ¹¹ And the LORD said to Moses, “Each day one leader is to present his offering for the dedication of the altar.” ¹² On the first day Nahshon son of Amminadab from the tribe of Judah drew near with his offering. ¹³ His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ¹⁴ one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ¹⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ¹⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ¹⁷ and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab. ¹⁸ On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar, the leader of Issachar, drew near. ¹⁹ The offering he presented was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁰ one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ²¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ²² one male goat for a sin offering; ²³ and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nethanel son of Zuar. ²⁴ On the third day Eliab son of Helon, the leader of the Zebulunites, drew near. ²⁵ His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁶ one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ²⁷ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ²⁸ one male goat for a sin offering; ²⁹ and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliab son of Helon. ³⁰ On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur, the leader of the Reubenites, drew near. ³¹ His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³² one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ³³ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ³⁴ one male goat for a sin offering; ³⁵ and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elizur son of Shedeur. ³⁶ On the fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, the leader of the Simeonites, drew near. ³⁷ His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³⁸ one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ³⁹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴¹ and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. ⁴² On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel, the leader of the Gadites, drew near. ⁴³ His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁴⁴ one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ⁴⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliasaph son of Deuel. ⁴⁸ On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud, the leader of the Ephraimites, drew near. ⁴⁹ His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁰ one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ⁵¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁵² one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵³ and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud. ⁵⁴ On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, the leader of the Manassites, drew near. ⁵⁵ His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁶ one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ⁵⁷ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. ⁶⁰ On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni, the leader of the Benjamites, drew near. ⁶¹ His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶² one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ⁶³ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁶⁵ and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Abidan son of Gideoni. ⁶⁶ On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, the leader of the Danites, drew near. ⁶⁷ His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶⁸ one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ⁶⁹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷¹ and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. ⁷² On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ocran, the leader of the Asherites, drew near. ⁷³ His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁷⁴ one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ⁷⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Pagiel son of Ocran. ⁷⁸ On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan, the leader of the Naphtalites, drew near. ⁷⁹ His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁸⁰ one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ⁸¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁸² one male goat for a sin offering; ⁸³ and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahira son of Enan. ⁸⁴ So these were the offerings from the leaders of Israel for the dedication of the altar when it was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold dishes. ⁸⁵ Each silver platter weighed a hundred and thirty shekels, and each silver bowl seventy shekels. The total weight of the silver articles was two thousand four hundred shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. ⁸⁶ The twelve gold dishes filled with incense weighed ten shekels each, according to the sanctuary shekel. The total weight of the gold dishes was a hundred and twenty shekels. ⁸⁷ All the livestock for the burnt offering totaled twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve male lambs a year old—together with their grain offerings—and twelve male goats for the sin offering. ⁸⁸ All the livestock sacrificed for the peace offering totaled twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty male goats, and sixty male lambs a year old. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed. ⁸⁹ When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony. Thus the LORD spoke to him.

⁶³ And Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the house of the LORD. ⁶⁴ On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of the LORD, and there he offered the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, since the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to contain all these offerings.

³¹ And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.”

¹ So they brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. ² When David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD. ³ Then he distributed to every man and woman of Israel a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake.

²¹ They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And the king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD. ²² So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. They slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. ²³ Then they brought the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, who laid their hands on them.

³¹ Then Hezekiah said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings. ³² The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD. ³³ And the consecrated offerings were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. ³⁴ However, since there were not enough priests to skin all the burnt offerings, their Levite brothers helped them until the work was finished and until the priests had been consecrated. For the Levites had been more diligent in consecrating themselves than the priests had been. ³⁵ Furthermore, the burnt offerings were abundant, along with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of the LORD was established.

³⁵ Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and a sin offering of 12 male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.

³⁰ so that you may eat and drink at My table and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

⁴ And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel: ⁵ From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, ⁶ from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, ⁷ from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, ⁸ from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, and from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

¹² The city had a great and high wall with twelve gates inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and twelve angels at the gates.

⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him.

⁹ Bring the Levites before the Tent of Meeting and assemble the whole congregation of Israel. ¹⁰ You are to present the Levites before the LORD and have the Israelites lay their hands upon them. ¹¹ Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may perform the service of the LORD. ¹² And the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and offer to the LORD one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³ You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them before the LORD as a wave offering. ¹⁴ In this way you shall separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will belong to Me. ¹⁵ After you have cleansed them and presented them as a wave offering, they may come to serve at the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁶ For the Levites have been wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. ¹⁷ For every firstborn male in Israel is Mine, both man and beast. I set them apart for Myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. ¹⁸ But I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel. ¹⁹ And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service for the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.” ²⁰ So Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel did with the Levites everything that the LORD had commanded Moses they should do. ²¹ The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² After that, the Levites came to perform their service at the Tent of Meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. Thus they did with the Levites just as the LORD had commanded Moses. ²³ And the LORD said to Moses, ²⁴ “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years of age or older shall enter to perform the service in the work at the Tent of Meeting. ²⁵ But at the age of fifty, they must retire from performing the work and no longer serve. ²⁶ After that, they may assist their brothers in fulfilling their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves are not to do the work. This is how you are to assign responsibilities to the Levites.”

¹ When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel. ² Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. ³ The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted, and the total number of men was 38,000. ⁴ “Of these,” said David, “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the LORD, 6,000 are to be officers and judges, ⁵ 4,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I have made for giving praise.” ⁶ Then David divided the Levites into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. ⁷ The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei. ⁸ The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham, and Joel—three in all. ⁹ The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan. ¹⁰ And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei—four in all. ¹¹ Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as one family and received a single assignment. ¹² The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all. ¹³ The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister before Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name forever. ¹⁴ As for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first. ¹⁷ The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer did not have any other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous. ¹⁸ The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first. ¹⁹ The sons of Hebron: Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰ The sons of Uzziel: Micah was the first and Isshiah the second. ²¹ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. ²² Eleazar died without having any sons; he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them. ²³ The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all. ²⁴ These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families, registered individually by name—those twenty years of age or older who worked in the service of the house of the LORD. ²⁵ For David had said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶ So now the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles for its service.”

¹ These were the divisions of the descendants of Aaron. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

⁴ Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions, according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and Solomon his son. ⁵ Moreover, stand in the Holy Place by the divisions of the families of your kinsmen the lay people, and by the divisions of the families of the Levites.

⁶ You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight. ⁷ They are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ⁹ Do not eat any of the meat raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over the fire—its head and legs and inner parts. ¹⁰ Do not leave any of it until morning; before the morning you must burn up any part that is left over. ¹¹ This is how you are to eat it: You must be fully dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. You are to eat in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover. ¹² On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. ¹³ The blood on the houses where you are staying will distinguish them; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. ¹⁴ And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, as a permanent statute for the generations to come. ¹⁵ For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶ On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly, and another on the seventh day. You must not do any work on those days, except to prepare the meals—that is all you may do. ¹⁷ So you are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must keep this day as a permanent statute for the generations to come. ¹⁸ In the first month you are to eat unleavened bread, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. ¹⁹ For seven days there must be no leaven found in your houses. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a foreigner or native of the land, must be cut off from the congregation of Israel. ²⁰ You are not to eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.” ²¹ Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and told them, “Go at once and select for yourselves a lamb for each family, and slaughter the Passover lamb. ²² Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin, and brush the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. ²³ When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. ²⁴ And you are to keep this command as a permanent statute for you and your descendants. ²⁵ When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as He promised, you are to keep this service. ²⁶ When your children ask you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’ ²⁷ you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck down the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. ²⁸ And the Israelites went and did just what the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. ²⁹ Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock. ³⁰ During the night Pharaoh got up—he and all his officials and all the Egyptians—and there was loud wailing in Egypt; for there was no house without someone dead. ³¹ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Get up, leave my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested. ³² Take your flocks and herds as well, just as you have said, and depart! And bless me also.” ³³ And in order to send them out of the land quickly, the Egyptians urged the people on. “For otherwise,” they said, “we are all going to die!” ³⁴ So the people took their dough before it was leavened, carrying it on their shoulders in kneading bowls wrapped in clothing. ³⁵ Furthermore, the Israelites acted on Moses’ word and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold, and for clothing. ³⁶ And the LORD gave the people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that they granted their request. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.

¹⁰ On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover.

¹ Then Hezekiah sent word throughout all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh inviting them to come to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem to keep the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel. ² For the king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem had decided to keep the Passover in the second month, ³ since they had been unable to observe it at the regular time, because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not been gathered in Jerusalem. ⁴ This proposal pleased the king and the whole assembly. ⁵ So they established a decree to circulate a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come to keep the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem. For they had not observed it as a nation as prescribed. ⁶ So the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, which read: “Children of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that He may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria. ⁷ Do not be like your fathers and brothers who were unfaithful to the LORD, the God of their fathers, so that He made them an object of horror, as you can see. ⁸ Now do not stiffen your necks as your fathers did. Submit to the LORD and come to His sanctuary, which He has consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God, so that His fierce anger will turn away from you. ⁹ For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.” ¹⁰ And the couriers traveled from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun; but the people scorned and mocked them. ¹¹ Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹² Moreover, the power of God was on the people in Judah to give them one heart to obey the command of the king and his officials according to the word of the LORD. ¹³ In the second month, a very great assembly gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. ¹⁴ They proceeded to remove the altars in Jerusalem and to take away the incense altars and throw them into the Kidron Valley. ¹⁵ And on the fourteenth day of the second month they slaughtered the Passover lamb. The priests and Levites were ashamed, and they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD. ¹⁶ They stood at their prescribed posts, according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood, which they received from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷ Since there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves, the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover lambs for every unclean person to consecrate the lambs to the LORD. ¹⁸ A large number of the people—many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun—had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah interceded for them, saying, “May the LORD, who is good, provide atonement for everyone ¹⁹ who sets his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his fathers—even if he is not cleansed according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.” ²⁰ And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people. ²¹ The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the LORD day after day, accompanied by loud instruments of praise to the LORD. ²² And Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the LORD. For seven days they ate their assigned portion, sacrificing fellowship offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers. ²³ The whole assembly agreed to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy. ²⁴ For Hezekiah king of Judah contributed a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the assembly, and the officials contributed a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep for the assembly, and a great number of priests consecrated themselves. ²⁵ Then the whole assembly of Judah rejoiced along with the priests and Levites and the whole assembly that had come from Israel, including the foreigners who had come from Israel and those who lived in Judah. ²⁶ So there was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this had happened there since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel. ²⁷ Then the priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard their voice, and their prayer came into His holy dwelling place in heaven.

²¹ Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and told them, “Go at once and select for yourselves a lamb for each family, and slaughter the Passover lamb.

³⁴ However, since there were not enough priests to skin all the burnt offerings, their Levite brothers helped them until the work was finished and until the priests had been consecrated. For the Levites had been more diligent in consecrating themselves than the priests had been.

¹⁵ And on the fourteenth day of the second month they slaughtered the Passover lamb. The priests and Levites were ashamed, and they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD. ¹⁶ They stood at their prescribed posts, according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood, which they received from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷ Since there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves, the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover lambs for every unclean person to consecrate the lambs to the LORD.

¹¹ And they slaughtered the Passover lambs, while the priests sprinkled the blood handed to them and the Levites skinned the animals.

²⁷ Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people; He sacrificed for sin once for all when He offered up Himself.

⁴⁷ The whole congregation of Israel must celebrate it. ⁴⁸ If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, all the males in the household must be circumcised; then he may come near to celebrate it, and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it. ⁴⁹ The same law shall apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.”

⁶ But there were some men who were unclean due to a dead body, so they could not observe the Passover on that day. And they came before Moses and Aaron that same day ⁷ and said to Moses, “We are unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be excluded from presenting the LORD’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?”

¹⁰ “Tell the Israelites: ‘When any one of you or your descendants is unclean because of a dead body, or is away on a journey, he may still observe the Passover to the LORD. ¹¹ Such people are to observe it at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; ¹² they may not leave any of it until morning or break any of its bones. They must observe the Passover according to all its statutes. ¹³ But if a man who is ceremonially clean and is not on a journey still fails to observe the Passover, he must be cut off from his people, because he did not present the LORD’s offering at its appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin. ¹⁴ If a foreigner dwelling among you wants to observe the Passover to the LORD, he is to do so according to the Passover statute and its ordinances. You are to apply the same statute to both the foreigner and the native of the land.’”

¹ After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.

¹¹ that You gave through Your servants the prophets, saying: ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the impurity of its peoples and the abominations with which they have filled it from end to end.

² Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all the foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

²⁸ “The rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the people of the land to obey the Law of God—along with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand,

⁵ Your testimonies are fully confirmed; holiness adorns Your house, O LORD, for all the days to come.

¹¹ Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.

²⁵ I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.

¹⁷ “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

¹ Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

¹⁵ For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶ On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly, and another on the seventh day. You must not do any work on those days, except to prepare the meals—that is all you may do. ¹⁷ So you are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must keep this day as a permanent statute for the generations to come. ¹⁸ In the first month you are to eat unleavened bread, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. ¹⁹ For seven days there must be no leaven found in your houses. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a foreigner or native of the land, must be cut off from the congregation of Israel. ²⁰ You are not to eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.”

⁶ For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. ⁷ Unleavened bread shall be eaten during those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, nor shall leaven be found anywhere within your borders.

²⁹ At the end of Josiah’s reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to confront him, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo.

²¹ The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the LORD day after day, accompanied by loud instruments of praise to the LORD.

¹¹ So the LORD brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.

¹⁷ The Israelites who were present also observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

¹ In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:

⁶ Therefore Darius decreed: To Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates and officials in the region: You must stay away from that place! ⁷ Leave this work on the house of God alone. Let the governor and elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its original site. ⁸ I hereby decree what you must do for these elders of the Jews who are rebuilding this house of God: The cost is to be paid in full to these men from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces west of the Euphrates, so that the work will not be hindered. ⁹ Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, as well as wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given to them daily without fail. ¹⁰ Then they will be able to offer sacrifices of a sweet aroma to the God of heaven and to pray for the lives of the king and his sons. ¹¹ I also decree that if any man interferes with this directive, a beam is to be torn from his house and raised up, and he is to be impaled on it. And his own house shall be made a pile of rubble for this offense. ¹² May God, who has caused His Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to alter this decree or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued the decree. Let it be carried out with diligence.

²⁷ Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem,

⁷ When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him.

¹⁰ I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon until no more room is found for them. ¹¹ They will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves of the sea; all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will depart.

¹⁷ On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”

⁷ Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed for us. ⁸ Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.