Leviticus 1 - 2, John 18 - 19, Psalm 75

The Statutes of Burnt Offerings

1Then ¹^,^aYahweh called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, ²“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man from among you brings an ¹^,^aoffering near to Yahweh, you shall bring your ²offering of animals from ^bthe herd or the flock. ³‘If his offering is a ^aburnt offering from the herd, he shall bring it near, a male ^bwithout blemish; he shall bring it near ^cto the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before Yahweh. ⁴‘^aAnd he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make ^batonement on his behalf. ⁵‘^aThen he shall slaughter the ¹young bull before Yahweh; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring near ^bthe blood and ^csplash the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ⁶‘^aAnd he shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. ⁷‘^aAnd the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. ⁸‘Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head, and the ^asuet over the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. ⁹‘Its ^aentrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water. And ^bthe priest shall offer up in smoke all of it on the altar for a burnt offering, an offering by fire of ^ca soothing aroma to Yahweh.

¹⁰‘But if his offering is from the flock, of the sheep or of the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall bring near a ^amale without blemish. ¹¹‘^aAnd he shall slaughter it on the side of the altar northward before Yahweh, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall splash its blood around on the altar. ¹²‘He shall then cut it into its pieces with its head and its ^asuet, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. ¹³‘The entrails, however, and the legs he shall wash with water. And ^athe priest shall bring all of it near and offer it up in smoke on the altar; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to Yahweh.

¹⁴‘But if his offering to Yahweh is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring near his offering from the ^aturtledoves or from young pigeons. ¹⁵‘And the priest shall bring it near to the altar and wring off its head and offer it up in smoke on the altar; and its blood is to be drained out ^aon the side of the altar. ¹⁶‘He shall also take away its crop with its feathers and cast it beside the altar eastward, to the place of the ¹^,^aashes. ¹⁷‘Then he shall tear it by its wings, but ^ahe shall not separate it. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar on the wood which is on the fire; ^bit is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to Yahweh.

The Statutes of Grain Offerings

2‘Now when anyone brings near a ^agrain offering as an offering to Yahweh, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it. ²‘He shall then bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests; and he shall take from it ^ahis handful of its fine flour and of its oil with all of its frankincense. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke as its ^bmemorial portion on the altar, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to Yahweh. ³‘^aAnd the remainder of the grain offering belongs to ^bAaron and his sons: a thing most holy of the offerings to Yahweh by fire.

⁴‘Now when you bring near an offering of a grain offering baked in an oven, it shall be ^aunleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers ¹spread with oil. ⁵‘And if your offering is a grain offering made ^aon the griddle, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil; ⁶you shall break it into bits and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. ⁷‘Now if your offering is a grain offering made ^ain a ¹pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. ⁸‘And you will bring in the grain offering which is made of these things to Yahweh, and it shall be brought near to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar. ⁹‘The priest then shall raise up from the grain offering ^aits memorial portion, and he shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to Yahweh. ¹⁰‘^aAnd the remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a thing most holy of the offerings to Yahweh by fire.

¹¹‘^aNo grain offering, which you bring near to Yahweh, shall be made with leaven, for you shall not offer ¹up in smoke any leaven or any honey as an ^boffering by fire to Yahweh. ¹²‘^aAs an offering of first fruits you shall bring them near to Yahweh, but they shall not ascend for a soothing aroma on the altar. ¹³‘Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that ^athe salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall bring salt near.

¹⁴‘Also if you bring near a grain offering of early ripened things to Yahweh, you shall bring near ^afresh heads of grain roasted in the fire, grits of new growth, for the grain offering of your early ripened things. ¹⁵‘You shall then put oil on it and place frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. ¹⁶‘And the priest shall offer up in smoke ^aits memorial portion, part of its grits and its oil with all its frankincense as an offering by fire to Yahweh.

Jesus Betrayed and Arrested

18When Jesus had spoken these words, ^aHe went forth with His disciples to the other side of ^bthe Kidron Valley, where there was ^ca garden, into which He entered ¹with His disciples. ²Now Judas also, who was ¹betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had ^aoften gathered there with His disciples. ³^aJudas then, having received ^bthe Roman ¹cohort and ^cofficers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, *came there with lanterns and ^dtorches and weapons. ⁴So Jesus, ^aknowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and *said to them, “^bWhom do you seek?” ⁵They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He *said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. ⁶So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷Therefore He again asked them, “^aWhom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” ⁸Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” ⁹in order that the word which He spoke would be fulfilled, “^aOf those whom You have given Me, I lost not one.” ¹⁰Simon Peter then, ^ahaving a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. ¹¹So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; ^athe cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”

Jesus Before the Priests; Peter Denies Jesus

¹²^aSo ^bthe Roman ¹cohort and the ²commander and the ^cofficers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, ¹³and led Him to ^aAnnas first; for he was father-in-law of ^bCaiaphas, who was high priest that year. ¹⁴Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that ^ait was better for one man to die on behalf of the people.

¹⁵^aAnd Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into ^bthe court of the high priest, ¹⁶^abut Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in. ¹⁷^aThen the servant-girl who kept the door *said to Peter, “^bAre you not also one of this man’s disciples?” He *said, “I am not.” ¹⁸Now the slaves and the ^aofficers were standing there, having made ^ba charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were ^cwarming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself.

¹⁹^aThe high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. ²⁰Jesus answered him, “I ^ahave spoken openly to the world; I always ^btaught in ¹synagogues and ^cin the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. ²¹“Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; behold, they know what I said.” ²²And when He had said this, one of the ^aofficers standing nearby ^bgave Jesus a slap, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?” ²³^aJesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” ²⁴^aSo Annas sent Him bound to ^bCaiaphas the high priest.

²⁵^aNow ^bSimon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “^cYou are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” ²⁶One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one ^awhose ear Peter cut off, *said, “Did I not see you in ^bthe garden with Him?” ²⁷Peter then denied it again, and immediately ^aa rooster crowed.

Jesus Before Pilate

²⁸^aThen they *led Jesus from ^bCaiaphas into ^cthe ¹Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into ^dthe ²Praetorium so that ^ethey would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. ²⁹^aTherefore Pilate went out to them and *said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰They answered and said to him, “If this man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” ³¹So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” ³²in order that ^athe word of Jesus which He spoke would be fulfilled, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.

³³Therefore Pilate ^aentered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “^bAre You the King of the Jews?” ³⁴Jesus answered, “Are you saying this from yourself, or did others tell you about Me?” ³⁵Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what did You do?” ³⁶Jesus answered, “^aMy kingdom ¹is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be delivered over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not ²from here.” ³⁷Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “^aYou yourself said I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, ^bto bear witness to the truth. ^cEveryone who is of the truth hears My voice.” ³⁸Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he ^awent out again to the Jews and *said to them, “^bI find no guilt in Him. ³⁹“^aBut you have a custom that I release someone ¹for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release ²for you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰So they cried out again, saying, “^aNot this man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.

Jesus Flogged and Rejected as King

19Pilate then took Jesus and ¹^,^aflogged Him. ²^aAnd when the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a purple ¹robe on Him; ³and they were coming to Him and saying, “^aHail, King of the Jews!” and were ^bgiving Him slaps in the face. ⁴And Pilate ^acame out again and *said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that ^bI find no guilt in Him.” ⁵Jesus then came out, ^awearing the crown of thorns and the purple ¹robe. Pilate *said to them, “Behold, the man!” ⁶So when the chief priests and the ^aofficers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate *said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for ^bI find no guilt in Him.” ⁷The Jews answered him, “^aWe have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He ^bmade Himself out to be the Son of God.”

⁸Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he became more afraid; ⁹and he ^aentered into the ¹Praetorium again and *said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But ^bJesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰So Pilate *said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” ¹¹Jesus answered, “^aYou would have no authority ¹over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason ^bhe who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” ¹²As a result of this Pilate kept seeking to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “^aIf you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself to be a king ¹opposes Caesar.”

¹³Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and ^asat down on the judgment seat at a place called ¹The Stone Pavement, but ^bin ²Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴Now it was ^athe day of ¹Preparation for the Passover; it was about the ²^,^bsixth hour. And he *said to the Jews, “Behold, ^cyour King!” ¹⁵So they cried out, “^aAway with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate *said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

The Crucifixion

¹⁶So he then ^adelivered Him over to them to be crucified.

¹⁷^aThey took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, ¹^,^bbearing His own cross, to the place called ^cthe Place of a Skull, which is called ^din ²Hebrew, Golgotha. ¹⁸There they crucified Him, and with Him ^atwo other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. ¹⁹And Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “^aJESUS THE NAZARENE, ^bTHE KING OF THE JEWS.” ²⁰Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written ^ain ¹Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. ²¹So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘^aThe King of the Jews;’ but that He said, ‘I am ^bKing of the Jews.’” ²²Pilate answered, “^aWhat I have written I have written.”

²³Then ^athe soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made ^bfour parts, a part to each soldier and also His ¹tunic; now that tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. ²⁴So they said to one another, “^aLet us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be;” ^bthis was in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “They ^cdivided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast ¹lots.” ²⁵Therefore the soldiers did these things. ^aBut standing by the cross of Jesus were ^bHis mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and ^cMary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus then saw His mother, and ^athe disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He *said to His mother, “^bWoman, behold, your son!” ²⁷Then He *said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into ^ahis home.

Scripture Fulfilled—It Is Finished

²⁸After this, Jesus, ^aknowing that all things had already been finished, ^bin order ¹to finish the Scripture, *said, “^cI am thirsty.” ²⁹A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so ^athey put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. ³⁰Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “^aIt is finished!” And bowing His head, He ^bgave up His spirit.

³¹Then the Jews, because it was ^athe day of Preparation, so that ^bthe bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (¹for that Sabbath was a ^chigh day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. ³²So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was ^acrucified with Him; ³³but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately ^ablood and water came out. ³⁵And he who has seen has ^aborne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. ³⁶For these things came to pass ^ain order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, “^bNot a bone of Him shall be ¹broken.” ³⁷And again another Scripture says, “^aThey shall look on Him whom they pierced.”

Jesus Is Buried

³⁸^aNow after these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but ^bsecretly because of his ^cfear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. ³⁹^aAnd Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, ^bbringing a ¹mixture of ^cmyrrh and aloes, weighing about ²one ^dhundred litras. ⁴⁰So they took the body of Jesus and ^abound it in ^blinen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a ^anew tomb ^bin which no one had yet been laid. ⁴²Therefore because of the Jewish day of ^aPreparation, since the tomb was ^bnearby, they laid Jesus there.

God Judges with Equity

For the choir director. ¹Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph. ²A Song.

We ^agive thanks to You, O God, we give thanks,For Your name is ^bnear;Men recount ^cYour wondrous deeds.²“For I select an ^aappointed time,It is I who ^bjudge with equity.³“The ^aearth and all who dwell in it ¹melt;It is I who have firmly set its ^bpillars. ² Selah.⁴“I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’And to the wicked, ‘^aDo not raise up the horn;⁵Do not raise up your horn on high,^aNor speak with insolent ¹pride.’”⁶For one’s rising up does not come from the east, nor from the west,And not from the ¹^,^adesert;⁷But ^aGod is the Judge;He ^bputs down one and raises up another.⁸For a ^acup is in the hand of Yahweh, and the wine foams;It is ^bfull of His mixture, and He pours from this;Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and ^cdrink down its dregs.⁹But as for me, I will ^adeclare it forever;I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.¹⁰And all the ^ahorns of the wicked I will cut off,But ^bthe horns of the righteous will be raised up.