Leviticus 7 - 8, Acts 3 - 4, Psalm 78:1-39

7‘Now this is the law of the ^aguilt offering; it is most holy. ²‘In ^athe place where they slaughter the burnt offering they are to slaughter the guilt offering, and he shall splash its blood around on the altar. ³‘Then he shall bring near from it all its fat: the ^afat tail and the fat that covers the entrails, ⁴and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe on the liver he shall remove ^awith the kidneys. ⁵‘And the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire to Yahweh; it is a guilt offering. ⁶‘^aEvery male among the priests may eat of it. It shall be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy. ⁷‘The guilt offering is like the ^asin offering, there is one law for them; the ^bpriest who makes atonement with it ¹shall have it. ⁸‘Also the priest who brings near any man’s burnt offering, ¹that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has brought near. ⁹‘Likewise, every grain offering that is baked in the oven and everything prepared in a ¹pan or on a ^agriddle ²shall belong to the priest who brings it near. ¹⁰‘And every grain offering, mixed with oil or dry, shall ¹belong to all the sons of Aaron, ²to all alike.

¹¹‘Now this is the law of the ^asacrifice of peace offerings which shall be brought near to Yahweh. ¹²‘If he brings it near for ^athanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall bring near ^bunleavened cakes mixed with oil and unleavened wafers ¹spread with oil and cakes of well stirred fine flour mixed with oil. ¹³‘With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving, he shall bring near his offering with cakes of ^aleavened bread. ¹⁴‘Of ¹this he shall bring near, one of every offering as a ²contribution to Yahweh; ^ait shall ³belong to the priest who splashes the blood of the peace offerings.

¹⁵‘^aNow as for the flesh of the sacrifice of his thanksgiving peace offerings, it shall be eaten on the day of his offering; he shall not leave any of it over until morning. ¹⁶‘But if the sacrifice of his offering is a ^avotive or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he brings near his sacrifice, and on the ¹next day what is left of it may be eaten; ¹⁷^abut what is left over from the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire. ¹⁸‘So if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings should ever be eaten on the third day, he who brings it near will not be accepted, and it will not be counted to his benefit. It shall be an ^aoffensive thing, and the person who eats of it will bear his own iniquity.

¹⁹‘Also the flesh that touches anything unclean shall not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. ¹As for other flesh, anyone who is clean may eat such flesh. ²⁰‘^aBut the person who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to Yahweh, ¹in his uncleanness, that person ^bshall be cut off from his people. ²¹‘^aWhen anyone touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean ¹detestable thing, and eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to Yahweh, that person shall be cut off from his people.’”

²²Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²³“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall not eat ^aany fat from an ox, a sheep, or a goat. ²⁴‘Also the fat of an animal which dies and the fat of an animal ^atorn by beasts may be put to any other use, but you must certainly not eat it. ²⁵‘For whoever eats the fat of the animal from which ¹an offering by fire is brought near to Yahweh, even the person who eats shall be cut off from his people. ²⁶‘^aAnd you shall not eat any blood, either of bird or animal, in any of your places of habitation. ²⁷‘Any person who eats any blood, even that person shall be cut off from his people.’”

²⁸Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁹“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘He who brings ^athe sacrifice of his peace offerings near to Yahweh shall bring his offering to Yahweh from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. ³⁰‘His own hands are to bring offerings by fire to Yahweh. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the ^abreast may be waved as a wave offering before Yahweh. ³¹‘And the priest shall offer up the fat in smoke on the altar, but ^athe breast shall belong to Aaron and his sons. ³²‘And you shall give ^athe right thigh to the priest as a ¹contribution from the sacrifices of your peace offerings. ³³‘The one among the sons of Aaron who brings near the blood of the peace offerings and the fat, the right thigh shall be his as his portion. ³⁴‘For I have taken ^athe breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the ¹contribution from the sons of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as a perpetual statute taken from the sons of Israel.

³⁵‘This is ¹the share for Aaron and ²the ^ashare for his sons from the offerings by fire to Yahweh, in that day when he brought them near to minister as priests to Yahweh. ³⁶‘¹These Yahweh had commanded to be given them from the sons of Israel in the day that He ^aanointed them. It is a perpetual statute throughout their generations.’”

³⁷This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering and ^athe ordination offering and the sacrifice of peace offerings, ³⁸^awhich Yahweh commanded Moses at Mount Sinai in the day that He commanded the sons of Israel to bring their offerings near to Yahweh in the wilderness of Sinai.

The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons

8Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²“^aTake Aaron and his sons with him, and the ^bgarments and ^cthe anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread, ³and assemble all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting.” ⁴So Moses did just as Yahweh commanded him. Then the congregation was assembled at the doorway of the tent of meeting, ⁵and Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded to do.”

⁶Then ^aMoses had Aaron and his sons come near and ^bwashed them with water. ⁷And he ^aput the tunic on him and girded him with the sash and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod, ¹with which he tied it to him. ⁸He then placed the ¹breastpiece on him, and in the ²breastpiece he put ³^,^athe Urim and the Thummim. ⁹He also placed the turban on his head, and on the turban, at its front, he placed ^athe golden plate, the holy crown, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

¹⁰Moses then took ^athe anointing oil and anointed the ¹tabernacle and all that was in it and set them apart as holy. ¹¹And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the laver and its stand, to ^aset them apart as holy. ¹²Then he poured some of the ^aanointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to set him apart as holy. ¹³^aNext Moses brought Aaron’s sons near and clothed them with tunics and girded them with sashes and bound ¹caps on them, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

¹⁴Then he brought ^athe bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering. ¹⁵Next ¹Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger ^aput some of it around on the horns of the altar and purified the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and set it apart as holy, to make atonement for it. ¹⁶He also ^atook all the fat that was on the entrails, and the ¹lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat; and Moses offered it up in smoke on the altar. ¹⁷^aBut the bull and its hide and its flesh and its refuse he burned in the fire outside the camp, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

¹⁸Then he brought near ^athe ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ¹⁹¹Then Moses slaughtered it and splashed the blood around on the altar. ²⁰And he cut the ram into its pieces. Then Moses ^aoffered up the head and the pieces and the suet in smoke. ²¹And he washed the entrails and the legs with water. Then Moses ^aoffered up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to Yahweh, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

²²Then he brought near the second ram, ^athe ram of ¹ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ²³¹And Moses slaughtered it and took some of its blood and ^aput it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴He also brought Aaron’s sons near; and Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear and on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. Moses then ^asplashed the rest of the blood around on the altar. ²⁵And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the entrails, and the ¹lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh. ²⁶^aFrom the basket of unleavened bread that was before Yahweh, he took one unleavened cake and one cake of bread mixed with oil and one wafer, and he placed them on the portions of fat and on the right thigh. ²⁷He then ^aput all these on the hands of Aaron and on the hands of his sons, and waved them as a wave offering before Yahweh. ²⁸Then Moses ^atook them from their hands and offered them up in smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. They were an ordination offering for ^ba soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to Yahweh. ²⁹Moses also took ^athe breast and waved it as a wave offering before Yahweh; it was ^bMoses’ portion of the ram of ordination, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

³⁰So Moses ^atook some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he set Aaron apart as holy, his garments and his sons and the garments of his sons with him.

³¹Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, “^aBoil the flesh at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and eat it there together with the bread which is in the basket of the ordination offering, just as I commanded, ^bsaying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ ³²“^aAnd the remainder of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn in the fire. ³³“^aAnd you shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day that the period of your ordination is fulfilled; for he will ¹ordain you through seven days. ³⁴“Yahweh has commanded to do as has been done this day, to make atonement on your behalf. ³⁵“At the doorway of the tent of meeting, moreover, you shall remain day and night for seven days and ^akeep the charge of Yahweh, so that you will not die, for so I have been commanded.” ³⁶Thus Aaron and his sons did all the things which Yahweh had commanded through Moses.

The Lame Beggar Healed

3Now ^aPeter and John were going up to the temple at the ¹ninth hour, ^bthe hour of prayer. ²And ^aa man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they ^bused to set down daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, ^cin order to beg ¹alms of those who were entering the temple. ³When he saw ^aPeter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. ⁴But when Peter, along with John, ^afixed his gaze on him, he said, “Look at us!” ⁵And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: ^aIn the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!” ⁷And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. ⁸^aAnd leaping up, he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. ⁹And ^aall the people saw him walking and praising God; ¹⁰and they were recognizing him, that he was the one who used to ^asit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter’s Sermon in Solomon’s Portico

¹¹And while he was clinging to ^aPeter and John, all the people ran together to them at the ¹^,^bportico called Solomon’s, full of wonder. ¹²But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? ¹³“^aThe God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ^bthe God of our fathers, has glorified His ^cServant Jesus, whom ^dyou delivered and denied in the presence of ^ePilate, when he had ^fdecided to release Him. ¹⁴“But you denied ^athe Holy and Righteous One and ^basked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵but put to death the ^aAuthor of life, whom ^bGod raised from the dead, a fact to which we are ^cwitnesses. ¹⁶“And on the basis of faith ^ain His name, it is ¹the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which is through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

¹⁷“And now, brothers, I know that you acted ^ain ignorance, just as your ^brulers did also. ¹⁸“But the things which ^aGod announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, ^bthat His ¹Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. ¹⁹“Therefore ^arepent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that ¹^,^btimes of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; ²⁰and that He may send Jesus, the ¹Christ appointed for you, ²¹^awhom heaven must receive until the ¹period of ^brestoration of all things about which ^cGod spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. ²²“Moses said, ‘^aThe ¹Lord God will raise up for you a prophet ²like me from your brothers; to Him you shall listen to everything He says to you. ²³‘^aAnd it will be that every ^bsoul that does not heed that prophet ^cshall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ ²⁴“And likewise, ^aall the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also proclaimed these days. ²⁵“It is you who are ^athe sons of the prophets and of the ^bcovenant which God ¹made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘^cAnd in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ ²⁶“For you ^afirst, God ^braised up His ¹Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”

Peter and John Arrested

4Now as they were speaking to the people, the priests and ^athe captain of the temple guard and ^bthe Sadducees ^ccame up to them, ²being greatly agitated because they were teaching the people and proclaiming ¹^,^ain Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³And they laid hands on them and ^aput them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴But many of those who had heard the ¹message believed, and ^athe number of the men came to be about five thousand.

⁵Now it happened that on the next day, their ^arulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; ⁶and ^aAnnas the high priest was there, and ^bCaiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. ⁷And when they had placed them in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” ⁸Then Peter, ¹^,^afilled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “²^,^bRulers and elders of the people, ⁹if we are ¹being examined today for ^aa good deed done to a sick man, ²as to how this man has been ³saved from his sickness, ¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that ¹^,^aby the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom ^bGod raised from the dead—²by ³this name this man stands here before you in good health. ¹¹“¹^,^aHe is the ^bstone which was ^crejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. ¹²“And there is salvation in ^ano one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Peter and John Threatened and Released

¹³Now as they observed the ^aconfidence of ^bPeter and John and comprehended that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were marveling, and ^cbegan to recognize them ¹as having been with Jesus. ¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. ¹⁵But when they had ordered them to leave the ¹^,^aSanhedrin, they began to confer with one another, ¹⁶saying, “^aWhat should we do with these men? For the fact that a ^bnoteworthy ¹sign has happened through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷“But lest it spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man ^ain this name.” ¹⁸And when they had summoned them, they ^acommanded them not to speak or teach at all ¹in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹But ^aPeter and John answered and said to them, “^bWhether it is right in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, you be the judge; ²⁰for ^awe cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” ²¹And when they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) ^aon account of the people, because they were all ^bglorifying God for what had happened; ²²for the man was more than forty years old on whom this sign of healing had occurred.

²³So when they were released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Master, it is You who ^amade the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them, ²⁵who ^aby the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, ‘^bWhy did the ¹Gentiles rage,And the peoples devise vain things?

²⁶‘^aThe kings of the earth ¹took their stand,And the rulers were gathered togetherAgainst the Lord and against His ²^,^bChrist.’

²⁷“For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy ¹^,^aServant Jesus, whom You anointed, both ^bHerod and ^cPontius Pilate, along with ^dthe ²Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, ²⁸to do whatever Your hand and ^aYour purpose predestined to occur. ²⁹“And ¹now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your slaves may ^aspeak Your word with all ^bconfidence, ³⁰while You extend Your hand to heal, and ¹^,^asigns and wonders happen through the name of Your holy ²^,^bServant Jesus.” ³¹And when they had prayed earnestly, the ^aplace where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all ^bfilled with the Holy Spirit and began to ^cspeak the word of God with ^dconfidence.

Distribution Among Needy Believers

³²And the ¹congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and not one was saying that any of his possessions was his own, but, for them, ^aeverything was common. ³³And ^awith great power the apostles were bearing ^bwitness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses ^awould sell them and bring the ¹proceeds of the sales ³⁵and ^alay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be ^bdistributed to each as any had need.

³⁶Now Joseph, a Levite of ^aCyprian birth, who was also called ^bBarnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of ¹^,^cEncouragement), ³⁷and who owned a field, sold it and brought the money and ^alaid it at the apostles’ feet.

That the Generation to Come Might Know

A ¹Maskil of Asaph.

^aGive ear, O my people, to my ²instruction;^bIncline your ears to the words of my mouth.²I will ^aopen my mouth in a parable;I will pour forth ^bdark sayings of old,³Which we have heard and known,And ^aour fathers have recounted to us.⁴We will ^anot conceal them from their children,But ^brecount to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh,And His strength and His ^cwondrous deeds that He has done.⁵For He established a ^atestimony in JacobAnd set a ^blaw in Israel,Which He ^ccommanded our fathersThat they should ¹^,^dteach them to their children,⁶^aThat the generation to come might know, even ^bthe children yet to be born,That they may arise and ^crecount them to their children,⁷That they should set their confidence in GodAnd ^anot forget the deeds of God,But ^bobserve His commandments,⁸And ^anot be like their fathers,A ^bstubborn and rebellious generation,A generation that ^cdid not ¹prepare its heartAnd whose spirit was not ^dfaithful to God.⁹The sons of Ephraim ¹were ^aarchers equipped with bows,Yet ^bthey turned back in the day of battle.¹⁰They ^adid not keep the covenant of GodAnd refused to ^bwalk in His law;¹¹So they ^aforgot His actsAnd His ¹wondrous deeds that He had shown them.¹²^aHe did wonders before their fathersIn the land of Egypt, in the ^bfield of Zoan.¹³He ^asplit the sea and caused them to pass through,And He made the waters stand ^bup like a heap.¹⁴Then He led them with the cloud by ^adayAnd all the night with a ^blight of fire.¹⁵He was ^asplitting the rocks in the wildernessAnd so gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths.¹⁶He ^abrought forth streams also from the cliff faceAnd caused waters to run down like rivers.¹⁷Yet they still continued to sin against Him,To ^arebel against the Most High in the desert.¹⁸And in their heart they ^aput God to the testBy asking for ^bfood according to their desire.¹⁹Then they spoke against God;They said, “^aCan God prepare a table in the wilderness?²⁰“Behold, He ^astruck the rock so that waters gushed out,And streams were overflowing;Can He give bread also?Will He prepare ¹^,^bmeat for His people?”²¹Therefore Yahweh heard and ¹was ^afull of wrath;And a fire was kindled against JacobAnd anger also mounted against Israel,²²Because they ^adid not believe in GodAnd did not trust in His salvation.²³Yet He commanded the skies aboveAnd ^aopened the doors of heaven;²⁴He ^arained down manna upon them to eatAnd gave them ^bgrain from heaven.²⁵Man ate the bread of ¹angels;He sent them provision ^ato satisfy.²⁶He ^aled forth the east wind in the heavensAnd by His strength He guided the south wind.²⁷Then He rained ¹meat upon them like the dust,Even ^awinged fowl like the sand of the seas,²⁸He caused them to fall in the midst of His camp,All around His dwelling places.²⁹So they ^aate and were very satisfied,And their desire He brought to them.³⁰¹Before they had satisfied their desire,^aWhile their food was in their mouths,³¹The ^aanger of God rose against themAnd killed ¹some of their ^bstoutest ones,And ²subdued the choice men of Israel.³²In spite of all this they ^astill sinnedAnd ^bdid not believe in His wondrous deeds.³³So He brought ^atheir days to an end in ¹futilityAnd their years in sudden terror.³⁴When He killed them, then they ^asought Him,And returned and sought ^bearnestly for God;³⁵And they remembered that God was their ^arock,And the Most High God their ^bRedeemer.³⁶But they ^adeceived Him with their mouthAnd ^blied to Him with their tongue.³⁷For their heart was not ^aprepared to remain with Him,Nor were they faithful in His covenant.³⁸But He, being ^acompassionate, ^batoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them;And He abounded in ^cturning back His angerAnd did not arouse all His wrath.³⁹Thus ^aHe remembered that they were but ^bflesh,A ¹^,^cwind that goes and does not return.