Leviticus 6; Leviticus 7; Matthew 25:1-30 (New International Reader's Version)

1 The LORD spoke to Moses. He said, 2 "Suppose a person sins by not being faithful to me. He does it by tricking his neighbors. He tricks them in connection with something they have placed in his care. He steals from them. Or he cheats them. 3 Or he finds something they have lost and then tells a lie about it. Or he goes to court. He takes an oath and tells a lie when he witnesses about it. Or he commits any other sin like those sins. 4 "When he sins in any of those ways, he becomes guilty. He must return what he stole. He must give back what he took by cheating his neighbors. He must return what they placed in his care. He must return the lost property he found. 5 He must return anything he told a lie about when he witnessed in court. He must pay back everything in full. He must add a fifth of its value to it. He must give all of it to the owner on the day he brings his guilt offering. 6 "He must bring his guilt offering to the priest to pay for his sin. It is an offering to me. He must bring a ram from the flock. It must not have any flaws. It must be worth the required amount of money. 7 "The priest will sacrifice the ram to pay for the person's sin. He will do it in my sight. And the person will be forgiven for any of the things he did that made him guilty."

More Rules for Burnt Offerings

8 The LORD spoke to Moses. He said, 9 "Give Aaron and the priests who are in his family line a command. Tell them, 'Here are some more rules for burnt offerings. The burnt offering must remain on the altar through the whole night. The fire on the altar must be kept burning until morning. 10 " 'The priest must put on his linen clothes. He must put on linen underwear next to his body. He must remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has burned up on the altar. He must place them beside the altar. 11 Then he must take his clothes off and put others on. He must carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is "clean." 12 " 'The fire on the altar must be kept burning. It must not go out. Every morning the priest must add more wood to the fire. He must place the burnt offering on the fire. He must burn the fat of the friendship offerings on it. 13 The fire must be kept burning on the altar all the time. It must not go out.

More Rules for Grain Offerings

14 " 'Here are some more rules for grain offerings. The priests who are in Aaron's family line must bring the grain offering to the LORD in front of the altar. 15 " 'The priest must take a handful of fine flour and olive oil. He must add to it all of the incense that is on the grain offering. He must burn that part on the altar. It will remind him that all good things come from the Lord. It gives a smell that is pleasant to the Lord. 16 " 'Aaron and the priests who are in his family line will eat the rest of it. But they must eat it without yeast in a holy place. They must eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. 17 It must not be baked with yeast. The LORD has given it to the priests as their share of the offerings that are made to him with fire. It is very holy, just like the sin offering and the guilt offering. 18 " 'Any priests who are in Aaron's family line can eat it. It is their regular share of the offerings that are made to the LORD with fire. It is their share for all time to come. Anyone who touches those offerings will become holy.' " 19 The LORD spoke to Moses. He said, 20 "On the day each high priest who is in Aaron's family line is anointed, he must bring an offering to me. He must bring eight cups of fine flour as a regular grain offering. He must bring half of it in the morning. He must bring the other half in the evening. 21 Mix it with olive oil. Grill it on a metal plate. Break it in pieces. Bring it as a grain offering. It gives a smell that is pleasant to me. 22 "The son of Aaron who will become the next high priest after him will prepare the grain offering. It is my regular share. It must be completely burned up. 23 Every grain offering a high priest offers must be completely burned up. It must not be eaten."

More Rules for Sin Offerings

24 The LORD spoke to Moses. He said, 25 "Speak to Aaron and the priests who are in his family line. Tell them, 'Here are some more rules for sin offerings. You must kill the animal for the sin offering in the sight of the Lord. Kill it in the place where the burnt offering is killed. It is very holy. 26 The priest who offers it will eat it. He must eat it in a holy place. He must eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. 27 " 'Anyone who touches any of its meat will become holy. Suppose some of the blood is spilled on someone's clothes. Then you must wash them in a holy place. 28 Break the clay pot the meat is cooked in. But suppose you cook it in a bronze pot. Then you must scrub the pot and rinse it with water. 29 " 'Any male in a priest's family can eat the meat. It is very holy. 30 " 'But suppose some of the blood of a sin offering is brought into the Tent of Meeting. And that blood is brought into the Holy Room to pay for sin. Then that sin offering must not be eaten. It must be burned.

More Rules for Guilt Offerings

1 " 'Here are some more rules for guilt offerings. The guilt offering is very holy. 2 You must kill the animal for the guilt offering in the same place where you kill the animal for the burnt offering. Sprinkle its blood against every side of the altar. 3 " 'Offer all of its fat. It must include the fat tail and the fat that covers the inside parts. 4 It must include both kidneys with the fat on them next to the lower back muscles. It must also include the covering of the liver. Remove all of it together with the kidneys. 5 The priest must burn all of it on the altar. It is an offering that is made to the LORD with fire. It is a guilt offering. 6 " 'Any male in a priest's family can eat it. But he must eat it in a holy place. It is very holy. 7 " 'The same law applies to the sin offering and the guilt offering. Both of them belong to the priest who offers them to pay for sin. 8 The priest who offers a burnt offering for anyone can keep its hide for himself. 9 " 'Every grain offering that is baked in an oven belongs to the priest who offers it. So does every grain offering that is cooked in a pan or grilled on a metal plate. 10 Every grain offering belongs equally to all of the priests who are in Aaron's family line. That is true whether it is mixed with olive oil or it is dry.

More Rules for Friendship Offerings

11 " 'Here are some more rules for friendship offerings a person may bring to the Lord. 12 " 'Suppose he offers a friendship offering to show he is thankful. Then together with the thank offering he must offer flat cakes of bread. He must make them without yeast. He must mix them with olive oil. Or he must offer wafers that are made without yeast. He must spread oil on them. Or he must offer flat cakes that are made out of fine flour. He must add oil to it. He must work the flour and mix it well. 13 " 'He must bring another friendship offering along with his thank offering. It should be flat cakes of bread that are made with yeast. 14 He must bring one of each kind of bread as an offering. One kind is made with yeast. The other is not. Both of them are a gift to the Lord. They belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the friendship offerings. 15 " 'The person must eat the meat from his thank offering on the day he offers it. He must not leave any of it until morning. 16 " 'But suppose he brings a friendship offering to keep a promise he has made. Or suppose he brings an offering he chooses to give. Then he must eat the sacrifice on the day he offers it. But if anything is left over, he may eat it the next day. 17 " 'He must burn up any meat from the sacrifice that is left over until the third day. 18 Suppose he eats any meat from the friendship offering on the third day. Then the LORD will not accept the offering. He will not accept it as a gift from that person. It is not pure. If the person eats any of it, he will be held accountable for it. 19 " 'He must not eat meat that touches anything that is "unclean." He must burn it up. Anyone who is "clean" may eat any other meat. 20 " 'But suppose a person is not "clean" and eats any meat from the friendship offering that belongs to the Lord. Then that person will be cut off from his people. 21 " 'Suppose a person touches something that is not "clean." It does not matter whether it comes from a human being who is not "clean." It does not matter whether it comes from an animal that is not "clean." It does not matter whether it comes from something that is hated and is not "clean." And suppose the person eats any of the meat from the friendship offering that belongs to the Lord. Then that person will be cut off from his people.' "

Israel Must Not Eat Fat or Blood

22 The LORD spoke to Moses. He said, 23 "Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, 'Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats. 24 Do not eat the fat of any animal that is found dead. Do not eat the fat of an animal that wild animals have torn apart. But you can use the fat for any other purpose. 25 " 'Suppose an animal has been sacrificed as an offering that is made to the LORD with fire. No one may eat its fat. If he does, he will be cut off from his people. 26 " 'No matter where you live, do not eat the blood of any bird or animal. 27 If anyone does, he will be cut off from his people.' "

The Share That Belongs to the Priests

28 The LORD spoke to Moses. He said, 29 "Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, 'Suppose a person brings a friendship offering to the Lord. Then he must bring part of it as his special gift to the Lord. 30 He must bring it with his own hands. It is an offering that is made to the LORD with fire. He must bring the fat together with the breast. He must lift the breast up and wave it in front of the LORD as a wave offering. 31 The priest will burn the fat on the altar. " 'But the breast belongs to Aaron and the priests who are in his family line. 32 Give the right thigh from your friendship offerings to the priest as a gift. 33 The priest who offers the blood and fat from the friendship offering must be given the right thigh. It is his share. 34 " 'I, the Lord, have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh that is given. I have taken them from the friendship offerings of the people of Israel. And I have given them to the priest Aaron and the priests who are in his family line. The offerings are their regular share from the people of Israel.' " 35 That is the part of the offerings that are made to the LORD with fire and given to Aaron and the priests who are in his family line. It was given to Aaron and his sons on the day they were set apart to serve the LORD as priests. 36 On the day they were anointed, the LORD commanded the people of Israel to give that part to them. For all time to come, it will be the regular share of Aaron and the priests who are in his family line. 37 Those are the rules for burnt offerings, grain offerings, sin offerings, guilt offerings and friendship offerings. They are also the rules for the offerings that are given when priests are being prepared to serve the Lord. 38 They are the rules the LORD gave Moses on Mount Sinai. He gave them on the day he commanded the people of Israel to bring their offerings to the Lord. That took place in the Sinai Desert.

The Story of Ten Bridesmaids

1 "Here is what the kingdom of heaven will be like at that time. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. 2 Five of them were foolish. Five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but didn't take any olive oil with them. 4 The wise ones took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The groom did not come for a long time. So the bridesmaids all grew tired and fell asleep. 6 "At midnight someone cried out, 'Here's the groom! Come out to meet him!' 7 "Then all the bridesmaids woke up and got their lamps ready. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise ones, 'Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.' 9 " 'No,' they replied. 'There may not be enough for all of us. Instead, go to those who sell oil. Buy some for yourselves.' 10 "So they went to buy the oil. But while they were on their way, the groom arrived. The bridesmaids who were ready went in with him to the wedding dinner. Then the door was shut. 11 "Later, the other bridesmaids also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' 12 "But he replied, 'What I'm about to tell you is true. I don't know you.' 13 "So keep watch. You do not know the day or the hour that the groom will come.

The Story of Three Servants

14 "Again, here is what the kingdom of heaven will be like. A man was going on a journey. He sent for his servants and put them in charge of his property. 15 He gave $10,000 to one. He gave $4,000 to another. And he gave $2,000 to the third. The man gave each servant the amount of money he knew the servant could take care of. Then he went on his journey. 16 "The servant who had received the $10,000 went at once and put his money to work. He earned $10,000 more. 17 The one with the $4,000 earned $4,000 more. 18 But the man who had received $2,000 went and dug a hole in the ground. He hid his master's money in it. 19 "After a long time the master of those servants returned. He wanted to collect all the money they had earned. 20 The man who had received $10,000 brought the other $10,000. 'Master,' he said, 'you trusted me with $10,000. See, I have earned $10,000 more.' 21 "His master replied, 'You have done well, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' 22 "The man with $4,000 also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you trusted me with $4,000. See, I have earned $4,000 more.' 23 "His master replied, 'You have done well, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' 24 "Then the man who had received $2,000 came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man. You harvest where you have not planted. You gather crops where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid. I went out and hid your $2,000 in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' 26 "His master replied, 'You evil, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not planted? You knew that I gather crops where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money in the bank. When I returned, I would have received it back with interest.' 28 "Then his master commanded the other servants, 'Take the $2,000 from him. Give it to the one who has $20,000. 29 Everyone who has will be given more. He will have more than enough. And what about anyone who doesn't have? Even what he has will be taken away from him. 30 Throw that worthless servant outside. There in the darkness, people will sob and grind their teeth.'