Exodus 29; Exodus 30; Matthew 21:23-46

Exodus 29

1 "This is what you are to do to Aaron and his sons to dedicate them as priests in my service. Take one young bull and two rams without any defects.

2 Use the best wheat flour, but no yeast, and make some bread with olive oil, some without it, and some in the form of thin cakes brushed with oil.

3 Put them in a basket and offer them to me when you sacrifice the bull and the two rams.

4 "Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of my presence, and have them take a ritual bath.

5 Then dress Aaron in the priestly garments - the shirt, the robe that goes under the ephod, the ephod, the breastpiece, and the belt.

6 Put the turban on him and tie on it the sacred sign of dedication engraved "Dedicated to the Lord.'

7 Then take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him.

8 "Bring his sons and put shirts on them;

9 put sashes around their waists and tie caps on their heads. That is how you are to ordain Aaron and his sons. They and their descendants are to serve me as priests forever.

10 "Bring the bull to the front of the Tent of my presence and tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on its head.

11 Kill the bull there in my holy presence at the entrance of the Tent.

12 Take some of the bull's blood and with your finger put it on the projections of the altar. Then pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

13 Next, take all the fat which covers the internal organs, the best part of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar as an offering to me.

14 But burn the bull's flesh, its skin, and its intestines outside the camp. This is an offering to take away the sins of the priests.

15 "Take one of the rams and tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on its head.

16 Kill it, and take its blood and throw it against all four sides of the altar.

17 Cut the ram in pieces; wash its internal organs and its hind legs, and put them on top of the head and the other pieces.

18 Burn the whole ram on the altar as a food offering. The odor of this offering pleases me.

19 "Take the other ram - the ram used for dedication - and tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on its head.

20 Kill it, and take some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Throw the rest of the blood against all four sides of the altar.

21 Take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes. He, his sons, and their clothes will then be dedicated to me.

22 "Cut away the ram's fat, the fat tail, the fat covering the internal organs, the best part of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh.

23 From the basket of bread which has been offered to me, take one loaf of each kind: one loaf made with olive oil and one made without it and one thin cake.

24 Put all this food in the hands of Aaron and his sons and have them dedicate it to me as a special gift.

25 Then take it from them and burn it on the altar, on top of the burnt offering, as a food offering to me. The odor of this offering pleases me.

26 "Take the breast of this ram and dedicate it to me as a special gift. This part of the animal will be yours.

27 "When a priest is ordained, the breast and the thigh of the ram being used for the ordination are to be dedicated to me as a special gift and set aside for the priests.

28 It is my unchanging decision that when my people make their fellowship offerings, the breast and the thigh of the animal belong to the priests. This is the people's gift to me, the Lord.

29 "Aaron's priestly garments are to be handed on to his sons after his death, for them to wear when they are ordained.

30 The son of Aaron who succeeds him as priest and who goes into the Tent of my presence to serve in the Holy Place is to wear these garments for seven days.

31 "Take the meat of the ram used for the ordination of Aaron and his sons and boil it in a holy place.

32 At the entrance of the Tent of my presence they are to eat it along with the bread left in the basket.

33 They shall eat what was used in the ritual of forgiveness at their ordination. Only priests may eat this food, because it is sacred.

34 If some of the meat or some of the bread is not eaten by morning, it is to be burned; it is not to be eaten, for it is sacred.

35 "Perform the rites of ordination for Aaron and his sons for seven days exactly as I have commanded you.

36 Each day you must offer a bull as a sacrifice, so that sin may be forgiven. This will purify the altar. Then anoint it with olive oil to make it holy.

37 Do this every day for seven days. Then the altar will be completely holy, and anyone or anything that touches it will be harmed by the power of its holiness.

38 "Every day for all time to come, sacrifice on the altar two one-year-old lambs.

39 Sacrifice one of the lambs in the morning and the other in the evening.

40 With the first lamb offer two pounds of fine wheat flour mixed with one quart of pure olive oil. Pour out one quart of wine as an offering.

41 Sacrifice the second lamb in the evening, and offer with it the same amounts of flour, olive oil, and wine as in the morning. This is a food offering to me, the Lord, and its odor pleases me.

42 For all time to come, this burnt offering is to be offered in my presence at the entrance of the Tent of my presence. That is where I will meet my people and speak to you.

43 There I will meet the people of Israel, and the dazzling light of my presence will make the place holy.

44 I will make the Tent and the altar holy, and I will set Aaron and his sons apart to serve me as priests.

45 I will live among the people of Israel, and I will be their God.

46 They will know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the Lord their God.

Exodus 30

1 "Make an altar out of acacia wood, for burning incense.

2 It is to be square, 18 inches long and 18 inches wide, and it is to be 36 inches high. Its projections at the four corners are to form one piece with it.

3 Cover its top, all four sides, and its projections with pure gold, and put a gold border around it.

4 Make two gold carrying rings for it and attach them below the border on two sides to hold the poles with which it is to be carried.

5 Make these poles of acacia wood and cover them with gold.

6 Put this altar outside the curtain which hangs in front of the Covenant Box. That is the place where I will meet you.

7 Every morning when Aaron comes to take care of the lamps, he is to burn sweet-smelling incense on it.

8 He must do the same when he lights the lamps in the evening. This offering of incense is to continue without interruption for all time to come.

9 Do not offer on this altar any forbidden incense, any animal offering, or any grain offering, and do not pour out any wine offering on it.

10 Once a year Aaron is to perform the ritual for purifying the altar by putting on its four projections the blood of the animal sacrificed for sin. This is to be done every year for all time to come. This altar is to be completely holy, dedicated to me, the Lord."

11 The Lord said to Moses,

12 "When you take a census of the people of Israel, each man is to pay me a price for his life, so that no disaster will come on him while the census is being taken.

13 Everyone included in the census must pay the required amount of money, weighed according to the official standard. Everyone must pay this as an offering to me.

14 Everyone being counted in the census, that is, every man twenty years old or older, is to pay me this amount.

15 The rich man is not to pay more, nor the poor man less, when they pay this amount for their lives.

16 Collect this money from the people of Israel and spend it for the upkeep of the Tent of my presence. This tax will be the payment for their lives, and I will remember to protect them."

17 The Lord said to Moses,

18 "Make a bronze basin with a bronze base. Place it between the Tent and the altar, and put water in it.

19 Aaron and his sons are to use the water to wash their hands and feet

20 before they go into the Tent or approach the altar to offer the food offering. Then they will not be killed.

21 They must wash their hands and feet, so that they will not die. This is a rule which they and their descendants are to observe forever."

22 The Lord said to Moses,

23 "Take the finest spices - 12 pounds of liquid myrrh, 6 pounds of sweet-smelling cinnamon, 6 pounds of sweet-smelling cane,

24 and 12 pounds of cassia (all weighed according to the official standard). Add one gallon of olive oil,

25 and make a sacred anointing oil, mixed like perfume.

26 Use it to anoint the Tent of my presence, the Covenant Box,

27 the table and all its equipment, the lampstand and its equipment, the altar for burning incense,

28 the altar for burning offerings, together with all its equipment, and the washbasin with its base.

29 Dedicate these things in this way, and they will be completely holy, and anyone or anything that touches them will be harmed by the power of its holiness.

30 Then anoint Aaron and his sons, and ordain them as priests in my service.

31 Say to the people of Israel, "This holy anointing oil is to be used in my service for all time to come.

32 It must not be poured on ordinary men, and you must not use the same formula to make any mixture like it. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy.

33 Whoever makes any like it or uses any of it on anyone who is not a priest will no longer be considered one of my people.' "

34 The Lord said to Moses, "Take an equal part of each of the following sweet spices - stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense.

35 Use them to make incense, mixed like perfume. Add salt to keep it pure and holy.

36 Beat part of it into a fine powder, take it into the Tent of my presence, and sprinkle it in front of the Covenant Box. Treat this incense as completely holy.

37 Do not use the same formula to make any incense like it for yourselves. Treat it as a holy thing dedicated to me.

38 If anyone makes any like it for use as perfume, he will no longer be considered one of my people."

Matthew 21:23-46

23 Jesus came back to the Temple; and as he taught, the chief priests and the elders came to him and asked, "What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you such right?"

24 Jesus answered them, "I will ask you just one question, and if you give me an answer, I will tell you what right I have to do these things.

25 Where did John's right to baptize come from: was it from God or from human beings?" They started to argue among themselves, "What shall we say? If we answer, "From God,' he will say to us, "Why, then, did you not believe John?'

26 But if we say, "From human beings,' we are afraid of what the people might do, because they are all convinced that John was a prophet."

27 So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you, then, by what right I do these things.

28 "Now, what do you think? There was once a man who had two sons. He went to the older one and said, "Son, go and work in the vineyard today.'

29 "I don't want to,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

30 Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. "Yes, sir,' he answered, but he did not go.

31 Which one of the two did what his father wanted?" "The older one," they answered. So Jesus said to them, "I tell you: the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you.

32 For John the Baptist came to you showing you the right path to take, and you would not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Even when you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

33 "Listen to another parable," Jesus said. "There was once a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to tenants and left home on a trip.

34 When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share of the harvest.

35 The tenants grabbed his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

36 Again the man sent other slaves, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.

37 Last of all he sent his son to them. "Surely they will respect my son,' he said.

38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, "This is the owner's son. Come on, let's kill him, and we will get his property!'

39 So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

40 "Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" Jesus asked.

41 "He will certainly kill those evil men," they answered, "and rent the vineyard out to other tenants, who will give him his share of the harvest at the right time."

42 Jesus said to them, "Haven't you ever read what the Scriptures say? "The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. This was done by the Lord; what a wonderful sight it is!'

43 "And so I tell you," added Jesus, "the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce the proper fruits."

45 The chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables and knew that he was talking about them,

46 so they tried to arrest him. But they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.