Leviticus 22

22 ¹ Then our Father said to Moses,

² "Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with reverence the holy offerings that the people of Israel dedicate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name. I am your Father.

³ "Say to them: For all your generations to come, if any of your descendants who is ceremonially unclean comes near the holy offerings that the people of Israel dedicate to me, that person will be cut off from my presence. I am your Father.

⁴ “No descendant of Aaron who has a skin disease or a discharge may eat the holy offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by contact with a dead body, or anyone who has an emission of semen, ⁵ or anyone who touches a swarming creature that makes him unclean, or another person who makes him unclean—whatever the uncleanness may be— ⁶ the one who touches any such thing will be unclean until evening. He must not eat any of the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body in water. ⁷ When the sun sets, he will be clean, and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, for they are his food. ⁸ He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, for that would make him unclean. I am your Father. ⁹ The priests must keep my instructions, so that they do not become guilty and die for treating them with contempt. I am your Father, who makes them holy.

¹⁰ “No one outside a priest's family may eat the holy offering, nor may a guest of the priest or his hired worker eat it. ¹¹ But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, that slave may eat it, and those born in the priest's household may eat his food. ¹² If a priest's daughter marries a man who is not a priest, she may not eat any of the holy contributions. ¹³ But if a priest's daughter becomes a widow or is divorced, with no children, and returns to live in her father's house as in her youth, she may eat her father's food. No one outside the family may eat it.

¹⁴ “Anyone who eats a holy offering by mistake must make restitution to the priest for the offering, adding a fifth of its value to it. ¹⁵ The priests must not profane the holy offerings that the people of Israel present to me, ¹⁶ and so bring on them guilt that demands payment by letting them eat their holy offerings. For I am your Father, who makes them holy."

Offerings Worthy of the Father

¹⁷ Then our Father said to Moses,

¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: If any of you—whether an Israelite or a foreigner residing in Israel—presents a gift for a burnt offering to me, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, ¹⁹ you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf. ²⁰ Do not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. ²¹ When anyone brings a peace offering to me from the herd or the flock, whether to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable. ²² Do not offer to me anything blind, injured, maimed, or with a wart, festering sore, or running sore. Do not place any of these on the altar as a food offering to me. ²³ You may, however, present as a freewill offering an ox or a sheep that is deformed or stunted, but it will not be accepted in fulfillment of a vow. ²⁴ You must not offer to me an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut. You must not do this in your own land, ²⁵ and you must not accept such animals from the hand of a foreigner to offer as the food of your Father. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and have defects.” ¹ 1 v25 The offerings are called God's "food" as a figure of speech — our Father needs nothing, but he receives the worship the gift expresses.

²⁶ Then our Father said to Moses,

²⁷ “When a calf, a lamb, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a food offering to me. ²⁸ Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day.

²⁹ When you sacrifice a thank offering to me, offer it properly so that it will be accepted on your behalf. ³⁰ It must be eaten that same day; leave none of it until morning. I am your Father.

³¹ Keep my commands and follow them. I am your Father. ³² Do not profane my holy name, for I must be honored as holy among the Israelites. I am your Father, who makes you holy ³³ and who brought you out of Egypt to be your Father. I am your Father."