Rules for the people's gifts to God
1 The Lord spoke to Moses from the Tent of Meeting. 2 He said to Moses, ‘Speak to Israel's people. Tell them this. When a person gives an animal to the Lord, it must be a cow, a sheep or a goat.
1:1Here, the Tent of Meeting is another name for the tabernacle.
1:2When we write Lord like this, it is a special name for God. Sometimes people write it as the Hebrew name ‘Yahweh’. It is God's own name that he told Moses. See Exodus 3:14. It means ‘I am who I am’. This shows that God has always been there and he always will be there. Rules about burnt offerings
3 A person may want to give a burnt offering to the Lord. That offering may be a bull that he takes from among his animals. It must be perfect. The person must bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, so that the Lord will accept his gift. 4 Then he must put his hand on the animal's head. The Lord will accept the animal's death to pay for the person's sins.
5 The person who brings the offering must kill the young bull in front of the Lord. Aaron's sons, the priests, will take the blood. They will throw it onto the sides of the altar which is near the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. 6 The person must remove the skin from the dead animal. Then he must cut the meat into pieces. 7 Aaron's sons will light a fire on the altar. They will put pieces of wood on it. 8 Then Aaron's sons will put the pieces of meat onto the wood that is burning. They will put the head and the fat on the fire with the other meat. 9 The person who brings the offering must use water to wash the legs and the inside parts of the animal. Then the priest will burn the whole animal on the altar. The smell of the burnt offering will give pleasure to the Lord.
10 A person may want to give a sheep or a goat as a burnt offering to the Lord. His offering must be a perfect male animal. 11 He must kill it in front of the Lord, at the north side of the altar. Aaron's sons, the priests, will throw the blood onto the sides of the altar. 12 The person who brings the offering must cut the animal into pieces. The priests will take the pieces of meat, the head and the fat. They will put them on the wood which is burning on the altar. 13 The person who brings the offering must use water to wash the legs and the inside parts of the animal. Then the priest will burn the whole animal on the altar. The smell of the burnt offering will give pleasure to the Lord.
