Leviticus 1:1-13
Rules for the people's gifts
1 The Lord spoke to Moses from the Tent of Meeting. He told him the rules that Israel's people must obey. 2 The Lord said, ‘Speak to Israel's people. Tell them this. When a person gives an animal to the Lord, it must be a cow or a sheep or a goat. 3 A person may want to give a gift to the Lord. That gift must be a male animal from his group of animals. It must be perfect. He must burn the whole animal as a gift to the Lord. The person must bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting. If he does, the Lord will accept his gift. 4 The person must put his hand on the animal's head. Then he must kill it. The animal's death will pay for the person's sins. 5 The person must kill the young bull in front of the Lord. The priests who are the sons of Aaron will take the blood. They will throw it onto the sides of the altar. That is the altar near to the door of the Tent of Meeting. 6 The person must take the skin from the dead animal and then he must cut up the meat. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest will light a fire on the altar. Then they will put wood on it. 8 The priests will put the pieces of meat on the fire. They will put the head and the fat on the fire with the meat. 9 The person must wash the legs and the inside parts with water. Then the priest will burn the whole animal on the altar. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure.
1:1When we write Lord like this, it is a special name for God. Sometimes people write it as ‘Yahweh’, or as ‘Jehovah’. It is his 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. 1:9The first three offerings in Leviticus are about burning things to give pleasure to God.
10 A person may want to give a sheep or a goat as a gift to God. It must be a male animal. It must be perfect. 11 The person must kill it at the north side of the altar. The priests will throw the blood onto the sides of the altar in front of the Lord. 12 The person must cut the animal up. The priests will take the pieces of meat, the head and the fat. They will put them on the fire that is burning on the altar. 13 The person must wash the legs and the inside parts with water. The priest will burn the whole animal on the altar. It is a burnt offering. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure.
