The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday February 19, 2022 (NIV)

The Priests’ Share

²⁸ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁹ “Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who brings a fellowship offering to the Lord is to bring part of it as their sacrifice to the Lord. ³⁰ With their own hands they are to present the food offering to the Lord; they are to bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the breast before the Lord as a wave offering.^{(A) 31} The priest shall burn the fat on the altar,^(B) but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons.^{(C) 32} You are to give the right thigh of your fellowship offerings to the priest as a contribution.^{(D) 33} The son of Aaron who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering shall have the right thigh as his share. ³⁴ From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh^(E) that is presented and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons^(F) as their perpetual share from the Israelites.’”

³⁵ This is the portion of the food offerings presented to the Lord that were allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day they were presented to serve the Lord as priests. ³⁶ On the day they were anointed,^(G) the Lord commanded that the Israelites give this to them as their perpetual share for the generations to come.

³⁷ These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offering,^(H) the grain offering,^(I) the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering^(J) and the fellowship offering, ³⁸ which the Lord gave Moses^(K) at Mount Sinai^(L) in the Desert of Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the Lord.^(M)

The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons^(N)

8 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Bring Aaron and his sons,^(O) their garments,^(P) the anointing oil,^(Q) the bull for the sin offering,^[a](R) the two rams^(S) and the basket containing bread made without yeast,^{(T) 3} and gather the entire assembly^(U) at the entrance to the tent of meeting.” ⁴ Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the assembly gathered at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

⁵ Moses said to the assembly, “This is what the Lord has commanded to be done.^(V)” ⁶ Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water.^{(W) 7} He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him. He also fastened the ephod with a decorative waistband, which he tied around him.^{(X) 8} He placed the breastpiece^(Y) on him and put the Urim and Thummim^(Z) in the breastpiece. ⁹ Then he placed the turban^(AA) on Aaron’s head and set the gold plate, the sacred emblem,^(AB) on the front of it, as the Lord commanded Moses.^(AC)

¹⁰ Then Moses took the anointing oil^(AD) and anointed^(AE) the tabernacle^(AF) and everything in it, and so consecrated them. ¹¹ He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them.^{(AG) 12} He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed^(AH) him to consecrate him.^{(AI) 13} Then he brought Aaron’s sons^(AJ) forward, put tunics^(AK) on them, tied sashes around them and fastened caps on them, as the Lord commanded Moses.^(AL)

¹⁴ He then presented the bull^(AM) for the sin offering,^(AN) and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.^{(AO) 15} Moses slaughtered the bull and took some of the blood,^(AP) and with his finger he put it on all the horns of the altar^(AQ) to purify the altar.^(AR) He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. So he consecrated it to make atonement for it.^{(AS) 16} Moses also took all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys and their fat, and burned it on the altar. ¹⁷ But the bull with its hide and its flesh and its intestines^(AT) he burned up outside the camp,^(AU) as the Lord commanded Moses.

¹⁸ He then presented the ram^(AV) for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. ¹⁹ Then Moses slaughtered the ram and splashed the blood against the sides of the altar. ²⁰ He cut the ram into pieces and burned the head, the pieces and the fat.^{(AW) 21} He washed the internal organs and the legs with water and burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

²² He then presented the other ram, the ram for the ordination,^(AX) and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.^{(AY) 23} Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.^{(AZ) 24} Moses also brought Aaron’s sons forward and put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Then he splashed blood against the sides of the altar.^{(BA) 25} After that, he took the fat^(BB), the fat tail, all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, both kidneys and their fat and the right thigh. ²⁶ And from the basket of bread made without yeast, which was before the Lord, he took one thick loaf, one thick loaf with olive oil mixed in, and one thin loaf,^(BC) and he put these on the fat portions and on the right thigh. ²⁷ He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and they waved them before the Lord^(BD) as a wave offering. ²⁸ Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering as an ordination offering, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord. ²⁹ Moses also took the breast, which was his share of the ordination ram,^(BE) and waved it before the Lord as a wave offering, as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁰ Then Moses^(BF) took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood from the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments^(BG) and on his sons and their garments. So he consecrated^(BH) Aaron and his garments and his sons and their garments.

³¹ Moses then said to Aaron and his sons, “Cook the meat at the entrance to the tent of meeting^(BI) and eat it there with the bread from the basket of ordination offerings, as I was commanded: ‘Aaron and his sons are to eat it.’ ³² Then burn up the rest of the meat and the bread. ³³ Do not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed, for your ordination will last seven days.^{(BJ) 34} What has been done today was commanded by the Lord^(BK) to make atonement for you. ³⁵ You must stay at the entrance to the tent of meeting day and night for seven days and do what the Lord requires,^(BL) so you will not die; for that is what I have been commanded.”

³⁶ So Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord commanded through Moses.

The Priests Begin Their Ministry

9 On the eighth day^(BM) Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders^(BN) of Israel. ² He said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf for your sin offering^[b] and a ram for your burnt offering, both without defect, and present them before the Lord. ³ Then say to the Israelites: ‘Take a male goat^(BO) for a sin offering,^(BP) a calf^(BQ) and a lamb^(BR)—both a year old and without defect—for a burnt offering, ⁴ and an ox^[c](BS) and a ram for a fellowship offering^(BT) to sacrifice before the Lord, together with a grain offering mixed with olive oil. For today the Lord will appear to you.^(BU)’”

⁵ They took the things Moses commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the entire assembly came near and stood before the Lord. ⁶ Then Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the Lord^(BV) may appear to you.”

³¹ Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived.^(A) Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

³³ “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

³⁴ Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

The Parable of the Sower^(B)(C)

4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake.^(D) The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. ² He taught them many things by parables,^(E) and in his teaching said: ³ “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.^{(F) 4} As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”^(G)

⁹ Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”^(H)

¹⁰ When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. ¹¹ He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God^(I) has been given to you. But to those on the outside^(J) everything is said in parables ¹² so that,

¹³ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? ¹⁴ The farmer sows the word.^{(L) 15} Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan^(M) comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. ¹⁶ Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ¹⁸ Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth^(N) and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²⁰ Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

A Lamp on a Stand

²¹ He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?^{(O) 22} For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.^{(P) 23} If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”^(Q)

²⁴ “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.^{(R) 25} Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”^(S)