The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday November 23, 2022 (NIV)

The People’s Contribution to the Sacrifices

¹³ “This is the contribution you are to offer: Three quarts^[a] from six bushels^[b] of wheat and^[c] three quarts from six bushels of barley. ¹⁴ The quota of oil in liquid measures^[d] will be one percent of every^[e] cor. The cor equals ten liquid measures or one standard larger capacity measure,^[f] since ten liquid measures equal one standard larger capacity measure. ¹⁵ And the quota from the flock is one animal out of every two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These are for the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings, to make atonement for the people.”^(A) This is the declaration of the Lord God. ¹⁶ “All the people of the land must take part in this contribution for the prince in Israel. ¹⁷ Then the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the festivals, New Moons, and Sabbaths—for all the appointed times of the house of Israel—will be the prince’s responsibility. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.

¹⁸ “This is what the Lord God says: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you are to take a young, unblemished bull and purify the sanctuary. ¹⁹ The priest is to take some of the blood from the sin offering and apply it to the temple doorposts, the four corners of the altar’s ledge, and the doorposts of the gate of the inner court.^{(B) 20} You are to do the same thing on the seventh day of the month for everyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance.^(C) In this way you will make atonement for the temple.

²¹ “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you are to celebrate the Passover, a festival of seven days during which unleavened bread will be eaten.^{(D) 22} On that day the prince will provide a bull as a sin offering on behalf of himself and all the people of the land. ²³ During the seven days of the festival, he will provide seven bulls and seven rams without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord on each of the seven days, along with a male goat each day for a sin offering. ²⁴ He will also provide a grain offering of half a bushel^[g] per bull and half a bushel per ram, along with a gallon^[h] of oil for every half bushel. ²⁵ At the festival that begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month,^[i](E) he will provide the same things for seven days—the same sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and oil.

Sacrifices at Appointed Times

46 “This is what the Lord God says: The gate of the inner court that faces east is to be closed during the six days of work, but it will be opened on the Sabbath day^(F) and opened on the day of the New Moon. ² The prince should enter from the outside by way of the gate’s portico and stand at the gate’s doorpost while the priests sacrifice his burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He will bow in worship at the gate’s threshold and then depart, but the gate is not to be closed until evening. ³ The people of the land will also bow in worship before the Lord at the entrance of that gate on the Sabbaths and New Moons.

⁴ “The burnt offering that the prince presents to the Lord^(G) on the Sabbath day is to be six unblemished lambs^(H) and an unblemished ram. ⁵ The grain offering will be half a bushel^[j] with the ram,^(I) and the grain offering with the lambs will be whatever he wants to give, as well as a gallon^[k] of oil for every half bushel. ⁶ On the day of the New Moon, the burnt offering is to be a young, unblemished bull, as well as six lambs and a ram without blemish. ⁷ He will provide a grain offering of half a bushel with the bull, half a bushel with the ram, and whatever he can afford with the lambs, together with a gallon of oil for every half bushel. ⁸ When the prince enters,^(J) he is to go in by way of the gate’s portico and go out the same way.

⁹ “When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed times,^[l](K) whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship is to go out by way of the south gate, and whoever enters by way of the south gate is to go out by way of the north gate. No one may return through the gate by which he entered, but is to go out by the opposite gate. ¹⁰ When the people enter, the prince will enter with them, and when they leave, he will leave. ¹¹ At the festivals and appointed times, the grain offering will be half a bushel with the bull, half a bushel with the ram, and whatever he wants to give with the lambs, along with a gallon of oil for every half bushel.

¹² “When the prince makes a freewill offering, whether a burnt offering or a fellowship offering as a freewill offering to the Lord,^(L) the gate that faces east is to be opened for him. He is to offer his burnt offering or fellowship offering just as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he will go out, and the gate is to be closed after he leaves.

¹³ “You are to offer an unblemished year-old male lamb as a daily burnt offering to the Lord; you will offer it every morning.^{(M) 14} You are also to prepare a grain offering every morning along with it: three quarts,^[m] with one-third of a gallon^[n] of oil to moisten the fine flour—a grain offering to the Lord. This is a permanent statute to be observed regularly. ¹⁵ They will offer the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil every morning as a regular burnt offering.

Transfer of Royal Lands

¹⁶ “This is what the Lord God says: If the prince gives a gift to each of his sons as their inheritance, it will belong to his sons. It will become their property by inheritance. ¹⁷ But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will belong to that servant until the year of freedom,^(N) when it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs only to his sons; it is theirs. ¹⁸ The prince must not take any of the people’s inheritance, evicting them from their property.^(O) He is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of my people will be displaced from his own property.”

The Temple Kitchens

¹⁹ Then he brought me through the entrance^(P) that was at the side of the gate, into the priests’ holy chambers, which faced north. I saw a place there at the far western end. ²⁰ He said to me, “This is the place where the priests will boil the guilt offering and the sin offering,^(Q) and where they will bake the grain offering,^(R) so that they do not bring them into the outer court and transmit holiness to the people.” ²¹ Next he brought me into the outer court and led me past its four corners. There was a separate court in each of its corners. ²² In the four corners of the outer court there were enclosed^[o] courts, 70 feet^[p] long by 52½ feet^[q] wide. All four corner areas had the same dimensions. ²³ There was a stone wall^[r] around the inside of them, around the four of them, with ovens built at the base of the walls on all sides. ²⁴ He said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple will cook the people’s sacrifices.”

A Call to Holy Living

¹³ Therefore, with your minds ready for action,^(A) be sober-minded^(B) and set your hope^(C) completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation^(D) of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children,^(E) do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. ¹⁵ But as the one who called you^(F) is holy,^(G) you also are to be holy in all your conduct; ¹⁶ for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.^{[a](H) 17} If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially^(I) according to each one’s work,^(J) you are to conduct yourselves in reverence^(K) during your time living as strangers. ¹⁸ For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life^(L) inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold,^{(M) 19} but with the precious blood of Christ,^(N) like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.^{(O) 20} He was foreknown^(P) before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times^(Q) for you. ²¹ Through him you believe in God,^(R) who raised him from the dead^(S) and gave him glory,^(T) so that your faith and hope are in God.

²² Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth,^[b] so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other,^(U) from a pure^[c] heart love one another constantly,^{[d](V) 23} because you have been born again^(W)—not of perishable seed^(X) but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God.^{(Y) 24} For

And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.

The Living Stone and a Holy People

2 Therefore, rid yourselves of^(AB) all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.^{(AC) 2} Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word,^[f](AD) so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, ³ if you have tasted^(AE) that the Lord is good.^{[g](AF) 4} As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by^[h] God— ⁵ you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood^[i] to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God^(AG) through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture:

⁷ So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving,

⁸ and

They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined^(AM) for this.

⁹ But you are a chosen race,^[n][o](AN) a royal priesthood,^[p](AO) a holy nation,^[q](AP) a people for his possession,^[r](AQ) so that you may proclaim the praises^[s][t](AR) of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.^{(AS) 10} Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy,^(AT) but now you have received mercy.

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