Leviticus 21–22

1 Then the Lord said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: None shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, 2 but for his closest relatives, that is, for his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 and his virgin sister (who is near him because she has not had a husband), for her he may be made unclean. 4 And he shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people because of the dead and so defile himself.

5 They shall not make bald areas on their heads, nor shall they shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the food of their God. Therefore they shall be holy.

7 They shall not take a wife who is a whore or has been defiled, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband, for he is holy unto his God. 8 You shall sanctify him, for he offers the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the Lord, who sanctifies you, am holy.

9 The daughter of any priest, if she defiles herself by being a whore, she also defiles her father. She shall be burned with fire.

10 He who is the high priest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not dishevel his hair, nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he approach any dead body, nor make himself unclean, even for his father or his mother; 12 nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, so as not to defile the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord.

13 He shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or a defiled woman, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take for a wife a virgin of his own people, 15 so that he does not defile his offspring among his people, for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.

16 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 17 Speak to Aaron, saying: None of your offspring in their generations who has any blemish may approach to offer the food of his God. 18 For whoever has a blemish, he shall not approach, whether a blind or lame man, or one who has a physical flaw on his face or a limb that is too long, 19 or a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scabs, or is a eunuch. 21 No man who has a blemish from the offspring of Aaron the priest shall come near to offer the food offerings of the Lord made by fire. He has a blemish; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He shall eat the food of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy. 23 Only he shall not go in through the veil or come to the altar, because he has a blemish, so that he does not defile My sanctuaries, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

24 Moses spoke this to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel.

Chapter 22

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to Aaron and to his sons that they should be very respectful with the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they do not defile My holy name with those things which the people have consecrated to Me: I am the Lord.

3 Say to them: Whoever from your offspring through your generations approaches the holy things, which the children of Israel have dedicated to the Lord, while he has uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the Lord.

4 If a man of the offspring of Aaron is a leper or has a discharge, he shall not eat of the holy offerings until he is clean. And whoever touches anything that is unclean by contact with the dead or a man who had an emission of semen, 5 or whoever touches any crawling thing whereby he may be made unclean, or a man from whom he may receive uncleanness, whatever uncleanness he has, 6 the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy things unless he washes his body with water. 7 When the sun goes down, he shall be clean, and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his food. 8 That which dies of itself or is torn by animals he shall not eat, becoming unclean by it: I am the Lord.

9 They shall therefore keep My ordinance, lest they bear sin from it and therefore die if they defile it: I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

10 There shall be no outsider who eats of a holy thing, whether a foreign guest of the priest or a hired servant, he shall not eat of a holy offering. 11 But if a priest buys a person with his money, the person acquired shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house shall eat of his food. 12 If the priest’s daughter marries an outsider, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things. 13 But if the priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s food; but no outsider may eat of it.

14 If a man eats the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall add a fifth of the value to it and shall give the holy thing to the priest. 15 They shall not defile the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, 16 and cause them to suffer and to bear the iniquity of guilt when they eat their holy things, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

17 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 18 Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them: Whoever from the house of Israel or from the foreigners in Israel who offers his burnt offering for any vows or freewill offerings that he offers to the Lord, 19 then if it is to be accepted for you, the offering shall be a male without blemish, a bull, sheep, or goat. 20 But whatever has a blemish you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable for you. 21 Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill his vow or a freewill offering, whether from the herd or flock, to be accepted it shall be perfect, with no blemish on it. 22 Blind, or disabled, or maimed, or having an ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer these to the Lord, nor make a food offering by fire on the altar to the Lord. 23 A herd animal or a flock animal that has a limb that is too long or short you may offer for a freewill offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted. 24 You shall not offer to the Lord an animal that is bruised or crushed or torn or cut; nor shall you make any offering of them in your land. 25 Nor from a foreigner shall you offer an animal as the food of your God, because a blemish is in them from their mutilation. They shall not be accepted for you.

26 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 When an ox, or a sheep, or a goat is born, then it shall be seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day and thereafter it shall be accepted for a food offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 But you shall not slaughter on the same day an ox or a sheep and her young.

29 When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, offer it so that it may be accepted. 30 On the same day it shall be eaten. You shall leave none of it until the next day: I am the Lord.

31 Therefore you shall keep My commandments and do them: I am the Lord. 32 You shall not defile My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the children of Israel: I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord.

Matthew 28

1 At the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

2 And then there was a great earthquake. For the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his garments white as snow. 4 The soldiers shook for fear of him and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid. For I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here. For He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and indeed, He is going before you to Galilee. There you will see Him. Listen, I have told you.”

8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. 9 As they went to tell His disciples, suddenly Jesus met them, saying, “Greetings!” They came and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell My brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

11 While they were going, indeed, some of the soldiers went into the city and described to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel, they gave much money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were sleeping.’ 14 If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you secure.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this saying has been commonly reported among the Jews to this day.

16 Then the eleven disciples went away to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshipped Him. But some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.