28Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 29“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the Lord shall bring his offering to the Lord from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. 30His own hands are to bring offerings by fire to the Lord. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the breast may be presented as a wave offering before the Lord. 31The priest shall offer up the fat in smoke on the altar, but the breast shall belong to Aaron and his sons. 32You shall give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifices of your peace offerings. 33The one among the sons of Aaron who offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat, the right thigh shall be his as his portion. 34For I have taken the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution from the sons of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their due forever from the sons of Israel.

35‘This is that which is consecrated to Aaron and that which is consecrated to his sons from the offerings by fire to the Lord, in that day when he presented them to serve as priests to the Lord. 36These the Lord had commanded to be given them from the sons of Israel in the day that He anointed them. It is their due forever throughout their generations.’ ”

37This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering and the ordination offering and the sacrifice of peace offerings, 38which the Lord commanded Moses at Mount Sinai in the day that He commanded the sons of Israel to present their offerings to the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai.

The Consecration of Aaron and His Sons

1Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread, 3and assemble all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting.” 4So Moses did just as the Lord commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the doorway of the tent of meeting, 5Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded to do.”

6Then Moses had Aaron and his sons come near and washed them with water. 7He put the tunic on him and girded him with the sash, and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the artistic band of the ephod, with which he tied it to him. 8He then placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. 9He also placed the turban on his head, and on the turban, at its front, he placed the golden plate, the holy crown, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

10Moses then took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. 12Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. 13Next Moses had Aaron’s sons come near and clothed them with tunics, and girded them with sashes and bound caps on them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

14Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering. 15Next Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar, and purified the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. 16He also took all the fat that was on the entrails and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat; and Moses offered it up in smoke on the altar. 17But the bull and its hide and its flesh and its refuse he burned in the fire outside the camp, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

18Then he presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 19Moses slaughtered it and sprinkled the blood around on the altar. 20When he had cut the ram into its pieces, Moses offered up the head and the pieces and the suet in smoke. 21After he had washed the entrails and the legs with water, Moses offered up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

22Then he presented the second ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 23Moses slaughtered it and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 24He also had Aaron’s sons come near; and Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. Moses then sprinkled the rest of the blood around on the altar. 25He took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys and their fat and the right thigh. 26From the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord, he took one unleavened cake and one cake of bread mixed with oil and one wafer, and placed them on the portions of fat and on the right thigh. 27He then put all these on the hands of Aaron and on the hands of his sons and presented them as a wave offering before the Lord. 28Then Moses took them from their hands and offered them up in smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. They were an ordination offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to the Lord. 29Moses also took the breast and presented it for a wave offering before the Lord; it was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

30So Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.

31Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, “Boil the flesh at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and eat it there together with the bread which is in the basket of the ordination offering, just as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ 32The remainder of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn in the fire. 33You shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day that the period of your ordination is fulfilled; for he will ordain you through seven days. 34The Lord has commanded to do as has been done this day, to make atonement on your behalf. 35At the doorway of the tent of meeting, moreover, you shall remain day and night for seven days and keep the charge of the Lord, so that you will not die, for so I have been commanded.” 36Thus Aaron and his sons did all the things which the Lord had commanded through Moses.

Aaron Offers Sacrifices

1Now it came about on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel; 2and he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a calf, a bull, for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without defect, and offer them before the Lord. 3Then to the sons of Israel you shall speak, saying, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both one year old, without defect, for a burnt offering, 4and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with oil; for today the Lord will appear to you.’ ” 5So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the whole congregation came near and stood before the Lord. 6Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.”

31Then His mother and His brothers *arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. 32A crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” 33Answering them, He *said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 35For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Parable of the Sower and Soils

1He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, 3“Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. 6And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” 9And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

10As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, 12so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.”

Explanation

13And He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? 14The sower sows the word. 15These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

21And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? 22For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. 23If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. 25For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”

12The wicked plots against the righteous

And gnashes at him with his teeth.

13The Lord laughs at him,

For He sees his day is coming.

14The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow

To cast down the afflicted and the needy,

To slay those who are upright in conduct.

15Their sword will enter their own heart,

And their bows will be broken.

16Better is the little of the righteous

Than the abundance of many wicked.

17For the arms of the wicked will be broken,

But the Lord sustains the righteous.

18The Lord knows the days of the blameless,

And their inheritance will be forever.

19They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,

And in the days of famine they will have abundance.

20But the wicked will perish;

And the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures,

They vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

21The wicked borrows and does not pay back,

But the righteous is gracious and gives.

22For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,

But those cursed by Him will be cut off.

23The steps of a man are established by the Lord,

And He delights in his way.

24When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,

Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.

25I have been young and now I am old,

Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

Or his descendants begging bread.

26All day long he is gracious and lends,

And his descendants are a blessing.

27Depart from evil and do good,

So you will abide forever.

28For the Lord loves justice

And does not forsake His godly ones;

They are preserved forever,

But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

29The righteous will inherit the land

And dwell in it forever.

5He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely,

But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.