'To the Lord' in the Bible

In the course of time Cain presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the Lord.

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. He took some of every kind of clean animal and every kind of clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.

From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to Yahweh there, and he called on the name of Yahweh.

So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord.

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand in an oath to Yahweh, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

Then Abraham answered, “Since I have ventured to speak to the Lord—even though I am dust and ashes—

Then he said, “Since I have ventured to speak to the Lord, suppose 20 are found there?”He replied, “I will not destroy it on account of 20.”

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.

They will listen to what you say. Then you, along with the elders of Israel, must go to the king of Egypt and say to him: Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.

But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since You have been speaking to Your servant—because I am slow and hesitant in speech.”

Then they answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God, or else He may strike us with plague or sword.”

But he said, “You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’

So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have You caused trouble for this people? And why did You ever send me?

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Ask Yahweh to remove the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go and they can sacrifice to Yahweh.”

After Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord for help concerning the frogs that He had brought against Pharaoh.

But Moses said, “It would not be right to do that, because what we will sacrifice to the Lord our God is detestable to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice what the Egyptians detest in front of them, won’t they stone us?

We must go a distance of three days into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He instructs us.”

Pharaoh responded, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but don’t go very far. Make an appeal for me.”

“As soon as I leave you,” Moses said, “I will appeal to the Lord, and tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceptively again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the Lord.”

Then Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord.

Make an appeal to Yahweh. There has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.”

Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will extend my hands to Yahweh. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know the earth belongs to Yahweh.

Moses went out from Pharaoh and the city, and extended his hands to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured down on the land.

Please forgive my sin once more and make an appeal to Yahweh your God, so that He will take this death away from me.”

Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord.

“This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute.

you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” So the people bowed down and worshiped.

For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord.

you are to present to the Lord every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the Lord’s.

When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them. Then the Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said:I will sing to the Lord,for He is highly exalted;He has thrown the horseand its rider into the sea.

Miriam sang to them:Sing to the Lord,for He is highly exalted;He has thrown the horseand its rider into the sea.

So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he threw it into the water, the water became drinkable.He made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah and He tested them there.

He told them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil, and set aside everything left over to be kept until morning.’”

“Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today you won’t find any in the field.

The entire Israelite community left the Wilderness of Sin, moving from one place to the next according to the Lord’s command. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? In a little while they will stone me!”

Then all the people responded together, “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.” So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.

The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you and will always believe you.” Then Moses reported the people’s words to the Lord.

But Moses responded to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, since You warned us: Put a boundary around the mountain and consider it holy.”

And the Lord replied to him, “Go down and come back with Aaron. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the Lord, or He will break out in anger against them.”

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates.

Then He said to Moses, “Go up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s elders, and bow in worship at a distance.

Then he sent out young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord.

“You are to make a pure gold medallion and engrave it, like the engraving of a seal:HOLY TO THE LORD.

Then burn the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, a fire offering to the Lord.

Take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a pleasing aroma before the Lord; it is a fire offering to the Lord.

This will belong to Aaron and his sons as a regular portion from the Israelites, for it is a contribution. It will be the Israelites’ contribution from their fellowship sacrifices, their contribution to the Lord.

You are to offer the second lamb at twilight. Offer a grain offering and a drink offering with it, like the one in the morning, as a pleasing aroma, a fire offering to the Lord.

“Once a year Aaron is to perform the purification rite on the horns of the altar. Throughout your generations he is to perform the purification rite for it once a year, with the blood of the sin offering for atonement. The altar is especially holy to the Lord.”

“When you take a census of the Israelites to register them, each of the men must pay a ransom for himself to the Lord as they are registered. Then no plague will come on them as they are registered.

Everyone who is registered must pay half a shekel according to the sanctuary shekel (20 gerahs to the shekel). This half shekel is a contribution to the Lord.

Each man who is registered, 20 years old or more, must give this contribution to the Lord.

The wealthy may not give more and the poor may not give less than half a shekel when giving the contribution to the Lord to atone for your lives.

Whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister by burning up an offering to the Lord, they must wash with water so that they will not die.

As for the incense you are making, you must not make any for yourselves using its formula. It is to be regarded by you as sacred to the Lord.

Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.

When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; then he made an announcement: “There will be a festival to the Lord tomorrow.”

Afterward Moses said, “Today you have been dedicated to the Lord, since each man went against his son and his brother. Therefore you have brought a blessing on yourselves today.”

The following day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I will be able to atone for your sin.”

So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a grave sin; they have made a god of gold for themselves.

Moses said to the Lord, “Look, You have told me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. You said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’

For six days work is to be done, but on the seventh day you are to have a holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. Anyone who does work on it must be executed.

Everyone whose heart was moved and whose spirit prompted him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its services, and for the holy garments.

Both men and women came; all who had willing hearts brought brooches, earrings, rings, necklaces, and all kinds of gold jewelry—everyone who waved a presentation offering of gold to the Lord.

Everyone making an offering of silver or bronze brought it as a contribution to the Lord. Everyone who possessed acacia wood useful for any task in the work brought it.

So the Israelites brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts prompted them to bring something for all the work that the Lord, through Moses, had commanded to be done.

They also made a medallion, the holy diadem, out of pure gold and wrote on it an inscription like the engraving on a seal:HOLY TO THE LORD.

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the Lord from the livestock, you may bring your offering from the herd or the flock.

The offerer must wash its entrails and shanks with water. Then the priest will burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

But he is to wash the entrails and shanks with water. The priest will then present all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

“If his gift to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, he is to present his offering from the turtledoves or young pigeons.

He will tear it open by its wings without dividing the bird. Then the priest is to burn it on the altar on top of the burning wood. It is a burnt offering, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

“When anyone presents a grain offering as a gift to the Lord, his gift must consist of fine flour. He is to pour olive oil on it, put frankincense on it,

and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest will take a handful of fine flour and oil from it, along with all its frankincense, and will burn this memorial portion of it on the altar, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

But the rest of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and his sons; it is the holiest part of the fire offerings to the Lord.

When you bring to the Lord the grain offering made in any of these ways, it is to be presented to the priest, and he will take it to the altar.

The priest will remove the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

But the rest of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and his sons; it is the holiest part of the fire offerings to the Lord.

“No grain offering that you present to the Lord is to be made with yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey as a fire offering to the Lord.

You may present them to the Lord as an offering of firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma.

“If you present a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you must present fresh heads of grain, crushed kernels, roasted on the fire, for your grain offering of firstfruits.

The priest will then burn some of its crushed kernels and oil with all its frankincense as a fire offering to the Lord.

He will present part of the fellowship sacrifice as a fire offering to the Lord: the fat surrounding the entrails, all the fat that is on the entrails,

Aaron’s sons will burn it on the altar along with the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

“If his offering as a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord is from the flock, he must present a male or female without blemish.

He will then present part of the fellowship sacrifice as a fire offering to the Lord consisting of its fat and the entire fat tail, which he is to remove close to the backbone. He will also remove the fat surrounding the entrails, all the fat on the entrails,

Then the priest will burn the food on the altar, as a fire offering to the Lord.

He will present part of his offering as a fire offering to the Lord: the fat surrounding the entrails, all the fat that is on the entrails,

Then the priest will burn the food on the altar, as a fire offering for a pleasing aroma.“All fat belongs to the Lord.

“If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he is to present to the Lord a young, unblemished bull as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.

He is to remove all its fat just as the fat is removed from the fellowship sacrifice. The priest is to burn it on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf, and he will be forgiven.

He is to remove all its fat just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the fellowship sacrifice. The priest will burn it on the altar along with the fire offerings to the Lord. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

He must bring his restitution for the sin he has committed to the Lord: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin.

“But if he cannot afford an animal from the flock, then he may bring to the Lord two turtledoves or two young pigeons as restitution for his sin—one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.

He is to bring it to the priest, who will take a handful from it as its memorial portion and burn it on the altar along with the fire offerings to the Lord; it is a sin offering.

“If someone offends by sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord’s holy things, he must bring his restitution offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock (based on your assessment of its value in silver shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel) as a restitution offering.

Then he must bring his restitution offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock according to your assessment of its value as a restitution offering to the priest.