66 Bible Verses about Ritual

He shall bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful of it as a memorial portion and offer it up in smoke on the altar, with the offerings by fire to the Lord; it is a sin offering. In this way the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in one of these things, and it will be forgiven him; then the rest shall be for the priest, like the grain offering.’”

“Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two one year old lambs shall be offered each day, continuously. One lamb you shall offer in the morning and the other lamb at twilight; and with the one lamb there shall be one-tenth of a measure of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten [olive] oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering [to be poured out]. read more.
And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and do with it as with the grain offering of the morning and with the drink offering, for a sweet and soothing aroma [to appease God], an offering by fire to the Lord. This will be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. There I will meet with the Israelites, and the Tent of Meeting shall be sanctified by My glory [the Shekinah, God’s dwelling presence].

If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting so that he may be accepted before the Lord. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice], that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. He shall kill the young bull before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. read more.
Then he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. The sons of Aaron the [high] priest shall put fire on the altar [of burnt offering] and arrange wood on the fire. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head and the fat, on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. But he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. The priest shall offer all of it up in smoke on the altar as a burnt offering. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. ‘But if his offering is from the flock, of the sheep or of the goats, as a burnt offering, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. He shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. But he shall wash the entrails and legs with water. The priest shall offer all of it, and offer it up in smoke on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, ‘If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them— if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer to the Lord a young bull without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.

In this way the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in one of these things, and it will be forgiven him; then the rest shall be for the priest, like the grain offering.’”

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “When anyone sins and acts unfaithfully against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor (companion, associate) in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor, or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of the things a man may do— read more.
then if he has sinned and is guilty, he shall restore what he took by robbery, or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him, or the lost thing which he found, or anything about which he has sworn falsely; he shall not only restore it in full, but shall add to it one-fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day of his guilt offering. Then he shall bring to the priest his guilt offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the flock, as valued by you, as a guilt offering. The priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he will be forgiven for any one of the things which he may have done to incur guilt.”

‘This is the law of the guilt offering; it is most holy. In the place where they kill the burnt offering they are to kill the guilt offering, and he shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. Then he shall offer all its fat, the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails, read more.
and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire to the Lord; it is a guilt offering. Every male among the priests may eat it; it shall be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy. The guilt offering is like the sin offering, there is one law for [both of] them: the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it for himself.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who had died when they [irreverently] approached the presence of the Lord. The Lord said to Moses,

“Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil (the Holy of Holies), before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die, for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. Aaron [as high priest] shall enter the Holy Place in this way: with [the blood of] a young bull as a sin offering and [the blood of] a ram as a burnt offering. read more.
He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be belted with the linen sash, and dressed with the linen turban (these are the holy garments). He shall bathe his body in water and put them on. He shall take from the congregation of the Israelites [at their expense] two male goats as a sin offering and one ram as a burnt offering. Then Aaron shall present the bull as the sin offering for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord, the other lot for the scapegoat. Then Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell and offer it as a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell for the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement on it; it shall be sent into the wilderness as the scapegoat. “Aaron shall present the bull as the sin offering for himself and make atonement for himself and for his household (the other priests), and he shall kill the bull as the sin offering for himself. He shall take a censer full of burning coals from the [bronze] altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil [into the Most Holy Place], and put the incense on the fire [in the censer] before the Lord, so that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is on [the ark of] the Testimony, otherwise he will die. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; also in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for [the sins of] the people and bring its blood within the veil [into the Most Holy Place] and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place (Holy of Holies) because of the uncleanness and transgressions of the Israelites, for all their sins. He shall also do this for the Tent of Meeting which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness (impurities). There shall be no person in the Tent of Meeting when the high priest goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place [within the veil] until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself (his own sins) and for his household and for all the congregation of Israel. Then he shall go out to the altar [of burnt offering in the court] which is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on the altar of burnt offering seven times and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites. “When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place and the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the wickedness of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat [the scapegoat, the sin-bearer], and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is prepared [for the task]. The goat shall carry on itself all their (the Israelites) wickedness, carrying them to a solitary (infertile) land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. “Then Aaron shall come into the Tent of Meeting and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place (Holy of Holies), and shall leave them there. He shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes, and come out and offer his burnt offering and that of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. And he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar. The man who released the goat as the [sin-bearing] scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place (Holy of Holies), shall be taken outside the camp; their skins, their meat, and their waste shall be burned in the fire. Then he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water, and afterward he may come into the camp. “This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month (nearly October) on the tenth day of the month you shall humble yourselves [by fasting] and not do any work, whether the native-born or the stranger who lives temporarily among you; for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute. So the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve and minister as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall wear the holy linen garments, and make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the Tent of Meeting, and for the altar [of burnt offering in the court]. He shall also make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. This shall be a permanent statute for you, so that atonement may be made for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year.” So he did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

‘If a man’s offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he offers an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice] and kill it at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood around on the altar. From the sacrifice of the peace offerings, an offering by fire to the Lord, he shall present the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails, read more.
and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver which he shall remove with the kidneys. Aaron’s sons shall offer it up in smoke on the altar [placing it] on the burnt offering which is on the wood that is on the fire. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

‘Now this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which shall be presented to the Lord: If one offers it as a sacrificial meal of thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour mixed with oil. With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving, he shall present his offering with cakes of leavened bread. read more.
Of this he shall present one [cake] from each offering as a contribution to the Lord; it shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings. ‘The meat of the sacrifice of thanksgiving presented as a peace offering shall be eaten on the day that it is offered; none of it shall be left until morning.

‘When anyone presents a grain offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour [olive] oil over it and put frankincense on it. He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. Out of it he shall take a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall offer this up in smoke on the altar [of burnt offering] as the memorial portion of it. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. What is left of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings to the Lord by fire.

‘Now this is the law of the grain offering: the sons of Aaron shall present it before the Lord in front of the altar. One of them shall take up from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering with its oil and all the incense that is on the grain offering, and he shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, a sweet and soothing aroma, as the memorial offering to the Lord. What is left of it Aaron and his sons are to eat. It shall be eaten as unleavened bread in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. read more.
It shall not be baked with leaven [which represents corruption or sin]. I have given it as their share of My offerings by fire; it is most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. Every male among the sons of Aaron may eat it [as his share]; it is a permanent ordinance throughout your generations, from offerings by fire to the Lord. Whatever touches them will become consecrated (ceremonially clean).’” Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “This is the offering which Aaron and his sons are to present to the Lord on the day when he is anointed: the tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening. It shall be prepared with oil on a griddle. When it is well stirred, you shall bring it. You shall present the grain offering in baked pieces as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. The priest from among the sons of Aaron who is anointed in his place shall offer it. By a permanent statute it shall be entirely offered up in smoke to the Lord. So every grain offering of the priest shall be burned entirely. It shall not be eaten.”

Likewise, every grain offering that is baked in the oven and everything that is prepared in a pan or on a griddle shall belong to the priest who presents it. Every grain offering, mixed with [olive] oil or dry, all the sons of Aaron may have, one as well as another.

and a bull and a ram as peace offerings to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with [olive] oil, for today the Lord will appear to you.’”

and he shall offer his gift to the Lord: one male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering, and one female lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace offering, and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread spread with oil, along with their grain offering and their drink offering. Then the priest shall present them before the Lord and shall offer the person’s sin offering and his burnt offering. read more.
He shall also offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall offer also its grain offering and its drink offering.

You shall say to the people, ‘This is the offering by fire which you shall present to the Lord every day: two male lambs one year old without blemish as a continual burnt offering. You shall offer one lamb in the morning and you shall offer the other lamb at twilight, also a tenth of an ephah of finely-milled flour as a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin of pressed oil. read more.
It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained on Mount Sinai as a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. Its drink offering shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb, in the holy place you shall pour out a strong drink offering to the Lord. The other lamb you shall offer at twilight; as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. ‘Then on the Sabbath day two male lambs one year old without blemish, and two-tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering. This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering. ‘Then at the beginning of [each of] your months you shall present a burnt offering to the Lord: two bulls, one ram, seven male lambs one year old without blemish; and three-tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, for each bull; and two-tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, for the one ram; and a tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering of a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.

And when the time for their purification came [that is, the mother’s purification and the baby’s dedication] according to the Law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord [set apart as the Firstborn] (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy [set apart and dedicated] to the Lord)” and [they came also] to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord [to be appropriate for a family of modest means], “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying,

‘If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male child, she shall be [ceremonially] unclean for seven days, unclean as during her monthly period. On the eighth day the flesh of the male child’s foreskin shall be circumcised. read more.
Then she shall remain [intimately separated] thirty-three days to be purified from the blood; she shall not touch any consecrated thing nor enter the [courtyard of the] sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. But if she gives birth to a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as during her monthly period, and she shall remain [intimately separated] sixty-six days to be purified from the blood. ‘When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting a one year old lamb as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering; and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who gives birth to a child, whether a male or a female child. If she cannot afford a lamb then she shall take two turtledoves or young pigeons, one as a burnt offering, the other as a sin offering; the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”

And a leper came to Him, begging Him and falling on his knees before Him, saying, “If You are willing, You are able to make me clean.” Moved with compassion [for his suffering], Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” The leprosy left him immediately and he was cleansed [completely healed and restored to health]. read more.
And Jesus [deeply moved] admonished him sternly and sent him away immediately, saying to him, “See that you tell no one anything [about this]; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your purification what Moses commanded, as proof to them [that you are really healed].”

And a leper came up to Him and bowed down before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You are able to make me clean (well).” Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one [about this]; but go, show yourself to the priest [for inspection] and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony (evidence) to them [of your healing].”

While Jesus was in one of the cities, there came a man covered with [an advanced case of] leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean and well.” And Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. Jesus ordered him to tell no one [that he might happen to meet], “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your purification, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony (witness) to them [that this is a work of Messiah].”

“This shall be the law of the leper on the day of his [ceremonial] cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest [at a meeting place outside the camp]; the priest shall go out of the camp [to meet him]; and the priest shall examine him, and if the leper has been healed of the infection of leprosy, then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds and cedar wood and scarlet string and hyssop for the one to be cleansed. read more.
Next the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed [as a sacrifice] in an earthenware container over [fresh] running water. As for the live bird, he shall take it together with the cedar wood and the scarlet string and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird sacrificed over the running water. He shall sprinkle [the blood] seven times on the one to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him [ceremonially] clean. Then he shall let the live bird go free over the open field.

This is the law for the one who has a discharge and for the one who has a seminal emission, so that he is unclean by it; and for the woman who is ill because of her monthly period, and for the one who has a discharge, whether man or woman, or for a man who lies with a woman who is [ceremonially] unclean.

‘The one who touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean for seven days. That one shall purify himself from uncleanness with the water [made with the ashes of the burned heifer] on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. Whoever touches a corpse, the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from Israel [that is, excluded from the atonement made for them]. Because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

The Lord spoke again to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Among all the animals which are on the earth, these are the animals which you may eat.

For I am the Lord your God; so consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm or crawls on the ground. For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; therefore you shall be holy, for I am holy.’” This is the law regarding the animal and the bird and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, read more.
to make a distinction between the [ceremonially] unclean and the [ceremonially] clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.

But you shall not eat meat along with its life, that is, its blood. For your lifeblood I will most certainly require an accounting; from every animal [that kills a person] I will require it. And from man, from every man’s brother [that is, anyone who murders] I will require the life of man.

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life [which it represents].’ Therefore I have said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any stranger living temporarily among you eat blood.’

but that we write to them that they are to abstain from anything that has been contaminated by [being offered to] idols and from sexual impurity and from [eating the meat of] what has been strangled and from [the consumption of] blood.

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

“This is what you shall do to consecrate Aaron and his sons so that they may serve Me as priests: take one young bull and two rams, without blemish, and unleavened bread and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil; you shall make them of fine wheat flour. You shall put them in one basket, and present them in the basket along with the bull and the two rams. read more.
Then bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting [out where the basin is] and wash them with water. Then you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the tunic and the robe of the ephod and the ephod and the breastpiece, and wrap him with the skillfully woven sash of the ephod; and you shall put the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. Then you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. And you shall wrap them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the [ornamental] caps on them; and the priest’s office shall be theirs by a perpetual statute. So you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.

He brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them into the square on the east. Then he said to them, “Levites, listen to me! Now consecrate (dedicate) yourselves and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and get the filth [of idol worship] out of the Holy Place.

“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for [the sins of] the people and bring its blood within the veil [into the Most Holy Place] and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place (Holy of Holies) because of the uncleanness and transgressions of the Israelites, for all their sins. He shall also do this for the Tent of Meeting which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness (impurities). There shall be no person in the Tent of Meeting when the high priest goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place [within the veil] until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself (his own sins) and for his household and for all the congregation of Israel. read more.
Then he shall go out to the altar [of burnt offering in the court] which is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on the altar of burnt offering seven times and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites. “When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place and the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat.

Then the king and all [the people of] Israel with him [repeatedly] offered sacrifice before the Lord. Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord: 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the house (temple) of the Lord.

Then the king and all the people offered a sacrifice before the Lord. King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. In this way the king and all the people dedicated God’s house.

And all Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the [former] exiles—celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. They offered at the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and, as a sin offering for all Israel, 12 male goats, according to the number of Israel’s tribes.

‘These are the appointed times (established feasts) of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to present an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a grain offering, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its own day.

And the Lord said to Moses, “But as for you, say to the Israelites, ‘You shall most certainly observe My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I am the Lord who sanctifies you and sets you apart [for Myself]. Therefore, you shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it must be put to death; for whoever does work on the Sabbath, that person (soul) shall be cut off from among his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them]. read more.
For six days work may be done, but the seventh is the Sabbath of complete rest, sacred to the Lord; whoever does work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. So the Israelites shall observe the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’ It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He ceased and was refreshed.”

But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

The Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

This is [the sign of] My covenant, which you shall keep and faithfully obey, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be the sign (symbol, memorial) of the covenant between Me and you. Every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, [including] a servant whether born in the house or one who is purchased with [your] money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants. read more.
A servant who is born in your house or one who is purchased with your money must be circumcised; and [the sign of] My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

Circumcision [the sign of the covenant of Abraham] is indeed of value if you practice the Law; but if you habitually break the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision [it is meaningless in God’s sight].

“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me [without your repentance]?”
Says the Lord.
“I have had enough of [your] burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of well-fed cattle [without your obedience];
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls or lambs or goats [offered without repentance].

“When you come to appear before Me,
Who requires this of you, this trampling of My [temple] courts [by your sinful feet]?

“Do not bring worthless offerings again,
[Your] incense is repulsive to Me;
[Your] New Moon and Sabbath [observances], the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing] and [the squalor of] the festive assembly.
read more.

“I hate [the hypocrisy of] your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts.
They have become a burden to Me;
I am weary of bearing them.

“So when you spread out your hands [in prayer, pleading for My help],
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you offer many prayers,
I will not be listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Get your evil deeds out of My sight.
Stop doing evil,

Learn to do good.
Seek justice,
Rebuke the ruthless,
Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the [rights of the] widow [in court].

And He said, “Are you still so dull [and unable to put things together]? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But whatever [word] comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what defiles and dishonors the man. read more.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts and plans, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slanders (verbal abuse, irreverent speech, blaspheming). These are the things which defile and dishonor the man; but eating with [ceremonially] unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

And He said to them, “Are you, too, so foolish and lacking in understanding? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile and dishonor him, since it does not enter his heart, but [only] his stomach, and [from there it] is eliminated?” (By this, He declared all foods ceremonially clean.) And He said, “Whatever comes from [the heart of] a man, that is what defiles and dishonors him. read more.
For from within, [that is] out the heart of men, come base and malevolent thoughts and schemes, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries, acts of greed and covetousness, wickedness, deceit, unrestrained conduct, envy and jealousy, slander and profanity, arrogance and self-righteousness and foolishness (poor judgment). All these evil things [schemes and desires] come from within and defile and dishonor the man.”

“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and robbery and self-indulgence (unrestrained greed).

For he is not a [real] Jew who is only one outwardly, nor is [true] circumcision something external and physical. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and [true] circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by [the fulfillment of] the letter [of the Law]. His praise is not from men, but from God.

Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is keeping the commandments of God.

Now food will not commend us to God nor bring us close to Him; we are no worse off if we do not eat, nor are we better if we do eat.

Such things are only a shadow of what is to come and they have only symbolic value; but the substance [the reality of what is foreshadowed] belongs to Christ.

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath [and He has authority over it].”

In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but by the [spiritual] circumcision of Christ in the stripping off of the body of the flesh [the sinful carnal nature],

For since the Law has only a shadow [just a pale representation] of the good things to come—not the very image of those things—it can never, by offering the same sacrifices continually year after year, make perfect those who approach [its altars]. For if it were otherwise, would not these sacrifices have stopped being offered? For the worshipers, having once [for all time] been cleansed, would no longer have a consciousness of sin. But [as it is] these [continual] sacrifices bring a fresh reminder of sins [to be atoned for] year after year,

For they [the gifts, sacrifices, and ceremonies] deal only with [clean and unclean] food and drink and various ritual washings, [mere] external regulations for the body imposed [to help the worshipers] until the time of reformation [that is, the time of the new order when Christ will establish the reality of what these things foreshadow—a better covenant].

since it does not enter his heart, but [only] his stomach, and [from there it] is eliminated?” (By this, He declared all foods ceremonially clean.)

The next day, as they were on their way and were approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof of the house about the sixth hour (noon) to pray, but he became hungry and wanted something to eat. While the meal was being prepared he fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet descending, lowered by its four corners to the earth, read more.
and it contained all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” But Peter said, “Not at all, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common (unholy) and [ceremonially] unclean.” And the voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, no longer consider common (unholy).”

But now we have been released from the Law and its penalty, having died [through Christ] to that by which we were held captive, so that we serve [God] in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter [of the Law].

I know and am convinced [as one] in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean [ritually defiled, and unholy] in itself; but [nonetheless] it is unclean to anyone who thinks it is unclean.

For [if we are] in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but only faith activated and expressed and working through love.

For neither is circumcision anything [of any importance], nor uncircumcision, but [only] a new creation [which is the result of a new birth—a spiritual transformation—a new nature in Christ Jesus].

by abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the hostility caused by the Law with its commandments contained in ordinances [which He satisfied]; so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thereby establishing peace.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (worldliness, manner of life), God made you alive together with Christ, having [freely] forgiven us all our sins, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of legal demands [which were in force] against us and which were hostile to us. And this certificate He has set aside and completely removed by nailing it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities [those supernatural forces of evil operating against us], He made a public example of them [exhibiting them as captives in His triumphal procession], having triumphed over them through the cross. read more.
Therefore let no one judge you in regard to food and drink or in regard to [the observance of] a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day.