The Lord's Sacred Land
The Lord said:
1 When the land of Israel is divided among the twelve tribes, you must set aside an area that will belong to me. This sacred area will be 12.5 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide. 2 The temple will be on a piece of land 255 meters square, and the temple will be completely surrounded by an open space 25 meters wide.
3-4 I will give half of my sacred land, a section 12.5 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide, to the priests who serve in the temple. Their houses will be in this half, as well as my temple, which is the most sacred place of all.
5 I will give the other half of my land to the Levites who work in my temple, and the towns where they will live will be there.
6 Next to my sacred land will be an area 12.5 kilometers long and 3 kilometers wide. This will belong to the people of Israel and will include the city of Jerusalem.
Land for Israel's Ruler
The Lord said:
7-8 The regions west and east of my sacred land and the city of Jerusalem will belong to the ruler of Israel. He will be given the region between the western edge of my land and the Mediterranean Sea, and between the eastern edge of my land and the Jordan River. This will mean that the length of his property will be the same as the sections of land given to the tribes.
This property will belong to every ruler of Israel, so they will always be fair to my people and will let them live peacefully in the land given to their tribes.
Israel's Rulers Must Be Honest
9 The Lord God said:
You leaders of Israel have cheated and abused my people long enough! I want you to stop sinning and start doing what is right and fair. You must never again force my people off their own land. I, the Lord, have spoken.
10 So from now on, you must use honest weights and measures. 11 The ephah will be the standard dry measure, and the bath will be the standard liquid measure. Their size will be based on the homer , which will equal ten ephahs or ten baths .
12 The standard unit of weight will be the shekel . One shekel will equal 20 gerahs , and 60 shekels will equal one mina .
13 Leaders of Israel, the people must bring you one sixtieth of their grain harvests as offerings to me. 14 They will also bring one percent of their olive oil. These things will be measured according to the bath , and ten baths is the same as one homer or one cor . 15 Finally, they must bring one sheep out of every 200 from their flocks.
These offerings will be used as grain sacrifices, as well as sacrifices to please me and those to ask my blessing. I, the Lord, will be pleased with these sacrifices and will forgive the sins of my people.
16 The people of Israel will bring you these offerings. 17 But during New Moon Festivals, Sabbath celebrations, and other religious feasts, you leaders will be responsible for providing animals for the sacrifices, as well as the grain and wine. All these will be used for the sacrifices for sin, the grain sacrifices, the sacrifices to please me, and those to ask my blessing. I will be pleased and will forgive the sins of my people.
The Festivals
(Exodus 12.1-20Leviticus 23.33-43)18 The Lord God said:
On the first day of the first month, a young bull that has nothing wrong with it must be offered as a sacrifice to purify the temple. 19 The priest will take some blood from this sacrifice and smear it on the doorposts of the temple, as well as on the four corners of the altar and on the doorposts of the gates that lead into the inner courtyard.
20 The same ceremony must also be done on the seventh day of the month, so that anyone who sins accidentally or without knowing it will be forgiven, and so that my temple will remain holy.
21 Beginning on the fourteenth day of the first month, and continuing for seven days, everyone will celebrate Passover and eat bread made without yeast. 22 On the first day, the ruler will bring a bull to offer as a sacrifice for his sins and for the sins of the people. 23 Each day of the festival he is to bring seven bulls and seven rams as sacrifices to please me, and he must bring a goat as a sacrifice for sin. These animals must have nothing wrong with them. 24 He will also provide nine kilograms of grain and three liters of olive oil to be offered with each bull and each ram.
25 The Festival of Shelters will begin on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and will continue for seven days. On each day of this festival, the ruler will provide the same number of animals that he did each day during Passover, as well as the same amount of grain and olive oil for the sacrifices.
Svētnīcai piederošais zemes gabals
1 Kad jūs dalīsiet zemi īpašumā, nododiet Kungam svēto zemes gabalu divdesmit pieci tūkstošu olekšu garumā un divdesmit tūkstošu olekšu platumā – viss šis gabals ir svēts. 2 No tā lai četrstūris, pieci simti olekšu uz pieciem simtiem olekšu liels, tiek svētnīcai, un tam visapkārt lai paliek piecdesmit olekšu brīvas zemes. 3 Un no tā atmēri garumā divdesmit piecus tūkstošus olekšu un platumā desmit tūkstošus olekšu, tur lai ir svētumu svētuma vieta. 4 Svētais zemes gabals lai pieder priesteriem, kas kalpo svētnīcā, – tiem, kas tuvojas Kungam, lai kalpotu. Tā ir viņu mājvieta, svētnīcas svētvieta. 5 Levītiem, kas kalpo templī, lai pieder divdesmit pieci tūkstoši olekšu gara un desmit tūkstoši olekšu plata vieta ar pilsētām, kur dzīvot. 6 Pilsētā jums jādod par mantojuma daļu piecus tūkstošus plats un divdesmit tūkstošus garš zemes gabals blakus svētajai daļai, tas lai pieder visam Israēla namam.
Valdnieka zemes gabals
7 Valdnieka zeme lai ir blakus svētajai zemei un pilsētas īpašumam – gan pie svētā, gan pilsētas īpašuma, gan jūras pusē, gan rīta pusē, – tās garums lai ir tāds pats kā blakus gabalam, no vakariem līdz rītiem. 8 Tā lai ir viņa daļa Israēlā. Mani valdnieki lai vairs neapspiež manu tautu, bet dod zemi Israēla namam pēc viņu ciltīm.
9 Tā saka Kungs Dievs: gana jums, Israēla valdnieki! Atstājieties no varasdarbiem un laupīšanas, dariet tiesu un taisnību! Neizdzeniet manus ļaudis! – saka Kungs Dievs.
Par pareizu mēru un svaru
10 Lai jums ir pareizi atsvari, pareiza ēfa un pareizs bats. 11 Ēfa un bats lai ir vienādi – bats ir omera desmitā daļa, un arī ēfa ir omera desmitā daļa – tos mēra pēc omera. 12 Šekelī jābūt divdesmit gerām. Divdesmit šekeļu un divdesmit pieci šekeļi, un vēl piecpadsmit šekeļi lai jums ir viena mina.
Upuri un svinamās dienas
13 Šāds lai ir jūsu upuris – sestā daļa ēfas no katra kviešu omera un sestā daļa ēfas no katra miežu omera. 14 Eļļas noteiktā deva lai ir viens bats no desmit batiem – viens bats no koras, un arī viens bats no omera, jo desmit bati ir viens omers. 15 Un viena avs no katriem diviem simtiem sīklopu Israēla leknajās ganībās lai ir klāt labības dāvanai, sadedzināmajam upurim un miera upurim, lai apklātu tiem grēku, saka Kungs Dievs. 16 Lai visa tauta visā zemē gādā šo upuri Israēla valdniekam, 17 un viņam tas jāpienes par sadedzināmo upuri, labības dāvanu un lejamo upuri svētkos, jaunā mēnesī, sabatos un visās Israēla nama sapulcēs. Viņš lai upurē grēka upuri, labības dāvanu, sadedzināmo un miera upuri – lai apklātu Israēla nama grēku.
18 Tā saka Kungs Dievs: pirmā mēneša pirmajā dienā ņem jaunu vērsi, kas bez vainas, un šķīstī svētvietu. 19 Priesteris lai ņem grēka upura asinis un apziež tempļa durvju apmales, altāra dzegas četrus stūrus un iekšpagalma vārtu stabus. 20 Tāpat dari arī mēneša septītajā dienā – par tiem, kas grēkojuši maldu vai nezināšanas dēļ, – tā tu apklāsi grēku par templi.
21 Mēneša četrpadsmitajā dienā lai jums ir Pashas svētki – septiņas dienas ēdiet neraudzētu! 22 Tajā dienā valdnieks sev un visai tautai lai upurē grēka upurim vērsi. 23 Septiņas svētku dienas lai viņš upurē sadedzināmo upuri Kungam – septiņus vēršus un septiņus aunus bez vainas, un visas septiņas dienas lai katru dienu par grēka upuri upurē āzi. 24 Pie katra upura vērša un auna lai viņš pienes labības dāvanai vienu ēfu miltu un pie katras ēfas vienu hīnu eļļas.
25 Svētkos, kas ilgst septiņas dienas pirms septītā mēneša piecpadsmitās dienas, lai viņš upurē tādu pašu grēka upuri, sadedzināmo upuri, labības dāvanu un eļļu.
