The Lampstand and the Holy Bread
24 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to bring to you pure oil from crushed olives. That oil is for the lamps that must burn without stopping. 3 Aaron will keep the light burning in the Meeting Tent before the Lord from evening until morning. This light will be outside the curtain that hangs in front of the Box that holds the Agreement.[a] This law will continue forever. 4 Aaron must always keep the lamps burning on the lampstand of pure gold before the Lord.
5 “Take fine flour and bake twelve loaves with it. Use 16 cups[b] of flour for each loaf. 6 Put them in two rows on the golden table before the Lord. Six loaves will be in each row. 7 Put pure frankincense on each row. This will help the Lord remember the gift. 8 Every Sabbath day Aaron will put the bread in order before the Lord. This must be done forever. This agreement with the Israelites will continue forever. 9 That bread will belong to Aaron and his sons. They will eat the bread in a holy place, because that bread is one of the special gifts to the Lord. It is Aaron’s share forever.”
The Man Who Cursed God
10 There was a son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father. He was walking among the Israelites, and he started fighting in camp. 11 The Israelite woman’s son began cursing, using the Lord’s name in a bad way, so the people brought him to Moses. (The name of the man’s mother was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, from the tribe of Dan.) 12 The people held him as a prisoner and waited for the Lord’s command to be made clear to them.
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, 14 “Bring the man who cursed to a place outside the camp. Then bring together everyone who heard him curse. They will put their hands on his head.[c] And then all the people must throw stones at him and kill him. 15 You must tell the Israelites: Anyone who curses their God must be punished. 16 Anyone who speaks against the name of the Lord must be put to death. All the people must stone him. Any foreigner or anyone born in Israel who uses the Lord’s name in a bad way must be put to death.
17 “And whoever kills another person must be put to death. 18 Whoever kills an animal that belongs to another person must give another animal to take its place.[d]
19 “And whoever causes an injury to their neighbor must be given the same kind of injury: 20 a broken bone for a broken bone, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. The same kind of injury a person gives another person must be given that person. 21 Whoever kills an animal must pay for the animal. But whoever kills another person must be put to death.
22 “The law will be the same for foreigners and for people from your own country. This is because I am the Lord your God.”
23 Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the man who cursed to a place outside the camp. Then they killed him with stones. So the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 24:3 Box that holds the Agreement Literally, “Testimony.” See “Agreement” in the Word List.
- Leviticus 24:5 16 cups Literally, “2/10 of an ephah” (4.4 l).
- Leviticus 24:14 put their hands on his head To show that all these people were sharing in punishing the man.
- Leviticus 24:18 give … its place Literally, “pay for it, life for life.”