Caring for the Lamps

¹The Lord told Moses

²to say to the community of Israel:

You must supply the purest olive oil for the lamps in the sacred tent, so they will keep burning.

^3-4Aaron will set up the gold lampstand in the holy place of the sacred tent. Then he will light the seven lamps that must be kept burning there in my presence, every night from now on. This law will never change.

The Sacred Bread

⁵Use your finest flour to bake twelve loaves of bread about two kilograms each,[#Ex 25.30.]

⁶then take them into the sacred tent and lay them on the gold table in two rows of six loaves.

⁷Alongside each row put some pure incense that will be sent up by fire in place of the bread as an offering to me.

⁸Aaron must lay fresh loaves on the table each Sabbath, and priests in all generations must continue this practice as part of Israel's agreement with me.

⁹This bread will always belong to Aaron and his family; it is very holy because it was offered to me, and it must be eaten in a holy place.[#Mt 12.4; Mk 2.26; Lk 6.4.; #24.9 The courtyard of the sacred tent (see 6.16,17).]

Punishment for Cursing the Lord

^10-11Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri from the tribe of Dan, had married an Egyptian, and they had a son. One day their son got into a fight with an Israelite man in camp and cursed the name of the Lord . So the young man was dragged off to Moses,

¹²who had him guarded while everyone waited for the Lord to tell them what to do.

¹³Finally, the Lord said to Moses:

²³When Moses finished speaking, the people did what the Lord had told Moses, and they stoned to death the man who had cursed the Lord .