TSAV (COMMAND!)

Parashat Tzav

Torah of Burnt Offering

6 Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Command Aaron and his sons, saying: This is the Torah of the burnt offering. The burnt offering should remain on the hearth atop the altar all night until the morning, while the fire of the altar is kept burning on it. ³ The kohen is to put on his linen garment, with his linen undergarments on his body. He is to remove the fat ashes from where the fire has consumed the burnt offering on the altar and put them beside the altar. ⁴ Then he is to take off his garments, put on other ones, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

⁵ The fire on the altar is to be kept burning on it—it must not go out. Each morning the kohen is to burn wood on it, laying the burnt offering in order upon it, and burning up as smoke the fat of the fellowship offerings. ⁶ Fire is to be kept burning on the altar continually—it must not go out.

Torah of Grain Offering

⁷ “Now this is the Torah of the grain offering. Aaron’s sons are to offer it to Adonai in front of the altar. ⁸ So he is to lift up from it his handful of the fine flour of the grain offering, with some of its oil and all the frankincense which is on the grain offering, and burn it up as smoke on the altar for a soothing aroma, as its memorial portion to Adonai. ⁹ Then what is left from it Aaron and his sons are to eat. It is to be eaten as matzah in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁰ It must not be baked with hametz. I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire. It is most holy, like the sin offering and like the trespass offering. ¹¹ Every male among the children of Aaron may eat it, as their portion forever throughout your generations from the offerings of Adonai made by fire. Whoever touches them will become holy.”

¹² Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: ¹³ “This is the offering of Aaron and his sons, which they are to offer to Adonai on the day when he is anointed: the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a continual grain offering, half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening. ¹⁴ It is to be made with oil on a pan. When it is soaked, you should bring it in. You are to present the grain offering in baked pieces as a soothing aroma to Adonai. ¹⁵ The anointed kohen who will be in his place from among his sons is to offer it. As an eternal statute, it must be entirely burnt up as smoke to Adonai. ¹⁶ Thus every grain offering of a kohen is to be a whole-offering—it should not be eaten.”

Sin and Guilt Offerings

¹⁷ Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: ¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying: ‘This is the Torah of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, the sin offering is to be slaughtered before Adonai. It is most holy. ¹⁹ The kohen who offers it for sin should eat it. It must be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the Tent of Meeting. ²⁰ Whatever touches its flesh will be holy. When any of its blood is splattered on a garment, you are to wash it in a holy place. ²¹ But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled is to be broken, and if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, it is to be scoured, then rinsed in water. ²² Every male among the kohanim is to eat of it—it is most holy. ²³ But no sin offering from which any of the blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place is to be eaten—it must be burned up with fire.

7 “This is the Torah of the trespass offering. It is most holy. ² In the place where they slaughter the burnt offering, he is to slaughter the trespass offering. And he is to splash its blood around on the altar. ³ He shall offer all of its fat, the fat tail and the fat that covers the innards, ⁴ along with the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, plus the cover on the liver that he is to remove with the kidneys. ⁵ Then the kohen shall burn them up as smoke on the altar for an offering made by fire to Adonai. It is a trespass offering. ⁶ Every male among the kohanim may eat it. It is to be eaten in a holy place—it is most holy.

Fellowship Offerings for Kohanim

⁷ “As is the sin offering, so is the trespass offering, there is one Torah for them: they are for the kohen who makes atonement with them. ⁸ The kohen who offers anyone’s burnt offering, that kohen is to have for himself the hide of the burnt offering which he has offered. ⁹ Every meal offering that is baked in the oven, and all that is prepared on the flat plate and on the pan, is to belong to the kohen who offers it. ¹⁰ Every grain offering, whether mixed with oil or dry, belongs to all the sons of Aaron equally.

¹¹ “Now this is the Torah of the sacrifice of fellowship offerings which may be offered to Adonai. ¹² If he brings it for a thanksgiving, then he is to present with the sacrifice of thanksgiving matzah cakes mixed with oil, matzah wafers anointed with oil, and fine flour cakes mixed with oil. ¹³ He is to present his offering with the sacrifice of his fellowship offerings for thanksgiving along with cakes of bread with hametz. ¹⁴ From each he is to offer one out of every offering as a gift to Adonai. It will belong to the kohen who sprinkles the blood of the fellowship offerings. ¹⁵ The meat of the sacrifice of his fellowship offerings for thanksgiving is to be eaten on the day of his offering. He is not to leave any of it until the morning.

¹⁶ “But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow or a freewill offering, it is to be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice. On the next day what remains of it may be eaten. ¹⁷ But what remains of the meat of the sacrifice on the third day is to be burned up with fire. ¹⁸ If any of the meat of the sacrifice of his fellowship offerings is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted, nor will it be credited to him who offers it. It will be a foul thing—and the soul who eats any from it will bear his own iniquity.

¹⁹ “The meat that touches any unclean thing is not to be eaten. It is to be burned up with fire. As for the meat, everyone who is clean may eat it, ²⁰ but the soul who eats of the meat of the sacrifice of fellowship offerings belonging to Adonai, having his uncleanness on him, that soul is to be cut off from his people. ²¹ If anyone touches any unclean thing, whether the uncleanness of man, or an unclean animal or any unclean detestable thing, and eats some of the meat of the sacrifice of fellowship offerings belonging to Adonai, that soul is to be cut off from his people.”

²² Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: ²³ “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, saying: You are to eat no fat of a bull or sheep or goat. ²⁴ The fat of a dead animal and the fat of a torn animal may be used for any other service, but you must not eat it. ²⁵ For if anyone eats the fat of the animal from which an offering is made by fire to Adonai, then the soul who eats it is to be cut off from his people.

²⁶ “You are not to eat any blood, whether it is from a bird or an animal, in any of your dwellings. ²⁷ Whoever it is who consumes any blood, that soul is to be cut off from his people.’”

²⁸ Then Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: ²⁹ “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, saying: Whoever brings the sacrifice of his fellowship offerings to Adonai is to present his offering to Adonai out of the sacrifice of his fellowship offerings. ³⁰ With his own hands he is to bring Adonai’s offerings by fire. He is to present the fat with the breast, so that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before Adonai. ³¹ The kohen is to burn up the fat as smoke on the altar, but the breast will belong to Aaron and his sons. ³² The right thigh you are to give to the kohen for a contribution out of the sacrifices of your fellowship offerings. ³³ The one among Aaron’s sons who offers the blood of the fellowship offerings and the fat is to have the right thigh for a portion. ³⁴ For the breast of the wave offering and the thigh contribution I have taken from Bnei-Yisrael out of the sacrifices of their fellowship offerings and have given them to Aaron the kohen and to his sons as their portion forever from Bnei-Yisrael.”

³⁵ This is the anointed portion of Aaron and the anointed portion of his sons out of the offerings of Adonai made by fire, on the day when he presented them to serve Adonai in the office of kohen. ³⁶ Adonai commanded these to be given to them from Bnei-Yisrael on the day that he anointed them. It is their portion forever throughout their generations.

³⁷ This is the Torah of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, the ordination offering, and the sacrifice of fellowship offerings, ³⁸ which Adonai commanded Moses at Mount Sinai, on the day He commanded Bnei-Yisrael to present their offerings to Adonai, in the wilderness of Sinai.

Consecration of the Kohanim

8 Then Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Take Aaron and his sons with him, the garments, the anointing oil, the bull of the sin offering, the two rams and the basket of matzot. ³ Then assemble all the congregation at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.”

⁴ So Moses did as Adonai commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, ⁵ Moses said to the congregation, “This is what Adonai has commanded to be done.”

⁶ Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. ⁷ He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash on him, clothed him with the robe, put the ephod on him, and tied the skillfully decorated sash of the ephod around him and fastened it on him. ⁸ He then placed the breastplate on Aaron, and inside the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim. ⁹ He set the turban on his head, and on front of the turban he set the golden plate, the holy crown, just as Adonai commanded Moses. ¹⁰ Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Tabernacle and all that was in it, and so consecrated them. ¹¹ He sprinkled the oil on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils, the basin with its stand, to consecrate them. ¹² He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him. ¹³ Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and clothed them with tunics, tied sashes on them, and fastened headbands on them, as Adonai had commanded Moses.

¹⁴ Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering. ¹⁵ Moses then slaughtered it, took the blood and dabbed it onto the horns of the altar with his finger, and so purified the altar. Then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. ¹⁶ He then took all the fat that was on the innards, the cover of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and burned it up as smoke on the altar. ¹⁷ But the bull and its hide, its flesh and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp, as Adonai had commanded. ¹⁸ He then presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ¹⁹ Then Moses slaughtered it and splashed the blood around on the altar. ²⁰ After he cut the ram into its pieces, Moses burned the head, the pieces, and the fat. ²¹ He washed the innards and the legs with water. Then Moses burned the whole ram up in smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to Adonai, as Adonai had commanded Moses.

²² Then he presented the second ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ²³ Moses slaughtered it, took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the great toe of his right foot. ²⁴ Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons and put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet. Then Moses splashed the blood around on the altar. ²⁵ He took the fat, the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the innards, as well as the cover of the liver, the two kidneys with their fat and the right thigh. ²⁶ Then out of the basket of matzah that was before Adonai, he took one matzah cake, one cake of oiled bread and one wafer, and placed them on the fat and on the right thigh. ²⁷ He put all these in Aaron’s hands and in the hands of his sons, and waved them for a wave offering before Adonai. ²⁸ Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them up in smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. They were a consecration for a soothing aroma. It was an offering by fire to Adonai. ²⁹ Moses took the breast and waved it for a wave offering before Adonai. It was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, just as Adonai commanded Moses.

³⁰ Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on his sons’ garments with him. So he consecrated Aaron, his garments, his sons and his sons’ garments with him.

³¹ Moses then said to Aaron and to his sons, “Boil the meat at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and eat it there, along with the bread that is in the basket of ordination, as I commanded, saying: ‘Aaron and his sons are to eat it.’ ³² What remains of the meat and of the bread you shall burn with fire.

³³ You are not to go out from the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are fulfilled, for he will be filling your hands for seven days. ³⁴ What has been done this day, Adonai has commanded to be done, in order to make atonement for you. ³⁵ You are to stay at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days, and keep Adonai’s command, so that you do not die, for so I have been commanded.” ³⁶ Thus Aaron and his sons did all the things that Adonai commanded through Moses.

Bring the Whole Tithe

⁷ “From the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from My statutes, and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

Yet you say: “How should we return?”

⁸ “Will a man rob^[a] God? For you are robbing Me!”

But you say: “How have we robbed You?”

“In the tithe and the offering. ⁹ You have been cursed with the curse, yet you keep robbing Me—the whole nation! ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. Then there will be food in My House. Now test Me in this”—says Adonai-Tzva’ot—“if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out blessing for you, until no one is without enough. ¹¹ I will rebuke the devouring pest for you, so it will not destroy the fruit of your land, nor will your vine be barren in the field,” Adonai-Tzva’ot says. ¹² “All the nations will call you blessed. For you will be a land of delight,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

¹³ “Your words against Me are grievous,” says Adonai.

Yet you say: “What did we say against You?”

¹⁴ You say: “Serving God is worthless.” Also: “What good is it that we kept His service or that we walked as mourners before Adonai-Tzva’ot? ¹⁵ So now we are calling the proud blessed. Those who practice iniquity are built up. Indeed, they have tested God, and escaped!”

¹⁶ Then those who revere Adonai spoke with each other, and Adonai took notice and heard, and a scroll of remembrance^[b] was written before Him, for those who revere Adonai, even those who esteem His Name.

¹⁷ “So they shall be Mine,”—says Adonai-Tzva’ot—“in the day I make My own special possession. So I will spare them, as one spares his son serving him. ¹⁸ Then you will return and distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.”

The Day Is Coming

²² “Remember the Torah of Moses My servant, whom I commanded at Horeb—statutes and ordinances for all Israel.

²³ “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet^[d], before the coming of the great and terrible day of Adonai. ²⁴ He will turn the hearts of fathers to the children, and the hearts of children to their fathers—else I will come and strike the land with utter destruction.”

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¹¹ But when Messiah appeared as Kohen Gadol of the good things that have now come, passing through the greater and more perfect Tent not made with hands (that is to say not of this creation), ¹² He entered into the Holies once for all—not by the blood of goats and calves but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of goats and bulls^[a] and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled^[b] sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Messiah—who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God—cleanse our^[c] conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

¹⁵ For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant,^[d] in order that those called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—since a death has taken place that redeems them from violations under the first covenant. ¹⁶ For where there is a covenant, the death of the one who made it must be established. ^{[e] 17} For a covenant is secured upon the basis of dead bodies, since it has no strength as long as the one who made it lives. ¹⁸ That is why not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. ¹⁹ For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Torah, he took the blood of the calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and he sprinkled both the book itself and all the people. ²⁰ He said, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.” ^{[f] 21} And in the same way, he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. ^{[g] 22} And nearly everything is purified in blood according to the Torah, and apart from the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.^[h]

²³ Therefore it was necessary for the replicas of these heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices—but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Messiah did not enter into Holies made with hands—counterparts of the true things—but into heaven itself, now to appear in God’s presence on our behalf. ²⁵ And He did not offer Himself again and again—as the kohen gadol enters into the Holy of Holies year after year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶ For then He would have needed to suffer again and again from the foundation of the world. But as it is, He has been revealed once and for all at the close of the ages—to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. ²⁷ And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this judgment, ^{[i] 28} so also Messiah, was offered once to bear the sins of many.^[j] He will appear a second time, apart from sin, to those eagerly awaiting Him for salvation.^[k]

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Shabbat in the Grain Fields

6 Now during Shabbat, Yeshua was passing through grain fields; and His disciples were picking and eating heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. ² But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not permitted on Shabbat?”

³ Then answering them, Yeshua said, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, and those with him? ⁴ How he entered into the house of God, took and ate the showbread which only the kohanim are permitted to eat, and even gave it to those with him?” ^{[a] 5} He said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of Shabbat.”

Shabbat Controversy at the Synagogue

⁶ On a different Shabbat, Yeshua entered the synagogue and was teaching. A man was there, whose right hand was paralyzed. ⁷ But closely watching Him were the Torah scholars and Pharisees, to see if He heals on Shabbat, so that they might find grounds to accuse Him. ⁸ But He knew their opinions and said to the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up and stand in our midst.” And getting up, the man stood.

⁹ Yeshua said to them, “I ask you, is it permitted on Shabbat to do good or to do evil, to save or to destroy a life?” ¹⁰ Then looking around at everyone, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man did, and his hand was restored. ¹¹ But they were filled with fury and discussed among themselves what they might do to Yeshua.

Appointing the Twelve

¹² And it was during these days that Yeshua went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent all night in prayer to God. ¹³ When day came, He called His disciples, choosing from among them twelve whom He also named emissaries— ¹⁴ Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and Jacob and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ and Matthew and Thomas; Jacob the son of Alphaeus; Simon who was called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judah the son of Jacob; and Judah from Kriot, who became a traitor.

The Sermon on the Plain

¹⁷ Then Yeshua came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples and a multitude of people, from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Even those disturbed by defiling spirits were being healed. ¹⁹ Everyone in the crowd was trying to touch Him, because power flowed from Him and He was healing them all.

²⁰ And looking up at His disciples, He said,

²³ Rejoice in that day and jump for joy! For behold, your reward is great in heaven! For their fathers used to treat the prophets the same way.”^[b]

²⁷ “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for the ones who mistreat you. ²⁹ To the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also. And from the one who takes your cloak, do not hold back your shirt. ³⁰ Give to every one who asks you; and whoever takes something of yours, make no demands upon him.

³¹ “Do to others as you would have them do to you. ³² If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are doing good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do this. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect to take, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same.

³⁵ “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.^[d] Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of Elyon, for He is kind to the ungrateful and evil ones. ³⁶ Be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate to you.”

³⁷ Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Pardon, and you will be pardoned. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, overflowing, will be given into your lap. For whatever measure you measure out will be measured back to you.”

³⁹ He also spoke this parable to them: “The blind cannot show the way to the blind, can he? Won’t they both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

⁴¹ “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly the speck in your brother’s eye, to take it out.”

⁴³ “For there is no good tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again does a rotten tree produce good fruit. ⁴⁴ Each tree comes to be known by its own fruit. For figs are not gleaned out of briars; neither are bunches of grapes gathered from thorn bushes.

⁴⁵ “Out of the good treasure of his heart the good man brings forth good, and out of evil the evil man brings forth evil. For from the overflow of the heart his mouth speaks.”

⁴⁶ “Why do you call Me ‘Master, Master’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will show you what he is like. ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock. And when a flood came, the torrent burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.

⁴⁹ “But the one who hears yet does not do is like a man who built a house upon land without a foundation. When the torrent burst against it, immediately it collapsed—and the destruction of that house was great!”

A Centurion’s Faith at Capernaum

7 When Yeshua finished all His drash in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. ² Now a certain centurion had a valued slave, who was ill and about to die. ³ When he heard about Yeshua, he sent Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save his slave. ⁴ When they came to Yeshua, they begged Him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this, ⁵ for he loves our people and even built our synagogue.”

⁶ Now Yeshua started to go with them; and when He wasn’t far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to Him, “Master, do not trouble Yourself, for I’m not worthy for You to come under my roof. ⁷ That is why I didn’t consider myself worthy to come to You. But say the word and let my servant be healed. ⁸ For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

⁹ Now when Yeshua heard this, He was amazed at him. Turning to the crowd following Him, He said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” ¹⁰ When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

An Amazing Report Spreads throughout all Judea

¹¹ The next day Yeshua traveled to a town called Nain, and coming along with Him were His disciples and a large crowd. ¹² Just as He came near the town gate, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, a widow. A considerable crowd from the town was with her.

¹³ When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said, “Don’t cry.” ¹⁴ Then He came up and touched the coffin, and the pallbearers came to a standstill. He said, “Young man! I tell you, get up!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began speaking, and Yeshua gave him to his mother.^[e]

¹⁶ Fear took hold of them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us, and God has visited His people.” ¹⁷ This report concerning Him spread throughout all Judea and the surrounding region.

John Seeks Confirmation from Prison

¹⁸ John’s disciples reported to him about all these things. Calling two of his disciples, ¹⁹ John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the One who is to come, or should we look for another?”

²⁰ When they appeared before Him, the men said, “John the Immerser sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”

²¹ At this very hour He was healing many of diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits; and He granted sight to many who were blind. ²² And answering, He said to them, “Go report to John what you saw and heard: the blind see, the lame walk, those with tzara’at are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them. ^{[f] 23} Blessed is he who is not led to stumble because of Me.”

²⁴ And after John’s messengers left, He began to speak about John to the crowds. “What did you go out to the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵ No? So what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine garments? Look, those who wear finery and live in luxury are in the palaces of kings! ²⁶ Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, even more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written,

²⁸ I say to you, there is no one greater than John among those born of women; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

²⁹ And when all the people heard, even the tax collectors, they affirmed God’s justice, because they had been immersed with John’s immersion. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and Torah lawyers, not having been immersed by John, declared God’s purpose invalid for themselves.

³¹ “So then, to what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to each other, saying,

³³ “For John the Immerser has come not eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking. and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

An Unwelcome Woman Finds Favor

³⁶ Now one of the Pharisees was asking Yeshua if He would eat with him. Upon entering the Pharisee’s home, He reclined at the table. ³⁷ And behold, a woman in the town who was a sinner, when she discovered that Yeshua was reclining at the Pharisee’s home, brought an alabaster jar of perfume. ³⁸ As she stood behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to drench His feet with tears and kept wiping them with her head of hair. Then she was kissing His feet and anointing them with perfume.

³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this were a prophet, He would know what sort of woman is touching Him—that she’s a sinner.”

⁴⁰ And answering, Yeshua said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

And he said, “Say it, Teacher!”

⁴¹ “A moneylender had two debtors. One owed him five hundred denarii,^[h] but the other fifty. ⁴² When neither could repay him, he canceled both debts. So which of them will love him more?”

⁴³ Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”

“You have judged correctly,” Yeshua said. ⁴⁴ Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered into your house, and you didn’t give Me water for My feet. But she has drenched My feet with tears and wiped them with her hair. ^{[i] 45} You didn’t greet Me with a kiss; but from the time she entered, she has not stopped kissing My feet. ⁴⁶ You didn’t anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed My feet with perfume. ⁴⁷ For this reason I tell you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven—for she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little. ⁴⁸ He then said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”

⁴⁹ But those who were reclining at table with Him began to say to one another, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in shalom.”