²⁰ The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering,^(A) together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest.

⁹ It belongs to Aaron and his sons,^(A) who are to eat it in the sanctuary area,^(B) because it is a most holy^(C) part of their perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord.”

¹² “I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain^(A) they give the Lord^(B) as the firstfruits of their harvest.^(C)

¹³ All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to the Lord will be yours.^(A) Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.^(B)

¹⁷ “But you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow, a sheep or a goat; they are holy.^(A) Splash their blood^(B) against the altar and burn their fat^(C) as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.^(D)

¹⁸ Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering^(A) and the right thigh are yours.^(B)

³ This is the share due the priests^(A) from the people who sacrifice a bull^(B) or a sheep: the shoulder, the internal organs and the meat from the head.^{(C) 4} You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,^{(D) 5} for the Lord your God has chosen them^(E) and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister^(F) in the Lord’s name always.^(G)

Nehemiah’s Prayer

1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:

In the month of Kislev^(A) in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,^{(B) 2} Hanani,^(C) one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant^(D) that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

³ They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.^(E)”

⁴ When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.^(F) For some days I mourned and fasted^(G) and prayed before the God of heaven. ⁵ Then I said:

I was cupbearer^(U) to the king.