“ Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!“ But you ask,‘ What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’“ You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.

人岂可夺取神之物呢？你们竟夺取我的供物。你们却说：‘我们在何事上夺取你的供物呢？’就是你们在当纳的十分之一和当献的供物上。

人岂可抢夺上帝呢？你们竟抢夺我！你们却说：‘我们在何事上抢夺你呢？’其实就是在你们当纳的十分之一奉献和当献的供物上。

人岂可抢夺神呢？你们竟抢夺我！你们却说：‘我们在何事上抢夺你呢？’其实就是在你们当纳的十分之一奉献和当献的供物上。

人怎可抢夺上帝的东西呢？可是你们不但抢夺我的东西，还说，‘我们在何事上抢过你的东西呢？’“你们在十分之一的奉献和其他供物上抢夺我的东西。

人怎可抢夺神之物呢？你们却抢夺属我之物，竟还问：‘我们抢夺了你的什么呢？’就是抢夺了当纳的十分之一和当献的祭物。

难道人会抢夺神吗？你们却抢夺我！你们竟然问：‘我们是怎么抢夺你的呢？’你们是在当纳的十分之一和当献的供物上抢夺我的。

人豈可奪取神之物呢？你們竟奪取我的供物。你們卻說：『我們在何事上奪取你的供物呢？』就是你們在當納的十分之一和當獻的供物上。

人豈可搶奪上帝呢？你們竟搶奪我！你們卻說：『我們在何事上搶奪你呢？』其實就是在你們當納的十分之一奉獻和當獻的供物上。

人豈可搶奪神呢？你們竟搶奪我！你們卻說：『我們在何事上搶奪你呢？』其實就是在你們當納的十分之一奉獻和當獻的供物上。

人怎可搶奪上帝的東西呢？可是你們不但搶奪我的東西，還說，『我們在何事上搶過你的東西呢？』「你們在十分之一的奉獻和其他供物上搶奪我的東西。

人怎可搶奪神之物呢？你們卻搶奪屬我之物，竟還問：‘我們搶奪了你的甚麼呢？’就是搶奪了當納的十分之一和當獻的祭物。

人怎可搶奪上帝之物呢？你們呢、竟搶奪了獻與我之物！卻還問說：「我們在甚麼事上搶奪了獻與你之物呢？」那就是當納的十分之一和當奉的獻物啊。

難道人會搶奪神嗎？你們卻搶奪我！你們竟然問：『我們是怎麼搶奪你的呢？』你們是在當納的十分之一和當獻的供物上搶奪我的。

人可行竊於上帝乎、爾乃行竊於我、爾曰於何行竊於爾、在於輸什一、及獻禮物也、

曰、人豈可欺上帝哉、惟爾欺我、爾曰、何欺爾、曰、不納什一、不獻禮物、

曰、人豈可欺天主哉、惟爾曹欺我、爾曹曰、在何事欺主、答曰、在當納之什一、在當獻之禮物、

“ Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.“ But you ask,‘ How are we robbing you?’“ In tithes and offerings.

“ Will a mere human being dare to steal from God? But you rob me!“ You ask,‘ How are we robbing you?’“ By holding back your offerings. You also steal from me when you do not bring me a tenth of everything you produce.

Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say,‘ How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.

“ Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me!”“ How do we rob you?” you ask.“ By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions.

“ Would anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say,‘ How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.

“ Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say,‘ In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.

Will a man rob God? yet ye rob me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

“ Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!” You ask:“ How do we rob You?”“ By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions.

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Can a person rob God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say,‘ How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions!

Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say,‘ How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings.

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.

“ Caesar’s,” they replied.“ Well, then,” he said,“ give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.

Honor the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, I will compensate them for their service in the Tabernacle. Instead of an allotment of land, I will give them the tithes from the entire land of Israel.“ From now on, no Israelites except priests or Levites may approach the Tabernacle. If they come too near, they will be judged guilty and will die.Only the Levites may serve at the Tabernacle, and they will be held responsible for any offenses against it. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation. The Levites will receive no allotment of land among the Israelites,because I have given them the Israelites’ tithes, which have been presented as sacred offerings to the Lord. This will be the Levites’ share. That is why I said they would receive no allotment of land among the Israelites.”The Lord also told Moses,“ Give these instructions to the Levites: When you receive from the people of Israel the tithes I have assigned as your allotment, give a tenth of the tithes you receive— a tithe of the tithe— to the Lord as a sacred offering.The Lord will consider this offering to be your harvest offering, as though it were the first grain from your own threshing floor or wine from your own winepress.You must present one tenth of the tithe received from the Israelites as a sacred offering to the Lord. This is the Lord’s sacred portion, and you must present it to Aaron the priest.Be sure to give to the Lord the best portions of the gifts given to you.“ Also, give these instructions to the Levites: When you present the best part as your offering, it will be considered as though it came from your own threshing floor or winepress.You Levites and your families may eat this food anywhere you wish, for it is your compensation for serving in the Tabernacle.You will not be considered guilty for accepting the Lord’s tithes if you give the best portion to the priests. But be careful not to treat the holy gifts of the people of Israel as though they were common. If you do, you will die.”

“ Well, then,” Jesus said,“ give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” His reply completely amazed them.

You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You condemn idolatry, but do you use items stolen from pagan temples?

“ Well then,” he said,“ give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

“ Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate someone to the Lord by paying the value of that person,here is the scale of values to be used. A man between the ages of twenty and sixty is valued at fifty shekels of silver, as measured by the sanctuary shekel.A woman of that age is valued at thirty shekels of silver.A boy between the ages of five and twenty is valued at twenty shekels of silver; a girl of that age is valued at ten shekels of silver.A boy between the ages of one month and five years is valued at five shekels of silver; a girl of that age is valued at three shekels of silver.A man older than sixty is valued at fifteen shekels of silver; a woman of that age is valued at ten shekels of silver.If you desire to make such a vow but cannot afford to pay the required amount, take the person to the priest. He will determine the amount for you to pay based on what you can afford.“ If your vow involves giving an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord, any gift to the Lord will be considered holy.You may not exchange or substitute it for another animal— neither a good animal for a bad one nor a bad animal for a good one. But if you do exchange one animal for another, then both the original animal and its substitute will be considered holy.If your vow involves an unclean animal— one that is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord— then you must bring the animal to the priest.He will assess its value, and his assessment will be final, whether high or low.If you want to buy back the animal, you must pay the value set by the priest, plus 20 percent.“ If someone dedicates a house to the Lord, the priest will come to assess its value. The priest’s assessment will be final, whether high or low.If the person who dedicated the house wants to buy it back, he must pay the value set by the priest, plus 20 percent. Then the house will again be his.“ If someone dedicates to the Lord a piece of his family property, its value will be assessed according to the amount of seed required to plant it— fifty shekels of silver for a field planted with five bushels of barley seed.If the field is dedicated to the Lord in the Year of Jubilee, then the entire assessment will apply.But if the field is dedicated after the Year of Jubilee, the priest will assess the land’s value in proportion to the number of years left until the next Year of Jubilee. Its assessed value is reduced each year.If the person who dedicated the field wants to buy it back, he must pay the value set by the priest, plus 20 percent. Then the field will again be legally his.But if he does not want to buy it back, and it is sold to someone else, the field can no longer be bought back.When the field is released in the Year of Jubilee, it will be holy, a field specially set apart for the Lord. It will become the property of the priests.“ If someone dedicates to the Lord a field he has purchased but which is not part of his family property,the priest will assess its value based on the number of years left until the next Year of Jubilee. On that day he must give the assessed value of the land as a sacred donation to the Lord.In the Year of Jubilee the field must be returned to the person from whom he purchased it, the one who inherited it as family property.( All the payments must be measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs.)“ You may not dedicate a firstborn animal to the Lord, for the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, and goats already belong to him.However, you may buy back the firstborn of a ceremonially unclean animal by paying the priest’s assessment of its worth, plus 20 percent. If you do not buy it back, the priest will sell it at its assessed value.“ However, anything specially set apart for the Lord— whether a person, an animal, or family property— must never be sold or bought back. Anything devoted in this way has been set apart as holy, and it belongs to the Lord.No person specially set apart for destruction may be bought back. Such a person must be put to death.“ One tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain from the fields or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord and must be set apart to him as holy.If you want to buy back the Lord’s tenth of the grain or fruit, you must pay its value, plus 20 percent.Count off every tenth animal from your herds and flocks and set them apart for the Lord as holy.You may not pick and choose between good and bad animals, and you may not substitute one for another. But if you do exchange one animal for another, then both the original animal and its substitute will be considered holy and cannot be bought back.”These are the commands that the Lord gave through Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.

You say,‘ It’s too hard to serve the Lord,’ and you turn up your noses at my commands,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.“ Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the Lord.

Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings.

Before this had happened, Eliashib the priest, who had been appointed as supervisor of the storerooms of the Temple of our God and who was also a relative of Tobiah,had converted a large storage room and placed it at Tobiah’s disposal. The room had previously been used for storing the grain offerings, the frankincense, various articles for the Temple, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil( which were prescribed for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers), as well as the offerings for the priests.I was not in Jerusalem at that time, for I had returned to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in the thirty second year of his reign, though I later asked his permission to return.When I arrived back in Jerusalem, I learned about Eliashib’s evil deed in providing Tobiah with a room in the courtyards of the Temple of God.I became very upset and threw all of Tobiah’s belongings out of the room.Then I demanded that the rooms be purified, and I brought back the articles for God’s Temple, the grain offerings, and the frankincense.I also discovered that the Levites had not been given their prescribed portions of food, so they and the singers who were to conduct the worship services had all returned to work their fields.I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded,“ Why has the Temple of God been neglected?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties.And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple storerooms.I assigned supervisors for the storerooms: Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites. And I appointed Hanan son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah as their assistant. These men had an excellent reputation, and it was their job to make honest distributions to their fellow Levites.Remember this good deed, O my God, and do not forget all that I have faithfully done for the Temple of my God and its services.

When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

“ If one of you commits a sin by unintentionally defiling the Lord’s sacred property, you must bring a guilt offering to the Lord. The offering must be your own ram with no defects, or you may buy one of equal value with silver, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel.You must make restitution for the sacred property you have harmed by paying for the loss, plus an additional 20 percent. When you give the payment to the priest, he will purify you with the ram sacrificed as a guilt offering, making you right with the Lord, and you will be forgiven.