“We also accept the responsibility of bringing the firstfruits from our crops and from every fruit tree. We will bring that fruit to the Lord’s temple {\cf2\super [66]} each year.\par
“Tell the people of Israel: You will enter the land that I will give you. You will reap its harvest. At that time, you must bring in the first sheaf [399] of your harvest to the priest.
You must not eat any of the new grain, or fruit, or bread made from the new grain, until you bring that offering to your God. This law will always continue through your generations wherever you live.
You will gather grain and grind it into flour to make dough for bread. You must give the first of that dough as a gift to the Lord. It will be like the grain offering that comes from the threshing floor. [194]
When the people gather a harvest, they bring all the first things to the Lord. So these things I will give to you. And every person in your family that is clean [237] may eat it.
The thing you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing the good things God wants you to do. Then all these other things you need will be given to you.
“Don’t eat any animal that has died by itself. You may give the dead animal to the foreigner in your town, and he can eat it. Or you may sell the dead animal to a foreigner. But you yourselves must not eat the dead animal. Why? Because you belong to the Lord your God. You are his special people.
You will gather the crops that grow in the land the Lord is giving you. You must take the first crops and put them in baskets. Then take that first part of your harvest to the place the Lord your God chooses to be his special house.