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Women Who Inherit Property

36 Then the heads of the clans of Gilead—descendants of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph—came to Moses and the family leaders of Israel with a petition. ² They said, “Sir, the Lord instructed you to divide the land by sacred lot among the people of Israel. You were told by the Lord to give the grant of land owned by our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. ³ But if they marry men from another tribe, their grants of land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way, the total area of our tribal land will be reduced. ⁴ Then when the Year of Jubilee comes, their portion of land will be added to that of the new tribe, causing it to be lost forever to our ancestral tribe.”

⁵ So Moses gave the Israelites this command from the Lord: “The claim of the men of the tribe of Joseph is legitimate. ⁶ This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry anyone they like, as long as it is within their own ancestral tribe. ⁷ None of the territorial land may pass from tribe to tribe, for all the land given to each tribe must remain within the tribe to which it was first allotted. ⁸ The daughters throughout the tribes of Israel who are in line to inherit property must marry within their tribe, so that all the Israelites will keep their ancestral property. ⁹ No grant of land may pass from one tribe to another; each tribe of Israel must keep its allotted portion of land.”

¹⁰ The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses. ¹¹ Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah all married cousins on their father’s side. ¹² They married into the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. Thus, their inheritance of land remained within their ancestral tribe.

¹³ These are the commands and regulations that the Lord gave to the people of Israel through Moses while they were camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

Introduction to Moses’ First Address

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River. They were camped in the Jordan Valley^[a] near Suph, between Paran on one side and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab on the other.

² Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai^[b] to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir. ³ But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month,^[c] Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the Lord had commanded him to say. ⁴ This took place after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth.

⁵ While the Israelites were in the land of Moab east of the Jordan River, Moses carefully explained the Lord’s instructions as follows.

The Command to Leave Sinai

⁶ “When we were at Mount Sinai, the Lord our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough. ⁷ It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills,^[d] the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River. ⁸ Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’”

Moses Appoints Leaders from Each Tribe

⁹ Moses continued, “At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself. ¹⁰ The Lord your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars! ¹¹ And may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised! ¹² But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering? ¹³ Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’

¹⁴ “Then you responded, ‘Your plan is a good one.’ ¹⁵ So I took the wise and respected men you had selected from your tribes and appointed them to serve as judges and officials over you. Some were responsible for a thousand people, some for a hundred, some for fifty, and some for ten.

¹⁶ “At that time I instructed the judges, ‘You must hear the cases of your fellow Israelites and the foreigners living among you. Be perfectly fair in your decisions ¹⁷ and impartial in your judgments. Hear the cases of those who are poor as well as those who are rich. Don’t be afraid of anyone’s anger, for the decision you make is God’s decision. Bring me any cases that are too difficult for you, and I will handle them.’

¹⁸ “At that time I gave you instructions about everything you were to do.

Scouts Explore the Land

¹⁹ “Then, just as the Lord our God commanded us, we left Mount Sinai and traveled through the great and terrifying wilderness, as you yourselves remember, and headed toward the hill country of the Amorites. When we arrived at Kadesh-barnea, ²⁰ I said to you, ‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the Lord our God is giving us. ²¹ Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’

²² “But you all came to me and said, ‘First, let’s send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter.’

²³ “This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes. ²⁴ They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it. ²⁵ They picked some of its fruit and brought it back to us. And they reported, ‘The land the Lord our God has given us is indeed a good land.’

Israel’s Rebellion against the Lord

²⁶ “But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to go in. ²⁷ You complained in your tents and said, ‘The Lord must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. ²⁸ Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!”’

²⁹ “But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them! ³⁰ The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. ³¹ And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’

³² “But even after all he did, you refused to trust the Lord your God, ³³ who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

³⁴ “When the Lord heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore, ³⁵ ‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, ³⁶ except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see this land because he has followed the Lord completely. I will give to him and his descendants some of the very land he explored during his scouting mission.’

³⁷ “And the Lord was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, ‘Moses, not even you will enter the Promised Land! ³⁸ Instead, your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will lead the people into the land. Encourage him, for he will lead Israel as they take possession of it. ³⁹ I will give the land to your little ones—your innocent children. You were afraid they would be captured, but they will be the ones who occupy it. ⁴⁰ As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.^[e]’

⁴¹ “Then you confessed, ‘We have sinned against the Lord! We will go into the land and fight for it, as the Lord our God has commanded us.’ So your men strapped on their weapons, thinking it would be easy to attack the hill country.

⁴² “But the Lord told me to tell you, ‘Do not attack, for I am not with you. If you go ahead on your own, you will be crushed by your enemies.’

⁴³ “This is what I told you, but you would not listen. Instead, you again rebelled against the Lord’s command and arrogantly went into the hill country to fight. ⁴⁴ But the Amorites who lived there came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased and battered you all the way from Seir to Hormah. ⁴⁵ Then you returned and wept before the Lord, but he refused to listen. ⁴⁶ So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time.

A Discussion about the Sabbath

6 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain. ² But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

³ Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” ⁵ And Jesus added, “The Son of Man^[a] is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

⁶ On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. ⁷ The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

⁸ But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. ⁹ Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰ He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! ¹¹ At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.

Psalm 66

For the choir director: A song. A psalm.

⁴⁰ At that time the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard that the people of Israel were approaching his land.

⁴¹ Meanwhile, the Israelites left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

⁴² Then they left Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

⁴³ They left Punon and camped at Oboth.

⁴⁴ They left Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab.

⁴⁵ They left Iye-abarim^[a] and camped at Dibon-gad.

⁴⁶ They left Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim.

⁴⁷ They left Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains east of the river,^[b] near Mount Nebo.

⁴⁸ They left the mountains east of the river and camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho. ⁴⁹ Along the Jordan River they camped from Beth-jeshimoth as far as the meadows of Acacia^[c] on the plains of Moab.

⁵⁰ While they were camped near the Jordan River on the plains of Moab opposite Jericho, the Lord said to Moses, ⁵¹ “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: When you cross the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, ⁵² you must drive out all the people living there. You must destroy all their carved and molten images and demolish all their pagan shrines. ⁵³ Take possession of the land and settle in it, because I have given it to you to occupy. ⁵⁴ You must distribute the land among the clans by sacred lot and in proportion to their size. A larger portion of land will be allotted to each of the larger clans, and a smaller portion will be allotted to each of the smaller clans. The decision of the sacred lot is final. In this way, the portions of land will be divided among your ancestral tribes. ⁵⁵ But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live. ⁵⁶ And I will do to you what I had planned to do to them.”

Boundaries of the Land

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Give these instructions to the Israelites: When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your special possession, these will be the boundaries. ³ The southern portion of your country will extend from the wilderness of Zin, along the edge of Edom. The southern boundary will begin on the east at the Dead Sea.^{[d] 4} It will then run south past Scorpion Pass^[e] in the direction of Zin. Its southernmost point will be Kadesh-barnea, from which it will go to Hazar-addar, and on to Azmon. ⁵ From Azmon the boundary will turn toward the Brook of Egypt and end at the Mediterranean Sea.^[f]

⁶ “Your western boundary will be the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.

⁷ “Your northern boundary will begin at the Mediterranean Sea and run east to Mount Hor, ⁸ then to Lebo-hamath, and on through Zedad ⁹ and Ziphron to Hazar-enan. This will be your northern boundary.

¹⁰ “The eastern boundary will start at Hazar-enan and run south to Shepham, ¹¹ then down to Riblah on the east side of Ain. From there the boundary will run down along the eastern edge of the Sea of Galilee,^{[g] 12} and then along the Jordan River to the Dead Sea. These are the boundaries of your land.”

¹³ Then Moses told the Israelites, “This territory is the homeland you are to divide among yourselves by sacred lot. The Lord has commanded that the land be divided among the nine and a half remaining tribes. ¹⁴ The families of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received their grants of land ¹⁵ on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho toward the sunrise.”

Leaders to Divide the Land

¹⁶ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ “Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun are the men designated to divide the grants of land among the people. ¹⁸ Enlist one leader from each tribe to help them with the task. ¹⁹ These are the tribes and the names of the leaders:

Tribe	Leader
Judah	Caleb son of Jephunneh
20 Simeon	Shemuel son of Ammihud
21 Benjamin	Elidad son of Kislon
22 Dan	Bukki son of Jogli
23 Manasseh son of Joseph	Hanniel son of Ephod
24 Ephraim son of Joseph	Kemuel son of Shiphtan
25 Zebulun	Elizaphan son of Parnach
26 Issachar	Paltiel son of Azzan
27 Asher	Ahihud son of Shelomi
28 Naphtali	Pedahel son of Ammihud

²⁹ These are the men the Lord has appointed to divide the grants of land in Canaan among the Israelites.”

Towns for the Levites

35 While Israel was camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab across from Jericho, the Lord said to Moses, ² “Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites from their property certain towns to live in, along with the surrounding pasturelands. ³ These towns will be for the Levites to live in, and the surrounding lands will provide pasture for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock. ⁴ The pastureland assigned to the Levites around these towns will extend 1,500 feet^[h] from the town walls in every direction. ⁵ Measure off 3,000 feet^[i] outside the town walls in every direction—east, south, west, north—with the town at the center. This area will serve as the larger pastureland for the towns.

⁶ “Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety. In addition, give them forty-two other towns. ⁷ In all, forty-eight towns with the surrounding pastureland will be given to the Levites. ⁸ These towns will come from the property of the people of Israel. The larger tribes will give more towns to the Levites, while the smaller tribes will give fewer. Each tribe will give property in proportion to the size of its land.”

Cities of Refuge

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰ “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.

“When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ¹¹ designate cities of refuge to which people can flee if they have killed someone accidentally. ¹² These cities will be places of protection from a dead person’s relatives who want to avenge the death. The slayer must not be put to death before being tried by the community. ¹³ Designate six cities of refuge for yourselves, ¹⁴ three on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west in the land of Canaan. ¹⁵ These cities are for the protection of Israelites, foreigners living among you, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee there for safety.

¹⁶ “But if someone strikes and kills another person with a piece of iron, it is murder, and the murderer must be executed. ¹⁷ Or if someone with a stone in his hand strikes and kills another person, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if someone strikes and kills another person with a wooden object, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death. ¹⁹ The victim’s nearest relative is responsible for putting the murderer to death. When they meet, the avenger must put the murderer to death. ²⁰ So if someone hates another person and waits in ambush, then pushes him or throws something at him and he dies, it is murder. ²¹ Or if someone hates another person and hits him with a fist and he dies, it is murder. In such cases, the avenger must put the murderer to death when they meet.

²² “But suppose someone pushes another person without having shown previous hostility, or throws something that unintentionally hits another person, ²³ or accidentally drops a huge stone on someone, though they were not enemies, and the person dies. ²⁴ If this should happen, the community must follow these regulations in making a judgment between the slayer and the avenger, the victim’s nearest relative: ²⁵ The community must protect the slayer from the avenger and must escort the slayer back to live in the city of refuge to which he fled. There he must remain until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the sacred oil.

²⁶ “But if the slayer ever leaves the limits of the city of refuge, ²⁷ and the avenger finds him outside the city and kills him, it will not be considered murder. ²⁸ The slayer should have stayed inside the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to his own property. ²⁹ These are legal requirements for you to observe from generation to generation, wherever you may live.

³⁰ “All murderers must be put to death, but only if evidence is presented by more than one witness. No one may be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. ³¹ Also, you must never accept a ransom payment for the life of someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution; murderers must always be put to death. ³² And never accept a ransom payment from someone who has fled to a city of refuge, allowing a slayer to return to his property before the death of the high priest. ³³ This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder.^{[j] 34} You must not defile the land where you live, for I live there myself. I am the Lord, who lives among the people of Israel.”

Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy

¹² In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”

¹³ Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. ¹⁴ Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy.^[a] This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

¹⁵ But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. ¹⁶ But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

¹⁷ One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus.

¹⁸ Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, ¹⁹ but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. ²⁰ Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹ But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”

²² Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? ²³ Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? ²⁴ So I will prove to you that the Son of Man^[b] has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

²⁵ And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. ²⁶ Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”

Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew)

²⁷ Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. ²⁸ So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.

²⁹ Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?^[c]”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. ³² I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

A Discussion about Fasting

³³ One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?”

³⁴ Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. ³⁵ But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

³⁶ Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.

³⁷ “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. ³⁸ New wine must be stored in new wineskins. ³⁹ But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”

Psalm 65

For the choir director: A song. A psalm of David.

The Tribes East of the Jordan

32 The tribes of Reuben and Gad owned vast numbers of livestock. So when they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideally suited for their flocks and herds, ² they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the other leaders of the community. They said, ³ “Notice the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah,^[a] Nebo, and Beon. ⁴ The Lord has conquered this whole area for the community of Israel, and it is ideally suited for all our livestock. ⁵ If we have found favor with you, please let us have this land as our property instead of giving us land across the Jordan River.”

⁶ “Do you intend to stay here while your brothers go across and do all the fighting?” Moses asked the men of Gad and Reuben. ⁷ “Why do you want to discourage the rest of the people of Israel from going across to the land the Lord has given them? ⁸ Your ancestors did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land. ⁹ After they went up to the valley of Eshcol and explored the land, they discouraged the people of Israel from entering the land the Lord was giving them. ¹⁰ Then the Lord was very angry with them, and he vowed, ¹¹ ‘Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me wholeheartedly. ¹² The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’

¹³ “The Lord was angry with Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the entire generation that sinned in the Lord’s sight had died. ¹⁴ But here you are, a brood of sinners, doing exactly the same thing! You are making the Lord even angrier with Israel. ¹⁵ If you turn away from him like this and he abandons them again in the wilderness, you will be responsible for destroying this entire nation!”

¹⁶ But they approached Moses and said, “We simply want to build pens for our livestock and fortified towns for our wives and children. ¹⁷ Then we will arm ourselves and lead our fellow Israelites into battle until we have brought them safely to their land. Meanwhile, our families will stay in the fortified towns we build here, so they will be safe from any attacks by the local people. ¹⁸ We will not return to our homes until all the people of Israel have received their portions of land. ¹⁹ But we do not claim any of the land on the other side of the Jordan. We would rather live here on the east side and accept this as our grant of land.”

²⁰ Then Moses said, “If you keep your word and arm yourselves for the Lord’s battles, ²¹ and if your troops cross the Jordan and keep fighting until the Lord has driven out his enemies, ²² then you may return when the Lord has conquered the land. You will have fulfilled your duty to the Lord and to the rest of the people of Israel. And the land on the east side of the Jordan will be your property from the Lord. ²³ But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. ²⁴ Go ahead and build towns for your families and pens for your flocks, but do everything you have promised.”

²⁵ Then the men of Gad and Reuben replied, “We, your servants, will follow your instructions exactly. ²⁶ Our children, wives, flocks, and cattle will stay here in the towns of Gilead. ²⁷ But all who are able to bear arms will cross over to fight for the Lord, just as you have said.”

²⁸ So Moses gave orders to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the clans of Israel. ²⁹ He said, “The men of Gad and Reuben who are armed for battle must cross the Jordan with you to fight for the Lord. If they do, give them the land of Gilead as their property when the land is conquered. ³⁰ But if they refuse to arm themselves and cross over with you, then they must accept land with the rest of you in the land of Canaan.”

³¹ The tribes of Gad and Reuben said again, “We are your servants, and we will do as the Lord has commanded! ³² We will cross the Jordan into Canaan fully armed to fight for the Lord, but our property will be here on this side of the Jordan.”

³³ So Moses assigned land to the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph. He gave them the territory of King Sihon of the Amorites and the land of King Og of Bashan—the whole land with its cities and surrounding lands.

³⁴ The descendants of Gad built the towns of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, ³⁵ Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, ³⁶ Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran. These were all fortified towns with pens for their flocks.

³⁷ The descendants of Reuben built the towns of Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, ³⁸ Nebo, Baal-meon, and Sibmah. They changed the names of some of the towns they conquered and rebuilt.

³⁹ Then the descendants of Makir of the tribe of Manasseh went to Gilead and conquered it, and they drove out the Amorites living there. ⁴⁰ So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there. ⁴¹ The people of Jair, another clan of the tribe of Manasseh, captured many of the towns in Gilead and changed the name of that region to the Towns of Jair.^{[b] 42} Meanwhile, a man named Nobah captured the town of Kenath and its surrounding villages, and he renamed that area Nobah after himself.

Remembering Israel’s Journey

33 This is the route the Israelites followed as they marched out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. ² At the Lord’s direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress. These are the stages of their march, identified by the different places where they stopped along the way.

³ They set out from the city of Rameses in early spring—on the fifteenth day of the first month^[c]—on the morning after the first Passover celebration. The people of Israel left defiantly, in full view of all the Egyptians. ⁴ Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn sons, whom the Lord had killed the night before. The Lord had defeated the gods of Egypt that night with great acts of judgment!

⁵ After leaving Rameses, the Israelites set up camp at Succoth.

⁶ Then they left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.

⁷ They left Etham and turned back toward Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon, and camped near Migdol.

⁸ They left Pi-hahiroth^[d] and crossed the Red Sea^[e] into the wilderness beyond. Then they traveled for three days into the Etham wilderness and camped at Marah.

⁹ They left Marah and camped at Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees.

¹⁰ They left Elim and camped beside the Red Sea.^[f]

¹¹ They left the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin.^[g]

¹² They left the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

¹³ They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.

¹⁴ They left Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

¹⁵ They left Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.

¹⁶ They left the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.

¹⁷ They left Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.

¹⁸ They left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

¹⁹ They left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.

²⁰ They left Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.

²¹ They left Libnah and camped at Rissah.

²² They left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

²³ They left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

²⁴ They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

²⁵ They left Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

²⁶ They left Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

²⁷ They left Tahath and camped at Terah.

²⁸ They left Terah and camped at Mithcah.

²⁹ They left Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah.

³⁰ They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

³¹ They left Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.

³² They left Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.

³³ They left Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.

³⁴ They left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

³⁵ They left Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.

³⁶ They left Ezion-geber and camped at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.

³⁷ They left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the border of Edom. ³⁸ While they were at the foot of Mount Hor, Aaron the priest was directed by the Lord to go up the mountain, and there he died. This happened in midsummer, on the first day of the fifth month^[h] of the fortieth year after Israel’s departure from Egypt. ³⁹ Aaron was 123 years old when he died there on Mount Hor.

Jesus Casts Out a Demon

³¹ Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. ³² There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.

³³ Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil^[a] spirit—cried out, shouting, ³⁴ “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

³⁵ But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.

³⁶ Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” ³⁷ The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.

Jesus Heals Many People

³⁸ After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. ³⁹ Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.

⁴⁰ As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. ⁴¹ Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.

Jesus Continues to Preach

⁴² Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. ⁴³ But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” ⁴⁴ So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.^[b]

The First Disciples

5 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee,^[c] great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. ² He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. ³ Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon,^[d] its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

⁵ “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” ⁶ And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! ⁷ A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

⁸ When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” ⁹ For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. ¹⁰ His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” ¹¹ And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Psalm 64

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

Laws concerning Vows

30 ^[a]Then Moses summoned the leaders of the tribes of Israel and told them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ² A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do.

³ “If a young woman makes a vow to the Lord or a pledge under oath while she is still living at her father’s home, ⁴ and her father hears of the vow or pledge and does not object to it, then all her vows and pledges will stand. ⁵ But if her father refuses to let her fulfill the vow or pledge on the day he hears of it, then all her vows and pledges will become invalid. The Lord will forgive her because her father would not let her fulfill them.

⁶ “Now suppose a young woman makes a vow or binds herself with an impulsive pledge and later marries. ⁷ If her husband learns of her vow or pledge and does not object on the day he hears of it, her vows and pledges will stand. ⁸ But if her husband refuses to accept her vow or impulsive pledge on the day he hears of it, he nullifies her commitments, and the Lord will forgive her. ⁹ If, however, a woman is a widow or is divorced, she must fulfill all her vows and pledges.

¹⁰ “But suppose a woman is married and living in her husband’s home when she makes a vow or binds herself with a pledge. ¹¹ If her husband hears of it and does not object to it, her vow or pledge will stand. ¹² But if her husband refuses to accept it on the day he hears of it, her vow or pledge will be nullified, and the Lord will forgive her. ¹³ So her husband may either confirm or nullify any vows or pledges she makes to deny herself. ¹⁴ But if he does not object on the day he hears of it, then he is agreeing to all her vows and pledges. ¹⁵ If he waits more than a day and then tries to nullify a vow or pledge, he will be punished for her guilt.”

¹⁶ These are the regulations the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and a young daughter who still lives at home.

Conquest of the Midianites

31 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “On behalf of the people of Israel, take revenge on the Midianites for leading them into idolatry. After that, you will die and join your ancestors.”

³ So Moses said to the people, “Choose some men, and arm them to fight the Lord’s war of revenge against Midian. ⁴ From each tribe of Israel, send 1,000 men into battle.” ⁵ So they chose 1,000 men from each tribe of Israel, a total of 12,000 men armed for battle. ⁶ Then Moses sent them out, 1,000 men from each tribe, and Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest led them into battle. They carried along the holy objects of the sanctuary and the trumpets for sounding the charge. ⁷ They attacked Midian as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men. ⁸ All five of the Midianite kings—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—died in the battle. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

⁹ Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder. ¹⁰ They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived. ¹¹ After they had gathered the plunder and captives, both people and animals, ¹² they brought them all to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the whole community of Israel, which was camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho. ¹³ Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴ But Moses was furious with all the generals and captains^[b] who had returned from the battle.

¹⁵ “Why have you let all the women live?” he demanded. ¹⁶ “These are the very ones who followed Balaam’s advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel against the Lord at Mount Peor. They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the Lord’s people. ¹⁷ So kill all the boys and all the women who have had intercourse with a man. ¹⁸ Only the young girls who are virgins may live; you may keep them for yourselves. ¹⁹ And all of you who have killed anyone or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp for seven days. You must purify yourselves and your captives on the third and seventh days. ²⁰ Purify all your clothing, too, and everything made of leather, goat hair, or wood.”

²¹ Then Eleazar the priest said to the men who were in the battle, “The Lord has given Moses this legal requirement: ²² Anything made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead— ²³ that is, all metals that do not burn—must be passed through fire in order to be made ceremonially pure. These metal objects must then be further purified with the water of purification. But everything that burns must be purified by the water alone. ²⁴ On the seventh day you must wash your clothes and be purified. Then you may return to the camp.”

Division of the Plunder

²⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, ²⁶ “You and Eleazar the priest and the family leaders of each tribe are to make a list of all the plunder taken in the battle, including the people and animals. ²⁷ Then divide the plunder into two parts, and give half to the men who fought the battle and half to the rest of the people. ²⁸ From the army’s portion, first give the Lord his share of the plunder—one of every 500 of the prisoners and of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. ²⁹ Give this share of the army’s half to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the Lord. ³⁰ From the half that belongs to the people of Israel, take one of every fifty of the prisoners and of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and other animals. Give this share to the Levites, who are in charge of maintaining the Lord’s Tabernacle.” ³¹ So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

³² The plunder remaining from everything the fighting men had taken totaled 675,000 sheep and goats, ³³ 72,000 cattle, ³⁴ 61,000 donkeys, ³⁵ and 32,000 virgin girls.

³⁶ Half of the plunder was given to the fighting men. It totaled 337,500 sheep and goats, ³⁷ of which 675 were the Lord’s share; ³⁸ 36,000 cattle, of which 72 were the Lord’s share; ³⁹ 30,500 donkeys, of which 61 were the Lord’s share; ⁴⁰ and 16,000 virgin girls, of whom 32 were the Lord’s share. ⁴¹ Moses gave all the Lord’s share to Eleazar the priest, just as the Lord had directed him.

⁴² Half of the plunder belonged to the people of Israel, and Moses separated it from the half belonging to the fighting men. ⁴³ It totaled 337,500 sheep and goats, ⁴⁴ 36,000 cattle, ⁴⁵ 30,500 donkeys, ⁴⁶ and 16,000 virgin girls. ⁴⁷ From the half-share given to the people, Moses took one of every fifty prisoners and animals and gave them to the Levites, who maintained the Lord’s Tabernacle. All this was done as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁴⁸ Then all the generals and captains came to Moses ⁴⁹ and said, “We, your servants, have accounted for all the men who went out to battle under our command; not one of us is missing! ⁵⁰ So we are presenting the items of gold we captured as an offering to the Lord from our share of the plunder—armbands, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces. This will purify our lives before the Lord and make us right with him.^[c]”

⁵¹ So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from all the military commanders—all kinds of jewelry and crafted objects. ⁵² In all, the gold that the generals and captains presented as a gift to the Lord weighed about 420 pounds.^{[d] 53} All the fighting men had taken some of the plunder for themselves. ⁵⁴ So Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gifts from the generals and captains and brought the gold to the Tabernacle^[e] as a reminder to the Lord that the people of Israel belong to him.

The Temptation of Jesus

4 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,^{[a] 2} where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.

³ Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

⁴ But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’^[b]”

⁵ Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶ “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. ⁷ I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”

⁸ Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,

⁹ Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! ¹⁰ For the Scriptures say,

¹² Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’^[e]”

¹³ When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

¹⁴ Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. ¹⁵ He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

¹⁶ When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. ¹⁷ The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

²⁰ He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. ²¹ Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

²² Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

²³ Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ ²⁴ But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.

²⁵ “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. ²⁷ And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”

²⁸ When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. ²⁹ Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, ³⁰ but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.

Psalm 63

A psalm of David, regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah.

Offerings for the Passover

¹⁶ “On the fourteenth day of the first month,^[a] you must celebrate the Lord’s Passover. ¹⁷ On the following day—the fifteenth day of the month—a joyous, seven-day festival will begin, but no bread made with yeast may be eaten. ¹⁸ The first day of the festival will be an official day for holy assembly, and no ordinary work may be done on that day. ¹⁹ As a special gift you must present a burnt offering to the Lord—two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²⁰ These will be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ²¹ and two quarts with each of the seven lambs. ²² You must also offer a male goat as a sin offering to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord.^{[b] 23} Present these offerings in addition to your regular morning burnt offering. ²⁴ On each of the seven days of the festival, this is how you must prepare the food offering that is presented as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. These will be offered in addition to the regular burnt offerings and liquid offerings. ²⁵ The seventh day of the festival will be another official day for holy assembly, and no ordinary work may be done on that day.

Offerings for the Festival of Harvest

²⁶ “At the Festival of Harvest,^[c] when you present the first of your new grain to the Lord, you must call an official day for holy assembly, and you may do no ordinary work on that day. ²⁷ Present a special burnt offering on that day as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs. ²⁸ These will be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ²⁹ and two quarts with each of the seven lambs. ³⁰ Also, offer one male goat to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord. ³¹ Prepare these special burnt offerings, along with their liquid offerings, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its accompanying grain offering. Be sure that all the animals you sacrifice have no defects.

Offerings for the Festival of Trumpets

29 “Celebrate the Festival of Trumpets each year on the first day of the appointed month in early autumn.^[d] You must call an official day for holy assembly, and you may do no ordinary work. ² On that day you must present a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ³ These must be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts^[e] with the bull, four quarts^[f] with the ram, ⁴ and two quarts^[g] with each of the seven lambs. ⁵ In addition, you must sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord.^{[h] 6} These special sacrifices are in addition to your regular monthly and daily burnt offerings, and they must be given with their prescribed grain offerings and liquid offerings. These offerings are given as a special gift to the Lord, a pleasing aroma to him.

Offerings for the Day of Atonement

⁷ “Ten days later, on the tenth day of the same month,^[i] you must call another holy assembly. On that day, the Day of Atonement, the people must go without food and must do no ordinary work. ⁸ You must present a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ⁹ These offerings must be accompanied by the prescribed grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts of choice flour with the bull, four quarts of choice flour with the ram, ¹⁰ and two quarts of choice flour with each of the seven lambs. ¹¹ You must also sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering. This is in addition to the sin offering of atonement and the regular daily burnt offering with its grain offering, and their accompanying liquid offerings.

Offerings for the Festival of Shelters

¹² “Five days later, on the fifteenth day of the same month,^[j] you must call another holy assembly of all the people, and you may do no ordinary work on that day. It is the beginning of the Festival of Shelters,^[k] a seven-day festival to the Lord. ¹³ On the first day of the festival, you must present a burnt offering as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ¹⁴ Each of these offerings must be accompanied by a grain offering of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts for each of the thirteen bulls, four quarts for each of the two rams, ¹⁵ and two quarts for each of the fourteen lambs. ¹⁶ You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

¹⁷ “On the second day of this seven-day festival, sacrifice twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ¹⁸ Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ¹⁹ You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

²⁰ “On the third day of the festival, sacrifice eleven young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²¹ Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ²² You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

²³ “On the fourth day of the festival, sacrifice ten young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²⁴ Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ²⁵ You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

²⁶ “On the fifth day of the festival, sacrifice nine young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²⁷ Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ²⁸ You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

²⁹ “On the sixth day of the festival, sacrifice eight young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ³⁰ Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ³¹ You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

³² “On the seventh day of the festival, sacrifice seven young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ³³ Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ³⁴ You must also sacrifice one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

³⁵ “On the eighth day of the festival, proclaim another holy day. You must do no ordinary work on that day. ³⁶ You must present a burnt offering as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ³⁷ Each of these offerings must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ³⁸ You must also sacrifice one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

³⁹ “You must present these offerings to the Lord at your annual festivals. These are in addition to the sacrifices and offerings you present in connection with vows, or as voluntary offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, liquid offerings, or peace offerings.”

^40 [l]So Moses gave all of these instructions to the people of Israel as the Lord had commanded him.

The Ancestors of Jesus

²³ Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry.

Psalm 62

For Jeduthun, the choir director: A psalm of David.

The People Are Counted

26 After the ·great sickness [plague], the Lord said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, ² “·Count [Take a census of; ^LLift the head of] all the ·people of Israel [^Lcommunity/congregation of the sons/^Tchildren of Israel] by ·families [clans], all the men who are twenty years old or older who will serve in the army of Israel [^Clike a military registration; chapter 1 counts the generation that came out of Egypt; this counts the one that would enter the land].” ³ Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke to the people on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River, across from Jericho. They said, ⁴ “Count the men [^Csupplied from v. 2] twenty years old or older, as the Lord commanded Moses.”

Here are the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] who came out of Egypt:

⁵ The ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Reuben, the first son born to Israel, was counted. From Hanoch came the Hanochite ·family group [clan]; from Pallu came the Palluite ·family group [clan]; ⁶ from Hezron came the Hezronite ·family group [clan]; from Carmi came the Carmite ·family group [clan]. ⁷ These were the ·family groups [clans] of Reuben, and the total number of men was 43,730.

⁸ The son of Pallu was Eliab, ⁹ and Eliab’s sons were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were the ·leaders [conveners of the community/congregation/assembly] who turned against Moses and Aaron and ·followed [^Lwere in the assembly of] Korah when he ·turned [rebelled] against the Lord. ¹⁰ The earth opened up and swallowed them and Korah; they died at the same time the fire burned up the 250 men [16:1–40]. This was a warning, ¹¹ but the children of Korah did not die.

¹² These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Simeon: From Nemuel came the Nemuelite ·family group [clan]; from Jamin came the Jaminite ·family group [clan]; from Jakin came the Jakinite ·family group [clan]; ¹³ from Zerah came the Zerahite ·family group [clan]; from Shaul came the Shaulite ·family group [clan]. ¹⁴ These were the ·family groups [clans] of Simeon, and the total number of men was 22,200.

¹⁵ These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Gad: From Zephon came the Zephonite ·family group [clan]; from Haggi came the Haggite ·family group [clan]; from Shuni came the Shunite ·family group [clan]; ¹⁶ from Ozni came the Oznite ·family group [clan]; from Eri came the Erite ·family group [clan]; ¹⁷ from Arodi came the Arodite ·family group [clan]; from Areli came the Arelite ·family group [clan]. ¹⁸ These were the ·family groups [clans] of Gad, and the total number of men was 40,500.

¹⁹ Two of Judah’s sons, Er and Onan, died in Canaan [Gen. 38:6–11].

²⁰ These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Judah: From Shelah came the Shelanite ·family group [clan]; from Perez came the Perezite ·family group [clan]; from Zerah came the Zerahite ·family group [clan]. ²¹ These were the ·family groups [clans] from Perez: From Hezron came the Hezronite ·family group [clan]; from Hamul came the Hamulite ·family group [clan]. ²² These were the ·family groups [clans] of Judah, and the total number of men was 76,500.

²³ These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Issachar: From Tola came the Tolaite ·family group [clan]; from Puah came the Puite ·family group [clan]; ²⁴ from Jashub came the Jashubite ·family group [clan]; from Shimron came the Shimronite ·family group [clan]. ²⁵ These were the ·family groups [clan] of Issachar, and the total number of men was 64,300.

²⁶ These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Zebulun: From Sered came the Seredite ·family group [clan]; from Elon came the Elonite ·family group [clan]; from Jahleel came the Jahleelite ·family group [clan]. ²⁷ These were the ·family groups [clans] of Zebulun, and the total number of men was 60,500.

²⁸ These were the ·family groups [clans] of Joseph through Manasseh and Ephraim.

²⁹ These were the ·family groups [clans] of [^Lthe sons/descendants of] Manasseh: From Makir came the Makirite ·family group [clan] (Makir was the father of Gilead); from Gilead came the Gileadite ·family group [clan]. ³⁰ These were the ·family groups [clans] that came from Gilead: From Iezer came the Iezerite ·family group [clan]; from Helek came the Helekite ·family group [clan]; ³¹ from Asriel came the Asrielite ·family group [clan]; from Shechem came the Shechemite ·family group [clan]; ³² from Shemida came the Shemidaite ·family group [clan]; from Hepher came the Hepherite ·family group [clan]. ³³ (Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons; he had only daughters, and their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah [27:1–11; 36:1–13; Josh. 17:3–6].) ³⁴ These were the ·family groups [clans] of Manasseh, and the total number of men was 52,700.

³⁵ These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Ephraim: From Shuthelah came the Shuthelahite ·family group [clan]; from Beker came the Bekerite ·family group [clan]; from Tahan came the Tahanite ·family group [clan]. ³⁶ This was the ·family group [clan] from Shuthelah: From Eran came the Eranite ·family group [clan]. ³⁷ These were the ·family groups [clans] of [^Lthe sons/descendants of] Ephraim, and the total number of men was 32,500. These are the ·family groups [clans] that came from Joseph.

³⁸ These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Benjamin: From Bela came the Belaite ·family group [clan]; from Ashbel came the Ashbelite ·family group [clan]; from Ahiram came the Ahiramite ·family group [clan]; ³⁹ from Shupham came the Shuphamite ·family group [clan]; from Hupham came the Huphamite ·family group [clan]. ⁴⁰ These were the ·family groups [clans] from Bela through Ard and Naaman: From Ard came the Ardite ·family group [clan]; from Naaman came the Naamite ·family group [clan]. ⁴¹ These were the ·family groups [clans] of Benjamin, and the total number of men was 45,600.

⁴² This was the ·family group [clan] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Dan: From Shuham came the Shuhamite ·family group [clan]. That was the ·family group [clan] of Dan, ⁴³ and the total number of men in the Shuhamite ·family group [clan] of Dan was 64,400.

⁴⁴ These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Asher: From Imnah came the Imnite ·family group [clan]; from Ishvi came the Ishvite ·family group [clan]; from Beriah came the Beriite ·family group [clan]. ⁴⁵ These were the ·family groups [clans] that came from Beriah: From Heber came the Heberite ·family group [clan]; from Malkiel came the Malkielite ·family group [clan]. ⁴⁶ (Asher also had a daughter named Serah.) ⁴⁷ These were the ·family groups [clans] of Asher, and the total number of men was 53,400.

⁴⁸ These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [^Lsons; descendants] of Naphtali: From Jahzeel came the Jahzeelite ·family group [clan]; from Guni came the Gunite ·family group [clan]; ⁴⁹ from Jezer came the Jezerite ·family group [clan]; from Shillem came the Shillemite ·family group [clan]. ⁵⁰ These were the ·family groups [clans] of Naphtali, and the total number of men was 45,400.

⁵¹ So the total number of the ·men [^Lsons; ^Tchildren] of Israel was 601,730.

Anna Sees Jesus

³⁶ There was a prophetess, ·Anna, [^LHannah] ·from the family [^Lthe daughter] of Phanuel ·in [who was from] the tribe of Asher. She was very old and had once been married for seven years. ³⁷ Then her husband died, and she was a widow ·for [or to the age of] eighty-four years. She never left the Temple but worshiped God, ·going without food [fasting] and praying day and night. ³⁸ ·Standing there [or Coming up to them] at that time, she ·thanked [praised; blessed] God and spoke about ·Jesus [^Lhim] to all who were waiting for ·God to free [^Lthe redemption/deliverance of] Jerusalem.

Joseph and Mary Return Home

³⁹ When Joseph and Mary had done everything the law of the Lord commanded, they went home to Nazareth, their own town in Galilee [Matt. 2:22–23]. ⁴⁰ The little child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s ·goodness [favor; grace] was upon him.

Jesus as a Boy

⁴¹ Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover ·Feast [festival; ^Cannual festival that celebrates God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt; Ex. 12]. ⁴² When he was twelve years old, they went to the ·feast [festival] ·as they always did [or according to Jewish custom]. ⁴³ After the feast days were over, they started home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. ⁴⁴ Thinking that Jesus was with them in the group, they traveled for a whole day. Then they began to look for him among their family and friends. ⁴⁵ When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him there. ⁴⁶ After three days [^Cprobably three days since they left Jerusalem—one out, one back, and one searching] they found Jesus sitting in the Temple ·with [among; in the middle of] the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and answers. ⁴⁸ When Jesus’ parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “·Son [Child], why ·did you do this to us [have you treated us this way]? [^LLook; ^TBehold] Your father and I were ·very worried [distressed; in pain] about you and have been looking for you.”

⁴⁹ Jesus said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be ·in my Father’s house [or about my Father’s business]?” ⁵⁰ But they did not understand the meaning of what he said.

⁵¹ Jesus went with them to Nazareth and ·was obedient to them [lived under their authority]. But his mother ·kept in her mind all that had happened [^Lkept/treasured all these things/words in her heart]. ⁵² Jesus ·became wiser and grew physically [grew in wisdom and stature/height]. ·People liked him, and he pleased God […and in favor with God and people; 1 Sam. 2:26].

A Prayer After a Defeat

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lily of the ·Agreement [Testimony].” A miktam [^Cperhaps “inscription”] of David. For teaching. When David fought the Arameans of ·northwest Mesopotamia [Naharaim; ^Lthe Two Rivers] and Zobah, and when Joab returned and ·defeated [^Lstruck] twelve thousand ·Edomites at the Valley of Salt [2 Sam. 8; 1 Chr. 18].

24 Balaam saw that ·the Lord wanted [^Lit was good in the eyes/sight of the Lord] to bless Israel, so he did not try to use any ·magic [divination] but looked toward the ·desert [wilderness]. ² When Balaam ·saw [^Llifted his eyes and saw] the Israelites camped in their tribes, the Spirit of God ·took control of [^Lwas on] him, ³ and he gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

¹⁰ Then Balak was angry with Balaam, and he ·pounded his fist [or struck his hands together]. He said to Balaam, “I called you here to curse my enemies, but you have continued to bless them three times. ¹¹ Now go home! I said I would ·pay you well [make you wealthy], but the Lord has ·made you lose [denied you] your reward.”

¹² Balaam said to Balak, “When you sent messengers to me, ·I told [^Ldid I not tell…?] them, ¹³ ‘Balak could give me his ·palace [^Lhouse] filled with silver and gold, but I still cannot ·go against [transgress] the Lord’s commands. I could not do anything, good or bad, on my own, but I must say what the Lord says.’ ¹⁴ Now I am going back to my own people, but I will ·tell [^Ladvise] you what these people will do to your people in the ·future [^Llater days].”

Balaam’s Final Message

¹⁵ Then Balaam gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

²⁰ Then Balaam saw Amalek and gave this message:

²¹ Then Balaam saw the Kenites and gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

²³ Then Balaam gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

²⁵ Then Balaam got up and returned home, and Balak also went on his way.

Israel Worships Baal at Peor

25 While the people of Israel were still camped at ·Acacia [^LShittim], the men began ·sinning sexually [to prostitute themselves] with Moabite women [^Con the advice of Balaam who found another way to get his money; 31:16]. ² The women invited them to their sacrifices to their gods, and the ·Israelites [^Lpeople] ate food there and worshiped these gods. ³ So the Israelites ·began to worship [^Lyoked themselves to] Baal of Peor, and the Lord was very angry with them.

⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Get all the leaders of the people and ·kill [impale] them in open daylight in the presence of the Lord. Then the Lord will not be angry with the people of Israel.”

⁵ So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must ·put to death [kill] your people who have become ·worshipers of [^Lyoked to] Baal of Peor.”

⁶ Moses and the Israelites were gathered at the entrance to the Meeting Tent, crying there. Then an ·Israelite man [^Lman of the sons/^Tchildren of Israel] brought a Midianite woman to his ·brothers [family] in plain sight of Moses and all the ·people [community; congregation; assembly]. ⁷ Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, so he ·left the meeting [^Lrose up from the community/congregation/assembly] and ·got [^Ltook in his hand] his spear. ⁸ He followed the Israelite into his ·tent [vaulted/newlywed tent] and drove his spear through the belly of both the Israelite man and the Midianite woman [^Cwhile they were embracing]. Then the ·terrible sickness [plague] among the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] stopped.

⁹ This ·sickness [plague] had killed twenty-four thousand people.

¹⁰ The Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has saved the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] from my anger. He hates sin as much as I do. ·Since he tried to save my honor among them [^LBecause of his zeal in their midst], I will not kill them in my zeal. ¹² So tell Phinehas that I am making my ·peace agreement [covenant/treaty of peace] with him. ¹³ He and his ·descendants [^Lseed] will ·always be priests [^Lhave a covenant/treaty of eternal/perpetual priesthood], because he had ·great concern for the honor of [^Lpassion/zeal for] his God. He ·removed the sins of the Israelites so they would belong to God [^Lprovided atonement for the sons/^Tchildren of Israel].”

¹⁴ The Israelite man who was ·killed [^Lstruck] with the Midianite woman was named Zimri son of Salu. He was the leader of a ·family [ancestral clan] in the tribe of Simeon. ¹⁵ And the name of the Midianite woman who was ·put to death [^Lstruck] was Cozbi daughter of Zur, who was the chief of a Midianite ·family [ancestral clan].

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ “·The Midianites are your enemies [Harrass the Midianites], and you should ·kill [^Lstrike] them. ¹⁸ They have already ·made you their enemies [harrassed you], because they tricked you at Peor and because of their sister Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader. She was the woman who was killed when the ·sickness [plague] came because the people sinned at Peor.”

The Birth of Jesus

2 At that time, Augustus Caesar sent an ·order [decree] that all people in the ·countries under Roman rule [empire; Roman world] must ·list their names in a register [register for taxation]. ² ·This was the first registration; it was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria [or This was the first census while Quirinius was governor of Syria; or This census occurred before Quirinius was governor of Syria]. ³ And all went to their own towns to be registered.

⁴ So Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Galilee, and went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, known as the town of David [^CBethlehem was David’s hometown]. Joseph went there because he was from the ·family [^Lhouse and family line] of David. ⁵ Joseph registered with Mary, to whom he was ·engaged [pledged to be married; see 1:27] and who was now pregnant. ⁶ While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have the baby, ⁷ and she gave birth to her first son. She wrapped the baby ·with pieces of cloth [in cloths; ^Tin swaddling clothes] and laid him in a ·feeding trough [^Tmanger], because there ·were no rooms [was no space/room] left in the ·inn [or guest room (of a private residence); or caravan shelter].

Shepherds Hear About Jesus

⁸ ·That night [^LAt night], some shepherds were [living out] in the fields ·nearby [^Lin that region/place] watching their ·sheep [^Lflock]. ⁹ Then an angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord ·was shining around [surrounded] them, and they became very frightened. ¹⁰ The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. [^L…for/because] I am bringing you good news that will ·be a [or bring] great joy to all the people. ¹¹ Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is ·Christ [the Messiah], the Lord. ¹² This ·is how you will know him [will be the sign for you]: You will find a baby wrapped in ·pieces of cloth [cloths; ^Tswaddling clothes] and lying in a ·feeding trough [^Tmanger].”

¹³ ·Then [^LAnd suddenly] a ·very large group [or great army] of angels from heaven ·joined [appeared with] the first angel, praising God and saying:

¹⁵ When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem. Let’s see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So the shepherds went quickly and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in a ·feeding trough [^Tmanger]. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they ·told [spread the word about; let people know] what the angels had said about this child. ¹⁸ Everyone [^Lwho heard] ·was amazed [wondered; marveled] at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary ·treasured [kept; preserved] these things and ·continued to think about them [^Lpondered/considered them in her heart]. ²⁰ Then the shepherds went back to their sheep, ·praising [glorifying] God and ·thanking [praising] him for everything they had seen and heard. It had been just as the angel had told them.

²¹ When ·the baby was eight days old [^Leight days were fulfilled; Gen. 17:12; Lev. 12:3], he was circumcised [1:59] and was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before ·the baby began to grow inside Mary [^Lhe was conceived in the womb].

Jesus Is Presented in the Temple

²² When the ·time came [^Ldays were fulfilled] for ·Mary and Joseph to do what the law of Moses taught about being made pure [^Ltheir purification according the law of Moses; ^Can animal sacrifice and ritual cleansing forty days after the birth of a son; see Lev. 12:2–8], they took Jesus [^Lup] to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. ²³ ([^LJust as] It is written in the law of the Lord: “Every ·firstborn male [^Lmale who opens the womb; ^Can idiom for a firstborn] shall be ·given [set apart; consecrated; ^Lcalled holy] to the Lord” [Ex. 13:2].) ²⁴ Mary and Joseph also went to offer a sacrifice, as the law of the Lord says: “You must sacrifice two ·doves [or turtledoves] or two young pigeons [Lev. 5:11; 12:8].”

Simeon Sees Jesus

²⁵ [Now; ^LAnd behold] In Jerusalem ·lived [^Lwas] a man named Simeon who was ·a good man [righteous; just] and ·godly [devout; reverent]. He was waiting for the ·time when God would take away Israel’s sorrow [restoration/consolation of Israel; Is. 40:1] and the Holy Spirit was ·in [or upon] him. ²⁶ ·Simeon had been told [^LIt had been revealed to him] by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he saw ·the Christ promised by the Lord [^Lthe Lord’s Messiah/Anointed One]. ²⁷ The Spirit led Simeon to the Temple. When ·Mary and Joseph [^Lthe parents] brought the ·baby [child] Jesus to the Temple to do [^Lfor him] what ·the law said they must do [the custom of the law required], ²⁸ Simeon took the baby in his arms and ·thanked [praised; blessed] God:

³³ Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what Simeon had said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to ·Mary [^Lhis mother], “·God has chosen this child [^LLook/^TBehold, this one is destined/appointed] to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel. ·He will be a sign from God that many people will not accept [^L…and to be a sign that is spoken against] ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many [^Lhearts] will be made known. And ·the things that will happen will make your heart sad, too [^La sword will pierce your own soul; ^CMary will experience deep sorrow over the death of Jesus].”

A Prayer for Protection

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam [^Cperhaps “inscription”] of David when Saul sent men to ·watch David’s house [^Lthe house] to kill him [1 Sam. 19:11–17].

24 Balaam saw that ·the Lord wanted [^Lit was good in the eyes/sight of the Lord] to bless Israel, so he did not try to use any ·magic [divination] but looked toward the ·desert [wilderness]. ² When Balaam ·saw [^Llifted his eyes and saw] the Israelites camped in their tribes, the Spirit of God ·took control of [^Lwas on] him, ³ and he gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

¹⁰ Then Balak was angry with Balaam, and he ·pounded his fist [or struck his hands together]. He said to Balaam, “I called you here to curse my enemies, but you have continued to bless them three times. ¹¹ Now go home! I said I would ·pay you well [make you wealthy], but the Lord has ·made you lose [denied you] your reward.”

¹² Balaam said to Balak, “When you sent messengers to me, ·I told [^Ldid I not tell…?] them, ¹³ ‘Balak could give me his ·palace [^Lhouse] filled with silver and gold, but I still cannot ·go against [transgress] the Lord’s commands. I could not do anything, good or bad, on my own, but I must say what the Lord says.’ ¹⁴ Now I am going back to my own people, but I will ·tell [^Ladvise] you what these people will do to your people in the ·future [^Llater days].”

Balaam’s Final Message

¹⁵ Then Balaam gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

²⁰ Then Balaam saw Amalek and gave this message:

²¹ Then Balaam saw the Kenites and gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

²³ Then Balaam gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

²⁵ Then Balaam got up and returned home, and Balak also went on his way.

Israel Worships Baal at Peor

25 While the people of Israel were still camped at ·Acacia [^LShittim], the men began ·sinning sexually [to prostitute themselves] with Moabite women [^Con the advice of Balaam who found another way to get his money; 31:16]. ² The women invited them to their sacrifices to their gods, and the ·Israelites [^Lpeople] ate food there and worshiped these gods. ³ So the Israelites ·began to worship [^Lyoked themselves to] Baal of Peor, and the Lord was very angry with them.

⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Get all the leaders of the people and ·kill [impale] them in open daylight in the presence of the Lord. Then the Lord will not be angry with the people of Israel.”

⁵ So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must ·put to death [kill] your people who have become ·worshipers of [^Lyoked to] Baal of Peor.”

⁶ Moses and the Israelites were gathered at the entrance to the Meeting Tent, crying there. Then an ·Israelite man [^Lman of the sons/^Tchildren of Israel] brought a Midianite woman to his ·brothers [family] in plain sight of Moses and all the ·people [community; congregation; assembly]. ⁷ Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, so he ·left the meeting [^Lrose up from the community/congregation/assembly] and ·got [^Ltook in his hand] his spear. ⁸ He followed the Israelite into his ·tent [vaulted/newlywed tent] and drove his spear through the belly of both the Israelite man and the Midianite woman [^Cwhile they were embracing]. Then the ·terrible sickness [plague] among the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] stopped.

⁹ This ·sickness [plague] had killed twenty-four thousand people.

¹⁰ The Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has saved the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] from my anger. He hates sin as much as I do. ·Since he tried to save my honor among them [^LBecause of his zeal in their midst], I will not kill them in my zeal. ¹² So tell Phinehas that I am making my ·peace agreement [covenant/treaty of peace] with him. ¹³ He and his ·descendants [^Lseed] will ·always be priests [^Lhave a covenant/treaty of eternal/perpetual priesthood], because he had ·great concern for the honor of [^Lpassion/zeal for] his God. He ·removed the sins of the Israelites so they would belong to God [^Lprovided atonement for the sons/^Tchildren of Israel].”

¹⁴ The Israelite man who was ·killed [^Lstruck] with the Midianite woman was named Zimri son of Salu. He was the leader of a ·family [ancestral clan] in the tribe of Simeon. ¹⁵ And the name of the Midianite woman who was ·put to death [^Lstruck] was Cozbi daughter of Zur, who was the chief of a Midianite ·family [ancestral clan].

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ “·The Midianites are your enemies [Harrass the Midianites], and you should ·kill [^Lstrike] them. ¹⁸ They have already ·made you their enemies [harrassed you], because they tricked you at Peor and because of their sister Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader. She was the woman who was killed when the ·sickness [plague] came because the people sinned at Peor.”

The Birth of Jesus

2 At that time, Augustus Caesar sent an ·order [decree] that all people in the ·countries under Roman rule [empire; Roman world] must ·list their names in a register [register for taxation]. ² ·This was the first registration; it was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria [or This was the first census while Quirinius was governor of Syria; or This census occurred before Quirinius was governor of Syria]. ³ And all went to their own towns to be registered.

⁴ So Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Galilee, and went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, known as the town of David [^CBethlehem was David’s hometown]. Joseph went there because he was from the ·family [^Lhouse and family line] of David. ⁵ Joseph registered with Mary, to whom he was ·engaged [pledged to be married; see 1:27] and who was now pregnant. ⁶ While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have the baby, ⁷ and she gave birth to her first son. She wrapped the baby ·with pieces of cloth [in cloths; ^Tin swaddling clothes] and laid him in a ·feeding trough [^Tmanger], because there ·were no rooms [was no space/room] left in the ·inn [or guest room (of a private residence); or caravan shelter].

Shepherds Hear About Jesus

⁸ ·That night [^LAt night], some shepherds were [living out] in the fields ·nearby [^Lin that region/place] watching their ·sheep [^Lflock]. ⁹ Then an angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord ·was shining around [surrounded] them, and they became very frightened. ¹⁰ The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. [^L…for/because] I am bringing you good news that will ·be a [or bring] great joy to all the people. ¹¹ Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is ·Christ [the Messiah], the Lord. ¹² This ·is how you will know him [will be the sign for you]: You will find a baby wrapped in ·pieces of cloth [cloths; ^Tswaddling clothes] and lying in a ·feeding trough [^Tmanger].”

¹³ ·Then [^LAnd suddenly] a ·very large group [or great army] of angels from heaven ·joined [appeared with] the first angel, praising God and saying:

¹⁵ When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem. Let’s see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So the shepherds went quickly and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in a ·feeding trough [^Tmanger]. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they ·told [spread the word about; let people know] what the angels had said about this child. ¹⁸ Everyone [^Lwho heard] ·was amazed [wondered; marveled] at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary ·treasured [kept; preserved] these things and ·continued to think about them [^Lpondered/considered them in her heart]. ²⁰ Then the shepherds went back to their sheep, ·praising [glorifying] God and ·thanking [praising] him for everything they had seen and heard. It had been just as the angel had told them.

²¹ When ·the baby was eight days old [^Leight days were fulfilled; Gen. 17:12; Lev. 12:3], he was circumcised [1:59] and was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before ·the baby began to grow inside Mary [^Lhe was conceived in the womb].

Jesus Is Presented in the Temple

²² When the ·time came [^Ldays were fulfilled] for ·Mary and Joseph to do what the law of Moses taught about being made pure [^Ltheir purification according the law of Moses; ^Can animal sacrifice and ritual cleansing forty days after the birth of a son; see Lev. 12:2–8], they took Jesus [^Lup] to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. ²³ ([^LJust as] It is written in the law of the Lord: “Every ·firstborn male [^Lmale who opens the womb; ^Can idiom for a firstborn] shall be ·given [set apart; consecrated; ^Lcalled holy] to the Lord” [Ex. 13:2].) ²⁴ Mary and Joseph also went to offer a sacrifice, as the law of the Lord says: “You must sacrifice two ·doves [or turtledoves] or two young pigeons [Lev. 5:11; 12:8].”

Simeon Sees Jesus

²⁵ [Now; ^LAnd behold] In Jerusalem ·lived [^Lwas] a man named Simeon who was ·a good man [righteous; just] and ·godly [devout; reverent]. He was waiting for the ·time when God would take away Israel’s sorrow [restoration/consolation of Israel; Is. 40:1] and the Holy Spirit was ·in [or upon] him. ²⁶ ·Simeon had been told [^LIt had been revealed to him] by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he saw ·the Christ promised by the Lord [^Lthe Lord’s Messiah/Anointed One]. ²⁷ The Spirit led Simeon to the Temple. When ·Mary and Joseph [^Lthe parents] brought the ·baby [child] Jesus to the Temple to do [^Lfor him] what ·the law said they must do [the custom of the law required], ²⁸ Simeon took the baby in his arms and ·thanked [praised; blessed] God:

³³ Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what Simeon had said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to ·Mary [^Lhis mother], “·God has chosen this child [^LLook/^TBehold, this one is destined/appointed] to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel. ·He will be a sign from God that many people will not accept [^L…and to be a sign that is spoken against] ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many [^Lhearts] will be made known. And ·the things that will happen will make your heart sad, too [^La sword will pierce your own soul; ^CMary will experience deep sorrow over the death of Jesus].”

A Prayer for Protection

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam [^Cperhaps “inscription”] of David when Saul sent men to ·watch David’s house [^Lthe house] to kill him [1 Sam. 19:11–17].

Balaam’s Donkey Speaks

²¹ Balaam got up the next morning and put a saddle on his donkey. Then he went with the Moabite leaders. ²² But God became angry because Balaam went, so the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord stood in the road to ·stop [challenge] Balaam. Balaam was riding his donkey, and he had two servants with him. ²³ When the donkey saw the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, the donkey left the road and went into the field. Balaam ·hit [struck] the donkey to force her back on the road.

²⁴ Later, the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord stood on a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. ²⁵ Again the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, and she walked close to one wall, ·crushing [squeezing; scraping] Balaam’s foot against it. So he ·hit [struck] her again.

²⁶ The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord went ahead again and stood at a narrow place, too narrow to turn left or right. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam. This made him so angry that he ·hit [struck] her with his stick. ²⁸ Then the Lord made the donkey talk, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to make you ·hit [strike] me three times?”

²⁹ Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made me look foolish! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!”

³⁰ But the donkey said to Balaam, “·I am [^LAm I not…?] your very own donkey, which you have ridden for years. Have I ever done this to you before?”

“No,” Balaam said.

³¹ Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam and let Balaam see the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord, who was standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand. Then Balaam bowed facedown on the ground.

³² The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord asked Balaam, “Why have you ·hit [struck] your donkey three times? I have stood here to ·stop [challenge] you, because what you are doing is wrong. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned away from me three times [^Cit was more spiritually sensitive than Balaam]. If she had not turned away, I would have killed you by now, but I would have let her live.”

³⁴ Then Balaam said to the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord, “I have sinned; I did not know you were standing in the road to stop me. If I am wrong, I will go back.”

³⁵ The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with these men, but say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s leaders.

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at Ar in Moab, which was beside the Arnon, at the edge of his ·country [boundary]. ³⁷ Balak said to Balaam, “·I had asked you before [^LDid I not send for you…?] to come quickly. Why didn’t you come to me? ·I am [^LAm I not…?] able to ·reward you well [give you wealth].”

³⁸ But Balaam answered, “I have come to you now, but I can’t say just anything. I can only say what God tells me to say.”

³⁹ Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. ⁴⁰ Balak offered cattle and sheep as a sacrifice and gave some meat to Balaam and the leaders with him.

⁴¹ The next morning Balak took Balaam to Bamoth Baal; from there he could see the edge of the ·Israelite camp [^Lpeople].

Balaam’s First Message

23 Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven ·male sheep [rams] for me.” ² Balak did what Balaam asked, and they offered a bull and a ·male sheep [ram] on each of the altars.

³ Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] and I will go. If the Lord comes to me, I will tell you whatever he shows me.” Then Balaam went to a ·higher place [or barren height].

⁴ God came to Balaam there, and Balaam said to him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered a bull and a ·male sheep [ram] on each altar.”

⁵ The Lord ·told Balaam what he should say [^Lput a word in the mouth of Balaam]. Then the Lord said, “Go back to Balak and ·give him this message [^Lthus you will speak].”

⁶ So Balaam went back to Balak. Balak and all the leaders of Moab were still standing beside his burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] ⁷ when Balaam gave them this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

¹¹ Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but you have only blessed them!”

¹² But Balaam answered, “·I must [^LMust I not…?] say what the Lord ·tells me to say [^Lput in my mouth].”

Balaam’s Second Message

¹³ Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place, where you can also see the people. But you can only see part of them, not all of them [^Cperhaps he could curse a part of Israel]. Curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴ So Balak took Balaam to the field of Zophim, on top of Mount Pisgah. There Balak built seven altars and offered a bull and a ·male sheep [ram] on each altar.

¹⁵ So Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17], and I will meet with God over there.”

¹⁶ So the Lord came to Balaam and ·told him what to say [^Lput a word in his mouth]. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and say ·such and such [^Lthus].”

¹⁷ So Balaam went to Balak, where he and the leaders of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17]. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”

¹⁸ Then Balaam gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:

²⁵ Then Balak said to Balaam, “You haven’t cursed these people, so at least don’t bless them!”

²⁶ Balaam answered Balak, “·I told [^LDid I not tell…?] you before that I can only do what the Lord tells me.”

Balaam’s Third Message

²⁷ Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, I will take you to another place. Maybe ·God will be pleased [^Lit will be right in the eyes/sight of God] to let you curse them from there.” ²⁸ So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, the mountain that looks over the ·desert [wasteland; or Jeshimon].

²⁹ Balaam told Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare for me seven bulls and seven ·male sheep [rams].” ³⁰ Balak did what Balaam asked, and he offered a bull and a ·male sheep [ram] on each altar.

The Birth of John

⁵⁷ When it was time for Elizabeth to give birth, she had a ·boy [^Lson]. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard how ·good [greatly merciful] the Lord was to her, and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹ When the baby was eight days old, they came to circumcise him [Gen. 17:12]. They ·wanted [were about] to name him Zechariah because this was his father’s name, ⁶⁰ but his mother said, “No! He will be named John.”

⁶¹ The people said to Elizabeth, “But no one in your family has this name.” ⁶² Then they made ·signs [gestures; motions] to his father to find out what he would like to name him [^Cindicating that Zechariah was not only mute but also deaf].

⁶³ Zechariah ·asked [motioned] for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John,” and everyone ·was surprised [marveled; was amazed]. ⁶⁴ Immediately ·Zechariah could talk again [^Lhis mouth was opened and his tongue freed], and he began ·praising [blessing] God. ⁶⁵ All their neighbors ·became alarmed [were afraid/in awe], and in all the ·mountains [hill country] of Judea people continued talking about all these things. ⁶⁶ The people who heard about them ·wondered [^Lkept/pondered them in their hearts], saying, “What will this child [turn out to] be?” because the [^Lhand of the; ^Ca metaphor for empowering presence] Lord was with him.

Zechariah Praises God

⁶⁷ Then Zechariah, John’s father, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

⁸⁰ And so the child grew up and became strong ·in spirit [or in the Spirit]. John lived in the ·desert [wilderness] until the time when he ·came out to preach [appeared; was revealed] to Israel.

Unfair Judges

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam [^Cperhaps “inscription”] of David.

War with the Canaanites

21 The Canaanite king of Arad lived in the ·southern area [Negev]. When he heard that the Israelites were coming on the road to Atharim, he attacked them and captured some of them. ² Then the Israelites made ·this promise [a vow] to the Lord: “If you will ·help us defeat these people [^Lgive this people into our hands], we will ·completely destroy [devote to the Lord] their cities.” ³ The Lord listened to the Israelites, and he let them defeat the Canaanites. The Israelites ·completely destroyed [devoted to the Lord] the Canaanites and their cities, so the place was named Hormah [^C“Completely Destroyed”; “Devoted to the Lord”].

The Bronze Snake

⁴ The Israelites left Mount Hor and went on the road toward the ·Red [or Reed] Sea, in order to go around the country of Edom. But the people became impatient on the way ⁵ and ·grumbled at [^Lspoke against] God and Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this ·desert [wilderness]? There is no bread and no water, and we hate this terrible food!”

⁶ So the Lord sent them ·poisonous [^Lburning] snakes; they bit the people, and many of the ·Israelites [^Lpeople from Israel] died. ⁷ The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we ·grumbled at [spoke against] you and the Lord. Pray that the Lord will take away these snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.

⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “Make a bronze snake, and put it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, that person will live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. Then when a snake bit anyone, that person looked at the bronze snake and lived [2 Kin. 18:4; John 3:14].

The Journey to Moab

¹⁰ The ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] went and camped at Oboth. ¹¹ They went from Oboth to Iye Abarim, in the ·desert [wilderness] east of Moab. ¹² From there they went and camped in the Zered ·Valley [Wadi]. ¹³ From there they went and camped across the Arnon, in the ·desert [wilderness] just inside the Amorite country. The Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites. ¹⁴ That is why the Book of the Wars of the Lord [^Ca source now lost] says:

¹⁶ The Israelites went from there to Beer; a well is there where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people and I will give them water.”

¹⁷ Then the Israelites sang this song:

The people went from the ·desert [wilderness] to Mattanah. ¹⁹ From Mattanah they went to Nahaliel and on to Bamoth. ²⁰ From Bamoth they went to the valley of Moab where the top of Mount Pisgah looks over the ·desert [wilderness].

Israel Kills Sihon and Og

²¹ The Israelites sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, ²² “Let ·us [^Lme] pass through your country. We will not go through any fields of grain or vineyards, or drink water from the wells. We will travel only along the ·king’s road [King’s Highway; 20:17] until we have passed through your ·country [boundaries].”

²³ But King Sihon would not let the Israelites pass through his ·country [boundaries]. He gathered his whole army together, and they marched out to meet Israel in the ·desert [wilderness]. At Jahaz they fought the Israelites. ²⁴ Israel ·killed [^Lstruck with the sword] the king and captured his land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. They took the land as far as the ·Ammonite border [^Lborder of the sons of Ammon], which was strongly defended. ²⁵ Israel captured all the Amorite cities and lived in them, taking Heshbon and all the towns around it. ²⁶ Heshbon was the city where Sihon, the Amorite king, lived. In the past he had fought with the king of Moab and had taken all the land from his hand as far as the Arnon.

²⁷ That is why the poets say:

³¹ So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.

³² After Moses sent spies to the town of Jazer, they captured ·the towns around it [its villages], forcing out the Amorites who lived there.

³³ Then the Israelites went up the road toward Bashan. Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet the Israelites, and they fought at Edrei.

³⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Don’t be afraid of him. I will hand him, his whole army, and his land over to you. Do to him what you did to Sihon, the Amorite king who lived in Heshbon.”

³⁵ So the Israelites ·killed [^Lstruck] Og and his sons and all his army; no one was left alive. And they took his land [Deut. 1:4; 3:1–7; Ps. 135:11; 136:20].

Balak Sends for Balaam

22 Then the ·people [^Lsons/^Tchildren of] of Israel went to the plains of Moab, and they camped near the Jordan River across from Jericho.

² Balak son of Zippor saw everything the Israelites had done to the Amorites. ³ And Moab ·was scared of [dreaded] so many Israelites; truly, Moab was terrified by them.

⁴ The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “·These people [^LThis community/assembly/congregation] will ·take [lick up] everything around us like an ox ·eating [licking] grass.”

Balak son of Zippor was the king of Moab at this time. ⁵ He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, near the Euphrates River in ·his native land [or the land of Amaw]. Balak said, “A nation has come out of Egypt that covers the land. They have ·camped [^Lsettled] next to me, ⁶ and they are too powerful for me. So come and put a curse on them. Maybe then I can defeat them and ·make them leave [drive them from] the area. I know that if you bless someone, the blessings happen, and if you put a curse on someone, it happens.”

⁷ The elders of Moab and Midian went with ·payment [^Lfee for divination] in their hands. When they found Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.

⁸ Balaam said to them, “Stay here for the night, and I will tell you what the Lord tells me.” So the Moabite leaders stayed with him.

⁹ God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”

¹⁰ Balaam said to God, “The king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, sent them to me with this message: ¹¹ ‘A ·nation [people] has come out of Egypt that ·covers [spreads over] the land. So come and put a curse on them, and maybe I can fight them and force them out of my land.’”

¹² But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. Don’t put a curse on those people, because I have blessed them.”

¹³ The next morning Balaam ·awoke [rose] and said to Balak’s leaders, “Go back to your own country; the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

¹⁴ So the Moabite leaders went back to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹⁵ So Balak sent other leaders—this time there were more of them, and they were more ·important [distinguished]. ¹⁶ They went to Balaam and said, “Balak son of Zippor says this: Please don’t let anything stop you from coming to me. ¹⁷ I will ·pay you very well [make you wealthy; honor you], and I will do what you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.”

¹⁸ But Balaam answered Balak’s servants, “King Balak could give me his palace full of silver and gold, but I cannot ·disobey [transgress] the Lord my God in anything, great or small. ¹⁹ You stay here tonight as the other men did, and I will find out what more the Lord tells me.”

²⁰ That night God came to Balaam and said, “These men have come to ask you to go with them. Go, but only do what I tell you.”

An Angel Appears to Mary

²⁶ During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel [1:19] to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin. She was ·engaged to marry [pledged to; ^Cengagement was a binding contract between two families and could only be broken by divorce] a man named Joseph ·from the family [a descendent; ^Lfrom the house] of David. ·Her [^LThe virgin’s] name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel came to her and said, “·Greetings [Hello; ^LRejoice; ^Ca common greeting]! ·The Lord has blessed you and is with you [or …favored one, the Lord is with you].”

²⁹ But Mary was ·very startled [disturbed; perplexed; troubled] by what the angel said and wondered what ·this greeting might mean [sort of greeting this was].

³⁰ The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; [^Lfor; because] ·God has shown you his grace [^Lyou have found favor/grace with God]. ³¹ ·Listen [^LLook; ^TBehold]! You will ·become pregnant [^Lconceive in your womb] and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus [Is. 7:14]. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of ·King David, his ancestor [^Lhis father David]. ³³ He will ·rule [reign] over the ·people [^Lhouse] of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end [2 Sam. 7:13, 16; Dan. 7:14, 27].”

³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How ·will [can] this happen since ·I am a virgin [^LI have not known a man (sexually)]?”

³⁵ The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come ·upon [over] you, and the power of the Most High will ·cover [overshadow] you. For this reason the ·baby will be holy and [holy one to be born] will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ ·Now [^LAnd look/^Tbehold] Elizabeth, your relative, ·is also pregnant with [has also conceived] a son ·though she is very old [in her old age]. ·Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant for six months. [^LAnd this is the sixth month for the woman they called barren!] ³⁷ ·God can do anything […because nothing is impossible with God; or …because no word/message from God will ever fail; Gen. 18:14; Jer. 32:17]!”

³⁸ Mary said, “[^LLook; ^TBehold] I am the ·servant [bondservant; ^Thandmaid] of the Lord. Let this happen to me ·as you say [according to your word]!” Then the angel ·went away [left her].

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ [^LIn those days] Mary got up and went quickly to a town in the hills of Judea [^Cfrom Galilee in the north to southern Israel, about three or four days journey by foot]. ⁴⁰ She ·came to [entered] Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the unborn baby ·inside her [in her womb] ·jumped [leaped; kicked], and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² She cried out in a loud voice, “·God has blessed you [^LYou are blessed] ·more than any other woman [^Lamong women], and ·he has blessed the baby to which you will give birth [^Lblessed is the fruit of your womb]. ⁴³ [^LBut] Why ·has this good thing happened to me [am I so honored], that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴ [^LFor look/^Tbehold] When I heard ·your voice [^Lthe sound of your greeting], the baby inside ·me [my womb] ·jumped [leaped; kicked] with joy. ⁴⁵ ·You are blessed because you [^LBlessed is she who has] believed that what the Lord said would ·really happen [be fulfilled].”

Mary Praises God

⁴⁶ Then Mary said,

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

A Prayer in Troubled Times

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam [^Cperhaps “inscription”] of David when he ·escaped [fled] from Saul in the cave [^Clikely a reference to 1 Sam. 22:1–5, but possibly 1 Sam. 24].