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The Silver Trumpets

10 The Lord said to Moses: ² “Make two trumpets^(A) of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community^(B) together and for having the camps set out.^{(C) 3} When both are sounded, the whole community is to assemble before you at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁴ If only one is sounded, the leaders^(D)—the heads of the clans of Israel—are to assemble before you. ⁵ When a trumpet blast is sounded, the tribes camping on the east are to set out.^{(E) 6} At the sounding of a second blast, the camps on the south are to set out.^(F) The blast will be the signal for setting out. ⁷ To gather the assembly, blow the trumpets,^(G) but not with the signal for setting out.^(H)

⁸ “The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to blow the trumpets. This is to be a lasting ordinance for you and the generations to come.^{(I) 9} When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you,^(J) sound a blast on the trumpets.^(K) Then you will be remembered^(L) by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies.^{(M) 10} Also at your times of rejoicing—your appointed festivals and New Moon feasts^(N)—you are to sound the trumpets^(O) over your burnt offerings^(P) and fellowship offerings,^(Q) and they will be a memorial for you before your God. I am the Lord your God.^(R)”

The Israelites Leave Sinai

¹¹ On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year,^(S) the cloud lifted^(T) from above the tabernacle of the covenant law.^{(U) 12} Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran.^{(V) 13} They set out, this first time, at the Lord’s command through Moses.^(W)

¹⁴ The divisions of the camp of Judah went first, under their standard.^(X) Nahshon son of Amminadab^(Y) was in command. ¹⁵ Nethanel son of Zuar was over the division of the tribe^(Z) of Issachar,^{(AA) 16} and Eliab son of Helon^(AB) was over the division of the tribe of Zebulun.^{(AC) 17} Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and Merarites, who carried it, set out.^(AD)

¹⁸ The divisions of the camp of Reuben^(AE) went next, under their standard.^(AF) Elizur son of Shedeur^(AG) was in command. ¹⁹ Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was over the division of the tribe of Simeon,^{(AH) 20} and Eliasaph son of Deuel was over the division of the tribe of Gad.^{(AI) 21} Then the Kohathites^(AJ) set out, carrying the holy things.^(AK) The tabernacle was to be set up before they arrived.^(AL)

²² The divisions of the camp of Ephraim^(AM) went next, under their standard. Elishama son of Ammihud^(AN) was in command. ²³ Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of Manasseh,^{(AO) 24} and Abidan son of Gideoni was over the division of the tribe of Benjamin.^(AP)

²⁵ Finally, as the rear guard^(AQ) for all the units, the divisions of the camp of Dan set out under their standard. Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai^(AR) was in command. ²⁶ Pagiel son of Okran was over the division of the tribe of Asher,^{(AS) 27} and Ahira son of Enan was over the division of the tribe of Naphtali.^{(AT) 28} This was the order of march for the Israelite divisions as they set out.

²⁹ Now Moses said to Hobab^(AU) son of Reuel^(AV) the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law,^(AW) “We are setting out for the place about which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’^(AX) Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel.”

³⁰ He answered, “No, I will not go;^(AY) I am going back to my own land and my own people.^(AZ)”

³¹ But Moses said, “Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes.^{(BA) 32} If you come with us, we will share with you^(BB) whatever good things the Lord gives us.^(BC)”

³³ So they set out^(BD) from the mountain of the Lord and traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the Lord^(BE) went before them during those three days to find them a place to rest.^{(BF) 34} The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.^(BG)

³⁵ Whenever the ark set out, Moses said,

³⁶ Whenever it came to rest, he said,

Fire From the Lord

11 Now the people complained^(BN) about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord,^(BO) and when he heard them his anger was aroused.^(BP) Then fire from the Lord burned among them^(BQ) and consumed^(BR) some of the outskirts of the camp. ² When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed^(BS) to the Lord^(BT) and the fire died down. ³ So that place was called Taberah,^[a](BU) because fire from the Lord had burned among them.^(BV)

Quail From the Lord

⁴ The rabble with them began to crave other food,^(BW) and again the Israelites started wailing^(BX) and said, “If only we had meat to eat! ⁵ We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.^{(BY) 6} But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!^(BZ)”

⁷ The manna was like coriander seed^(CA) and looked like resin.^{(CB) 8} The people went around gathering it,^(CC) and then ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into loaves. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. ⁹ When the dew^(CD) settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.

¹⁰ Moses heard the people of every family wailing^(CE) at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. ¹¹ He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble^(CF) on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?^{(CG) 12} Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant,^(CH) to the land you promised on oath^(CI) to their ancestors?^{(CJ) 13} Where can I get meat for all these people?^(CK) They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ ¹⁴ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.^{(CL) 15} If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me^(CM)—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders^(CN) who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people.^(CO) Have them come to the tent of meeting,^(CP) that they may stand there with you. ¹⁷ I will come down and speak with you^(CQ) there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them.^(CR) They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.^(CS)

¹⁸ “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves^(CT) in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed,^(CU) “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!”^(CV) Now the Lord will give you meat,^(CW) and you will eat it. ¹⁹ You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, ²⁰ but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it^(CX)—because you have rejected the Lord,^(CY) who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”^(CZ)

²¹ But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men^(DA) on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ ²² Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”^(DB)

²³ The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?^(DC) Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.^(DD)”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany^(A)(B)(C)

14 Now the Passover^(D) and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.^{(E) 2} “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

³ While he was in Bethany,^(F) reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.^(G)

⁴ Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? ⁵ It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages^[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

⁶ “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ The poor you will always have with you,^[b] and you can help them any time you want.^(H) But you will not always have me. ⁸ She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.^{(I) 9} Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world,^(J) what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve,^(K) went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.^{(L) 11} They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

The Last Supper^(M)(N)

¹² On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb,^(O) Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

¹³ So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴ Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ He will show you a large room upstairs,^(P) furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

¹⁶ The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷ When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. ¹⁸ While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

¹⁹ They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”

²⁰ “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me.^{(Q) 21} The Son of Man^(R) will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

Psalm 51^[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.^(A)

Setting Up the Lamps

8 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you set up the lamps, see that all seven light up the area in front of the lampstand.^(A)’”

³ Aaron did so; he set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand, just as the Lord commanded Moses. ⁴ This is how the lampstand was made: It was made of hammered gold^(B)—from its base to its blossoms. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern^(C) the Lord had shown Moses.

The Setting Apart of the Levites

⁵ The Lord said to Moses: ⁶ “Take the Levites from among all the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean.^{(D) 7} To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing^(E) on them; then have them shave their whole bodies^(F) and wash their clothes.^(G) And so they will purify themselves.^{(H) 8} Have them take a young bull with its grain offering of the finest flour mixed with olive oil;^(I) then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.^{[a](J) 9} Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting^(K) and assemble the whole Israelite community.^{(L) 10} You are to bring the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them.^{(M) 11} Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering^(N) from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the work of the Lord.

¹² “Then the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls,^(O) using one for a sin offering^(P) to the Lord and the other for a burnt offering,^(Q) to make atonement^(R) for the Levites. ¹³ Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering^(S) to the Lord. ¹⁴ In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.^(T)

¹⁵ “After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering,^(U) they are to come to do their work at the tent of meeting.^{(V) 16} They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn,^(W) the first male offspring^(X) from every Israelite woman. ¹⁷ Every firstborn male in Israel, whether human or animal,^(Y) is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself.^{(Z) 18} And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel.^{(AA) 19} From among all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons^(AB) to do the work at the tent of meeting on behalf of the Israelites^(AC) and to make atonement for them^(AD) so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses. ²¹ The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes.^(AE) Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord and made atonement^(AF) for them to purify them.^{(AG) 22} After that, the Levites came to do their work^(AH) at the tent of meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses.

²³ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more^(AI) shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting,^{(AJ) 25} but at the age of fifty,^(AK) they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. ²⁶ They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting, but they themselves must not do the work.^(AL) This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites.”

The Passover

9 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the first month^(AM) of the second year after they came out of Egypt.^(AN) He said, ² “Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover^(AO) at the appointed time.^{(AP) 3} Celebrate it at the appointed time, at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month,^(AQ) in accordance with all its rules and regulations.^(AR)”

⁴ So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover,^{(AS) 5} and they did so in the Desert of Sinai^(AT) at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.^(AU) The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.^(AV)

⁶ But some of them could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean^(AW) on account of a dead body.^(AX) So they came to Moses and Aaron^(AY) that same day ⁷ and said to Moses, “We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the Lord’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?^(AZ)”

⁸ Moses answered them, “Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you.”^(BA)

⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰ “Tell the Israelites: ‘When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body^(BB) or are away on a journey, they are still to celebrate^(BC) the Lord’s Passover, ¹¹ but they are to do it on the fourteenth day of the second month^(BD) at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.^{(BE) 12} They must not leave any of it till morning^(BF) or break any of its bones.^(BG) When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations.^{(BH) 13} But if anyone who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, they must be cut off from their people^(BI) for not presenting the Lord’s offering at the appointed time. They will bear the consequences of their sin.

¹⁴ “‘A foreigner^(BJ) residing among you is also to celebrate the Lord’s Passover in accordance with its rules and regulations. You must have the same regulations for both the foreigner and the native-born.’”

The Cloud Above the Tabernacle

¹⁵ On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law,^(BK) was set up,^(BL) the cloud^(BM) covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.^{(BN) 16} That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.^{(BO) 17} Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out;^(BP) wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.^{(BQ) 18} At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained^(BR) in camp. ¹⁹ When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order^(BS) and did not set out.^{(BT) 20} Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. ²¹ Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. ²² Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. ²³ At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses.

¹⁴ “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’^[a](A) standing where it^[b] does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁵ Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. ¹⁶ Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁷ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!^{(B) 18} Pray that this will not take place in winter, ¹⁹ because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world,^(C) until now—and never to be equaled again.^(D)

²⁰ “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. ²¹ At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.^{(E) 22} For false messiahs and false prophets^(F) will appear and perform signs and wonders^(G) to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²³ So be on your guard;^(H) I have told you everything ahead of time.

²⁴ “But in those days, following that distress,

²⁶ “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds^(J) with great power and glory. ²⁷ And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.^(K)

²⁸ “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it^[d] is near, right at the door. ³⁰ Truly I tell you, this generation^(L) will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.^{(M) 31} Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.^(N)

The Day and Hour Unknown

³² “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.^{(O) 33} Be on guard! Be alert^[e]!^(P) You do not know when that time will come. ³⁴ It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants^(Q) in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

³⁵ “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. ³⁶ If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”^(R)

Psalm 50

A psalm of Asaph.

¹⁶ But to the wicked person, God says:

Law of the Nazirites

6 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘When a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, that is, one separated and dedicated to the Lord, ³ he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes.^{(A) 4 [a]}All the time of his separation he shall not eat anything produced from the grapevine, from the seeds even to the skins.

⁵ ‘All the time of the vow of his separation no razor shall be used on his head. Until the time of his separation to the Lord is completed, he shall be holy, and shall let the hair of his head grow long.

⁶ ‘All the time that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. ⁷ He shall not make himself [ceremonially] unclean for his father, mother, brother, or sister, when they die, because [the responsibility for] his separation to God is on his head. ⁸ All the time of his separation he is holy to the Lord.

⁹ ‘If a man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his dedicated head, then he shall shave his head on the day that he becomes [ceremonially] clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day [the end of the purification period]. ¹⁰ On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). ¹¹ The priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering and make atonement for him concerning his sin because of the [dead] body. He shall consecrate his head the same day, ¹² and he shall dedicate himself to the Lord for the time of his separation and shall bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering; but the previous days will be void and lost, because his separation was defiled.

¹³ ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the days of his separation and dedication are fulfilled: he shall bring the offering to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). ¹⁴ and he shall offer his gift to the Lord: one male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering, and one female lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace offering, ¹⁵ and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread spread with oil, along with their grain offering and their drink offering. ¹⁶ Then the priest shall present them before the Lord and shall offer the person’s sin offering and his burnt offering. ¹⁷ He shall also offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall offer also its grain offering and its drink offering. ¹⁸ The Nazirite shall shave his dedicated head at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and take the dedicated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings. ¹⁹ The priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened [ring-shaped] loaf out of the basket, and one unleavened flat cake and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his dedicated hair. ²⁰ Then the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord; they are a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is offered by lifting up; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.’

²¹ “This is the law for the ^[b]Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord for his separation, besides what else ^[c]he is able to afford, according to the vow which he has vowed; so shall he do according to the law for his separation and abstinence [as a Nazirite].”^(B)

Aaron’s Benediction

²² Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them:

²⁷ So Aaron and his sons shall put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”

Offerings of the Leaders

7 On the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle and had anointed and consecrated it and all its furniture, and the altar and all its utensils; he also anointed them and consecrated them [for holy use]. ² Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers’ households, made offerings. (These were the leaders of the tribes; they were the ones who ^[d]were over the men who were numbered.) ³ They brought their offering before the Lord, six covered carts and twelve oxen; a cart for each two of the leaders and an ox for each one; and they presented them before the tabernacle. ⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵ “Accept these things from them, so that they may be used in the service of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” ⁶ So Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ He gave two carts and four oxen to the sons of Gershon, according to their service [in transporting the tabernacle]; ⁸ and he gave four carts and eight oxen to the sons of Merari, according to their service [in transporting the tabernacle], under the supervision of Ithamar the son of Aaron, the [high] priest. ⁹ But to the sons of Kohath he gave nothing, because they were assigned the care of the holy things which they carried on their shoulders [when the tabernacle was moved].

¹⁰ The leaders offered the dedication sacrifices for the altar on the day that it was anointed; and they offered their sacrifice before the altar. ¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Let them present their offerings, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar.”

¹² Now the one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah; ¹³ and his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ¹⁴ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ¹⁵ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ¹⁶ one male goat as a sin offering; ¹⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab [from the tribe of Judah].

¹⁸ On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, leader [of the tribe] of Issachar, presented [his offering]; ¹⁹ he presented as his offering one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ²⁰ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ²¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ²² one male goat as a sin offering; ²³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar [from the tribe of Issachar].

²⁴ On the third day [it was] Eliab the son of Helon, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Zebulun [who presented his offering]; ²⁵ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ²⁶ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ²⁷ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ²⁸ one male goat as a sin offering; ²⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon [from the tribe of Zebulun].

³⁰ On the fourth day [it was] Elizur the son of Shedeur, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Reuben [who presented his offering]; ³¹ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³² one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ³³ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ³⁴ one male goat as a sin offering; ³⁵ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur [from the tribe of Reuben].

³⁶ On the fifth day [it was] Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Simeon [who presented his offering]; ³⁷ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ³⁸ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ³⁹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁴¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai [from the tribe of Simeon].

⁴² On the sixth day [it was] Eliasaph the son of Deuel, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Gad [who presented his offering]; ⁴³ his offering was one silver dish the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and a silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁴⁴ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁴⁵ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel [from the tribe of Gad].

⁴⁸ On the seventh day [it was] Elishama the son of Ammihud, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Ephraim [who presented his offering]; ⁴⁹ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁵⁰ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵¹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁵² one male goat as a sin offering; ⁵³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud [from the tribe of Ephraim].

⁵⁴ On the eighth day [it was] Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Manasseh [who presented his offering]; ⁵⁵ his offering was one silver dish the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁵⁶ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵⁷ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur [from the tribe of Manasseh].

⁶⁰ On the ninth day [it was] Abidan the son of Gideoni, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Benjamin [who presented his offering]; ⁶¹ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁶² one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶³ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁶⁵ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni [from the tribe of Benjamin].

⁶⁶ On the tenth day [it was] Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Dan [who presented his offering]; ⁶⁷ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁶⁸ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶⁹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁷¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai [from the tribe of Dan].

⁷² On the eleventh day [it was] Pagiel the son of Ochran, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Asher [who presented his offering]; ⁷³ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁷⁴ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁷⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ochran [from the tribe of Asher].

⁷⁸ On the twelfth day [it was] Ahira the son of Enan, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Naphtali [who presented his offering]; ⁷⁹ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁸⁰ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁸¹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁸² one male goat as a sin offering; ⁸³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan [from the tribe of Naphtali].

⁸⁴ This was the dedication offering for the altar from the leaders of Israel on the day when it was anointed: twelve dishes of silver, twelve silver basins, twelve golden bowls; ⁸⁵ each dish of silver weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, each basin seventy [shekels]; all the silver vessels weighed 2,400 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; ⁸⁶ the twelve golden bowls, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, all the gold of the bowls being a hundred and twenty shekels; ⁸⁷ all the oxen for the burnt offering were twelve bulls, the rams twelve, the male lambs one year old twelve, together with their grain offering; and the male goats as a sin offering twelve; ⁸⁸ and all the oxen for the sacrifice of the peace offerings were twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, the male lambs one year old sixty. This was the dedication for the altar [of burnt offering] after it was anointed.

⁸⁹ Now when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat (the gold cover) that was on the ark of the Testimony from between the two cherubim; and He spoke [by special revelation] to him.

³⁸ In [the course of] His teaching He was saying, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes [displaying their prominence], and like to receive respectful greetings in the market places, ³⁹ and [they love] the ^[a]chief seats in the synagogues and the places of distinction and honor at banquets, ⁴⁰ [these scribes] who devour (confiscate) widows’ houses, and offer long prayers for appearance’s sake [to impress others]. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Mite

⁴¹ And He sat down opposite the [temple] treasury, and began watching how the people were putting money into the ^[b]treasury. And many rich people were putting in ^[c]large sums.^{(A) 42} A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a ^[d]mite. ⁴³ Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this poor widow put in [proportionally] more than all the contributors to the treasury. ⁴⁴ For they all contributed from their surplus, but she, from her poverty, put in all she had, all she had to live on.”

Things to Come

13 As He was coming out of the temple [grounds], one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look what ^[e]wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”^{(B) 2} Jesus replied to him, “You see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another which will not be ^[f]torn down!”

³ As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be fulfilled?” ⁵ Jesus began to say to them, “Be careful and see to it that no one misleads you. ⁶ Many will come in My name [misusing My name or claiming to be the Messiah], saying, ‘I am He!’ and will deceive and mislead many. ⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed (frightened, troubled); these things must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁸ For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These things are the beginning of the ^[g]birth pangs [the intolerable anguish and suffering].

⁹ “But be on your guard; they will turn you over to courts, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand [as accused] before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. ¹⁰ The gospel [that is, the good news regarding the way of salvation] must first be preached to all the [Gentile] nations.^{(C) 11} When they take you and turn you over [to the court], do not worry beforehand about what to say, but say whatever is given to you [by God] in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit [who will speak through you]. ¹² Brother will betray brother to [be put to] death, and a father [will hand over] his child; and children will rise up and take a stand against parents and have them put to death. ¹³ You will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but the one who [patiently perseveres empowered by the Holy Spirit and] endures to the end, he will be saved.

The Folly of Trusting in Riches.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

Duties of the Kohathites

4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, ³ from thirty years old and upward, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). ⁴ This is the work and responsibility of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle): the most holy things.

⁵ “When the camp prepares to move out, Aaron and his sons shall come into the sanctuary and take down ^[a]the veil (curtain) screening off the Holy of Holies, and cover the ark of the testimony with it; ⁶ and they shall put on it a covering of ^[b]porpoise skin (fine leather), and shall spread over that a cloth of pure blue, and shall insert the carrying poles of the ark. ⁷ Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes [for incense], the sacrificial bowls, the jars for the drink offering, and the continual bread [of the Presence] shall be on it. ⁸ They shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet, and cover that with a covering of porpoise skin, and they shall insert its carrying poles. ⁹ Then they shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand for the light, along with its lamps, its wick cutters, its trays, and all the oil vessels, by which it is supplied; ¹⁰ and they shall put the lampstand and all its utensils in a covering of porpoise skin, and shall put it on the carrying bars. ¹¹ Over the golden [incense] altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of porpoise skin, and shall insert its carrying poles; ¹² and they shall take all the utensils of the service with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of porpoise skin, and put them on the carrying bars. ¹³ Then they shall clean away the ashes from the altar [of burnt offering], and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ They shall also put on it all its utensils with which they minister in connection with it: the pans, the meat-forks, the shovels, the basins, and all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread a covering of porpoise skin over it, and insert its carrying poles. ¹⁵ When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all its furniture, as the camp sets out, after all that [is done, but not before], the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them [using the poles], so that they do not touch the holy things, and die. These are the things in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) which the sons of Kohath are to carry.

¹⁶ “The responsibility of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, is the oil for the light, the ^[c]fragrant incense, the continual grain offering, and the anointing oil—the responsibility of all the tabernacle and everything that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ¹⁸ “Do not cut off (eliminate, destroy) the tribe of the families of the Kohathites [who are only Levites and not priests], from among the Levites [by exposing them to the sin of ^[d]touching the most holy things]. ¹⁹ But deal with them in this way, so that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his [specific] work and to his load [to be carried on the march]. ²⁰ But the Kohathites shall not go in to see the holy things, even for an instant, or they will die.”

Duties of the Gershonites

²¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²² “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ households, by their families. ²³ From thirty years and upward to fifty years old, you shall number them; all who enter for service to do the work in the Tent of Meeting. ²⁴ This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in carrying [when on the march]: ²⁵ they shall carry the tent curtains of the tabernacle, and the Tent of Meeting, its covering and the covering of porpoise skin (fine leather) that is on top of it, and the curtain for the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), ²⁶ and the hangings of the courtyard, and the curtain for the entrance of the gate of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their tent ropes, and all the equipment for their service; and all that is to be done, they shall ^[e]perform. ²⁷ Aaron and his sons shall direct all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, all they have to carry and all they have to do. You shall assign to them as a duty all that they are to carry [on the march]. ²⁸ This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle); and their duties shall be ^[f]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron, the [high] priest.

Duties of the Merarites

²⁹ “As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households; ³⁰ from thirty years and upward to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the service to do the work of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). ³¹ This is what they are assigned to carry [on the march], according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the boards [for the framework] of the tabernacle and its bars and its pillars and its sockets or bases, ³² and the pillars around the courtyard with their sockets or bases and their pegs and their cords (tent ropes), with all their equipment and with all their [accessories for] service; and you shall assign each man by name the items ^[g]he is to carry [on the march]. ³³ This is the work of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their tasks in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), ^[h]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron, the priest.”

³⁴ So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families (clans) and by their fathers’ households, ³⁵ from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who enters the service to do the work in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle); ³⁶ the men who were numbered by their families were 2,750. ³⁷ These were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who did service in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord ^[i]through Moses.

³⁸ The men who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families (clans), and by their fathers’ households, ³⁹ from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service to do the work in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle); ⁴⁰ the men who were numbered by their families, by their fathers’ households, were 2,630. ⁴¹ These were numbered men of the families of the sons of Gershon, everyone who served in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), whom Moses and Aaron numbered just as the Lord had commanded.

⁴² The men who were numbered of the sons of Merari, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, ⁴³ from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle); ⁴⁴ the men who were numbered by their families were 3,200. ⁴⁵ These are the men who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered in accordance with the commandment of the Lord through Moses.

⁴⁶ All the men who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted by their families (clans) and by their fathers’ households, ⁴⁷ from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter to do the work of service and the work of carrying in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle); ⁴⁸ the men that were numbered were 8,580. ⁴⁹ According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses, they were numbered, each assigned to his work of serving and carrying. Thus they were numbered by him, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

On Defilement

5 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp every leper and everyone who has a discharge, and whoever is defiled [that is, ceremonially unclean] by [coming in contact with] the dead. ³ You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they will not defile their camp where I dwell in their midst.” ⁴ The Israelites did so, and sent them outside the camp; just as the Lord had said to Moses, so the Israelites did.

⁵ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Say to the Israelites, ‘When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind [against other people], thus breaking faith with the Lord, and that person is guilty, ⁷ then he shall confess the sin which he has committed, and he shall make restitution for his wrong in full, and add a fifth to it, and give it to [the person] whom he has wronged. ⁸ But if the man [who was wronged] has no redeemer (relative) to whom the restitution may be made, it is to be given to the Lord for the priest, besides the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for the offender. ⁹ Also every contribution pertaining to all the holy gifts of the Israelites which they offer to the priest, shall be his. ¹⁰ And every man’s holy gifts shall be the priest’s; whatever any man gives the priest, it becomes his.’”

The Adultery Test

¹¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘If any man’s wife goes astray (deviates) and is unfaithful to him, ¹³ and a man is intimate with her, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and it is kept secret, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act, ¹⁴ and if a spirit (sense, attitude) of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous and angry at his wife who has defiled herself—or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself— ¹⁵ then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring as an offering for her, a tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it [the symbols of favor and joy], because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a memorial grain offering, a reminder of [the consequences of] wickedness.

¹⁶ ‘Then the priest shall have her approach and have her stand before the Lord, ¹⁷ and the priest shall take holy water [from the sacred basin] in an earthenware vessel; and he shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it in the water. ¹⁸ The priest shall then have the woman stand before the Lord, and let the hair of the woman’s head hang loose, and put the memorial grain offering in her hands, which is the jealousy offering, and in the hand of the priest is to be the water of bitterness that brings a curse. ¹⁹ Then the priest shall have her take an oath and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you and if you have not gone astray into uncleanness [while married], then be immune to this water of bitterness that brings a curse; ²⁰ but if you have gone astray [while married] and you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has been intimate with you” ²¹ (then the priest shall have the woman swear the oath of the curse, and say to the woman), “The Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people when the Lord makes your thigh ^[j]waste away and your abdomen swell; ²² and this water that brings a curse shall go into your stomach, and make your abdomen swell and your thigh waste away.” And the woman shall say, “Amen. Amen (so let it be).”

²³ ‘The priest shall then write these curses on a scroll and shall wash them off into the water of bitterness; ²⁴ and he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse will go into her and cause bitterness. ²⁵ Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and he shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and offer it on the altar. ²⁶ Then the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as the memorial portion of it and offer it up in smoke on the altar, and afterward he shall make the woman drink the water. ²⁷ When he has made her drink the water, then it shall come about, that if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, the curse water will go into her and cause bitterness and cause her abdomen to swell and her thigh to waste away, and the woman will become a curse among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she will be free and conceive children.

²⁹ ‘This is the law of jealousy: when a wife goes astray [while married] and defiles herself, ³⁰ or when a spirit (sense, attitude) of jealousy and suspicion comes on a man and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest shall apply this law to her. ³¹ Further, the husband will be free from guilt, but that woman [if guilty] shall bear her guilt.’”

¹⁸ Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Him, and began questioning Him, saying,^{(A) 19} “Teacher, Moses wrote for us [a law] that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but leaves no child, his brother is to ^[a]marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.^{(B) 20} There were seven brothers; the first [one] took a wife, and died leaving no children. ²¹ The second brother married her, and died leaving no children; and the third likewise; ²² and so all seven [married her and died, and] left no children. Last of all the woman died also. ²³ In the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven [brothers] were married to her.” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is this not why you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures [that teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [who is able to raise the dead]? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they do not marry nor are they given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ But concerning the raising of the dead, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?^{(C) 27} He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken and you are deceiving yourselves!”

²⁸ Then one of the scribes [an expert in Mosaic Law] came up and listened to them arguing [with one another], and noticing that Jesus answered them well, asked Him, “Which commandment is first and most important of all?”^{(D) 29} Jesus answered, “The first and most important one is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; ³⁰ and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’^{(E) 31} This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] ^[b]love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”^{(F) 32} The scribe said to Him, “Admirably answered, Teacher; You truthfully stated that He is One, and there is no other but Him; ³³ and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to [unselfishly] love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”^{(G) 34} When Jesus saw that he answered thoughtfully and intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

³⁵ Jesus began to say, as He taught in [a portico or court of] the temple, “^[c]How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?^{(H) 36} David himself said [when inspired] by the Holy Spirit,

³⁷ David himself calls Him (the Son, the Messiah) ‘Lord’; so how can it be that He is ^[d]David’s Son?” The large crowd enjoyed hearing Jesus and listened to Him with delight.

The Beauty and Glory of Zion.

A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.

Arrangement of the Camps

2 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “The sons of Israel shall camp, each by his own standard, with the ^[a]banners of their fathers’ households; they shall camp around the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), but at a distance. ³ Those who camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the ^[b]standard of the camp of Judah, by their armies; and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall lead the sons of Judah, ⁴ and his army as numbered totaled 74,600. ⁵ Next to Judah [on the east side] the tribe of Issachar shall encamp; and Nethanel the son of Zuar shall lead the sons of Issachar, ⁶ and his army as numbered totaled 54,400. ⁷ Then [also on the east side] the tribe of Zebulun; and Eliab the son of Helon shall lead the sons of Zebulun, ⁸ and his army as numbered totaled 57,400. ⁹ The total of the numbered men [in the three tribes on the east side] in the camp of Judah was 186,400, by their armies. They shall move out first [on the march].

¹⁰ “On the south side shall be the ^[c]standard of the camp of Reuben, by their armies; and Elizur the son of Shedeur shall lead the sons of Reuben, ¹¹ and his army as numbered totaled 46,500. ¹² Those who camp next to Reuben [on the south side] shall be the tribe of Simeon; and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai shall lead the sons of Simeon, ¹³ and his army as numbered totaled 59,300. ¹⁴ Then [completing the south side] the tribe of Gad; and Eliasaph the son of Reuel (Deuel) shall lead the sons of Gad, ¹⁵ and his army as numbered totaled 45,650. ¹⁶ The total of the numbered men [in the three tribes on the south side] in the camp of Reuben was 151,450, by their armies. They shall move out second [on the march].

¹⁷ “Then the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) shall move out with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the [other] camps; just as they camp so shall they move out, every man in his place by their standards.

¹⁸ “On the west side shall be the ^[d]standard of the camp of Ephraim, by their armies; and Elishama the son of Ammihud shall lead the sons of Ephraim, ¹⁹ and his army as numbered totaled 40,500. ²⁰ Beside Ephraim [on the west side] shall be the tribe of Manasseh; and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur shall lead the sons of Manasseh, ²¹ and his army as numbered totaled 32,200. ²² Then [completing the west side shall be] the tribe of Benjamin; and Abidan the son of Gideoni shall lead the sons of Benjamin, ²³ and his army as numbered totaled 35,400. ²⁴ The total of the numbered men [of the three tribes on the west side] in the camp of Ephraim was 108,100, by their armies. They shall move out in third place.

²⁵ “On the north side shall be the ^[e]standard of the camp of Dan, by their armies; and Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai shall lead the sons of Dan, ²⁶ and his army as numbered totaled 62,700. ²⁷ Encamped next to Dan [on the north side] shall be the tribe of Asher; and Pagiel the son of Ochran shall lead the sons of Asher, ²⁸ and his army as numbered totaled 41,500. ²⁹ Then [completing the north side] comes the tribe of Naphtali; and Ahira the son of Enan shall lead the sons of Naphtali, ³⁰ and his army as numbered totaled 53,400. ³¹ The total of the numbered men [of the three tribes on the north side] in the camp of Dan was 157,600. They shall move out last, ^[f]standard after standard.”

³² These are the men of the Israelites [twenty years old and upward] as numbered by their fathers’ households. The total of the numbered men of the camps by their armies, 603,550. ³³ But the Levites were not numbered with the [other] Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁴ Thus the Israelites did [as ordered]; according to everything the Lord had commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they moved out, everyone with his family (clan), according to his fathers’ household.

Levites to Be Priesthood

3 Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day when the Lord spoke [by special revelation] with Moses on Mount Sinai. ² These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom Aaron ^[g]consecrated and ordained to minister in the priest’s office. ⁴ But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered strange (unholy, unacceptable, inappropriate) fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests ^[h]in the presence and under the supervision of Aaron their father.^(A)

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them before Aaron the priest, so that they may serve him. ⁷ They shall carry out the duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, doing the service of the tabernacle. ⁸ They shall also take care of all the furnishings and utensils of the Tent of Meeting, and [attend to] the duties of the Israelites, doing the service of the tabernacle. ⁹ You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons [as servants and helpers]; they are to be given wholly to him from among the Israelites. ¹⁰ So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall observe and attend to their priesthood; but the layman (non-Levite) who approaches [the holy things] shall be put to death.”

¹¹ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of and as a substitute for every firstborn, that is, the first that opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites shall be Mine, ¹³ for all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine; I am the Lord.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying, ¹⁵ “Number the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families (clans). You shall number every male from a month old and upward.” ¹⁶ So Moses numbered them just as he was commanded by the word (mouth) of the Lord. ¹⁷ These are the [three] sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸ These are the names of the [two] sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei; ¹⁹ and the [four] sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; ²⁰ and the [two] sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers’ households.

²¹ Of Gershon were the families of the Libnites and of the Shimeites. These are the families of the Gershonites. ²² The males who were numbered, every male from a month old and upward totaled 7,500. ²³ The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, ²⁴ and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.

Duties of the Levites

²⁵ Now the responsibilities of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting involved the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the curtain for the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, ²⁶ and the hangings of the courtyard, the curtain for the doorway of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, its tent ropes, and all the service ^[i]concerning them.

²⁷ Of Kohath were the families of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these are the families of the Kohathites. ²⁸ The males who were numbered, every male from a month old and upward totaled ^[j]8,600, attending to the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹ The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, ³⁰ and the leader of the fathers’ households of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ³¹ Now their responsibilities involved the ark, the table [on which the bread of the Presence was placed], the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the curtain, and all the service concerning them. ³² Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, was chief of the leaders of the Levites; he supervised those who performed the duties of the sanctuary.

³³ Of Merari were the families of the Mahlites and the Mushites; these are the families of Merari. ³⁴ The males who were numbered, every male from a month old and upward totaled 6,200. ³⁵ The leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. The Merarites were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ Now the appointed responsibilities of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets or bases, and all the equipment, and all the service concerning them, ³⁷ and the pillars around the courtyard with their bases and their pegs and their cords (tent ropes).

³⁸ Now those to camp before the tabernacle toward the east, before the Tent of Meeting, toward the sunrise, were to be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for whatever was required of the Israelites; and the ^[k]layman (non-Levite) who approached [the sanctuary] was to be put to death. ³⁹ All the men of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the ^[l]command of the Lord, by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22,000.

Firstborn Redeemed

⁴⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Number every firstborn male of the Israelites from a month old and upward, and ^[m]make a list of their names. ⁴¹ You shall take the Levites for Me instead of and as a substitute for all the firstborn among the Israelites. I am the Lord; and you shall take the cattle of the Levites instead of and as a substitute for all the firstborn among the cattle of the Israelites.” ⁴² So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded him; ⁴³ and all the firstborn males from a month old and upward as numbered were 22,273 [273 more than the Levites].

⁴⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites [for Me] instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. And the Levites shall be Mine. I am the Lord. ⁴⁶ For the ransom (redemption price) of the 273 of the firstborn of the Israelites who outnumber the Levites, ⁴⁷ you shall take five shekels apiece, per head, you shall take them in terms of the sanctuary shekel (the shekel is twenty gerahs), ⁴⁸ and give the money, the ransom (redemption price) of those who outnumber the Levites to Aaron and to his sons.” ⁴⁹ So Moses took the ransom (redemption) money from those who were in excess, beyond those ransomed by the Levites; ⁵⁰ from the firstborn of the Israelites he took the money in terms of the sanctuary shekel, 1,365 shekels. ⁵¹ Then Moses gave the ransom money to Aaron and to his sons at the command of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Jesus’ Authority Questioned

²⁷ They came again to Jerusalem. And as Jesus was walking in the [courts and porches of the] temple, the ^[a]chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him,^{(A) 28} and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” ²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Was the baptism of John [the Baptist] from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men? Answer Me.” ³¹ They began discussing it with each other, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ³² But ^[b]shall we say, ‘From men?’” —they were afraid [to answer because] of the crowd, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. ³³ So they replied to Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Parable of the Vineyard Owner

12 Jesus began to speak to them [the chief priests, scribes and elders who were questioning Him] in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a ^[c]wall around it, and dug a pit for the wine press and built a tower; and he rented it out to tenant farmers and left the country.^{(B) 2} When the harvest season came he sent a ^[d]servant to the tenants, in order to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³ They took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Again he sent them another servant, and they [threw stones and] wounded him in the head, and treated him disgracefully. ⁵ And he sent another, and that one they killed; then many others—some they beat and some they killed. ⁶ He still had one man left to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those tenants said to each other, ‘This man is the heir! Come on, let us kill him [and destroy the evidence], and his inheritance will be ours!’ ⁸ So they took him and killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard. ⁹ What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and will give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not even read this Scripture:

¹² And they were looking for a way to seize Him, but they were afraid of the crowd; for they knew that He spoke this parable in reference to [and as a charge against] them. And so they left Him and went away.

Jesus Answers the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes

¹³ Then they sent some of the ^[e]Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus in order to trap Him into making a statement [that they could use against Him].^{(D) 14} They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and have no personal bias toward anyone; for You are not influenced by outward appearances or social status, but in truth You teach the way of God. Is it lawful [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay the ^[f]poll-tax to [^[g]Tiberius] Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Should we pay [the tax] or should we not pay?” But knowing their hypocrisy, He asked them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a ^[h]coin (denarius) to look at.” ¹⁶ So they brought one. Then He asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were greatly amazed at Him.

God the King of the Earth.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

¹⁴ ‘If a man consecrates his house as sacred to the Lord, the priest shall appraise it as either good or bad; as the priest appraises it, so shall it stand. ¹⁵ If the one who consecrates his house should wish to redeem it, then he shall add one-fifth of your valuation price to it, so that it may be his.

¹⁶ ‘And if a man consecrates to the Lord part of a field of his own property, then your valuation shall be proportionate to the seed needed for it; a homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. ¹⁷ If he consecrates his field during the Year of Jubilee, it shall stand according to your valuation. ¹⁸ But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall calculate the price for him in proportion to the years that remain until the Year of Jubilee; and it shall be deducted from your valuation. ¹⁹ If the one who consecrates the field should ever wish to redeem it, then he shall add one-fifth of the appraisal price to it, so that it may return to him. ²⁰ If he does not redeem the field, but has sold it to another man, it may no longer be redeemed. ²¹ When the field reverts in the Jubilee, the field shall be holy to the Lord, like a field set apart (devoted); the priest shall possess it as his property. ²² Or if a man consecrates to the Lord a field which he has bought, which is not part of the field of his [ancestral] property, ²³ then the priest shall calculate for him the amount of your valuation up to the Year of Jubilee; and the man shall give that [amount] on that day as a holy thing to the Lord. ²⁴ In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom it was purchased, to whom the land belonged [as his ancestral inheritance]. ²⁵ Every valuation of yours shall be in accordance with the sanctuary shekel; twenty gerahs shall make a shekel.

²⁶ ‘However, the firstborn among animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the Lord, no man may consecrate, whether an ox or a sheep. It is [already] the Lord’s. ²⁷ If it is among the unclean animals, the owner may redeem it in accordance with your valuation, and add one-fifth to it; or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold in accordance with your valuation.

²⁸ ‘But nothing that a man ^[a]sets apart [that is, devotes as an offering] to the Lord out of all that he has, of man or of animal or of the fields of his own property, shall be sold or redeemed. Anything devoted to destruction (banned, cursed) is most holy to the Lord. ²⁹ No one who may have been set apart among men shall be ransomed [from death], he shall most certainly be put to death.

³⁰ ‘And all the tithe (tenth part) of the land, whether the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.^{(A) 31} If a man wishes to redeem any part of his tithe, he shall add one-fifth to it. ³² For every tithe of the herd or flock, whatever ^[b]passes under the [shepherd’s] staff, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord.^{(B) 33} The man is not to be concerned whether the animal is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it. But if he does exchange it, then both it and its substitute shall become holy; it shall not be redeemed.’”

³⁴ These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai for the children of Israel.^(C)

The Census of Israel’s Warriors

1 The Lord spoke [by special revelation] to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) on the first day of the second month in the second year after the ^[c]Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, saying, ² “Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, ^[d]head by head ³ from twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go out to war. You and Aaron shall number them, army by army. ⁴ And with you there shall be a man [to assist you] from each tribe, each being the head of his father’s household. ⁵ These then are the names of the men who shall stand with you: from [the tribe of] Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; ⁶ from [the tribe of] Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; ⁷ from [the tribe of] Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; ⁸ from [the tribe of] Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; ⁹ from [the tribe of] Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; ¹⁰ from the sons (descendants) of Joseph: from [the tribe of] ^[e]Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; from [the tribe of] Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; ¹¹ from [the tribe of] Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; ¹² from [the tribe of] Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; ¹³ from [the tribe of] Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; ¹⁴ from [the tribe of] Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; ¹⁵ from [the tribe of] Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan. ¹⁶ These men were the ones called from the congregation, the leaders of their fathers’ (ancestors’) tribes; they were the heads of thousands [the highest ranking officers] in Israel.”

¹⁷ So Moses and Aaron took these men who were designated by name, ¹⁸ and assembled all the congregation on the first day of the second month, and they registered by ancestry in their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, ¹⁹ just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.

²⁰ The sons of Reuben, Israel’s (Jacob’s) firstborn, their generations, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ²¹ those of the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.

²² Of the sons of Simeon, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, their numbered men according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ²³ those of the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.

²⁴ Of the sons of Gad, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ²⁵ those of the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.

²⁶ Of the sons of Judah, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ²⁷ those of the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.

²⁸ Of the sons of Issachar, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ²⁹ those of the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.

³⁰ Of the sons of Zebulun, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ³¹ those of the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.

³² Of the sons of Joseph: the sons (descendants) of Ephraim, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ³³ those of the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500.

³⁴ Of the sons of Manasseh, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ³⁵ those of the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.

³⁶ Of the sons of Benjamin, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ³⁷ those of the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.

³⁸ Of the sons of Dan, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ³⁹ those of the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.

⁴⁰ Of the sons of Asher, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ⁴¹ those of the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.

⁴² Of the sons of Naphtali, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ⁴³ those of the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.

⁴⁴ These were the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers’ household. ⁴⁵ So all those numbered of the sons of Israel, by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war in Israel, ⁴⁶ all who were numbered were 603,550.

Levites Exempted

⁴⁷ The Levites, however, were not numbered among them by their fathers’ tribe. ⁴⁸ For the Lord had said to Moses, ⁴⁹ “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor shall you take their census among the sons of Israel [since they are unavailable to go to war]. ⁵⁰ But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle (sanctuary) of the Testimony, and over all its furnishings and all things that belong to it. They shall carry the tabernacle [when traveling] and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and camp around it. ⁵¹ When the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to [be set up for] camp, the Levites shall set it up. But the layman (non-Levite) who approaches the tabernacle shall be put to death. ⁵² The Israelites shall camp according to their armies, every man by his own camp and every man by his own [tribal] standard (banner). ⁵³ But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, so that there will be no wrath against the congregation of the Israelites. The Levites shall be in charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony.” ⁵⁴ Thus the sons of Israel did these things; according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so they did.

The Triumphal Entry

11 When they were nearing Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples,^{(A) 2} saying to them, “Go into the ^[a]village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a [donkey’s] ^[b]colt tied, which has never been ridden by anyone; untie it and bring it here. ³ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it’; and immediately he will send it here.” ⁴ So they went away [to the village] and found a colt tied outside at a gate in the street, and they untied it. ⁵ Some of the people who were standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” ⁶ They replied to them just as Jesus had directed, and they allowed them to go. ⁷ They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and He sat on it. ⁸ And many [of the people] spread their coats on the road [as an act of tribute and homage before a new king], and others [scattered a layer of] leafy branches which they had cut from the fields [honoring Him as Messiah].^{(B) 9} Those who went in front and those who were following [Him] were shouting [in joy and praise],

¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple [enclosure]; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve [disciples], because it was already late [in the day].

¹² On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He was hungry.^{(D) 13} Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He would find anything on it. But He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ He said to it, “No one will ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening [to what He said].

Jesus Drives Moneychangers from the Temple

¹⁵ Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple [grounds] and began driving out [with force] the people who were ^[d]selling and buying [animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the seats of those who were selling doves;^{(E) 16} and He would not permit anyone to carry ^[e]merchandise or household wares through the temple [grounds, using the temple area irreverently as a shortcut]. ¹⁷ He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.”^{(F) 18} The chief priests and the scribes heard this and began searching for a way to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, since the entire crowd was struck with astonishment at His teaching.

¹⁹ When evening came, Jesus and His disciples would leave the city.

²⁰ In the morning, as they were passing by, the disciples saw that the fig tree had withered away from the roots up. ²¹ And remembering, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi (Master), look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered!” ²² Jesus replied, “Have faith in God [constantly]. ²³ I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and ^[f]does not doubt in his heart [in God’s unlimited power], but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God’s will].^{(G) 24} For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you. ²⁵ Whenever you ^[g]stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him [drop the issue, let it go], so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions and wrongdoings [against Him and others]. ^26 [h][But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]

God the Refuge of His People.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to soprano voices. A Song.

Of Redeeming a Poor Man

⁴⁷ ‘Now if the financial means of a stranger or temporary resident among you become sufficient, and your fellow countryman becomes poor in comparison to him and sells himself to the stranger who is living among you or to the descendants of the stranger’s family, ⁴⁸ then after he is sold he shall have the right of redemption. One of his relatives may redeem him: ⁴⁹ either his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or if he prospers, he may redeem himself. ⁵⁰ Then he [or his redeemer] shall calculate with his purchaser from the year when he sold himself to the purchaser to the Year of Jubilee, and the [original] price of his sale shall be adjusted according to the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be considered as that of a hired man. ⁵¹ If there are still many years [before the Year of Jubilee], in proportion to them he must refund [to the purchaser] part of the price of his sale for his redemption and release. ⁵² And if only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he shall so calculate it with him. He is to refund the proportionate amount for his release. ⁵³ Like a man hired year by year he shall deal with him; he shall not rule over him with harshness in your sight. ⁵⁴ Even if he is not redeemed during these years and under these provisions, then he shall go free in the Year of Jubilee, he and his children with him. ⁵⁵ For the children of Israel are My servants; My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

Blessings of Obedience

26 ^[a]‘You shall not make idols for yourselves, nor shall you erect an image, a sacred pillar or an obelisk, nor shall you place any figured stone in your land so that you may bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God. ² You shall keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the Lord. ³ If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and [obediently] do them, ⁴ then I will give you rain in its season, and the land will yield her produce and the trees of the field bear their fruit. ⁵ And your threshing season will last until grape gathering and the grape gathering [time] will last until planting, and you will eat your bread and be filled and live securely in your land. ⁶ I will also grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down and there will be no one to make you afraid. I will also eliminate harmful animals from the land, and no sword will pass through your land. ⁷ And you will chase your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword. ⁸ Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will put ten thousand to flight; your enemies will fall before you by the sword. ⁹ For I will turn toward you [with favor and regard] and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will establish and confirm My covenant with you.^{(A) 10} You will eat the old supply of [abundant] produce, and clear out the old [to make room] for the new. ¹¹ I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject nor separate itself from you. ¹² I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. ¹³ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright [with heads held high as free men].

Penalties of Disobedience

¹⁴ ‘But if you do not obey Me and do not [obediently] do all these commandments, ¹⁵ if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul rejects My ordinances, so that you will not [obediently] do all My commandments, and in this way break My covenant, ¹⁶ I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you sudden terror, consumption, and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to languish also. And you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat what you plant. ¹⁷ I will set My face against you so that ^[b]you will be struck down before your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.^{(B) 18} If in spite of all this you still will not listen to Me and be obedient, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. ¹⁹ I will break your pride in your power, and I will make your sky like iron [giving no rain and blocking all prayers] and your ground like bronze [hard to plow and yielding no produce].^{(C) 20} Your strength will be spent uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.

²¹ ‘If then, you act with hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times in accordance with your sins. ²² I will let loose the [wild] animals of the field among you, which will bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you so few in number that your roads will lie deserted and desolate.^(D)

²³ ‘And if by these things you are not turned to Me, but act ^[c]with hostility against Me, ²⁴ then I also will act with hostility against you, and I will strike you seven times for your sins. ²⁵ I will bring a sword on you that will execute vengeance for [breaking] the covenant; and when you gather together in your cities, I will send pestilence (virulent disease) among you, and you shall be handed over to the enemy.^{(E) 26} When I break your staff of bread [that is, cut off your supply of food], ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will ration your bread; and you will eat and not be satisfied.^(F)

²⁷ ‘Yet if in spite of this you will not [attentively] listen to Me but act with hostility against me, ²⁸ then I will act with hostility against you in wrath, and I also will punish you seven times for your sins. ²⁹ You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.^{(G) 30} I will destroy your high places [devoted to idolatrous worship], and cut down your incense altars, and heap your dead bodies upon the [crushed] bodies of your idols, and My soul will detest you [with deep and unutterable loathing].^{(H) 31} I will lay waste your cities as well and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your sweet and soothing aromas [of offerings by fire].^{(I) 32} I will make the land desolate, and your enemies who settle in it will be appalled at it. ³³ I will scatter you among the nations and draw out the sword [of your enemies] after you; your land will become desolate and your cities will become ruins.^(J)

³⁴ ‘Then the land [of Israel] will enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. ³⁵ As long as it lies desolate, it will have rest, the rest it did not have on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it.^{(K) 36} As for those who are left of you, I will bring despair (lack of courage, weakness) into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a scattered leaf will put them to flight, and they will flee as if [running] from the sword, and will fall even when no one is chasing them. ³⁷ They shall stumble over one another as if to escape from a sword when no one is chasing them; and you will have no power to stand before your enemies. ³⁸ You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will consume you. ³⁹ Those of you who are left will rot away because of their wickedness in the lands of your enemies; also because of the wickedness of their forefathers they will rot away like them.

⁴⁰ ‘If they confess their wickedness and the wickedness of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they have committed against Me—and also in their acting with hostility toward Me— ⁴¹ I also was acting with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—then if their uncircumcised (sin-filled) hearts are humbled and they accept the punishment for their wickedness,^{(L) 42} then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham, and remember the land.^{(M) 43} But the land will be abandoned by them and will enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; and they will accept the punishment for their wickedness and make amends because they rejected My ordinances and their soul rejected My statutes. ⁴⁴ Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so despise them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God.^{(N) 45} But I will, for their sake, [earnestly] remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I have brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.’”

⁴⁶ These are the statutes, ordinances, and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the Israelites through Moses at Mount Sinai.

Rules concerning Valuations

27 Again, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man makes a ^[d]special vow [consecrating himself or a member of his family], he shall be valued according to your [established system of] valuation of people belonging to the Lord [that is, the priest accepts from the man making the vow a specified amount of money for the temple treasury in place of the actual person]. ³ If your valuation is of a male between twenty and sixty years of age, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁴ Or if the person is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels. ⁵ If the person is between five years and twenty years of age, then your valuation for the male shall be twenty shekels and for the female ten shekels. ⁶ But if the child is between one month and five years of age, then your valuation shall be five shekels of silver for the male and three shekels for the female. ⁷ If the person is sixty years old and above, your valuation shall be fifteen shekels for the male, and ten shekels for the female. ⁸ But if the person is too poor to pay your valuation, then he shall be placed before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to the ability of the one who vowed, the priest shall value him.

⁹ ‘Now if it is an animal of the kind which men can present as an offering to the Lord, any such that one gives to the Lord shall be holy. ¹⁰ He shall not replace it or exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; but if he does exchange an animal for an animal, then both the original offering and its substitute shall be holy. ¹¹ If it is any unclean animal of the kind which men do not present as an offering to the Lord, then he shall bring the animal before the priest, ¹² and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; it shall be as you, the priest, value it. ¹³ But if he ever wishes to redeem it, then he shall add one-fifth of it to your valuation.

Jesus’ Sufferings Foretold

³² Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were perplexed [at what Jesus had said], and those who were following were alarmed and afraid. And again He took the twelve [disciples] aside and began telling them what was going to happen to Him, ³³ saying, “Listen very carefully: we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and hand Him over to the Gentiles (Romans). ³⁴ They will mock and ridicule Him and spit on Him, and whip (scourge) Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise [from the dead].”

³⁵ James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”^{(A) 36} And He replied to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit [with You], one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory [Your majesty and splendor in Your kingdom].” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism [of suffering and death] with which I am baptized?” ³⁹ And they replied to Him, “We are able.” Jesus told them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. ⁴⁰ But to sit on My right or left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared [by My Father].”

⁴¹ Hearing this, the [other] ten became indignant with James and John. ⁴² Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their powerful men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them]. ⁴³ But this is not how it is among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first and most important among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ^[a]ransom for many.”

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road [as was his custom].^{(B) 47} When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, “Jesus, ^[b]Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ Many sternly rebuked him, telling him to keep still and be quiet; but he kept on shouting out all the more, “Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, telling him, “Take courage, get up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni (my Master), let me regain my sight.” ⁵² Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith [and confident trust in My power] has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus on the road.^(C)

A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage.

To the Chief Musician; set to the [tune of] “Lilies.” A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem. A Song of Love.

The Lamp and the Bread of the Sanctuary

24 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the children of Israel to bring to you clear oil from beaten olives for the light [of the golden lampstand], to make a lamp burn continually. ³ Outside the veil of the Testimony [between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place] in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron shall always keep the lamps ^[a]burning before the Lord from evening until morning; it shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations. ⁴ He shall keep the lamps burning on the pure gold lampstand before the Lord continually.^(A)

⁵ “Then you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes (bread of the Presence, showbread) with it; two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake (loaf). ⁶ You shall set the bread of the Presence (showbread) in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the Lord. ⁷ You shall put pure frankincense [in two censers, one] beside each row, so that it may be with the bread as a memorial portion, an offering by fire to the Lord. ⁸ Every Sabbath day Aaron shall arrange the showbread before the Lord continually; it is an everlasting covenant for the Israelites. ⁹ The bread of the Presence shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a sacred place, for it is for Aaron a most holy portion of the offerings by fire to the Lord, his portion forever.”

¹⁰ Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the Israelites, and he and a man of Israel quarreled and struggled with each other in the camp. ¹¹ The Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name [of the Lord] and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) ¹² They put him in custody until the will and command of the Lord might be made clear to them.

¹³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁴ “Bring the one who has cursed [the Lord] outside the camp, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head [as witnesses to his guilt]; then let all the congregation stone him. ¹⁵ You shall speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘Whoever curses his God will bear his sin [through his own death]. ¹⁶ Further, the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall most certainly be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him. The stranger as well as the native-born shall be put to death when he blasphemes the Name [of the Lord].

“An Eye for an Eye”

¹⁷ ‘If a man takes the life of any human being [unlawfully], he shall most certainly be put to death. ¹⁸ The one who kills an animal shall replace it, animal for animal. ¹⁹ If a man injures his neighbor (fellow citizen), whatever he has done shall be done to him: ²⁰ fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so shall the same be done to him.^{(B) 21} The one who kills an animal shall replace it; but he who kills a human being [unlawfully] shall be put to death. ²² You shall have one standard of law for the stranger among you as well as for the native, for I am the Lord your God.’” ²³ Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they brought the one who had cursed [the Lord] outside the camp and stoned him with stones. Thus the Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Sabbatic Year and Year of Jubilee

25 The Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I am giving you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. ³ For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop. ⁴ But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow [seed in] your field nor prune your vineyard. ⁵ Whatever reseeds itself (uncultivated) in your harvest you shall not reap, nor shall you gather the grapes from your uncultivated vine, it shall be a year of sabbatical rest for the land. ⁶ And all of you shall have for food whatever the [untilled] land produces during its Sabbath year; yourself, and your male and female slaves, your hired servant, and the foreigners who reside among you, ⁷ even your domestic animals and the [wild] animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat.

The Year of Jubilee

⁸ ‘You are also to count off seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven Sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. ⁹ Then you shall sound the ram’s horn everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month (almost October); on the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout your land. ¹⁰ And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and ^[b]proclaim freedom [for the slaves] throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee (year of remission) for you, and each of you shall return to his own [ancestral] property [that was sold to another because of poverty], and each of you shall return to his family [from whom he was separated by bondage]. ¹¹ That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee for you; you shall not sow [seed], nor reap what reseeds itself, nor gather the grapes of the uncultivated vines. ¹² For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its crops out of the field.

¹³ ‘In this Year of Jubilee each of you shall return to his own [ancestral] property. ¹⁴ If you sell anything to your friend or buy from your friend, you shall not wrong one another. ¹⁵ According to the number of years after the Jubilee, you shall ^[c]buy from your friend. And he is to sell to you according to the number of years of crops [which may be harvested before you must restore the property to him]. ¹⁶ If the years [until the next Jubilee] are many, you shall increase the price, but if the years remaining are few, you shall reduce the price, because it is the number of crops that he is selling to you. ¹⁷ You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God [with profound reverence]; for I am the Lord your God.

¹⁸ ‘Therefore you shall carry out My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them, so that you may live securely on the land. ¹⁹ Then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it. ²⁰ And if you say, “What are we going to eat in the seventh year if we do not sow [seed] or gather in our crops?” ²¹ then [this is My answer:] I will order My [special] blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it will produce [sufficient] crops for three years. ²² When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat old things from the crops, eating the old until the ninth year when its crop comes in.

The Law of Redemption

²³ ‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; you are [only] foreigners and temporary residents with Me.^{(C) 24} So in all the country that you possess, you are to provide for the redemption of the land [in the Year of Jubilee].

²⁵ ‘If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell some of his property, then his nearest relative is to come and buy back (redeem) what his relative has sold. ²⁶ Or in case a man has no relative [to redeem his property], but he has become more prosperous and has enough to buy it back, ²⁷ then he shall calculate the years since its sale and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and so return to his [ancestral] property.^{(D) 28} But if ^[d]he is unable to redeem it, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of the purchaser until the Year of Jubilee; but at the Jubilee it shall revert, and he may return to his property.

²⁹ ‘If a man sells a house in a walled city, then his right of redemption remains valid for a full year after its sale; his right of redemption lasts a full year. ³⁰ But if it is not redeemed for him within a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently and irrevocably to the purchaser throughout his generations. It does not revert back in the Year of Jubilee. ³¹ The houses of the villages that have no surrounding walls, however, shall be considered as open fields. They may be redeemed, and revert in the Year of Jubilee. ³² As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites have a permanent right of redemption for the houses in the cities which they possess. ³³ Therefore, what is [purchased] from the Levites may be redeemed [by a Levite], and the house that was sold in the city they possess reverts in the Year of Jubilee, for the houses in the Levite cities are their [ancestral] property among the Israelites. ³⁴ But the pasture lands of their cities may not be sold, for that is their permanent possession.

Of Poor Countrymen

³⁵ ‘Now if your fellow countryman becomes poor and his hand falters with you [that is, he has trouble repaying you for something], then you are to help and sustain him, [with courtesy and consideration] like [you would] a stranger or a temporary resident [without property], so that he may live among you.^{(E) 36} Do not charge him usurious interest, but fear your God [with profound reverence], so your countryman may [continue to] live among you. ³⁷ You shall not give him your money at interest, nor your food at a profit. ³⁸ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

³⁹ ‘And if your fellow countryman becomes so poor [in his dealings] with you that he sells himself to you [as payment for a debt], you shall not let him do the work of a slave [who is ineligible for redemption], ⁴⁰ but he is to be with you as a hired man, as if he were a temporary resident; he shall serve with you until the Year of Jubilee, ⁴¹ and then he shall leave you, he and his children with him, and shall go back to his own family and return to the property of his fathers. ⁴² For the Israelites are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold in a slave sale.^{(F) 43} You shall not rule over him with harshness (severity, oppression), but you are to fear your God [with profound reverence].^{(G) 44} As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you. ⁴⁵ Moreover, from the children of the strangers who live as aliens among you, from them you may buy slaves and from their families who are with you, whom they have produced in your land; they may become your possession. ⁴⁶ You may even bequeath them as an inheritance to your children after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. But in respect to your fellow countrymen, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with harshness (severity, oppression).

Jesus Blesses Little Children

¹³ People were bringing children to Him so that He would touch and bless them, but the disciples reprimanded them and discouraged them [from coming]. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and He said to them, “Allow the children to come to Me; do not forbid them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever does not receive and welcome the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” ¹⁶ And He took the children [one by one] in His arms and ^[a]blessed them [with kind, encouraging words], placing His hands on them.

The Rich Young Ruler

¹⁷ As He was leaving on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him, “Good Teacher [You who are essentially good and morally perfect], what shall I do to inherit eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?”^{(A) 18} Jesus said to him, “^[b]Why do you call Me good? No one is [essentially] good [by nature] except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not testify falsely, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”^{(B) 20} And he replied to Him, “Teacher, I have [carefully] kept all these [commandments] since my ^[c]youth.” ²¹ Looking at him, Jesus felt a love (high regard, compassion) for him, and He said to him, “You lack one thing: go and sell all your property and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have [abundant] treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].” ²² But the man was saddened at Jesus’ words, and he left grieving, because he owned much property and had many possessions [which he treasured more than his relationship with God].

²³ Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who are wealthy [and cling to possessions and status as security] to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ The disciples were ^[d]amazed and bewildered by His words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is [for those who place their hope and confidence in riches] to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man [who places his faith in wealth or status] to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ They were completely and utterly astonished, and said to Him, “Then who can be saved [from the wrath of God]?” ²⁷ Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

²⁸ Peter started saying to Him, “Look, we have given up everything and followed You [becoming Your disciples and accepting You as Teacher and Lord].” ²⁹ Jesus said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there is no one who has given up a house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundred times as much now in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms—along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

Flawless Animals for Sacrifice

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any stranger in Israel who presents his offering, whether to fulfill any of their vows or as any of their freewill (voluntary) offerings which they presented to the Lord as a burnt offering— ¹⁹ so that you may be accepted—it must be a male without blemish from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats. ²⁰ You shall not offer anything which has a blemish, because it will not be accepted for you.^{(A) 21} Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a special vow to the Lord or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish in it. ²² Animals that are blind or fractured or mutilated, or have a sore or a running wound or an itch or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord nor make an offering of them by fire on the altar to the Lord. ²³ For a freewill offering you may offer either a bull or a lamb which has an overgrown or stunted member (deformity), but for [the payment of] a vow it will not be accepted. ²⁴ You shall not offer to the Lord any animal which has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut off, or sacrifice it in your land. ²⁵ Nor shall you offer as the food of your God any such [animals obtained] from a foreigner, because their corruption and blemish makes them unfit; there is a defect in them, they shall not be accepted for you.’”

²⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷ “When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain for seven days with its mother; and after the eighth day it shall be accepted as an offering by fire to the Lord. ²⁸ And whether [the mother] is a cow or a sheep, you shall not kill both it and its young in one day. ²⁹ When you sacrifice an offering of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. ³⁰ It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until the next morning; I am the Lord. ³¹ So you shall keep My commandments and do them; I am the Lord.

³² “You shall not profane My holy name [using it to honor an idol, or treating it with irreverence or contempt or as a byword]; but I will be sanctified (set apart as holy) among the Israelites. I am the Lord, who sanctifies and declares you holy, ³³ who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord.”

Laws of Religious Festivals

23 The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The appointed times (established feasts) of the Lord which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:

The Sabbath

³ ‘For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation (calling together). You shall not do any work [on that day]; it is the Sabbath of the Lord ^[a]wherever you may be.

The Passover and Unleavened Bread

⁴ ‘These are the appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times: ⁵ The Lord’s Passover is on the fourteenth day of the first month ^[b]at twilight. ⁶ The Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord is on the fifteenth day of the same month; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.^{(B) 7} On the first day you shall have a holy convocation (calling together); you shall not do any laborious work [on that day]. ⁸ But you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord for seven days; on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work [on that day].’”

The Feast of First Fruits

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am giving you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the ^[c]sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. ¹¹ He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord so that you may be accepted; the priest shall wave it on the day after the Sabbath. ¹² Now on the day when you wave the sheaf you shall offer a male lamb one year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹³ Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with [olive] oil, an offering by fire to the Lord for a sweet and soothing aroma, with its drink offering [to be poured out], a fourth of a ^[d]hin of wine. ¹⁴ You shall not eat any bread or roasted grain or new growth, until this same day when you bring in the offering to your God; it is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you may be.

The Feast of Weeks

¹⁵ ‘You shall count from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf (tied bundle of grain) of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths (seven full weeks). ¹⁶ You shall count ^[e]fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord. ¹⁷ You shall bring in from your places two loaves of bread as a wave offering, made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven as first fruits to the Lord. ¹⁸ And you shall offer with the bread seven unblemished lambs, one year old, and one young bull and two rams. They are to be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁹ And you shall sacrifice one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs, one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. ²⁰ The priest shall wave them before the Lord as a wave offering, together with the bread of the first fruits and the two lambs. They are to be holy to the Lord for the priest. ²¹ On this same day you shall make a proclamation, you are to have a holy convocation (calling together); you shall not do any laborious work [on that day]. It is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you may be.

²² ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the edges of your field, nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the poor and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.’”

The Feast of Trumpets

²³ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Say to the children of Israel, ‘On the first day of the seventh month (almost October), you shall observe a day of solemn sabbatical rest, a memorial day announced by the blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. ²⁵ You shall not do any laborious work [on that day], but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.’”

The Day of Atonement

²⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷ “Also the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall ^[f]humble yourselves [by fasting] and present an offering by fire to the Lord. ²⁸ You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. ²⁹ If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them]. ³⁰ If there is any person who does any work on this same day, I will destroy that person from among his people. ³¹ You shall do no work at all [on that day]. It is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you may be. ³² It is to be to you a Sabbath of complete rest, and you shall humble yourselves. On the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening you shall keep your Sabbath.”

The Feast of Booths

³³ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁴ “Say to the children of Israel, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, and for seven days, is the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) to the Lord. ³⁵ The first day is a holy convocation (calling together); you shall not do any laborious work [on that day]. ³⁶ For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the Lord. It is a festive assembly; you shall not do any laborious work [on that day].

³⁷ ‘These are the appointed times (established feasts) of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to present an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a grain offering, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its own day. ³⁸ This is in addition to the [weekly] Sabbaths of the Lord, and in addition to your gifts and all your vowed offerings and all your freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord.

³⁹ ‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month (nearly October), when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a Sabbath rest on the first day and a Sabbath rest on the eighth day. ⁴⁰ Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick (leafy) trees, and willows of the brook [and make booths of them]; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹ You shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴² You shall live in booths (temporary shelters) for seven days; all native-born in Israel shall live in booths, ⁴³ so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’” ⁴⁴ So Moses declared to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the Lord.

Death and Resurrection Foretold

³⁰ They went on from there and began to go through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know it, ³¹ because He was teaching His disciples [and preparing them for the future]. He told them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies], and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise [from the dead] three days later.” ³² But ^[a]they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him [what He meant].

³³ They arrived at Capernaum; and when He was in the ^[b]house, He asked them, “What were you discussing and arguing about on the road?”^{(A) 34} But they kept quiet, because on the road they had discussed and debated with one another which one [of them] was the greatest. ³⁵ Sitting down [to teach], He called the twelve [disciples] and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all [in importance] and a servant of all.” ³⁶ Taking a child, He set him before them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever receives and welcomes one child such as this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives not [only] Me, but Him who sent Me.”^(B)

Dire Warnings

³⁸ John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not accompanying us [as Your disciple].”^{(C) 39} But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. ⁴⁰ For he who is not against us is for us.^{(D) 41} For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he will not lose his reward.

⁴² “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe and trust in Me to stumble [that is, to sin or lose faith], it would be better for him if a heavy millstone [one requiring a donkey’s strength to turn it] were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.^{(E) 43} If your hand causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It is better for you to enter life crippled, than to have two hands and go into ^[c]hell, into the unquenchable fire, ^44 [d][where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out.]^{(F) 45} If your foot causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It would be better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell, ^46 [e][where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out.]^{(G) 47} If your eye causes you to stumble and sin, throw it out [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It would be better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸ where their worm [that feeds on the dead] does not die, and the fire is not put out.^(H)

⁴⁹ “For everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good and useful; but if salt has lost its saltiness (purpose), how will you make it salty? Have salt within yourselves continually, and be at peace with one another.”

Jesus’ Teaching about Divorce

10 Getting up, He left there (Capernaum) and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; and crowds gathered around Him again and accompanied Him, and as was His custom, He once more began to teach them.

² Pharisees came to Jesus to test Him [intending to trick Him into saying something wrong], and asked Him, “Is it lawful [according to Scripture] for a man to divorce his wife and send her away?” ³ He replied to them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.”^{(I) 5} But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of hearts [your callousness and insensitivity toward your wives and the ^[f]provision of God] he wrote you this precept. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.^{(J) 7} For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother [to establish a home with his wife],^{(K) 8} and the two shall become one flesh; so that they are no longer two, but [are united as] one flesh.^{(L) 9} Therefore, what God has united and joined together, man must not separate [by divorce].”

¹⁰ In the house the disciples began questioning Him again about this. ¹¹ And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; ¹² and if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

Former Times of Help and Present Troubles.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem.

²² “You must keep all my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice; otherwise the land to which I am bringing you as your new home will vomit you out. ²³ Do not live according to the customs of the people I am driving out before you. It is because they do these shameful things that I detest them. ²⁴ But I have promised you, ‘You will possess their land because I will give it to you as your possession—a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from all other people.

²⁵ “You must therefore make a distinction between ceremonially clean and unclean animals, and between clean and unclean birds. You must not defile yourselves by eating any unclean animal or bird or creature that scurries along the ground. I have identified them as being unclean for you. ²⁶ You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own.

²⁷ “Men and women among you who act as mediums or who consult the spirits of the dead must be put to death by stoning. They are guilty of a capital offense.”

Instructions for the Priests

21 The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

“A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative. ² The only exceptions are his closest relatives—his mother or father, son or daughter, brother, ³ or his virgin sister who depends on him because she has no husband. ⁴ But a priest must not defile himself and make himself unclean for someone who is related to him only by marriage.

⁵ “The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies. ⁶ They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the Lord, gifts of food for their God.

⁷ “Priests may not marry a woman defiled by prostitution, and they may not marry a woman who is divorced from her husband, for the priests are set apart as holy to their God. ⁸ You must treat them as holy because they offer up food to your God. You must consider them holy because I, the Lord, am holy, and I make you holy.

⁹ “If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she also defiles her father’s holiness, and she must be burned to death.

¹⁰ “The high priest has the highest rank of all the priests. The anointing oil has been poured on his head, and he has been ordained to wear the priestly garments. He must never leave his hair uncombed^[a] or tear his clothing. ¹¹ He must not defile himself by going near a dead body. He may not make himself ceremonially unclean even for his father or mother. ¹² He must not defile the sanctuary of his God by leaving it to attend to a dead person, for he has been made holy by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord.

¹³ “The high priest may marry only a virgin. ¹⁴ He may not marry a widow, a woman who is divorced, or a woman who has defiled herself by prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own clan, ¹⁵ so that he will not dishonor his descendants among his clan, for I am the Lord who makes him holy.”

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ “Give the following instructions to Aaron: In all future generations, none of your descendants who has any defect will qualify to offer food to his God. ¹⁸ No one who has a defect qualifies, whether he is blind, lame, disfigured, deformed, ¹⁹ or has a broken foot or arm, ²⁰ or is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or has a defective eye, or skin sores or scabs, or damaged testicles. ²¹ No descendant of Aaron who has a defect may approach the altar to present special gifts to the Lord. Since he has a defect, he may not approach the altar to offer food to his God. ²² However, he may eat from the food offered to God, including the holy offerings and the most holy offerings. ²³ Yet because of his physical defect, he may not enter the room behind the inner curtain or approach the altar, for this would defile my holy places. I am the Lord who makes them holy.”

²⁴ So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

22 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for me, so they do not bring shame on my holy name. I am the Lord. ³ Give them the following instructions.

“In all future generations, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean when he approaches the sacred offerings that the people of Israel consecrate to the Lord, he must be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord.

⁴ “If any of Aaron’s descendants has a skin disease^[b] or any kind of discharge that makes him ceremonially unclean, he may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has been pronounced clean. He also becomes unclean by touching a corpse, or by having an emission of semen, ⁵ or by touching a small animal that is unclean, or by touching someone who is ceremonially unclean for any reason. ⁶ The man who is defiled in any of these ways will remain unclean until evening. He may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has bathed himself in water. ⁷ When the sun goes down, he will be ceremonially clean again and may eat from the sacred offerings, for this is his food. ⁸ He may not eat an animal that has died a natural death or has been torn apart by wild animals, for this would defile him. I am the Lord.

⁹ “The priests must follow my instructions carefully. Otherwise they will be punished for their sin and will die for violating my instructions. I am the Lord who makes them holy.

¹⁰ “No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offerings. Even guests and hired workers in a priest’s home are not allowed to eat them. ¹¹ However, if the priest buys a slave for himself, the slave may eat from the sacred offerings. And if his slaves have children, they also may share his food. ¹² If a priest’s daughter marries someone outside the priestly family, she may no longer eat the sacred offerings. ¹³ But if she becomes a widow or is divorced and has no children to support her, and she returns to live in her father’s home as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food again. Otherwise, no one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offerings.

¹⁴ “Any such person who eats the sacred offerings without realizing it must pay the priest for the amount eaten, plus an additional 20 percent. ¹⁵ The priests must not let the Israelites defile the sacred offerings brought to the Lord ¹⁶ by allowing unauthorized people to eat them. This would bring guilt upon them and require them to pay compensation. I am the Lord who makes them holy.”

9 Jesus went on to say, “I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!”

The Transfiguration

² Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed, ³ and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them. ⁴ Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus.

⁵ Peter exclaimed, “Rabbi, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials^[a]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ He said this because he didn’t really know what else to say, for they were all terrified.

⁷ Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.” ⁸ Suddenly, when they looked around, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus with them.

⁹ As they went back down the mountain, he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man^[b] had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ So they kept it to themselves, but they often asked each other what he meant by “rising from the dead.”

¹¹ Then they asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?^[c]”

¹² Jesus responded, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. Yet why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be treated with utter contempt? ¹³ But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they chose to abuse him, just as the Scriptures predicted.”

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy

¹⁴ When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. ¹⁵ When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him.

¹⁶ “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked.

¹⁷ One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. ¹⁸ And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.^[d] So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”

¹⁹ Jesus said to them,^[e] “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

²⁰ So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.

²¹ “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father.

He replied, “Since he was a little boy. ²² The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”

²³ “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”

²⁴ The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

²⁵ When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil^[f] spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”

²⁶ Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.

²⁸ Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.^[g]”

Psalm 43