Category: DAB Readings

⁴⁰ And ^(A)the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the people of Israel.

⁴¹ And they set out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. ⁴² And they set out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. ⁴³ And they set out from Punon and camped at ^(B)Oboth. ⁴⁴ And they set out from Oboth and camped at ^(C)Iye-abarim, in the territory of Moab. ⁴⁵ And they set out from Iyim and camped at ^(D)Dibon-gad. ⁴⁶ And they set out from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim. ⁴⁷ And they set out from Almon-diblathaim ^(E)and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. ⁴⁸ And they set out from the mountains of Abarim and camped in ^(F)the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho; ⁴⁹ they camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth as far as ^(G)Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

Drive Out the Inhabitants

⁵⁰ And the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ⁵¹ “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ^(H)When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ⁵² then ^(I)you shall drive out ^(J)all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their ^(K)figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. ⁵³ And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. ^54 (L)You shall inherit the land by lot according to your clans. ^(M)To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance. Wherever the lot falls for anyone, that shall be his. According to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit. ⁵⁵ But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as ^(N)barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. ⁵⁶ And I will do to you ^(O)as I thought to do to them.”

Boundaries of the Land

34 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter ^(P)the land of Canaan ^(Q)(this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders), ^3 (R)your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of ^(S)the Salt Sea on the east. ⁴ And your border shall turn south of ^(T)the ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to ^(U)Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon. ⁵ And the border shall turn ^(V)from Azmon to ^(W)the Brook of Egypt, and its limit shall be at the sea.

⁶ “For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its^[a] coast. This shall be your western border.

⁷ “This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to ^(X)Mount Hor. ⁸ From Mount Hor you shall draw a line ^(Y)to Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at ^(Z)Zedad. ⁹ Then the border shall extend to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at ^(AA)Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern border.

¹⁰ “You shall draw a line for your eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham. ¹¹ And the border shall go down from Shepham to ^(AB)Riblah on the east side of Ain. And the border shall go down and reach to the shoulder of ^(AC)the Sea of Chinnereth on the east. ¹² And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at ^(AD)the Salt Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around.”

¹³ Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, ^(AE)“This is the land that you shall inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe. ^14 (AF)For the tribe of the people of Reuben by fathers' houses and the tribe of the people of Gad by their fathers' houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh. ¹⁵ The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

List of Tribal Chiefs

¹⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: ^(AG)Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. ¹⁸ You shall take one ^(AH)chief from every tribe to divide the land for inheritance. ¹⁹ These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ²⁰ Of the tribe of the people of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. ²¹ Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. ²² Of the tribe of the people of Dan a chief, Bukki the son of Jogli. ²³ Of the people of Joseph: of the tribe of the people of Manasseh a chief, Hanniel the son of Ephod. ²⁴ And of the tribe of the people of Ephraim a chief, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. ²⁵ Of the tribe of the people of Zebulun a chief, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. ²⁶ Of the tribe of the people of Issachar a chief, Paltiel the son of Azzan. ²⁷ And of the tribe of the people of Asher a chief, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. ²⁸ Of the tribe of the people of Naphtali a chief, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” ²⁹ These are the men whom the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Cities for the Levites

35 The Lord spoke to Moses in ^(AI)the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ^2 (AJ)“Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in. And you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities. ³ The cities shall be theirs to dwell in, and their pasturelands shall be for their cattle and for their livestock and for all their beasts. ⁴ The pasturelands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits^[b] all around. ⁵ And you shall measure, outside the city, on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall belong to them as pastureland for their cities.

⁶ “The cities that you give to the Levites shall be ^(AK)the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. ⁷ All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be ^(AL)forty-eight, with their pasturelands. ⁸ And as for the cities that you shall give ^(AM)from the possession of the people of Israel, ^(AN)from the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites.”

Cities of Refuge

⁹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ^(AO)When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ^11 (AP)then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. ¹² The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. ¹³ And the cities that you give shall be your ^(AQ)six cities of refuge. ^14 (AR)You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. ¹⁵ These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and ^(AS)for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.

^16 (AT)“But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁷ And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. ^19 (AU)The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. ²⁰ And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, ^(AV)lying in wait, so that he died, ²¹ or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. ^(AW)The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

²² “But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him ^(AX)without lying in wait ²³ or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm, ²⁴ then ^(AY)the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and ^(AZ)the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules. ²⁵ And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it ^(BA)until the death of the high priest ^(BB)who was anointed with the holy oil. ²⁶ But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled, ²⁷ and ^(BC)the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood. ²⁸ For he must remain in his city of refuge ^(BD)until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. ²⁹ And these things shall be for ^(BE)a statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

³⁰ “If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the ^(BF)evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. ³¹ Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. ³² And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest. ³³ You shall not ^(BG)pollute the land in which you live, for blood ^(BH)pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except ^(BI)by the blood of the one who shed it. ^34 (BJ)You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, ^(BK)for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.”

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

¹² While he was in one of the cities, ^(A)there came a man full of leprosy.^[a] And when he saw Jesus, he ^(B)fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, ^(C)if you will, you can make me clean.” ¹³ And Jesus^[b] stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ And he charged him ^(D)to tell no one, but “go and show ^(E)yourself to the priest, and ^(F)make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, ^(G)for a proof to them.” ^15 (H)But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. ¹⁶ But ^(I)he would withdraw to desolate places and ^(J)pray.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

¹⁷ On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and ^(K)teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And ^(L)the power of the Lord was with him to heal.^{[c] 18 (M)}And behold, some men were bringing ^(N)on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, ¹⁹ but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on ^(O)the roof and let him down with his bed ^(P)through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. ²⁰ And ^(Q)when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, ^(R)your sins are forgiven you.” ²¹ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks ^(S)blasphemies? ^(T)Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ²² When Jesus ^(U)perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? ²⁴ But that you may know that ^(V)the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” ²⁵ And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, ^(W)glorifying God. ²⁶ And amazement seized them all, and they ^(X)glorified God and were filled ^(Y)with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Jesus Calls Levi

^27 (Z)After this he went out and saw ^(AA)a tax collector named ^(AB)Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” ²⁸ And ^(AC)leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

O God of Our Salvation

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

Reuben and Gad Settle in Gilead

32 Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of ^(A)Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. ² So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation, ^3 (B)“Ataroth, ^(C)Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, ^(D)Nebo, and Beon, ⁴ the land ^(E)that the Lord struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” ⁵ And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.”

⁶ But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here? ⁷ Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the Lord has given them? ⁸ Your fathers did this, ^(F)when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. ⁹ For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the Lord had given them. ^10 (G)And the Lord's anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying, ¹¹ ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, ^(H)from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give ^(I)to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, ¹² none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the ^(J)Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for ^(K)they have wholly followed the Lord.’ ¹³ And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them ^(L)wander in the wilderness forty years, until ^(M)all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone. ¹⁴ And behold, you have risen in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the Lord against Israel! ¹⁵ For if you ^(N)turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.”

¹⁶ Then they came near to him and said, ^(O)“We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, ¹⁷ but ^(P)we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. ^18 (Q)We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. ¹⁹ For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, ^(R)because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.” ²⁰ So ^(S)Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war, ²¹ and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has ^(T)driven out his enemies from before him ²² and the land is subdued before the Lord; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and ^(U)this land shall be your possession before the Lord. ²³ But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and ^(V)be sure your sin will find you out. ^24 (W)Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.” ²⁵ And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. ^26 (X)Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead, ^27 (Y)but your servants will pass over, every man who is ^(Z)armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord orders.”

²⁸ So ^(AA)Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest and to ^(AB)Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel. ²⁹ And Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before the Lord, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. ³⁰ However, if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” ³¹ And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “What the Lord has said to your servants, we will do. ³² We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.”

³³ And ^(AC)Moses gave to them, to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land and its cities with their territories, the cities of the land throughout the country. ³⁴ And the people of Gad built ^(AD)Dibon, ^(AE)Ataroth, ^(AF)Aroer, ³⁵ Atroth-shophan, ^(AG)Jazer, Jogbehah, ^36 (AH)Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, ^(AI)fortified cities, and folds for sheep. ³⁷ And the people of Reuben built ^(AJ)Heshbon, ^(AK)Elealeh, Kiriathaim, ^38 (AL)Nebo, and ^(AM)Baal-meon (^(AN)their names were changed), and ^(AO)Sibmah. And they gave other names to the cities that they built. ³⁹ And the sons of ^(AP)Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. ⁴⁰ And Moses ^(AQ)gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it. ⁴¹ And ^(AR)Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and called them Havvoth-jair.^{[a] 42} And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

Recounting Israel's Journey

33 These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. ² Moses wrote down their starting places, ^(AS)stage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places. ³ They ^(AT)set out from Rameses in ^(AU)the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover, the people of Israel went out ^(AV)triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians, ⁴ while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, ^(AW)whom the Lord had struck down among them. ^(AX)On their gods also the Lord executed judgments.

⁵ So the people of Israel set out from Rameses and camped at ^(AY)Succoth. ⁶ And they set out from Succoth and camped at ^(AZ)Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. ⁷ And they set out from Etham and turned back to ^(BA)Pi-hahiroth, which is east of Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol. ⁸ And they set out from before Hahiroth^[b] and ^(BB)passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and they ^(BC)went a three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. ⁹ And they set out from Marah and came to ^(BD)Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. ¹⁰ And they set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. ¹¹ And they set out from the Red Sea and camped in ^(BE)the wilderness of Sin. ¹² And they set out from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. ¹³ And they set out from Dophkah and camped at Alush. ¹⁴ And they set out from Alush and camped at ^(BF)Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. ¹⁵ And they set out from Rephidim and camped in the ^(BG)wilderness of Sinai. ¹⁶ And they set out from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at ^(BH)Kibroth-hattaavah. ¹⁷ And they set out from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at ^(BI)Hazeroth. ¹⁸ And they ^(BJ)set out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. ¹⁹ And they set out from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. ²⁰ And they set out from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah. ²¹ And they set out from Libnah and camped at Rissah. ²² And they set out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah. ²³ And they set out from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. ²⁴ And they set out from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. ²⁵ And they set out from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. ²⁶ And they set out from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. ²⁷ And they set out from Tahath and camped at Terah. ²⁸ And they set out from Terah and camped at Mithkah. ²⁹ And they set out from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. ³⁰ And they set out from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. ³¹ And they set out from Moseroth and camped at ^(BK)Bene-jaakan. ³² And they set out from Bene-jaakan and camped at ^(BL)Hor-haggidgad. ³³ And they set out from Hor-haggidgad and camped at ^(BM)Jotbathah. ³⁴ And they set out from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. ³⁵ And they set out from Abronah and camped at ^(BN)Ezion-geber. ³⁶ And they set out from Ezion-geber and camped in the ^(BO)wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh). ³⁷ And they set out from ^(BP)Kadesh and camped at ^(BQ)Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.

³⁸ And Aaron the priest went up ^(BR)Mount Hor at the command of the Lord and died there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. ³⁹ And Aaron was ^(BS)123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon

^31 (A)And he ^(B)went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And ^(C)he was teaching them ^(D)on the Sabbath, ³² and ^(E)they were astonished at his teaching, ^(F)for his word possessed authority. ³³ And ^(G)in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ “Ha!^{[a] (H)}What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? ^(I)I know who you are—^(J)the Holy One of God.” ³⁵ But Jesus ^(K)rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. ³⁶ And ^(L)they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? ^(M)For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” ³⁷ And ^(N)reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Jesus Heals Many

^38 (O)And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now ^(P)Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. ³⁹ And he stood over her and ^(Q)rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

⁴⁰ Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and ^(R)he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. ^41 (S)And demons also came out of many, ^(T)crying, “You are ^(U)the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and ^(V)would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was ^(W)the Christ.

Jesus Preaches in Synagogues

^42 (X)And when it was day, he departed and went ^(Y)into a desolate place. And ^(Z)the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, ⁴³ but he said to them, ^(AA)“I must ^(AB)preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” ⁴⁴ And he was preaching ^(AC)in the synagogues of Judea.^[b]

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

5 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by ^(AD)the lake of Gennesaret, ^2 (AE)and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were ^(AF)washing their nets. ³ Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And ^(AG)he sat down and taught the people from the boat. ⁴ And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ^(AH)“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵ And Simon answered, “Master, ^(AI)we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” ⁶ And when they had done this, ^(AJ)they enclosed a large number of fish, and ^(AK)their nets were breaking. ⁷ They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. ^(AL)And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, ^(AM)“Depart from me, for ^(AN)I am a sinful man, O Lord.” ⁹ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”^{[c] 11} And when they had brought their boats to land, ^(AO)they left everything and followed him.

Hide Me from the Wicked

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Teachings about Vows

30 ^[a]Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel, “This is what the Lord has commanded ⌞about vows⌟: ² If a man makes a vow to the Lord that he will do something or swears an oath that he won’t do something, he must not break his word. He must do everything he said he would do.

³ “A young girl, who still lives in her father’s house, might make a vow to the Lord that she will do something or swear an oath that she won’t do something. ⁴ If her father says nothing to her when he hears about it, her vow or oath must be kept. ⁵ But if her father objects when he hears about it, her vow or oath doesn’t have to be kept. The Lord will free her ⌞from this vow or oath⌟ because her father objected.

⁶ “An unmarried woman might make a vow that she will do something or carelessly promise that she won’t do something. When she marries, ⁷ her husband may hear about it but say nothing to her. Then her vow or oath must be kept. ⁸ But if her husband objects when he hears about it, he can cancel the vow or promise she made. The Lord will free her ⌞from this vow or promise⌟.

⁹ “But a widow or a divorced woman must keep her vow or her promise.

¹⁰ “A married woman might make a vow that she will do something or swear an oath that she won’t do something. ¹¹ Her husband may hear about it but may say nothing and not object. Then her vow or oath must be kept. ¹² But if her husband cancels it when he hears about it, nothing she said in her vow or oath has to be kept. Her husband has canceled it, and the Lord will free her ⌞from this vow or oath⌟.

¹³ “A husband decides whether or not his wife has to keep any vow to do something or any oath to do without something. ¹⁴ If he says nothing to her about it day after day, this means he’s decided that she must keep her vow or oath. She must keep it because he said nothing to her when he heard about it. ¹⁵ But if he cancels it later, he will suffer the consequences.”

¹⁶ These are the laws the Lord gave Moses for husbands and wives, and for fathers with young daughters still living at home.

The Lord Commands Israel to Defeat Midian

31 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Get even with the Midianites for what they did to the Israelites. After that you will join your ancestors ⌞in death⌟.”

³ Moses said to the people, “Some of your men must get ready to go to war against the Midianites. The Lord will use them to get even with Midian. ⁴ Send 1,000 men from each of the tribes of Israel.”

⁵ So 1,000 men from each tribe were supplied from the divisions of Israel—12,000 men ready for war. ⁶ Then Moses sent them off to war, 1,000 men from each tribe along with Phinehas, son of the priest Eleazar. Phinehas took with him the holy articles and the trumpets for the fanfare.

⁷ They went to war against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every man. ⁸ Among those killed were the five kings of Midian—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed Balaam, son of Beor, in battle. ⁹ The Israelites took the Midianite women and children as prisoners of war. They also took all their animals, their livestock, and their valuables as loot. ¹⁰ They burned all the cities where the Midianites lived and all their settlements. ¹¹ Then they took everything as loot, including all the people and animals, ¹² and brought the prisoners of war, the loot, and everything to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the community of Israel at the camp on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho.

¹³ Moses, the priest Eleazar, and all the leaders of the community went outside the camp to meet them. ¹⁴ Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of the companies and battalions, who were returning from battle.

¹⁵ “Why did you let all the women live?” he asked them. ¹⁶ “Remember, they were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and caused the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the incident that took place at Peor. The Lord’s community experienced a plague at that time. ¹⁷ So kill all the Midianite boys and every Midianite woman who has gone to bed with a man. ¹⁸ But save for yourselves every girl who has never gone to bed with a man.

¹⁹ “Everyone who killed a person or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp seven days. You and your prisoners of war must use the ritual water on the third and seventh days in order to take away your sin. ²⁰ Do the same for all the clothes and everything made of leather, goats’ hair, or wood.”

²¹ Then the priest Eleazar said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is what the Lord’s teachings told Moses to do: ²² Any gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead— ²³ anything that won’t burn—must be put through fire in order to make it clean.^[b] Then it must also be put through the ritual water in order to take away its sin. Whatever might burn must ⌞only⌟ be put through the ritual water. ²⁴ On the seventh day wash your clothes, and you will be clean. Then you may come into the camp.”

²⁵ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁶ “You, the priest Eleazar, and the heads of the families of the community need to count all the loot, including the people and animals you captured. ²⁷ Divide the loot between the soldiers who served in the war and the rest of the community. ²⁸ Collect a tax for the Lord. From the soldiers who served in the war collect one out of every 500 things. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. ²⁹ Collect all these things from the soldiers’ half of the loot, and give them to the priest Eleazar as a contribution to the Lord. ³⁰ From the Israelites’ half of the loot, collect one out of every 50 things. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and every other kind of animal. Give them to the Levites who are in charge of the work done at the Lord’s tent.” ³¹ Moses and the priest Eleazar did as the Lord commanded Moses.

³² This is the loot that was left from everything that the troops took: 675,000 sheep and goats, ³³ 72,000 cattle, ³⁴ 61,000 donkeys, and ³⁵ 32,000 women who had never gone to bed with a man.

³⁶ Half of it went to the soldiers who served in the war. Of the 337,500 sheep and goats they received, ³⁷ 675 went to the Lord as taxes. ³⁸ Of the 36,000 cattle they received, 72 went to the Lord as taxes. ³⁹ Of the 30,500 donkeys they received, 61 went to the Lord as taxes. ⁴⁰ Of the 16,000 people they received, 32 went to the Lord as taxes.

⁴¹ Moses gave the Lord’s taxes to the priest Eleazar, as the Lord had commanded him.

⁴² Moses took the Israelites’ half of the loot from the soldiers. ⁴³ The community received 337,500 sheep and goats, ⁴⁴ 36,000 cattle, ⁴⁵ 30,500 donkeys, ⁴⁶ and 16,000 people.

⁴⁷ From the Israelites’ half Moses collected one out of every 50 things, including people and animals, as the Lord commanded him. Then he gave all this to the Levites who were in charge of the work done at the Lord’s tent.

⁴⁸ Then the officers from the military divisions, the commanders of the companies and battalions of men, came to Moses. ⁴⁹ They said to him, “Sir, we have counted all the soldiers under our command, and not one of them is missing. ⁵⁰ So we have brought as gifts to the Lord the gold jewelry that each of us found—arm bands, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and pendants. We offer them to make peace with the Lord.”

⁵¹ Moses and the priest Eleazar took all the hand-crafted gold articles from them. ⁵² All the gold contributed to the Lord by the commanders weighed about 420 pounds. ⁵³ Each soldier kept his own loot. ⁵⁴ Moses and the priest Eleazar took the gold from the commanders and brought it into the Lord’s presence at the tent of meeting as a reminder to the Israelites.

The Devil Tempts Jesus^(A)

4 Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit as he left the Jordan River. The Spirit led him while he was in the desert, ² where he was tempted by the devil for 40 days. During those days Jesus ate nothing, so when they were over, he was hungry.

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

⁴ Jesus answered him, “Scripture says, ‘A person cannot live on bread alone.’ ” ^[a]

⁵ The devil took him to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant. ⁶ The devil said to him, “I will give you all the power and glory of these kingdoms. All of it has been given to me, and I give it to anyone I please. ⁷ So if you will worship me, all this will be yours.”

⁸ Jesus answered him, “Scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”

⁹ Then the devil took him into Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest part of the temple. He said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, jump from here! ¹⁰ Scripture says, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you to watch over you carefully. ¹¹ They will carry you in their hands so that you never hit your foot against a rock.’ ”

¹² Jesus answered him, “It has been said, ‘Never tempt the Lord your God.’ ” ^[b]

¹³ After the devil had finished tempting Jesus in every possible way, the devil left him until another time.

Nazareth Rejects Jesus^(B)

¹⁴ Jesus returned to Galilee. The power of the Spirit was with him, and the news about him spread throughout the surrounding country. ¹⁵ He taught in the synagogues, and everyone praised him.

¹⁶ Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As usual he went into the synagogue on the day of rest—a holy day. He stood up to read the lesson. ¹⁷ The attendant gave him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened it and found the place where it read:

²⁰ Jesus closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue watched him closely. ²¹ Then he said to them, “This passage came true today when you heard me read it.”

²² All the people spoke well of him. They were amazed to hear the gracious words flowing from his lips. They said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

²³ So he said to them, “You’ll probably quote this proverb to me, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ and then say to me, ‘Do all the things in your hometown that we’ve heard you’ve done in Capernaum.’ ” ²⁴ Then Jesus added, “I can guarantee this truth: A prophet isn’t accepted in his hometown.

²⁵ “I can guarantee this truth: There were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time. It had not rained for three-and-a-half years, and the famine was severe everywhere in the country. ²⁶ But God didn’t send Elijah to anyone except a widow at Zarephath in the territory of Sidon. ²⁷ There were also many people with skin diseases in Israel in the prophet Elisha’s time. But God cured no one except Naaman from Syria.”

²⁸ Everyone in the synagogue became furious when they heard this. ²⁹ Their city was built on a hill with a cliff. So they got up, forced Jesus out of the city, and led him to the cliff. They intended to throw him off of it. ³⁰ But Jesus walked right by them and went away.

A psalm by David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

Annual Sacrifices

¹⁶ “The fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s Passover. ¹⁷ The fifteenth of this same month is a pilgrimage festival. For seven days you must eat only unleavened bread. ¹⁸ On the first day there will be a holy assembly. Don’t do any regular work. ¹⁹ Instead, bring the Lord an offering by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old lambs, all of them without defects. ²⁰ Along with them bring grain offerings of flour mixed with olive oil. Bring 24 cups for each bull, 16 cups for each ram, ²¹ and 8 cups for each of the seven lambs. ²² Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin to make peace with the Lord. ²³ Offer these in addition to the morning burnt offering. ²⁴ Bring all these offerings on each of the seven days. They are food. They are offerings by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord. They will be offered in addition to the daily burnt offering and the wine offering that goes with it. ²⁵ On the seventh day you must have a holy assembly. You must not do any regular work.

²⁶ “During the Festival of Weeks, you must have a holy assembly. On that day you must not do any regular work. Bring the Lord your new grain offering, the first produce harvested from your fields. ²⁷ Bring a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to the Lord—two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old lambs. ²⁸ Along with them bring grain offerings of flour mixed with olive oil. Bring 24 cups for each bull, 16 cups for each ram, ²⁹ and 8 cups for each of the seven lambs. ³⁰ Also bring one male goat to make peace with the Lord. ³¹ Offer these animals that have no defects along with their wine offerings, in addition to the daily burnt offerings and their grain offerings.”

29 ⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “On the first day of the seventh month you must have a holy assembly. You must not do any regular work. It is a day for ⌞the trumpets to sound⌟ a fanfare. ² As a burnt offering, a soothing aroma to the Lord, bring one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old lambs that have no defects. ³ Along with them bring grain offerings of flour mixed with olive oil. Bring 24 cups for each bull, 16 cups for each ram, ⁴ and 8 cups for each of the seven lambs. ⁵ Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin to make peace with the Lord. ⁶ Offer these in addition to the monthly burnt offering with its grain offering, and the daily burnt offerings with their proper grain offerings and wine offerings. They are a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.

⁷ “On the tenth day of the seventh month you must have a holy assembly. You must humble yourselves. You must not do any work. ⁸ As a burnt offering, a soothing aroma, bring one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old lambs, all of them without defects. ⁹ Along with them bring grain offerings of flour mixed with olive oil. Bring 24 cups for each bull, 16 cups for each ram, ¹⁰ and 8 cups for each of the seven lambs. ¹¹ Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin (in addition to the ⌞other⌟ offering for sin to make peace with the Lord) and the daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and wine offerings.

¹² “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you must have a holy assembly. You must not do any regular work. Instead, celebrate a festival to the Lord for seven days. ¹³ As a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord, bring 13 young bulls, 2 rams, and 14 one-year-old lambs, all of them without defects. ¹⁴ Along with them bring grain offerings of flour mixed with olive oil. Bring 24 cups for each of the 13 bulls, 16 cups for each of the 2 rams, ¹⁵ and 8 cups for each of the 14 one-year-old lambs. ¹⁶ Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin in addition to the daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and wine offerings.

¹⁷ “On the second day bring 12 young bulls, 2 rams, and 14 one-year-old lambs that have no defects. ¹⁸ Along with them bring the proper amount of grain offerings and wine offerings for each of the bulls, rams, and lambs. ¹⁹ Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin in addition to the daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and wine offerings.

²⁰ “On the third day bring 11 bulls, 2 rams, and 14 one-year-old lambs that have no defects. ²¹ Along with them bring the proper amount of grain offerings and wine offerings for each of the bulls, rams, and lambs. ²² Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin in addition to the daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and wine offerings.

²³ “On the fourth day bring 10 bulls, 2 rams, and 14 one-year-old lambs that have no defects. ²⁴ Along with them bring the proper amount of grain offerings and wine offerings for each of the bulls, rams, and lambs. ²⁵ Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin in addition to the daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and wine offerings.

²⁶ “On the fifth day bring 9 bulls, 2 rams, and 14 one-year-old lambs that have no defects. ²⁷ Along with them bring the proper amount of grain offerings and wine offerings for each of the bulls, rams, and lambs. ²⁸ Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin in addition to the daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and wine offerings.

²⁹ “On the sixth day bring 8 bulls, 2 rams, and 14 one-year-old lambs that have no defects. ³⁰ Along with them bring the proper amount of grain offerings and wine offerings for each of the bulls, rams, and lambs. ³¹ Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin in addition to the daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and wine offerings.

³² “On the seventh day bring 7 bulls, 2 rams, and 14 one-year-old lambs that have no defects. ³³ Along with them bring the proper amount of grain offerings and wine offerings for each of the bulls, rams, and lambs. ³⁴ Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin in addition to the daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and wine offerings.

³⁵ “On the eighth day you must hold a religious assembly. You must not do any daily work. ³⁶ As a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord, bring one bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old lambs that have no defects. ³⁷ Along with them bring the proper amount of grain offerings and wine offerings for the bull, the ram, and the lambs. ³⁸ Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin in addition to the daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and wine offerings.

³⁹ “These are the offerings you must bring to the Lord at your festivals. They are the offerings you must bring in addition to the offerings for anything you vowed to give to the Lord, your freewill offerings, your burnt offerings, your grain offerings, your wine offerings, and your fellowship offerings.” ^[a]

⁴⁰ Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him.

²³ Jesus was about 30 years old when he began ⌞his ministry⌟.

The Ancestors of Jesus

Jesus, so people thought, was the son of Joseph, son of Eli,

²⁴ son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph,

²⁵ son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai,

²⁶ son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda,

²⁷ son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, son of Neri,

²⁸ son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er,

²⁹ son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi,

³⁰ son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim,

³¹ son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David,

³² son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Salmon, son of Nahshon,

³³ son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni, son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah,

³⁴ son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor,

³⁵ son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah,

³⁶ son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech,

³⁷ son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan,

³⁸ son of Enos, son of Seth,

son of Adam,

son of God.

For the choir director; according to Jeduthun; a psalm by David.

⁵² Then the Lord said to Moses, ⁵³ “The land these people will possess must be divided using the list of names ⌞from the census⌟. ⁵⁴ Give more land to larger tribes and less land to smaller ones. Use the totals ⌞from the census⌟ in giving land to each tribe. ⁵⁵ But the land must be divided by drawing lots. The tribes will receive their land based on the names of their ancestors. ⁵⁶ Whether the tribes are large or small, the land must be divided by drawing lots.”

⁵⁷ The families descended from Levi were listed as the family of Gershon, the family of Kohath, and the family of Merari.

⁵⁸ These were the families of Levi: the Libnite family, the Hebronite family, the Mahlite family, the Mushite family, and the Korahite family.

Kohath was the ancestor of Amram. ⁵⁹ The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, who was born in Egypt. She gave birth to Amram’s children: Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam. ⁶⁰ Aaron was the father of Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ⁶¹ But Nadab and Abihu had died because they offered unauthorized fire in the Lord’s presence.

⁶² The total number of all the ⌞Levite⌟ males at least one month old was 23,000. They were not counted along with the other Israelites, because they were given no land of their own.

⁶³ Moses and the priest Eleazar added up the total number of Israelites on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho. ⁶⁴ Among them there wasn’t a single one of the Israelites Moses and the priest Aaron had counted in the Desert of Sinai. ⁶⁵ The Lord had said, “They must all die in the desert.” The only ones left were Caleb (son of Jephunneh) and Joshua (son of Nun).

A Request from Zelophehad’s Daughters

27 The daughters of Zelophehad, son of Hepher, grandson of Gilead, descendant of Machir, whose father was Manasseh, belonged to the families of Manasseh, son of Joseph. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They came ² to Moses and stood in front of him, the priest Eleazar, the leaders, and the whole community at the entrance to the tent of meeting. They said, ³ “Our father died in the desert. He was not a part of Korah’s followers who joined forces against the Lord. He died for his own sin and left no sons. ⁴ Why should our father’s name be allowed to die out in his family because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”

⁵ So Moses brought their case to the Lord, ⁶ and the Lord said to him, ⁷ “Zelophehad’s daughters are right. You must give them property of their own among their father’s relatives. Turn their father’s property over to them.

⁸ “Tell the Israelites: If a man dies and leaves no sons, turn his property over to his daughters. ⁹ If he has no daughters, give his property to his brothers. ¹⁰ If he has no brothers, give his property to his uncles on his father’s side of the family. ¹¹ If he has no uncles, give his property to the nearest relative in his family, and that relative will take possession of it. This will be a rule for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.”

The Lord Appoints Joshua to Succeed Moses

¹² The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into the Abarim Mountains, and take a look at the land I will give the Israelites. ¹³ After you see it, you, too, will join your ancestors ⌞in death⌟, as your brother Aaron did. ¹⁴ You both rebelled against my command in the Desert of Zin. You didn’t show the people how holy I am when they were complaining at the oasis.” (This was the oasis of Meribah at Kadesh in the Desert of Zin.)

¹⁵ Moses said to the Lord, ¹⁶ “Lord, you are the God who gives the breath of life to everyone. Please appoint someone over the community ¹⁷ who will lead them in and out ⌞of battle⌟ so that the Lord’s community will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

¹⁸ So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit, and place your hand on him. ¹⁹ Make him stand in front of the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and give him his instructions in their presence. ²⁰ Give him some of your authority so that the whole community of Israel will obey him. ²¹ He will stand in front of the priest Eleazar, who will use the Urim ^[a] to make decisions in the Lord’s presence. At his command Joshua and the whole community of Israel will go into battle. And at his command they will return.”

²² Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand in front of the priest Eleazar and the whole community. ²³ Moses placed his hands on Joshua and gave him his instructions as the Lord had told him.

Daily Sacrifices

28 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Give this command to the Israelites: Be sure to bring me my offerings at the right times. They are my food. They are offerings by fire, a soothing aroma. ³ These are the offerings by fire that you must bring to the Lord. Every day you must bring as a daily burnt offering two one-year-old lambs that have no defects. ⁴ Offer one in the morning and the other at dusk. ⁵ ⌞With each of them⌟ also bring a grain offering of eight cups of flour mixed with one quart of virgin olive oil. ⁶ This is the daily burnt offering which was established on Mount Sinai. This offering is a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. ⁷ Also bring a wine offering of one quart of wine for each lamb. Pour it out to the Lord in a holy place. ⁸ Offer the other lamb at dusk along with the same grain offering and wine offering as you brought in the morning. This is an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord.

Weekly Sacrifices

⁹ “On the day of rest—a holy day, offer two one-year-old lambs that have no defects, a grain offering of 16 cups of flour mixed with olive oil, and the wine offering that goes with it. ¹⁰ This burnt offering is for every day of rest—a holy day, in addition to the daily burnt offerings and the wine offerings that go with them.

Monthly Sacrifices

¹¹ “On the first of every month bring the Lord a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old lambs that have no defects. ¹² With each bull there will be a grain offering of 24 cups of flour mixed with olive oil, with each ram a grain offering of 16 cups of flour mixed with olive oil, ¹³ and with each one-year-old lamb a grain offering of 8 cups of flour mixed with olive oil. This is a burnt offering, a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. ¹⁴ The wine offering that goes with each bull will be 2 quarts of wine, with each ram 1½ quarts of wine, and with each lamb 1 quart of wine. This will be the monthly burnt offering for every month of the year. ¹⁵ In addition to the daily burnt offering with its wine offering, one male goat must be offered to the Lord as an offering for sin.

John Prepares the Way^(A)

3 It was the fifteenth year in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea. Herod ruled Galilee, and his brother Philip ruled Iturea and Trachonitis. Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene. ² It was at the time when Annas and Caiaphas were chief priests that God spoke to John, son of Zechariah, in the desert. ³ John traveled throughout the region around the Jordan River. He told people about a baptism of repentance ^[a] for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴ As the prophet Isaiah wrote in his book,

⁷ Crowds of people were coming to be baptized by John. He would say to them, “You poisonous snakes! Who showed you how to flee from God’s coming anger? ⁸ Do those things that prove that you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act. Don’t say, ‘Abraham is our ancestor.’ I guarantee that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones. ⁹ The ax is now ready to cut the roots of the trees. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”

¹⁰ The crowds asked him, “What should we do?”

¹¹ He answered them, “Whoever has two shirts should share with the person who doesn’t have any. Whoever has food should share it too.”

¹² Some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”

¹³ He told them, “Don’t collect more money than you are ordered to collect.”

¹⁴ Some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He told them, “Be satisfied with your pay, and never use threats or blackmail to get money from anyone.”

¹⁵ People’s hopes were rising as they all wondered whether John was the Messiah. ¹⁶ John replied to all of them, “I baptize you with water. But the one who is more powerful than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie his sandal straps. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing ^[b] shovel is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor.^[c] He will gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn the husks in a fire that can never be put out.”

¹⁸ With many other encouraging words, he told the Good News to the people.

¹⁹ John spoke out against the ruler Herod because Herod had married his own sister-in-law, Herodias. He also spoke out against Herod for all the evil things he had done. ²⁰ So Herod added one more evil to all the others; he locked John in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus^(B)

²¹ When all the people were baptized, Jesus, too, was baptized. While he was praying, heaven opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit came down to him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you.”

For the choir director; on a stringed instrument; by David.

Moses Takes Another Census of Israel

26 After the plague the Lord said to Moses and Eleazar, son of the priest Aaron, ² “Take a census of the whole community of Israel by households. List those who are at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.”

³ So Moses and the priest Eleazar spoke to the Israelites on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho. They said, ⁴ “Take a census of those at least 20 years old, as the Lord commanded Moses.”

These are the Israelites who came from Egypt:

⁵ Reuben was Israel’s firstborn. The descendants of Reuben were the family of Hanoch, the family of Pallu, ⁶ the family of Hezron, and the family of Carmi.

⁷ These were the families of Reuben. The total number of men was 43,730.

⁸ Eliab was the son ^[a] of Pallu, ⁹ and Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram were the sons of Eliab. (It was Dathan and Abiram, men chosen by the community, who defied Moses and Aaron’s authority. They joined Korah’s followers when they defied the Lord’s authority. ¹⁰ The ground opened up and swallowed them along with Korah. They and their followers died when the fire consumed the 250 men. This was a warning. ¹¹ But the descendants of Korah didn’t die.)

¹² The families descended from Simeon were the family of Nemuel, the family of Jamin, the family of Jakin, ¹³ the family of Zerah, and the family of Shaul.

¹⁴ These were the families of Simeon. The total number of men was 22,200.

¹⁵ The families descended from Gad were the family of Zephon, the family of Haggi, the family of Shuni, ¹⁶ the family of Ozni, the family of Eri, ¹⁷ the family of Arodi,^[b] and the family of Areli.

¹⁸ These were the families of Gad’s descendants. The total number of men was 40,500.

¹⁹ Er and Onan were sons of Judah, but they died in Canaan. ²⁰ The families descended from Judah were the family of Shelah, the family of Perez, and the family of Zerah.

²¹ The descendants of Perez were the family of Hezron and the family of Hamul.

²² These were the families of Judah. The total number of men was 76,500.

²³ The families descended from Issachar were the family of Tola, the family of Puah,^{[c] 24} the family of Jashub, and the family of Shimron.

²⁵ These were the families of Issachar. The total number of men was 64,300.

²⁶ The families descended from Zebulun were the family of Sered, the family of Elon, and the family of Jahleel.

²⁷ These were the families of Zebulun. The total number of men was 60,500.

²⁸ The families descended from Joseph ⌞through⌟ Manasseh and Ephraim were ²⁹ (from Manasseh) the family of Machir (Machir was the father of Gilead) and the family of Gilead.

³⁰ The descendants of Gilead were the family of Iezer, the family of Helek, ³¹ the family of Asriel, the family of Shechem, ³² the family of Shemida, and the family of Hepher. ³³ (Zelophehad, son of Hepher, had no sons—only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.)

³⁴ These were the families of Manasseh. The total number of men was 52,700.

³⁵ The families descended from Ephraim were the family of Shuthelah, the family of Beker, and the family of Tahan.

³⁶ The descendants of Shuthelah were the family of Eran.

³⁷ These were the families of Ephraim’s descendants. The total number of men was 32,500.

These were the families descended from Joseph.

³⁸ The families descended from Benjamin were the family of Bela, the family of Ashbel, the family of Ahiram, ³⁹ the family of Shupham,^[d] and the family of Hupham.

⁴⁰ The descendants of Bela (⌞through⌟ Ard and Naaman) were the family of Ard and the family of Naaman.

⁴¹ These were the families descended from Benjamin. The total number of men was 45,600.

⁴² The family descended from Dan was the family of Shuham.

This was the family descended from Dan. ⁴³ The total number of men in all the family of Shuham was 64,400.

⁴⁴ The families descended from Asher were the family of Imnah, the family of Ishvi, and the family of Beriah.

⁴⁵ The descendants Beriah were the family of Heber and the family of Malchiel.

⁴⁶ (Asher had a daughter named Serah.)

⁴⁷ These were the families of Asher’s descendants. The total number of men was 53,400.

⁴⁸ The families descended from Naphtali were the family of Jahzeel, the family of Guni, ⁴⁹ the family of Jezer, and the family of Shillem.

⁵⁰ These were the families of Naphtali. The total number of men was 45,400.

⁵¹ The total number of Israelite men was 601,730.

Anna’s Prophecy

³⁶ Anna, a prophet, was also there. She was a descendant of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was now very old. Her husband had died seven years after they were married, ³⁷ and she had been a widow for 84 years. Anna never left the temple courtyard but worshiped day and night by fasting and praying. ³⁸ At that moment she came up to Mary and Joseph and began to thank God. She spoke about Jesus to all who were waiting for Jerusalem to be set free.

³⁹ After doing everything the Lord’s Teachings required, Joseph and Mary returned to their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee. ⁴⁰ The child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor ^[a] was with him.

Mary and Joseph Find Jesus with the Teachers in the Temple Courtyard

⁴¹ Every year Jesus’ parents would go to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. ⁴² When he was 12 years old, they went as usual.

⁴³ When the festival was over, they left for home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents didn’t know it. ⁴⁴ They thought that he was with the others who were traveling with them. After traveling for a day, they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵ When they didn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.

⁴⁶ Three days later, they found him in the temple courtyard. He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ His understanding and his answers stunned everyone who heard him.

⁴⁸ When his parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother asked him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been worried sick looking for you!”

⁴⁹ Jesus said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you realize that I had to be in my Father’s house?” ⁵⁰ But they didn’t understand what he meant.

⁵¹ Then he returned with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them.

His mother treasured all these things in her heart. ⁵² Jesus grew in wisdom and maturity. He gained favor from God and people.

For the choir director; according to shushan eduth; ^[a] a miktam by David; for teaching. When David fought Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah, and ⌞when⌟ Joab came back and killed 12,000 men from Edom in the Dead Sea region.

Balaam’s Third Prophecy

24 When Balaam saw that the Lord wanted to bless Israel, he didn’t look for omens as he had done before. He turned toward the desert, ² looked up, and saw Israel’s camp grouped by tribes. The Spirit of God entered him, ³ and he delivered this message:

Balaam’s Fourth Prophecy

¹⁰ Balak became angry with Balaam. He clapped his hands and said, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, and now you have blessed them three times. ¹¹ Get out of here! Go home! I said I’d reward you richly, but the Lord has made you lose your reward.”

¹² Balaam answered Balak, “I told the messengers you sent me, ¹³ ‘Even if Balak would give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I couldn’t disobey the Lord’s command no matter how good or bad the request might seem to me. I must say only what the Lord says.’ ¹⁴ Even though I’m going back to my people, I’ll give you some advice. I’ll tell you what these people will do to your people in the days to come.”

¹⁵ Then Balaam delivered this message:

²⁰ Then Balaam saw the Amalekites and delivered this message:

²¹ Then he saw the Kenites and delivered this message:

²³ He delivered this message:

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

Israel Commits Idolatry

25 While Israel was staying at Shittim, the men began to have sex with Moabite women ² who invited the people to the sacrifices offered to their gods. The people ate the meat from the sacrifices and worshiped these gods. ³ Since the Israelites joined in worshiping the god Baal of Peor, the Lord became angry with Israel.

⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people, and execute them in broad daylight in the Lord’s presence. This will turn the Lord’s anger away from Israel.”

⁵ So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you must kill the men who have joined in worshiping the god Baal of Peor.”

⁶ One of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman to his brothers. He did this right in front of Moses and the whole community of Israel while they were crying at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁷ Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of the priest Aaron, saw this. So he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand, ⁸ and went into the tent after the Israelite man. He drove the spear through the man and into the woman’s body. Because of this, the plague that the Israelites were experiencing stopped. ⁹ However, 24,000 people died from that plague.

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of the priest Aaron, turned my fury away from the Israelites. Since he stood up for me, I didn’t have to stand up for myself and destroy them. ¹² So tell Phinehas that I’m making a promise of peace to him. ¹³ My promise is that he and his descendants will be priests permanently because he stood up for his God and he made peace with the Lord for the Israelites.”

¹⁴ The name of the Israelite man who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri, son of Salu. (Salu was the leader of a family from Simeon.) ¹⁵ The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi, daughter of Zur. (Zur was the head of a family from the Midianite tribes.)

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ “Treat the Midianites as your enemies, and kill them ¹⁸ because they treated you as enemies. They plotted to trick you in the incident that took place at Peor. They used their sister Cozbi, daughter of a Midianite leader, who was killed on the day of the plague caused by the incident at Peor.”

Jesus Is Born

2 At that time the Emperor Augustus ordered a census of the Roman Empire. ² This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ All the people went to register in the cities where their ancestors had lived.

⁴ So Joseph went from Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a Judean city called Bethlehem. Joseph, a descendant of King David, went to Bethlehem because David had been born there. ⁵ Joseph went there to register with Mary. She had been promised to him in marriage and was pregnant.

⁶ While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have her child. ⁷ She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there wasn’t any room for them in the inn.

Angels Announce the Birth of Jesus

⁸ Shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem. They were taking turns watching their flock during the night. ⁹ An angel from the Lord suddenly appeared to them. The glory of the Lord filled the area with light, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. ¹¹ Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David’s city. ¹² This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel. They were praising God by saying,

¹⁵ The angels left them and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in a manger. ¹⁷ When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him. ¹⁸ Everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was amazed.

¹⁹ Mary treasured all these things in her heart and always thought about them.

²⁰ As the shepherds returned to their flock, they glorified and praised God for everything they had seen and heard. Everything happened the way the angel had told them.

Jesus’ Parents Obey Moses’ Teachings

²¹ Eight days after his birth, the child was circumcised and named Jesus. This was the name the angel had given him before his mother became pregnant.

²² After the days required by Moses’ Teachings to make a mother clean ^[a] had passed, Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem. They took Jesus to present him to the Lord. ²³ They did exactly what was written in the Lord’s Teachings: “Every firstborn boy is to be set apart as holy to the Lord.” ²⁴ They also offered a sacrifice as required by the Lord’s Teachings: “a pair of mourning doves or two young pigeons.”

Simeon’s Prophecy

²⁵ A man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. He lived an honorable and devout life. He was waiting for the one who would comfort Israel. The Holy Spirit was with Simeon ²⁶ and had told him that he wouldn’t die until he had seen the Messiah, whom the Lord would send.

²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, Simeon went into the temple courtyard. Mary and Joseph were bringing the child Jesus into the courtyard at the same time. They brought him so that they could do for him what Moses’ Teachings required. ²⁸ Then Simeon took the child in his arms and praised God by saying,

³³ Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what was said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, “This child is the reason that many people in Israel will be condemned and many others will be saved. He will be a sign that will expose ³⁵ the thoughts of those who reject him. And a sword will pierce your heart.”

For the choir director; al tashcheth; a miktam by David when Saul sent men to watch David’s home and kill him.

Balaam’s Journey to Moab

²¹ When Balaam got up in the morning, he saddled his donkey and left with the Moabite princes.

²² God became angry that he was going. So the Messenger of the Lord stood in the road to stop him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, accompanied by his two servants. ²³ When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn, the donkey turned off the road into a field. Balaam hit the donkey to get it back on the road.

²⁴ Where the road went through the vineyards, it was narrow, with stone walls on both sides. Now the Messenger of the Lord stood there. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord, it moved over and pinned Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam hit the donkey again.

²⁶ Then the Messenger of the Lord moved ahead and stood in a narrower place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam. Balaam became so angry he hit the donkey with his stick. ²⁸ Then the Lord made the donkey speak, and it asked Balaam, “What have I done to make you hit me three times?”

²⁹ Balaam answered, “You’ve made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you right now.”

³⁰ The donkey said to Balaam, “I’m your own donkey. You’ve always ridden me. Have I ever done this to you before?”

“No,” he answered.

³¹ Then the Lord let Balaam see the Messenger of the Lord who was standing in the road with his sword drawn. So Balaam knelt, bowing with his face touching the ground.

³² The Messenger of the Lord asked him, “Why have you hit your donkey three times like this? I’ve come here to stop you because the trip you’re taking is evil. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away from me, I would certainly have killed you by now but spared the donkey.”

³⁴ Balaam said to the Messenger of the Lord, “I’ve sinned. I didn’t know you were standing there in the road to stop me. If you still think this trip is evil, I’ll go back.”

³⁵ The Messenger of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s princes.

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at Ir Moab, in the region of the Arnon Valley, right on the border of Moab. ³⁷ Balak said to Balaam, “Why didn’t you come when I summoned you? You knew I’d be able to reward you.”

³⁸ Balaam replied, “Well, I’ve come to you now. But I can’t say whatever I want to. I can only say what God tells me to say.”

³⁹ Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. ⁴⁰ Balak sacrificed cattle, sheep, and goats, and sent some of the meat to Balaam and the princes who were with him.

⁴¹ The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal. From there he could see the outskirts of the Israelites’ camp.

Balaam’s First Prophecy

23 Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” ² Balak did what Balaam told him, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

³ Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I’m gone. Maybe the Lord will come and meet with me. I will tell you whatever he reveals to me.” Then Balaam went off to a higher place where there were no trees.

⁴ God came to him, and Balaam said, “I have set up seven altars, and I offered a bull and a ram on each altar.”

⁵ The Lord told Balaam, “Go back to Balak, and give him my message.”

⁶ So he went back to Balak and found him standing beside his burnt offering with all the princes of Moab. ⁷ Then Balaam delivered this message:

¹¹ Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but all you’ve done is bless them!”

¹² Balaam answered, “I must say what the Lord tells me to say.”

Balaam’s Second Prophecy

¹³ Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, where you can see the Israelites. You will see only some of them, not all of them. Curse them for me from there.”

¹⁴ So he took him to the Field of Zophim ^[a] on top of Mount Pisgah, where he built seven altars. He offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ¹⁵ Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet with God over there.”

¹⁶ The Lord came to Balaam and told him, “Go back to Balak, and give him my message.”

¹⁷ He came to Balak and found him standing beside his burnt offering with the princes of Moab. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?” ¹⁸ Then Balaam delivered this message:

²⁵ Balak said to Balaam, “If you won’t curse them, then at least don’t bless them!”

²⁶ Balaam answered, “Didn’t I tell you that I must do whatever the Lord says?”

²⁷ Balak said to Balaam, “Come, let me take you to another place. Maybe God wants you to curse them for me from there.” ²⁸ So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, which overlooks Jeshimon.

²⁹ Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” ³⁰ Balak did what Balaam told him, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

John Is Born

⁵⁷ When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very kind to her, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹ When the child was eight days old, they went ⌞to the temple⌟ to circumcise him. They were going to name him Zechariah after his father. ⁶⁰ But his mother spoke up, “Absolutely not! His name will be John.”

⁶¹ Their friends said to her, “But you don’t have any relatives with that name.”

⁶² So they motioned to the baby’s father to see what he wanted to name the child. ⁶³ Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was amazed.

⁶⁴ Suddenly, Zechariah was able to speak, and he began to praise God.

⁶⁵ All their neighbors were filled with awe. Throughout the mountain region of Judea, people talked about everything that had happened. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard about it seriously thought it over and asked, “What does the future hold for this child?” It was clear that the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷ His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

⁸⁰ The child John grew and became spiritually strong. He lived in the desert until the day he appeared to the people of Israel.

For the choir director; al tashcheth; a miktam by David.

The King of Arad Is Defeated

21 When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were coming on the road to Atharim, he fought them and took some of them as prisoners. ² Then the Israelites made this vow to the Lord: “If you will hand these people over to us, we’ll destroy their cities because you’ve claimed them.” ³ The Lord listened to the Israelites and handed the Canaanites over to them. They destroyed the Canaanites and their cities. So they called the place Hormah [Claimed for Destruction].

The Bronze Snake

⁴ Then they moved from Mount Hor, following the road that goes to the Red Sea, in order to get around Edom. The people became impatient on the trip ⁵ and criticized God and Moses. They said, “Why did you make us leave Egypt—just to let us die in the desert? There’s no bread or water, and we can’t stand this awful food!”

⁶ So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people. They bit the people, and many of the Israelites died. ⁷ The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we criticized the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake, and put it on a pole. Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. People looked at the bronze snake after they were bitten, and they lived.^[a]

Israel Travels Past Edom to Moab

¹⁰ The Israelites moved and set up camp at Oboth. ¹¹ Next they moved from Oboth and set up camp at Iye Abarim in the desert west of Moab. ¹² From there they moved and set up camp at the Zered River. ¹³ They moved from there and set up camp on the other side of the Arnon Valley in the desert that extends into Amorite territory. (The Arnon Valley is the border between Moab and the Amorites.) ¹⁴ This is how it’s described in the Book of the Wars of the Lord:

¹⁶ From there they went to Beer [Well]. This is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people, and I will give them water.” ¹⁷ Then Israel sang this song about the well:

From the desert they went to Mattanah, ¹⁹ and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰ and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where Mount Pisgah overlooks Jeshimon.

Sihon and Og Defeated

²¹ Then Israel sent messengers to say to King Sihon of the Amorites, ²² “Let us go through your country. We won’t go through any of your fields or vineyards or drink any of the water from your wells. We’ll stay on the king’s highway until we’ve passed through your territory.”

²³ Sihon wouldn’t let Israel pass through his territory. Sihon gathered all his troops and came out into the desert to attack Israel. When Sihon’s troops came to Jahaz, they fought against Israel. ²⁴ But Israel defeated them in battle and took possession of their land from the Arnon Valley to the Jabbok River. ⌞They stopped at⌟ the border of the Ammon because it was fortified. ²⁵ Israel took all those Amorite cities, including Heshbon and all its villages, and lived in them. ²⁶ Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites. He had fought the former king of Moab and had taken all his land up to the Arnon Valley.

²⁷ This is why the poets say:

³¹ So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites. ³² After Moses sent spies to Jazer, the Israelites captured its cities and villages and forced out the Amorites who were there. ³³ Then they turned and followed the road that goes to Bashan. King Og of Bashan and all his troops came out to fight the Israelites at Edrei.

³⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Don’t be afraid of him. I’ll hand him, all his troops, and his land over to you. Do to him what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.” ³⁵ The Israelites defeated him, his sons, and all his troops, leaving no survivors. And they took possession of his land.

Balaam Is Hired to Curse Israel

22 Then the Israelites moved and set up camp across from Jericho, on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River.

² Balak, son of Zippor, saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³ The Moabites were very afraid because there were so many Israelites. Besides, the Moabites couldn’t stand these people.

⁴ So the Moabites said to the leaders of Midian, “All those people will eventually eat up everything around us the same way an ox eats up the grass in a field.”

At that time Balak, son of Zippor, was king of Moab. ⁵ He sent messengers to summon Balaam, son of Beor, who was at Pethor, on the Euphrates River, in the land where his people lived. Balak’s message was, “A nation has just come here from Egypt. They’ve spread out all over the countryside and are setting up their camp here in front of me. ⁶ Please come and curse these people for me, because they are too strong for me. Maybe then I’ll be able to defeat them and force them out of the country. I know that whomever you bless is blessed and whomever you curse is cursed.”

⁷ The leaders of Moab and Midian left, taking money with them to pay for Balaam’s services. They came to Balaam and told him what Balak had said.

⁸ “Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them, “and I’ll report to you what the Lord tells me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

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

¹⁰ Balaam answered, “Balak, son of King Zippor of Moab, sent them with this message: ¹¹ ‘Some people have just come from Egypt and are spreading out all over the countryside. Now come and curse them for me. Maybe I’ll be able to fight them and force them out.’ ”

¹² But God said to Balaam, “Don’t go with them! Don’t curse these people, because they are blessed.”

¹³ When Balaam got up in the morning, he said to Balak’s princes, “Go back to your own country, because the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

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

¹⁵ Balak sent a larger group of more highly respected princes. ¹⁶ When they came to Balaam, they said to him, “This is what Balak, son of Zippor, says: Don’t let anything keep you from coming to me. ¹⁷ I will make sure you are richly rewarded, and I will do whatever you ask. Please, come and curse these people for me.”

¹⁸ But Balaam answered Balak’s servants, “Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I couldn’t disobey the command of the Lord my God no matter whether the request was important or not. ¹⁹ Now, why don’t you stay here tonight, as the others did, and I’ll find out what else the Lord may have to tell me.”

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

The Angel Gabriel Comes to Mary

²⁶ Six months after Elizabeth had become pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee. ²⁷ The angel went to a virgin promised in marriage to a descendant of David named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary.

²⁸ When the angel entered her home, he greeted her and said, “You are favored by the Lord! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ She was startled by what the angel said and tried to figure out what this greeting meant.

³⁰ The angel told her,

³⁴ Mary asked the angel, “How can this be? I’m a virgin.”

³⁵ The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come to you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy child developing inside you will be called the Son of God.

³⁶ “Elizabeth, your relative, is six months pregnant with a son in her old age. People said she couldn’t have a child. ³⁷ But nothing is impossible for God.”

³⁸ Mary answered, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let everything you’ve said happen to me.”

Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ Soon afterward, Mary hurried to a city in the mountain region of Judah. ⁴⁰ She entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard the greeting, she felt the baby kick. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² She said in a loud voice, “You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child that you will have. ⁴³ I feel blessed that the mother of my Lord is visiting me. ⁴⁴ As soon as I heard your greeting, I felt the baby jump for joy. ⁴⁵ You are blessed for believing that the Lord would keep his promise to you.”

Mary Praises God

⁴⁶ Mary said,

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

For the choir director; al tashcheth; ^[a] a miktam by David when he fled from Saul into the cave.

The Water of Cleansing

19 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ² “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer^(A) without defect or blemish^(B) and that has never been under a yoke.^{(C) 3} Give it to Eleazar^(D) the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp^(E) and slaughtered in his presence. ⁴ Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle^(F) it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. ⁵ While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines.^{(G) 6} The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop^(H) and scarlet wool^(I) and throw them onto the burning heifer. ⁷ After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water.^(J) He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. ⁸ The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.

⁹ “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer^(K) and put them in a ceremonially clean place^(L) outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing;^(M) it is for purification from sin.^{(N) 10} The man who gathers up^(O) the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening.^(P) This will be a lasting ordinance^(Q) both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.^(R)

¹¹ “Whoever touches a human corpse^(S) will be unclean for seven days.^{(T) 12} They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day;^(U) then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean.^{(V) 13} If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse,^(W) they defile the Lord’s tabernacle.^(X) They must be cut off from Israel.^(Y) Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean;^(Z) their uncleanness remains on them.

¹⁴ “This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, ¹⁵ and every open container^(AA) without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.

¹⁶ “Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death,^(AB) or anyone who touches a human bone^(AC) or a grave,^(AD) will be unclean for seven days.^(AE)

¹⁷ “For the unclean person, put some ashes^(AF) from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water^(AG) over them. ¹⁸ Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop,^(AH) dip it in the water and sprinkle^(AI) the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave^(AJ) or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death. ¹⁹ The man who is clean is to sprinkle^(AK) those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them.^(AL) Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes^(AM) and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean. ²⁰ But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled^(AN) the sanctuary of the Lord.^(AO) The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean.^{(AP) 21} This is a lasting ordinance^(AQ) for them.

“The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening. ²² Anything that an unclean^(AR) person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”

Water From the Rock

20 In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin,^(AS) and they stayed at Kadesh.^(AT) There Miriam^(AU) died and was buried.

² Now there was no water^(AV) for the community,^(AW) and the people gathered in opposition^(AX) to Moses and Aaron. ³ They quarreled^(AY) with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead^(AZ) before the Lord!^{(BA) 4} Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness,^(BB) that we and our livestock should die here?^{(BC) 5} Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates.^(BD) And there is no water to drink!^(BE)”

⁶ Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting^(BF) and fell facedown,^(BG) and the glory of the Lord^(BH) appeared to them. ⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ⁸ “Take the staff,^(BI) and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.^(BJ) You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

⁹ So Moses took the staff^(BK) from the Lord’s presence,^(BL) just as he commanded him. ¹⁰ He and Aaron gathered the assembly together^(BM) in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”^{(BN) 11} Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water^(BO) gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy^(BP) in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”^(BQ)

¹³ These were the waters of Meribah,^[a](BR) where the Israelites quarreled^(BS) with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.^(BT)

Edom Denies Israel Passage

¹⁴ Moses sent messengers from Kadesh^(BU) to the king of Edom,^(BV) saying:

¹⁸ But Edom^(CG) answered:

¹⁹ The Israelites replied:

²⁰ Again they answered:

Then Edom^(CL) came out against them with a large and powerful army. ²¹ Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory,^(CM) Israel turned away from them.^(CN)

The Death of Aaron

²² The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh^(CO) and came to Mount Hor.^{(CP) 23} At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom,^(CQ) the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁴ “Aaron will be gathered to his people.^(CR) He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command^(CS) at the waters of Meribah.^{(CT) 25} Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor.^{(CU) 26} Remove Aaron’s garments^(CV) and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people;^(CW) he will die there.”

²⁷ Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor^(CX) in the sight of the whole community. ²⁸ Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar.^(CY) And Aaron died there^(CZ) on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, ²⁹ and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died,^(DA) all the Israelites mourned for him^(DB) thirty days.

Introduction^(A)

1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled^[a] among us, ² just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first^(B) were eyewitnesses^(C) and servants of the word.^{(D) 3} With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account^(E) for you, most excellent^(F) Theophilus,^{(G) 4} so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.^(H)

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

⁵ In the time of Herod king of Judea^(I) there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah;^(J) his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.^{(K) 7} But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

⁸ Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,^{(L) 9} he was chosen by lot,^(M) according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.^{(N) 10} And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.^(O)

¹¹ Then an angel^(P) of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.^{(Q) 12} When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.^{(R) 13} But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid,^(S) Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.^{(T) 14} He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,^{(U) 15} for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink,^(V) and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit^(W) even before he is born.^{(X) 16} He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord,^(Y) in the spirit and power of Elijah,^(Z) to turn the hearts of the parents to their children^(AA) and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”^(AB)

¹⁸ Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this?^(AC) I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”^(AD)

¹⁹ The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel.^(AE) I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰ And now you will be silent and not able to speak^(AF) until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

²¹ Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. ²² When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs^(AG) to them but remained unable to speak.

²³ When his time of service was completed, he returned home. ²⁴ After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. ²⁵ “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace^(AH) among the people.”

Psalm 56^[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam.^[b] When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.