Category: DAB Readings

The Rights of Women to Inherit Land

36 The heads of the households whose families were descended from Gilead, son of Machir and grandson of Manasseh, (families of Joseph’s descendants) came and spoke to Moses and the leaders of the other Israelite households. ² They said, “Sir, the Lord commanded you to give the Israelites their land by drawing lots. The Lord also commanded you to give the land of our relative Zelophehad to his daughters. ³ Suppose they marry men from the other tribes of Israel. Their land will be taken away from that of our ancestors and added to the land of the tribe they marry into. Then we will have lost part of our land. ⁴ When the Israelites’ jubilee year comes, their land will be added to that of the tribe they married into. Then part of the land of our ancestors’ tribe will be gone.”

⁵ So Moses gave the Israelites a command from the Lord. “The tribe of Joseph’s descendants is right. ⁶ This is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they want to, but only within a family of their ancestor’s tribe. ⁷ In this way no land of the Israelites will pass from one tribe to another. Every Israelite must keep the tribal land inherited from his ancestors. ⁸ A woman who inherits land in any of the tribes of Israel may marry a man from any family in her ancestor’s tribe. In this way every Israelite keeps the land inherited from his ancestors. ⁹ No land may pass from one tribe to another. Each Israelite tribe must keep the land it inherits.”

¹⁰ Zelophehad’s daughters did as the Lord commanded Moses. ¹¹ Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah married their cousins on their father’s side of the family. ¹² They married within the families of the descendants of Manasseh, son of Joseph. So their land stayed in the tribe of their father’s family.

¹³ These are the commands and rules the Lord gave the Israelites through Moses on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho.

Moses Speaks to the People 40 Years after Leaving Egypt

1 This is the speech Moses gave in the desert east of the Jordan River, on the plains, near Suph, between Paran and Tophel, and near Laban, Hazeroth, and Di Zahab. He spoke to all the Israelites. ² (It takes 11 days to go from Mount Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by way of Mount Seir.)

³ On the first day of the eleventh month in the fortieth year ⌞after they had left Egypt⌟, Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him to tell them. ⁴ This was after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth and ^[a] in Edrei. ⁵ The Israelites were east of the Jordan River in Moab when Moses began to review God’s teachings.

Moses Reminds Israel of the Events at Mount Horeb

This is what he said:

⁶ At Mount Horeb the Lord our God said to us, “You have stayed at this mountain long enough. ⁷ Break camp, and get ready! Go to the mountain region of the Amorites, and go to everyone living on the plains, in the mountains, in the foothills, in the Negev, on the whole Mediterranean coast (the land of the Canaanites), and into Lebanon as far as the Euphrates River. ⁸ I’m giving you this land. Enter, and take possession of the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to you, their descendants.”

⁹ At that time I said to you, “I’m not able to take care of you by myself. ¹⁰ The Lord your God has made your population increase so that you are now as numerous as the stars in the sky. ¹¹ May the Lord God of your ancestors make you a thousand times more numerous, and may he bless you as he has promised. ¹² How can I take care of your problems, your troubles, and your disagreements all by myself? ¹³ From each of your tribes, choose some men who are wise, intelligent, and experienced, and I’ll appoint them to be your leaders.”

¹⁴ You agreed that this was a good idea.

¹⁵ So I took the heads of your tribes who were wise and experienced men and made them officers for each of your tribes. I put them in charge of groups of 1,000, or 100, or 50, or 10 people. ¹⁶ Also at that time I gave these instructions to your judges: “Hear the cases that your people bring. Judge each case fairly, no matter whether it is ⌞a dispute⌟ between two Israelites or ⌞a dispute⌟ between an Israelite and a non-Israelite. ¹⁷ Be impartial in your decisions. Listen to the least important people the same way you listen to the most important people. Never be afraid of anyone, since your decisions come from God. You may bring me any case that’s too hard for you, and I will hear it.” ¹⁸ So I told you how to handle these situations.

Moses Reminds Israel of the Events at Kadesh Barnea

¹⁹ So we left Mount Horeb, as the Lord our God had commanded. We traveled through all that vast and dangerous desert you saw on the way to the mountain region of the Amorites. At last we came to Kadesh Barnea. ²⁰ Then I said to you, “We have come to the mountain region of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. ²¹ The Lord your God is giving you this land. Go ahead! Take possession of it, as the Lord God of your ancestors told you. Don’t be afraid or terrified.”

²² All of you came to me and said, “Let’s send men ahead of us to gather information about the land for us. Have them report to us about the route we should take and the cities we’ll come to.”

²³ It seemed like a good idea to me. So I chose 12 of your men, one from each tribe. ²⁴ They left and went into the mountains. When they came to the Eshcol Valley, they explored it. ²⁵ They took some of the region’s fruit with them and brought it back to us. They reported, “The land that the Lord our God is giving us is good.”

²⁶ But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to go. ²⁷ You complained in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us! That’s why he brought us out of Egypt. He wanted to hand us over to the Amorites so that they could destroy us! ²⁸ Where are we going anyway? Our own men have discouraged us by saying, ‘The people there are taller and stronger than we are. The cities are big with sky-high walls! We even saw the people of Anak there.’ ”

²⁹ Then I said to you, “Don’t tremble. Don’t be afraid of them. ³⁰ The Lord your God, who is going ahead of you, will fight for you as you saw him fight for you in Egypt ³¹ and in the desert.” There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as parents carry their children. He carried you wherever you went until you came to this place.

³² In spite of this, you didn’t trust the Lord your God, ³³ who went ahead of you to find places for you to camp. He appeared in a column of fire at night and in a column of smoke during the day to show you which route to take.

³⁴ When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and took this oath: ³⁵ “Not one of these evil people will ever see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors, ³⁶ except Caleb, son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give the land that he set his feet on to him and his descendants, because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord.”

³⁷ The Lord became angry with me because of you. He said, “You won’t go there either. ³⁸ But your assistant Joshua, son of Nun, will go there. Encourage him, because he will help Israel take possession of the land. ³⁹ Although you thought the little children would be captured in war, your children, who are still too young to know the difference between good and evil, will enter that land. I will give it to them, and they will take possession of it. ⁴⁰ Turn around, go back into the desert, and follow the road that goes to the Red Sea.”

⁴¹ You responded, “We have sinned against the Lord. We’ll go and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us to do.” Each of you armed yourself for war, thinking you could easily invade the mountain region.

⁴² But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Don’t go and fight, because I won’t be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’ ”

⁴³ I told you, but you wouldn’t listen. You defied the Lord’s command and invaded the mountain region. ⁴⁴ The Amorites who lived there came out and attacked you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They defeated you, chasing you from Seir all the way to Hormah. ⁴⁵ When you came back, you cried to the Lord, but the Lord didn’t listen to you or hear you. ⁴⁶ That’s why you stayed in Kadesh as long as you did.

²⁹ Levi held a large reception at his home for Jesus. A huge crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.

³⁰ The Pharisees and their experts in Moses’ Teachings complained to Jesus’ disciples. They asked, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. ³² I’ve come to call sinners to change the way they think and act, not to call people who think they have God’s approval.”

Jesus Is Questioned about Fasting^(A)

³³ They said to him, “John’s disciples frequently fast and say prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. But your disciples eat and drink.”

³⁴ Jesus asked them, “Can you force wedding guests to fast while the groom is still with them? ³⁵ The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. At that time they will fast.”

³⁶ He also used these illustrations: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new coat to patch an old coat. Otherwise, the new cloth will tear the old. Besides, the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the new wine will make the skins burst. The wine will run out, and the skins will be ruined. ³⁸ Rather, new wine is to be poured into fresh skins.

³⁹ “No one who has been drinking old wine wants new wine. He says, ‘The old wine is better!’ ”

Jesus Has Authority over the Day of Rest—a Holy Day^(B)

6 Once, on a day of rest—a holy day, Jesus was walking through some grainfields. His disciples were picking the heads of grain, removing the husks, and eating the grain.

² Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are your disciples doing something that is not right to do on the day of rest—a holy day?”

³ Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his men were hungry? ⁴ Haven’t you read how he went into the house of God, ate the bread of the presence, and gave some of it to the men who were with him? He had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right.”

⁵ Then he added, “The Son of Man has authority over the day of rest—a holy day.”

Jesus Heals on the Day of Rest—a Holy Day^(C)

⁶ On another day of rest—a holy day, Jesus went into a synagogue to teach. A man whose right hand was paralyzed was there. ⁷ The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely. They wanted to see whether he would heal the man on the day of rest—a holy day, so that they could find a way to accuse him of doing something wrong.

⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up, and stand in the center ⌞of the synagogue⌟!” The man got up and stood there. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you—what is the right thing to do on a day of rest—a holy day: to do good or evil, to give a person his health or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ He looked around at all of them and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man did so, and his hand became normal again.

¹¹ The experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees were furious and began to discuss with each other what they could do to Jesus.

For the choir director; a song; a psalm.

The Rights of Women to Inherit Land

36 The heads of the households whose families were descended from Gilead, son of Machir and grandson of Manasseh, (families of Joseph’s descendants) came and spoke to Moses and the leaders of the other Israelite households. ² They said, “Sir, the Lord commanded you to give the Israelites their land by drawing lots. The Lord also commanded you to give the land of our relative Zelophehad to his daughters. ³ Suppose they marry men from the other tribes of Israel. Their land will be taken away from that of our ancestors and added to the land of the tribe they marry into. Then we will have lost part of our land. ⁴ When the Israelites’ jubilee year comes, their land will be added to that of the tribe they married into. Then part of the land of our ancestors’ tribe will be gone.”

⁵ So Moses gave the Israelites a command from the Lord. “The tribe of Joseph’s descendants is right. ⁶ This is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they want to, but only within a family of their ancestor’s tribe. ⁷ In this way no land of the Israelites will pass from one tribe to another. Every Israelite must keep the tribal land inherited from his ancestors. ⁸ A woman who inherits land in any of the tribes of Israel may marry a man from any family in her ancestor’s tribe. In this way every Israelite keeps the land inherited from his ancestors. ⁹ No land may pass from one tribe to another. Each Israelite tribe must keep the land it inherits.”

¹⁰ Zelophehad’s daughters did as the Lord commanded Moses. ¹¹ Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah married their cousins on their father’s side of the family. ¹² They married within the families of the descendants of Manasseh, son of Joseph. So their land stayed in the tribe of their father’s family.

¹³ These are the commands and rules the Lord gave the Israelites through Moses on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho.

Moses Speaks to the People 40 Years after Leaving Egypt

1 This is the speech Moses gave in the desert east of the Jordan River, on the plains, near Suph, between Paran and Tophel, and near Laban, Hazeroth, and Di Zahab. He spoke to all the Israelites. ² (It takes 11 days to go from Mount Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by way of Mount Seir.)

³ On the first day of the eleventh month in the fortieth year ⌞after they had left Egypt⌟, Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him to tell them. ⁴ This was after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth and ^[a] in Edrei. ⁵ The Israelites were east of the Jordan River in Moab when Moses began to review God’s teachings.

Moses Reminds Israel of the Events at Mount Horeb

This is what he said:

⁶ At Mount Horeb the Lord our God said to us, “You have stayed at this mountain long enough. ⁷ Break camp, and get ready! Go to the mountain region of the Amorites, and go to everyone living on the plains, in the mountains, in the foothills, in the Negev, on the whole Mediterranean coast (the land of the Canaanites), and into Lebanon as far as the Euphrates River. ⁸ I’m giving you this land. Enter, and take possession of the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to you, their descendants.”

⁹ At that time I said to you, “I’m not able to take care of you by myself. ¹⁰ The Lord your God has made your population increase so that you are now as numerous as the stars in the sky. ¹¹ May the Lord God of your ancestors make you a thousand times more numerous, and may he bless you as he has promised. ¹² How can I take care of your problems, your troubles, and your disagreements all by myself? ¹³ From each of your tribes, choose some men who are wise, intelligent, and experienced, and I’ll appoint them to be your leaders.”

¹⁴ You agreed that this was a good idea.

¹⁵ So I took the heads of your tribes who were wise and experienced men and made them officers for each of your tribes. I put them in charge of groups of 1,000, or 100, or 50, or 10 people. ¹⁶ Also at that time I gave these instructions to your judges: “Hear the cases that your people bring. Judge each case fairly, no matter whether it is ⌞a dispute⌟ between two Israelites or ⌞a dispute⌟ between an Israelite and a non-Israelite. ¹⁷ Be impartial in your decisions. Listen to the least important people the same way you listen to the most important people. Never be afraid of anyone, since your decisions come from God. You may bring me any case that’s too hard for you, and I will hear it.” ¹⁸ So I told you how to handle these situations.

Moses Reminds Israel of the Events at Kadesh Barnea

¹⁹ So we left Mount Horeb, as the Lord our God had commanded. We traveled through all that vast and dangerous desert you saw on the way to the mountain region of the Amorites. At last we came to Kadesh Barnea. ²⁰ Then I said to you, “We have come to the mountain region of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. ²¹ The Lord your God is giving you this land. Go ahead! Take possession of it, as the Lord God of your ancestors told you. Don’t be afraid or terrified.”

²² All of you came to me and said, “Let’s send men ahead of us to gather information about the land for us. Have them report to us about the route we should take and the cities we’ll come to.”

²³ It seemed like a good idea to me. So I chose 12 of your men, one from each tribe. ²⁴ They left and went into the mountains. When they came to the Eshcol Valley, they explored it. ²⁵ They took some of the region’s fruit with them and brought it back to us. They reported, “The land that the Lord our God is giving us is good.”

²⁶ But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to go. ²⁷ You complained in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us! That’s why he brought us out of Egypt. He wanted to hand us over to the Amorites so that they could destroy us! ²⁸ Where are we going anyway? Our own men have discouraged us by saying, ‘The people there are taller and stronger than we are. The cities are big with sky-high walls! We even saw the people of Anak there.’ ”

²⁹ Then I said to you, “Don’t tremble. Don’t be afraid of them. ³⁰ The Lord your God, who is going ahead of you, will fight for you as you saw him fight for you in Egypt ³¹ and in the desert.” There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as parents carry their children. He carried you wherever you went until you came to this place.

³² In spite of this, you didn’t trust the Lord your God, ³³ who went ahead of you to find places for you to camp. He appeared in a column of fire at night and in a column of smoke during the day to show you which route to take.

³⁴ When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and took this oath: ³⁵ “Not one of these evil people will ever see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors, ³⁶ except Caleb, son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give the land that he set his feet on to him and his descendants, because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord.”

³⁷ The Lord became angry with me because of you. He said, “You won’t go there either. ³⁸ But your assistant Joshua, son of Nun, will go there. Encourage him, because he will help Israel take possession of the land. ³⁹ Although you thought the little children would be captured in war, your children, who are still too young to know the difference between good and evil, will enter that land. I will give it to them, and they will take possession of it. ⁴⁰ Turn around, go back into the desert, and follow the road that goes to the Red Sea.”

⁴¹ You responded, “We have sinned against the Lord. We’ll go and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us to do.” Each of you armed yourself for war, thinking you could easily invade the mountain region.

⁴² But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Don’t go and fight, because I won’t be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’ ”

⁴³ I told you, but you wouldn’t listen. You defied the Lord’s command and invaded the mountain region. ⁴⁴ The Amorites who lived there came out and attacked you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They defeated you, chasing you from Seir all the way to Hormah. ⁴⁵ When you came back, you cried to the Lord, but the Lord didn’t listen to you or hear you. ⁴⁶ That’s why you stayed in Kadesh as long as you did.

²⁹ Levi held a large reception at his home for Jesus. A huge crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.

³⁰ The Pharisees and their experts in Moses’ Teachings complained to Jesus’ disciples. They asked, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. ³² I’ve come to call sinners to change the way they think and act, not to call people who think they have God’s approval.”

Jesus Is Questioned about Fasting^(A)

³³ They said to him, “John’s disciples frequently fast and say prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. But your disciples eat and drink.”

³⁴ Jesus asked them, “Can you force wedding guests to fast while the groom is still with them? ³⁵ The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. At that time they will fast.”

³⁶ He also used these illustrations: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new coat to patch an old coat. Otherwise, the new cloth will tear the old. Besides, the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the new wine will make the skins burst. The wine will run out, and the skins will be ruined. ³⁸ Rather, new wine is to be poured into fresh skins.

³⁹ “No one who has been drinking old wine wants new wine. He says, ‘The old wine is better!’ ”

Jesus Has Authority over the Day of Rest—a Holy Day^(B)

6 Once, on a day of rest—a holy day, Jesus was walking through some grainfields. His disciples were picking the heads of grain, removing the husks, and eating the grain.

² Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are your disciples doing something that is not right to do on the day of rest—a holy day?”

³ Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his men were hungry? ⁴ Haven’t you read how he went into the house of God, ate the bread of the presence, and gave some of it to the men who were with him? He had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right.”

⁵ Then he added, “The Son of Man has authority over the day of rest—a holy day.”

Jesus Heals on the Day of Rest—a Holy Day^(C)

⁶ On another day of rest—a holy day, Jesus went into a synagogue to teach. A man whose right hand was paralyzed was there. ⁷ The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely. They wanted to see whether he would heal the man on the day of rest—a holy day, so that they could find a way to accuse him of doing something wrong.

⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up, and stand in the center ⌞of the synagogue⌟!” The man got up and stood there. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you—what is the right thing to do on a day of rest—a holy day: to do good or evil, to give a person his health or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ He looked around at all of them and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man did so, and his hand became normal again.

¹¹ The experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees were furious and began to discuss with each other what they could do to Jesus.

For the choir director; a song; a psalm.

⁴⁰ (The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, which was in Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.)

⁴¹ They moved from Mount Hor and set up camp at Zalmonah.

⁴² They moved from Zalmonah and set up camp at Punon.

⁴³ They moved from Punon and set up camp at Oboth.

⁴⁴ They moved from Oboth and set up camp at Iye Abarim on the border of Moab.

⁴⁵ They moved from Iyim ^[a] and set up camp at Dibon Gad.

⁴⁶ They moved from Dibon Gad and set up camp at Almon Diblathaim.

⁴⁷ They moved from Almon Diblathaim and set up camp in the Abarim Mountains east of Nebo.

⁴⁸ They moved from the Abarim Mountains and set up camp on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho. ⁴⁹ They set up camp on the plains of Moab along the Jordan. Their camp extended from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim.

The Canaanites Must Be Forced Out

⁵⁰ The Lord said to Moses on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho, ⁵¹ “Tell the Israelites, ‘You will be crossing the Jordan River and entering Canaan. ⁵² As you advance, force out all the people who live there. Get rid of all their stone and metal idols, and destroy all their places of worship. ⁵³ Take possession of the land and live there, because I will give it to you for your own. ⁵⁴ Divide the land among your families by drawing lots. Give more land to larger families and less land to smaller ones. The land must be given to each family by drawing lots. Divide it among your ancestors’ tribes.

⁵⁵ “ ‘But if you do not force out those who live in the land, they will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will constantly fight with you over the land you live in. ⁵⁶ Then I will do to you what I planned to do to them.’ ”

The Boundaries of Israel’s Land

34 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Give the Israelites these instructions. When you enter Canaan, the land that will be given to you as your inheritance has these borders:

³ “The southern side includes part of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. In the east the southern border starts from the end of the Dead Sea ⁴ and turns south of the Akrabbim Pass. It then goes past Zin and ends at Kadesh Barnea. From there it goes to Hazar Addar and on to Azmon. ⁵ From Azmon it turns toward the River of Egypt so that the border ends at the Mediterranean Sea.

⁶ “The western border is the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.

⁷ “The northern border extends from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor, ⁸ and from Mount Hor to the border of Hamath so that it ends at Zedad. ⁹ From there the border goes to Ziphron and ends at Hazar Enan.

¹⁰ “The eastern border extends from Hazar Enan to Shepham. ¹¹ From Shepham the border goes down to Riblah, east of Ain, and continues along the eastern slope of the Sea of Galilee. ¹² Then the border goes along the Jordan River so that it ends at the Dead Sea.

“This will be your land and the borders around it.”

¹³ Moses commanded the Israelites, “This is the land you will divide by drawing lots. The Lord has commanded that this land will be given to the nine-and-a-half tribes. ¹⁴ The households from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh have already received their land. ¹⁵ Those two-and-a-half tribes received land east of the Jordan River across from Jericho.”

Men Are Appointed to Divide the Land

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ “These are the names of the men who will divide the land for you: the priest Eleazar and Joshua, son of Nun. ¹⁸ You must also take one leader from each tribe to divide the land. ¹⁹ These are their names:

Caleb, son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah;

²⁰ Shemuel, son of Ammihud, from the tribe of Simeon;

²¹ Elidad, son of Kislon, from the tribe of Benjamin;

²² Bukki, son of Jogli, the leader of the tribe of Dan;

²³ Hanniel, son of Ephod, the leader of the tribe of Manasseh;

²⁴ Kemuel, son of Shiphtan, the leader of the tribe of Ephraim;

(Manasseh and Ephraim are Joseph’s descendants.) ^[b]

²⁵ Elizaphan, son of Parnach, the leader of the tribe of Zebulun;

²⁶ Paltiel, son of Azzan, the leader of the tribe of Issachar;

²⁷ Ahihud, son of Shelomi, the leader of the tribe of Asher;

²⁸ Pedahel, son of Ammihud, the leader of the tribe of Naphtali.”

²⁹ These are the men the Lord commanded to divide Canaan for the Israelites.

Cities for the Levites

35 The Lord spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho. He said, ² “Tell the Israelites to give the Levites some cities from their own property. They must also give the Levites the pastureland around those cities. ³ Then the Levites will have cities to live in and pastureland for their cattle, the flocks they own, and any other animals they have.

⁴ “The land around the cities that you give the Levites will extend 1,500 feet from the city wall. ⁵ Outside the city measure off 3,000 feet on the east side, 3,000 feet on the south side, 3,000 feet on the west side, and 3,000 feet on the north side, with the city in the center. This will be their pastureland around the city.

⁶ “Six of the cities you give the Levites will be cities of refuge. You must allow murderers to escape to these cities. In addition, you must also give the Levites 42 other cities. ⁷ So you will give a total of 48 cities with pastureland to the Levites. ⁸ The cities you give the Levites from the property of the other Israelites must be given based on the amount of land each tribe owns. Take more cities from larger tribes and fewer from smaller tribes.”

Cities of Refuge

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰ “Tell the Israelites: When you cross the Jordan River and enter Canaan, ¹¹ select certain cities to be places of refuge. Anyone who unintentionally kills another person may run to them. ¹² These cities will be places of refuge from any relative who can avenge the death. So anyone accused of murder will not have to die until he has had a trial in front of the community. ¹³ There will be six cities you select as places of refuge, ¹⁴ three on the east side of the Jordan River and three in Canaan. ¹⁵ These six cities will be places of refuge for Israelites, foreigners, and strangers among you. Anyone who unintentionally kills another person may flee to these cities.

¹⁶ “But if any of you uses an iron weapon to kill another person, you are a murderer. Murderers must be put to death. ¹⁷ If any of you picks up a stone as a weapon and uses it to kill another person, you are a murderer. Murderers must be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if any of you picks up a piece of wood as a weapon and uses it to kill another person, you are a murderer. Murderers must be put to death. ¹⁹ The relative who can avenge the death must make sure a murderer is put to death. When he catches up with the murderer, he must kill him. ²⁰ If any of you kills someone you hate by shoving him or by deliberately throwing something at him, ²¹ or if you beat your enemy to death with your bare hands, you must be put to death. You are a murderer. The relative who can avenge the death must kill you when he catches up with you, because you are a murderer.

²² “But suppose you accidentally kill someone who wasn’t your enemy. Maybe you shoved him or threw something at him but didn’t mean to kill him. ²³ Or suppose you drop a big stone, and someone is killed. However, you didn’t know the person was there, he wasn’t your enemy, and you weren’t trying to harm him. ²⁴ Then the community must use these rules in order to decide if you ⌞are innocent⌟ or if the dead person’s relative can avenge the death. ²⁵ ⌞If you are innocent,⌟ the community must protect you from that relative. They must take you back to the city of refuge you fled to. You must live there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.

²⁶ “But don’t go outside the city of refuge you fled to. ²⁷ If the relative who can avenge the death finds you outside the city of refuge and kills you, the relative is not guilty of murder. ²⁸ Accused murderers must stay in their city of refuge until the death of the high priest. They may go back to their own property only after his death.

²⁹ “These will be the rules for future generations wherever you live.

³⁰ “Whoever kills another person will be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of more than one witness. No one can be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

³¹ “Never accept a cash payment in exchange for the life of a convicted murderer who has been given the death penalty. Murderers must be put to death.

³² “An accused murderer who has fled to a city of refuge must never go back and live on his own land before the death of the high priest. Don’t accept a cash payment to allow him to do this.

³³ “You must not pollute the land where you live. Murder is what pollutes the land. The land where a murder was committed can never make peace with the Lord except through the death of the murderer. ³⁴ Never make the land where you and I live unclean.^[c] I, the Lord, live among the Israelites.”

Jesus Cures a Man with a Skin Disease^(A)

¹² One day Jesus was in a city where there was a man covered with a serious skin disease. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground. He begged Jesus, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean.” ^[a]

¹³ Jesus reached out, touched him, and said, “I want to. So be clean!” Immediately, his skin disease went away.

¹⁴ Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone. Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifice as Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean.”

¹⁵ The news about Jesus spread even more. Large crowds gathered to hear him and have their diseases cured. ¹⁶ But he would go away to places where he could be alone for prayer.

Jesus Forgives Sins^(B)

¹⁷ One day when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and experts in Moses’ Teachings were present. They had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. Jesus had the power of the Lord to heal.

¹⁸ Some men brought a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They tried to take him into the house and put him in front of Jesus. ¹⁹ But they could not find a way to get him into the house because of the crowd. So they went up on the roof. They made an opening in the tiles and let the man down on his stretcher among the people. (They lowered him in front of Jesus.)

²⁰ When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Sir, your sins are forgiven.” ²¹ The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees thought, “Who is this man? He’s dishonoring God! Who besides God can forgive sins?”

²² Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “What are you thinking? ²³ Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

²⁵ The man immediately stood up in front of them and picked up the stretcher he had been lying on. Praising God, he went home.

²⁶ Everyone was amazed and praised God. They were filled with awe and said, “We’ve seen things today we can hardly believe!”

Jesus Chooses Levi [Matthew] to Be a Disciple^(C)

²⁷ After that, Jesus left. He saw a tax collector named Levi sitting in a tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” ²⁸ So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.

For the choir director; a psalm by David; a song.

The Tribes of Reuben and Gad Request Land East of the Jordan River

32 The tribes of Reuben and Gad had a large number of livestock. They saw that the regions of Jazer and Gilead were a good place for livestock. ² So they came to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the leaders of the community, and said to them, ³ “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, ⁴ the land that the Lord won for the community of Israel, is a good place for livestock. Gentlemen, we have livestock. ⁵ Please give us this land as our property. Don’t make us cross the Jordan River.”

⁶ Moses asked the tribes of Gad and Reuben, “Are you going to stay here while the rest of the Israelites go to war? ⁷ That might discourage them from entering the land the Lord has given them. ⁸ That’s what your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to take a look at the land. ⁹ They went as far as the Eshcol Valley and saw the land. But then they discouraged the rest of the Israelites from entering the land that the Lord had given them. ¹⁰ That day the Lord became angry and swore this oath, ¹¹ ‘None of the people 20 years old or older, who came from Egypt, will see the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with an oath. This is because they didn’t wholeheartedly follow me.’ ¹² Only Caleb (son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite) and Joshua (son of Nun) will get to see the land. This is because they wholeheartedly followed the Lord. ¹³ Since the Lord was angry with the Israelites, he made them wander in the desert for 40 years until the whole generation of those who had done evil in the Lord’s presence was gone.

¹⁴ “You’re just like your parents! You’re a bunch of sinners trying to make the Lord angry with Israel again. ¹⁵ If you turn away from him, he will abandon all these people in the desert. You would be responsible for their destruction.”

¹⁶ Then the tribes of Gad and Reuben came up to Moses and said, “Allow us to build stone fences for our livestock and cities for our families here. ¹⁷ Then we’ll be ready ⌞to march⌟ in battle formation ^[a] ahead of the other Israelites until we have brought them to their land. Meanwhile our families will live in walled cities, safe from the other people who live here. ¹⁸ We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has received his own land. ¹⁹ We won’t take possession of any land on the other side of the Jordan River, to the west and beyond. We already have our land here, east of the Jordan.”

²⁰ Moses answered, “Do what you have said. In the Lord’s presence have all your armed men get ready for battle. ²¹ Have them cross the Jordan, and fight until the Lord forces out his enemies ²² and the land is conquered. Then you may come back. You will have fulfilled your military duty to the Lord and Israel. This land will be your own property in the Lord’s presence.

²³ “If you don’t do all these things, you will be sinning against the Lord. You can be sure that you will be punished for your sin. ²⁴ Build cities for your families and stone fences for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”

²⁵ Then the tribes of Gad and Reuben said to Moses, “Sir, we will do as you command. ²⁶ Our children, our wives, our livestock, and all our other animals will stay here in the cities of Gilead. ²⁷ But in the Lord’s presence we will all get ready for battle and go with you, as you have said.”

²⁸ So Moses gave orders about them to the priest Eleazar, Joshua (son of Nun), and the family heads of the tribes of Israel. ²⁹ Moses told them, “If the tribes of Gad and Reuben get ready for battle in the Lord’s presence and cross the Jordan River with you and you conquer the land, give them Gilead as their own property. ³⁰ If they don’t get ready for battle and go with you, the land they will take possession of must be in Canaan with yours.”

³¹ The tribes of Gad and Reuben answered, “Sir, we will do as the Lord has said. ³² We will enter Canaan as armed troops in the Lord’s presence, but the land we will take possession of is here, east of the Jordan.”

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

³⁴ The tribe of Gad rebuilt the cities of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, ³⁵ Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, ³⁶ Beth Nimrah, and Beth Haran as walled cities. They also built stone fences for their flocks.

³⁷ The tribe of Reuben rebuilt the cities of Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, ³⁸ Nebo, Baal Meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. These are the names they gave the cities they rebuilt.

³⁹ The descendants of Machir, son of Manasseh, went to Gilead, captured it, and forced out the Amorites who were there. ⁴⁰ So Moses gave Gilead to the people of Machir (the descendants of Manasseh), and they lived there. ⁴¹ Then Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, captured the settlements in Gilead. He called them Havvoth Jair [Settlements of Jair]. ⁴² Nobah captured Kenath and its villages. He named it Nobah after himself.

A Summary of Israel’s Journeys after Leaving Egypt

33 This is a list of all the places where the Israelites set up camp after they left Egypt in organized groups under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. ² At the Lord’s command Moses wrote down the places where they went as they traveled. This is the list:

³ They moved from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover. The Israelites boldly left in full view of all the Egyptians. ⁴ The Egyptians were burying all their firstborn sons, whom the Lord had killed in a mighty act of judgment on their gods.

⁵ The Israelites moved from Rameses and set up camp at Succoth.

⁶ They moved from Succoth and set up camp at Etham, on the edge of the desert.

⁷ They moved from Etham and turned back to Pi Hahiroth, east of Baal Zephon, and set up camp near Migdol.

⁸ They moved from Pi Hahiroth ^[b] and went through the middle of the sea into the desert. After they traveled for three days in the Desert of Etham, they set up camp at Marah.

⁹ They moved from Marah and came to Elim. Elim had 12 springs and 70 palm trees, so they set up camp there.

¹⁰ They moved from Elim and set up camp by the Red Sea.

¹¹ They moved from the Red Sea and set up camp in the Desert of Sin.

¹² They moved from the Desert of Sin and set up camp at Dophkah.

¹³ They moved from Dophkah and set up camp at Alush.

¹⁴ They moved from Alush and set up camp at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

¹⁵ They moved from Rephidim and set up camp in the Desert of Sinai.

¹⁶ They moved from the Desert of Sinai and set up camp at Kibroth Hattaavah.

¹⁷ They moved from Kibroth Hattaavah and set up camp at Hazeroth.

¹⁸ They moved from Hazeroth and set up camp at Rithmah.

¹⁹ They moved from Rithmah and set up camp at Rimmon Perez.

²⁰ They moved from Rimmon Perez and set up camp at Libnah.

²¹ They moved from Libnah and set up camp at Rissah.

²² They moved from Rissah and set up camp at Kehelathah.

²³ They moved from Kehelathah and set up camp at Mount Shepher.

²⁴ They moved from Mount Shepher and set up camp at Haradah.

²⁵ They moved from Haradah and set up camp at Makheloth.

²⁶ They moved from Makheloth and set up camp at Tahath.

²⁷ They moved from Tahath and set up camp at Terah.

²⁸ They moved from Terah and set up camp at Mithcah.

²⁹ They moved from Mithcah and set up camp at Hashmonah.

³⁰ They moved from Hashmonah and set up camp at Moseroth.

³¹ They moved from Moseroth and set up camp at Bene Jaakan.

³² They moved from Bene Jaakan and set up camp at Hor Haggidgad.

³³ They moved from Hor Haggidgad and set up camp at Jotbathah.

³⁴ They moved from Jotbathah and set up camp at Abronah.

³⁵ They moved from Abronah and set up camp at Ezion Geber.

³⁶ They moved from Ezion Geber and set up camp at Kadesh in the Desert of Zin.

³⁷ They moved from Kadesh and set up camp at Mount Hor on the border of Edom. ³⁸ At the Lord’s command the priest Aaron went up on Mount Hor. He died there on the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year after the Israelites had left Egypt. ³⁹ Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

Jesus Forces an Evil Spirit out of a Man^(A)

³¹ Jesus went to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and taught them on a day of rest—a holy day. ³² The people were amazed at his teachings because he spoke with authority.

³³ In the synagogue was a man possessed by a spirit, an evil demon. He shouted very loudly, ³⁴ “Oh, no! What do you want with us, Jesus from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

³⁵ Jesus ordered the spirit, “Keep quiet, and come out of him!” The demon threw the man down in the middle of the synagogue and came out without hurting him.

³⁶ Everyone was stunned. They said to one another, “What kind of command is this? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits, and they come out.”

³⁷ So news about him spread to every place throughout the surrounding region.

Jesus Cures Simon’s Mother-in-Law and Many Others^(B)

³⁸ Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. They asked Jesus to help her. ³⁹ He bent over her, ordered the fever to leave, and it went away. She got up immediately and prepared a meal for them.

⁴⁰ When the sun was setting, everyone who had friends suffering from various diseases brought them to him. He placed his hands on each of them and cured them. ⁴¹ Demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus ordered them not to speak. After all, they knew he was the Messiah.

Spreading the Good News^(C)

⁴² In the morning he went to a place where he could be alone. The crowds searched for him. When they came to him, they tried to keep him from leaving. ⁴³ But he said to them, “I have to tell the Good News about God’s kingdom in other cities also. That’s what I was sent to do.”

⁴⁴ So he spread his message in the synagogues of Judea.^[a]

Calling of the First Disciples^(D)

5 One day Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee. The people crowded around him as they listened to God’s word. ² Jesus saw two boats on the shore. The fishermen had stepped out of them and were washing their nets. ³ So Jesus got into the boat that belonged to Simon and asked him to push off a little from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowd from the boat.

⁴ When he finished speaking, he told Simon, “Take the boat into deep water, and lower your nets to catch some fish.”

⁵ Simon answered, “Teacher, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll lower the nets.”

⁶ After the men had done this, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to tear. ⁷ So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. Their partners came and filled both boats until the boats nearly sank.

⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he knelt in front of Jesus and said, “Leave me, Lord! I’m a sinful person!” ⁹ Simon and everyone who was with him were amazed to see the large number of fish they had caught. ¹⁰ James and John, who were Zebedee’s sons and Simon’s partners, were also amazed.

Jesus told Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will catch people instead of fish.”

¹¹ Simon and his partners brought the boats to shore, left everything, and followed Jesus.

For the choir director; a psalm by 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.

Passover Offerings

^16 (A)“On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord's Passover, ^17 (B)and on the fifteenth day of this month is a feast. Seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. ^18 (C)On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, ¹⁹ but offer a food offering, a burnt offering to the Lord: two bulls from the herd, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old; ^(D)see that they are without blemish; ²⁰ also their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths of an ephah shall you offer for a bull, and two tenths for a ram; ²¹ a tenth shall you offer for each of the seven lambs; ²² also ^(E)one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you. ²³ You shall offer these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a regular burnt offering. ²⁴ In the same way you shall offer daily, for seven days, the food of a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering. ²⁵ And ^(F)on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work.

Offerings for the Feast of Weeks

²⁶ “On ^(G)the day of the firstfruits, when you offer a grain offering of new grain to the Lord at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, ²⁷ but offer a burnt offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord: ^(H)two bulls from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old; ²⁸ also their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for each bull, two tenths for one ram, ²⁹ a tenth for each of the seven lambs; ³⁰ with ^(I)one male goat, to make atonement for you. ³¹ Besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, you shall offer them and their drink offering. ^(J)See that they are without blemish.

Offerings for the Feast of Trumpets

29 “On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. ^(K)It is a day for you to blow the trumpets, ² and you shall offer a burnt offering, for a pleasing aroma to the Lord: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish; ³ also their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah^[a] for the bull, two tenths for the ram, ⁴ and one tenth for each of the seven lambs; ⁵ with ^(L)one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you; ⁶ besides ^(M)the burnt offering of the new moon, and its grain offering, and ^(N)the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offering, according to the rule for them, for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord.

Offerings for the Day of Atonement

^7 (O)“On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation and ^(P)afflict yourselves.^[b] You shall do no work, ⁸ but you shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old: ^(Q)see that they are without blemish. ⁹ And their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for the bull, two tenths for the one ram, ¹⁰ a tenth for each of the seven lambs: ¹¹ also ^(R)one male goat for a sin offering, besides ^(S)the sin offering of atonement, and the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

Offerings for the Feast of Booths

^12 (T)“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days. ¹³ And ^(U)you shall offer a burnt offering, a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord, thirteen bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old; they shall be without blemish; ¹⁴ and their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two tenths for each of the two rams, ¹⁵ and a tenth for each of the fourteen lambs; ¹⁶ also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.

¹⁷ “On the second day twelve bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ¹⁸ with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, ^(V)in the prescribed quantities; ¹⁹ also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

²⁰ “On the third day eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ²¹ with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities; ²² also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

²³ “On the fourth day ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ²⁴ with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities; ²⁵ also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.

²⁶ “On the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ²⁷ with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities; ²⁸ also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

²⁹ “On the sixth day eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ³⁰ with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities; ³¹ also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offerings.

³² “On the seventh day seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ³³ with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities; ³⁴ also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

^35 (W)“On the eighth day you shall have a ^(X)solemn assembly. You shall not do any ordinary work, ³⁶ but you shall offer a burnt offering, a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish, ³⁷ and the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities; ³⁸ also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

³⁹ “These you shall offer to the Lord at your ^(Y)appointed feasts, in addition to your ^(Z)vow offerings and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your grain offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings.”

^40 [c] So Moses told the people of Israel everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

²³ Jesus, ^(A)when he began his ministry, was about ^(B)thirty years of age, being ^(C)the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, ^(D)the son of Zerubbabel, the son ^(E)of Shealtiel,^[a] the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of ^(F)Nathan, the son of David, ^32 (G)the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ^34 (H)the son of Jacob, ^(I)the son of Isaac, ^(J)the son of Abraham, ^(K)the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

My Soul Waits for God Alone

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

⁵² The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^53 (A)“Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. ^54 (B)To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list. ⁵⁵ But the land shall be ^(C)divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. ⁵⁶ Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller.”

^57 (D)This was the list of the Levites according to their clans: of Gershon, the clan of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the clan of the Kohathites; of Merari, the clan of the Merarites. ⁵⁸ These are the clans of Levi: the clan of the Libnites, the clan of the Hebronites, the clan of the Mahlites, the clan of the Mushites, the clan of the Korahites. And Kohath was the father of Amram. ⁵⁹ The name of Amram's wife was ^(E)Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister. ^60 (F)And to Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ^61 (G)But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord. ⁶² And those listed were ^(H)23,000, every male from a month old and upward. For ^(I)they were not listed among the people of Israel, because ^(J)there was no inheritance given to them among the people of Israel.

⁶³ These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel ^(K)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. ^64 (L)But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. ⁶⁵ For the Lord had said of them, ^(M)“They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, ^(N)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

The Daughters of Zelophehad

27 Then drew near the daughters of ^(O)Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ² And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, ³ “Our father ^(P)died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord ^(Q)in the company of Korah, but ^(R)died for his own sin. And he had no sons. ⁴ Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? ^(S)Give to us a possession among our father's brothers.”

⁵ Moses ^(T)brought their case before the Lord. ⁶ And the Lord said to Moses, ⁷ “The daughters of Zelophehad ^(U)are right. ^(V)You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father's brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them. ⁸ And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. ⁹ And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father's brothers. ¹¹ And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest ^(W)kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel ^(X)a statute and rule, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

Joshua to Succeed Moses

¹² The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into ^(Y)this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. ¹³ When you have seen it, you also ^(Z)shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, ^14 (AA)because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing ^(AB)to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are ^(AC)the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) ¹⁵ Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, ¹⁶ “Let the Lord, ^(AD)the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation ¹⁷ who ^(AE)shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be ^(AF)as sheep that have no shepherd.” ¹⁸ So the Lord said to Moses, “Take ^(AG)Joshua the son of Nun, a man ^(AH)in whom is the Spirit, and ^(AI)lay your hand on him. ¹⁹ Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall ^(AJ)commission him in their sight. ²⁰ You shall invest him with some of your authority, ^(AK)that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. ²¹ And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him ^(AL)by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” ²² And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, ²³ and he laid his hands on him and ^(AM)commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses.

Daily Offerings

28 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the people of Israel and say to them, ‘My offering, ^(AN)my food for my food offerings, my ^(AO)pleasing aroma, you shall be careful to offer to me at its appointed time.’ ^3 (AP)And you shall say to them, This is the food offering that you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs a year old without blemish, day by day, as a regular offering. ⁴ The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; ⁵ also ^(AQ)a tenth of an ephah^[a] of fine flour for ^(AR)a grain offering, mixed ^(AS)with a quarter of a hin^[b] of beaten oil. ⁶ It is a ^(AT)regular burnt offering, which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. ⁷ Its drink offering shall be a quarter of a hin for each lamb. In the Holy Place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the Lord. ⁸ The other lamb you shall offer at twilight. Like the grain offering of the morning, and like its drink offering, you shall offer it as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Sabbath Offerings

⁹ “On the Sabbath day, two male lambs a year old without blemish, and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering: ¹⁰ this is ^(AU)the burnt offering of every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

Monthly Offerings

^11 (AV)“At the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord: two bulls from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish; ¹² also ^(AW)three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for each bull, and two tenths of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram; ¹³ and a tenth of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for every lamb; for a burnt offering with a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, a third of a hin for a ram, and a quarter of a hin for a lamb. This is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year. ¹⁵ Also ^(AX)one male goat for a sin offering to the Lord; it shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of ^(A)Tiberius Caesar, ^(B)Pontius Pilate ^(C)being governor of Judea, and ^(D)Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ² during ^(E)the high priesthood of Annas and ^(F)Caiaphas, ^(G)the word of God came to ^(H)John the son of Zechariah in ^(I)the wilderness. ³ And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming ^(J)a baptism of repentance ^(K)for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴ As it is written in ^(L)the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

⁷ He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ^(T)“You brood of ^(U)vipers! Who warned you to flee from ^(V)the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruits ^(W)in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ^(X)‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from ^(Y)these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ⁹ Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. ^(Z)Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ And the crowds asked him, ^(AA)“What then shall we do?” ¹¹ And he answered them, ^(AB)“Whoever has two tunics^[b] is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” ^12 (AC)Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, ^(AD)what shall we do?” ¹³ And he said to them, ^(AE)“Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” ¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him, “And we, ^(AF)what shall we do?” And he said to them, ^(AG)“Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your ^(AH)wages.”

¹⁵ As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, ^(AI)whether he might be ^(AJ)the Christ, ^16 (AK)John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but ^(AL)he who is mightier than I is coming, ^(AM)the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you ^(AN)with the Holy Spirit and ^(AO)fire. ¹⁷ His ^(AP)winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to ^(AQ)gather the wheat into his barn, ^(AR)but the chaff he will burn with ^(AS)unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ So ^(AT)with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. ¹⁹ But ^(AU)Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, ²⁰ added this to them all, that ^(AV)he locked up John in prison.

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized, and when ^(AW)Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, ^(AX)the heavens were opened, ²² and ^(AY)the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and ^(AZ)a voice came from heaven, ^(BA)“You are my beloved Son;^[c] with you I am well pleased.”^[d]

Lead Me to the Rock

To the choirmaster: with ^(A)stringed instruments. Of David.

Census of the New Generation

26 ^(A)After the plague, the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest, ^2 (B)“Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers' houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war.” ³ And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them ^(C)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ⁴ “Take a census of the people,^[a] from twenty years old and upward,” as the Lord ^(D)commanded Moses. The people of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:

^5 (E)Reuben, the firstborn of Israel; the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the clan of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the clan of the Palluites; ⁶ of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the clan of the Carmites. ⁷ These are the clans of the Reubenites, and those listed were ^(F)43,730. ⁸ And the sons of Pallu: Eliab. ⁹ The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, ^(G)chosen from the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord ¹⁰ and ^(H)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and ^(I)they became a warning. ¹¹ But ^(J)the sons of Korah did not die.

¹² The sons of ^(K)Simeon according to their clans: of Nemuel, the clan of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the clan of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the clan of the Jachinites; ¹³ of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the clan of the Shaulites. ¹⁴ These are the clans of the Simeonites, ^(L)22,200.

¹⁵ The sons of ^(M)Gad according to their clans: of Zephon, the clan of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the clan of the Haggites; of Shuni, the clan of the Shunites; ¹⁶ of Ozni, the clan of the Oznites; of Eri, the clan of the Erites; ¹⁷ of Arod, the clan of the Arodites; of Areli, the clan of the Arelites. ¹⁸ These are the clans of the sons of Gad as they were listed, ^(N)40,500.

¹⁹ The sons of ^(O)Judah were Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ And the sons of Judah according to their clans were: of Shelah, the clan of the Shelanites; of Perez, the clan of the Perezites; of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites. ²¹ And the sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the clan of the Hamulites. ²² These are the clans of Judah as they were listed, ^(P)76,500.

²³ The sons of ^(Q)Issachar according to their clans: of Tola, the clan of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the clan of the Punites; ²⁴ of Jashub, the clan of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the clan of the Shimronites. ²⁵ These are the clans of Issachar as they were listed, ^(R)64,300.

²⁶ The sons of ^(S)Zebulun, according to their clans: of Sered, the clan of the Seredites; of Elon, the clan of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the clan of the Jahleelites. ²⁷ These are the clans of the Zebulunites as they were listed, ^(T)60,500.

²⁸ The sons of ^(U)Joseph according to their clans: Manasseh and Ephraim. ^29 (V)The sons of Manasseh: of ^(W)Machir, the clan of the Machirites; and Machir was the father of Gilead; ^(X)of Gilead, the clan of the Gileadites. ³⁰ These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the clan of the Iezerites; of Helek, the clan of the Helekites; ³¹ and of Asriel, the clan of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the clan of the Shechemites; ³² and of Shemida, the clan of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the clan of the Hepherites. ³³ Now ^(Y)Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters. And the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ³⁴ These are the clans of Manasseh, and those listed were ^(Z)52,700.

³⁵ These are the sons of Ephraim according to their clans: of Shuthelah, the clan of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the clan of the Becherites; of Tahan, the clan of the Tahanites. ³⁶ And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the clan of the Eranites. ³⁷ These are the clans of the sons of Ephraim as they were listed, ^(AA)32,500. These are the sons of Joseph according to their clans.

³⁸ The sons of ^(AB)Benjamin according to their clans: of Bela, the clan of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the clan of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram, the clan of the Ahiramites; ³⁹ of Shephupham, the clan of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the clan of the Huphamites. ⁴⁰ And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the clan of the Ardites; of Naaman, the clan of the Naamites. ⁴¹ These are the sons of Benjamin according to their clans, and those listed were ^(AC)45,600.

⁴² These are the sons of ^(AD)Dan according to their clans: of Shuham, the clan of the Shuhamites. These are the clans of Dan according to their clans. ⁴³ All the clans of the Shuhamites, as they were listed, were ^(AE)64,400.

⁴⁴ The sons of ^(AF)Asher according to their clans: of Imnah, the clan of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the clan of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the clan of the Beriites. ⁴⁵ Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the clan of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the clan of the Malchielites. ⁴⁶ And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. ⁴⁷ These are the clans of the sons of Asher as they were listed, ^(AG)53,400.

⁴⁸ The sons of ^(AH)Naphtali according to their clans: of Jahzeel, the clan of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the clan of the Gunites; ⁴⁹ of Jezer, the clan of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the clan of the Shillemites. ⁵⁰ These are the clans of Naphtali according to their clans, and those listed were ^(AI)45,400.

⁵¹ This was the list of the people of Israel, ^(AJ)601,730.

³⁶ And there was ^(A)a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, ³⁷ and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.^[a] She did not depart from the temple, ^(B)worshiping with ^(C)fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸ And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were ^(D)waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

The Return to Nazareth

³⁹ And when they had performed everything according to ^(E)the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of ^(F)Nazareth. ^40 (G)And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

⁴¹ Now ^(H)his parents went ^(I)to Jerusalem every year at ^(J)the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when he was twelve years old, ^(K)they went up according to custom. ⁴³ And when the feast ^(L)was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. ^(M)His parents did not know it, ⁴⁴ but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, ⁴⁵ and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple, ^(N)sitting among ^(O)the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ And when his parents^[b] saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, ^(P)your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” ⁴⁹ And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that ^(Q)I must be in ^(R)my Father's house?”^{[c] 50} And ^(S)they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. ⁵¹ And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And ^(T)his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

⁵² And Jesus ^(U)increased in wisdom and in stature^[d] and in ^(V)favor with God and man.

He Will Tread Down Our Foes

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Shushan Eduth. A ^(B)Miktam^[a] of David; ^(C)for instruction; when he ^(D)strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

Balaam's Third Oracle

24 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go, as at ^(A)other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. ² And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel ^(B)camping tribe by tribe. And ^(C)the Spirit of God came upon him, ³ and he ^(D)took up his discourse and said,

¹⁰ And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he ^(Q)struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, ^(R)“I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. ¹¹ Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ^(S)‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the Lord has held you back from honor.” ¹² And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, ^13 (T)‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad ^(U)of my own will. What the Lord speaks, that will I speak’? ¹⁴ And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, ^(V)I will let you know what this people will do to your people ^(W)in the latter days.”

Balaam's Final Oracle

^15 (X)And he took up his discourse and said,

²⁰ Then he looked on Amalek and ^(AG)took up his discourse and said,

²¹ And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,

²³ And he took up his discourse and said,

²⁵ Then Balaam rose and ^(AL)went back to his place. And Balak also went his way.

Baal Worship at Peor

25 While Israel lived in ^(AM)Shittim, ^(AN)the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. ^2 (AO)These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³ So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. ⁴ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(AP)“Take all the chiefs of the people and ^(AQ)hang^[d] them in the sun before the Lord, ^(AR)that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” ⁵ And Moses said to ^(AS)the judges of Israel, ^(AT)“Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”

⁶ And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were ^(AU)weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. ^7 (AV)When Phinehas ^(AW)the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand ⁸ and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. ⁹ Nevertheless, ^(AX)those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

The Zeal of Phinehas

¹⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he ^(AY)was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in ^(AZ)my jealousy. ¹² Therefore say, ^(BA)‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, ¹³ and it shall be to him and to ^(BB)his descendants after him the covenant of ^(BC)a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’”

¹⁴ The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father's house belonging to the Simeonites. ¹⁵ And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of ^(BD)Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's house in Midian.

¹⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^17 (BE)“Harass the Midianites and strike them down, ¹⁸ for they have harassed you with their ^(BF)wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of ^(BG)Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.”

The Birth of Jesus Christ

2 In those days ^(A)a decree went out from ^(B)Caesar Augustus that all the world should be ^(C)registered. ² This was the first ^(D)registration when^[a] Quirinius ^(E)was governor of Syria. ³ And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴ And Joseph also went up ^(F)from Galilee, from the town of ^(G)Nazareth, to Judea, to ^(H)the city of David, which is called ^(I)Bethlehem, ^(J)because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,^[b] who was with child. ⁶ And ^(K)while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and ^(L)wrapped him in swaddling cloths and ^(M)laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in ^(N)the inn.^[c]

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord ^(O)appeared to them, and ^(P)the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all ^(Q)the people. ¹¹ For ^(R)unto you is born this day in ^(S)the city of David ^(T)a Savior, who is ^(U)Christ ^(V)the Lord. ¹² And ^(W)this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby ^(X)wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel ^(Y)a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby ^(AE)lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹ But ^(AF)Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, ^(AG)glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

²¹ And ^(AH)at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, ^(AI)he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

²² And ^(AJ)when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem ^(AK)to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in ^(AL)the Law of the Lord, ^(AM)“Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in ^(AN)the Law of the Lord, ^(AO)“a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was ^(AP)righteous and ^(AQ)devout, ^(AR)waiting for ^(AS)the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^(AT)see death before he had seen ^(AU)the Lord's Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when ^(AV)the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and ^(AW)blessed God and said,

³³ And ^(BF)his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed ^(BG)for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign ^(BH)that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Deliver Me from My Enemies

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Do Not Destroy. A ^(B)Miktam^[a] of David, ^(C)when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

²¹ So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

Balaam's Donkey and the Angel

²² But God's anger was kindled because he went, ^(A)and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way ^(B)as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. ²⁴ Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. ²⁵ And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he struck her again. ²⁶ Then the angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. ²⁸ Then the Lord ^(C)opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” ²⁹ And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” ³⁰ And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.”

³¹ Then the Lord ^(D)opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. ³² And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out ^(E)to oppose you because your way is perverse^[a] before me. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.” ³⁴ Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, ^(F)“I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” ³⁵ And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, ^(G)but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, ^(H)on the border formed by the Arnon, at the extremity of the border. ³⁷ And Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to ^(I)honor you?” ³⁸ Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you! Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? ^(J)The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak.” ³⁹ Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰ And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent for Balaam and for the princes who were with him.

⁴¹ And in the morning Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal, and from there he saw a fraction of the people.

Balaam's First Oracle

23 And Balaam said to Balak, ^(K)“Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ² Balak did as Balaam had said. And Balak and Balaam ^(L)offered on each altar a bull and a ram. ³ And Balaam said to Balak, ^(M)“Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the Lord will come ^(N)to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height, ^4 (O)and God met Balaam. And Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” ⁵ And the Lord ^(P)put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” ⁶ And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. ⁷ And Balaam ^(Q)took up his discourse and said,

¹¹ And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? ^(Z)I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” ¹² And he answered and said, ^(AA)“Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

Balaam's Second Oracle

¹³ And Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴ And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, ^(AB)and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ¹⁵ Balaam said to Balak, ^(AC)“Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there.” ¹⁶ And the Lord met Balaam and ^(AD)put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” ¹⁷ And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” ¹⁸ And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

²⁵ And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.” ²⁶ But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ^(AO)‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?” ²⁷ And Balak said to Balaam, ^(AP)“Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” ²⁸ So Balak took Balaam to the top of ^(AQ)Peor, which overlooks ^(AR)the desert.^{[c] 29} And Balaam said to Balak, ^(AS)“Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ^30 (AT)And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸ And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord ^(A)had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹ And ^(B)on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰ but his mother answered, “No; ^(C)he shall be called John.” ⁶¹ And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” ⁶² And ^(D)they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³ And he asked for ^(E)a writing tablet and wrote, ^(F)“His name is John.” And they all wondered. ^64 (G)And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue ^(H)loosed, and he spoke, ^(I)blessing God. ⁶⁵ And ^(J)fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all ^(K)the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶ and all who heard them ^(L)laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For ^(M)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Prophecy

⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah ^(N)was filled with the Holy Spirit and ^(O)prophesied, saying,

^80 (AS)And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was ^(AT)in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

God Who Judges the Earth

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Do Not Destroy. A ^(B)Miktam^[a] of David.