Month: March 2024

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: After you come into the land to which I am bringing you,^{(A) 19} whenever you eat of the bread of the land you shall present a donation to the Lord.^{(B) 20} From your first batch of dough you shall present a loaf as a donation; you shall present it just as you present a donation from the threshing floor.^{(C) 21} Throughout your generations you shall give to the Lord a donation from the first of your batch of dough.

²² “But if you unintentionally fail to observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses^(D)— ²³ everything that the Lord has commanded you by Moses, from the day the Lord gave commandment and thereafter, throughout your generations— ²⁴ then if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge^[a] of the congregation, the whole congregation shall offer one young bull for a burnt offering, a pleasing odor to the Lord, together with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat for a purification offering.^{(E) 25} The priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the Israelites, and they shall be forgiven; it was unintentional, and they have brought their offering, an offering by fire^[b] to the Lord, and their purification offering before the Lord, for their error.^{(F) 26} All the congregation of the Israelites shall be forgiven, as well as the aliens residing among you, because the whole people was involved in the error.

²⁷ “An individual who sins unintentionally shall present a female goat a year old for a purification offering.^{(G) 28} And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the one who commits an error, when it is unintentional, to make atonement for the person, who then shall be forgiven.^{(H) 29} For both the native among the Israelites and the alien residing among you, you shall have the same law for anyone who acts in error.^{(I) 30} But whoever acts high-handedly, whether native-born or an alien, affronts the Lord and shall be cut off from among the people. ³¹ Because of having despised the word of the Lord and broken his commandment, such a person shall be utterly cut off and bear the guilt.”^(J)

Penalty for Violating the Sabbath

³² When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.^{(K) 33} Those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation. ³⁴ They put him in custody because it was not clear what should be done to him.^{(L) 35} Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him outside the camp.”^{(M) 36} The whole congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Fringes on Garments

³⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁸ “Speak to the Israelites, and tell them to make fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their generations and to put a blue cord on the fringe at each corner.^{(N) 39} You have the fringe so that, when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them and not follow the lust of your own heart and your own eyes.^{(O) 40} So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and you shall be holy to your God.^{(P) 41} I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”

Revolt of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram

16 Now Korah son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, along with Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth son^[c] of Reuben, took^{(Q) 2} two hundred fifty Israelite men, leaders of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men, and they confronted Moses.^{(R) 3} They assembled against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! All the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. So why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”^{(S) 4} When Moses heard it, he fell on his face.^{(T) 5} Then he spoke to Korah and all his congregation, saying, “In the morning the Lord will make known who is his and who is holy and who will be allowed to approach him; the one whom he will choose he will allow to approach him.^{(U) 6} Do this: take censers, Korah and all your^[d] congregation, ⁷ and tomorrow put fire in them, and lay incense on them before the Lord, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. You Levites have gone too far!” ⁸ Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you Levites! ⁹ Is it too little for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to allow you to approach him in order to perform the duties of the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the congregation and serve them?^{(V) 10} He has allowed you to approach him, and all your brother Levites with you, yet you seek the priesthood as well! ¹¹ Therefore you and all your congregation have gathered together against the Lord. What is Aaron that you rail against him?”^(W)

¹² Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come! ¹³ Is it too little that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also lord it over us?^{(X) 14} It is clear you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come!”^(Y)

¹⁵ Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, “Pay no attention to their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed any one of them.”^{(Z) 16} And Moses said to Korah, “As for you and all your congregation, be present tomorrow before the Lord, you and they and Aaron,^{(AA) 17} and let each one of you take his censer and put incense on it and each one of you present his censer before the Lord, two hundred fifty censers, you also, and Aaron, each his censer.” ¹⁸ So each man took his censer, and they put fire in the censers and laid incense on them, and they stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ Then Korah assembled the whole congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole congregation.^(AB)

²⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²¹ “Separate yourselves from this congregation, so that I may consume them in a moment.”^{(AC) 22} They fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one person sin and you become angry with the whole congregation?”^(AD)

²³ And the Lord spoke to Moses: ²⁴ “Speak to the congregation, saying: Get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” ²⁵ So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram; the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶ He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Turn away from the tents of these wicked men and touch nothing of theirs, or you will be swept away for all their sins.”^{(AE) 27} So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, together with their wives, their children, and their little ones. ²⁸ And Moses said, “This is how you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works; it has not been of my own accord:^{(AF) 29} If these people die a natural death or if a natural fate comes on them, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord creates something new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up, with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”^(AG)

³¹ As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the ground under them was split apart.^{(AH) 32} The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with their households—everyone who belonged to Korah and all their goods.^{(AI) 33} So they with all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol; the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. ³⁴ All Israel around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “The earth will swallow us, too!” ³⁵ And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred fifty men offering the incense.^(AJ)

^36 [e]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to take the censers out of the blaze, then scatter the fire far and wide. ³⁸ For the censers of these sinners have become holy at the cost of their lives. Make them into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they presented them before the Lord and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the Israelites.”^{(AK) 39} So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers that had been presented by those who were burned, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar— ⁴⁰ a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, shall approach to offer incense before the Lord, so as not to become like Korah and his congregation, just as the Lord had said to him through Moses.^(AL)

Jesus before Pilate

15 As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.^{(A) 2} Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” ³ Then the chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴ Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” ⁵ But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.^(B)

Pilate Hands Jesus Over to Be Crucified

⁶ Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked.^{(C) 7} Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder during the insurrection. ⁸ So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. ⁹ Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead.^{(D) 12} Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do^[a] with the man you call^[b] the King of the Jews?” ¹³ They shouted back, “Crucify him!” ¹⁴ Pilate asked them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” ¹⁵ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them, and after flogging Jesus he handed him over to be crucified.^(E)

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

¹⁶ Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole cohort.^{(F) 17} And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and after twisting some thorns into a crown they put it on him. ¹⁸ And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. ²⁰ After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

²¹ They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.^{(G) 22} Then they brought Jesus^[c] to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). ²³ And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified him and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.^(H)

²⁵ It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” ²⁷ And with him they crucified two rebels, one on his right and one on his left.^{[d] 29} Those who passed by derided^[e] him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days,^{(I) 30} save yourself, and come down from the cross!” ³¹ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.^{(J) 32} Let the Messiah,^[f] the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.^(K)

The Death of Jesus

³³ When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land^[g] until three in the afternoon. ³⁴ At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”^{[h](L) 35} When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” ³⁶ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”^{(M) 37} Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. ³⁸ And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.^{(N) 39} Now when the centurion who stood facing him saw that in this way he^[i] breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”^[j](O)

⁴⁰ There were also women looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome,^{(P) 41} who followed him when he was in Galilee and ministered to him, and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.^(Q)

The Burial of Jesus

⁴² When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,^{(R) 43} Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.^{(S) 44} Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead, and summoning the centurion he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. ⁴⁵ When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph.^{(T) 46} Then Joseph^[k] bought a linen cloth and, taking down the body,^[l] wrapped it in the linen cloth and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. ⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body^[m] was laid.

Psalm 54

Prayer for Vindication

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “David is in hiding among us.”

The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. ² And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!^{(A) 3} Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, “Let us choose a captain and go back to Egypt.”

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the Israelites.^{(B) 6} And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes ⁷ and said to all the congregation of the Israelites, “The land that we went through as spies is an exceedingly good land.^{(C) 8} If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.^{(D) 9} Only, do not rebel against the Lord, and do not fear the people of the land, for they are no more than bread for us; their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”^{(E) 10} But the whole congregation threatened to stone them.

Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites.^{(F) 11} And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?^{(G) 12} I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”^(H)

Moses Intercedes for the People

¹³ But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for in your might you brought up this people from among them,^{(I) 14} and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people, for you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go in front of them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.^{(J) 15} Now if you kill this people as one, then the nations who have heard about you will say, ¹⁶ ‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them that he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’^{(K) 17} And now, therefore, let the power of the Lord be great in the way that you promised when you spoke, saying,

¹⁹ “Forgive the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have pardoned this people, from Egypt even until now.”^(M)

²⁰ Then the Lord said, “I do forgive, just as you have asked;^{(N) 21} nevertheless, as I live and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord,^{(O) 22} none of the people who have seen my glory and the signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and yet have tested me these ten times and have not obeyed my voice ²³ shall see the land that I swore to give to their ancestors; none of those who despised me shall see it. ²⁴ But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me wholeheartedly, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.^{(P) 25} Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”^[a](Q)

An Attempted Invasion Is Repulsed

²⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²⁷ “How long shall this wicked congregation complain against me? I have heard the complaints of the Israelites, which they complain against me.^{(R) 28} Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘I will do to you the very things I heard you say:^{(S) 29} your dead bodies shall fall in this very wilderness, and of all your number included in the census from twenty years old and up who have complained against me,^{(T) 30} not one of you shall come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.^{(U) 31} But your little ones, who you said would become plunder, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have despised.^{(V) 32} But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness.^{(W) 33} And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.^{(X) 34} According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day a year, you shall bear your iniquity, forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’^{(Y) 35} I the Lord have spoken; surely I will do thus to all this wicked congregation gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”^(Z)

³⁶ And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report about the land,^{(AA) 37} the men who brought an unfavorable report about the land died by a plague before the Lord. ³⁸ But Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh alone remained alive, of those men who went to spy out the land.^(AB)

³⁹ When Moses told these words to all the Israelites, the people mourned greatly.^{(AC) 40} They rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, “Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.”^{(AD) 41} But Moses said, “Why do you continue to transgress the command of the Lord? That will not succeed. ⁴² Do not go up, for the Lord is not with you; do not let yourselves be struck down before your enemies.^{(AE) 43} For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will confront you there, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned back from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” ⁴⁴ But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, even though the ark of the covenant of the Lord and Moses had not left the camp.^{(AF) 45} Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them, pursuing them as far as Hormah.^(AG)

Various Offerings

15 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you,^{(AH) 3} and you make an offering by fire^[b] to the Lord from the herd or from the flock—whether a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or at your appointed festivals—to make a pleasing odor for the Lord,^{(AI) 4} then whoever presents such an offering to the Lord shall present also a grain offering, one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour, mixed with one-fourth of a hin of oil.^{(AJ) 5} Moreover, you shall offer one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each lamb.^{(AK) 6} For a ram, you shall offer a grain offering, two-tenths of an ephah of choice flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil,^{(AL) 7} and as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine, a pleasing odor to the Lord. ⁸ When you offer a bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as an offering of well-being to the Lord,^{(AM) 9} then you shall present with the bull a grain offering, three-tenths of an ephah of choice flour, mixed with half a hin of oil,^{(AN) 10} and you shall present as a drink offering half a hin of wine, as an offering by fire,^[c] a pleasing odor to the Lord.

¹¹ “Thus it shall be done for each ox or ram or for each of the male lambs or the kids. ¹² According to the number that you offer, so you shall do with each and every one. ¹³ Every native Israelite shall do these things in this way, in presenting an offering by fire,^[d] a pleasing odor to the Lord. ¹⁴ An alien who lives with you or who takes up permanent residence among you and wishes to offer an offering by fire,^[e] a pleasing odor to the Lord, shall do as you do. ¹⁵ As for the assembly, there shall be for both you and the resident alien a single statute, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you and the alien shall be alike before the Lord.^{(AO) 16} You and the alien who resides with you shall have the same law and the same ordinance.”

Jesus before the Council

⁵³ They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. ⁵⁴ Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest, and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire.^{(A) 55} Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. ⁵⁶ For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. ⁵⁷ Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, ⁵⁸ “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ”^{(B) 59} But even on this point their testimony did not agree. ⁶⁰ Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” ⁶¹ But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah,^[a] the Son of the Blessed One?”^{(C) 62} Jesus said, “I am, and

⁶³ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses?^{(E) 64} You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?” All of them condemned him as deserving death.^{(F) 65} Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him and beat him.^(G)

Peter Denies Jesus

⁶⁶ While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the female servants of the high priest came by.^{(H) 67} When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.”^{(I) 68} But he denied it, saying, “I do not know or understand what you are talking about.” And he went out into the forecourt.^[b] Then the cock crowed.^{[c](J) 69} And the female servant, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” ⁷⁰ But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, and you talk like one.”^{[d](K) 71} But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know this man you are talking about.” ⁷² At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.^(L)

Psalm 53

Denunciation of Godlessness

To the leader: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.

²⁴ So Moses went out and reported the Lord’s words to the people. He gathered the seventy elders and stationed them around the Tabernacle.^{[a] 25} And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again.

²⁶ Two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed behind in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but they had not gone out to the Tabernacle. Yet the Spirit rested upon them as well, so they prophesied there in the camp. ²⁷ A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”

²⁸ Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant since his youth, protested, “Moses, my master, make them stop!”

²⁹ But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them all!” ³⁰ Then Moses returned to the camp with the elders of Israel.

The Lord Sends Quail

³¹ Now the Lord sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp. For miles in every direction there were quail flying about three feet above the ground.^{[b] 32} So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels^[c]! They spread the quail all around the camp to dry. ³³ But while they were gorging themselves on the meat—while it was still in their mouths—the anger of the Lord blazed against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. ³⁴ So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah (which means “graves of gluttony”) because there they buried the people who had craved meat from Egypt. ³⁵ From Kibroth-hattaavah the Israelites traveled to Hazeroth, where they stayed for some time.

The Complaints of Miriam and Aaron

12 While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman. ² They said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he spoken through us, too?” But the Lord heard them. ³ (Now Moses was very humble—more humble than any other person on earth.)

⁴ So immediately the Lord called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, “Go out to the Tabernacle,^[d] all three of you!” So the three of them went to the Tabernacle. ⁵ Then the Lord descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle.^[e] “Aaron and Miriam!” he called, and they stepped forward. ⁶ And the Lord said to them, “Now listen to what I say:

⁹ The Lord was very angry with them, and he departed. ¹⁰ As the cloud moved from above the Tabernacle, there stood Miriam, her skin as white as snow from leprosy.^[f] When Aaron saw what had happened to her, ¹¹ he cried out to Moses, “Oh, my master! Please don’t punish us for this sin we have so foolishly committed. ¹² Don’t let her be like a stillborn baby, already decayed at birth.”

¹³ So Moses cried out to the Lord, “O God, I beg you, please heal her!”

¹⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had done nothing more than spit in her face, wouldn’t she be defiled for seven days? So keep her outside the camp for seven days, and after that she may be accepted back.”

¹⁵ So Miriam was kept outside the camp for seven days, and the people waited until she was brought back before they traveled again. ¹⁶ Then they left Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

Twelve Scouts Explore Canaan

13 The Lord now said to Moses, ² “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” ³ So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran. ⁴ These were the tribes and the names of their leaders:

Tribe	Leader
Reuben	Shammua son of Zaccur
5 Simeon	Shaphat son of Hori
6 Judah	Caleb son of Jephunneh
7 Issachar	Igal son of Joseph
8 Ephraim	Hoshea son of Nun
9 Benjamin	Palti son of Raphu
10 Zebulun	Gaddiel son of Sodi
11 Manasseh son of Joseph	Gaddi son of Susi
12 Dan	Ammiel son of Gemalli
13 Asher	Sethur son of Michael
14 Naphtali	Nahbi son of Vophsi
15 Gad	Geuel son of Maki

¹⁶ These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.)

¹⁷ Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. ¹⁸ See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹ See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? ²⁰ Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)

²¹ So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. ²² Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) ²³ When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.

The Scouting Report

²⁵ After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned ²⁶ to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. ²⁷ This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. ²⁸ But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! ²⁹ The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea^[g] and along the Jordan Valley.”

³⁰ But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”

³¹ But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” ³² So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. ³³ We even saw giants^[h] there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

²² As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.”

²³ And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴ And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant^[a] between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many. ²⁵ I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

²⁶ Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

²⁷ On the way, Jesus told them, “All of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say,

²⁸ But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”

²⁹ Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will.”

³⁰ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

³¹ “No!” Peter declared emphatically. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the others vowed the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

³² They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” ³³ He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. ³⁴ He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

³⁵ He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. ³⁶ “Abba, Father,”^[c] he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

³⁷ Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? ³⁸ Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

³⁹ Then Jesus left them again and prayed the same prayer as before. ⁴⁰ When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. And they didn’t know what to say.

⁴¹ When he returned to them the third time, he said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But no—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”

Jesus Is Betrayed and Arrested

⁴³ And immediately, even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders. ⁴⁴ The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss. Then you can take him away under guard.” ⁴⁵ As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus. “Rabbi!” he exclaimed, and gave him the kiss.

⁴⁶ Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. ⁴⁷ But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear.

⁴⁸ Jesus asked them, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? ⁴⁹ Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there among you teaching every day. But these things are happening to fulfill what the Scriptures say about me.”

⁵⁰ Then all his disciples deserted him and ran away. ⁵¹ One young man following behind was clothed only in a long linen shirt. When the mob tried to grab him, ⁵² he slipped out of his shirt and ran away naked.

Psalm 52

For the choir director: A psalm^[a] of David, regarding the time Doeg the Edomite said to Saul, “David has gone to see Ahimelech.”

Two Silver Trumpets

10 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Make two trumpets of hammered silver to summon the community^(A) and have the camps set out. ³ When both are sounded in long blasts, the entire community is to gather before you at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁴ However, if one is sounded, only the leaders, the heads of Israel’s clans,^(B) are to gather before you.

⁵ “When you sound short blasts, the camps pitched on the east^(C) are to set out. ⁶ When you sound short blasts a second time, the camps pitched on the south^(D) are to set out. Short blasts are to be sounded for them to set out. ⁷ When calling the assembly together, you are to sound long blasts, not short ones. ⁸ The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to sound the trumpets. Your use of these is a permanent statute throughout your generations.

⁹ “When you enter into battle in your land against an adversary who is attacking you, sound short blasts on the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God and be saved from your enemies.^{(E) 10} You are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and your fellowship sacrifices and on your joyous occasions, your appointed festivals, and the beginning of each of your months. They will serve as a reminder for you before your God: I am the Lord your God.”^(F)

From Sinai to Paran

¹¹ During the second year, in the second month on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was lifted up above the tabernacle of the testimony. ¹² The Israelites traveled on from the Wilderness of Sinai, moving from one place to the next^(G) until the cloud stopped in the Wilderness of Paran.^{(H) 13} They set out for the first time according to the Lord’s command through Moses.^(I)

¹⁴ The military divisions of the camp of Judah’s descendants with their banner set out first, and Nahshon son of Amminadab^(J) was over their divisions. ¹⁵ Nethanel son of Zuar^(K) was over the division of the tribe of Issachar’s descendants, ¹⁶ and Eliab son of Helon was over the division of the tribe of Zebulun’s descendants. ¹⁷ The tabernacle was then taken down, and the Gershonites and the Merarites set out, transporting the tabernacle.

¹⁸ The military divisions of the camp of Reuben with their banner set out, and Elizur son of Shedeur was over their divisions. ¹⁹ Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai^(L) was over the division of the tribe of Simeon’s descendants, ²⁰ and Eliasaph son of Deuel^[a] was over the division of the tribe of Gad’s descendants. ²¹ The Kohathites then set out, transporting the holy objects;^(M) the tabernacle was to be set up before their arrival.

²² Next the military divisions of the camp of Ephraim’s descendants with their banner set out, and Elishama son of Ammihud^(N) was over their divisions. ²³ Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of Manasseh’s descendants, ²⁴ and Abidan son of Gideoni was over the division of the tribe of Benjamin’s descendants.

²⁵ The military divisions of the camp of Dan’s descendants with their banner set out, serving as rear guard for all the camps, and Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai^(O) was over their divisions. ²⁶ Pagiel son of Ochran was over the division of the tribe of Asher’s descendants, ²⁷ and Ahira son of Enan was over the division of the tribe of Naphtali’s descendants. ²⁸ This was the order of march for the Israelites by their military divisions as they set out.

²⁹ Moses said to Hobab, descendant of Reuel^(P) the Midianite and Moses’s relative by marriage, “We’re setting out for the place the Lord promised, ‘I will give it to you.’^(Q) Come with us, and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel.”^(R)

³⁰ But he replied to him, “I don’t want to go. Instead, I will go to my own land and my relatives.”

³¹ “Please don’t leave us,” Moses said, “since you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you can serve as our eyes. ³² If you come with us, whatever good the Lord does for us we will do for you.”^(S)

³³ They set out from the mountain of the Lord on a three-day journey with the ark of the Lord’s covenant traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them.^{(T) 34} Meanwhile, the cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.

³⁵ Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say:

³⁶ When it came to rest, he would say:

Complaints about Hardship

11 Now the people began complaining openly before^[b] the Lord about hardship. When the Lord heard, his anger burned,^(W) and fire^(X) from the Lord blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. ² Then the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. ³ So that place was named Taberah,^[c](Y) because the Lord’s fire had blazed among them.

Complaints about Food

⁴ The riffraff^[d] among them^(Z) had a strong craving^(AA) for other food. The Israelites wept again and said, “Who will feed us meat? ⁵ We remember the free fish we ate in Egypt,^(AB) along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. ⁶ But now our appetite is gone;^[e] there’s nothing to look at but this manna!”

⁷ The manna^(AC) resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of bdellium.^{[f] 8} The people walked around and gathered it. They ground it on a pair of grinding stones or crushed it in a mortar, then boiled it in a cooking pot and shaped it into cakes. It tasted like a pastry cooked with the finest oil. ⁹ When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.^(AD)

¹⁰ Moses heard the people, family after family, weeping at the entrance of their tents. The Lord was very angry;^(AE) Moses was also provoked.^{[g] 11} So Moses asked the Lord, “Why have you brought such trouble on your servant? Why are you angry with me,^[h] and why do you burden me with all these people?^{(AF) 12} Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth so you should tell me, ‘Carry them at your breast, as a nursing mother carries a baby,’^(AG) to the land that you swore to give their ancestors?^{(AH) 13} Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they are weeping to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ ¹⁴ I can’t carry all these people by myself. They are too much for me. ¹⁵ If you are going to treat me like this, please kill me right now^(AI) if I have found favor with you, and^(AJ) don’t let me see my misery^[i] anymore.”

Seventy Elders Anointed

¹⁶ The Lord answered Moses, “Bring me seventy men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. ¹⁷ Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put the Spirit on them.^(AK) They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.^(AL)

¹⁸ “Tell the people: Consecrate yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you wept in the Lord’s hearing, ‘Who will feed us meat? We were better off in Egypt.’ The Lord will give you meat and you will eat. ¹⁹ You will eat, not for one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, ²⁰ but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you—because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and wept before him, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” ^(AM)

²¹ But Moses replied, “I’m in the middle of a people with six hundred thousand foot soldiers,^(AN) yet you say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’ ²² If flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?” ^(AO)

²³ The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm weak?^[j](AP) Now you will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

14 It^(A) was two days before the Passover^(B) and the Festival^(C) of Unleavened Bread.^(D) The chief priests and the scribes^(E) were looking for a cunning^(F) way to arrest Jesus and kill him.^{(G) 2} “Not during the festival,” they said, “so that there won’t be a riot among the people.”

The Anointing at Bethany

³ While^(H) he was in Bethany^(I) at the house of Simon the leper,^[a](J) as he was reclining at the table,^(K) a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured it on his head.^{(L) 4} But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this perfume been wasted? ⁵ For this perfume might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii^[b](M) and given to the poor.”^(N) And they began to scold her.

⁶ Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing^(O) for me. ⁷ You always have the poor^(P) with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have me.^{(Q) 8} She has done what she could; she has anointed my body^(R) in advance for burial.^{(S) 9} Truly I tell you,^(T) wherever the gospel^(U) is proclaimed in the whole world,^(V) what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁰ Then^(W) Judas Iscariot,^(X) one of the Twelve,^(Y) went to the chief priests^(Z) to betray Jesus^(AA) to them. ¹¹ And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him money.^(AB) So he started looking for a good opportunity to betray^(AC) him.

Preparation for Passover

¹² On^(AD) the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrifice the Passover lamb,^(AE) his disciples^(AF) asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare the Passover so that you may eat it?”

¹³ So he sent two of his disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴ Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher^(AG) says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ ¹⁵ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.” ¹⁶ So the disciples^(AH) went out, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

Betrayal at the Passover

¹⁷ When^(AI) evening came, he arrived with the Twelve.^{(AJ) 18} While they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

¹⁹ They began to be distressed and to say to him one by one, “Surely not I?”

²⁰ He said to them, “It is one of the Twelve—the one who is dipping bread in the bowl with me. ²¹ For the Son of Man^(AK) will go just as it is written^(AL) about him,^(AM) but woe^(AN) to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.”

Psalm 51

A Prayer for Restoration

For the choir director. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba.^(A)

The Lighting in the Tabernacle

8 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Speak to Aaron and tell him: When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps are to give light in front of the lampstand.” ³ So Aaron did this; he set up its lamps to give light in front of the lampstand just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴ This is the way the lampstand was made: it was a hammered work of gold, hammered from its base to its flower petals. The lampstand was made according to the pattern the Lord had shown Moses.^(A)

Consecration of the Levites

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the Israelites and ceremonially cleanse them. ⁷ Do this to them for their purification: Sprinkle them with the purification water.^(B) Have them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.^(C)

⁸ “They are to take a young bull and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering. ⁹ Bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the entire Israelite community.^{(D) 10} Then present the Levites before the Lord, and have the Israelites lay their hands on them. ¹¹ Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a presentation offering from the Israelites, so that they may perform the Lord’s work.^{(E) 12} Next the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls. Sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.^(F)

¹³ “You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and you are to present them before the Lord as a presentation offering. ¹⁴ In this way you are to separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites so that the Levites will belong to me.^{(G) 15} After that the Levites may come to serve at the tent of meeting, once you have ceremonially cleansed them and presented them as a presentation offering.^{(H) 16} For they have been exclusively assigned to me from the Israelites.^(I) I have taken them for myself in place of all who come first from the womb, every Israelite firstborn.^{(J) 17} For every firstborn among the Israelites is mine, both man and animal. I consecrated them to myself^(K) on the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt. ¹⁸ But I have taken the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites. ¹⁹ From the Israelites, I have given the Levites exclusively to Aaron and his sons to perform the work for the Israelites at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.”^(L)

²⁰ Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community did this to the Levites. The Israelites did everything to them the Lord commanded Moses regarding the Levites. ²¹ The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes; then Aaron presented^[a] them before the Lord as a presentation offering. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them ceremonially. ²² After that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. So they did to them as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites.

²³ The Lord spoke to Moses: ²⁴ “In regard to the Levites: From twenty-five years old or more, a man enters the service in the work at the tent of meeting.^{(M) 25} But at fifty years old he is to retire from his service in the work and no longer serve. ²⁶ He may assist his brothers to fulfill responsibilities^[b] at the tent of meeting,^(N) but he must not do the work. This is how you are to deal with the Levites regarding their duties.”

The Second Passover

9 In the first month of the second year after their departure from the land of Egypt, the Lord told Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai,^{(O) 2} “The Israelites are to observe the Passover at its appointed time.^{(P) 3} You must observe it at its appointed time on the fourteenth day of this month at twilight; you are to observe it according to all its statutes and ordinances.”^{(Q) 4} So Moses told the Israelites to observe the Passover, ⁵ and they observed it in the first month on the fourteenth day at twilight in the Wilderness of Sinai. The Israelites did everything as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁶ But there were some men who were unclean because of a human corpse, so they could not observe the Passover on that day.^(R) These men came before Moses and Aaron the same day ⁷ and said to him, “We are unclean because of a human corpse. Why should we be excluded from presenting the Lord’s offering at its appointed time with the other Israelites?”

⁸ Moses replied to them, “Wait here until I hear what the Lord commands for you.”

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁰ “Tell the Israelites: When any one of you or your descendants is unclean because of a corpse^(S) or is on a distant journey, he may still observe the Passover to the Lord. ¹¹ Such people are to observe it in the second month, on the fourteenth day at twilight. They are to eat the animal with unleavened bread and bitter herbs;^{(T) 12} they may not leave any of it until morning or break any of its bones.^(U) They must observe the Passover according to all its statutes.

¹³ “But the man who is ceremonially clean, is not on a journey, and yet fails to observe the Passover is to be cut off from his people, because he did not present the Lord’s offering at its appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin.

¹⁴ “If an alien resides with you and wants to observe the Passover to the Lord,^(V) he is to do it according to the Passover statute and its ordinances. You are to apply the same statute to both the resident alien and the native of the land.”^(W)

Guidance by the Cloud

¹⁵ On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony,^(X) and it appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning. ¹⁶ It remained that way continuously: the cloud would cover it,^[c] appearing like fire at night.^{(Y) 17} Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped.^{(Z) 18} At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at the Lord’s command they camped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they camped.

¹⁹ Even when the cloud stayed over the tabernacle many days, the Israelites carried out the Lord’s requirement and did not set out. ²⁰ Sometimes the cloud remained over the tabernacle for only a few days. They would camp at the Lord’s command and set out at the Lord’s command. ²¹ Sometimes the cloud remained only from evening until morning; when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out. Or if it remained a day and a night, they moved out when the cloud lifted. ²² Whether it was two days, a month, or longer,^[d] the Israelites camped and did not set out as long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle. But when it was lifted, they set out. ²³ They camped at the Lord’s command, and they set out at the Lord’s command. They carried out the Lord’s requirement according to his command through Moses.

The Great Tribulation

¹⁴ “When you see the abomination of desolation^[a](A) standing where it should not be” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judea^(B) must flee to the mountains. ¹⁵ A man on the housetop must not come down or go in to get anything out of his house,^{(C) 16} and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat.^{(D) 17} Woe ^(E) to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days!

¹⁸ “Pray^(F) it^[b] won’t happen in winter. ¹⁹ For those will be days of tribulation,^(G) the kind that hasn’t been from the beginning^(H) of creation^(I) until now and never will be again. ²⁰ If the Lord^(J) had not cut those days short,^(K) no one would be saved. But he cut those days short for the sake of the elect,^(L) whom he chose.^(M)

²¹ “Then if anyone tells you, ‘See, here is the Messiah!^(N) See, there!’ do not believe it. ²² For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders^(O) to lead astray, if possible, the elect. ²³ And you must watch! I have told you everything in advance.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation:^(P) The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; ²⁵ the stars^(Q) will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.^{(R) 26} Then they will see the Son of Man^(S) coming^(T) in clouds^(U) with great power^(V) and glory.^{(W) 27} He will send out the angels^(X) and gather his elect^(Y) from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.^(Z)

The Parable of the Fig Tree

²⁸ “Learn^(AA) this lesson^(AB) from the fig^(AC) tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.^{(AD) 29} In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognize^[c] that he^[d] is near—at the door.

³⁰ “Truly I tell you,^(AE) this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹ Heaven and earth^(AF) will pass away,^(AG) but my words will never pass away.^(AH)

No One Knows the Day or Hour

³² “Now concerning that day^(AI) or hour no one knows—neither the angels^(AJ) in heaven nor the Son^(AK) —but only the Father.^(AL)

³³ “Watch! Be alert!^[e] For you don’t know when the time^(AM) is coming.^(AN)

³⁴ “It is like^(AO) a man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his servants,^(AP) gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert. ³⁵ Therefore be alert,^(AQ) since you don’t know when the master^(AR) of the house is coming—whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning. ³⁶ Otherwise, when he comes suddenly he might find you sleeping.^{(AS) 37} And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!”

Psalm 50

God as Judge

A psalm of Asaph.^(A)

The Nazirite Vow

6 The Lord instructed Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow,^(A) to consecrate himself to the Lord, ³ he is to abstain from wine and beer.^(B) He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴ He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during the period of his consecration.

⁵ “You must not cut his hair^[a] throughout the time of his vow of consecration. He may be holy until the time is completed during which he consecrates himself to the Lord; he is to let the hair of his head grow long. ⁶ He must not go near a dead body during the time he consecrates himself to the Lord.^{(C) 7} He is not to defile himself for his father or mother, or his brother or sister, when they die, while the mark of consecration to his God is on his head. ⁸ He is holy to the Lord^(D) during the time of consecration.

⁹ “If someone suddenly dies near him, defiling his consecrated head, he must shave his head on the day of his purification; he is to shave it on the seventh day.^{(E) 10} On the eighth day he is to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.^{(F) 11} The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering^(G) to make atonement on behalf of the Nazirite, since he incurred guilt because of the corpse. On that day he is to consecrate his head again.^{(H) 12} He is to rededicate his time of consecration to the Lord and to bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering.^(I) But do not count the initial period of consecration because it became defiled.

¹³ “This is the law of the Nazirite: On the day his time of consecration is completed, he is to be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting.^{(J) 14} He is to present an offering to the Lord^(K) of one unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, one unblemished year-old female lamb as a sin offering, one unblemished ram as a fellowship offering,^{(L) 15} along with their grain offerings and drink offerings,^(M) and a basket of unleavened cakes made from fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil.^(N)

¹⁶ “The priest is to present these before the Lord and sacrifice the Nazirite’s sin offering and burnt offering. ¹⁷ He will also offer the ram as a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread. Then the priest will offer the accompanying grain offering and drink offering.

¹⁸ “The Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the tent of meeting, take the hair from his head, and put it on the fire under the fellowship sacrifice. ¹⁹ The priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them into the hands^(O) of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head. ²⁰ The priest is to present them as a presentation offering before the Lord.^(P) It is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution.^(Q) After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.

²¹ “These are the instructions about the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord for his consecration,^(R) in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes in keeping with the instructions for his consecration.”

The Priestly Blessing

²² The Lord spoke to Moses: ²³ “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. You should say to them,

²⁷ In this way they will pronounce my name over^[c] the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Offerings from the Leaders

7 On the day Moses finished setting up the tabernacle,^(V) he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings, along with the altar and all its utensils. After he anointed and consecrated these things, ² the leaders of Israel, the heads of their ancestral families,^[d] presented an offering. They were the tribal leaders who supervised the registration.^{(W) 3} They brought as their offering before the Lord six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart from every two leaders and an ox from each one, and presented them in front of the tabernacle.

⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ⁵ “Accept these from them to be used in the work of the tent of meeting, and give this offering to the Levites, to each division according to their service.”

⁶ So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ He gave the Gershonites two carts and four oxen corresponding to their service,^{(X) 8} and gave the Merarites four carts and eight oxen corresponding to their service,^(Y) under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. ⁹ But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since their responsibility was service related to the holy objects^(Z) carried on their shoulders.^(AA)

¹⁰ The leaders also presented the dedication gift for the altar when it was anointed.^(AB) The leaders presented their offerings in front of the altar. ¹¹ The Lord told Moses, “Each day have one leader present his offering for the dedication of the altar.”^(AC)

¹² The one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab^(AD) from the tribe of Judah. ¹³ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds^[e] and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds,^[f] measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;^{(AE) 14} one gold bowl weighing four ounces,^[g] full of incense; ¹⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;^{(AF) 16} one male goat for a sin offering;^{(AG) 17} and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice.^(AH) This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.

¹⁸ On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar,^(AI) leader of Issachar, presented an offering. ¹⁹ As his offering, he presented one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁰ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ²¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²² one male goat for a sin offering; ²³ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Nethanel son of Zuar.

²⁴ On the third day Eliab son of Helon,^(AJ) leader of the Zebulunites, presented an offering. ²⁵ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁶ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ²⁷ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²⁸ one male goat for a sin offering; ²⁹ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Eliab son of Helon.

³⁰ On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur,^(AK) leader of the Reubenites, presented an offering. ³¹ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³² one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ³³ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ³⁴ one male goat for a sin offering; ³⁵ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Elizur son of Shedeur.

³⁶ On the fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai,^(AL) leader of the Simeonites, presented an offering. ³⁷ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³⁸ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ³⁹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴¹ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.

⁴² On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel,^[h](AM) leader of the Gadites, presented an offering. ⁴³ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁴⁴ one gold bowl weighing four ounces full of incense; ⁴⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Eliasaph son of Deuel.^[i]

⁴⁸ On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud,^(AN) leader of the Ephraimites, presented an offering. ⁴⁹ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁰ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁵¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵² one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵³ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud.

⁵⁴ On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur,^(AO) leader of the Manassites, presented an offering. ⁵⁵ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁶ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁵⁷ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.

⁶⁰ On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni,^(AP) leader of the Benjaminites, presented an offering. ⁶¹ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶² one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁶³ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁶⁵ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Abidan son of Gideoni.

⁶⁶ On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai,^(AQ) leader of the Danites, presented an offering. ⁶⁷ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶⁸ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁶⁹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷¹ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.

⁷² On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ochran,^(AR) leader of the Asherites, presented an offering. ⁷³ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁷⁴ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁷⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Pagiel son of Ochran.

⁷⁸ On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan,^(AS) leader of the Naphtalites, presented an offering. ⁷⁹ His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁸⁰ one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁸¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁸² one male goat for a sin offering; ⁸³ and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Ahira son of Enan.

⁸⁴ This was the dedication gift from the leaders of Israel for the altar when it was anointed:^(AT) twelve silver dishes, twelve silver basins, and twelve gold bowls. ⁸⁵ Each silver dish weighed 3¼ pounds,^[j] and each basin 1¾ pounds.^[k] The total weight of the silver articles was 60 pounds^[l] measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. ⁸⁶ The twelve gold bowls full of incense each weighed four ounces measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. The total weight of the gold bowls was 3 pounds.^{[m] 87} All the livestock for the burnt offering^(AU) totaled twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve male lambs a year old, with their grain offerings, and twelve male goats for the sin offering.^{(AV) 88} All the livestock for the fellowship sacrifice^(AW) totaled twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty male goats, and sixty male lambs a year old. This was the dedication gift for the altar after it was anointed.

⁸⁹ When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him^(AX) from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim.^(AY) He spoke to him that way.

Warning against the Scribes

³⁸ He^(A) also said in his teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes^(B) and who want greetings in the marketplaces,^{(C) 39} the best seats^(D) in the synagogues,^(E) and the places of honor^(F) at banquets.^{(G) 40} They devour^(H) widows’^(I) houses and say long prayers^(J) just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.”

The Widow’s Gift

⁴¹ Sitting^(K) across from the temple treasury,^(L) he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich^(M) people were putting in large sums. ⁴² Then a poor^(N) widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. ⁴³ Summoning his disciples,^(O) he said to them, “Truly I tell you,^(P) this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.^{(Q) 44} For they all gave out of their surplus,^(R) but she out of her poverty^(S) has put in everything she had^(T) —all she had to live on.”^(U)

Destruction of the Temple Predicted

13 As^(V) he was going out of the temple,^(W) one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher,^(X) look! What massive stones! What impressive buildings!” ^(Y)

² Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings?^(Z) Not one stone will be left upon another—all will be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

³ While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives^(AA) across from the temple,^(AB) Peter,^(AC) James,^(AD) John,^(AE) and Andrew^(AF) asked him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

⁵ Jesus told them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁶ Many will come in my name,^(AG) saying, ‘I am he,’^(AH) and they will deceive^(AI) many. ⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars,^(AJ) don’t be alarmed;^(AK) these things must take place,^(AL) but it is not yet the end. ⁸ For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.^(AM) There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines.^[a] These are the beginning^(AN) of birth pains.^(AO)

Persecutions Predicted

⁹ “But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to local courts,^[b](AP) and you will be flogged^(AQ) in the synagogues.^(AR) You will stand before governors and kings^(AS) because of me,^(AT) as a witness^(AU) to them.^{(AV) 10} And it is necessary that the gospel^(AW) be preached to all nations. ¹¹ So when they arrest you and hand you over, don’t worry beforehand what you will say, but say whatever is given to you at that time, for it isn’t you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

¹² “Brother will betray^(AX) brother to death,^(AY) and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. ¹³ You will be hated by everyone because of my name,^(AZ) but the one who endures to the end will be saved.^(BA)

Psalm 49

Misplaced Trust in Wealth

For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

Duties of the Kohathites

4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ² “Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites^(A) by their clans and their ancestral families,^{[a] 3} men from thirty years old to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified^[b] to do work at the tent of meeting.

⁴ “The service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting concerns the most holy objects.^{(B) 5} Whenever the camp is about to move on, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the screening curtain, and cover the ark of the testimony with it.^{(C) 6} They are to place over this a covering made of fine leather,^[c](D) spread a solid blue cloth on top, and insert its poles.^(E)

⁷ “They are to spread a blue cloth over the table of the Presence and place the plates and cups on it, as well as the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to be on it.^{(F) 8} They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with a covering made of fine leather, and insert the poles in the table.^(G)

⁹ “They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand^(H) used for light, with its lamps, snuffers, and firepans,^(I) as well as its jars of oil by which they service it. ¹⁰ Then they are to place it with all its utensils inside a covering made of fine leather and put them on the carrying frame.

¹¹ “They are to spread a blue cloth over the gold altar,^(J) cover it with a covering made of fine leather, and insert its poles.^{(K) 12} They are to take all the serving utensils they use in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering made of fine leather, and put them on a carrying frame.

¹³ “They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it, ¹⁴ and place all the equipment on it that they use in serving: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and basins—all the equipment of the altar.^(L) They are to spread a covering made of fine leather over it and insert its poles.^[d](M)

¹⁵ “Aaron and his sons are to finish covering the holy objects and all their equipment whenever the camp is to move on. The Kohathites will come and carry them, but they are not to touch the holy objects or they will die.^(N) These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the tent of meeting.

¹⁶ “Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has oversight of the lamp oil,^(O) the fragrant incense,^(P) the daily grain offering,^(Q) and the anointing oil.^(R) He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, the holy objects and their utensils.”^[e]

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ¹⁸ “Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites. ¹⁹ Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects:^(S) Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty. ²⁰ The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects as they are covered^[f] or they will die.”

Duties of the Gershonites

²¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ²² “Take a census of the Gershonites^(T) also, by their ancestral families and their clans. ²³ Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting. ²⁴ This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties: ²⁵ They are to transport the tabernacle curtains,^(U) the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering made of fine leather on top of it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, ²⁶ the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. They will carry out everything that needs to be done with these items.

²⁷ “All the service of the Gershonites, all their transportation duties and all their other work, is to be done at the command of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry. ²⁸ This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting, and their duties will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.^(V)

Duties of the Merarites

²⁹ “As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans^(W) and their ancestral families. ³⁰ Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting. ³¹ This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, pillars, and bases, ³² the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and all the work related to them. You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry. ³³ This is the service of the Merarite clans regarding all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”

Census of the Levites

³⁴ So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families, ³⁵ men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. ³⁶ The men registered by their clans numbered 2,750. ³⁷ These were the registered men of the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.

³⁸ The Gershonites were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, ³⁹ men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. ⁴⁰ The men registered by their clans and their ancestral families numbered 2,630. ⁴¹ These were the registered men of the Gershonite clans. At the Lord’s command Moses and Aaron registered everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting.

⁴² The men of the Merarite clans were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, ⁴³ those from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. ⁴⁴ The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200. ⁴⁵ These were the registered men of the Merarite clans; Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.

⁴⁶ Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral families, ⁴⁷ from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it. ⁴⁸ Their registered men numbered 8,580. ⁴⁹ At the Lord’s command they were registered under the direction of Moses, each one according to his work and transportation duty, and his assignment was as the Lord commanded Moses.

Isolation of the Unclean

5 The Lord instructed Moses, ² “Command the Israelites to send away anyone from the camp who is afflicted with a skin disease,^(X) anyone who has a discharge,^(Y) or anyone who is defiled because of a corpse.^{(Z) 3} Send away both male or female; send them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps where I dwell among them.” ⁴ The Israelites did this, sending them outside the camp. The Israelites did as the Lord instructed Moses.

Compensation for Wrongdoing

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ “Tell the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any sin against another, that person acts unfaithfully toward the Lord^(AA) and is guilty.^{(AB) 7} The person is to confess^(AC) the sin he has committed. He is to pay full compensation, add a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the individual he has wronged.^{(AD) 8} But if that individual has no relative^(AE) to receive compensation, the compensation goes to the Lord for the priest, along with the atonement ram by which the priest will make atonement for the guilty person.^{(AF) 9} Every holy contribution the Israelites present to the priest will be his.^{(AG) 10} Each one’s holy contribution is his to give; what each one gives to the priest will be his.”

The Jealousy Ritual

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: If any man’s wife goes astray, is unfaithful to him, ¹³ and sleeps with another,^[g] but it is concealed from her husband, and she is undetected, even though she has defiled herself, since there is no witness against her, and she wasn’t caught in the act; ¹⁴ and if a feeling of jealousy^(AH) comes over the husband and he becomes jealous because of his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he becomes jealous of her though she has not defiled herself— ¹⁵ then the man is to bring his wife to the priest. He is also to bring an offering for her of two quarts^[h] of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering for remembrance to draw attention to guilt.

¹⁶ “The priest is to bring her forward and have her stand before the Lord. ¹⁷ Then the priest is to take holy water in a clay bowl, take some of the dust from the tabernacle floor, and put it in the water. ¹⁸ After the priest has the woman stand before the Lord, he is to let down her hair^[i] and place in her hands the grain offering for remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹ The priest will require the woman to take an oath and will say to her, ‘If no man has slept with you, if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, be unaffected by this bitter water that brings a curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has slept with you’— ²¹ at this point the priest will make the woman take the oath with the sworn curse, and he is to say to her—‘May the Lord make you into an object of your people’s cursing and swearing when he makes your womb^[j] shrivel and your belly swell. ²² May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach, causing your belly to swell and your womb to shrivel.’

“And the woman will reply, ‘Amen, Amen.’

²³ “Then the priest is to write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. ²⁴ He will require the woman to drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her to cause bitter suffering. ²⁵ The priest is to take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman, present the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar. ²⁶ The priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion^(AI) and burn it on the altar. Afterward, he will require the woman to drink the water.

²⁷ “When he makes her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her to cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, and her womb will shrivel. She will become a curse among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she will be unaffected and will be able to conceive children.

²⁹ “This is the law regarding jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, ³⁰ or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he becomes jealous of his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest will carry out all these instructions for her. ³¹ The husband will be free of guilt, but that woman will bear her iniquity.”

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

¹⁸ Sadducees,^(A) who say there is no resurrection,^(B) came to him and questioned him: ¹⁹ “Teacher,^(C) Moses^(D) wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife behind but no child,^(E) that man should take the wife^(F) and raise up offspring for his brother.^{[a](G) 20} There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring. ²¹ The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. ²² None of the seven^[b] left offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. ²³ In the resurrection, when they rise,^[c] whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?”

²⁴ Jesus spoke to them, “Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scriptures^(H) or the power^(I) of God?^{(J) 25} For when they rise^(K) from the dead,^(L) they neither marry nor are given in marriage^(M) but are like angels^(N) in heaven. ²⁶ And as for the dead being raised—haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to him: I^(O) am the God of Abraham^(P) and the God of Isaac^(Q) and the God of Jacob?^{[d](R) 27} He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken.”

The Primary Commands

²⁸ One^(S) of the scribes^(T) approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important^[e] is Listen, Israel! The Lord^(U) our God, the Lord^(V) is one.^{[f] 30} Love^(W) the Lord your God^(X) with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,^(Y) and with all your strength.^{[g][h](Z) 31} The second is, Love your neighbor^(AA) as yourself.^[i](AB) There is no other command^(AC) greater than these.”

³² Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one^(AD) else except him.^{(AE) 33} And to love^(AF) him with all your heart, with all your understanding,^[j] and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”^(AG)

³⁴ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”^(AH) And no one dared^(AI) to question him any longer.

The Question about the Messiah

³⁵ While^(AJ) Jesus was teaching in the temple, he asked,^(AK) “How can the scribes^(AL) say that the Messiah^(AM) is the son of David?^{(AN) 36} David^(AO) himself says by the Holy Spirit: ^(AP)

³⁷ David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How, then, can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

Psalm 48

Zion Exalted

A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

Organization of the Camps

2 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ² “The Israelites are to camp under their respective banners beside the flags of their ancestral families.^[a] They are to camp around the tent of meeting at a distance from it:

³ Judah’s military divisions^(A) will camp on the east side toward the sunrise under their banner. The leader of the descendants of Judah is Nahshon^(B) son of Amminadab. ⁴ His military division numbers 74,600. ⁵ The tribe of Issachar will camp next to it. The leader of the Issacharites is Nethanel son of Zuar. ⁶ His military division numbers 54,400. ⁷ The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the Zebulunites is Eliab son of Helon. ⁸ His military division numbers 57,400. ⁹ The total number in their military divisions who belong to Judah’s encampment is 186,400; they will move out first.

¹⁰ Reuben’s military divisions will camp on the south side under their banner. The leader of the Reubenites is Elizur son of Shedeur. ¹¹ His military division numbers 46,500. ¹² The tribe of Simeon will camp next to it. The leader of the Simeonites is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. ¹³ His military division numbers 59,300. ¹⁴ The tribe of Gad will be next. The leader of the Gadites is Eliasaph son of Deuel.^{[b] 15} His military division numbers 45,650. ¹⁶ The total number in their military divisions who belong to Reuben’s encampment is 151,450; they will move out second.

¹⁷ The tent of meeting is to move out with the Levites’ camp, which is in the middle of the camps. They are to move out just as they camp, each in his place,^[c] with their banners.

¹⁸ Ephraim’s military divisions will camp on the west side under their banner. The leader of the Ephraimites is Elishama son of Ammihud. ¹⁹ His military division numbers 40,500. ²⁰ The tribe of Manasseh will be next to it. The leader of the Manassites is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. ²¹ His military division numbers 32,200. ²² The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the Benjaminites is Abidan son of Gideoni. ²³ His military division numbers 35,400. ²⁴ The total in their military divisions who belong to Ephraim’s encampment number 108,100; they will move out third.

²⁵ Dan’s military divisions will camp on the north side under their banner. The leader of the Danites is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶ His military division numbers 62,700. ²⁷ The tribe of Asher will camp next to it. The leader of the Asherites is Pagiel son of Ochran. ²⁸ His military division numbers 41,500. ²⁹ The tribe of Naphtali will be next. The leader of the Naphtalites is Ahira son of Enan. ³⁰ His military division numbers 53,400. ³¹ The total number who belong to Dan’s encampment is 157,600; they are to move out last, with their banners.”

³² These are the Israelites registered by their ancestral families. The total number in the camps by their military divisions is 603,550. ³³ But the Levites were not registered among the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.^(C)

³⁴ The Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; they camped by their banners in this way and moved out the same way, each man by his clan and by his ancestral family.^[d](D)

Aaron’s Sons and the Levites

3 These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.^{(E) 2} These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. ⁴ But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they presented unauthorized fire^(F) before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.^(G)

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him. ⁷ They are to perform duties for^[e] him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁸ They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting^(H) and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁹ Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him^[f] from the Israelites.^{(I) 10} You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”^(J)

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹² “See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb.^(K) The Levites belong to me, ¹³ because every firstborn belongs to me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt,^(L) I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to myself, both man and animal. They are mine; I am the Lord.”^(M)

The Levitical Census

¹⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: ¹⁵ “Register the Levites by their ancestral families^[g] and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.” ¹⁶ So Moses registered them in obedience to the Lord as he had been commanded:

¹⁷ These were Levi’s sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸ These were the names of Gershon’s sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹ Kohath’s sons by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰ Merari’s sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral families.^(N)

²¹ The Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan came from Gershon; these were the Gershonite clans. ²² Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 7,500. ²³ The Gershonite clans camped behind the tabernacle on the west side,^{(O) 24} and the leader of the Gershonite families^[h] was Eliasaph son of Lael. ²⁵ The Gershonites’ duties^(P) at the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting,^{(Q) 26} the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance^(R) to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the tent ropes—all the work relating to these.

²⁷ The Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan came from Kohath; these were the Kohathites. ²⁸ Counting every male one month old or more, there were 8,600^[i] responsible for the duties of^[j] the sanctuary. ²⁹ The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle,^{(S) 30} and the leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. ³¹ Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen^[k](T)—and all the work relating to them.^{(U) 32} The chief of the Levite leaders was Eleazar^(V) son of Aaron the priest; he had oversight of those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.

³³ The Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan came from Merari; these were the Merarite clans. ³⁴ Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 6,200. ³⁵ The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they camped on the north side of the tabernacle.^{(W) 36} The assigned duties of Merari’s descendants involved the tabernacle’s supports, crossbars, pillars, bases, all its equipment, and all the work related to these,^{(X) 37} in addition to the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.

³⁸ Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of^[l] the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites, camped in front of the tabernacle on the east,^(Y) in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise. Any unauthorized person who came near it was to be put to death.^(Z)

³⁹ The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron^[m] registered by their clans at the Lord’s command was 22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

⁴⁰ The Lord told Moses, “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites^(AA) one month old or more, and list their names. ⁴¹ You are to take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites’ cattle.” ⁴² So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³ The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273.

⁴⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses again: ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to me; I am the Lord.^{(AB) 46} As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, ⁴⁷ collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel—twenty gerahs to the shekel.^{[n](AC) 48} Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.”

⁴⁹ So Moses collected the redemption amount from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰ He collected the silver from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 shekels^[o] measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. ⁵¹ He gave the redemption silver to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

²⁷ They^(A) came again to Jerusalem.^(B) As he was walking in the temple,^(C) the chief priests, the scribes,^(D) and the elders^(E) came ²⁸ and asked him, “By what authority^(F) are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things?”

²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question;^(G) then answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Was John’s baptism^(H) from heaven or of human origin? Answer me.”

³¹ They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe^(I) him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘Of human origin’”—they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was truly a prophet.^{(J) 33} So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

12 He^(K) began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard,^(L) put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. ² At harvest time he sent^(M) a servant^(N) to the farmers to collect some of the fruit^(O) of the vineyard from them. ³ But they took him, beat^(P) him, and sent him away empty-handed.^{(Q) 4} Again he sent another servant to them, and they^[a] hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.^{[b] 5} Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed. ⁶ He still had one to send, a beloved^(R) son. Finally^(S) he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What then will the owner^[c](T) of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Haven’t you read this Scripture:^(U)

¹² They were looking for a way to arrest him but feared the crowd because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. So they left him and went away.

God and Caesar

¹³ Then^(Y) they sent some of the Pharisees^(Z) and the Herodians^(AA) to Jesus to trap him in his words.^{(AB) 14} When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality^(AC) but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes^(AD) to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

¹⁵ But knowing their hypocrisy,^(AE) he said to them, “Why are you testing^(AF) me? Bring me a denarius^[e](AG) to look at.” ¹⁶ They brought a coin. “Whose image^(AH) and inscription^(AI) is this?” he asked them.

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

¹⁷ Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”^(AJ) And they were utterly amazed^(AK) at him.

Psalm 47

God Our King

For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.