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Encampment Orders
2 Later, the Lord told Moses and Aaron, 2 “Every single Israeli[a] is to encamp beneath his standard with the emblem of his ancestral house. The Israelis are to encamp in front of and surrounding the Tent of Meeting.”
Eastern Encampment Order
3 “The encampment of Judah is to settle east toward the sunrise[b] under their standard. The leader of Judah is to be Amminadab’s son Nahshon. 4 Those in his division number 74,600.[c]
5 “The tribe of Issachar is to encamp beside Judah.[d] The leader of Issachar is to be Zuar’s son Nethanel. 6 Those in his division number 54,400.[e]
7 “Next is to be[f] the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of Zebulun is to be Helon’s son Eliab. 8 Those in his division number 57,400. 9 All those numbered by division in the camp of Judah total 186,400. They are to be the first to travel.”
Southern Encampment Order
10 “Toward the south is to be the division of the camp of Reuben under their standard. The leader of Reuben is to be Shedeur’s son Elizur. 11 Those in his division number 46,500.
12 “The tribe of Simeon is to camp beside Reuben.[g] The leader of Simeon is to be Zurishaddai’s son Shelumiel. 13 Those in his division number 59,300.
14 “Next is to be[h] the tribe of Gad. The leader of Gad is to be Deuel’s son Eliasaph. 15 Those in his division number 45,650. 16 All those numbered by division in the camp of Reuben total 151,450. They are to be the second to travel.”
Tribe at the Center
17 “Then the Tent of Meeting is to travel with the camp of the descendants of Levi in the middle of the camps. They are to travel just as they have camped, each as designated[i] under his standard.”
Western Encampment Order
18 “Toward the west[j] is to be the division of the camp of Ephraim under their standard. The leader of Ephraim is to be Ammihud’s son Elishama. 19 Those in his division number 40,500.
20 “The tribe of Manasseh is to encamp beside them.[k] The leader of Manasseh is to be Pedahzur’s son Gamaliel. 21 Those in his division number 32,200.
22 “Next is to be[l] the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of Benjamin is to be Gideoni’s son Abidan. 23 Those in his division number 35,400. 24 All those numbered by division in the camp Ephraim total 108,100. They are to be the third to travel.”
Northern Encampment Order
25 “Toward the north is to be the division of the camp of Dan under their standard. The leader of Dan is to be Ammishaddai’s son Ahiezer. 26 Those in his division number 62,700.
27 “The tribe of Asher is to encamp beside them.[m] The leader of Asher is to be Ochran’s son Pagiel. 28 Those in his division number 41,500.
29 “Next is to be[n] the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of Naphtali is to be Enan’s son Ahira. 30 Those in his division number 53,400. 31 All those numbered by division in the camp of Dan total 157,600. They are to be the last to travel under their standards.”
Summary of the Encampment
32 Here is a summary of the census of the Israelis according to the tribes of their ancestral houses: All the divisions in the camps numbered 603,550, 33 but the descendants of Levi were not numbered along with the other Israelis, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 34 So the Israelis did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses; that is, they encamped under their standard as each person traveled with his own tribe and ancestral house.
Aaron’s Descendants(A)
3 This is a record of the genealogies[o] of Aaron and Moses current as of[p] the day on which the Lord addressed Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 The[q] sons of Aaron were Nadab the first-born, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar 3 who[r] were anointed priests and whom he consecrated[s] as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they offered unauthorized[t] fire before him[u] in the Sinai wilderness. Since they didn’t have their own children, Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests under the authority of[v] Aaron their father.
Appointment of the Descendants of Levi as Priests
5 The Lord told Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to Aaron the priest so they may serve him. 7 They are to take care of his needs and the needs of the whole congregation at the Tent of Meeting by performing duties[w] at the tent. 8 They are to take charge of the utensils at the Tent of Meeting and meet the needs of the Israelis by performing duties on behalf of the tent. 9 Assign[x] the descendants of Levi to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelis. 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons so that they are to take responsibility for their priesthood. Any unauthorized[y] person who approaches it is to be put to death.”
The Descendants of Levi as Substitutes for the First-born
11 Later, the Lord told Moses, 12 “I’m taking the descendants of Levi for myself from among the Israelis in place of every first-born who opens the womb.[z] The descendants of Levi belong to me 13 because all the first-born belong to me. When[aa] I destroyed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated all the first-born in Israel for myself—from human beings to livestock. They belong to me, since[ab] I am the Lord.”
Numbering the Descendants of Levi
14 The Lord also told Moses in the Sinai wilderness, 15 “Number the descendants of Levi according to their ancestral houses and tribes, numbering every male from a month old and above.”
16 So Moses numbered them according to the instruction[ac] of the Lord, as he had been commanded. 17 These are Levi’s descendants by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 These are names of Gershon’s descendants according to their families: Libni and Shimei. 19 These are the names of Kohath’s descendants according to their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 Merari’s descendants according to their families were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the descendants of Levi according to their ancestral house.
The Descendants of Gershon
21 The families of Libni and Shimei were descendants of Gershon. As families of the descendants of Gershon, 22 all the males a month old and above numbered 7,500. 23 The families of the descendants of Gershon encamped behind the tent toward the west.[ad] 24 The leader of the tribe and family of Gershon was Lael’s son Eliasaph. 25 The duties of the descendants of Gershon at the Tent of Meeting pertained to the tent, the tent covering, the curtain[ae] to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 26 the hangings at the courtyard, the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard that surrounded the tent, the altar, and all of the tent cords in use.
The Descendants of Kohath and Their Duties
27 The families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel were descendants of Kohath. As families of the descendants of Kohath, 28 all the males a month old and above numbered 8,600.[af] They were tasked to the care of the sanctuary. 29 The descendants of Kohath encamped beside the tent toward the south. 30 The leader of the tribe and family of Kohath was Uzziel’s son Elizaphan. 31 Their duties pertained to the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, and all the curtains in use. 32 The chief of all the leaders of the descendants of Levi was Aaron the priest’s son Eleazar. He was assigned to oversee those who were in charge of the services of the sanctuary.
The Descendants of Merari and Their Duties
33 The families of Mahli and Mushi were descendants of Merari. As families of Merari, 34 all the males a month old and above numbered 6,200. 35 The leader of the tribe and family of Merari was Abihail’s son Zuriel. The descendants of Merari encamped beside the tent toward the north. 36 The duties of the caretakers from the descendants of Merari included the boards of the tent, its bars, crossbars, sockets, all its utensils for their services, 37 the pillars around the courtyard, their sockets, pegs, and tent cords.
The Encampment of Moses and Aaron
38 In front of the tent and east of the Tent of Meeting, Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s[ag] sons encamped facing the east. They were tasked to perform the duties of the sanctuary and care for the needs of the Israelis. Any unauthorized[ah] person who approached was to be executed. 39 As the Lord had instructed, everyone counted by Moses and Aaron from the descendants of Levi, according to their tribe, all males from a month old and above numbered 22,000.
Numbering Israel’s First-born
40 Later the Lord instructed Moses: “Number all the first-born males of Israel from a month old and above and list their names. 41 Separate[ai] the descendants of Levi for me—since[aj] I am the Lord—in place of all the first-born sons of Israel. Also separate[ak] the livestock of the descendants of Levi in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of Israel.” 42 So Moses numbered all the firstborn from the sons of Israel just as the Lord commanded him. 43 All the first-born males according to the list of their names from a month old and above numbered 22,273.
Creation of the Levite Ministry
44 Then the Lord told Moses, 45 “Separate the descendants of Levi in place of all the firstborn sons of Israel and the livestock of the descendants of Levi in place of their livestock. The descendants of Levi belong to me, since[al] I am the Lord. 46 You are to pay a ransom for the 273 first-born Israelis who exceed the census number of the descendants of Levi, 47 so collect five shekels for each individual,[am] denominated in shekels of the sanctuary, that is, the shekel that weighs 20 gerahs.[an] 48 Then give the money meant for ransom of their excess to Aaron and his sons.”
49 So Moses took the ransom money to account for the difference in the total number[ao] of those redeemed by the descendants of Levi. 50 From the firstborn of the Israelis, Moses took money amounting to 1,365 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 Moses gave the ransom money to Aaron and his sons according to the Lord’s instructions, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Jesus’ Authority is Challenged(A)
27 Then they went into Jerusalem again. While Jesus[a] was walking in the Temple, the high priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him 28 and asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority to do them?”
29 Jesus told them, “I’ll ask you one question.[b] Answer me, and then I’ll tell you by what authority I’m doing these things. 30 Was John’s authority to baptize[c] from heaven or from humans? Answer me.”
31 They began discussing this among themselves. “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he’ll say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From humans’…?” They were afraid of the crowd, because everyone really thought John was a prophet.
33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I’m doing these things.”
The Parable about the Tenant Farmers(B)
12 Then Jesus[d] began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went abroad. 2 At the right time, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect from them a share of the produce from the vineyard. 3 But the farmers[e] grabbed the servant,[f] beat him, and sent him back empty-handed. 4 Again, the man[g] sent another servant to them. They beat the servant[h] over the head and treated him shamefully. 5 Then the man[i] sent another, and that one they killed. So it was with many other servants.[j] Some of these they beat, and others they killed. 6 He still had one more person to send,[k] a son whom he loved. Finally, he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those farmers told one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So they grabbed him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, execute the farmers, and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you ever read this Scripture:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[l]
11 This was the Lord’s[m] doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?”[n]
12 They were trying to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. Realizing that he had spoken this parable against them, they left him alone and went away.
A Question about Paying Taxes(C)
13 Then they sent some Pharisees and some Herodians[o] to him, intending to trap him in what he said. 14 They came and told him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere. You don’t favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance. Instead, you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or shouldn’t we?”
15 Seeing through their hypocrisy, Jesus[p] replied to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”
16 So they brought one. Then he asked them, “Whose face and name are on this?”
They told him, “Caesar’s.”
17 So Jesus told them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.
To the Director: A song by the Sons of Korah.
The Ruler over the Nations
47 Clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with a loud cry of joy!
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our inheritance for us,
even the pride of Jacob whom he loved.
5 God has ascended on high with a shout,
the Lord has ascended[a] with the blast of a trumpet.
6 Sing songs to God!
Sing songs!
Sing songs to our King!
Sing songs!
7 Indeed, God is king over all the earth;
sing a song of praise.
8 God is king over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles among the nations
have joined the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
24 What the wicked fears will come about,
but the longing of the righteous will be granted.
25 When the storm ends, the wicked vanish,[a]
but the righteous person is forever firm.
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