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Grumbling and Plague
41 But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel (A)grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the people of Yahweh.” 42 It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and (B)the glory of Yahweh appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “[a](C)Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and (D)make atonement for them, for (E)wrath has gone forth from Yahweh, the plague has begun!” 47 Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. (F)So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. 49 (G)But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who (H)died on account of Korah. 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.
Aaron’s Rod Buds
17 [b]Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and get from them a rod for each father’s household: twelve rods from all their leaders according to their fathers’ households. You shall write each name on his rod, 3 and write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi; for there is one rod for the head of each of their fathers’ households. 4 You shall then deposit them in the tent of meeting in front of (I)the testimony, where I meet with you. 5 And it will come about that the rod of (J)the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I will rid Myself of the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.” 6 Moses therefore spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ households, twelve rods, with the rod of Aaron among their rods. 7 So Moses deposited the rods before Yahweh in (K)the tent of the testimony.
8 Now it happened on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, (L)the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced flowers, and it bore ripe almonds. 9 Moses then brought out all the rods from the presence of Yahweh to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod. 10 But Yahweh said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron (M)before the testimony [c]to be kept as a sign against the [d](N)rebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die.” 11 Thus Moses did; just as Yahweh had commanded him, so he did.
12 Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “(O)Behold, we are breathing our last breath, we are perishing, we are all perishing! 13 (P)Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of Yahweh, must die. Are we to breathe our utter last?”
Responsibilities of the Levites
18 So Yahweh said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s household with you shall (Q)bear the guilt [e]in connection with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the guilt [f]in connection with your priesthood. 2 But bring near with you also your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be (R)joined with you and minister to you, while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 3 And they shall thus keep your responsibility and the responsibility of all the tent, but (S)they shall not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary and (T)the altar, so that neither they nor you will die. 4 And they shall be joined with you and keep the responsibility of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; but [g]an outsider may not come near you. 5 So you shall keep the (U)responsibility of the sanctuary and the responsibility of the altar, (V)so that there will no longer be wrath on the sons of Israel. 6 And behold, I Myself (W)have taken your brothers the Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are (X)a gift to you, given to Yahweh, to perform the service for the tent of meeting. 7 But you and your sons with you shall (Y)keep your priesthood in everything that concerns the altar and inside the veil, and you are to perform service. I am giving you the priesthood as (Z)a [h]bestowed service, but (AA)the [i]outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
The Priests’ Portion
8 Then Yahweh spoke to Aaron, “Now behold, I Myself have given you the responsibility of My [j](AB)contributions, even all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual statute. 9 This shall be yours from the most holy gifts reserved from the fire; every offering of theirs, even (AC)every grain offering and every (AD)sin offering and every guilt offering, which they shall render to Me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons. 10 As the most holy gifts you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you. 11 This also is yours, (AE)the contribution from their gift, even all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have (AF)given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual statute. Everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. 12 (AG)All the [k]best of the fresh oil and all the [l]best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to Yahweh, I give them to you. 13 (AH)The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to Yahweh, shall be yours; everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. 14 (AI)Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 15 [m](AJ)Every first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they bring near to Yahweh, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 Now as to their redemption price, from a month old you shall redeem them, by your valuation, five [n]shekels in silver, according to the [o]shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. 17 But (AK)the firstborn of an ox or the firstborn of a sheep or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. (AL)You shall splash their blood on the altar and shall offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire, for a soothing aroma to Yahweh. 18 And their [p]meat shall be yours; it shall be yours like the (AM)breast of a wave offering and like the right thigh. 19 (AN)All the contributions of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel raise up to Yahweh, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a perpetual statute. It is (AO)an everlasting covenant of salt before Yahweh to you and your seed with you.” 20 Then Yahweh said to Aaron, “(AP)You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; (AQ)I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel.
21 “Now to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the (AR)tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting. 22 (AS)And the sons of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting again, or they will bear sin and die. 23 Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall (AT)bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel (AU)they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they raise up as a contribution offering to Yahweh, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, ‘(AV)They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel.’”
25 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, ‘When you take from the sons of Israel (AW)the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall raise up a contribution offering from it to Yahweh, a (AX)tithe of the tithe. 27 And your contribution offering shall be reckoned to you as the grain from the threshing floor or the full produce from the wine vat. 28 So you shall also raise up a contribution offering to Yahweh from all your tithes, which you receive from the sons of Israel; and from it you shall give the contribution offering of Yahweh to Aaron the priest. 29 Out of all your gifts you shall raise up every contribution offering due to Yahweh, from all the [q]best of them, [r]the sacred part from them.’ 30 And you shall say to them, ‘When you have raised up from it the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the product of the threshing floor and as the product of the wine vat. 31 And you may eat it anywhere, you and your households, for it is your compensation in return for your service in the tent of meeting. 32 And you will bear no sin by reason of it when you have raised up the [s]best of it. But you shall not (AY)profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, so that you will not die.’”
Jesus Is Risen!
16 (A)And when the Sabbath passed, (B)Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, (C)bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, they *came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away (D)the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they *saw that the stone had been rolled away, [a]although it was very large. 5 (E)And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, wearing a white robe; and they (F)were amazed. 6 And he *said to them, “(G)Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the (H)Nazarene, who has been crucified. (I)He has risen; He is not here; behold, the place where they laid Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘(J)He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment were gripping them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
9 [b][Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to (K)Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. 10 (L)She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and crying. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, (M)they refused to believe it.
12 After that, (N)He appeared in a different form (O)to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the countryside. 13 And they went away and reported it to the others, but they (P)did not believe them either.
The Great Commission
14 Afterward (Q)He appeared (R)to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their (S)unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “(T)Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 (U)He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. 17 And these [c]signs will accompany those who have believed: (V)in My name they will cast out demons, they will (W)speak with new tongues; 18 and they will (X)pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will (Y)lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19 So then, the Lord Jesus, after He had (Z)spoken to them, (AA)was taken up into heaven and (AB)sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the [d]signs that followed.]
[e][And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable preaching of eternal salvation.]
He Will Never Allow the Righteous to Be Shaken
For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David.
55 (A)Give ear to my prayer, O God;
And (B)do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Give (C)heed to me and answer me;
I am restless in my (D)complaint and [b](E)am surely distracted,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the (F)pressure of the wicked;
For they (G)shake wickedness down upon me
And in anger they (H)bear a grudge against me.
4 My (I)heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of (J)death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and (K)trembling come upon me,
And [c](L)horror has covered me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and [d](M)be at rest.
7 Behold, I would wander far away,
I would (N)lodge in the wilderness. [e]Selah.
8 I would hasten to my place of refuge
From the (O)stormy wind and tempest.”
9 [f]Confuse, O Lord, (P)divide their tongues,
For I have seen (Q)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And wickedness and mischief are in her midst.
11 (R)Destruction is in her midst;
(S)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her [g]streets.
12 For it is (T)not an enemy who reproaches me,
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who hates me who (U)has magnified himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
13 But it is you, a man [h]my equal,
My (V)close companion and my [i](W)familiar friend;
14 We who had sweet counsel together
(X)Walked in the house of God in the throng.
15 Let [j]death come (Y)deceitfully upon them;
Let them (Z)go down alive to Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.
16 As for me, I shall (AA)call upon God,
And Yahweh will save me.
17 (AB)Evening and (AC)morning and at (AD)noon, I will bring my complaint and moan,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will (AE)redeem my soul in peace [k]from the battle which is against me,
For they are (AF)many who strive with me.
19 God will (AG)hear and [l]answer them—
Even the one (AH)who [m]sits enthroned from of old— Selah.
Because they [n]do not change,
And (AI)do not fear God.
20 [o]My companion has put forth his hands against (AJ)those who were at peace with him;
He has [p](AK)violated his covenant.
21 His [q]speech was (AL)smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were (AM)softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn (AN)swords.
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