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52-53 Then the Lord told Moses to divide the land among the tribes in proportion to their population, as indicated by the census— 54 the larger tribes to be given more land, the smaller tribes less land.
55-56 “Let the representatives of the larger tribes have a lottery, drawing for the larger sections,” the Lord instructed, “and let the smaller tribes draw for the smaller sections.”
57 These are the clans of the Levites numbered in the census:
The Gershonites, named after their ancestor Gershon.
The Kohathites, named after their ancestor Kohath.
The Merarites, named after their ancestor Merari.
58-59 These are the families of the tribe of Levi: the Libnites, the Hebronites, the Mahlites, the Mushites, the Korahites.
While Levi was in Egypt, a daughter, Jochebed, was born to him and she became the wife of Amram, son of Kohath. They were the parents of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. 60 To Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized incense before the Lord.
62 The total number of Levites in the census was 23,000, counting all the males a month old and upward. But the Levites were not included in the total census figure of the people of Israel, for the Levites were given no land when it was divided among the tribes.
63 So these are the census figures as prepared by Moses and Eleazar the priest, in the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 64-65 Not one person in this entire census had been counted in the previous census[a] taken in the wilderness of Sinai! For all who had been counted then had died, as the Lord had decreed when he said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” The only exceptions were Caleb (son of Jephunneh) and Joshua (son of Nun).
27 1-2 One day the daughters of Zelophehad came to the entrance of the Tabernacle to give a petition to Moses, Eleazar the priest, the tribal leaders, and others who were there. The names of these women were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They were members of the half-tribe of Manasseh (a son of Joseph). Their ancestor was Machir, son of Manasseh. Manasseh’s son Gilead was their great-grandfather, his son Hepher was their grandfather, and his son Zelophehad was their father.
3-4 “Our father died in the wilderness,” they said, “and he was not one of those who perished in Korah’s revolt against the Lord—it was a natural death, but he had no sons. Why should the name of our father disappear just because he had no son? We feel that we should be given property along with our father’s brothers.”
5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord.
6-7 And the Lord replied to Moses, “The daughters of Zelophehad are correct. Give them land along with their uncles; give them the property that would have been given to their father if he had lived. 8 Moreover, this is a general law among you, that if a man dies and has no sons, then his inheritance shall be passed on to his daughters. 9 And if he has no daughter, it shall belong to his brothers. 10 And if he has no brother, then it shall go to his uncles. 11 But if he has no uncles, then it shall go to the nearest relative.”
12 One day the Lord said to Moses, “Go up into Mount Abarim and look across the river to the land I have given to the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you shall die as Aaron your brother did, 14 for you rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you did not glorify me[b] before them by following my instructions to order water to come out of the rock.” He was referring to the incident at the waters of Meribah (“Place of Strife”) in Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin.
15 Then Moses said to the Lord, 16 “O Jehovah, the God of the spirits of all mankind, before I am taken away[c] please appoint a new leader for the people, 17 a man who will lead them into battle and care for them, so that the people of the Lord will not be as sheep without a shepherd.”
18 The Lord replied, “Go and get Joshua (son of Nun), who has the Spirit in him, 19 and take him to Eleazar the priest, and as all the people watch, charge him with the responsibility of leading the people. 20 Publicly give him your authority so that all the people of Israel will obey him. 21 He shall be the one to consult with Eleazar the priest in order to get directions from the Lord. The Lord will speak to Eleazar through the use of the Urim, and Eleazar will pass on these instructions to Joshua and the people. In this way the Lord will continue to give them guidance.”
22 So Moses did as Jehovah commanded and took Joshua to Eleazar the priest. As the people watched, 23 Moses laid his hands upon him and dedicated him to his responsibilities, as the Lord had commanded.
28 1-2 The Lord gave Moses these instructions to give to the people of Israel: “The offerings which you burn on the altar for me are my food, and are a pleasure to me; so see to it that they are brought regularly and are offered as I have instructed you.
3 “When you make offerings by fire, you shall use yearling male lambs—each without defect. Two of them shall be offered each day as a regular burnt offering. 4 One lamb shall be sacrificed in the morning, the other in the evening. 5 With them shall be offered a grain offering of three quarts of finely ground flour mixed with three pints of oil. 6 This is the burnt offering ordained at Mount Sinai, to be regularly offered as a fragrant odor, an offering made by fire to the Lord. 7 Along with it shall be the drink offering, consisting of three pints of strong wine with each lamb, poured out in the holy place before the Lord. 8 Offer the second lamb in the evening with the same grain offering and drink offering. It too is a fragrant odor to the Lord, an offering made by fire.
9-10 “On the Sabbath day, sacrifice two yearling male lambs—both without defect—in addition to the regular offerings. They are to be accompanied by a grain offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil, and the usual drink offering.
11 “Also, on the first day of each month there shall be an extra burnt offering to the Lord of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male yearling lambs—all without defect. 12 Accompany them with nine quarts of finely ground flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each bull; and six quarts of finely ground flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for the ram; 13 and for each lamb, three quarts of finely ground flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. This burnt offering shall be presented by fire and will please the Lord very much. 14 Along with each sacrifice shall be a drink offering—six pints of wine with each bull, four pints for a ram, and three pints for a lamb. This, then, will be the burnt offering each month throughout the year.
15 “Also on the first day of each month you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering to the Lord. This is in addition to the regular daily burnt offering and its drink offering.
3 1-2 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius Caesar, a message came from God to John (the son of Zacharias), as he was living out in the deserts. (Pilate was governor over Judea at that time; Herod, over Galilee; his brother Philip, over Iturea and Trachonitis; Lysanias, over Abilene; and Annas and Caiaphas were high priests.) 3 Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had turned to God and away from their sins, in order to be forgiven.[a]
4 In the words of Isaiah the prophet, John was “a voice shouting from the barren wilderness, ‘Prepare a road for the Lord to travel on! Widen the pathway before him! 5 Level the mountains! Fill up the valleys! Straighten the curves! Smooth out the ruts! 6 And then all mankind shall see the Savior sent from God.’”
7 Here is a sample of John’s preaching to the crowds that came for baptism: “You brood of snakes! You are trying to escape hell without truly turning to God! That is why you want to be baptized! 8 First go and prove by the way you live that you really have repented. And don’t think you are safe because you are descendants of Abraham. That isn’t enough. God can produce children of Abraham from these desert stones! 9 The ax of his judgment is poised over you, ready to sever your roots and cut you down. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”
10 The crowd replied, “What do you want us to do?”
11 “If you have two coats,” he replied, “give one to the poor. If you have extra food, give it away to those who are hungry.”
12 Even tax collectors—notorious for their corruption—came to be baptized and asked, “How shall we prove to you that we have abandoned our sins?”
13 “By your honesty,” he replied. “Make sure you collect no more taxes than the Roman[b] government requires you to.”
14 “And us,” asked some soldiers, “what about us?”
John replied, “Don’t extort money by threats and violence; don’t accuse anyone of what you know he didn’t do; and be content with your pay!”
15 Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and eager to know whether or not John was he. This was the question of the hour and was being discussed everywhere.
16 John answered the question by saying, “I baptize only with water; but someone is coming soon who has far higher authority than mine; in fact, I am not even worthy of being his slave.[c] He will baptize you with fire—with the Holy Spirit. 17 He will separate chaff from grain, and burn up the chaff with eternal fire and store away the grain.” 18 He used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people.
19-20 (But after John had publicly criticized Herod, governor of Galilee, for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for many other wrongs he had done, Herod put John in prison, thus adding this sin to all his many others.)
21 Then one day, after the crowds had been baptized, Jesus himself was baptized; and as he was praying, the heavens opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove settled upon him, and a voice from heaven said, “You are my much loved Son, yes, my delight.”
61 O God, listen to me! Hear my prayer! 2 For wherever I am, though far away at the ends of the earth, I will cry to you for help. When my heart is faint and overwhelmed, lead me to the mighty, towering Rock of safety. 3 For you are my refuge, a high tower where my enemies can never reach me. 4 I shall live forever in your tabernacle; oh, to be safe beneath the shelter of your wings! 5 For you have heard my vows, O God, to praise[a] you every day, and you have given me the blessings you reserve for those who reverence your name.
6 You will give me[b] added years of life, as rich and full as those of many generations, all packed into one. 7 And I shall live before the Lord forever. Oh, send your loving-kindness and truth to guard and watch over me, 8 and I will praise your name continually, fulfilling my vow of praising you each day.
16 Honor goes to kind and gracious women, mere[a] money to cruel men.
17 Your own soul is nourished when you are kind; it is destroyed when you are cruel.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.