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Provision for the Descendants of Levi
18 “The Levitical priests—the whole tribe of Levi—will not have a portion or an inheritance within Israel. Instead, they will eat the burnt offerings of the Lord, because that is their inheritance. 2 But they will not have an inheritance among their relatives, because the Lord alone is their inheritance—as he promised them.”
Provision for the Priests
3 “A portion of what the people offer in sacrifice, whether cattle or sheep, is to be due the priests. They must set aside the shoulder, jowls, and stomach for the priest. 4 Give them the first gatherings of your grain, wine, and oil, as well as wool from the shearing of your flock. 5 For the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants[a] from among your tribes to stand and serve in the name of the Lord all their lives.”[b]
Provision for the Itinerant Levite
6 “Any descendant of Levi who wishes to do so may come from any city or part of Israel where he resides to the place that the Lord will choose. 7 There he may serve in the name of the Lord his God. Like his fellow descendants of Levi who stand there in the Lord’s presence, 8 he may eat the same share as they do regardless of what he receives from his ancestral estate.”
Detestable Practices
9 “When you enter the land that the Lord your God is about to give you, don’t learn the detestable practices of those nations there. 10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices[c] his son or daughter in fire, practices divination, interprets omens, practices sorcery, 11 casts spells, or who is a medium, an occultist, or a necromancer. 12 Whoever practices these things is detestable to the Lord, and the Lord your God will expel them before you because of these things. 13 You must be completely faithful to the Lord your God, 14 because those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to those who practice witchcraft and divination. But the Lord does not allow you to act this way.”
Discerning the True Prophet
15 “The Lord your God will raise up a prophet like me for you from among your relatives. You must listen to him, 16 because this is what you asked from the Lord your God at Horeb when you were assembled together: ‘Don’t let us[d] hear the voice of the Lord our God again, or even see this great fire—otherwise, we[e] will die.’
17 “Then the Lord told me: ‘What they have suggested is good. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their relatives, and I will place my words in his mouth so that he may expound everything that I have commanded to them. 19 But if someone will not listen to those words that the prophet[f] speaks in my name, I will hold him accountable. 20 Even then, if the prophet speaks presumptuously in my name, which I didn’t authorize him to speak, or if he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die.’ 21 Now you may ask yourselves, ‘How will we be able to discern that the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 Whenever a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and the oracle does not come about or the word is not fulfilled, then the Lord has not spoken it. The prophet will have spoken presumptuously, so you need not fear him.”
Cities of Refuge
19 “When the Lord your God destroys those nations whose lands he[g] is about to give you, you must dispossess them and live in their cities and houses. 2 You must reserve[h] three cities within the land that the Lord your God is about to give you to possess. 3 Build roads throughout the land that the Lord your God is providing as an inheritance, and then divide it into three districts so that any killer may flee there.
4 “Now this is the situation for any killer who flees there to live: suppose he strikes his friend unwittingly, not having hated him previously. 5 For instance,[i] he may have accompanied his friend to go to a forest to cut trees. Then he swung his axe to cut some wood, but the ax head flew off the handle[j] and hit[k] his friend, so that he died. The killer[l] may flee to one of these cities to live. 6 Since the distance may be great, the angry avenger may overtake the killer he is pursuing and kill him, in which case there will be no justice in his death, because he did not hate his friend[m] previously. 7 Therefore I am commanding you to reserve[n] three cities.”
Increase the Cities of Refuge
8 “Now if the Lord enlarges your territories just as he promised your ancestors and gives you all the land that he promised,[o] 9 and if you are careful to observe all these commands that I am commanding you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk daily in his ways—then add three more cities in addition to these three cities. 10 You must not shed innocent blood on your land that the Lord your God is about to give you as an inheritance. Otherwise, you’ll be guilty of murder.”
Refuse Cold-Blooded Murderers
11 “However, if a person hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises up against him, and attacks him so that he dies, and then he flees to one of those cities, 12 then the elders of his own city are to send for him, remove him from there, and deliver him to the related avenger for execution. 13 Have no pity on him, but totally purge the shedding of innocent blood from Israel so that life may go well with you.”
Boundary Markers
14 “When you inherit the land that the Lord your God is about to give you, don’t move your neighbor’s boundary marker from where it was placed long ago.”
Laws about Witnesses
15 “The testimony of one person alone is not to suffice to convict anyone of any iniquity, sin, or guilt. But the matter will stand on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 16 When a malicious witness takes the stand[p] against a man and accuses him, 17 then both must stand with their dispute in the Lord’s presence, the priests, and the judges at that time. 18 The judges will investigate thoroughly. If the false witness lies in testifying against his relative, 19 do to him just as he intended to do to his relative. By doing this you will purge evil from your midst. 20 When others hear of this, they will be afraid and will not do such an evil deed again in your midst. 21 Your eyes must not show pity—life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.”
Rules of War
20 “When you go to war against your enemies and observe more horses, chariots, and soldiers[q] than you have, don’t be afraid of them, for the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt is with you. 2 As you draw near for battle, let the priest approach and speak to the army.[r] 3 He will say to them, ‘Listen, Israel! You’re about to go into battle today against your enemies. Don’t be faint-hearted. Don’t be afraid, don’t panic, and don’t be terrified to face them. 4 For the Lord your God will be with you, fighting on your behalf against your enemies in order to grant you victory.’
5 “Furthermore, let the officials ask the army, ‘Is there a man here[s] who has built a new house but has not yet dedicated it? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man dedicate it. 6 And is there a man here[t] who has planted a vineyard and not yet benefited from it? Let him go home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man use it. 7 And is there a man here[u] who is engaged to a woman and has not yet married her? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man marry her.’
8 “Let the officials also speak to the army, ‘Is there a man here[v] who is afraid and faint-hearted? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may demoralize his fellow soldier.’[w]
9 “When the officials have finished speaking to the army, they must appoint officers to lead the troops.”
Rules of Peace
10 “When you approach a city to wage war against it, extend terms of peace. 11 If it agrees to peace and welcomes you, then all the people found in it will serve you as forced laborers. 12 But if they refuse to make peace with you and instead choose war, then attack it. 13 The Lord your God will deliver it into your control, and you must execute every male. 14 The women, children, all the livestock in the city, and all of the spoil and plunder will belong to you. Appropriate the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God will give you. 15 Do this to all the cities that are distant from you—that is, to those cities that are not in neighboring nations.”
Destruction of the Canaanites
16 “You are not to leave even one person alive in the cities of these nations that the Lord your God is about to give you as an inheritance. 17 You must completely destroy the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, just as the Lord your God commanded you, 18 so they won’t teach you to do all the detestable things that they do for their gods. If you do what they teach you, you will sin against the Lord your God.”
Preservation of Fruit Trees
19 “When you attack a city and have to fight against it for many days, don’t destroy its trees by cutting them down with an ax. You may eat from them, but you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human beings, that you would come and attack them? 20 However, you may cut down the trees whose fruit[x] you know isn’t edible, in order to build siege works against the city that waged war with you, until it falls.”
Jesus’ Appearance is Changed(A)
28 Now about eight days after Jesus said this,[a] he took Peter, John, and James with him and went up on a mountain to pray. 29 While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes turned dazzling white. 30 Suddenly, two men were talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah. 31 They had a glorified appearance, and were discussing Jesus’[b] departure that he would shortly bring about in Jerusalem.
32 Now Peter and the men with him had been overcome by sleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’[c] glory and the two men standing with him. 33 Just as Moses and Elijah[d] were leaving,[e] Peter told Jesus, “Master, it’s good that we’re here! Let’s set up three shelters[f]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Peter[g] didn’t know what he was saying.) 34 But while he was saying this, a cloud appeared and surrounded them, and they became terrified as they were being overshadowed by the cloud.
35 Then a voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen.[h] Keep listening to him!” 36 After the voice had spoken, Jesus was[i] alone. The disciples[j] kept silent and at that time[k] told no one about what they had seen.
Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon(B)
37 The next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus.[l] 38 Suddenly, a man in the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, because he is my only living child.[m] 39 Without warning a spirit takes control of him, and he suddenly screams, goes into convulsions, and foams at the mouth. The spirit[n] mauls him and refuses to leave him. 40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”
41 Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation! How much longer must I be with you[o] and put up with you?[p] Bring your[q] son here!” 42 Even while the boy[r] was coming, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection(C)
43 All the people continued to be amazed at the greatness of God. Indeed, everyone was astonished at all the things Jesus[s] was doing. So he told his disciples, 44 “Listen carefully to these words.[t] The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.” 45 But they didn’t know what this meant. Indeed, the meaning was hidden from them so that they didn’t understand it; and they were afraid to ask him about this statement.
True Greatness(D)
46 Later, an argument started among the disciples[u] as to which of them might be the greatest. 47 But Jesus, knowing their inner thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he told them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, because the one who is least among all of you is the one who is greatest.”
The Person who is Not against You is for You(E)
49 John said, “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him, because he wasn’t a follower like us.”
50 Jesus told him, “Don’t stop him! Because whoever is not against you is for you.”
BOOK III (Psalms 73-89)
A song of Asaph.
A Plea for Deliverance
73 God is indeed good to Israel,
to those pure in heart.
2 Now as for me, my feet nearly stumbled,
as I almost lost my step.
3 For I was envious of the proud
when I observed the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there is no struggle at their deaths,
and their bodies are healthy.
5 They do not experience problems common to ordinary people;
they aren’t afflicted as others[a] are.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace
and violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes bulge from obesity
and the imaginations of their mind cross the border into sin.[b]
8 In their mockery they speak evil;
from their arrogant position they speak oppression.
9 They choose to speak[c] against heaven;
while they talk about things on earth.
10 Therefore God’s[d] people return there
and drink it all in like water until they’re satiated.
11 Then they say,
“How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?”
12 Just look at these wicked people!
They’re perpetually carefree
as they increase their wealth.
13 I kept my heart pure for nothing
and kept my hands clean from guilt.
14 For I suffer all day long
and I am punished every morning.
15 If I say, “I will talk like this,”
I would betray a generation of your children.
16 When I tried to understand this,
it was too difficult for me
17 until I entered the sanctuaries of God.
Then I understood their destiny.
18 You have certainly set them in slippery places;
you will make them fall to their ruin.
19 How desolate they quickly become,
completely destroyed by calamities.
20 Like a dream when one awakens, Lord,
you will despise their image when you arise.
21 When I chose to be bitter
I was emotionally pained.
22 Then, I was too stupid
and didn’t realize I was acting like[e] a wild animal with you.
23 But now I am always with you,
for you keep holding my right hand.
24 You will guide me with your wise advice,
and later you will receive me with honor.
25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?
I desire nothing on this [f]earth.
26 My body and mind may fail,
but God is my strength[g] and my portion forever.
27 Those far from you will perish;
you will destroy those who are unfaithful to you.
28 As for me, how good for me it is that God is near!
I have made the Lord God my refuge
so I can tell about all your deeds.
10 The righteous person looks out for the welfare of his livestock,
but even[a] the compassion of the wicked is cruel.
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