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Order of Ancestral Households
2 Adonai said to Moses and Aaron saying, “ 2 Let each man encamp under his own standard among the banners of their ancestral house at an appropriate distance around the Tent of Meeting. 3 Those camping on the east—toward the sunrise—will be of the standard of Judah, according to their divisions. Nachshon son of Amminadab, is the prince of the sons of Judah. 4 His division, by their number, is 74,600.
5 Camping next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar. The prince of the sons of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar. 6 Their division, by their number, is 54,400. 7 Next, the tribe of Zebulun. The prince of the sons of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon. 8 His division, by count, is 57,400.
9 All those numbered to Judah’s camp, by their divisions, are 186,400. They are to advance first.
10 The standard of the camp of Reuben shall be on the south side, by their divisions. The prince of the sons of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur. 11 His division, by their number, is 46,500. 12 Those camping next to them are the tribe of Simeon. The prince of the sons of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. 13 His division, by their number, is 59,300. 14 Next, the tribe of Gad. The prince of the tribe of Gad is Eliasaph son of Reuel. 15 His division, by their numbers, is 45,650.
16 All those numbered to the camp of Reuben are 151,450. They are to set out second.
17 Then the Tent of Meeting will move out with the camp of the Levites, which is in the middle of the camps—just as they were in camp, each person in his own place under his own appropriate standard.
18 On the west will be the standard of the camp of Ephraim, by their divisions. The prince of the sons of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud. 19 His division, by their numbers, is 40,500. 20 Next to him is the tribe of Manasseh. The prince of the sons of Manasseh is Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur. 21 His division, by their numbers, is 32,200. 22 Next, the tribe of Benjamin. The prince of the sons of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni. 23 His division, by their numbers, is 35,400.
24 All those numbered to the camp of Ephraim are 108,100, by their divisions. They are to advance third.
25 The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north, according to their divisions. The prince of the sons of Dan is Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai. 26 His division, by their numbers, is 62,700. 27 Next to him will encamp the tribe of Asher. The prince of the sons of Asher is Pagiel, son of Ochran. 28 His division, by their numbers, is 41,500. 29 Next, tribe of Naphtali. The prince of the sons of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan. 30 His division, by their numbers, is 53,400.
31 All those numbered to the camp of Dan are 157,600. They are to advance last by their standards.
32 These are the numbers of Bnei-Yisrael, in accordance with their ancestral households. All those counted according to their divisions are 603,550.
33 However, the Levites were not counted among Bnei-Yisrael, just as Adonai commanded Moses. 34 So Bnei-Yisrael acted in accordance with all that Adonai had commanded Moses.
Thus they camped by their standards and set out, each man according to their families and their ancestral houses.
The Levite Families and Duties
3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses current at the time Adonai spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab the first-born, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed kohanim whom he consecrated to be priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before Adonai for offering unauthorized fire[a] before Adonai in the Sinai wilderness—they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as kohanim under Aaron their father.
5 Then Adonai spoke to Moses saying, 6 “Gather the tribe of Levi near, and appoint them to attend to Aaron the kohen. 7 They are to keep watch over duties for him and the entire community before the Tent of Meeting while performing the service of the Tabernacle. 8 They are to tend to all the implements of the Tent of Meeting and the service of Bnei-Yisrael while performing the service of the Tabernacle. 9 You are to give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. Out of Bnei-Yisrael they are dedicated entirely to him. 10 You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to maintain the priesthood; any commoner who approaches must be executed.”
11 Then Adonai said to Moses saying, 12 “See, I have taken the Levites from among Bnei-Yisrael in place of the firstborn who open the womb among Bnei-Yisrael. The Levites will be Mine, 13 because all the firstborn are Mine. In the day when I was striking down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated to Myself every firstborn in Israel—whether man or animal—as Mine. I am Adonai.”
14 Adonai spoke in the Sinai wilderness to Moses saying, 15 “Count the sons of Levi. According to their ancestral house, by their families, every male a month old and upward you are to number them.” 16 So Moses numbered them in accordance with the word of Adonai, just as he was commanded.
17 These were the sons of Levi, by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 These then were the names of the sons of Gershon—Libni and Shimei. 19 The sons of Kohath by their families were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 The sons of Merari, by their families, are Mahli and Mushi. These then were the families of the Levites by their ancestral households.
21 To Gershon belonged the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites. These were the families of the Gershonites. 22 The number of every male one month old and upward who were counted was 7,500. 23 The Gershonites were to camp behind the Tabernacle on the west. 24 The prince of the ancestral house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 The duties of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting were the Tabernacle, the tent, its coverings, the curtain of the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, 26 the curtains of the courtyard, the screen of the entrance of the courtyard around the Tabernacle and altar, its ropes and all related to its use.
27 To Kohath belonged the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the Hebronites and the Uzzielites. These were the Kohathite families. 28 The number of every male one month old and upward was 8,600. Their duties were caring for the Sanctuary. 29 The Kohathite families were to camp along the side of the Tabernacle on the south. 30 The prince of the ancestral household of the Kohathites was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31 They were responsible for the Ark, the table, the menorah, the altars, and the implements of the Sanctuary used in service with them, the curtain and all involved with its use.
32 The chief prince of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron the kohen appointed over those whose responsibility was the care of the Sanctuary.
33 To Merari belonged the families of the Mahlites and the Mushites. These were the families of Merari. 34 Their number by count of every male one month old and upward was 6,200. 35 The prince of the household of the father of the Merarites was Zuriel son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the Tabernacle. 36 The sons of Merari were appointed over the care of the frames of the Tabernacle, its crossbars, posts, bases, and all equipment for its use, 37 the posts of the surrounding courtyard, their bases, pegs and ropes.
38 Those camping in front of the Tent of Meeting, on the east, toward the sunrise, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons. They were to care for the Sanctuary on behalf of Bnei-Yisrael. But anyone unauthorized who approached had to be executed.
39 All the Levites counted by Moses and Aaron at the word of Adonai, by their families, inclusive of every male one month old and upward, were 22,000.
Redemption of the Firstborn
40 Adonai said to Moses, “Count every firstborn male of Bnei-Yisrael from one month old and upward and make a list of their names. 41 Set the Levites apart for me in place of all the firstborn of Bnei-Yisrael, and, all the livestock of the Levites in place of the firstborn of the livestock of Bnei-Yisrael. I am Adonai.” 42 So Moses counted all the firstborn of Bnei-Yisrael as Adonai commanded him. 43 The sum total of the firstborn males of Bnei-Yisrael, one month old and upward, listed by name, was 22,273.
44 Again Adonai spoke to Moses saying, 45 “Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Bnei-Yisrael, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites will be Mine. I am Adonai. 46 To redeem the 273 firstborn of Bnei-Yisrael exceeding the number of the Levites, 47 you are to collect five shekels for each, based on the shekel of the Sanctuary, which is 20 gerahs. [b] 48 Give the money for the redemption of the extra ones of the firstborn of them to Aaron and his sons.”
49 Hence Moses collected the redemption money for those exceeding the number redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of Bnei-Yisrael he collected silver weighing 1,365 shekels, according to the Sanctuary shekel. 51 Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, just as Adonai commanded him, in accordance with the mouth of Adonai.
A Question for a Question
27 Again they come to Jerusalem. While Yeshua was walking in the Temple, the ruling kohanim, Torah scholars, and elders come up to Him. 28 And they start saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority to do these things?”
29 Yeshua said to them, “I will put one question to you. Answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 The immersion of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me!”
31 They began to dialogue among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From men’. . .?” They were afraid of the crowd, for all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So answering Yeshua, they say, “We don’t know.”
And Yeshua tells them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Taking the Kingdom by Force
12 Yeshua began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower. He leased it to some tenant farmers and went on a journey. 2 And at the season, he sent a servant to collect from the tenants part of the vineyard’s fruit. 3 But grabbing him, they beat him up and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again the man sent another servant to them, and they wounded his head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent another, and that one they killed; and so on with many others, beating some and killing some. 6 He had yet one, a well-loved son. He sent him to them last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir! Come on, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So grabbing the son, they killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What then will the master of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture?
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
this has become the chief cornerstone.
11 This came from Adonai,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.’”[a]
12 They were trying to seize Yeshua, because they realized that He spoke the parable against them. But they feared the crowd, so they left Him and went away.
A Test of Loyalty
13 Then they send some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Yeshua in order to trap Him with a word. 14 They come and say to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are honest, and what others think doesn’t concern You. You don’t look at men’s appearance, but teach the way of God according to the truth. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Should we pay, or shouldn’t we?”
But Yeshua saw through their hypocrisy and said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius so I may see it.”
16 They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they said to Him.
17 Then Yeshua said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were completely amazed at Him.
In Celebration of God’s Reign
Psalm 47
1 For the music director, a psalm for the sons of Korah.
2 Clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of joy!
3 For Adonai Elyon is awesome,
a great King over all the earth.
4 He subdues peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
5 He chooses our inheritance for us,
the glory of Jacob whom He loved. Selah
6 God is gone up amidst shouting,
Adonai amidst the sound of the shofar.
7 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
8 For God is the King of all the earth.
Sing praises with a skillful song.
9 God reigns over the nations.
God sits upon His holy throne.
10 The princes of the peoples are gathered as a people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of earth belong to God—
He is greatly exalted!
24 What the wicked dread will fall on them.
The desire of the righteous will be given.
25 When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more,
but the foundation of the righteous is everlasting.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.