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Preparing the Sanctuary to Move
4 Adonai spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families and by their ancestral households, 3 everyone from 30 years of age to 50, all who come to serve doing the work in the Tent of Meeting.
4 “This is the task of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting—the most holy things. 5 Whenever the camp is about to move out, Aaron and his sons are to take down the shielding curtain[a] and cover the Ark of the Testimony with it. 6 Then they are to cover this with porpoise hide, then spread over it a cloth of solid blue. Then they are to put its poles in place.
7 “Then over the table of the Presence they are to spread a solid blue cloth, then lay on it the plates, ladles, bowls, and jars for the drink offering. The bread that is continually there is to remain there. [b] 8 Over them they are to spread a solid scarlet cloth, cover it with a covering of porpoise hide, then install its poles.
9 “Then they are to take a blue cloth and cover the menorah for light, along with its lamps, tongs, snuffers and oil jars that they use to tend to it. 10 They then are to wrap it and all its accessories in a cover of porpoise hide and place it all on a carrying frame.
11 “Over the golden altar they are to spread a blue cloth and cover that with a covering of porpoise hide, then put its poles in place.
12 “They are to take all the utensils used for the service of the ministry of the Sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover them with porpoise hide, and place them on a carrying frame.
13 “They are to remove the ashes from the altar, then spread over it a purple cloth. 14 They are to put onto it all the utensils with which they tend to the altar, among them the firepans, meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. They are to spread over it a covering of porpoise hide and install its poles.
15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the Sanctuary and all its holy implements, and when the camp is ready to move out, after this the sons of Kohath may come to do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy items or they will die. These are the task of the sons of Kohath with regard to the Tent of Meeting.
16 “Eleazar son of Aaron the kohen will have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He is to have charge of the Tabernacle and all that is in it, including its holy items and all its implements.”
17 Adonai spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, 18 “You are not to let the families of the tribe of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites. 19 Do this for them so that they may live and not die whenever they approach the most holy items—Aaron and his sons are to go into the Sanctuary and assign each man his job and his responsibility. 20 But the Kohathites are not to go in to look at what is holy, not even momentarily, or they will die.”
Parashat Naso
21 Again Adonai spoke to Moses saying, 22 “Take a census also of the sons of Gershon, by their ancestral households and by their families. 23 Count all the males from 30 to 50 years of age, everyone coming to work in the service of the Tent of Meeting. 24 This is the task of the Gershonite families in working and carrying burdens. 25 They are to carry the curtains of the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, its covering, the outer covering of porpoise hide, the curtains for the entrance for the Tent of Meeting, 26 the curtains surrounding the courtyard and the altar, the curtain for the entrance, the ropes and all the equipment used in its operations. They are to do all that needs to be done with these things.
27 The sons of the Gershonites are to do all their tasks, whether carrying or doing other work, according to the word of Aaron and his sons. You are to assign to them all that is their responsibility to carry. 28 This is the duty of the families of the sons of the Gershonites regarding the Tent of Meeting. Their duty will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the kohen.
29 Next, count the sons of Merari, according to their families and their ancestral houses, 30 sons 30 years old and upward to 50, everyone coming to work in the service of the Tent of Meeting. 31 This is their task in the service of the Tent of Meeting: the frames of the Tabernacle, its crossbars, posts and bases, 32 as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard, plus their bases, tent pegs, ropes, and all their paraphernalia with everything related to their operation. Assign to them by name their duties and tasks. 33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari as they work under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the kohen.”
34 So Moses, Aaron and the princes of the community counted the sons of the Kohathites according to their families and their ancestral households. 35 All the men who came to do the service of the Tent of Meeting, from 30 to 50 years of age, 36 were counted by families—2,750. 37 This was the total of those in the families of the Kohathites, every one serving in the Tent of Meeting—Moses and Aaron counted them according to the mouth of Adonai by Moses’s hand.
38 The sons of Gershon were counted according to their families and their ancestral households. 39 Males from 30 years old and upward to 50, all those coming into the work of the service of the Tent of Meeting, 40 numbered according to their families and ancestral households 2,630. 41 These were those counted from the families of the sons of Gershon, each serving in the Tent of Meeting—Moses and Aaron counted according to the mouth of Adonai.
42 Those were counted from the families and ancestral households of the sons of Merari, 43 from 30 years of age upward to 50, who came to the work of the service of the Tent of Meeting. 44 Numbered by their families, they were 3,200. 45 These were those numbered from the families of the sons of Merari by Moses and Aaron in accordance with the mouth of Adonai by Moses’s hand.
46 Thus Moses, Aaron and the princes of Israel counted all the Levites by their families and by their ancestral houses. 47 All the men from 30 to 50 years old who came to do the work of the service and of carrying the Tent of Meeting 48 numbered 8,580.
49 From the mouth of Adonai by Moses’s hand, each man was assigned his work and his burden to carry. So they were counted, as Adonai commanded Moses.
Purity in the Camp
5 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, 2 “Command Bnei-Yisrael to send out from the camp everyone with tza’arat, who has some kind of discharge, or any contaminated by a dead body. 3 Whether male or female, you are to send them outside the camp so as not to defile the camp where I am dwelling among them.” 4 This Bnei-Yisrael did, sending them outside the camp. Just as Adonai spoke to Moses, so Bnei-Yisrael did.
5 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, 6 “Say to Bnei-Yisrael: Whenever a man or woman commits any sins against any person, thus breaking faith with Adonai, that soul bears guilt. 7 That person is to confess the sin he has committed, make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it and give it to the one he wronged. [c] 8 But if that person has no close relative to whom to pay the restitution, the restitution belongs to Adonai. It is to be given to the kohen along with the ram of atonement with which he is to make atonement for him.
9 “Every contribution from all the sacred things that Bnei-Yisrael brings to the kohen will belong to him. 10 Each one’s sacred holy gifts are his own, but whatever each man gives to the kohen belongs to that kohen.”
Jealousy Ritual
11 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, 12 “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and say to them: Suppose some man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him, 13 and another man has sexual relations with her, but it is hidden from her husband’s eyes and her impurity is not detected. Yet there was no witness against her and she was not caught in the act. 14 Then a spirit of jealousy overcomes him and he is suspicious of his wife, when she is impure. Or a spirit of jealousy overcomes him and he suspects his wife, yet she is not impure.
15 “Then he should take his wife to the kohen. He must also bring a tenth of an ephah of barley flour as an offering for her. He is not to pour oil or put incense on it, because it is an offering for jealousy, a reminder offering drawing attention to guiltiness.
16 “The kohen is to bring her near and have her stand before Adonai. 17 Then the kohen is to take some holy water in a clay jar and take some dust from the floor of the Tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 Then the kohen will have the woman stand before Adonai, loosen the woman’s hair, put into her hands the reminder offering, the offering for jealousy, while in the kohen’s own hands are the bitter waters that bring a curse. 19 Then the kohen will have her swear under oath, then say to the woman, ‘If no man other than your husband has slept with you, and if you have not gone astray into impurity from your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you. 20 If, however, you have gone astray from your husband and if you became impure and had sexual relations with a man other than your husband’— 21 Then the kohen is to have the woman swear under this oath of a curse, and say to the woman—‘then let Adonai cause you to be cursed and denounced among your people when Adonai causes your thigh to rot and your belly to swell. 22 “May this water which brings a curse enter your body and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to rot.’
“The woman is to say, ‘Amen, amen!’
23 “Then the kohen is to write these curses on a scroll and wash them into the waters of bitterness. 24 The kohen will then have the woman drink the bitter water bearing curses, so that the water of the curses of bitterness enters her. 25 The kohen is to take the jealousy offering from the woman’s hand, wave the offering before Adonai and bring it to the altar. 26 The kohen is to take a handful of the grain offering and burn it up in smoke on the altar as a memorial offering. The kohen will then have the woman drink the water.
27 “When she is made to drink the water that carries the curse, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, it will enter her and cause bitterness—her abdomen will swell and her thigh will waste away. She will be accursed among her people. 28 If, however, the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be free from guilt and be able to have children.
29 “This is the Torah regarding jealousy, when a woman goes astray from her husband and defiles herself, 30 or when a spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he jealously suspects his wife. The kohen is to have her stand before Adonai and apply this entire Torah to her. 31 The husband will be free of guilt, but that woman will bear her guilt.”
The Challenge of the Sadducees
18 Then Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came and began questioning Yeshua, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ‘if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, then his brother should take the widow and father children for his brother.’ [a] 20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and, when he died, left no offspring. 21 And the second took her and died, leaving no offspring, and the third likewise. 22 Now the seven left no offspring. Last of all, the woman died, too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise up, whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”
24 Yeshua said to them, “Isn’t this the reason you’ve gone astray, because you don’t understand the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise up from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But concerning the dead being raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moses about the burning bush? How God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? [b] 27 He’s not the God of the dead, but of the living. You have gone far astray!”
Love Ends the Argument
28 One of the Torah scholars came and heard them debating. Seeing that Yeshua had answered them well, he asked Him, “Which commandment is first of all?”
29 Yeshua answered, “The first is, ‘Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. 30 And you shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [c] 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[d] There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, Teacher,” the Torah scholar said to Him. “You have spoken the truth, that He is echad, and besides Him there is no other! [e] 33 And ‘to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’[f] and ‘to love the neighbor as oneself,’[g] is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Yeshua saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared any longer to question Him.
Who Is King David’s Lord?
35 While Yeshua was teaching in the Temple, He said, “How is it that the Torah scholars say that the Messiah is Ben-David? 36 David himself, through the Ruach ha-Kodesh, said,
‘Adonai said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’[h]
37 If David himself calls Him ‘Lord,’ in what way is He his son?” And the large crowd was listening to Him with delight.
Consider Zion’s Towers
Psalm 48
1 A song, a psalm of the sons of Korah.
2 Great is Adonai, and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God—His holy mountain.
3 A beautiful height—the joy of the whole earth—
is Mount Zion, on the northern side of the city of the great King.[a]
4 God, in her palaces,
is known as a stronghold.
5 For behold, the kings assembled,
they advanced together.
6 They saw, then they were astounded,
they fled in terror.
7 Trembling seized them there,
pain like a woman in labor.
8 With an east wind
You broke the ships of Tarshish.
9 As we have heard, so have we seen,
in the city of Adonai-Tzva’ot,
in the city of our God.
God will establish her forever. Selah
10 We have meditated on Your lovingkindness, O God,
in the midst of Your Temple.
11 Like Your Name, O God,
so is Your praise
to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
12 Mount Zion is glad,
the daughters of Judah rejoice,
because of Your judgments.
13 Walk about Zion, go around her.
Count her towers.
14 Consider her ramparts,
go through her palaces,
so you may describe it to the next generation.
15 For this God is our God, forever and ever!
He will guide us to the end.
26 Like vinegar to the teeth or smoke to the eyes,
so is a slacker to those who send him.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.