Census of the New Generation

26 ^(A)After the plague, the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest, ^2 (B)“Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers' houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war.” ³ And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them ^(C)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ⁴ “Take a census of the people,^[a] from twenty years old and upward,” as the Lord ^(D)commanded Moses. The people of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:

^5 (E)Reuben, the firstborn of Israel; the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the clan of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the clan of the Palluites; ⁶ of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the clan of the Carmites. ⁷ These are the clans of the Reubenites, and those listed were ^(F)43,730. ⁸ And the sons of Pallu: Eliab. ⁹ The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, ^(G)chosen from the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord ¹⁰ and ^(H)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and ^(I)they became a warning. ¹¹ But ^(J)the sons of Korah did not die.

¹² The sons of ^(K)Simeon according to their clans: of Nemuel, the clan of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the clan of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the clan of the Jachinites; ¹³ of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the clan of the Shaulites. ¹⁴ These are the clans of the Simeonites, ^(L)22,200.

¹⁵ The sons of ^(M)Gad according to their clans: of Zephon, the clan of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the clan of the Haggites; of Shuni, the clan of the Shunites; ¹⁶ of Ozni, the clan of the Oznites; of Eri, the clan of the Erites;

Solomon Builds the Temple

3 ^(A)Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem ^(B)on Mount Moriah, where the Lord^[a] had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, ^(C)on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ² He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. ³ These are Solomon's ^(D)measurements^[b] for building the house of God: ^(E)the length, in cubits^[c] of the old standard, was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. ⁴ The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house,^[d] and its height was 120 cubits. He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold. ^5 (F)The nave he lined with cypress and covered it with fine gold ^(G)and made palms and chains on it. ⁶ He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold of Parvaim. ⁷ So he lined the house with gold—its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors—^(H)and he carved cherubim on the walls.

^8 (I)And he made the Most Holy Place. Its length, corresponding to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and its breadth was twenty cubits. He overlaid it with 600 talents^[e] of fine gold. ⁹ The weight of gold for the nails was fifty shekels.^[f] And he overlaid ^(J)the upper chambers with gold.

^10 (K)In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of wood^[g] and overlaid^[h] them with gold. ¹¹ The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits: one wing of the one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub; ¹² and of this cherub, one wing, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also of five cubits, was joined to the wing of the first cherub. ¹³ The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. The cherubim^[i] stood on their feet, ^(L)facing the nave. ^14 (M)And he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and he worked cherubim on it.

^15 (N)In front of the house he made two pillars thirty-five cubits high, with a capital of five cubits on the top of each. ¹⁶ He made chains like a necklace^[j] and put them on the tops of the pillars, and he made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. ^17 (O)He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north; that on the south he called Jachin, and that on the north Boaz.

Nebuchadnezzar's Humiliation

²⁸ All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ³⁰ and the king answered and said, ^(A)“Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by ^(B)my mighty power as a royal residence and for ^(C)the glory of my majesty?” ^31 (D)While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, ^32 (E)and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, ^(F)until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” ³³ Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. ^(G)He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws.

Nebuchadnezzar Restored

^34 (H)At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and ^(I)my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored ^(J)him who lives forever,

³⁶ At the same time ^(Q)my reason returned to me, and for ^(R)the glory of my kingdom, ^(S)my majesty and splendor returned to me. ^(T)My counselors and ^(U)my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was ^(V)added to me. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, ^(W)praise and extol and honor the ^(X)King of heaven, ^(Y)for all his works are right and his ways are just; and ^(Z)those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

The Handwriting on the Wall

5 ^(AA)King Belshazzar ^(AB)made a great feast for a thousand of his ^(AC)lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.

^2 (AD)Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that ^(AE)the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father^[a] had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. ³ Then they brought in ^(AF)the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ They drank wine and ^(AG)praised the ^(AH)gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

^9 (A)The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet ^(B)the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to ^(C)his own,^[a] and ^(D)his own people^{[b] (E)}did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, ^(F)who believed in his name, ^(G)he gave the right ^(H)to become ^(I)children of God, ¹³ who ^(J)were born, ^(K)not of blood ^(L)nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And ^(M)the Word ^(N)became flesh and ^(O)dwelt among us, ^(P)and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son^[c] from the Father, full of ^(Q)grace and ^(R)truth. ¹⁵ (^(S)John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ^(T)‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ For from ^(U)his fullness we have all received, ^(V)grace upon grace.^{[d] 17} For ^(W)the law was given through Moses; ^(X)grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ^18 (Y)No one has ever seen God; ^(Z)the only God,^[e] who is at the Father's side,^{[f] (AA)}he has made him known.

The Supremacy of God's Son

1 Long ago, at many times and ^(A)in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ² but ^(B)in these last days ^(C)he has spoken to us by ^(D)his Son, whom he appointed ^(E)the heir of all things, ^(F)through whom also he created ^(G)the world. ³ He is the radiance of the glory of God and ^(H)the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. ^(I)After making purification for sins, ^(J)he sat down ^(K)at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name ^(L)he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say,

Or again,

⁶ And again, when he brings ^(O)the firstborn into the world, he says,

⁷ Of the angels he says,

⁸ But of the Son he says,

¹⁰ And,

¹³ And to which of the angels has he ever said,

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits ^(Y)sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to ^(Z)inherit salvation?