The People Complain

11 And ^(A)the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, ^(B)his anger was kindled, and ^(C)the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. ² Then ^(D)the people cried out to Moses, ^(E)and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. ³ So the name of that place was called ^(F)Taberah,^[a] because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

⁴ Now the ^(G)rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also ^(H)wept again and said, ^(I)“Oh that we had meat to eat! ^5 (J)We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. ⁶ But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

⁷ Now ^(K)the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. ^8 (L)The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. ^(M)And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. ^9 (N)When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

¹⁰ Moses heard the people ^(O)weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. ^11 (P)Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? ¹² Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ^(Q)‘Carry them in your bosom, as a ^(R)nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land ^(S)that you swore to give their fathers? ^13 (T)Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ ^14 (U)I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”

Elders Appointed to Aid Moses

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me ^(V)seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and ^(W)officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. ^17 (X)And I will come down and talk with you there. And ^(Y)I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and ^(Z)they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. ¹⁸ And say to the people, ^(AA)‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? ^(AB)For it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. ¹⁹ You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, ²⁰ but a whole month, ^(AC)until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, ^(AD)“Why did we come out of Egypt?”’” ²¹ But Moses said, ^(AE)“The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ ^22 (AF)Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” ²³ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(AG)“Is the Lord's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether ^(AH)my word will come true for you or not.”

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁶ For ^(A)I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is ^(B)the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew ^(C)first and also to ^(D)the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it ^(E)the righteousness of God is revealed ^(F)from faith for faith,^{[a] (G)}as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”^[b]

God's Wrath on Unrighteousness

¹⁸ For ^(H)the wrath of God ^(I)is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be ^(J)known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, ^(K)have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,^[c] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they ^(L)became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ^22 (M)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and ^(N)exchanged the glory of ^(O)the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore ^(P)God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to ^(Q)the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for ^(R)a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^(S)who is blessed forever! Amen.

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

^22 (A)As they were gathering^[a] in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, ²³ and they will kill him, and he will be raised on ^(B)the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

^24 (C)When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of ^(D)the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” ²⁵ He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ^(E)“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or ^(F)tax? From their sons or from others?” ²⁶ And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷ However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.^[b] Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”