Cities for the Levites

35 ^(A)Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, ² “Command the sons of Israel that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their possession cities to live in; and you shall give to the Levites pasture lands around the cities. ³ The cities shall be theirs to live in; and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their equipment and for all their other animals.

⁴ “The pasture lands of the cities which you are to give to the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city ^[a]outward a thousand cubits around. ⁵ You shall also measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, on the south side two thousand cubits, on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, with the city in the center. This shall become theirs as pasture lands for the cities.

Cities of Refuge

⁶ The cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be the ^(B)six cities of refuge, which you shall provide for the one who commits manslaughter to flee to; and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. ⁷ The total number of the cities which you are to give to the Levites shall be ^(C)forty-eight cities, ^[b]together with their pasture lands. ^8 (D)As for the cities which you shall give them from the possession of the sons of Israel, you shall take more from the larger, and you shall take fewer from the smaller; each shall give some of his cities to the Levites in proportion to his inheritance which he possesses.”

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “^(E)Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ^11 (F)then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your ^(G)cities of refuge, so that the one who commits manslaughter by ^[c]killing a person ^(H)unintentionally may flee there. ^12 (I)The cities shall ^[d]serve you as a refuge from the avenger, so that the one who commits manslaughter does not die until he stands before the congregation for ^[e]trial. ¹³ So the cities which you are to provide shall be six cities of refuge for you. ¹⁴ You ^(J)shall provide three cities across the Jordan, and three cities ^[f]in the land of Canaan; they are to be cities of refuge. ¹⁵ These six cities shall be a refuge for the sons of Israel, for the stranger, and for the foreign resident among them; so that anyone who ^[g]kills a person ^(K)unintentionally may flee there.

¹⁶ ‘^(L)But if he struck him with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. ¹⁷ And if he struck him with a stone in the hand, by which he would die, and as a result he did die, he is a murderer; the murderer ^(M)must be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if he struck him with a wooden object in the hand, by which he would die, and as a result he did die, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. ¹⁹ The blood avenger himself shall put the murderer to death; he himself shall put him to death when he meets him. ²⁰ Now ^(N)if he pushed him in hatred, or he threw something at him ^[h](O)with malicious intent, and as a result he died, ²¹ or if he struck him with his hand with hostility, and as a result he died, the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer. The blood avenger shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

²² ‘^(P)But if he pushed him suddenly, without hostility, or threw any object at him without ^[i]malicious intent, ²³ or had any ^[j]deadly stone, and without looking he dropped it on him so that he died, while he was not his enemy nor was he seeking ^[k]to harm him, ²⁴ then ^(Q)the congregation shall judge between the one who fatally struck the victim and the blood avenger in accordance with these ordinances. ²⁵ And the congregation shall save the one who committed manslaughter from the hand of the blood avenger, and the congregation shall return him to his city of refuge to which he fled; and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. ²⁶ But if at any time ^[l]he goes beyond the border of his city of refuge to which he flees, ²⁷ and the blood avenger finds him outside the border of his city of refuge, and the blood avenger kills ^[m]him, he ^[n]will not be guilty of bloodshed, ²⁸ because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the one who committed manslaughter may return to the land of his property.

²⁹ ‘These things shall be a ^(R)statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

³⁰ ‘^(S)If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the ^[o]testimony of witnesses, but ^(T)no person shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. ³¹ Moreover, you shall not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is ^[p]condemned to death, but he must be put to death. ³² And you shall not accept a ransom for one who has fled to his city of refuge, so that he may return to live in the land ^[q]before the death of the priest. ^33 (U)So you shall not defile the land in which you live; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except ^(V)by the blood of the one who shed it. ³⁴ So you shall not ^(W)defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which ^(X)I dwell; for I the Lord am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.’”

Inheritance by Marriage

36 ^(Y)Now the heads of the fathers’ households of the family of the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came forward and spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the heads of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, ² and they said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land by lot to the sons of Israel as an inheritance, and my lord ^(Z)was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. ³ But if they ^[r]marry one of the sons of the other tribes of the sons of Israel, their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of our fathers and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; so it will be withdrawn from our allotted inheritance. ⁴ And when the ^(AA)jubilee of the sons of Israel takes place, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; so their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”

⁵ Then Moses commanded the sons of Israel in accordance with the ^[s]word of the Lord, saying, “The tribe of the sons of Joseph is right in its statements. ^6 (AB)This is ^[t]what the Lord has commanded regarding the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them marry ^[u]whomever they wish; only they must marry within the family of the tribe of their father.’ ⁷ So ^(AC)no inheritance of the sons of Israel will ^[v]be transferred from tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel shall each ^[w]retain possession of the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. ^8 (AD)And every daughter who comes into possession of an inheritance of any tribe of the sons of Israel shall marry one of the family of the tribe of her father, so that the sons of Israel may each possess the inheritance of his fathers. ⁹ So no inheritance will ^[x]be transferred from one tribe to another tribe, for the tribes of the sons of Israel shall each ^[y]retain possession of its own inheritance.”

¹⁰ Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad did: ^11 (AE)Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad married their uncles’ sons. ¹² They married those from the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance ^[z]remained with the tribe of the family of their father.

^13 (AF)These are the commandments and the ordinances which the Lord commanded to the sons of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.

For the music director; on stringed instruments. A ^[a]Maskil of David.

Instruction about Prayer

11 It happened that while ^[a]Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” ² And He said to them, “^(A)When you pray, say:

⁵ And He said to them, “^[f]Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶ because a friend of mine has come to me from a journey and I have nothing to serve him’; ⁷ and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children ^[g]and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even if he will not get up and give him anything just because he is his friend, yet ^(D)because of his ^[h]shamelessness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

⁹ “So I say to you, ^[i](E)ask, and it will be given to you; ^[j]seek, and you will find; ^[k]knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. ¹¹ Now ^[l]which one of you fathers will his son ask for a ^[m]fish, and instead of a fish, he will give him a snake? ¹² Or he will even ask for an egg, and his father will give him a scorpion? ¹³ So ^(F)if you, despite being ^[n]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will ^[o]your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Pharisees’ Blasphemy

^14 (G)And He was casting out a mute demon; when the demon had gone out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked, and the crowds were amazed. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out the demons ^(H)by ^(I)Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” ¹⁶ Others, ^[p]to test Him, ^(J)were demanding of Him a ^[q]sign from heaven. ^17 (K)But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against ^[r]itself falls. ¹⁸ And if ^(L)Satan also has been divided against himself, how will his kingdom ^[s]stand? For you claim that I cast out the demons by ^(M)Beelzebul. ¹⁹ Yet if by ^(N)Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if I cast out the demons by ^[t]the ^(O)finger of God, then ^(P)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When ^[u]a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are ^[v]secure. ²² But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, that man takes away his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. ^23 (Q)The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

²⁴ “^(R)When the unclean spirit comes out of ^[w]a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it then says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first.”

²⁷ While ^[x]Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “^(S)Blessed is the womb that carried You, and the breasts at which You nursed!” ²⁸ But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are ^(T)those who hear the word of God and follow it.”

The Sign of Jonah

²⁹ Now as the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “^(U)This generation is a wicked generation; it ^(V)demands a ^[y]sign, and so no ^[z]sign will be given to it except the ^[aa]sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For just as ^(W)Jonah became a ^[ab]sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹ The ^(X)Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because ^(Y)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

³³ “^(Z)No one lights a lamp and puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. ^34 (AA)Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is ^[ac]clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is ^[ad]bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ So watch out that the light in you is not darkness. ³⁶ Therefore if your whole body is full of light, without any dark part, it will be wholly illuminated, as when the lamp illuminates you with its light.”

Woes upon the Pharisees

³⁷ Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee *asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸ When the Pharisee saw this, he was surprised that Jesus had not first ^[ae](AB)ceremonially washed before the ^[af]meal. ³⁹ But ^(AC)the Lord said to him, “Now ^(AD)you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish; but your inside is full of greed and wickedness. ^40 (AE)You foolish ones, did He who made the outside not make the inside also? ⁴¹ But ^(AF)give that which is within as a charitable gift, and ^[ag]then all things are ^(AG)clean for you.

⁴² “^(AH)But woe to you Pharisees! For you ^(AI)pay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you ^[ah]ignore justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For you ^(AJ)love the seat of honor in the synagogues and personal greetings in the marketplaces. ^44 (AK)Woe to you! For you are like ^[ai]unseen tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”

⁴⁵ One of the ^[aj](AL)lawyers *said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us too.” ⁴⁶ But He said, “Woe to you ^(AM)lawyers as well! For ^(AN)you load people with burdens that are hard to bear, ^[ak]while you yourselves will not even ^[al]touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (AO)Woe to you! For you build the ^[am]tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you are witnesses and you approve of the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their ^[an]tombs. ⁴⁹ For this reason also, ^(AP)the wisdom of God said, ‘^(AQ)I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will ^[ao]persecute, ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(AR)since the foundation of the world, may be charged ^[ap]against this generation, ⁵¹ from ^(AS)the blood of Abel to ^(AT)the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged ^[aq]against this generation.’ ⁵² Woe to you ^[ar](AU)lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; ^(AV)you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ When He left that place, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to interrogate Him about many subjects, ^54 (AW)plotting against Him ^(AX)to catch ^[as]Him in something He might say.