Psalm 115(A)

Not to us, Lord, not to us
    but to your name be the glory,(B)
    because of your love and faithfulness.(C)

Why do the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”(D)
Our God is in heaven;(E)
    he does whatever pleases him.(F)
But their idols are silver and gold,(G)
    made by human hands.(H)
They have mouths, but cannot speak,(I)
    eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear,
    noses, but cannot smell.
They have hands, but cannot feel,
    feet, but cannot walk,
    nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
Those who make them will be like them,
    and so will all who trust in them.

All you Israelites, trust(J) in the Lord
    he is their help and shield.
10 House of Aaron,(K) trust in the Lord
    he is their help and shield.
11 You who fear him,(L) trust in the Lord
    he is their help and shield.

12 The Lord remembers(M) us and will bless us:(N)
    He will bless his people Israel,
    he will bless the house of Aaron,
13 he will bless those who fear(O) the Lord
    small and great alike.

14 May the Lord cause you to flourish,(P)
    both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(Q) and earth.

16 The highest heavens belong to the Lord,(R)
    but the earth he has given(S) to mankind.
17 It is not the dead(T) who praise the Lord,
    those who go down to the place of silence;
18 it is we who extol the Lord,(U)
    both now and forevermore.(V)

Praise the Lord.[a](W)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 115:18 Hebrew Hallelu Yah

115 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.

Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?

But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:

They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:

They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

11 Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

12 The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.

13 He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.

14 The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children.

15 Ye are blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth.

16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

17 The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.

18 But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord.

The Setting Apart of the Levites

The Lord said to Moses: “Take the Levites from among all the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean.(A) To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing(B) on them; then have them shave their whole bodies(C) and wash their clothes.(D) And so they will purify themselves.(E) Have them take a young bull with its grain offering of the finest flour mixed with olive oil;(F) then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.[a](G) Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting(H) and assemble the whole Israelite community.(I) 10 You are to bring the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them.(J) 11 Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering(K) from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the work of the Lord.

12 “Then the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls,(L) using one for a sin offering(M) to the Lord and the other for a burnt offering,(N) to make atonement(O) for the Levites. 13 Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering(P) to the Lord. 14 In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.(Q)

15 “After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering,(R) they are to come to do their work at the tent of meeting.(S) 16 They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn,(T) the first male offspring(U) from every Israelite woman. 17 Every firstborn male in Israel, whether human or animal,(V) is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself.(W) 18 And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel.(X) 19 From among all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons(Y) to do the work at the tent of meeting on behalf of the Israelites(Z) and to make atonement for them(AA) so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary.”

20 Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses. 21 The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes.(AB) Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord and made atonement(AC) for them to purify them.(AD) 22 After that, the Levites came to do their work(AE) at the tent of meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses.

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 8:8 Or purification offering; also in verse 12

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.

And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.

Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering.

And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together:

10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:

11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the Lord.

12 And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the Lord, to make an atonement for the Levites.

13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the Lord.

14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.

15 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.

16 For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.

17 For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.

18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.

19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.

20 And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.

21 And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the Lord; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.

22 And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.

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Paul, a servant of God(A) and an apostle(B) of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth(C) that leads to godliness(D) in the hope of eternal life,(E) which God, who does not lie,(F) promised before the beginning of time,(G) and which now at his appointed season(H) he has brought to light(I) through the preaching entrusted to me(J) by the command of God(K) our Savior,(L)

To Titus,(M) my true son(N) in our common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.(O)

Appointing Elders Who Love What Is Good(P)

The reason I left you in Crete(Q) was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint[a] elders(R) in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless,(S) faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe[b] and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer(T) manages God’s household,(U) he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.(V) Rather, he must be hospitable,(W) one who loves what is good,(X) who is self-controlled,(Y) upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly(Z) to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine(AA) and refute those who oppose it.

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Footnotes

  1. Titus 1:5 Or ordain
  2. Titus 1:6 Or children are trustworthy

Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;

To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.

For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;

But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;

Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

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