²⁵ When Moses saw that the people were out of control (for Aaron had lost control of them, prompting derision among their enemies), ²⁶ then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. ²⁷ He said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Put your sword on your side, each of you! Go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill your brother, your friend, and your neighbor.”^{(A) 28} The sons of Levi did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand of the people fell on that day. ²⁹ Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have brought a blessing on yourselves this day.”

²⁶ “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.^(A)

⁴⁸ But to the one who had told him this, Jesus^[a] replied, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”

³⁷ “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me,^(A)