Deuteronomy 33-34
Christian Standard Bible
Moses’s Blessings
33 This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave the Israelites before his death.(A) 2 He said:
The Lord came from Sinai
and appeared to them from Seir;(B)
he shone on them from Mount Paran(C)
and came with ten thousand holy ones,[a]
with lightning[b] from his right hand[c] for them.(D)
3 Indeed he loves the people.[d](E)
All your[e] holy ones are in your hand,
and they assemble[f] at your feet.
Each receives your words.
4 Moses gave us instruction,
a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5 So he became King in Jeshurun[g](F)
when the leaders of the people gathered
with the tribes of Israel.
6 Let Reuben live and not die
though his people become few.(G)
7 He said this about Judah:
Lord, hear Judah’s cry and bring him to his people.
He fights for his cause[h] with his own hands,
but may you be a help against his foes.
8 He said about Levi:
Your Thummim and Urim(H) belong to your faithful one;[i]
you tested him at Massah
and contended with him at the Waters of Meribah.(I)
9 He said about his father and mother,
“I do not regard them.”
He disregarded his brothers
and didn’t acknowledge his sons,
for they kept your word
and maintained your covenant.(J)
10 They will teach your ordinances to Jacob
and your instruction to Israel;(K)
they will set incense before you
and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
11 Lord, bless his possessions,[j]
and accept the work of his hands.
Break the back[k] of his adversaries and enemies,
so that they cannot rise again.
12 He said about Benjamin:
The Lord’s beloved rests[l] securely on him.
He[m] shields him all day long,
and he rests on his shoulders.[n]
13 He said about Joseph:
May his land be blessed by the Lord
with the dew of heaven’s bounty
and the watery depths that lie beneath;(L)
14 with the bountiful harvest from the sun
and the abundant yield of the seasons;
15 with the best products of the ancient mountains
and the bounty of the eternal hills;(M)
16 with the choice gifts of the land
and everything in it;
and with the favor of him
who appeared[o] in the burning bush.(N)
May these rest on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the prince of his brothers.(O)
17 His firstborn bull has[p] splendor,
and horns like[q] those of a wild ox;
he gores all the peoples with them
to the ends of the earth.
Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
and such are the thousands of Manasseh.
18 He said about Zebulun:
Rejoice, Zebulun, in your journeys,
and Issachar, in your tents.
19 They summon the peoples to a mountain;
there they offer acceptable sacrifices.
For they draw from the wealth of the seas
and the hidden treasures of the sand.(P)
20 He said about Gad:
The one who enlarges Gad’s territory
will be blessed.
He lies down like a lion
and tears off an arm or even a head.(Q)
21 He chose the best part for himself,
because a ruler’s portion was assigned there for him.
He came with the leaders of the people;
he carried out the Lord’s justice
and his ordinances for Israel.(R)
22 He said about Dan:
Dan is a young lion,
leaping out of Bashan.(S)
23 He said about Naphtali:
Naphtali, enjoying approval,
full of the Lord’s blessing,
take[r] possession to the west and the south.
24 He said about Asher:
May Asher[s] be the most blessed of the sons;
may he be the most favored among his brothers
and dip his foot in olive oil.(T)
25 May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze,
and your strength last as long as you live.
26 There is none like the God of Jeshurun,
who rides the heavens to your aid,
the clouds in his majesty.(U)
27 The God of old is your dwelling place,(V)
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
He drives out the enemy before you
and commands, “Destroy!”
28 So Israel dwells securely;(W)
Jacob lives untroubled[t](X)
in a land of grain and new wine;
even his skies drip with dew.(Y)
29 How happy you are, Israel!
Who is like you,
a people saved by the Lord?
He is the shield that protects you,
the sword you boast in.
Your enemies will cringe before you,(Z)
and you will tread on their backs.[u](AA)
Moses’s Death
34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah,(AB) which faces Jericho, and the Lord showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean[v] Sea, 3 the Negev, and the plain in the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. 4 The Lord then said to him, “This is the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’(AC) I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it.”
5 So Moses the servant of the Lord(AD) died there in the land of Moab, according to the Lord’s word. 6 He buried him[w] in the valley(AE) in the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows where his grave is.(AF) 7 Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not left him. 8 The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days.(AG) Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.(AH)
9 Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom(AI) because Moses had laid his hands on him.(AJ) So the Israelites obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.(AK) 10 No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.(AL) 11 He was unparalleled for all the signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do against the land of Egypt—to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land— 12 and for all the mighty acts of power and terrifying deeds that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.(AM)
Footnotes
- 33:2 LXX reads Mount Paran with ten thousands from Kadesh
- 33:2 Or fiery law; Hb obscure
- 33:2 Or ones, from his southland to the mountain slopes
- 33:3 Or peoples
- 33:3 Lit his, or its
- 33:3 Hb obscure
- 33:5 = Upright One, referring to Israel, also in v. 26
- 33:7 Or He contends for them
- 33:8 DSS, LXX read Give to Levi your Thummim, your Urim to your favored one
- 33:11 Or abilities
- 33:11 Or waist
- 33:12 Or Let the Lord’s beloved rest
- 33:12 LXX reads The Most High
- 33:12 Or and he dwells among his mountain slopes
- 33:16 Lit dwelt
- 33:17 Some DSS, Sam, LXX, Syr, Vg read A firstborn bull—he has
- 33:17 Lit and his horns are
- 33:23 Sam, LXX, Syr, Vg, Tg read he will take
- 33:24 = Happy or Blessed; Gn 30:13
- 33:28 Text emended; MT reads Jacob’s fountain is alone
- 33:29 Or high places
- 34:2 Lit Western
- 34:6 Or he was buried
Luke 3:1-22
Christian Standard Bible
The Messiah’s Herald
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,(A) Herod was tetrarch[a] of Galilee,(B) his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas(C) and Caiaphas,(D) God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.(E) 3 He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan,(F) proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,(G) 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
Prepare the way for the Lord;
make his paths straight!
5 Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be made low;[b]
the crooked will become straight,
the rough ways smooth,
6 and everyone will see the salvation of God.[c](H)
7 He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers!(I) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(J) 8 Therefore produce fruit(K) consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’(L) for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”(M)
10 “What then should we do?” (N) the crowds were asking him.
11 He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.”(O)
12 Tax collectors(P) also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” (Q)
13 He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.”
14 Some soldiers also questioned him, “What should we do?”
He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
15 Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.(R) 16 John answered them all,(S) “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with[d] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing shovel(T) is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn,(U) but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”(V) 18 Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people. 19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch(W) because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the evil things he had done,(X) 20 Herod added this to everything else—he locked up John in prison.(Y)
The Baptism of Jesus
21 When all the people were baptized,(Z) Jesus also was baptized. As he was praying,(AA) heaven opened,(AB) 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”(AC)
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Psalm 39:1-6
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 39
The Fleeting Nature of Life
For the choir director, for Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
1 I said, “I will guard my ways
so that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”(A)
2 I was speechless and quiet;
I kept silent, even from speaking good,
and my pain intensified.(B)
3 My heart grew hot within me;
as I mused, a fire burned.(C)
I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, make me aware of my end
and the number of my days
so that I will know how short-lived I am.(D)
5 In fact, you have made my days just inches long,
and my life span is as nothing to you.
Yes, every human being stands as only a vapor.(E)Selah
6 Yes, a person goes about like a mere shadow.
Indeed, they rush around in vain,
gathering possessions
without knowing who will get them.(F)
Proverbs 9:13-16
Christian Standard Bible
13 Folly is a rowdy woman;(A)
she is gullible and knows nothing.(B)
14 She sits by the doorway of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,
15 calling to those who pass by,
who go straight ahead on their paths:(C)
16 “Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!”
To the one who lacks sense, she says,
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