The Pharisees and Sadducees Seek a Sign^(A)

16 Then the ^(B)Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. ² He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; ³ and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^[a]Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. ^4 (C)A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of ^[b]the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees^(D)

⁵ Now ^(E)when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. ⁶ Then Jesus said to them, ^(F)“Take heed and beware of the ^[c]leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

⁷ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.”

⁸ But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you ^[d]have brought no bread? ^9 (G)Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? ^10 (H)Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? ¹¹ How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the ^[e]leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the ^[f]doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ^(I)

¹³ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ^(J)“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

¹⁴ So they said, ^(K)“Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or ^(L)one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do ^(M)you say that I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered and said, ^(N)“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, ^(O)for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but ^(P)My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I also say to you that ^(Q)you are Peter, and ^(R)on this rock I will build My church, and ^(S)the gates of Hades shall not ^[g]prevail against it. ^19 (T)And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth ^[h]will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

^20 (U)Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection^(V)

²¹ From that time Jesus began ^(W)to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

²² Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ^[i]“Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”

²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, ^(X)Satan! ^(Y)You are ^[j]an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Take Up the Cross and Follow Him^(Z)

^24 (AA)Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and ^(AB)follow Me. ²⁵ For ^(AC)whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what ^(AD)profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or ^(AE)what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For ^(AF)the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father ^(AG)with His angels, ^(AH)and then He will reward each according to his works. ²⁸ Assuredly, I say to you, ^(AI)there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

The First Census of Israel^(A)

1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses ^(B)in the Wilderness of Sinai, ^(C)in the tabernacle of meeting, on the ^(D)first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: ^2 (E)“Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male ^(F)individually, ³ from ^(G)twenty years old and above—all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies. ⁴ And with you there shall be a man from every tribe, each one the head of his father’s house.

⁵ “These are the names of the men who shall stand with you: from Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; ⁶ from Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; ⁷ from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; ⁸ from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; ⁹ from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; ¹⁰ from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; ¹¹ from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; ¹² from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; ¹³ from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ocran; ¹⁴ from Gad, Eliasaph the son of ^(H)Deuel;^{[a] 15} from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.” ^16 (I)These were ^(J)chosen^[b] from the congregation, leaders of their fathers’ tribes, ^(K)heads of the divisions in Israel.

¹⁷ Then Moses and Aaron took these men who had been ^[c]mentioned ^(L)by name, ¹⁸ and they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they recited their ^(M)ancestry by families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, each one individually. ¹⁹ As the Lord commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.

²⁰ Now the ^(N)children of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ²¹ those who were numbered of the tribe of Reuben were forty-six thousand five hundred.

²² From the ^(O)children of Simeon, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, of those who were numbered, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ²³ those who were numbered of the tribe of Simeon were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

²⁴ From the ^(P)children of Gad, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ²⁵ those who were numbered of the tribe of Gad were forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.

²⁶ From the ^(Q)children of Judah, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ²⁷ those who were numbered of the tribe of Judah were ^(R)seventy-four thousand six hundred.

²⁸ From the ^(S)children of Issachar, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ²⁹ those who were numbered of the tribe of Issachar were fifty-four thousand four hundred.

³⁰ From the ^(T)children of Zebulun, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ³¹ those who were numbered of the tribe of Zebulun were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

³² From the sons of Joseph, the ^(U)children of Ephraim, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ³³ those who were numbered of the tribe of Ephraim were forty thousand five hundred.

³⁴ From the ^(V)children of Manasseh, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ³⁵ those who were numbered of the tribe of Manasseh were thirty-two thousand two hundred.

³⁶ From the ^(W)children of Benjamin, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ³⁷ those who were numbered of the tribe of Benjamin were thirty-five thousand four hundred.

³⁸ From the ^(X)children of Dan, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ³⁹ those who were numbered of the tribe of Dan were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

⁴⁰ From the ^(Y)children of Asher, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ⁴¹ those who were numbered of the tribe of Asher were forty-one thousand five hundred.

⁴² From the children of Naphtali, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ⁴³ those who were numbered of the tribe of Naphtali were fifty-three thousand four hundred.

^44 (Z)These are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each one representing his father’s house. ⁴⁵ So all who were numbered of the children of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war in Israel— ⁴⁶ all who were numbered were ^(AA)six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.

⁴⁷ But ^(AB)the Levites were not numbered among them by their fathers’ tribe; ⁴⁸ for the Lord had spoken to Moses, saying: ^49 (AC)“Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel; ^50 (AD)but you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, over all its furnishings, and over all things that belong to it; they shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they shall attend to it ^(AE)and camp around the tabernacle. ^51 (AF)And when the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it ^(AG)up. ^(AH)The outsider who comes near shall be put to death. ⁵² The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, ^(AI)everyone by his own camp, everyone by his own standard, according to their armies; ^53 (AJ)but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no ^(AK)wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel; and the Levites shall ^(AL)keep^[d] charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony.”

⁵⁴ Thus the children of Israel did; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they did.

The Tribes and Leaders by Armies

2 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: ^2 (AM)“Everyone of the children of Israel shall camp by his own ^[e]standard, beside the emblems of his father’s house; they shall camp ^(AN)some distance from the tabernacle of meeting. ³ On the ^(AO)east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies; and ^(AP)Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be the leader of the children of Judah.” ⁴ And his army was numbered at seventy-four thousand six hundred.

⁵ “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, and Nethanel the son of Zuar shall be the leader of the children of Issachar.” ⁶ And his army was numbered at fifty-four thousand four hundred.

⁷ “Then comes the tribe of Zebulun, and Eliab the son of Helon shall be the leader of the children of Zebulun.” ⁸ And his army was numbered at fifty-seven thousand four hundred. ⁹ “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Judah, one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred—^(AQ)these shall ^[f]break camp first.

¹⁰ “On the ^(AR)south side shall be the standard of the forces with Reuben according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.” ¹¹ And his army was numbered at forty-six thousand five hundred.

¹² “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, and the leader of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.” ¹³ And his army was numbered at fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

¹⁴ “Then comes the tribe of Gad, and the leader of the children of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of ^[g]Reuel.” ¹⁵ And his army was numbered at forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. ¹⁶ “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Reuben, one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty—^(AS)they shall ^[h]be the second to break camp.

^17 (AT)“And the tabernacle of meeting shall move out with the ^[i]camp of the Levites ^(AU)in the middle of the ^[j]camps; as they camp, so they shall move out, everyone in his place, by their ^[k]standards.

¹⁸ “On the west side shall be the standard of the forces with Ephraim according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.” ¹⁹ And his army was numbered at forty thousand five hundred.

²⁰ “Next to him comes the tribe of Manasseh, and the leader of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.” ²¹ And his army was numbered at thirty-two thousand two hundred.

²² “Then comes the tribe of Benjamin, and the leader of the children of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.” ²³ And his army was numbered at thirty-five thousand four hundred. ²⁴ “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Ephraim, one hundred and eight thousand one hundred—^(AV)they shall ^[l]be the third to break camp.

²⁵ “The ^[m]standard of the forces with Dan shall be on the north side according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.” ²⁶ And his army was numbered at sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

²⁷ “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, and the leader of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.” ²⁸ And his army was numbered at forty-one thousand five hundred.

²⁹ “Then comes the tribe of Naphtali, and the leader of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan.” ³⁰ And his army was numbered at fifty-three thousand four hundred. ³¹ “All who were numbered of the forces with Dan, one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred—^(AW)they shall ^[n]break camp last, with their ^[o]standards.”

³² These are the ones who were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers’ houses. ^(AX)All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. ³³ But ^(AY)the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁴ Thus the children of Israel ^(AZ)did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses; ^(BA)so they camped by their ^[p]standards and so they broke camp, each one by his family, according to their fathers’ houses.

Everything Has Its Time

The God-Given Task

^9 (H)What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? ^10 (I)I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that ^(J)no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

¹² I know that nothing is ^(K)better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, ¹³ and also that ^(L)every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.