Jesus’ Authority Questioned^(A)

^23 (B)Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and ^(C)said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

²⁴ But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: ²⁵ The ^(D)baptism of ^(E)John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we ^(F)fear the multitude, ^(G)for all count John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.”

And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my ^(H)vineyard.’ ²⁹ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. ³⁰ Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to Him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, ^(I)“Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. ³² For ^(J)John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; ^(K)but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward ^[a]relent and believe him.

Greeting

1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, ^(A)called to be an apostle, ^(B)separated to the gospel of God ^2 (C)which He promised before ^(D)through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who ^[a]was ^(E)born of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴ and ^(F)declared to be the Son of God with power according ^(G)to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. ⁵ Through Him ^(H)we have received grace and apostleship for ^(I)obedience to the faith among all nations ^(J)for His name, ⁶ among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

⁷ To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, ^(K)called to be saints:

^(L)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Desire to Visit Rome

⁸ First, ^(M)I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that ^(N)your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. ⁹ For ^(O)God is my witness, ^(P)whom I serve ^[b]with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that ^(Q)without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, ¹⁰ making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. ¹¹ For I long to see you, that ^(R)I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— ¹² that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by ^(S)the mutual faith both of you and me.

¹³ Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but ^(T)was hindered until now), that I might have some ^(U)fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. ¹⁴ I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. ¹⁵ So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

The Just Live by Faith

¹⁶ For ^(V)I am not ashamed of the gospel ^[c]of Christ, for ^(W)it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, ^(X)for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ¹⁷ For ^(Y)in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ^(Z)“The just shall live by faith.”

The Glory of God in Zion

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

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.