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Numbers 19-20
English Standard Version
Numbers 19-20
English Standard Version
Laws for Purification
19 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, (A)and on which a yoke has never come. 3 And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and (B)it shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered before him. 4 And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and (C)sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. 5 And the heifer shall be burned in his sight. (D)Its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take (E)cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn, and throw them into the fire burning the heifer. 7 Then the priest (F)shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. But the priest shall be unclean until evening. 8 (G)The one who burns the heifer (H)shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water and shall be unclean until evening. 9 And a man who is clean shall gather up (I)the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a (J)clean place. And they shall be kept for the water for (K)impurity for the congregation of the people of Israel; it is a sin offering. 10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer (L)shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. And this shall be a perpetual statute for the people of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them.
11 (M)“Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days. 12 He (N)shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean. 13 Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, (O)defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, (P)and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him.
14 “This is the law when someone dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean seven days. 15 And every (Q)open vessel that has no cover fastened on it is unclean. 16 (R)Whoever in the open field touches someone who was killed with a sword or who died naturally, or touches a human bone or a (S)grave, shall be unclean seven days. 17 For the unclean they shall take (T)some ashes of the burnt sin offering, and fresh[a] water shall be added in a vessel. 18 Then a clean person shall take (U)hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there and on whoever touched the bone, or the slain or the dead or the grave. 19 And the clean person shall sprinkle it on the unclean (V)on the third day and on the seventh day. (W)Thus on the seventh day he shall cleanse him, and he shall (X)wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and at evening he shall be clean.
20 “If the man who is unclean does not cleanse himself, (Y)that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, since he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. Because the water for impurity has not been thrown on him, he is unclean. 21 And it shall be a statute forever for them. The one who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening. 22 And (Z)whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean, and anyone who touches it shall be unclean until evening.”
The Death of Miriam
20 And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came (AA)into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And (AB)Miriam died there and was buried there.
The Waters of Meribah
2 (AC)Now there was no water for the congregation. (AD)And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people (AE)quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished (AF)when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? 5 And (AG)why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and (AH)fell on their faces. (AI)And the glory of the Lord appeared to them, 7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 (AJ)“Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So (AK)you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” 9 And Moses took the staff (AL)from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
Moses Strikes the Rock
10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, (AM)“Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, (AN)and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because (AO)you did not believe in me, (AP)to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 13 (AQ)These are the waters of Meribah,[b] where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy.
Edom Refuses Passage
14 (AR)Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to (AS)the king of Edom: “Thus says (AT)your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: 15 (AU)how our fathers went down to Egypt, (AV)and we lived in Egypt a long time. (AW)And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. 16 And (AX)when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and (AY)sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. 17 (AZ)Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, (BA)or drink water from a well. We will go along the King's Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” 18 But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” 19 And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, (BB)and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, (BC)then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” 20 But he said, (BD)“You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. 21 Thus Edom (BE)refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel (BF)turned away from him.
The Death of Aaron
22 And they journeyed from (BG)Kadesh, and the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came to (BH)Mount Hor. 23 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, 24 (BI)“Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because (BJ)you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor. 26 And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron (BK)shall be gathered to his people and shall die there.” 27 Moses did as the Lord commanded. And they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 (BL)And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there (BM)on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had perished, (BN)all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.
Footnotes
- Numbers 19:17 Hebrew living
- Numbers 20:13 Meribah means quarreling
Numbers 19-20
New International Version
Numbers 19-20
New International Version
The Water of Cleansing
19 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer(A) without defect or blemish(B) and that has never been under a yoke.(C) 3 Give it to Eleazar(D) the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp(E) and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle(F) it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. 5 While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines.(G) 6 The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop(H) and scarlet wool(I) and throw them onto the burning heifer. 7 After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water.(J) He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. 8 The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.
9 “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer(K) and put them in a ceremonially clean place(L) outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing;(M) it is for purification from sin.(N) 10 The man who gathers up(O) the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening.(P) This will be a lasting ordinance(Q) both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.(R)
11 “Whoever touches a human corpse(S) will be unclean for seven days.(T) 12 They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day;(U) then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean.(V) 13 If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse,(W) they defile the Lord’s tabernacle.(X) They must be cut off from Israel.(Y) Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean;(Z) their uncleanness remains on them.
14 “This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, 15 and every open container(AA) without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.
16 “Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death,(AB) or anyone who touches a human bone(AC) or a grave,(AD) will be unclean for seven days.(AE)
17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes(AF) from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water(AG) over them. 18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop,(AH) dip it in the water and sprinkle(AI) the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave(AJ) or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death. 19 The man who is clean is to sprinkle(AK) those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them.(AL) Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes(AM) and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean. 20 But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled(AN) the sanctuary of the Lord.(AO) The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean.(AP) 21 This is a lasting ordinance(AQ) for them.
“The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening. 22 Anything that an unclean(AR) person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”
Water From the Rock
20 In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin,(AS) and they stayed at Kadesh.(AT) There Miriam(AU) died and was buried.
2 Now there was no water(AV) for the community,(AW) and the people gathered in opposition(AX) to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled(AY) with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead(AZ) before the Lord!(BA) 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness,(BB) that we and our livestock should die here?(BC) 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates.(BD) And there is no water to drink!(BE)”
6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting(BF) and fell facedown,(BG) and the glory of the Lord(BH) appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff,(BI) and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.(BJ) You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff(BK) from the Lord’s presence,(BL) just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together(BM) in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”(BN) 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water(BO) gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy(BP) in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”(BQ)
13 These were the waters of Meribah,[a](BR) where the Israelites quarreled(BS) with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.(BT)
Edom Denies Israel Passage
14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh(BU) to the king of Edom,(BV) saying:
“This is what your brother Israel says: You know(BW) about all the hardships(BX) that have come on us. 15 Our ancestors went down into Egypt,(BY) and we lived there many years.(BZ) The Egyptians mistreated(CA) us and our ancestors, 16 but when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry(CB) and sent an angel(CC) and brought us out of Egypt.(CD)
“Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.(CE) 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.(CF)”
18 But Edom(CG) answered:
“You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.(CH)”
19 The Israelites replied:
“We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock(CI) drink any of your water, we will pay for it.(CJ) We only want to pass through on foot—nothing else.”
20 Again they answered:
“You may not pass through.(CK)”
Then Edom(CL) came out against them with a large and powerful army. 21 Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory,(CM) Israel turned away from them.(CN)
The Death of Aaron
22 The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh(CO) and came to Mount Hor.(CP) 23 At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom,(CQ) the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 24 “Aaron will be gathered to his people.(CR) He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command(CS) at the waters of Meribah.(CT) 25 Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor.(CU) 26 Remove Aaron’s garments(CV) and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people;(CW) he will die there.”
27 Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor(CX) in the sight of the whole community. 28 Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar.(CY) And Aaron died there(CZ) on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, 29 and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died,(DA) all the Israelites mourned for him(DB) thirty days.
Footnotes
- Numbers 20:13 Meribah means quarreling.
Luke 1:1-25
English Standard Version
Luke 1:1-25
English Standard Version
Dedication to Theophilus
1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that (A)have been accomplished among us, 2 (B)just as those who (C)from the beginning were (D)eyewitnesses and (E)ministers of (F)the word (G)have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write (H)an orderly account for you, (I)most excellent (J)Theophilus, 4 that you may have (K)certainty concerning the things (L)you have been taught.
Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 (M)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,[a] (N)of (O)the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both (P)righteous before God, walking (Q)blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because (R)Elizabeth was barren, and (S)both were advanced in years.
8 Now (T)while he was serving as priest before God when (U)his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot (V)to enter (W)the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people (X)were praying (Y)outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of (Z)the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and (AA)fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for (AB)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and (AC)you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will (AD)rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be (AE)great before the Lord. And (AF)he must not drink wine or strong (AG)drink, and (AH)he will be (AI)filled with the Holy Spirit, (AJ)even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and (AK)he will go before him (AL)in the spirit and power of Elijah, (AM)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and (AN)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, (AO)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, (AP)“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am (AQ)Gabriel. (AR)I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, (AS)you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in (AT)the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in (AU)the temple. And (AV)he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And (AW)when his time of (AX)service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, (AY)to take away my reproach among people.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Luke 1:5 Greek Zacharias
Luke 1:1-25
New International Version
Luke 1:1-25
New International Version
Introduction(A)
1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled[a] among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first(B) were eyewitnesses(C) and servants of the word.(D) 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account(E) for you, most excellent(F) Theophilus,(G) 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.(H)
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 In the time of Herod king of Judea(I) there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah;(J) his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.(K) 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,(L) 9 he was chosen by lot,(M) according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.(N) 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.(O)
11 Then an angel(P) of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.(Q) 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.(R) 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid,(S) Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.(T) 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,(U) 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink,(V) and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit(W) even before he is born.(X) 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord,(Y) in the spirit and power of Elijah,(Z) to turn the hearts of the parents to their children(AA) and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”(AB)
18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this?(AC) I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”(AD)
19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel.(AE) I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak(AF) until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs(AG) to them but remained unable to speak.
23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace(AH) among the people.”
Footnotes
- Luke 1:1 Or been surely believed
Psalm 56
English Standard Version
Psalm 56
English Standard Version
In God I Trust
To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A (A)Miktam[a] of David, when the (B)Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 (C)Be gracious to me, O God, for man (D)tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many attack me proudly.
3 When I am afraid,
I (E)put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; (F)I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they injure my cause;[b]
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They (G)stir up strife, they (H)lurk;
they (I)watch my steps,
as they have waited for my life.
7 For their crime will they escape?
(J)In wrath (K)cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You have kept count of my tossings;[c]
(L)put my tears in your bottle.
(M)Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
(N)in the day when I call.
This I know, that[d] (O)God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; (P)I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I must perform my (Q)vows to you, O God;
I will (R)render thank offerings to you.
13 (S)For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
(T)that I may walk before God
(U)in the light of life.
Footnotes
- Psalm 56:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 56:5 Or they twist my words
- Psalm 56:8 Or wanderings
- Psalm 56:9 Or because
Psalm 56
New International Version
Psalm 56
New International Version
Psalm 56[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam.[b] When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.
1 Be merciful to me,(A) my God,
for my enemies are in hot pursuit;(B)
all day long they press their attack.(C)
2 My adversaries pursue me all day long;(D)
in their pride many are attacking me.(E)
3 When I am afraid,(F) I put my trust in you.(G)
4 In God, whose word I praise—(H)
in God I trust and am not afraid.(I)
What can mere mortals do to me?(J)
5 All day long they twist my words;(K)
all their schemes are for my ruin.
6 They conspire,(L) they lurk,
they watch my steps,(M)
hoping to take my life.(N)
7 Because of their wickedness do not[c] let them escape;(O)
in your anger, God, bring the nations down.(P)
8 Record my misery;
list my tears on your scroll[d](Q)—
are they not in your record?(R)
9 Then my enemies will turn back(S)
when I call for help.(T)
By this I will know that God is for me.(U)
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise—
11 in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can man do to me?
Footnotes
- Psalm 56:1 In Hebrew texts 56:1-13 is numbered 56:2-14.
- Psalm 56:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 56:7 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text does not have do not.
- Psalm 56:8 Or misery; / put my tears in your wineskin
Proverbs 11:8
English Standard Version
Proverbs 11:8
English Standard Version
8 (A)The righteous is delivered from trouble,
and the wicked walks into it instead.
Proverbs 11:8
New International Version
Proverbs 11:8
New International Version
8 The righteous person is rescued from trouble,
and it falls on the wicked instead.(A)
English Standard Version (ESV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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