¹⁷ The Lord instructed Moses: ¹⁸ “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: After you enter the land where I am bringing you, ¹⁹ you are to offer a contribution to the Lord when you eat from the food of the land. ²⁰ You are to offer a loaf from your first batch of dough^(A) as a contribution; offer it just like a contribution from the threshing floor.^{(B) 21} Throughout your generations, you are to give the Lord a contribution from the first batch of your dough.

²² “When you sin unintentionally and do not obey all these commands that the Lord spoke to Moses^(C)— ²³ all that the Lord has commanded you through Moses, from the day the Lord issued the commands and onward throughout your generations— ²⁴ and if it was done unintentionally without the community’s awareness, the entire community is to prepare one young bull for a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, with its grain offering and drink offering according to the regulation, and one male goat as a sin offering. ²⁵ The priest must then make atonement for the entire Israelite community so that they may be forgiven, for the sin was unintentional. They are to bring their offering, one made by fire to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord for their unintentional sin. ²⁶ The entire Israelite community and the foreigner who resides among them will be forgiven, since it happened to all the people unintentionally.

²⁷ “If one person sins unintentionally,^(D) he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering. ²⁸ The priest must then make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the person who acts in error sinning unintentionally, and when he makes atonement for him, he will be forgiven. ²⁹ You are to have the same law for the person who acts in error, whether he is an Israelite or a foreigner who lives among you.

³⁰ “But the person who acts defiantly,^[a] whether native or foreign resident, blasphemes the Lord.^(E) That person is to be cut off from his people. ³¹ He will certainly be cut off, because he has despised the Lord’s word and broken His command; his guilt remains on him.”

Sabbath Violation

³² While the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.^{(F) 33} Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses, Aaron, and the entire community. ³⁴ They placed him in custody because it had not been decided what should be done to him. ³⁵ Then the Lord told Moses, “The man is to be put to death. The entire community is to stone him outside the camp.” ³⁶ So the entire community brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Tassels for Remembrance

³⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁸ “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout their generations they are to make tassels^(G) for the corners of their garments, and put a blue cord on the tassel at each corner. ³⁹ These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the Lord’s commands and obey them and not become unfaithful by following your own heart and your own eyes. ⁴⁰ This way you will remember and obey all My commands and be holy to your God. ⁴¹ I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am Yahweh your God.”^(H)

Korah Incites Rebellion

16 Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi,^(I) with Dathan and Abiram,^(J) sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took ² 250 prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses. ³ They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have gone too far!^[b] Everyone in the entire community is holy, and the Lord is among them.^(K) Why then do you exalt yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”

⁴ When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. ⁵ Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will reveal who belongs to Him, who is set apart, and the one He will let come near^(L) Him. He will let the one He chooses come near Him. ⁶ Korah, you and all your followers are to do this: take firepans, and tomorrow ⁷ place fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord.^(M) Then the man the Lord chooses will be the one who is set apart.^(N) It is you Levites who have gone too far!”^[c]

⁸ Moses also told Korah, “Now listen, Levites! ⁹ Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelite community to bring you near to Himself, to perform the work at the Lord’s tabernacle, and to stand before the community to minister to them? ¹⁰ He has brought you near, and all your fellow Levites who are with you, but you are seeking the priesthood as well. ¹¹ Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the Lord!^(O) As for Aaron, who is he^[d] that you should complain about him?”

¹² Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come! ¹³ Is it not enough that you brought us up from a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Do you also have to appoint yourself as ruler over us? ¹⁴ Furthermore, you didn’t bring us to a land flowing with milk and honey or give us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come!”

¹⁵ Then Moses became angry and said to the Lord, “Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.” ¹⁶ So Moses told Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you, they, and Aaron. ¹⁷ Each of you is to take his firepan, place incense on it, and present his firepan before the Lord—250 firepans. You and Aaron are each to present your firepan also.”

¹⁸ Each man took his firepan, placed fire in it, put incense on it, and stood at the entrance to the tent of meeting along with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ After Korah assembled the whole community against them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community. ²⁰ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, ²¹ “Separate yourselves from this community so I may consume them instantly.”^(P)

²² But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “God, God of the spirits^[e](Q) of all flesh, when one man sins, will You vent Your wrath on the whole community?”^(R)

²³ The Lord replied to Moses, ²⁴ “Tell the community: Get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

²⁵ Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶ He warned the community, “Get away now from the tents of these wicked men. Don’t touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” ²⁷ So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents with their wives, children, and infants.

²⁸ Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord sent me^(S) to do all these things and that it was not of my own will: ²⁹ If these men die naturally as all people would, and suffer the fate of all, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord brings about something unprecedented, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them along with all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have despised the Lord.”

³¹ Just as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open. ³² The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah’s people,^(T) and all their possessions. ³³ They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. ³⁴ At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too!” ³⁵ Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were presenting the incense.^(U)

^36 [f]Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the firepans from the burning debris, because they are holy, and scatter the fire far away. ³⁸ As for the firepans of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, make them into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, for they presented them before the Lord, and the firepans are holy. They will be a sign to the Israelites.”

³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the bronze firepans that those who were burned had presented, and they were hammered into plating for the altar, ⁴⁰ just as the Lord commanded him through Moses. It was to be a reminder for the Israelites that no unauthorized person outside the lineage of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the Lord^(V) and become like Korah and his followers.

Jesus Faces Pilate

15 As^(A) soon as it was morning, the chief priests had a meeting with the elders,^(B) scribes,^(C) and the whole Sanhedrin.^(D) After tying Jesus up, they led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate.^(E)

² So Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King^(F) of the Jews?”^(G)

He answered him, “You have said it.”^[a]

³ And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things. ⁴ Then Pilate^(H) questioned Him again, “Are You not answering anything? Look how many things they are accusing You of!” ⁵ But Jesus still did not answer anything, so Pilate was amazed.

Jesus or Barabbas

⁶ At^(I) the festival^(J) it was Pilate’s^(K) custom to release for the people a prisoner they requested. ⁷ There was one named Barabbas, who was in prison with rebels who had committed murder^(L) during the rebellion.^{(M) 8} The crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do for them as was his custom. ⁹ So Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release the King^(N) of the Jews^(O) for you?” ¹⁰ For he knew it was because of envy^(P) that the chief priests had handed Him over. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd so that he would release Barabbas to them instead.

¹² Pilate asked them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the One you call the King of the Jews?”

¹³ Again they shouted, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁴ Then Pilate said to them, “Why? What has He done wrong?”

But they shouted, “Crucify Him!” all the more.

¹⁵ Then, willing to gratify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. And after having Jesus flogged,^[b] he handed Him over to be crucified.

Mocked by the Military

¹⁶ Then^(Q) the soldiers led Him away into the courtyard (that is, headquarters^(R)) and called the whole company together. ¹⁷ They dressed Him in a purple^(S) robe, twisted together a crown^(T) of thorns, and put it on Him. ¹⁸ And they began to salute Him, “Hail,^(U) King^(V) of the Jews!” ¹⁹ They kept hitting Him on the head with a reed and spitting on Him. Getting down on their knees,^(W) they were paying Him homage. ²⁰ When they had mocked^(X) Him, they stripped Him of the purple robe, put His clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

Crucified between Two Criminals

²¹ They^(Y) forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’ cross.^(Z) He was Simon, a Cyrenian,^(AA) the father of Alexander and Rufus.^{(AB) 22} And^(AC) they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means Skull Place^(AD)). ²³ They tried to give Him wine^(AE) mixed with myrrh,^(AF) but He did not take it. ²⁴ Then they crucified Him and divided His clothes, casting lots^(AG) for them to decide what each would get. ²⁵ Now it was nine in the morning^[c] when they crucified Him. ²⁶ The inscription of the charge written against Him was:

²⁷ They^(AJ) crucified two criminals^[d](AK) with Him, one on His right and one on His left. [²⁸ So the Scripture was fulfilled that says: And He was counted among outlaws.]^{[e](AL)[f] 29} Those^(AM) who passed by were yelling insults^(AN) at^[g] Him, shaking their heads,^(AO) and saying, “Ha! The One who would demolish the sanctuary and build it in three days,^{(AP) 30} save Yourself by coming down from the cross!”^{(AQ) 31} In the same way, the chief priests with the scribes^(AR) were mocking Him to one another and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself! ³² Let the Messiah,^(AS) the King^(AT) of Israel,^(AU) come down now from the cross,^(AV) so that we may see and believe.”^(AW) Even those who were crucified with Him were taunting Him.

The Death of Jesus

³³ When^(AX) it was noon,^[h] darkness came over the whole land^[i] until three in the afternoon.^{[j](AY) 34} And at three^[k] Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá^[l] sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”^(AZ)[m]

³⁵ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “Look, He’s calling for Elijah!” ³⁶ Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, fixed it on a reed, offered Him a drink,^(BA) and said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take Him down!”

³⁷ But Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed His last. ³⁸ Then the curtain^(BB) of the sanctuary^[n] was split in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ When the centurion, who was standing opposite Him, saw the way He^[o] breathed His last, he said, “This man really was God’s Son!”^[p](BC)

⁴⁰ There^(BD) were also women looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene,^(BE) Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. ⁴¹ When He was in Galilee,^(BF) they would follow Him and help Him. Many other women had come up with Him to Jerusalem.^(BG)

The Burial of Jesus

⁴² When^(BH) it was already evening, because it was preparation day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin who was himself looking forward^(BI) to the kingdom of God,^(BJ) came and boldly went in to Pilate^(BK) and asked for Jesus’ body.^{(BL) 44} Pilate was surprised that He was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him whether He had already died. ⁴⁵ When he found out from the centurion, he gave the corpse to Joseph. ⁴⁶ After he bought some fine linen, he took Him down and wrapped Him in the linen. Then he placed Him in a tomb^(BM) cut out of the rock, and rolled a stone^(BN) against the entrance to the tomb. ⁴⁷ Now^(BO) Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching where He was placed.

Psalm 54

Prayer for Deliverance

For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A Davidic Maskil. When the Ziphites went and said to Saul, “Is David not hiding among us?”^(A)