A Sabbathbreaker Executed

³² While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man ^(A)gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. ³³ And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. ^34 (B)They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. ³⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(C)“The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall ^(D)stone him with stones outside the camp.” ³⁶ And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Tassels on Garments

³⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁸ “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to ^(E)make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. ³⁹ And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, ^(F)not to follow^[a] after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined ^(G)to whore after. ⁴⁰ So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be ^(H)holy to your God. ^41 (I)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”

Korah's Rebellion

16 Now ^(J)Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and ^(K)Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. ² And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. ^3 (L)They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, ^(M)“You have gone too far! For ^(N)all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” ⁴ When Moses heard it, ^(O)he fell on his face, ⁵ and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show ^(P)who is his,^[b] and who is ^(Q)holy, and will bring him near to him. The one ^(R)whom he chooses he will ^(S)bring near to him. ⁶ Do this: take ^(T)censers, Korah and all his company; ⁷ put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. ^(U)You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” ⁸ And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: ⁹ is it ^(V)too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has ^(W)separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, ¹⁰ and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? ¹¹ Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is ^(X)Aaron that you grumble against him?”

¹² And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up. ¹³ Is it ^(Y)a small thing that you have brought us up out of ^(Z)a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also ^(AA)make yourself a prince over us? ¹⁴ Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.” ¹⁵ And Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, ^(AB)“Do not respect their offering. ^(AC)I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.”

¹⁶ And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, ^(AD)before the Lord, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. ¹⁷ And ^(AE)let every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the Lord his censer, ^(AF)250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.” ¹⁸ So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ^(AG)And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ^21 (AH)“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them ^(AI)in a moment.” ²² And they ^(AJ)fell on their faces and said, “O God, ^(AK)the God of the spirits of all flesh, ^(AL)shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?” ²³ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

²⁵ Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶ And he spoke to the congregation, saying, ^(AM)“Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” ²⁷ So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood ^(AN)at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. ²⁸ And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been ^(AO)of my own accord. ²⁹ If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, ^(AP)then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord creates something new, and ^(AQ)the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they ^(AR)go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”

^31 (AS)And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. ³² And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and ^(AT)all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. ³³ So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and ^(AU)they perished from the midst of the assembly. ³⁴ And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” ³⁵ And ^(AV)fire came out from the Lord and consumed ^(AW)the 250 men offering the incense.

^36 [c] Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy. ³⁸ As for the censers of ^(AX)these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the Lord, and they became holy. ^(AY)Thus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel.” ³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar, ⁴⁰ to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so ^(AZ)that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the Lord, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the Lord said to him through Moses.

⁴¹ But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel ^(BA)grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” ⁴² And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, ^(BB)the cloud covered it, and ^(BC)the glory of the Lord appeared. ⁴³ And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴ and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^45 (BD)“Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” ^(BE)And they fell on their faces. ⁴⁶ And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for ^(BF)wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.” ⁴⁷ So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ And he stood between the dead and the living, and ^(BG)the plague was stopped. ⁴⁹ Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, ^(BH)besides those who died in the affair of Korah. ⁵⁰ And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

The Beginning of Knowledge

1 ^(A)The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

The Enticement of Sinners

The Call of Wisdom

23 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, ^(A)I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” ² And the high priest ^(B)Ananias commanded those who stood by him ^(C)to strike him on the mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you ^(D)whitewashed ^(E)wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet ^(F)contrary to the law you ^(G)order me to be struck?” ⁴ Those who stood by said, “Would you revile ^(H)God's high priest?” ⁵ And Paul said, ^(I)“I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ^(J)‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

⁶ Now when Paul perceived that one part were ^(K)Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, ^(L)I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is ^(M)with respect to the ^(N)hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” ⁷ And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For the Sadducees ^(O)say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹ Then a great clamor arose, and some of ^(P)the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, ^(Q)“We find nothing wrong in this man. What ^(R)if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” ¹⁰ And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into ^(S)the barracks.

^11 (T)The following night ^(U)the Lord stood by him and said, ^(V)“Take courage, for ^(W)as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must ^(X)testify also in Rome.”

A Plot to Kill Paul

¹² When it was day, ^(Y)the Jews made a plot and ^(Z)bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. ¹³ There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. ¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

¹⁶ Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered ^(AA)the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷ Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” ¹⁸ So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul ^(AB)the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” ¹⁹ The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” ²⁰ And he said, ^(AC)“The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. ²¹ But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who ^(AD)have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” ²² So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”

Paul Sent to Felix the Governor

²³ Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night.^{[a] 24} Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to ^(AE)Felix ^(AF)the governor.” ²⁵ And he wrote a letter to this effect:

²⁶ “Claudius Lysias, to ^(AG)his Excellency the governor Felix, ^(AH)greetings. ^27 (AI)This man was seized by the Jews and ^(AJ)was about to be killed by them ^(AK)when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, ^(AL)having learned that he was a Roman citizen. ²⁸ And ^(AM)desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. ²⁹ I found that he was being accused ^(AN)about questions of their law, but ^(AO)charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. ^30 (AP)And when it was disclosed to me ^(AQ)that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ^(AR)ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.”

³¹ So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³² And on the next day they returned to ^(AS)the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. ³³ When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. ³⁴ On reading the letter, he asked what ^(AT)province he was from. And when he learned ^(AU)that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I will give you a hearing ^(AV)when your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's ^(AW)praetorium.

Paul Before Felix at Caesarea

24 And ^(AX)after five days the high priest ^(AY)Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before ^(AZ)the governor their case against Paul. ² And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:

“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, ^(BA)most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, ³ in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. ⁴ But, to detain^[b] you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. ⁵ For we have found this man a plague, ^(BB)one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of ^(BC)the sect of the Nazarenes. ^6 (BD)He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him.^{[c] 8} By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”

⁹ The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.

¹⁰ And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:

“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. ¹¹ You can verify that ^(BE)it is not more than twelve days since I ^(BF)went up ^(BG)to worship in Jerusalem, ¹² and ^(BH)they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. ^13 (BI)Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. ¹⁴ But this I confess to you, that according to ^(BJ)the Way, which they call ^(BK)a sect, ^(BL)I worship ^(BM)the God of our fathers, believing everything ^(BN)laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, ^15 (BO)having ^(BP)a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be ^(BQ)a resurrection ^(BR)of both the just and the unjust. ¹⁶ So I always ^(BS)take pains to have a ^(BT)clear conscience toward both God and man. ¹⁷ Now ^(BU)after several years ^(BV)I came to bring alms to ^(BW)my nation and to present ^(BX)offerings. ¹⁸ While I was doing this, they found me ^(BY)purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But ^(BZ)some Jews from Asia— ^19 (CA)they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. ²⁰ Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, ²¹ other than this one thing ^(CB)that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”

Paul Kept in Custody

²² But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of ^(CC)the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” ²³ Then he gave orders to the centurion that he ^(CD)should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that ^(CE)none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.

²⁴ After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about ^(CF)faith ^(CG)in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ And as he reasoned ^(CH)about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. ^(CI)When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” ²⁶ At the same time he hoped ^(CJ)that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. ²⁷ When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius ^(CK)Festus. And ^(CL)desiring to do the Jews a favor, ^(CM)Felix left Paul in prison.

Paul Appeals to Caesar

25 Now three days after Festus had arrived in ^(CN)the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. ² And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews ^(CO)laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, ³ asking as a favor against Paul^[d] that he summon him to Jerusalem—because ^(CP)they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. ⁴ Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. ⁵ “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”

⁶ After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on ^(CQ)the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. ⁷ When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him ^(CR)that they could not prove. ⁸ Paul argued in his defense, “Neither ^(CS)against ^(CT)the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor ^(CU)against Caesar have I committed any offense.” ⁹ But Festus, ^(CV)wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?” ¹⁰ But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar's ^(CW)tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. ¹¹ If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. ^(CX)I appeal to Caesar.” ¹² Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”

Paul Before Agrippa and Bernice

¹³ Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. ¹⁴ And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, ^(CY)“There is a man left prisoner by Felix, ¹⁵ and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case ^(CZ)against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. ^16 (DA)I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone ^(DB)before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. ^17 (DC)So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on ^(DD)the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. ¹⁸ When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed. ¹⁹ Rather they ^(DE)had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about ^(DF)a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. ²⁰ Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I ^(DG)asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. ²¹ But ^(DH)when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of ^(DI)the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.” ²² Then ^(DJ)Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.”

²³ So on the next day ^(DK)Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom ^(DL)the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, ^(DM)shouting that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵ But I found that ^(DN)he had done nothing deserving death. And ^(DO)as he himself appealed to ^(DP)the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. ²⁶ But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write. ²⁷ For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.”