Korah’s Rebellion

16 Now ^(A)Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with ^(B)Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men, ² and they stood before Moses, ^[a]together with some of the sons of Israel, 250 leaders of the congregation ^[b](C)chosen in the assembly, men of renown. ³ They assembled together ^(D)against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “^[c](E)You have gone far enough! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and ^(F)the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

⁴ When Moses heard this, ^(G)he fell on his face; ⁵ and he spoke to Korah and all his group, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will make known who is His, and ^(H)who is holy, and will bring that one near to Himself; indeed, ^(I)the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. ⁶ Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and ^[d]your whole group, ⁷ and put fire in them, and place incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. ^[e](J)You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”

⁸ Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: ^9 (K)Is it too small an honor for you that the God of Israel has singled you out from the congregation of Israel, ^(L)to bring you near to Himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; ¹⁰ and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? But are you ^(M)seeking the priesthood as well? ¹¹ Therefore you and your whole group are the ones gathered together ^(N)against the Lord; but as for Aaron, ^[f]who is he, that ^(O)you grumble against him?”

¹² Then Moses sent ^[g]a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. ¹³ Is it ^[h]not enough that you have brought us up out of a ^(P)land flowing with milk and honey ^(Q)to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also appoint yourself as master over us? ¹⁴ Indeed, you have not brought us ^(R)into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of ^(S)fields and vineyards. Would you ^(T)gouge out the eyes of ^[i]these men? We will not come up!”

¹⁵ Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “^(U)Pay no attention to their offering! ^(V)I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” ¹⁶ Moses said to Korah, “You and all your group be present before the Lord tomorrow, you and they along with Aaron. ¹⁷ And each of you take his censer and put incense on ^[j]it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, 250 censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.” ¹⁸ So they took, each one his own censer, and put fire on ^[k]it, and placed incense on ^[l]it; and they stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ So Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And ^(W)the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²¹ “^(X)Separate yourselves from among this congregation, ^(Y)so that I may consume them instantly.” ²² But they fell on their faces and said, “God, ^(Z)the God of the spirits of ^[m]humanity, ^(AA)when one person sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘^(AB)Get away from the areas around the ^[n]tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’”

²⁵ Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, ²⁶ and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “^(AC)Get away now from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, ^(AD)or you will be swept away in all their sin!” ²⁷ So they moved away from the areas around the ^[o]tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, along with their wives, ^(AE)their sons, and their little ones. ²⁸ Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that ^(AF)the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for it is not ^[p]my doing. ²⁹ If these men die ^[q]the death of all mankind, or ^[r]if they suffer the ^(AG)fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But ^(AH)if the Lord ^[s]brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything that is theirs, and they ^(AI)descend alive into ^[t]Sheol, then you will know that these men have been disrespectful to the Lord.”

³¹ And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; ³² and ^(AJ)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and ^(AK)all the people who belonged to Korah with all their possessions. ³³ So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to ^[u]Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. ³⁴ Then all Israel who were around them fled at their ^[v]outcry, for they said, “The earth might swallow us!” ^35 (AL)Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the ^(AM)250 men who were offering the incense.

Mary Anoints Jesus

12 ^(A)Therefore, six days before ^(B)the Passover, Jesus came to ^(C)Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² So they made Him a dinner there, and ^(D)Martha was serving; and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. ^3 (E)Mary then took a ^[a]pound of very expensive ^(F)perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴ But ^(G)Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, the one who intended to ^[b]betray Him, *said, ⁵ “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred ^[c]denarii and the proceeds given to poor people?” ⁶ Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he ^(H)kept the money box, he used to ^[d]steal from ^(I)what was put into it. ⁷ Therefore Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it ^[e]for ^(J)the day of My burial. ^8 (K)For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

⁹ The ^(L)large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not on account of Jesus only, but so that they might also see Lazarus, ^(M)whom He raised from the dead. ¹⁰ But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also, ¹¹ because ^(N)on account of him ^(O)many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

¹² On the next day, when ^(P)the large crowd that had come to ^(Q)the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ they took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began shouting, “^(R)Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, indeed, the ^(S)King of Israel!” ¹⁴ Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: ¹⁵ “^(T)Do not fear, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” ^16 (U)These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus ^(V)was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things for Him. ¹⁷ So ^(W)the ^[f]people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. ^18 (X)For this reason also the ^[g]people went to meet Him, ^(Y)because they heard that He had performed this ^[h]sign. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said ^[i]to one another, “You see that you are not accomplishing anything; look, the world has gone after Him!”

Be Strong

2 You therefore, my ^[a](A)son, ^(B)be strong in the grace that is in ^(C)Christ Jesus. ² The things ^(D)which you have heard from me in the presence of ^(E)many witnesses, ^(F)entrust these to ^(G)faithful ^[b]people who will be ^(H)able to teach others also. ^3 (I)Suffer hardship with me, as a good ^(J)soldier of ^(K)Christ Jesus. ⁴ No soldier in active service ^(L)entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him. ⁵ And if someone likewise ^(M)competes as an athlete, he is not ^[c]crowned as victor unless he competes according to the rules. ^6 (N)The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. ⁷ Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, ^(O)risen from the dead, ^(P)descendant of David, ^(Q)according to my gospel, ^9 [d]for which I ^(R)suffer hardship even to ^(S)imprisonment as a ^(T)criminal; but ^(U)the word of God ^(V)is not imprisoned. ¹⁰ For this reason ^(W)I endure all things for ^(X)the sake of ^[e]those who are chosen, ^(Y)so that they also may obtain the ^(Z)salvation which is in ^(AA)Christ Jesus and with it ^(AB)eternal glory. ^11 (AC)The statement is trustworthy:

An Unashamed Worker

¹⁴ Remind them of these things, and solemnly ^(AI)exhort them in the presence of God not to ^(AJ)dispute about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the listeners. ¹⁵ Be diligent to ^(AK)present yourself approved to God as a worker who ^[g]does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling ^(AL)the word of truth. ¹⁶ But ^(AM)avoid ^(AN)worldly and empty chatter, for ^[h]it will lead to further ungodliness, ¹⁷ and their ^[i]talk will spread like ^[j]gangrene. Among them are ^(AO)Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ men who have gone astray from the truth, claiming that ^(AP)the resurrection has already taken place; and they are jeopardizing ^(AQ)the faith of some. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, the ^(AR)firm foundation of God stands, having this ^(AS)seal: “^(AT)The Lord knows those who are His;” and, “^(AU)Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to keep away from wickedness.”

²⁰ Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver implements, but also implements of wood and of earthenware, and ^(AV)some are for honor while others are for dishonor. ²¹ Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from ^(AW)these things, he will be an implement for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, ^(AX)prepared for every good work. ²² Now ^(AY)flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, ^(AZ)faith, love, and peace with those who ^(BA)call on the Lord ^(BB)from a pure heart. ²³ But refuse foolish and ignorant ^(BC)speculations, knowing that they ^(BD)produce ^[k]quarrels. ^24 (BE)The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, ^(BF)skillful in teaching, patient when wronged, ^25 (BG)with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, ^(BH)if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to ^(BI)the knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and they may come to their senses and escape from ^(BJ)the snare of the devil, having been ^(BK)held captive ^[l]by him to do his will.