Laws of Purification

19 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “This is the ^[a]ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without ^[b]blemish, in which there is no ^(A)defect ^(B)and on which a yoke has never come. ³ You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it ^(C)outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; ⁴ and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and ^(D)sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁵ Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: ^(E)its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. ⁶ And the priest shall take ^(F)cedar wood and ^(G)hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. ^7 (H)Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening. ⁸ And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. ⁹ Then a man who is clean shall gather up ^(I)the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel ^(J)for the water of ^[c]purification; it is for purifying from sin. ¹⁰ And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.

^11 (K)‘He who touches the dead ^[d]body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. ^12 (L)He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. ¹³ Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and ^(M)does not purify himself, ^(N)defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because ^(O)the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; ^(P)his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴ ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days; ¹⁵ and every ^(Q)open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. ^16 (R)Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

¹⁷ ‘And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ^(S)ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and ^[e]running water shall be put on them in a vessel. ¹⁸ A clean person shall take ^(T)hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave. ¹⁹ The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; ^(U)and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean.

²⁰ ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has ^(V)defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. ²¹ It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening. ^22 (W)Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and ^(X)the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ”

Moses’ Error at Kadesh^(Y)

20 Then^(Z) the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in ^(AA)Kadesh; and ^(AB)Miriam died there and was buried there.

^2 (AC)Now there was no water for the congregation; ^(AD)so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. ³ And the people ^(AE)contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died ^(AF)when our brethren died before the Lord! ^4 (AG)Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? ⁵ And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and ^(AH)they ^[f]fell on their faces. And ^(AI)the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^8 (AJ)“Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus ^(AK)you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” ⁹ So Moses took the rod ^(AL)from before the Lord as He commanded him.

¹⁰ And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, ^(AM)“Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; ^(AN)and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.

¹² Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because ^(AO)you did not believe Me, to ^(AP)hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

^13 (AQ)This was the water of ^[g]Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them.

Passage Through Edom Refused

^14 (AR)Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of ^(AS)Edom. ^(AT)“Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us, ^15 (AU)how our fathers went down to Egypt, ^(AV)and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, ^(AW)and the Egyptians ^[h]afflicted us and our fathers. ^16 (AX)When we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and ^(AY)sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. ¹⁷ Please ^(AZ)let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; 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 Then ^(BA)Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.”

¹⁹ So the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, ^(BB)then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.”

²⁰ Then he said, ^(BC)“You shall not pass through.” So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. ²¹ Thus Edom ^(BD)refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel ^(BE)turned away from him.

Death of Aaron

²² Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from ^(BF)Kadesh ^(BG)and came to Mount Hor. ²³ And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: ²⁴ “Aaron shall ^[i]be ^(BH)gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah. ^25 (BI)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; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.” ²⁷ So Moses did just as the Lord commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. ^28 (BJ)Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and ^(BK)Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹ Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron ^(BL)thirty days.

Praise to God, the Ruler of the Earth

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

The Parable of the Sower^(A)

4 And ^(B)again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. ² Then He taught them many things by parables, ^(C)and said to them in His teaching:

³ “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴ And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds ^[a]of the air came and devoured it. ⁵ Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. ⁶ But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. ⁷ And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no ^[b]crop. ⁸ But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

⁹ And He said ^[c]to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Parables^(D)

^10 (E)But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. ¹¹ And He said to them, “To you it has been given to ^(F)know the ^[d]mystery of the kingdom of God; but to ^(G)those who are outside, all things come in parables, ¹² so that

The Parable of the Sower Explained^(I)

¹³ And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? ^14 (J)The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. ¹⁶ These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; ¹⁷ and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. ¹⁸ Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹ and the ^(K)cares of this world, ^(L)the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰ But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, ^[e]accept it, and bear ^(M)fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

Light Under a Basket^(N)

^21 (O)Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? ^22 (P)For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. ^23 (Q)If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

²⁴ Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. ^(R)With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. ^25 (S)For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

The Parable of the Growing Seed

²⁶ And He said, ^(T)“The kingdom of God is as if a man should ^[f]scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷ and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and ^(U)grow, he himself does not know how. ²⁸ For the earth ^(V)yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. ²⁹ But when the grain ripens, immediately ^(W)he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(X)

³⁰ Then He said, ^(Y)“To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; ³² but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”

Jesus’ Use of Parables

^33 (Z)And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. ³⁴ But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, ^(AA)He explained all things to His disciples.

Wind and Wave Obey Jesus^(AB)

^35 (AC)On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” ³⁶ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. ³⁸ But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, ^(AD)“Teacher, ^(AE)do You not care that we are perishing?”

³⁹ Then He arose and ^(AF)rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ^(AG)“Peace,^[g] be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? ^(AH)How^[h] is it that you have no faith?” ⁴¹ And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

A Pattern of Self-Denial

9 Am ^(A)I not an apostle? Am I not free? ^(B)Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? ^(C)Are you not my work in the Lord? ² If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are ^(D)the ^[a]seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

³ My defense to those who examine me is this: ^4 (E)Do we have no ^[b]right to eat and drink? ⁵ Do we have no right to take along ^[c]a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, ^(F)the brothers of the Lord, and ^(G)Cephas? ⁶ Or is it only Barnabas and I ^(H)who have no right to refrain from working? ⁷ Who ever ^(I)goes to war at his own expense? Who ^(J)plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who ^(K)tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?

⁸ Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? ⁹ For it is written in the law of Moses, ^(L)“You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about? ¹⁰ Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that ^(M)he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. ^11 (N)If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? ¹² If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more?

^(O)Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things ^(P)lest we hinder the gospel of Christ. ^13 (Q)Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the ^(R)temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? ¹⁴ Even so ^(S)the Lord has commanded ^(T)that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.

¹⁵ But ^(U)I have used none of these things, nor have I written these things that it should be done so to me; for ^(V)it would be better for me to die than that anyone should make my boasting void. ¹⁶ For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for ^(W)necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! ¹⁷ For if I do this willingly, ^(X)I have a reward; but if against my will, ^(Y)I have been entrusted with a stewardship. ¹⁸ What is my reward then? That ^(Z)when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel ^[d]of Christ without charge, that I ^(AA)may not abuse my authority in the gospel.

Serving All Men

¹⁹ For though I am ^(AB)free from all men, ^(AC)I have made myself a servant to all, ^(AD)that I might win the more; ²⁰ and ^(AE)to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the ^[e]law, that I might win those who are under the law; ^21 (AF)to ^(AG)those who are without law, as without law ^(AH)(not being without ^[f]law toward God, but under ^[g]law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; ^22 (AI)to the weak I became ^[h]as weak, that I might win the weak. ^(AJ)I have become all things to all men, ^(AK)that I might by all means save some. ²³ Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.

Striving for a Crown

²⁴ Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? ^(AL)Run in such a way that you may ^[i]obtain it. ²⁵ And everyone who competes for the prize ^[j]is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for ^(AM)an imperishable crown. ²⁶ Therefore I run thus: ^(AN)not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. ^27 (AO)But I discipline my body and ^(AP)bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become ^(AQ)disqualified.