Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites

4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses, ^3 (A)from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. ⁴ This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: ^(B)the most holy things. ⁵ When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down ^(C)the veil of the screen and cover ^(D)the ark of the testimony with it. ⁶ Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin^[a] and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its ^(E)poles. ⁷ And over the ^(F)table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; ^(G)the regular showbread also shall be on it. ⁸ Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall ^(H)put in its poles. ⁹ And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover ^(I)the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. ¹⁰ And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. ¹¹ And over ^(J)the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. ¹² And they shall take all ^(K)the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. ¹³ And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. ¹⁵ And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that ^(L)the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, ^(M)but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

¹⁶ “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of ^(N)the oil for the light, the ^(O)fragrant incense, ^(P)the regular grain offering, and ^(Q)the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ¹⁸ “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, ¹⁹ but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to ^(R)the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, ^20 (S)but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”

²¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²² “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses and by their clans. ^23 (T)From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can ^(U)come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. ²⁴ This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: ^25 (V)they shall carry ^(W)the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with ^(X)its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting ²⁶ and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. ²⁷ All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. ²⁸ This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be ^(Y)under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

²⁹ “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' houses. ^30 (Z)From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. ³¹ And ^(AA)this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, ³² and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall ^(AB)list by name the objects that they are required to carry. ³³ This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, ^(AC)under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

³⁴ And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers' houses, ^35 (AD)from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; ³⁶ and those listed by clans were 2,750. ^37 (AE)This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.

³⁸ Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses, ^39 (AF)from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting— ⁴⁰ those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses were 2,630. ^41 (AG)This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord.

⁴² Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses, ^43 (AH)from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting— ⁴⁴ those listed by clans were 3,200. ^45 (AI)This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.

⁴⁶ All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses, ^47 (AJ)from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, ⁴⁸ those listed were 8,580. ⁴⁹ According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses they were listed, ^(AK)each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, ^(AL)as the Lord commanded Moses.

Unclean People

5 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the people of Israel that they ^(A)put out of the camp everyone who is leprous^[a] or has ^(B)a discharge and everyone who is ^(C)unclean through contact with the dead. ³ You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, ^(D)in the midst of which I dwell.” ⁴ And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.

Confession and Restitution

⁵ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Speak to the people of Israel, ^(E)When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, ^7 (F)he shall confess his sin that he has committed.^{[b] (G)}And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. ⁸ But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to ^(H)the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him. ⁹ And ^(I)every contribution, all the holy donations of the people of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. ¹⁰ Each one shall keep his holy donations: whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his.”

A Test for Adultery

¹¹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Speak to the people of Israel, If any man's wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, ¹³ if a man ^(J)lies with her sexually, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, ^(K)since she was not taken in the act, ¹⁴ and if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself, ¹⁵ then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah^[c] of barley flour. ^(L)He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, ^(M)bringing iniquity to remembrance.

¹⁶ “And the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord. ¹⁷ And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. ¹⁸ And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord and ^(N)unbind the hair of the woman's head and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And in his hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse. ¹⁹ Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, ‘If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband's authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband's authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your husband has lain with you, ²¹ then’ (let the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse, and say to the woman) ^(O)‘the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh fall away and your body swell. ²² May this water that brings the curse ^(P)pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, ^(Q)‘Amen, Amen.’

²³ “Then the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the water of bitterness. ²⁴ And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain. ²⁵ And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand ^(R)and shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar. ²⁶ And the priest ^(S)shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. ²⁷ And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman ^(T)shall become a curse among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.

²⁹ “This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, ^(U)though under her husband's authority, goes astray and defiles herself, ³⁰ or when the spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife. Then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall carry out for her all this law. ³¹ The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman ^(V)shall bear her iniquity.”

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

27 ^(A)When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people ^(B)took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. ² And they bound him and ^(C)led him away and ^(D)delivered him over to ^(E)Pilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself

³ Then when ^(F)Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus^[a] was condemned, ^(G)he changed his mind and brought back ^(H)the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? ^(I)See to it yourself.” ⁵ And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, ^(J)he departed, and he went and hanged himself. ⁶ But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into ^(K)the treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷ So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. ⁸ Therefore ^(L)that field has been called the Field of Blood ^(M)to this day. ^9 (N)Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ^(O)“And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰ and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus Before Pilate

^11 (P)Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you ^(Q)the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, ^(R)“You have said so.” ^12 (S)But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate said to him, ^(T)“Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” ¹⁴ But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

^15 (U)Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶ And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or ^(V)Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that it was out ^(W)of envy that they had delivered him up. ¹⁹ Besides, while he was sitting on ^(X)the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with ^(Y)that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today ^(Z)in a dream.” ²⁰ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ^(AA)ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹ The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²² Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” ^(AB)They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³ And he said, “Why? ^(AC)What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

²⁴ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that ^(AD)a riot was beginning, he took water and ^(AE)washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^(AF)this man's blood;^{[b] (AG)}see to it yourselves.” ²⁵ And all the people answered, ^(AH)“His blood be on us and ^(AI)on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having ^(AJ)scourged^[c] Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^27 (AK)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the ^(AL)governor's headquarters,^[d] and they gathered the whole ^(AM)battalion^[e] before him. ²⁸ And they stripped him and put ^(AN)a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they ^(AO)mocked him, saying, “Hail, ^(AP)King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And ^(AQ)they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and ^(AR)led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

^32 (AS)(AT)As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to ^(AU)carry his cross. ^33 (AV)And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ^34 (AW)they offered him wine to drink, mixed with ^(AX)gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵ And when they had crucified him, ^(AY)they divided his garments among them by casting lots. ³⁶ Then they sat down and ^(AZ)kept watch over him there. ³⁷ And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, ^(BA)the King of the Jews.” ³⁸ Then two ^(BB)robbers were crucified with him, ^(BC)one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ And ^(BD)those who passed by ^(BE)derided him, ^(BF)wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, ^(BG)“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ^(BH)If you are ^(BI)the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ^42 (BJ)“He saved others; ^(BK)he cannot save himself. ^(BL)He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ^43 (BM)He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ^44 (BN)And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour^[f] there was darkness over all the land^[g] until the ninth hour.^{[h] 46} And about the ninth hour Jesus ^(BO)cried out with a loud voice, saying, ^(BP)“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with ^(BQ)sour wine, and put it on a reed and ^(BR)gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰ And Jesus ^(BS)cried out again with a loud voice and ^(BT)yielded up his spirit.

⁵¹ And behold, ^(BU)the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And ^(BV)the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of ^(BW)the saints ^(BX)who had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into ^(BY)the holy city and appeared to many. ^54 (BZ)When the centurion and those who were with him, ^(CA)keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ^(CB)“Truly this was the Son^[i] of God!”

⁵⁵ There were also ^(CC)many women there, looking on ^(CD)from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ^(CE)ministering to him, ⁵⁶ among whom were ^(CF)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and ^(CG)the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

^57 (CH)When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud ⁶⁰ and ^(CI)laid it in his own new tomb, ^(CJ)which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled ^(CK)a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and ^(CL)the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶² The next day, that is, after the day of ^(CM)Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember how ^(CN)that impostor said, while he was still alive, ^(CO)‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, ^(CP)lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have ^(CQ)a guard^[j] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by ^(CR)sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

15 ^(A)And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests ^(B)held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And ^(C)they bound Jesus and ^(D)led him away and ^(E)delivered him over to ^(F)Pilate. ^2 (G)And Pilate asked him, ^(H)“Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, ^(I)“You have said so.” ³ And the chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴ And Pilate again asked him, ^(J)“Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” ⁵ But Jesus ^(K)made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

^6 (L)Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. ⁷ And among the rebels in prison, who had ^(M)committed murder ^(N)in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. ⁸ And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. ⁹ And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he perceived that ^(O)it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. ¹² And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with ^(P)the man you call the King of the Jews?” ¹³ And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” ¹⁴ And Pilate said to them, “Why? ^(Q)What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” ¹⁵ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having ^(R)scourged^[a] Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^16 (S)And the soldiers led him away inside ^(T)the palace (that is, ^(U)the governor's headquarters),^[b] and they called together the whole ^(V)battalion.^{[c] 17} And they clothed him in ^(W)a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. ¹⁸ And they began to salute him, ^(X)“Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ And they were striking his head with a reed and ^(Y)spitting on him and ^(Z)kneeling down in homage to him. ²⁰ And when they had ^(AA)mocked him, they stripped him of ^(AB)the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they ^(AC)led him out to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

^21 (AD)And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. ^22 (AE)And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). ²³ And they offered him wine mixed with ^(AF)myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified him and ^(AG)divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. ²⁵ And ^(AH)it was the third hour^[d] when they crucified him. ²⁶ And the inscription of the charge against him read, ^(AI)“The King of the Jews.” ²⁷ And with him they crucified two ^(AJ)robbers, ^(AK)one on his right and one on his left.^{[e] 29} And ^(AL)those who passed by derided him, ^(AM)wagging their heads and saying, ^(AN)“Aha! ^(AO)You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰ save yourself, and come down from the cross!” ³¹ So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, ^(AP)“He saved others; ^(AQ)he cannot save himself. ³² Let ^(AR)the Christ, ^(AS)the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may ^(AT)see and believe.” ^(AU)Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.

The Death of Jesus

³³ And when the sixth hour^[f] had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.^{[g] 34} And at the ninth hour Jesus ^(AV)cried with a loud voice, ^(AW)“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ³⁵ And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” ³⁶ And someone ran and filled a sponge with ^(AX)sour wine, put it on a reed ^(AY)and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” ³⁷ And Jesus ^(AZ)uttered a loud cry and ^(BA)breathed his last. ³⁸ And ^(BB)the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. ^39 (BC)And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he^[h] breathed his last, he said, ^(BD)“Truly this man was the Son^[i] of God!”

⁴⁰ There were also ^(BE)women looking on ^(BF)from a distance, among whom were ^(BG)Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and ^(BH)Salome. ⁴¹ When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ^(BI)ministered to him, and there were also many other women who ^(BJ)came up with him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

^42 (BK)And when evening had come, since it was ^(BL)the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, ^(BM)a respected member of the council, who ^(BN)was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died.^[j] And summoning ^(BO)the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. ⁴⁵ And when he learned from ^(BP)the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. ⁴⁶ And Joseph^[k] bought ^(BQ)a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and ^(BR)laid him in a tomb ^(BS)that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled ^(BT)a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ^47 (BU)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.