The Way of Wisdom

The Way of Folly

Arrangement of the Camp

2 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ^2 (A)“The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers' houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. ³ Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being ^(B)Nahshon the son of Amminadab, ⁴ his company as listed being 74,600. ⁵ Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, the chief of the people of Issachar being Nethanel the son of Zuar, ⁶ his company as listed being 54,400. ⁷ Then the tribe of Zebulun, the chief of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helon, ⁸ his company as listed being 57,400. ⁹ All those listed of the camp of Judah, by their companies, were 186,400. ^(C)They shall set out first on the march.

¹⁰ “On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the chief of the people of Reuben being Elizur the son of Shedeur, ¹¹ his company as listed being 46,500. ¹² And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the chief of the people of Simeon being Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, ¹³ his company as listed being 59,300. ¹⁴ Then the tribe of Gad, the chief of the people of Gad being Eliasaph the son of ^(D)Reuel, ¹⁵ his company as listed being 45,650. ¹⁶ All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. ^(E)They shall set out second.

^17 (F)“Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.

¹⁸ “On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies, the chief of the people of Ephraim being Elishama the son of Ammihud, ¹⁹ his company as listed being 40,500. ²⁰ And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the chief of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, ²¹ his company as listed being 32,200. ²² Then the tribe of Benjamin, the chief of the people of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni, ²³ his company as listed being 35,400. ²⁴ All those listed of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, were 108,100. ^(G)They shall set out third on the march.

²⁵ “On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the chief of the people of Dan being Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, ²⁶ his company as listed being 62,700. ²⁷ And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the chief of the people of Asher being Pagiel the son of Ochran, ²⁸ his company as listed being 41,500. ²⁹ Then the tribe of Naphtali, the chief of the people of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan, ³⁰ his company as listed being 53,400. ³¹ All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. ^(H)They shall set out last, standard by standard.”

³² These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers' houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were ^(I)603,550. ³³ But ^(J)the Levites were not listed among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁴ Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, ^(K)so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers' house.

The Sons of Aaron

3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. ² These are the names of the sons of Aaron: ^(L)Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of the sons of Aaron, ^(M)the anointed priests, ^(N)whom he ordained to serve as priests. ^4 (O)But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

Duties of the Levites

⁵ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^6 (P)“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. ⁷ They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, ^(Q)as they minister at the tabernacle. ⁸ They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. ⁹ And ^(R)you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are ^(S)wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. ¹⁰ And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and ^(T)they shall guard their priesthood. But if ^(U)any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”

¹¹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Behold, ^(V)I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, ¹³ for ^(W)all the firstborn are mine. ^(X)On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”

¹⁴ And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, ¹⁵ “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; ^(Y)every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” ¹⁶ So Moses listed them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. ^17 (Z)And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. ¹⁸ And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: ^(AA)Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹ And the sons of Kohath by their clans: ^(AB)Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰ And the sons of Merari by their clans: ^(AC)Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses.

²¹ To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. ²² Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was^[a] 7,500. ^23 (AD)The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, ²⁴ with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. ²⁵ And the ^(AE)guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved ^(AF)the tabernacle, ^(AG)the tent with ^(AH)its covering, ^(AI)the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ^26 (AJ)the hangings of the court, ^(AK)the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and ^(AL)its cords—all the service connected with these.

²⁷ To Kohath belonged the clan of the ^(AM)Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. ²⁸ According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. ²⁹ The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, ³⁰ with ^(AN)Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. ³¹ And their guard duty involved ^(AO)the ark, ^(AP)the table, ^(AQ)the lampstand, ^(AR)the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and ^(AS)the screen; all the service connected with these. ³² And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.

³³ To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. ³⁴ Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. ³⁵ And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. ^36 (AT)And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the ^(AU)frames of the tabernacle, ^(AV)the bars, ^(AW)the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; ³⁷ also ^(AX)the pillars around the court, with their bases and ^(AY)pegs and ^(AZ)cords.

³⁸ Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, ^(BA)guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect^[b] the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. ³⁹ All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the Lord, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were ^(BB)22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

⁴⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. ^41 (BC)And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” ⁴² So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³ And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.

⁴⁴ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^45 (BD)“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. ⁴⁶ And ^(BE)as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, ⁴⁷ you shall take ^(BF)five shekels^[c] per head; you shall take them according to ^(BG)the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs^[d]), ⁴⁸ and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” ⁴⁹ So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰ From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, ^(BH)1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁵¹ And Moses ^(BI)gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Paul on Malta

28 After we were brought safely through, ^(A)we then learned that ^(B)the island was called Malta. ^2 (C)The native people^[a] showed us unusual ^(D)kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. ³ When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. ⁴ When ^(E)the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ^(F)“No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, ^(G)Justice^[b] has not allowed him to live.” ⁵ He, however, ^(H)shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶ They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, ^(I)they changed their minds and ^(J)said that he was a god.

⁷ Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. ⁸ It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and ^(K)prayed, and ^(L)putting his hands on him, healed him. ⁹ And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. ¹⁰ They also honored us greatly,^[c] and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

Paul Arrives at Rome

¹¹ After three months we set sail in ^(M)a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods^[d] as a figurehead. ¹² Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. ¹³ And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. ¹⁴ There we found ^(N)brothers^[e] and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵ And ^(O)the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, ^(P)Paul thanked God and took courage. ¹⁶ And when we came into Rome, ^(Q)Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

Paul in Rome

¹⁷ After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, ^(R)though I had done nothing against our people or ^(S)the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. ¹⁸ When they had examined me, they ^(T)wished to set me at liberty, ^(U)because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. ¹⁹ But because the Jews objected, I was compelled ^(V)to appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against ^(W)my nation. ²⁰ For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is ^(X)because of ^(Y)the hope of Israel that I am wearing ^(Z)this ^(AA)chain.” ²¹ And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of ^(AB)the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. ²² But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this ^(AC)sect we know that everywhere ^(AD)it is spoken against.”

²³ When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening ^(AE)he expounded to them, testifying to ^(AF)the kingdom of God and ^(AG)trying to convince them about Jesus ^(AH)both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. ²⁴ And ^(AI)some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. ²⁵ And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: ^(AJ)“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁸ Therefore let it be known to you that ^(AO)this ^(AP)salvation of God ^(AQ)has been sent to the Gentiles; ^(AR)they will listen.”^[f]

³⁰ He lived there two whole years at his own expense,^[g] and ^(AS)welcomed all who came to him, ^31 (AT)proclaiming ^(AU)the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ ^(AV)with all boldness and ^(AW)without hindrance.