⁴¹ But the very next morning all the people began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people.”

⁴² Soon a great, sullen mob formed; suddenly, as they looked toward the Tabernacle, the Cloud appeared and the awesome glory of the Lord was seen. ^43-44 Moses and Aaron came and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵ “Get away from these people so that I can instantly destroy them.” But Moses and Aaron fell face downward to the earth before the Lord.

⁴⁶ And Moses said to Aaron, “Quick, take a censer and place fire in it from the altar; lay incense on it, and carry it quickly among the people and make atonement for them; for God’s anger has gone out among them—the plague has already begun.”

⁴⁷ Aaron did as Moses had told him to, and ran among the people, for the plague had indeed already begun; and he put on the incense and made atonement for them. ⁴⁸ And he stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was stopped, ⁴⁹ but not before 14,700 people had died (in addition to those who had died the previous day with Korah). ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle; and so the plague was stopped.

17 ^1-3 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel that each of their tribal chiefs is to bring you a wooden rod with his name inscribed upon it. Aaron’s name is to be on the rod of the tribe of Levi. ⁴ Put these rods in the inner room of the Tabernacle where I meet with you, in front of the Ark. ⁵ I will use these rods to identify the man I have chosen: for buds will grow on his rod! Then at last this murmuring and complaining against you will stop!”

⁶ So Moses gave the instructions to the people, and each of the twelve chiefs (including Aaron) brought him a rod. ⁷ He put them before the Lord in the inner room of the Tabernacle, ⁸ and when he went in the next day, he found that Aaron’s rod, representing the tribe of Levi, had budded and was blossoming, and had ripe almonds hanging from it!

⁹ When Moses brought them out to show the others, they stared in disbelief! Then each man except Aaron claimed his rod. ¹⁰ The Lord told Moses to place Aaron’s rod permanently beside the Ark as a reminder of this rebellion. He was to bring it out and show it to the people again^[a] if there were any further complaints about Aaron’s authority; this would ward off further catastrophe to the people. ¹¹ So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.

^12-13 But the people of Israel only grumbled the more. “We are as good as dead,” they whined. “Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle dies. Must we all perish?”

18 The Lord now spoke to Aaron: “You and your sons and your family are responsible for any desecration of the sanctuary,” he said, “and will be held liable for any impropriety in your priestly work.

^2-3 “Your kinsmen, the tribe of Levi, are your assistants; but only you and your sons may perform the sacred duties in the Tabernacle itself. The Levites must be careful not to touch any of the sacred articles or the altar, lest I destroy both them and you. ⁴ No one who is not a member of the tribe of Levi shall assist you in any way. ⁵ Remember, only the priests are to perform the sacred duties within the sanctuary and at the altar. If you follow these instructions, the wrath of God will never again fall upon any of the people of Israel for violating this law. ⁶ I say it again—your kinsmen the Levites are your assistants for the work of the Tabernacle. They are a gift to you from the Lord. ⁷ But you and your sons, the priests, shall personally handle all the sacred service, including the altar and all that is within the veil, for the priesthood is your special gift of service. Anyone else who attempts to perform these duties shall die.”

⁸ The Lord gave these further instructions to Aaron: “I have given the priests all the gifts which are brought to the Lord by the people; all these offerings presented to the Lord by the gesture of waving them before the altar belong to you and your sons, by permanent law. ⁹ The grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings are yours, except for the sample presented to the Lord by burning upon the altar. All these are most holy offerings. ¹⁰ They are to be eaten only in a most holy place, and only by males. ¹¹ All other gifts presented to me by the gesture of waving them before the altar are for you and your families, sons and daughters alike. For all the members of your families may eat these unless anyone is ceremonially impure at the time.

¹² “Yours also are the first-of-the-harvest gifts the people bring as offerings to the Lord—the best of the olive oil, wine, grain, ¹³ and every other crop. Your families may eat these unless they are ceremonially defiled at the time. ^14-15 So everything that is dedicated to the Lord shall be yours, including the firstborn sons of the people of Israel, and the firstborn of their animals. ¹⁶ However, you may never accept the firstborn sons, nor the firstborn of any animals that I do not permit for food. Instead, there must be a payment of two and a half dollars made for each firstborn child. It is to be brought when he is one month old.

¹⁷ “However, the firstborn of cows, sheep, or goats may not be bought back; they must be sacrificed to the Lord.^[b] Their blood is to be sprinkled upon the altar, and their fat shall be burned as a fire offering; it is very pleasant to the Lord. ¹⁸ The meat of these animals shall be yours, including the breast and right thigh that are presented to the Lord by the gesture of waving before the altar. ¹⁹ Yes, I have given to you all of these ‘wave offerings’ brought by the people of Israel to the Lord; they are for you and your families as food; this is a permanent contract^[c] between the Lord and you and your descendants.

²⁰ “You priests may own no property nor have any other income, for I am all that you need.

²¹ “As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, they shall be paid for their service with the tithes from the entire land of Israel.

²² “From now on, Israelites other than the priests and Levites shall not enter the sanctuary lest they be judged guilty and die. ²³ Only the Levites shall do the work there, and they shall be guilty if they fail. This is a permanent law among you, that the Levites shall own no property in Israel, ²⁴ for the people’s tithes, offered to the Lord by the gesture of waving before the altar, shall belong to the Levites; these are their inheritance, and so they have no need for property.”

^25-26 The Lord also said to Moses, “Tell the Levites to give to the Lord a tenth of the tithes they receive—a tithe of the tithe, to be presented to the Lord by the gesture of waving before the altar. ²⁷ The Lord will consider this as your first-of-the-harvest offering to him of grain and wine, as though it were from your own property. ^28-29 This tithe of the tithe shall be selected from the choicest part of the tithes you receive as the Lord’s portion, and shall be given to Aaron the priest. ³⁰ It shall be credited to you just as though it were from your own threshing floor and winepress. ³¹ Aaron and his sons and their families may eat it in their homes or anywhere they wish, for it is their compensation for their service in the Tabernacle. ³² You Levites will not be held guilty for accepting the Lord’s tithes if you then give the best tenth to the priests. But beware that you do not treat the holy gifts of the people of Israel as though they were common, lest you die.”

16 ^1-2 The next evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene and Salome and Mary the mother of James went out and purchased embalming spices.

Early the following morning, just at sunrise, they carried them out to the tomb. ³ On the way they were discussing how they could ever roll aside the huge stone from the entrance.

⁴ But when they arrived they looked up and saw that the stone—a very heavy one—was already moved away and the entrance was open! ⁵ So they entered the tomb—and there on the right sat a young man clothed in white. The women were startled, ⁶ but the angel said, “Don’t be so surprised. Aren’t you looking for Jesus, the Nazarene who was crucified? He isn’t here! He has come back to life! Look, that’s where his body was lying. ⁷ Now go and give this message to his disciples including Peter:

“‘Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died!’”

⁸ The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, too frightened to talk.

^9 [a] It was early on Sunday morning when Jesus came back to life, and the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene—the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. ^10-11 She found the disciples wet-eyed with grief and exclaimed that she had seen Jesus, and he was alive! But they didn’t believe her!

¹² Later that day^[b] he appeared to two who were walking from Jerusalem into the country, but they didn’t recognize him at first because he had changed his appearance. ¹³ When they finally realized who he was, they rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the others, but no one believed them.

¹⁴ Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their unbelief—their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him alive from the dead.

¹⁵ And then he told them, “You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. ¹⁶ Those who believe and are baptized will be saved. But those who refuse to believe will be condemned.

¹⁷ “And those who believe shall use my authority to cast out demons, and they shall speak new languages.^{[c] 18} They will be able even to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them; and they will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them.”

¹⁹ When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at God’s right hand.

²⁰ And the disciples went everywhere preaching, and the Lord was with them and confirmed what they said by the miracles that followed their messages.

55 Listen to my prayer, O God; don’t hide yourself when I cry to you. ² Hear me, Lord! Listen to me! For I groan and weep beneath my burden of woe.

³ My enemies shout against me and threaten me with death. They surround me with terror and plot to kill me. Their fury and hatred rise to engulf me. ⁴ My heart is in anguish within me. Stark fear overpowers me. ⁵ Trembling and horror overwhelm me. ⁶ Oh, for wings like a dove, to fly away and rest! ⁷ I would fly to the far-off deserts and stay there. ⁸ I would flee to some refuge from all this storm.

⁹ O Lord, make these enemies begin to quarrel among themselves—destroy them with their own violence and strife.^{[a] 10} Though they patrol their walls night and day against invaders, their real problem is internal—wickedness and dishonesty are entrenched in the heart of the city. ¹¹ There is murder and robbery there, and cheating in the markets and wherever you look.

¹² It was not an enemy who taunted me—then I could have borne it; I could have hidden and escaped. ¹³ But it was you, a man like myself, my companion and my friend. ¹⁴ What fellowship we had, what wonderful discussions as we walked together to the Temple of the Lord on holy days.

¹⁵ Let death seize them and cut them down in their prime, for there is sin in their homes, and they are polluted to the depths of their souls.

¹⁶ But I will call upon the Lord to save me—and he will. ¹⁷ I will pray morning, noon, and night, pleading aloud with God; and he will hear and answer. ¹⁸ Though the tide of battle runs strongly against me, for so many are fighting me, yet he will rescue me. ¹⁹ God himself—God from everlasting ages past—will answer them! For they refuse to fear him or even honor his commands.

²⁰ This friend of mine betrayed me—I who was at peace with him. He broke his promises. ²¹ His words were oily smooth, but in his heart was war. His words were sweet, but underneath were daggers.

²² Give your burdens to the Lord. He will carry them. He will not permit the godly to slip or fall. ²³ He will send my enemies to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will not live out half their days. But I am trusting you to save me.

⁷ When an evil man dies, his hopes all perish, for they are based upon this earthly life.