Arad Destroyed

21 When the Canaanite king of Arad,^(A) who lived in the Negev,^(B) heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them. ² Then Israel made this vow^(C) to the Lord: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy^[a](D) their cities.” ³ The Lord listened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites^(E) over to them. They completely destroyed them^(F) and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.^[b](G)

The Bronze Snake

⁴ They traveled from Mount Hor^(H) along the route to the Red Sea,^[c](I) to go around Edom.^(J) But the people grew impatient on the way;^{(K) 5} they spoke against God^(L) and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt^(M) to die in the wilderness?^(N) There is no bread! There is no water!^(O) And we detest this miserable food!”^(P)

⁶ Then the Lord sent venomous snakes^(Q) among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.^{(R) 7} The people came to Moses^(S) and said, “We sinned^(T) when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord^(U) will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed^(V) for the people.

⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole;^(W) anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze snake^(X) and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.^(Y)

The Journey to Moab

¹⁰ The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth.^{(Z) 11} Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the wilderness that faces Moab^(AA) toward the sunrise. ¹² From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley.^{(AB) 13} They set out from there and camped alongside the Arnon^(AC), which is in the wilderness extending into Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.^{(AD) 14} That is why the Book of the Wars^(AE) of the Lord says:

¹⁶ From there they continued on to Beer,^(AG) the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together and I will give them water.”

¹⁷ Then Israel sang this song:^(AH)

Then they went from the wilderness to Mattanah, ¹⁹ from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰ and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah^(AI) overlooks the wasteland.

Defeat of Sihon and Og

²¹ Israel sent messengers^(AJ) to say to Sihon^(AK) king of the Amorites:^(AL)

²³ But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory.^(AN) He mustered his entire army and marched out into the wilderness against Israel. When he reached Jahaz,^(AO) he fought with Israel.^{(AP) 24} Israel, however, put him to the sword^(AQ) and took over his land^(AR) from the Arnon to the Jabbok,^(AS) but only as far as the Ammonites,^(AT) because their border was fortified. ²⁵ Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites^(AU) and occupied them,^(AV) including Heshbon^(AW) and all its surrounding settlements. ²⁶ Heshbon was the city of Sihon^(AX) king of the Amorites,^(AY) who had fought against the former king of Moab^(AZ) and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.^(BA)

²⁷ That is why the poets say:

³¹ So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.^(BL)

³² After Moses had sent spies^(BM) to Jazer,^(BN) the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there. ³³ Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan^(BO),^(BP) and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei.^(BQ)

³⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.^(BR)”

³⁵ So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors.^(BS) And they took possession of his land.^(BT)

The Authority of Jesus Questioned^(A)

20 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts^(B) and proclaiming the good news,^(C) the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. ² “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”^(D)

³ He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: ⁴ John’s baptism^(E)—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

⁵ They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people^(F) will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”^(G)

⁷ So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

⁸ Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants^(H)

⁹ He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard,^(I) rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.^{(J) 10} At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. ¹² He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

¹³ “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love;^(K) perhaps they will respect him.’

¹⁴ “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and kill those tenants^(L) and give the vineyard to others.”

When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”

¹⁷ Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”^(N)

¹⁹ The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him^(O) immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.^(P)

Paying Taxes to Caesar^(Q)

²⁰ Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said,^(R) so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.^{(S) 21} So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.^{(T) 22} Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³ He saw through their duplicity and said to them, ²⁴ “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

²⁵ He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s,^(U) and to God what is God’s.”

²⁶ They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

The Resurrection and Marriage^(V)

²⁷ Some of the Sadducees,^(W) who say there is no resurrection,^(X) came to Jesus with a question. ²⁸ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.^{(Y) 29} Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. ³⁰ The second ³¹ and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. ³² Finally, the woman died too. ³³ Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

³⁴ Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come^(Z) and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, ³⁶ and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children,^(AA) since they are children of the resurrection. ³⁷ But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’^{[b](AB) 38} He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

³⁹ Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” ⁴⁰ And no one dared to ask him any more questions.^(AC)

Whose Son Is the Messiah?^(AD)

⁴¹ Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David?^{(AE) 42} David himself declares in the Book of Psalms:

⁴⁴ David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

⁴⁵ While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.^{(AG) 47} They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

Psalm 138

Of David.