⁵² Adonai then spoke to Moses saying, ⁵³ “The land is to be divided to these as an inheritance according to the number of names. ⁵⁴ For the larger, you are to make his inheritance larger, and to the smaller you are to make his inheritance smaller. Each is to receive his inheritance in proportion to his population. ⁵⁵ Certainly the land is to be divided by lot. They will inherit it according to the names of their ancestral tribes. ⁵⁶ The division of the inheritance of larger and smaller tribes is to be decided by the lot.”

⁵⁷ These were the numbers of the Levites by their families: by Gershon the Gershonite family, by Kohath the Kohathite family, by Merari the Merarite family. ⁵⁸ These were the families of Levi: the Libnite family, the Hebronite family, the Machlite family, the Mushite family and the Korahite family. Kohath fathered Amram. ⁵⁹ Amram’s wife’s name was Jochebed daughter of Levi, who was born to the Levites in Egypt. She gave birth for Amram, Aaron and Moses, as well as Miriam their sister. ⁶⁰ Aaron was the father of Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ⁶¹ However, Nadab and Abihu died when they offered sacrifices with unauthorized fire before Adonai. ⁶² The male Levites a month old and upward totaled 23,000, though they were not included among Bnei-Yisrael, since He did not give them an inheritance among Bnei-Yisrael.

⁶³ These were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the kohen when they counted Bnei-Yisrael on the plains of Moab across from Jericho. ⁶⁴ Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the kohen when they counted Bnei-Yisrael in the Sinai wilderness, ⁶⁵ because Adonai had said they would surely die in the wilderness. Not one of them was left, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

Inheritance of Daughters

27 The daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh son of Joseph (the names of his daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah) ² stood before Moses, Eleazar the kohen and the princes of the entire assembly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and said, ³ “Our father died in the wilderness. But he was not one of the followers banding together against Adonai with Korah, though he died for his own sin. Yet he had no sons. ⁴ Why should our father’s name diminish from his family just because he had no son? Give to us property among our father’s brothers.”

⁵ So Moses brought their issue before Adonai, ⁶ and Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ⁷ “The daughters of Zelophehad are right in saying you should give them property by inheritance among their father’s relatives. You are to turn over the inheritance of their father to them.”

⁸ “Furthermore, you are to speak to Bnei-Yisrael saying: If a man dies without a son, you are to transfer his inheritance to his daughter. ⁹ If he has no daughter, you are to give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ If he has no brothers, you are to give it to his father’s brothers. ¹¹ If his father had no brothers, you are to give it to the nearest relative in his family that he might possess it. This is to be a legal statute for Bnei-Yisrael, just as Adonai commanded to Moses.”

Commissioning of Joshua

¹² Then Adonai said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range and look at the land that I have given to Bnei-Yisrael. ¹³ When you have seen it, you will be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother was gathered. ¹⁴ For in the wilderness of Zin during the strife of the community, you both rebelled against My Word instead of honoring Me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These were the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

¹⁵ Moses spoke to Adonai saying, ¹⁶ “May Adonai, God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the community ¹⁷ to go out and come in before them, who will lead them out and bring them out so that the people of Adonai will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

¹⁸ Adonai said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the Ruach, and lay your hand on him. ¹⁹ You will have him stand before Eleazar the kohen and the entire assembly and commission him before their eyes. ²⁰ Give to him some of your authority so that the whole community of Bnei-Yisrael will obey him. ²¹ He will stand before Eleazar the kohen, who will pray and obtain judgments for him by Urim and before Adonai. At his mouth, they will go out and at his mouth they will come in, he and all the community of Bnei-Yisrael with him.”

²² Moses did as Adonai commanded him. He took Joshua, stood him before Eleazar the kohen and all the entire assembly. ²³ Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him just as Adonai had spoken, by Moses’ hand.

Moadim: Appointed Times

28 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ² “Command Bnei-Yisrael and tell them to be careful to present to Me at the moadim My food offerings by fire as a pleasing aroma. ³ Tell them: This is the fire offering which you are to present to Adonai: two male lambs a year old, without flaw, as a daily regular burnt offering. ⁴ Prepare one lamb in the morning and the other lamb you are to prepare at twilight, ⁵ along with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin^[a] of oil from pressed olives. ⁶ This is the regular burnt offering initiated at Mount Sinai, as a pleasing aroma, a fire offering to Adonai. ⁷ With each lamb pour out a fourth of a hin of fermented drink at the Sanctuary as a drink offering to Adonai. ⁸ Prepare the second lamb at twilight with the same type of grain and drink offerings you prepared in the morning, a fire offering as a pleasing aroma to Adonai.

Shabbat: Weekly Rest

⁹ “On the Shabbat, you are to present two flawless male lambs a year old, along with two tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil and its drink offering. ¹⁰ This is the burnt offering for every Shabbat, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

Rosh Chodesh: New Moon

¹¹ “On the first of the month you are to present to Adonai a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven flawless male lambs a year old, ¹² with three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each bull, and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with the ram, ¹³ and with each lamb a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma, an offering by fire to Adonai. ¹⁴ Their drink offerings shall be: per bull, half a hin of wine, a third of a hin of wine per ram, and, a fourth of a hin per lamb. This will be the monthly burnt offering at each new moon throughout the year. ¹⁵ Also, one male goat as a sin offering to Adonai beside the regular burnt offering is to be offered with its drink offering.

John the Immerser at the Jordan

3 It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of the Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene. ² During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came upon John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. ³ And he came into all the surrounding region of the Jordan, proclaiming an immersion of repentance for the removal of sins. ⁴ As it is written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

⁷ Therefore John was saying to the crowds that came out to be immersed by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance; and don’t even begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’! For I tell you that from these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ⁹ Even now the axe is laid at the root of the trees, so every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire!”

¹⁰ The crowds were asking him, “What should we do?”

¹¹ He answered them, saying, “Whoever has two coats, let him give to the one who has none; and whoever has food, let him do the same.”^[b]

¹² Tax collectors also came to him to be immersed. “Teacher,” they said to him, “what should we do?”

¹³ He said to them, “Do not take more than you are supposed to.”

¹⁴ Also soldiers asked him, saying, “And what should we do?”

He said to them, “Do not take things from anyone by force, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be content with your wages.”^[c]

¹⁵ Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were wondering in their hearts about John, whether he might be the Messiah. ¹⁶ John answered them all, saying, “As for me, I immerse you with water. But One is coming who is mightier than I am; I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals! He will immerse you in the Ruach ha-Kodesh and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with inextinguishable fire.” ^{[d] 18} So with many other exhortations, John proclaimed Good News to the people. ¹⁹ But Herod the tetrarch—after being rebuked by John because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things Herod had done— ²⁰ added even this on top of them all: he shut up John in prison.

²¹ Now when all the people were immersed, Yeshua also was immersed. And while He was praying, heaven was opened ²² and the Ruach ha-Kodesh came down upon Him in bodily form like a dove. And from out of heaven came a voice, “You are My Son, whom I love—with You I am well pleased!”^[e]

Lead Me to the Rock

Psalm 61

Rewards for Righteous or Ruthless