The Israelites Are Counted a Second Time

26 ^(A) After the Lord had stopped the deadly disease from killing the Israelites, he said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, ² “I want you to find out how many Israelites are in each family. Then make a list of every man 20 years and older who is able to serve in Israel's army.”

³ Israel was now camped in the hills of Moab across the Jordan River from the town of Jericho. Moses and Eleazar told them ⁴ what the Lord had said about counting the men 20 years and older, just as Moses and their ancestors had done when they left Egypt.^[a]

^5-7 There were 43,730 men from the tribe of Reuben, the oldest son of Jacob.^[b] These men were from the clans of Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ⁸ Pallu was the father of Eliab ⁹ and the grandfather of Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the same Dathan and Abiram who had been chosen by the people, but who followed Korah and rebelled against Moses, Aaron, and the Lord. ¹⁰ That's when the Lord made the earth open up and swallow Dathan, Abiram, and Korah. At the same time, fire destroyed 250 men as a warning to the other Israelites.^{[c] 11} But the Korahite clan wasn't destroyed.

^12-14 There were 22,200 men from the tribe of Simeon; they were from the clans of Nemuel, Jamin, Jachin, Zerah, and Shaul.

^15-18 There were 40,500 men from the tribe of Gad; they were from the clans of Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ozni, Eri, Arod, and Areli.

^19-22 There were 76,500 men from the tribe of Judah; they were from the clans of Shelah, Perez, and Zerah, as well as Hezron and Hamul, whose ancestor was Perez. Judah's sons Er and Onan had died in Canaan.^[d]

^23-25 There were 64,300 men from the tribe of Issachar; they were from the clans of Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron.

^26-27 There were 60,500 men from the tribe of Zebulun; they were from the clans of Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

^28-34 There were 52,700 men from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph; they were from the clan of Machir, the clan of Gilead his son, and the clans of his six grandsons: Iezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida, and Hepher. Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons, but he had five daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.^[e]

^35-37 There were 32,500 men from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph; they were from the clans of Shuthelah, Becher, Tahan, and Eran the son of Shuthelah.

^38-41 There were 45,600 men from the tribe of Benjamin; they were from the clans of Bela, Ashbel, Ahiram, Shephupham, Hupham, as well as from Ard and Naaman, the two sons of Bela.

^42-43 There were 64,400 men from the tribe of Dan; they were all from the clan of Shuham.

^44-47 There were 53,400 men from the tribe of Asher; they were from the clans of Imnah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and from the two clans of Heber and Malchiel, the sons of Beriah. Asher's daughter was Serah.

^48-50 There were 45,400 men from the tribe of Naphtali; they were from the clans of Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

⁵¹ The total number of Israelite men listed was 601,730.

^52 (B) The Lord said to Moses, ⁵³ “Divide the land of Canaan among these tribes, according to the number of people in each one, ⁵⁴ so the larger tribes have more land than the smaller ones. ^55-56 I will show you^[f] what land to give each tribe, and they will receive as much land as they need, according to the number of people in it.”

⁵⁷ The tribe of Levi included the clans of the Gershonites, Kohathites, Merarites, ⁵⁸ as well as the clans of Libni, Hebron, Mahli, Mushi, and Korah. Kohath the Levite was the father of Amram, ⁵⁹ the husband of Levi's daughter Jochebed, who was born in Egypt. Amram and Jochebed's three children were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. ^60 (C) Aaron was the father of Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ^61 (D) But Nadab and Abihu had died when they offered fire that was unacceptable to the Lord.^[g]

⁶² In the tribe of Levi there were 23,000 men and boys at least a month old. They were not listed with the other tribes, because they would not receive any land in Canaan.

⁶³ Moses and Eleazar counted the Israelites while they were camped in the hills of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho. ⁶⁴ None of the people that Moses and Aaron had counted in the Sinai Desert were still alive, ^65 (E) except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. The Lord had said that everyone else would die there in the desert.^[h]

The Daughters of Zelophehad Are Given Land

27 Zelophehad^[i] was from the Manasseh tribe, and he had five daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

² One day his daughters went to the sacred tent, where they met with Moses, Eleazar, and some other leaders of Israel, as well as a large crowd of Israelites. The young women said:

³ You know that our father died in the desert. But it was for something he did wrong, not for joining with Korah in rebelling against the Lord.

Our father left no sons ⁴ to carry on his family name. But why should his name die out for that reason? Give us some land like the rest of his relatives in our clan, so our father's name can live on.

⁵ Moses asked the Lord what should be done, ⁶ and the Lord answered:

^7 (F) Zelophehad's daughters are right. They should each be given part of the land their father would have received.

⁸ Tell the Israelites that when a man dies without a son, his daughter will inherit his land. ⁹ If he has no daughter, his brothers will inherit the land. ¹⁰ But if he has no brothers, his father's brothers will inherit the land. ¹¹ And if his father has no brothers, the land must be given to his nearest relative in the clan. This is my law, and the Israelites must obey it.

Joshua Is Appointed Israel's Leader

(Deuteronomy 31.1-8)

^12 (G) The Lord said to Moses, “One day you will go up into the Abarim Mountains, and from there you will see the land I am giving the Israelites. ¹³ After you have seen it, you will die,^[j] just like your brother Aaron, ¹⁴ because both of you disobeyed me at Meribah near the town of Kadesh in the Zin Desert. When the Israelites insulted me there, you didn't believe in my holy power.”^[k]

¹⁵ Moses replied, ¹⁶ “You are the Lord God, and you know what is in everyone's heart. So I ask you to appoint a leader for Israel. ^17 (H) Your people need someone to lead them into battle, or else they will be like sheep wandering around without a shepherd.”

^18 (I) The Lord answered, “Joshua son of Nun can do the job. Place your hands on him to show that he is the one to take your place. ¹⁹ Then go with him and tell him to stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the Israelites. Appoint Joshua as their new leader ²⁰ and tell them they must now obey him, just as they obey you. ^21 (J) But Joshua must depend on Eleazar to find out from me^[l] what I want him to do as he leads Israel into battle.”

²² Moses followed the Lord's instructions and took Joshua to Eleazar and the people, ^23 (K) then he placed his hands on Joshua and appointed him Israel's leader.

Regular Daily Sacrifices

(Exodus 29.38-43; Leviticus 6.8-13)

28 The Lord told Moses ² to say to the people of Israel:

Offer sacrifices to me at the appointed times of worship, so that I will smell the smoke and be pleased.

³ Each day offer two rams a year old as sacrifices to please me.^[m] The animals must have nothing wrong with them; ⁴ one will be sacrificed in the morning, and the other in the evening. ⁵ Along with each of them, one kilogram of your finest flour mixed with a liter of olive oil must be offered as a grain sacrifice. ⁶ This sacrifice to please me was first offered at Mount Sinai. ⁷ Finally, along with each of these two sacrifices, a liter of wine must be poured on the altar as a drink offering. ⁸ The second ram will be sacrificed that evening, along with the other offerings, just like the one sacrificed that morning. The smell of the smoke from these sacrifices will please me.

The Sacrifice on the Sabbath

The Lord said:

^9-10 On the Sabbath, in addition to the regular daily sacrifices,^[n] you must sacrifice two rams a year old to please me.^[o] These rams must have nothing wrong with them, and they will be sacrificed with a drink offering and two kilograms of your finest flour mixed with olive oil.

The Sacrifices on the First Day of the Month

The Lord said:

¹¹ On the first day of each month, bring to the altar two bulls, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. Then offer these as sacrifices to please me.^{[p] 12} Three kilograms of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with each bull as a grain sacrifice. Two kilograms of flour mixed with oil must be offered with the ram, ¹³ and one kilogram of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams. The smell of the smoke from these sacrifices will please me.

^14-15 Offer two liters of wine as a drink offering with each bull, one and a half liters with the ram, and one liter with each of the young rams.

Finally, you must offer a goat^[q] as a sacrifice for sin.

These sacrifices are to be offered on the first day of each month, in addition to the regular daily sacrifices.^[r]

The Sacrifices during Passover and the Festival of Thin Bread

(Leviticus 23.4-8)

The Lord said:

^16 (L) Celebrate Passover in honor of me on the fourteenth day of the first month^[s] of each year. ^17 (M) The following day will begin the Festival of Thin Bread, which will last for a week. During this time you must honor me by eating bread made without yeast.

¹⁸ On the first day of this festival, you must rest from your work and come together for worship. ¹⁹ Bring to the altar two bulls, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. And then offer these as sacrifices to please me.^{[t] 20} Three kilograms of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with each bull as a grain sacrifice. Two kilograms of flour mixed with oil must be offered with the ram, ²¹ and one kilogram of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams. ²² Also offer a goat^[u] as a sacrifice for the sins of the people. ^23-24 All of these are to be offered each day of the festival in additional to the regular sacrifices,^[v] and the smoke from them will please me. ²⁵ Then on the last day of the festival, you must once again rest from work and come together for worship.

The Sacrifices during the Harvest Festival

(Leviticus 23.15-22)

The Lord said:

^26 (N) On the first day of the Harvest Festival, you must rest from your work, come together for worship, and bring a sacrifice of new grain. ²⁷ Offer two young bulls, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old as sacrifices to please me.^{[w] 28} Three kilograms of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with each bull as a grain sacrifice. Two kilograms of flour mixed with oil must be offered with the ram, ²⁹ and one kilogram of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams. ³⁰ Also offer a goat^[x] as a sacrifice for sin. ³¹ The animals must have nothing wrong with them and are to be sacrificed along with the regular daily sacrifices.^[y]

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand

(Matthew 15.32-39)

8 One day another large crowd gathered around Jesus. They had not brought along anything to eat. So Jesus called his disciples together and said, ² “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me for three days, and they don't have anything to eat. ³ Some of them live a long way from here. If I send them away hungry, they might faint on their way home.”

⁴ The disciples said, “This place is like a desert. Where can we find enough food to feed such a crowd?”

⁵ Jesus asked them how much food they had. They replied, “Seven small loaves of bread.”^[a]

⁶ After Jesus told the crowd to sit down, he took the seven loaves and gave thanks. He then broke the loaves and handed them to his disciples, who passed them out to the crowd. ⁷ They also had a few little fish, and after Jesus had blessed these, he told the disciples to pass them around.

^8-9 The crowd of about 4,000 people ate all they wanted, and the leftovers filled seven large baskets.

As soon as Jesus had sent the people away, ¹⁰ he got into the boat with the disciples and crossed to the territory near Dalmanutha.^[b]

A Sign from Heaven

(Matthew 16.1-4)

^11 (A) The Pharisees came out and started an argument with Jesus. They wanted to test him by asking for a sign from heaven. ^12 (B) Jesus groaned and said, “Why are you always looking for a sign? I can promise you that you will not be given one!” ¹³ Then he left them. He again got into a boat and crossed over to the other side of the lake.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod

(Matthew 16.5-12)

¹⁴ The disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ^15 (C) Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”^[c]

¹⁶ The disciples talked this over and said to each other, “He must be saying this because we don't have any bread.”

¹⁷ Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you talking about not having any bread? Don't you understand? Are your minds still closed? ^18 (D) Are your eyes blind and your ears deaf? Don't you remember ¹⁹ how many baskets of leftovers you picked up when I fed those 5,000 people with only five small loaves of bread?”

“Yes,” the disciples answered. “There were twelve baskets.”

²⁰ Jesus then asked, “And how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up when I broke seven small loaves of bread for those 4,000 people?”

“Seven,” they answered.

²¹ “Don't you know what I am talking about by now?” Jesus asked.

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

²² As Jesus and his disciples were going into Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch the man. ²³ Jesus took him by the hand and led him out of the village, where he spit into the man's eyes. He placed his hands on the blind man and asked him if he could see anything. ²⁴ The man looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵ Once again Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes, and this time the man stared. His eyes were healed, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ Jesus said to him, “You may return home now, but don't go into the village.”

Who Is Jesus?

(Matthew 16.13-20; Luke 9.18-21)

²⁷ Jesus and his disciples went to the villages near the town of Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “What do people say about me?”

^28 (E) The disciples answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah.^[d] Others say you are one of the prophets.”

^29 (F) Then Jesus asked, “But who do you say I am?”

“You are the Messiah!” Peter replied.

³⁰ Jesus warned the disciples not to tell anyone about him.

Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death

(Matthew 16.21-28; Luke 9.22-27)

³¹ Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, “The nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. He will be rejected and killed, but three days later he will rise to life.” ³² Then Jesus explained clearly what he meant.

Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. ³³ But when Jesus turned and saw the disciples, he corrected Peter. He said to him, “Satan, get away from me! You are thinking like everyone else and not like God.”

^34 (G) Jesus then told the crowd and the disciples to come closer, and he said:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. ^35 (H) If you want to save your life,^[e] you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it. ³⁶ What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? ³⁷ What could you give to get back your soul?

³⁸ Don't be ashamed of me and my message among these unfaithful and sinful people! If you are, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.