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21 It was at this time that the heads of the leaders of the Levites came before the priest Eleazar and Joshua, son of Nun, and the other leaders of the tribes of the Israelites 2 at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
Levite Leaders: The Eternal gave orders through Moses that we of the tribe of Levi be given towns to live in, along with pasturelands for our livestock and cattle.
The Kohathites are given land in the areas around what will be Jerusalem, where it will be convenient for them to later serve in the temple.
3 So in obedience to the Eternal’s command, the Israelites allotted to the Levites towns with their surrounding pasturelands, from out of their inheritances, 4 and lots were drawn for the clans of the descendants of Kohath. To those Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest went 13 towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The other descendants of Kohath were given 10 towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim and Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 6 The descendants of Gershon were allotted 13 towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh that lived in Bashan. 7 The descendants of Merari and their clans were granted 12 towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 8 This, then, was the land granted by drawing lots for the Levites, by the other people of Israel as the Eternal had commanded through Moses—these towns with their surrounding pastures. 9 From the tribes of the Judahites and the Simeonites came the following towns mentioned by name, 10 which were granted to the descendants of Aaron, of the clans of the descendants of Kohath who were Levites, since they were chosen first: 11 the city of Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is Hebron, in the highlands of Judah, as well as the pasturelands around it. 12 The fields and villages of the town had already been granted to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, for his inheritance.
13-16 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for a slayer, and Libnah; Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh, all with their villages—9 cities with their pastures given by these two tribes.
17-19 These cities were given by the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon, all with their villages—4 cities. So the cities granted to the descendants of Aaron—the priests—totaled 13, with their pastures and their villages.
20-22 As for the remaining clans of the people of Kohath of the Levites, the cities allotted to them were given by the tribe of Ephraim: Shechem (the city of refuge in the highlands of Ephraim) Gezer, Kibzaim, and Beth-horon, all with their villages—4 cities with their pastures. 23-24 Out of the tribe of Dan they were given Elteke, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon, all with their pasturelands—4 cities. 25 And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach with its villages and Gath-rimmon with its villages and their pastures—2 cities. 26 So the cities given to the clans of the rest of the Kohathites totaled 10, with their pasturelands.
27 The Gershonites, another of the clans of the Levites, received from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (the city of refuge), with its villages and pastures, and Beeshterah with its villages and pastures—2 cities. 28-29 From the tribe of Issachar they received Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En-gannim, all with their villages—4 cities.
30-31 From the tribe of Asher came Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob, all with their villages and pastures—4 cities. 32 From the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee (the city of refuge), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan, all with their villages and their pastures—3 cities. 33 In all, the cities granted to the clans of the Gershonites totaled 13, along with their villages and their pastures.
34-35 The rest of the Levites—the clans of the Merarites—received from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal, all with their villages and pastures—4 cities. 36-37 From the tribe of Reuben they were given Bezer, Jahzah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath, all with their villages and their pastures—4 cities. 38-39 From the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead (the city of refuge), Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer, all with their villages and their pastures—4 cities in all. 40 So the cities of the Merarite clans, that is, the remaining clans of Levi, totaled 12. 41 The Levites were granted 48 cities, each with villages around them and the pasturelands, within the holdings of the Israelites. 42 So it was that they received these cities, their villages, and their pastures.
43 That is how the Eternal gave to the people of Israel all the land He had promised to their ancestors; and when they had taken possession of the land, the Israelites settled upon it. 44 So He gave them rest from war on every side as He had sworn to their ancestors; none of their enemies still stood against them, for the Eternal had delivered them all into their hands. 45 Not a single one of all the good promises that He had made to the house of Israel went unfulfilled; all of them came to pass.
22 It was time for Joshua to discharge the tribes whose land was east of the Jordan, and they came before him—the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Joshua: 2 You have done all that Moses the servant of the Eternal commanded you to do, and you have done all that I asked of you. 3 You did not abandon your people through all of the many days we struggled, down to this very day, and you have always been faithful to the charge that was laid upon you by the Eternal One, your True God.
4 The Eternal One, your True God, has given rest now to all your people as He promised them. So now it is time for you to return to your tents and your possessions in the land on the far banks of the Jordan that Moses, the Eternal’s servant, granted you. 5 Be very careful always to follow the commandments and teachings of Moses, the Eternal’s servant: love the Eternal your God; walk in His pathways, keep His commandments, be faithful to Him, and serve Him with diligence and devotion.
6 He gave them his blessing and sent them home to their tents, 7 but since Moses had given to the half-tribe of Manasseh an inheritance in Bashan, east of the Jordan, and to the other half Joshua had given an inheritance alongside the other people west of the Jordan, he blessed them and sent them away.
Joshua: 8 You will return now to your tents with great wealth, with herds of livestock and cattle, with silver and gold, bronze and iron, and piles of fine clothing. Be sure to divide these spoils of war among your relatives.
9 So the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh departed from the other Israelites at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, and returned to their homes and families in Gilead, which Moses had given them by order of the Eternal.
10 When the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh came to the western bank of the Jordan, although still in the land of Canaan, they built an immense altar there by the river. 11 When the other people of Israel heard that the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built a huge altar on the frontier of Canaan on the side of the Jordan given to them, they feared the altar was going to be used to worship the gods of the land of Canaan. 12 So the Israelites all gathered at Shiloh and talked of going to war against the tribes across the Jordan. 13-14 But first they appointed the priest Phinehas, son of Eleazar, to travel with 10 chiefs, one from each Israelite tribe and each clan who were settled in the land of Canaan, to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead.
15 When they came to the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, Phinehas and the chiefs delivered the message.
Phinehas: 16 We bring a message from all the Eternal’s people in Canaan. How dare you! How can you commit this treachery against the True God of Israel by turning away from Him and building this altar to be used against Him? 17 Didn’t we learn our lessons about the sin of sacrificing to false gods in Peor? We have not yet cleansed ourselves of the stain or gotten over the plague that the Eternal sent among us because of it; 18 and now, already, you’re turning away from Him? Listen to me: If you rebel against Him today, He will punish the whole assembly of Israel tomorrow!
19 If the problem is that there is no holy site in your country, then come over to us in the country where the Eternal’s congregation tent is standing. Take an inheritance among us. Only don’t rebel against Him or rebel against us by building an altar that isn’t going to be used to sacrifice to the Eternal One, our True God. 20 Don’t you remember what happened when Achan, the son of Zerah, was unfaithful by keeping some of the spoil at Jericho and trying to deceive God and Joshua? His wrath fell upon the whole people, and he was not the only one who perished because of his sin!
20 One day when He was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests, religious scholars, and elders came up and questioned Him.
Elders: 2 Tell us by what authority You march into the temple and disrupt our worship. Who gave You this authority?
Jesus: 3 Let Me ask you a question first. Tell Me this: 4 was the ritual cleansing of baptism John did from God, or was it merely a human thing?
Chief Priests, Religious Scholars, and Elders (conferring together): 5 If we say it was from God, then He’ll ask us why we didn’t believe John. 6 If we say it was merely human, all the people will stone us because they are convinced that John was a true prophet.
7 So they said they didn’t know where John’s ritual washing came from.
Jesus: 8 Well then, if you won’t answer My question, I won’t tell you by what authority I have acted.
9 He told the people another parable:
Jesus: A man planted a vineyard. He rented it to tenants and went for a long trip to another country. 10 At the harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants so he could be paid his share of the vineyard’s fruit, but the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. 11 The man sent another servant, and they beat him and treated him disgracefully and sent him away empty-handed too. 12 He sent a third servant who was injured and thrown out. 13 Then the vineyard owner said, “Now what am I going to do? I’ll send my much-loved son. They should treat him with respect.”
14 But when the tenants recognized the owner’s son, they said, “Here’s our chance to actually own this vineyard! Let’s kill the owner’s heir so we can claim this place as our own!” 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and murdered him. What do you think the owner will do to these scoundrels?
16 I’ll tell you what he’ll do; he’ll come and wipe those tenants out, and he’ll give the vineyard to others.
Crowd: No! God forbid that this should happen!
Jesus: 17 Why then do the Hebrew Scriptures contain these words:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very stone
that holds together the entire foundation?[a]
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to fragments, and if that stone falls on anyone, he will be ground to dust.
19 That was the last straw for the religious scholars and the chief priests; they were ready to attack Him right then and there. But they couldn’t for fear of public opinion, and they realized that Jesus, through this parable, had exposed their violent intentions.
Since they can’t use overt violence against Him, they develop a covert plan.
20 They would keep Him under constant surveillance. They would send spies, pretending to ask sincere questions, listening for something they could seize upon that would justify His arrest and condemnation under the governor’s authority.
In addition to the Pharisees, there is a religious sect in Roman-occupied Israel called the Sadducees. They are religious conservatives holding to an ancient tradition in Judaism that doesn’t believe in an afterlife. Their disbelief in an afterlife seems to make them conclude, “There’s only one life, and this is it, so you’d better play it safe.” That means they are very happy to collaborate with the Romans—and make a healthy profit—rather than risk any kind of rebellion or revolt. For this reason, they are closely allied with another group called the Herodians, allies of Caesar’s puppet king Herod. Their contemporaries, the Pharisees, who believe in an afterlife, are more prone to risk their lives in a rebellion since they hope martyrs will be rewarded with resurrection. For this reason, the Pharisees are closely allied with the Zealots, who are more overtly revolutionary. Each group tries to trap Jesus, but He turns the tables on them, using each encounter to shed more light on the message of the kingdom of God. In case after case, Jesus brings His hearers to the heart of the matter; and again and again, the bottom-line issue is money.
Chief Priests, Religious Scholars, and Elders: 21 Teacher, we respect You because You speak and teach only what is right, You show no partiality to anyone, and You truly teach the way of God. 22 So—is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar’s occupying regime, or should we refuse?
23 He saw through their transparent trick.
Jesus: [Why are you trying to trick Me?][b] 24 Show Me a coin. Whose image and name are on this coin?
Chief Priests, Religious Scholars, and Elders: Caesar’s.
Jesus: 25 Well then, you should give to Caesar whatever is Caesar’s, and you should give to God whatever is God’s.
26 Once again they failed to humiliate Him in public or catch Him in a punishable offense. They were confounded by His reply and couldn’t say anything in response.
Psalm 89
A contemplative song[a] of Ethan the Ezrahite.
Psalm 89 begins on a note of praise and ends with a lament. The heart of this psalm recalls God’s choice of David as king and God’s covenant with him to establish an eternal dynasty (2 Samuel 7).
1 I will sing of Your unfailing love, Eternal One, forever.
I will speak of Your faithfulness to all generations.
2 I will tell how Your unfailing love will always stand strong;
and how Your faithfulness is established in the heavens above.
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one.
I made My servant, David, this promise:
4 ‘I will establish your dynasty
so that you and your descendants will always be secure.
Your rule will continue for generations to come.’”
[pause][b]
5 Let the heavens join in praising the wonderful works of the Eternal.
The holy ones have gathered, singing of Your faithfulness.
6 For there is no one above who compares to the Eternal,
not one of heaven’s creatures is like Him in the least.
7 In the council of holy ones, God is lifted high and feared;
His presence overwhelms all who are near Him.
8 O Eternal God, Commander of heaven’s armies,
who is mighty like You?
You are completely faithful; that’s why we trust You.
9 The ocean waters are at Your command.
When violent waves rise up, You still them.
10 You defeated Rahab, that ancient monster of chaos,
and left it lifeless.
You routed Your enemies and scattered them by Your great arm of power.
11 Everything in the sky above and the earth below are Yours.
The world and all it contains are Yours, for You created them all.
12 Everything was created by You—the north, the south—
the mountains of Tabor and Hermon echo joyously the song of Your name.
13 Your arm is strong.
Your grip is powerful.
Your right hand is raised up high.
15 Good sense brings blessing,
but the road of the treacherous is long and rough.
16 A clever person acquires knowledge and then acts on it;
but a fool advertises his folly for all to see.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.