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The Service of the Kohathites
4 [a] Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 “Take a census[b] of the Kohathites from among the Levites, by their families and by their clans, 3 from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, all who enter the company[c] to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the Kohathites in the tent of meeting, relating to the most holy things.[d] 5 When it is time for the camp to journey,[e] Aaron and his sons must come and take down the screening curtain and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they must put over it a covering of fine leather[f] and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue, and then they must insert its poles.
7 “On the table of the presence[g] they must spread a blue[h] cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the pitchers for pouring, and the Bread of the Presence must be on it continually. 8 They must spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of fine leather; and they must insert its poles.
9 “They must take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand of the light, with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it. 10 Then they must put it with all its utensils in a covering of fine leather, and put it on a carrying beam.[i]
11 “They must spread a blue cloth on the gold altar, and cover it with a covering of fine leather; and they must insert its poles. 12 Then they must take all the utensils of the service, with which they serve in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of fine leather, and put them on a carrying beam. 13 Also, they must take away the ashes from the altar[j] and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 Then they must place on it all its implements with which they serve there—the trays, the meat forks, the shovels, the basins, and all the utensils of the altar—and they must spread on it a covering of fine leather, and then insert its poles.[k]
15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished[l] covering[m] the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is ready to journey, then[n] the Kohathites will come to carry them;[o] but they must not touch[p] any[q] holy thing, or they will die.[r] These are the responsibilities[s] of the Kohathites with the tent of meeting.
16 “The appointed responsibility of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest is for the oil for the light, and the spiced incense, and the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil; he also has[t] the appointed responsibility over all the tabernacle with[u] all that is in it, over the sanctuary and over all its furnishings.”[v]
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 18 “Do not allow the tribe of the families of the Kohathites to be cut off[w] from among the Levites; 19 but in order that they will live[x] and not die when they approach the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons will go in and appoint[y] each man[z] to his service and his responsibility. 20 But the Kohathites[aa] are not to go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, or they will die.”
The Service of the Gershonites
21 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 22 “Also take a census of the Gershonites also, by their clans and by their families. 23 You must number them from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, all who enter the company to do the work of the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the families of Gershonites, as they serve[ab] and carry it. 25 They must carry the curtains for the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering, the covering of fine leather that is over it, the curtains for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings for the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance of the gate of the court,[ac] which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their ropes, along with all the furnishings for their service and everything that is made for them. So they are to serve.[ad]
27 “All the service of the Gershonites, whether[ae] carrying loads[af] or for any of their work, will be at the direction of[ag] Aaron and his sons. You will assign them all their tasks[ah] as their responsibility. 28 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites concerning the tent of meeting. Their responsibilities will be under the authority[ai] of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.[aj]
The Service of the Merarites
29 “As for the sons of Merari, you are to number them by their families and by their clans. 30 You must number them from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, all who enter the company to do the work of the tent of meeting. 31 This is what they are responsible to carry as their entire service in the tent of meeting: the frames[ak] of the tabernacle, its crossbars, its posts, its sockets, 32 and the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their sockets, tent pegs, and ropes, along with all their furnishings and everything for their service. You are to assign by name the items that each man is responsible to carry.[al] 33 This is the service of the families of the Merarites, their entire service concerning the tent of meeting, under the authority of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”
Summary
34 So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the community numbered the Kohathites by their families and by clans, 35 from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered the company for the work in the tent of meeting; 36 and those of them numbered by their families were 2,750. 37 These were those numbered from the families of the Kohathites, everyone who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord by the authority of Moses.
38 Those numbered from the Gershonites, by their families and by their clans, 39 from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered the company for the work in the tent of meeting— 40 those of them numbered by their families, by their clans, were 2,630. 41 These were those numbered from the families of the Gershonites, everyone who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord.
42 Those numbered from the families of the Merarites, by their families, by their clans, 43 from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered the company for the work in the tent of meeting— 44 those of them numbered by their families were 3,200. 45 These are those numbered from the families of the Merarites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord by the authority of Moses.
46 All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered by their families and by their clans, 47 from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered to do the work of service and the work of carrying[am] relating to the tent of meeting— 48 those of them numbered were 8,580. 49 According to the word of the Lord they were numbered,[an] by the authority of Moses, each according to his service and according to what he was to carry.[ao] Thus were they numbered by him,[ap] as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Separation of the Unclean
5 [aq] Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Command the Israelites to expel[ar] from the camp every leper,[as] everyone who has a discharge,[at] and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse.[au] 3 You must expel both men and women; you must put them outside the camp, so that[av] they will not defile their camps, among which I live.” 4 So the Israelites did so, and expelled them outside the camp. As the Lord had spoken[aw] to Moses, so the Israelites did.
Restitution for Sin
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Tell the Israelites, ‘When[ax] a man or a woman commits any sin that people commit,[ay] thereby breaking faith[az] with the Lord, and that person is found guilty,[ba] 7 then he must confess[bb] his sin that he has committed and must make full reparation,[bc] add one-fifth to it, and give it to whomever he wronged.[bd] 8 But if the individual has no close relative[be] to whom reparation can be made for the wrong, the reparation for the wrong must be paid to the Lord[bf] for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement by which atonement is made for him. 9 Every offering[bg] of all the Israelites’ holy things that they bring to the priest will be his. 10 Every man’s holy things[bh] will be his; whatever any man gives the priest will be his.’”
The Jealousy Ordeal
11 [bi] The Lord spoke to Moses: 12 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him, 13 and a man goes to bed with her for sexual relations[bj] without her husband knowing it,[bk] and it is undetected that she has defiled herself since[bl] there was no witness against her, nor was she caught in the act— 14 and if jealous feelings[bm] come over him and he becomes suspicious of[bn] his wife when she is defiled,[bo] or if jealous feelings come over him and he becomes suspicious of his wife, when she is not defiled— 15 then[bp] the man must bring his wife to the priest, and he must bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he must not pour olive oil on it or put frankincense on it because it is a grain offering of suspicion,[bq] a grain offering for remembering,[br] for bringing[bs] iniquity to remembrance.
16 “‘Then the priest will bring her near and have her stand[bt] before the Lord. 17 The priest will then take holy water[bu] in a pottery jar, and take some[bv] of the dust[bw] that is on the floor of the tabernacle, and put it into the water. 18 Then the priest will have the woman stand before the Lord, and he will uncover the woman’s head and put the grain offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of suspicion. The priest will hold in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse.[bx] 19 Then the priest will put the woman under oath and say to her, “If no other[by] man has gone to bed[bz] with you, and if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.[ca] 20 But if you[cb] have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has had sexual relations[cc] with you—”[cd] 21 (then the priest will put the woman under the oath of the curse[ce] and will say[cf] to her) “the Lord make you an attested curse[cg] among your people[ch] if the Lord makes[ci] your thigh fall away[cj] and your abdomen swell,[ck] 22 and this water that causes the curse will go[cl] into your stomach and make your abdomen swell and your thigh rot.”[cm] Then the woman must say, “Amen, amen.”[cn]
23 “‘Then the priest will write these curses on a scroll and then scrape them off into the bitter water.[co] 24 He will make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings a curse will enter her to produce bitterness. 25 The priest will take the grain offering of suspicion from the woman’s hand, wave the grain offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar. 26 Then the priest will take a handful of the grain offering as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, then if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her to produce bitterness—her abdomen will swell, her thigh will fall away,[cp] and the woman will become a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she will be free of ill effects[cq] and will be able to bear children.
29 “‘This is the law for cases of jealousy,[cr] when a wife, while under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when jealous feelings come over a man and he becomes suspicious of his wife; then he must have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest will carry out all this law upon her. 31 Then the man will be free from iniquity, but that woman will bear the consequences[cs] of her iniquity.’”[ct]
Marriage and the Resurrection
18 Sadducees[a] (who say there is no resurrection)[b] also came to him and asked him,[c] 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man[d] must marry[e] the widow and father children[f] for his brother.’[g] 20 There were seven brothers. The first one married,[h] and when he died he had no children. 21 The second married her and died without any children, and likewise the third. 22 None of the seven had children. Finally, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again,[i] whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”[j] 24 Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you deceived[k] for this reason, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels[l] in heaven. 26 Now as for the dead being raised,[m] have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush,[n] how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the[o] God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?[p] 27 He is not the God of the dead but of the living.[q] You are badly mistaken!”
The Greatest Commandment
28 Now[r] one of the experts in the law[s] came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus[t] answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love[u] the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’[v] 31 The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[w] There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The expert in the law said to him, “That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him.[x] 33 And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength[y] and to love your neighbor as yourself[z] is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”[aa] Then no one dared any longer to question him.
The Messiah: David’s Son and Lord
35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he said, “How is it that the experts in the law[ab] say that the Christ[ac] is David’s son?[ad] 36 David himself, by the Holy Spirit, said,
37 If David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”[ag] And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.
Psalm 48[a]
A song, a psalm by the Korahites.
48 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise
in the city of our God,[b] his holy hill.
2 It is lofty and pleasing to look at,[c]
a source of joy to the whole earth.[d]
Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon;[e]
it is the city of the great king.
3 God is in its fortresses;
he reveals himself as its defender.[f]
4 For[g] look, the kings assemble;[h]
they advance together.
5 As soon as they see,[i] they are shocked;[j]
they are terrified, they quickly retreat.[k]
6 Look at them shake uncontrollably,[l]
like a woman writhing in childbirth.[m]
7 With an east wind
you shatter[n] the large ships.[o]
8 We heard about God’s mighty deeds; now we have seen them,[p]
in the city of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[q]
in the city of our God.
God makes it permanently secure.[r] (Selah)
9 Within your temple
we reflect on your loyal love, O God.
10 The praise you receive as far away as the ends of the earth
is worthy of your reputation, O God.[s]
You execute justice.[t]
11 Mount Zion rejoices;
the towns[u] of Judah are happy,[v]
because of your acts of judgment.[w]
12 Walk around[x] Zion. Encircle it.
Count its towers.
13 Consider its defenses.[y]
Walk through[z] its fortresses,
so you can tell the next generation about it.[aa]
14 For God, our God, is our defender forever.[ab]
He guides[ac] us.[ad]
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