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41 On the next day the entire Israelite community complained to Moses and Aaron, “You killed the Lord’s people.” 42 When the community assembled against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the meeting tent. At that moment the cloud covered it, and the Lord’s glory appeared. 43 Moses and Aaron came to the front of the meeting tent, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses: 45 Get away from this community, so that I may consume them in an instant.
They fell on their faces, 46 and Moses said to Aaron, “Take the censer, put fire from the altar on it, place incense on it, go quickly to the community, and seek reconciliation for them. Indeed, the Lord’s anger has gone out. The plague has begun.” 47 Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the middle of the assembly, for the plague had already begun among the people. He burned incense and sought reconciliation for the people. 48 He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped. 49 Those who died from the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, in addition to those who died because of Korah. 50 Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the meeting tent once the plague stopped.
Aaron’s budding staff
17 [a] The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 Speak to the Israelites and take from them a staff from each household, from each of the chiefs of their households, twelve staffs. Write each person’s name on his staff. 3 Write Aaron’s name on Levi’s staff, for there will be one staff for the leader of each household. 4 Then you will place them in the meeting tent in front of the chest containing the covenant, where I meet you. 5 The staff of the person I choose will sprout. Then I will rid myself of the Israelites’ complaints that they make against you.
6 Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their chiefs gave him a staff, one staff for each chief and his household, twelve staffs, and the staff of Aaron was with their staffs. 7 Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the meeting tent. 8 The next day Moses entered the covenant tent, and Aaron’s staff of Levi’s household had sprouted. It grew shoots, produced blossoms, and bore almonds. 9 Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord’s presence to the Israelites. They saw what happened, and each person took back his staff.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Return Aaron’s staff in front of the chest containing the covenant to serve as a sign to the rebels so that their complaints against me end and they don’t die.” 11 Moses did exactly as the Lord commanded him.
12 The Israelites said to Moses, “We are perishing. We are being destroyed. All of us are being destroyed. 13 Anyone who approaches the Lord’s dwelling will die. Are we doomed to perish?”
The priests’ and Levites’ duties
18 The Lord said to Aaron: You, your sons, and your household will bear the guilt of offenses connected with the sanctuary. You and your sons will bear the guilt of offenses connected with your priesthood. 2 Bring with you your brothers from the tribe of Levi, your father’s tribe, so that they can assist you and serve you and your sons before the covenant tent. 3 They will perform their duties for you and the service for the entire tent. But they will not approach the holy equipment of the sanctuary or the altar, lest both they and you die. 4 They will assist you and they will perform the duties of the meeting tent with regard to all the work of the tent. But no outsider may accompany you. 5 You will perform the duties of the sanctuary and the altar. Then there will no longer be any anger against the Israelites. 6 I have taken your brothers, the Levites, from the Israelites. They are a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord to perform the service of the meeting tent. 7 You and your sons must perform the duties of your priesthood for all the matters of the altar and the area behind the curtain. I give you your priestly service as a gift. But an outsider who approaches will die.
The priests’ compensation
8 The Lord spoke to Aaron: I now place you in charge of my gifts, including all the Israelites’ sacred offerings. I have given them to you and your sons as an allowance. This is a permanent regulation. 9 This is what belongs to you from the most holy offerings, from the offerings by fire: all their offerings, including their grain offerings, their purification offerings, and their compensation offerings. The most holy offerings that they bring to me will be yours and your sons’. 10 You will eat it as a most holy thing. Every male may eat it. It will be holy to you. 11 This will also belong to you, your sons, and your daughters: I’m giving you the gift offerings and all the Israelites’ uplifted offerings. This is a permanent regulation. Anyone who is clean in your household may eat it. 12 All the choice oil, new wine, and the grain’s first harvest that they give to the Lord, I’m giving to you. 13 The early produce of everything in their land, which they bring to the Lord, will be yours. Anyone who is clean in your household may eat it. 14 Everything that is devoted to the Lord in Israel will be yours. 15 Any oldest male from the womb of any living thing that is presented to the Lord, whether human or animal, will be yours. However, you will redeem the oldest males of humans and of unclean animals. 16 Their redemption price from one month of age you will calculate at five shekels of silver according to the sanctuary shekel, which is twenty gerahs. 17 But the oldest offspring of a cow, sheep, or goat you may not redeem. They are holy. You must dash their blood on the altar and turn their fat into smoke for a soothing smell to the Lord. 18 But their meat is yours. It will be yours just as the breast of the uplifted offering and the right thigh are yours. 19 All the holy gift offerings that the Israelites raise to the Lord I have given to you, your sons, and your daughters. This is a permanent regulation. It is a covenant of salt forever in the Lord’s presence, for you and your descendants.
20 The Lord said to Aaron: You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have a share among them. I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.
The Levites’ compensation
21 I have given all the one-tenth portions in Israel to the Levites as an inheritance. They are a reward for performing their service in the meeting tent. 22 The Israelites will no longer be able to approach the meeting tent, or they will be responsible for their sin and die. 23 The Levites will perform the service of the meeting tent, and they will be responsible for their own sins. This is a permanent regulation for all time. But they will not inherit land among the Israelites 24 because I’ve given the Israelites’ one-tenth portion, which they have raised to the Lord as a gift offering, as an inheritance to the Levites. Therefore, I’ve said to them, “They won’t inherit land among the Israelites.”
25 The Lord spoke to Moses: 26 Speak to the Levites and say to them: When you receive from the Israelites the one-tenth portion that I have given you from them as your inheritance, you also must present a gift offering to the Lord from it, a tenth from the one-tenth portion. 27 It will be considered your gift offering, like the grain of the threshing floor and what fills the winepress. 28 In this way you will also present a gift offering to the Lord from all the one-tenth portions that you take from the Israelites. You will provide from it a gift offering to the Lord for Aaron the priest. 29 You will present each gift offering to the Lord from all your gifts, from its best portions and its holiest parts.
30 You will say to them: When you have presented the best portion, it will be considered for the Levites equivalent to the produce of the grain and the produce of the winepress. 31 You and your household may eat it anywhere, because it is payment for your service in the meeting tent. 32 You will not bear guilt after you have presented the best portion. But you must not make the sacred gifts of the Israelites impure, on penalty of death.
Empty tomb
16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they could go and anoint Jesus’ dead body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they came to the tomb. 3 They were saying to each other, “Who’s going to roll the stone away from the entrance for us?” 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. (And it was a very large stone!) 5 Going into the tomb, they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right side; and they were startled. 6 But he said to them, “Don’t be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.[a] He has been raised. He isn’t here. Look, here’s the place where they laid him. 7 Go, tell his disciples, especially Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.” 8 Overcome with terror and dread, they fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.[b]
Endings Added Later
[9 They promptly reported all of the young man’s instructions to those who were with Peter. Afterward, through the work of his disciples, Jesus sent out, from the east to the west, the sacred and undying message of eternal salvation. Amen. ]
[[9 After Jesus rose up early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and reported to the ones who had been with him, who were mourning and weeping. 11 But even after they heard the news, they didn’t believe that Jesus was alive and that Mary had seen him.
12 After that he appeared in a different form to two of them who were walking along in the countryside. 13 When they returned, they reported it to the others, but they didn’t believe them. 14 Finally he appeared to the eleven while they were eating. Jesus criticized their unbelief and stubbornness because they didn’t believe those who saw him after he was raised up. 15 He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to every creature. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever doesn’t believe will be condemned. 17 These signs will be associated with those who believe: they will throw out demons in my name. They will speak in new languages. 18 They will pick up snakes with their hands. If they drink anything poisonous, it will not hurt them. They will place their hands on the sick, and they will get well.”
19 After the Lord Jesus spoke to them, he was lifted up into heaven and sat down on the right side of God. 20 But they went out and proclaimed the message everywhere. The Lord worked with them, confirming the word by the signs associated with them.]]
Psalm 55
For the music leader. With stringed instruments. A maskil[a] of David.
55 God, listen to my prayer;
don’t avoid my request!
2 Pay attention! Answer me!
I can’t sit still while complaining.
I’m beside myself
3 over the enemy’s noise,
at the wicked person’s racket,
because they bring disaster on me
and harass me furiously.
4 My heart pounds in my chest
because death’s terrors have reached me.
5 Fear and trembling have come upon me;
I’m shaking all over.
6 I say to myself,
I wish I had wings like a dove!
I’d fly away and rest.
7 I’d run so far away!
I’d live in the desert. Selah
8 I’d hurry to my hideout,
far from the rushing wind and storm.
9 Baffle them, my Lord!
Confuse their language
because I see violence and conflict in the city.
10 Day and night they make their rounds on its walls,
and evil and misery live inside it.
11 Disaster lives inside it;
oppression and fraud never leave the town square.
12 It’s not an enemy that is insulting me—
I could handle that.
It’s not someone who hates me
who is exalted over me—
I could hide from them.
13 No. It’s you, my equal,
my close companion, my good friend!
14 It was so pleasant when
together we entered God’s house with the crowd.
15 Let death devastate my enemies;
let them go to the grave[b] alive
because evil lives with them—
even inside them!
16 But I call out to God,
and the Lord will rescue me.
17 At evening, morning, and midday
I complain and moan
so that God will hear my voice.
18 He saves me,[c] unharmed, from my struggle,
though there are many who are out to get me.
19 God, who is enthroned from ancient days,
will hear and humble them Selah
because they don’t change
and they don’t worship God.
20 My friend attacked his allies,
breaking his covenant.
21 Though his talk is smoother than butter,
war is in his heart;
though his words are more silky than oil,
they are really drawn swords:
22 “Cast your burden on the Lord—
he will support you!
God will never let the righteous be shaken!”
23 But you, God, bring the wicked
down to the deepest pit.
Let bloodthirsty and treacherous people
not live out even half their days.
But me? I trust in you!
7 When the wicked die, their hope perishes.
Yes, any hope based on money perishes.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible