The Daily Audio Bible
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The Lampstand and the Holy Bread
24 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel to bring you pure oil from crushed olives. That oil is for the lamps so that these lamps may never go out. 3 Aaron will keep the lamps burning in the Meeting Tent from evening until morning before the Lord; this is ·in front of [L outside] the curtain of the ·Ark of the Agreement [Covenant; Treaty; L Testimony]. This ·law [statute; ordinance; regulation] will continue ·from now on [L throughout your generations]. 4 Aaron must always keep the lamps burning on the ·lampstand of pure gold [L pure lampstand/Menorah; Ex. 25:31–40] before the Lord.
5 “Take ·fine [choice] flour and bake twelve loaves of bread with it, using ·four quarts [L two-tenths of an ephah] of flour for each loaf. 6 Put them in two rows on the ·golden [L pure] table [Ex. 25:23–30] before the Lord, six loaves in each row. 7 Put pure incense on each row as the memorial portion to take the place of the bread. It is an offering made by fire to the Lord. 8 Every Sabbath day Aaron will put the bread in order before the Lord, as an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with the people of Israel that will continue forever. 9 That bread will belong to Aaron and his sons. They will eat it in a holy place, because it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the Lord. That bread is their share forever.”
The Man Who Cursed God
10 Now there was a son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father who ·was walking [L came out] among the Israelites. A fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11 The son of the Israelite woman began cursing and ·speaking against the Lord [L blaspheming the name], so the people took him to Moses. (The mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri from the family of Dan.) 12 The people ·held him as a prisoner [put him in custody] while they waited for the Lord’s ·command [decision; will] to be made clear to them.
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, 14 “Take the one who ·spoke against [L cursed; blasphemed] me outside the camp. Then all the people who heard him must put their hands on his head, and all the ·people [community; assembly; congregation] must ·throw stones at him and kill [stone] him. 15 Tell the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel this: ‘If anyone curses his God, he is guilty of sin [Ex. 20:7; Deut. 5:11]. 16 Anyone who ·speaks against [L curses/blasphemes the name of] the Lord must be put to death; all the ·people [community; assembly; congregation] must ·kill him by throwing stones at [stone] him. ·Foreigners [Sojourners; Wanderers; Resident aliens] must be punished just like ·the people born in Israel [natives]; if they ·speak against the Lord [L curse/blaspheme the name], they must be put to death.
17 “‘Whoever ·kills [L strikes] another person must be put to death. 18 Whoever ·kills [L strikes] an animal that belongs to another person must give that person another animal to take its place. 19 And whoever causes an injury to a ·neighbor [countryman] must receive the same kind of injury in return: 20 Broken bone for broken bone, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Anyone who injures another person must be injured in the same way in return [Ex. 21:24]. 21 Whoever ·kills [L strikes] another person’s animal must give that person another animal to take its place. But whoever ·kills [strikes] another person must be put to death.
22 “‘The ·law [regulation; standard] will be the same for the ·foreigner [sojouner; wanderer; resident alien] as for ·those from your own country [the native]. I am the Lord your God.’”
23 Then Moses spoke to the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel, and they took the person who had cursed outside the camp and ·killed him by throwing stones at [stoned] him. So the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Time of Rest for the Land
25 The Lord said to Moses at Mount Sinai, 2 “Tell the people of Israel this: ‘When you enter the land I will give you, let it have a ·special time of rest, to honor [L sabbath to/for] the Lord. 3 You may plant seed in your field for six years, and you may trim your vineyards for six years and bring in their fruits. 4 But during the seventh year, you must let the land ·rest [have a sabbath]. This will be a ·special time to honor [L sabbath to/for] the Lord. You must not plant seed in your field or ·trim [prune] your vineyards. 5 You must not cut the crops that grow by themselves after harvest, or gather the grapes from your vines that are not ·trimmed [pruned]. The land will have a ·year of rest [sabbath].
6 “‘You may eat whatever the land produces during that ·year of rest [sabbath]. It will be food for your men and women servants, for your hired workers, and for the ·foreigners living in your country [sojourners; wanderers; resident aliens]. 7 It will also be food for your cattle and the wild animals of your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.
The Year of Jubilee
8 “‘Count off seven groups of seven years, [L seven times seven years] or forty-nine years. During that time there will be seven ·years of rest [sabbatical years; 25:1–7] for the land. 9 On the Day of ·Cleansing [Atonement; 16:1–34], you must blow the horn of a ·male sheep [ram]; this will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. You must blow the horn through the whole country. 10 Make the fiftieth year a ·special [consecrated; holy] year, and announce ·freedom [liberty] for all the people living in your country. This time will be called Jubilee [C a word related to the Hebrew for “ram’s horn”]. You will each go back to your own property, each to your own family and family group. 11 The fiftieth year will be a special time for you to celebrate. Don’t plant seeds, or harvest the crops that grow by themselves, or gather grapes from the vines that are not ·trimmed [pruned]. 12 That year is Jubilee; it will be a holy time for you. You may eat only the crops that come from the field. 13 In the year of Jubilee you each must go back to your own property.
14 “‘If you sell your land to your ·neighbor [countryman], or if you buy land from your ·neighbor [countryman], don’t ·cheat [mistreat; exploit] each other. 15 If you want to buy your ·neighbor’s [countryman’s] land, count the number of years since the last Jubilee, and use that number to decide the right price. If your ·neighbor [countryman] sells the land to you, count the number of years left for harvesting crops, and use that number to decide the right price. 16 If there are many years, the price will be high. But if there are only a few years, lower the price, because your neighbor is really selling only a few crops to you. 17 You must not ·cheat [mistreat; exploit] ·each other [L your neighbor/countryman], but you must ·respect [fear] your God. I am the Lord your God.
18 “‘·Remember [L Observe] my ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and ·rules [regulations], and ·obey [keep; guard] them so that you will live ·safely [securely] in the land. 19 The land will give ·good crops [its fruit] to you, and you will eat as much as you want and live ·safely [securely] in the land.
20 “‘But you might ask, “If we don’t plant seeds or gather crops, what will we eat the seventh year?” 21 I will ·send [L command for] you such a great blessing during the sixth year that the land will produce enough crops for three years. 22 When you plant in the eighth year, you will still be eating from the old crop; you will eat the old crop until the harvest of the ninth year.
Property Laws
23 “‘The land really belongs to me, so you can’t sell it ·for all time [in perpetuity]. You are only ·foreigners [sojourners; wanderers; resident aliens] and ·travelers living for a while on my land [L tenants with me]. 24 ·People might sell their land, but it must always be possible for the family to get its land back [L Throughout all the land of your possession, you must allow for redemption of the land]. 25 If ·a person in your country [your brother/kinsman] becomes very poor and sells some land, then close relatives ·must [or can] come and ·buy it back [redeem what his brother/kinsman has sold]. 26 If there is not a ·close relative to buy the land back [redeemer], but if the person ·makes enough money to be able to buy it back [prospers and he is able to redeem it], 27 the years must be ·counted [calculated] since the land was sold. That number must be used to decide how much the first owner should pay back the one who bought it. Then the land will belong to the first owner again. 28 But if there is not enough money to buy it back, the one who bought it will keep it until the year of Jubilee. During that celebration, the land will go back to the first owner’s family.
29 “‘If someone sells a home in a walled city, for a full year after it is sold, the person has the right to ·buy it back [redeem it]. 30 But if the owner does not ·buy back the house [redeem it] before a full year is over, it will belong to the one who bought it ·and to his future sons [L in perpetuity, throughout his generations]. The house will not go back to the first owner at Jubilee. 31 But houses in ·small towns [villages] without walls are like open ·country [fields]; they can be ·bought back [redeemed], and they must be returned to their first owner at Jubilee.
32 “‘The Levites may always ·buy back [redeem] their houses in the cities that belong to them. 33 If someone buys a house from a Levite, that house in the Levites’ city will again belong to the Levites in the Jubilee. This is because houses in Levite cities belong to the people of Levi; ·the Israelites gave these cities to them [L for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession in the midst of the sons/T children of Israel; Num. 35:1–8; Josh. 21:1–45]. 34 Also the ·fields and pastures [L open land] around the Levites’ cities cannot be sold, because ·those fields belong to the Levites [L that is their possession] forever.
Rules for Slave Owners
35 “‘If ·anyone from your country [your brother/kinsman] becomes too poor ·to support himself [or and dependent on you], ·help [support] him to live among you as you would a ·stranger [sojourner/wanderer/resident alien] or ·foreigner [or tenant]. 36 Do not charge him any interest on money ·you loan to him [L or try to make a profit; Ex. 22:25; Deut. 23:19–20], but ·respect [fear] your God; let ·the poor [L your brother/kinsman] live among you. 37 Don’t lend him money for interest, and don’t try to make a profit from the food he buys. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give the land of Canaan to you and to become your God.
39 “‘If ·anyone from your country [your brother/kinsman] becomes very poor and sells himself as a slave to you, you must not make him work like a slave [Ex. 21:2–6; Deut. 15:12–18]. 40 He will be like a hired worker and a ·visitor [or tenant] with you until the year of Jubilee. 41 Then he may leave you, take his children, and go back to his family and the land of his ancestors. 42 This is because the Israelites are my servants, and I brought them out of slavery in Egypt. They must not become slaves again. 43 You must not ·rule this person [exercise dominion; Gen. 1:26] cruelly, but you must ·respect [fear] your God.
44 “‘Your men and women slaves must come from other nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 45 Also you may buy as slaves children from the families of ·strangers [sojourners/wanderers/resident aliens] or ·foreigners [or tenants] living in your land. ·These child slaves will belong to you [L Those born in your land will be your property], 46 and you may even ·pass them on to your children after you die [will them to your children]; you can make them slaves forever. But you must not ·rule [exercise dominion] cruelly over your own ·people [brothers; kinsmen], the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel].
Jesus Accepts Children(A)
13 Some people brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch them, but his ·followers [disciples] ·told them to stop [scolded/rebuked them]. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was ·upset [angry; indignant] and said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these children [C meaning humble and dependent]. 15 I tell you the truth, you must accept the kingdom of God as if you were a little child, or you will never enter it.” 16 Then Jesus took the children in his arms, ·put [laid] his hands on them, and blessed them.
A Rich Young Man’s Question(B)
17 As Jesus started ·to leave [on his way; on a journey], a man ran to him and ·fell on his knees [knelt] before Jesus. The man asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to ·have life forever [L inherit eternal life]?”
18 Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? ·Only God is good [No one is good except One—God; C Jesus is not denying his own divinity, but is challenging the man’s understanding of goodness]. 19 You know the commands: ‘You must not murder. You must not ·be guilty of [commit] adultery. You must not steal. You must not ·tell lies about your neighbor [testify falsely; T bear false witness]. You must not ·cheat [defraud]. Honor your father and mother’ [Ex. 20:12–16; Deut. 5:16–20].”
20 The man said, “Teacher, I have ·obeyed [kept carefully; guarded] all these things since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus, looking at the man, loved him and said, “There is one more thing you need to do. Go and sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”
22 He was ·very sad [shocked; appalled] to hear Jesus say this, and he left ·sorrowfully [grieving], because he ·was rich [had many possessions].
23 Then Jesus looked [around] at his ·followers [disciples] and said, “How hard it will be for ·the rich [those with many possessions] to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The ·followers [disciples] were ·amazed [astonished] at what Jesus said. [C In Judaism wealth was generally viewed as a reward from God.] But he said again, “My children, it is very hard[a] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God [C meaning it is impossible, by human effort; see v. 27].”
26 They were even more ·surprised [amazed] and said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “·For people [Humanly speaking,] this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
28 Peter ·said [spoke up] to Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”
29 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, all those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or ·farms [fields] for me and for the ·Good News [Gospel] 30 will get more than they left. Here in ·this world [the present age] they will have a hundred times more homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and ·fields [farms]. And with those things, ·they will also suffer for their belief [persecutions]. But in the ·age [world] that is coming they will have ·life forever [eternal life]. 31 Many who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.”
9 But you have rejected us and ·shamed [humiliated] us.
You don’t ·march [L go out] with our armies anymore [Ex. 15:3; 2 Chr. 20:20–21].
10 You let our enemies push us back,
and those who hate us have ·taken our wealth [plundered us].
11 You ·gave us away [made us] like sheep ·to be eaten [for slaughter]
and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold your people for nothing
and made no profit on the sale.
13 You made us a ·joke [reproach] to our neighbors;
those around us ·laugh [ridicule] and make fun of us.
14 You made us a ·joke [byword; proverb] to the other nations;
people shake their heads.
15 I am always in disgrace,
and ·I am [L my face is] covered with shame.
16 My enemy is getting ·even [revenge]
with ·insults [taunts] and curses.
17 All these things have happened to us,
but we have not forgotten you
or ·failed to keep [been false to; betrayed] our ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with you [C perhaps a reference to the covenant with Moses; Ex. 19–24].
18 Our hearts haven’t turned ·away [back] from you,
and ·we haven’t stopped following you [L our steps have not departed from your way].
19 But you crushed us in this place where ·wild dogs [jackals] live [C desolate areas],
and you covered us with ·deep darkness [or the shadow of death; Nah. 1:8].
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or ·lifted [L spread] our hands in prayer to ·foreign [L strange] gods,
21 ·God would have known [L Would not God discover this…?],
because he knows ·what is in [L the secrets of] our hearts.
22 But for you we are ·in danger of death [L killed] all the time.
People think we are worth no more than sheep to be ·killed [slaughtered; Is. 53:7].
23 Wake up, Lord! Why are you sleeping?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever [Lam. 5:22].
24 Why do you hide your face from us?
Have you forgotten our ·pain [affliction] and ·troubles [oppression]?
25 We have ·been pushed down [sunk down] into the ·dirt [dust];
·we are flat on the ground [L our stomachs cleave to the earth].
26 ·Get [Rise] up and help us.
Because of your ·love [loyalty], ·save [redeem; ransom] us.
20 The ·words [L tongue] of a ·good [righteous] person ·are like pure [is choice] silver,
but an evil person’s ·thoughts are [L heart is] worth very little.
21 ·Good [Righteous] people’s ·words [L lips] ·will help [L nourish] many others,
but fools will die because they ·don’t have wisdom [lack sense/heart].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.