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The Arrangement of the Tribes
2 [a] The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron: 2 “Every one[b] of the Israelites must camp[c] under his standard with the emblems of his family;[d] they must camp at some distance[e] around the tent of meeting.[f]
The Tribes on the East
3 “Now those who will be camping[g] on the east, toward the sunrise,[h] are the divisions[i] of the camp of Judah under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is[j] Nahshon son of Amminadab. 4 Those numbered in his division[k] are 74,600. 5 Those who will be camping next to them[l] are the tribe of Issachar. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar. 6 Those numbered in his division are 54,400. 7 Next will be[m] the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of the people of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon. 8 Those numbered in his division are 57,400. 9 All those numbered of the camp of Judah, according to their divisions, are 186,400. They will travel[n] at the front.
The Tribes on the South
10 “On the south will be the divisions of the camp of Reuben under their standard.[o] The leader of the people of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur. 11 Those numbered in his division are 46,500. 12 Those who will be camping next to them are the tribe of Simeon. The leader of the people of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. 13 Those numbered in his division are 59,300. 14 Next will be[p] the tribe of Gad. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel.[q] 15 Those numbered in his division are 45,650. 16 All those numbered of the camp of Reuben, according to their divisions, are 151,450. They will travel second.
The Tribe in the Center
17 “Then the tent of meeting with the camp of the Levites will travel in the middle of the camps. They will travel in the same order as they camped, each in his own place[r] under his standard.
The Tribes on the West
18 “On the west will be the divisions of the camp of Ephraim under their standard. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud. 19 Those numbered in his division are 40,500. 20 Next to them will be the tribe of Manasseh. The leader of the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. 21 Those numbered in his division are 32,200. 22 Next will be[s] the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of the people of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni. 23 Those numbered in his division are 35,400. 24 All those numbered of the camp of Ephraim, according to their divisions, are 108,100. They will travel third.
The Tribes on the North
25 “On the north will be the divisions of the camp of Dan, under their standards. The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. 26 Those numbered in his division are 62,700. 27 Those who will be camping next to them are the tribe of Asher. The leader of the people of Asher is Pagiel son of Ocran. 28 Those numbered in his division are 41,500. 29 Next will be[t] the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of the people of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan. 30 Those numbered in his division are 53,400. 31 All those numbered of the camp of Dan are 157,600. They will travel last, under their standards.”
Summary
32 These are the Israelites, numbered according to their families.[u] All those numbered in the camps, by their divisions, are 603,550. 33 But the Levites were not numbered among the other Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.
34 So the Israelites did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way[v] they camped under their standards, and that is the way they traveled, each with his clan and family.
The Sons of Aaron
3 [w] Now these are the records[x] of Aaron and Moses when[y] the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed[z] priests, whom he consecrated[aa] to minister as priests.[ab]
4 Nadab and Abihu died[ac] before the Lord[ad] when they offered[ae] strange[af] fire[ag] before the Lord in the desert of Sinai, and they had no children.[ah] So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests[ai] in the presence of[aj] Aaron their father.
The Assignment of the Levites
5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near,[ak] and present[al] them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him.[am] 7 They are responsible for his needs[an] and the needs of the whole community before the tent of meeting, by attending to[ao] the service of the tabernacle. 8 And they are responsible for all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and for the needs of the Israelites, as they serve[ap] in the tabernacle. 9 You are to assign[aq] the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they will be assigned exclusively[ar] to him out of all[as] the Israelites. 10 So you are to appoint Aaron and his sons, and they will be responsible for their priesthood,[at] but the unauthorized person[au] who comes near must be put to death.”
11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 12 “Look,[av] I myself have taken the Levites from among the Israelites instead of[aw] every firstborn who opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites belong to me, 13 because all the firstborn are mine. When I destroyed[ax] all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They belong to me. I am the Lord.”[ay]
The Numbering of the Levites
14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai: 15 “Number the Levites by their clans[az] and their families; every male from a month old and upward you are to number.”[ba] 16 So Moses numbered them according to the word[bb] of the Lord, just as he had been commanded.[bc]
The Summary of Families
17 These were the sons[bd] of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei. 19 The sons of Kohath by their families were: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 The sons of Merari by their families were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their clans.
The Numbering of the Gershonites
21 From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites. 22 Those of them who were numbered, counting every male from a month old and upward, were 7,500. 23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle toward the west. 24 Now the leader[be] of the clan[bf] of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael.
25 And[bg] the responsibilities of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the curtain at the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the courtyard,[bh] the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard that surrounded the tabernacle and the altar, and their ropes, plus all the service connected with these things.[bi]
The Numbering of the Kohathites
27 From Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites.[bj] 28 Counting every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600. They were responsible for the care[bk] of the sanctuary. 29 The families of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30 Now the leader of the clan of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.
31 Their responsibilities included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered,[bl] the curtain, and all their service.[bm] 32 Now the head of all the Levitical leaders[bn] was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsible for[bo] the sanctuary.
The Numbering of Merari
33 From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were[bp] the families of Merari. 34 Those of them who were numbered, counting every male from a month old and upward, were 6,200. 35 Now the leader of the clan of the families of Merari was Zuriel son of Abihail. These were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.
36 The appointed responsibilities of the Merarites included the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, its posts, its sockets, its utensils, plus all the service connected with these things,[bq] 37 and the pillars of the courtyard all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their ropes.
38 But those who were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting, were Moses, Aaron,[br] and his sons. They were responsible for the needs[bs] of the sanctuary and for the needs of the Israelites, but the unauthorized person who approached was to be put to death. 39 All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the word[bt] of the Lord, according to their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22,000.
The Substitution for the Firstborn
40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Number all the firstborn males of the Israelites from a month old and upward, and take[bu] the number of their names. 41 And take[bv] the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn males among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites.” 42 So Moses numbered all the firstborn males among the Israelites, as the Lord had commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, by the number of the names from a month old and upward, totaled 22,273.
44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn males among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. And the Levites will be mine. I am the Lord. 46 And for the redemption of the 273 firstborn males of the Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites, 47 collect[bw] five shekels for each one[bx] individually; you are to collect[by] this amount[bz] in the currency of the sanctuary shekel (this shekel is twenty gerahs).[ca] 48 And give the money for the redemption of the excess number of them to Aaron and his sons.”
49 So Moses took the redemption money[cb] from those who were in excess of those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn males of the Israelites he collected the money, 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. 51 Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Authority of Jesus
27 They came again to Jerusalem. While Jesus[a] was walking in the temple courts,[b] the chief priests, the experts in the law,[c] and the elders came up to him 28 and said, “By what authority[d] are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. Answer me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: 30 John’s baptism—was it from heaven or from people?[e] Answer me.” 31 They discussed with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From people—’” (they feared the crowd, for they all considered John to be truly a prophet). 33 So[f] they answered Jesus,[g] “We don’t know.”[h] Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you[i] by what authority[j] I am doing these things.”
The Parable of the Tenants
12 Then[k] he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard.[l] He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then[m] he leased it to tenant farmers[n] and went on a journey. 2 At harvest time he sent a slave[o] to the tenants to collect from them[p] his portion of the crop.[q] 3 But[r] those tenants[s] seized his slave,[t] beat him,[u] and sent him away empty-handed.[v] 4 So[w] he sent another slave to them again. This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously. 5 He sent another, and that one they killed. This happened to many others, some of whom were beaten, others killed. 6 He had one left, his one dear son.[x] Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So[y] they seized him,[z] killed him, and threw his body[aa] out of the vineyard.[ab] 9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy[ac] those tenants and give the vineyard to others.[ad] 10 Have you not read this scripture:
‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.[ae]
11 This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”[af]
12 Now[ag] they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized that he told this parable against them. So[ah] they left him and went away.[ai]
Paying Taxes to Caesar
13 Then[aj] they sent some of the Pharisees[ak] and Herodians[al] to trap him with his own words.[am] 14 When they came they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not court anyone’s favor, because you show no partiality[an] but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.[ao] Is it right[ap] to pay taxes[aq] to Caesar[ar] or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” 15 But he saw through their hypocrisy and said[as] to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius[at] and let me look at it.” 16 So[au] they brought one, and he said to them, “Whose image[av] is this, and whose inscription?” They replied,[aw] “Caesar’s.” 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”[ax] And they were utterly amazed at him.
Psalm 47[a]
For the music director, by the Korahites; a psalm.
47 All you nations, clap your hands.
Shout out to God in celebration.[b]
2 For the Lord Most High[c] is awe-inspiring;[d]
he is the great king who rules the whole earth![e]
3 He subdued nations beneath us[f]
and countries[g] under our feet.
4 He picked out for us a special land[h]
to be a source of pride for[i] Jacob,[j] whom he loves.[k] (Selah)
5 God has ascended his throne[l] amid loud shouts;[m]
the Lord has ascended amid the blaring of ram’s horns.[n]
6 Sing to God! Sing!
Sing to our king! Sing!
7 For God is king of the whole earth.
Sing a well-written song.[o]
8 God reigns[p] over the nations.
God sits on his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations assemble,
along with the people of the God of Abraham,[q]
for God has authority over the rulers[r] of the earth.
He is highly exalted.[s]
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