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Rules for the Nazirites
6 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Lord ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]: ‘If men or women want to ·promise [make a special vow] to ·belong to the Lord in a special way [separate themselves to the Lord], they will be called Nazirites [C people especially set apart in devotion to God; Samson and Samuel are examples]. 3 During this time, they must not drink wine or ·beer [T strong drink; C an alcoholic beverage made from grain], or vinegar made from wine or ·beer [T strong drink]. They must not even drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. 4 While they are Nazirites, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, even the seeds or the skin.
5 “‘During the time they have ·promised [vowed] to ·belong to the [separate themselves to the] Lord, they must not cut their hair [C avoiding contact with dead matter]. They must be holy until this special time is over. They must let their hair grow long. 6 During ·their special time of belonging [the time of their vow] to the Lord, Nazirites must not go near a dead body. 7 Even if their own father, mother, brother, or sister dies, they must not ·touch them, or they will become unclean [L defile themselves; C in a ritual sense]. ·They must still keep their promise to belong to God in a special way [L The consecration/separation to God is on their head]. 8 While they are Nazirites, they ·belong to the Lord in a special way [L are holy to the Lord].
9 “‘If they are next to someone who dies suddenly, their hair, which was ·part of their promise [consecrated], has been ·made unclean [defiled; C in a ritual sense]. So they must shave their head seven days later to be clean. 10 Then on the eighth day, they must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 11 The priest will offer one as a ·sin [or purification; Lev. 4:3] offering and the other as a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17]. This ·removes sin so they will belong to the Lord [makes atonement for them]. (They had sinned because they were near a dead body.) That same day they ·will again promise to let their hair grow [L sanctify/consecrate the head] 12 and ·give themselves [separate themselves] to the Lord for ·another special time [L their time as Nazirites]. They must bring a male lamb a year old as a ·penalty [guilt; reparation; Lev. 5:14—6:9] offering. The days of the special time before don’t count, because ·they became unclean during their first special time [L the consecrated/sanctified head became defiled].
13 “‘This is the ·teaching [instruction; law] for the Nazirites. When the ·promised time [time of their consecration] is over, they must go to the entrance of the Meeting Tent 14 and give their offerings to the Lord. They must offer a year-old male lamb that ·has nothing wrong with it [is unblemished], as a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17], a year-old female lamb that ·has nothing wrong with it [is unblemished], as a ·sin [or purification; Lev. 4:3] offering, and a ·male sheep [ram] that ·has nothing wrong with it [is unblemished], for a ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offering [Lev. 3:1]. 15 They must also bring the ·grain [L gift; tribute] offerings [Lev. 2:1] and drink offerings that go with them. And they must bring a basket of bread made without ·yeast [leaven], loaves made with ·fine [choice] flour mixed with oil, and wafers made without ·yeast [leaven] spread with oil.
16 “‘The priest will give these offerings to the Lord and make the ·sin [or purification; Lev. 4:3] offering and the burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17]. 17 Then he will ·kill [L offer] the ·male sheep [ram] as a ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offering [Lev. 3:1] to the Lord; along with it, he will present the basket of bread made without yeast [leaven], the ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [Lev. 2:1], and the drink offering.
18 “‘The Nazirites must go to the entrance of the Meeting Tent and shave ·off their hair that they grew for their promise [L their consecrated head]. The hair will be put in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offering [Lev. 3:1].
19 “‘After the Nazirites ·cut off their hair [L shave their consecrated head], the priest will give them a boiled shoulder from the ·male sheep [ram]. From the basket he will also give a loaf and a wafer, both made without ·yeast [leaven]. 20 Then the priest will ·present [elevate] them to the Lord. They are ·holy and belong to [a holy portion for] the priest. Also, he is to ·present [elevate] the breast and the thigh from the ·male sheep [ram]. After that, the Nazirites may drink wine.
21 “‘This is the ·teaching [instruction; law] for the Nazirites who ·make a promise [take a vow]. Everyone who makes the Nazirite ·promise [vow] must give all of these gifts to the Lord. If they promised to do more, they must keep their ·promise [vow], according to the ·teaching [instruction; law] of the Nazirites.’”
The Priests’ Blessings
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you should bless the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. Say to them:
24 “May the Lord bless you and ·keep [guard] you.
25 May the Lord ·show you his kindness [L make his face shine upon you]
and ·have mercy on [be gracious to] you.
26 May the Lord ·watch over [L lift his face/presence/countenance upon] you
and give you peace.”’
27 “So Aaron and his sons will ·bless the Israelites with my name [L put my name upon the sons/T children of Israel], and I will bless them.”
The Holy Tent
7 When Moses finished setting up the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle], he ·gave it for service to the Lord [consecrated/sanctified it] by ·pouring olive oil on the Tent [anointing it] and on everything used in it. He also ·poured oil on [anointed] the altar and all its tools to ·prepare them for service to the Lord [consecrate/sanctify it]. 2 Then the leaders of Israel made offerings. These were the heads of the families, the leaders of each tribe who counted the people. 3 They brought to the Lord six covered ·carts [wagons] and twelve oxen—each leader giving an ox, and every two leaders giving a ·cart [wagon]. They brought these to the Holy Tent.
4 The Lord said to Moses, 5 “Accept these gifts from the leaders and use them in the work of the Meeting Tent. Give them to the Levites as they need them.”
6 So Moses accepted the ·carts [wagons] and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. 7 He gave two ·carts [wagons] and four oxen to the ·Gershonites [L sons/descendants of Gershon], which they needed for their work. 8 Then Moses gave four ·carts [wagons] and eight oxen to the ·Merarites [L sons/descendants of Merari], which they needed for their work. Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest, directed the work of all of them. 9 Moses did not give any oxen or ·carts [wagons] to the ·Kohathites [L sons/descendants of Kohath], because their job was to carry the holy things on their shoulders.
10 When the ·oil was poured on the altar [altar was anointed], the leaders brought their offerings to it to ·give it to the Lord’s service [dedicate it]; they presented them in front of the altar. 11 The Lord told Moses, “Each day one leader must bring his gift ·to make the altar ready for service to me [for the dedication of the altar].”
In addition, each of the leaders brought one young bull, one ·male sheep [ram], and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17]; one male goat for a ·sin [or purification; Lev. 4:3] offering; and two oxen, five ·male sheep [rams], five male goats, and five male lambs a year old for a ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offering [Lev. 3:1; C the Hebrew text repeats the preceding two paragraphs with each of the twelve leaders listed below].
On the first day Nahshon son of Amminadab brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Judah.
On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Issachar.
On the third day Eliab son of Helon brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Zebulun.
On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Reuben.
On the fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Simeon.
On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Gad.
On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Ephraim.
On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Manasseh.
On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Benjamin.
On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Dan.
On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ocran brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Asher.
On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Naphtali.
84 So these were the gifts from the Israelite leaders when ·oil was poured on the altar [the altar was anointed] ·and it was given for service to the Lord [to dedicate it]: twelve silver plates, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold dishes. 85 Each silver plate weighed about ·three and one-fourth pounds [L 130 shekels], and each bowl weighed about ·one and three-fourths pounds [L 70 shekels]. All the silver plates and silver bowls together weighed about ·sixty pounds [L 2,400 shekels] according to a weight set by the Holy Place measure. 86 The twelve gold dishes filled with incense weighed ·four ounces [L 10 shekels] each, according to the weight set by the Holy Place measure. Together the gold dishes weighed about ·three pounds [L 120 shekels]. 87 The total number of animals for the burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] was twelve bulls, twelve ·male sheep [rams], and twelve male lambs a year old. There was also a ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [Lev. 2:1], and there were twelve male goats for a ·sin [or purification; Lev. 4:3] offering. 88 The total number of animals for the ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offering [Lev. 3:1] was twenty-four bulls, sixty ·male sheep [rams], sixty male goats, and sixty male lambs a year old. All these offerings were for ·giving the altar to the service of the Lord [the dedication of the altar] after ·the oil had been poured on it [it had been anointed].
89 When Moses went into the Meeting Tent to speak with the Lord, he heard the Lord speaking to him. The voice was coming from between the two ·gold creatures with wings [cherubim; Ex. 37:7] that were above the ·lid [Mercy Seat/Cover; Ex. 25:17–22] of the Ark of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant; L Testimony; 1:50]. In this way the Lord spoke with him.
38 Jesus continued teaching and said, “Beware of the ·teachers of the law [scribes]. They like to walk around ·wearing fancy clothes [in long robes], and they love for people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces. 39 They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues and at ·feasts [banquets]. 40 But they ·cheat widows and steal their houses [L devour widows’ homes] and then try to make themselves look good by saying long prayers [in public]. They will receive a greater ·punishment [judgment; condemnation].”
True Giving(A)
41 Jesus sat near the Temple ·money box [offering chest; or treasury] and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. 42 Then a poor widow came and put in ·two small copper coins [L two lepta], ·which were only worth a few cents [L which is a quadrans; C a Roman coin worth 1/64 of a denarius, or about 10 minutes of work for a day laborer].
43 Calling his ·followers [disciples] to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. 44 They gave ·only what they did not need [out of their surplus/abundance]. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had—everything she had to live on.”
The Temple Will Be Destroyed(B)
13 As Jesus was leaving the Temple (courts; complex), one of his ·followers [disciples] said to him, “Look, Teacher! ·How big the stones are! [L What stones!] ·How beautiful the buildings are! [L What buildings!]”
2 Jesus said, “Do you see all these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another. Every stone will be ·thrown [torn; pulled] down.”
3 Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, ·opposite [across from] the Temple [complex], he was alone with Peter, James, John, and Andrew. They asked Jesus, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are going to ·happen [be accomplished/fulfilled]?”
5 Jesus began to answer them, “·Be careful [Watch out] that no one ·fools [deceives; misleads] you. 6 Many people will come in my name, saying, ‘I am ·the One [or he; C Messiah or savior],’ and they will ·fool [deceive; mislead] many people. 7 When you hear about wars and ·stories of wars that are coming [rumors/reports of wars], don’t be afraid. These things must happen ·before the end comes [but that is not yet the end]. 8 Nations will ·fight [L rise up] against other nations, and kingdoms against other kingdoms. There will be earthquakes in ·different [various] places, and there will be ·times when there is no food for people to eat [famines]. These things are ·like the first pains when something new is about to be born [L the beginning of birth pains].
9 “You must ·be careful [watch out; be on guard]. People will arrest you and take you to ·court [local councils] and ·beat [flog] you in their synagogues. You will be forced to stand before governors and kings to ·tell them [testify; bear witness] about me, ·because you follow me [on account of me]. 10 But before these things happen, the ·Good News [Gospel] must be ·told [preached; proclaimed] to all ·people [nations]. 11 When you are arrested and ·judged [brought to trial], don’t worry ahead of time about what you should say. Say whatever is given you to say at that time, because it will not really be you speaking; it will be the Holy Spirit.
12 “Brothers will ·give [betray; hand over] their own brothers to ·be killed [death], and fathers will give their own children to ·be killed [death]. Children will ·fight [rebel; rise up] against their own parents and cause them to be put to death. 13 All people will hate you because ·you follow me [L of my name], but those people who ·keep their faith [endure; stand firm; persevere] until the end will be saved.
Trusting Money Is Foolish
For the director of music. A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
49 Listen to this, all you ·nations [peoples];
·listen [L give ear], all you who live on earth.
2 Listen, both ·great [high] and ·small [low],
rich and poor together.
3 ·What I say is wise [L My mouth speaks wisdom],
and ·my heart speaks with [L the meditation of my heart is] understanding.
4 I will ·pay attention [extend my ear] to a ·wise saying [proverb];
I will ·explain [solve] my riddle on the ·harp [lyre].
5 Why should I ·be afraid of [fear] ·bad [evil] days?
·Why should I fear when evil people […when the guilt of deceivers/the treacherous] surround me?
6 They ·trust [find refuge] in their ·money [wealth]
and ·brag [boast] about their riches.
7 No one can ·buy back [ransom; redeem] the life of ·another [or a brother].
No one can ·pay [L give a ransom to] God for his own life,
8 because the ·price [ransom; redemption] of a life is ·high [precious].
No payment is ever enough.
9 Do people live forever?
Don’t they all ·face death [L see the Pit; 16:10]?
10 See, even wise people die.
Fools and stupid people also ·die [perish; Eccl. 2:12–16]
and ·leave [abandon; forsake] their wealth to others.
11 Their graves will ·always [forever] be their homes.
·They will live there from now on [L …their dwelling to all generations],
even though they named places after themselves.
12 Even rich people do not ·live forever [abide];
like the animals, people ·die [perish; Eccl. 3:19].
13 This is ·what will happen to [L the way/path for] those who trust in themselves
and ·to their followers [or the end of those; L after them] who ·believe them [L are pleased with their mouth]. ·
14 Like sheep, they ·must die [L head to Sheol; C the grave or the underworld],
and death will be their shepherd.
·Honest [Virtuous; Upright] people will ·rule [have dominion] over them in the morning,
and their bodies will ·rot in a grave [waste away in Sheol] far from ·home [their grand homes].
15 But God will ·save [ransom; redeem] my life
and will take me from ·the grave [or the underworld; L Sheol; v. 14]. ·
16 Don’t be afraid of ·rich [wealthy] people
because their houses are more ·beautiful [or substantial].
17 They don’t take anything ·to the grave [when they die];
their ·wealth [substance] won’t go down with them.
18 Even though they were ·praised [blessed] when they were alive—
and people may praise you when you ·succeed [do well]—
19 they will go to where their ancestors are [C the grave].
They will never see light again.
20 Rich people with no understanding
are just like animals that ·die [perish].
27 Whoever ·respects [fears] the Lord will ·have a long life [L increase his days],
but the ·life [L years] of an evil person will be cut short.
28 A ·good [righteous] person can look forward to happiness,
but ·an evil person can expect nothing [L the hope of an evil person will perish].
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