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The Red Heifer Ritual
19 [a] The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 “This is the ordinance of the law that the Lord has commanded: ‘Instruct[b] the Israelites to bring[c] you a red[d] heifer[e] without blemish, which has no defect[f] and has never carried a yoke. 3 You must give it to Eleazar the priest so that he can take it outside the camp, and it must be slaughtered before him.[g] 4 Eleazar the priest is to take[h] some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of the blood seven times[i] in the direction of the front of the tent of meeting. 5 Then the heifer must be burned[j] in his sight—its skin, its flesh, its blood, and its offal is to be burned.[k] 6 And the priest must take cedar wood, hyssop,[l] and scarlet wool and throw them into the midst of the fire where the heifer is burning.[m] 7 Then the priest must wash[n] his clothes and bathe himself[o] in water, and afterward he may come[p] into the camp, but the priest will be ceremonially unclean until evening. 8 The one who burns it[q] must wash his clothes in water and bathe himself in water. He will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
9 “‘Then a man who is ceremonially clean must gather up the ashes of the red heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept[r] for the community of the Israelites for use in the water of purification[s]—it is a purification for sin.[t] 10 The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer must wash his clothes and be ceremonially unclean until evening. This will be a permanent ordinance both for the Israelites and the resident foreigner who lives among them.
Purification from Uncleanness
11 “‘Whoever touches[u] the corpse[v] of any person[w] will be ceremonially unclean[x] seven days. 12 He must purify himself[y] with water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and the seventh day, then he will not be clean. 13 Anyone who touches the corpse of any dead person and does not purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. And that person must be cut off from Israel,[z] because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him. He will be unclean; his uncleanness remains on him.
14 “‘This is the law: When a man dies[aa] in a tent, anyone who comes into the tent and all who are in the tent will be ceremonially unclean seven days. 15 And every open container that has no covering fastened on it is unclean. 16 And whoever touches the body of someone killed with a sword in the open fields,[ab] or the body of someone who died of natural causes,[ac] or a human bone, or a grave, will be unclean seven days.[ad]
17 “‘For a ceremonially unclean person you must take[ae] some of the ashes of the heifer[af] burnt for purification from sin and pour[ag] fresh running[ah] water over them in a vessel. 18 Then a ceremonially clean person must take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all its furnishings, and on the people who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, or one who was killed, or one who died, or a grave. 19 And the clean person must sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he must purify him,[ai] and then he must wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and he will be clean in the evening. 20 But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person must be cut off from among the community, because he has polluted the sanctuary of the Lord; the water of purification was not sprinkled on him, so he is unclean.
21 “‘So this will be a perpetual ordinance for them: The one who sprinkles[aj] the water of purification must wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening.[ak] 22 And whatever the unclean person touches will be unclean, and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.’”
The Israelites Complain Again
20 [al] Then the entire community of Israel[am] entered the wilderness of Zin in the first month,[an] and the people stayed in Kadesh.[ao] Miriam died and was buried there.[ap]
2 And there was no water for the community, and so they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people contended[aq] with Moses, saying,[ar] “If only[as] we had died when our brothers died before the Lord! 4 Why[at] have you brought up the Lord’s community into this wilderness? So that[au] we and our cattle should die here? 5 Why[av] have you brought us up from Egypt only to bring[aw] us to this dreadful place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink!”
Moses Responds
6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting. They then threw themselves down with their faces to the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 8 “Take the staff and assemble the community, you and Aaron your brother, and then speak[ax] to the rock before their eyes. It will pour forth[ay] its water, and you will bring water out of the rock for them, and so you will give the community and their beasts water to drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, just as he commanded him. 10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the community together in front of the rock, and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels,[az] must we bring[ba] water out of this rock for you?” 11 Then Moses raised his hand, and struck the rock twice with his staff. And water came out abundantly. So the community drank, and their beasts drank too.
The Lord’s Judgment
12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough[bb] to show me as holy[bc] before[bd] the Israelites, therefore you will not bring this community into the land I have given them.”[be]
13 These are the waters of Meribah, because the Israelites contended with the Lord, and his holiness was maintained[bf] among them.
Rejection by the Edomites
14 [bg] Moses[bh] sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom:[bi] “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardships we have experienced,[bj] 15 how our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time,[bk] and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly.[bl] 16 So when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent a messenger,[bm] and has brought us up out of Egypt. Now[bn] we are here in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your country.[bo] 17 Please let us pass through[bp] your country. We will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well. We will go by the King’s Highway;[bq] we will not turn to the right or the left until we have passed through your region.’”[br]
18 But Edom said to him, “You will not pass through me,[bs] or I will come out against[bt] you with the sword.” 19 Then the Israelites said to him, “We will go along the highway, and if we[bu] or our cattle drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We will only pass through on our feet, without doing anything else.”
20 But he said, “You may not pass through.” Then Edom came out against them[bv] with a large and powerful force.[bw] 21 So Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border; therefore Israel turned away from him.
Aaron’s Death
22 So the entire company of Israelites[bx] traveled from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.[by] 23 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom. He said: 24 “Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors,[bz] for he will not enter into the land I have given to the Israelites because both of you[ca] rebelled against my word[cb] at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up on Mount Hor. 26 Remove Aaron’s priestly garments[cc] and put them on Eleazar his son, and Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors[cd] and will die there.”
27 So Moses did as the Lord commanded; and they went up Mount Hor in the sight[ce] of the whole community. 28 And Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. And Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 When all the community saw that Aaron was dead, the whole house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.
Explanatory Preface
1 Now[a] many have undertaken to compile an account[b] of the things[c] that have been fulfilled[d] among us, 2 like the accounts[e] passed on[f] to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word[g] from the beginning.[h] 3 So[i] it seemed good to me as well,[j] because I have followed[k] all things carefully from the beginning, to write an orderly account[l] for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know for certain[m] the things you were taught.[n]
Birth Announcement of John the Baptist
5 During the reign[o] of Herod[p] king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to[q] the priestly division of Abijah,[r] and he had a wife named Elizabeth,[s] who was a descendant of Aaron.[t] 6 They[u] were both righteous in the sight of God, following[v] all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.[w] 7 But they did not have a child, because Elizabeth was barren,[x] and they were both very old.[y]
8 Now[z] while Zechariah[aa] was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,[ab] 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood,[ac] to enter[ad] the Holy Place[ae] of the Lord and burn incense. 10 Now[af] the whole crowd[ag] of people were praying[ah] outside at the hour of the incense offering.[ai] 11 An[aj] angel of the Lord,[ak] standing on the right side of the altar of incense, appeared[al] to him. 12 And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel,[am] was seized with fear.[an] 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard,[ao] and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you[ap] will name him John.[aq] 14 Joy and gladness will come[ar] to you, and many will rejoice at[as] his birth,[at] 15 for he will be great in the sight of[au] the Lord. He[av] must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.[aw] 16 He[ax] will turn[ay] many of the people[az] of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go as forerunner before the Lord[ba] in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,[bb] to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”
18 Zechariah[bc] said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this?[bd] For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.”[be] 19 The[bf] angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands[bg] in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring[bh] you this good news. 20 And now,[bi] because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time,[bj] you will be silent, unable to speak,[bk] until the day these things take place.”
21 Now[bl] the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they began to wonder[bm] why he was delayed in the Holy Place.[bn] 22 When[bo] he came out, he was not able to speak to them. They[bp] realized that he had seen a vision[bq] in the Holy Place,[br] because[bs] he was making signs to them and remained unable to speak.[bt] 23 When his time of service was over,[bu] he went to his home.
24 After some time[bv] his wife Elizabeth became pregnant,[bw] and for five months she kept herself in seclusion.[bx] She said,[by] 25 “This is what[bz] the Lord has done for me at the time[ca] when he has been gracious to me,[cb] to take away my disgrace[cc] among people.”[cd]
Psalm 56[a]
For the music director, according to the yonath-elem-rekhoqim style;[b] a prayer[c] of David, written when the Philistines captured him in Gath.[d]
56 Have mercy on me, O God, for men are attacking me.[e]
All day long hostile enemies[f] are tormenting me.[g]
2 Those who anticipate my defeat[h] attack me all day long.
Indeed,[i] many are fighting against me, O Exalted One.[j]
3 When[k] I am afraid,
I trust in you.
4 In God—I boast in his promise[l]—
in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can mere men[m] do to me?[n]
5 All day long they cause me trouble;[o]
they make a habit of plotting my demise.[p]
6 They stalk[q] and lurk;[r]
they watch my every step,[s]
as[t] they prepare to take my life.[u]
7 Because they are bent on violence, do not let them escape.[v]
In your anger[w] bring down the nations,[x] O God.
8 You keep track of my misery.[y]
Put my tears in your leather container.[z]
Are they not recorded in your scroll?[aa]
9 My enemies will turn back when I cry out to you for help;[ab]
I know that God is on my side.[ac]
10 In God—I boast in his promise[ad]—
in the Lord—I boast in his promise[ae]—
11 in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can mere men[af] do to me?[ag]
12 I am obligated to fulfill the vows I made to you, O God;[ah]
I will give you the thank offerings you deserve,[ai]
13 when you deliver[aj] my life from death.
You keep my feet from stumbling,[ak]
so that I might serve[al] God as I enjoy life.[am]
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