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52 The Lord spoke to Moses: 53 The land will be apportioned to these as an inheritance according to the number of names. 54 To a large clan you will give a large inheritance, and to a small clan you will give a small inheritance. Each will be given its inheritance according to the number of its enrollment. 55 The land, however, will be apportioned by lot. They will inherit according to the names of their ancestral tribes. 56 Whether they are large or small, each tribe will inherit by means of the lot.
Second census of the Levites
57 These are the ones enrolled as Levites according to their clans: from Gershon, the Gershonite clan; from Kohath, the Kohathite clan; from Merari, the Merarite clan.
58 These are the Levite clans: the Libnite clan, the Hebronite clan, the Mahlite clan, the Mushite clan, and the Korahite clan. Now Kohath fathered Amram. 59 The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, Levi’s daughter, who was born to Levi in Egypt. She gave birth for Amram to Aaron, Moses, and Miriam their sister. 60 To Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61 Nadab and Abihu died when they made an unauthorized offering to the Lord. 62 Their enrollment was 23,000, consisting of every male one month old and above. They weren’t enrolled with the Israelites because no inheritance of land was given to them among the Israelites.
Summary
63 These are the ones whom Moses and Eleazar the priest enrolled. They enrolled the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho. 64 There wasn’t one person among these from those enrolled by Moses and Aaron the priest when they enrolled the Israelites in the Sinai desert. 65 The Lord had said to them, “They will die in the desert.” Not one of them remained, except Caleb, Jephunneh’s son, and Joshua, Nun’s son.
Zelophehad’s daughters’ inheritance
27 The daughters of Zelophehad, Hepher’s son, Gilead’s grandson, Machir’s great-grandson, and Manasseh’s great-great-grandson, belonging to the clan of Manasseh son of Joseph, came forward. His daughters’ names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the chiefs, and the entire community at the entrance of the meeting tent and said, 3 “Our father died in the desert. He wasn’t part of the community who gathered against the Lord with Korah’s community. He died for his own sin, but he had no sons. 4 Why should our father’s name be taken away from his clan because he didn’t have a son? Give us property among our father’s brothers.”
5 Moses brought their case before the Lord. 6 The Lord said to Moses: 7 Zelophehad’s daughters are right in what they are saying. By all means, give them property as an inheritance among their father’s brothers. Hand over their father’s inheritance to them. 8 Speak to the Israelites and say: If a man dies and doesn’t have a son, you must hand his inheritance over to his daughters. 9 If he doesn’t have a daughter, you will give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he doesn’t have any brothers, you should give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 If his father had no brothers, you should give his inheritance to his nearest relative from his clan. He will take possession of it. This will be a regulation and a case law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Announcement of Moses’ death
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain, Abarim, and look at the land that I’ve given to the Israelites. 13 You will see it and then join your ancestors just as Aaron your brother has, 14 because in the Zin desert, when the community confronted you, you rebelled against my command to show them my holiness by means of the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah[a] of Kadesh in the Zin desert.)
15 Moses spoke to the Lord: 16 “Let the Lord, the God of all living things, appoint someone over the community 17 who will go out before them and return before them, someone who will lead them out and bring them back, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without their shepherd.”
18 The Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua, Nun’s son, a man who has the spirit, and lay your hand on him. 19 Place him before Eleazar the priest and the entire community and commission him before them. 20 You will give him some of your power so that the entire Israelite community may obey. 21 He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will determine for him the decision by lot before the Lord. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him, the entire community, will go out, and at his command they will return.”
22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and placed him before Eleazar the priest and the entire community. 23 He laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord had spoken through Moses.
Daily offering
28 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 Command the Israelites and say to them: Make sure to offer to me my offering, my food, my food gift as a soothing smell to me at its appointed time.
3 You will say to them: This is the food gift that you must present to the Lord: two flawless one-year-old lambs as the regular entirely burned offering every day. 4 One lamb you will offer in the morning and the second at twilight, 5 with a tenth of an ephah[b] of fine flour for a grain offering mixed with a fourth of a hin[c] of beaten oil. 6 It is the regular entirely burned offering begun at Mount Sinai, a food gift that is a soothing smell to the Lord. 7 Their drink offering will be a fourth of a hin for each lamb. In the sanctuary a drink offering of brandy will be poured out for the Lord. 8 The second lamb you will offer at twilight like the grain offering and the drink offering in the morning. You will offer a food gift that is a soothing smell to the Lord.
9 On the Sabbath day: two flawless one-year-old male lambs and two-tenths of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering. 10 This is the entirely burned offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular entirely burned offering and its drink offering.
Monthly offering
11 At the beginning of every month you will present an entirely burned offering to the Lord: two bulls from the herd, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all flawless. 12 Use three-tenths of fine flour for a grain offering mixed with oil for each bull, two-tenths of fine flour for a grain offering mixed with oil for each ram, 13 and one-tenth of fine flour for a grain offering mixed with oil for each lamb. It is an entirely burned offering with a soothing smell, a food gift to the Lord. 14 Their drink offerings will be half a hin of wine for a bull, a third a hin of wine for a ram, and a fourth a hin of wine for a lamb. This is the monthly entirely burned offering for every month through the months of the year. 15 There will be one male goat for a purification offering to the Lord in addition to the regular entirely burned offering and its drink offering.
John the Baptist’s message
3 In the fifteenth year of the rule of the emperor Tiberius—when Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea and Herod was ruler[a] over Galilee, his brother Philip was ruler[b] over Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was ruler[c] over Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas—God’s word came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 John went throughout the region of the Jordan River, calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. 4 This is just as it was written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
A voice crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way for the Lord;
make his paths straight.
5 Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be leveled.
The crooked will be made straight
and the rough places made smooth.
6 All humanity will see God’s salvation.”[d]
7 Then John said to the crowds who came to be baptized by him, “You children of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the angry judgment that is coming soon? 8 Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. And don’t even think about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham’s children from these stones. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and tossed into the fire.”
10 The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”
11 He answered, “Whoever has two shirts must share with the one who has none, and whoever has food must do the same.”
12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. They said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 He replied, “Collect no more than you are authorized to collect.”
14 Soldiers asked, “What about us? What should we do?”
He answered, “Don’t cheat or harass anyone, and be satisfied with your pay.”
Responses to John
15 The people were filled with expectation, and everyone wondered whether John might be the Christ. 16 John replied to them all, “I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than me is coming. I’m not worthy to loosen the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 The shovel he uses to sift the wheat from the husks is in his hands. He will clean out his threshing area and bring the wheat into his barn. But he will burn the husks with a fire that can’t be put out.” 18 With many other words John appealed to them, proclaiming good news to the people.
19 But Herod the ruler had been criticized harshly by John because of Herodias, Herod’s brother’s wife, and because of all the evil he had done. 20 He added this to the list of his evil deeds: he locked John up in prison.
Jesus’ baptism
21 When everyone was being baptized, Jesus also was baptized. While he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit came down on him in bodily form like a dove. And there was a voice from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.”
Psalm 61
For the music leader, with stringed instruments. Of David.
61 God, listen to my cry;
pay attention to my prayer!
2 When my heart is weak,
I cry out to you from the very ends of the earth.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I am
3 because you have been my refuge,
a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.
4 Please let me live in your tent forever!
Please let me take refuge
in the shelter of your wings! Selah
5 Because you, God, have heard my promises;
you’ve given me[a] the same possession
as those who honor your name.
6 Add days to the king’s life!
Let his years extend for many generations!
7 Let him be enthroned forever before God!
Make it so love and faithfulness watch over him!
8 Then I will sing praises to your name forever,
and I will do what I promised every single day.
16 A gracious woman gains honor;
violent men gain only wealth.
17 Kind persons benefit themselves,
but cruel people harm themselves.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible