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Shares for Priests and Levites
18 The priests are from the tribe of Levi, and that tribe will not ·receive a share of the land [L have an allotment or inheritance] with the Israelites. They will eat the offerings made to the Lord by fire, which is their ·share [L inheritance]. 2 They will not inherit any of the land like their brothers [Num. 26:62; Josh. 13:14; 14:4–5; 21], but they will inherit the Lord himself [10:9; Ex. 32:25–29; Josh. 18:7], as he has promised them.
3 When you offer a bull or sheep as a sacrifice, you must share with the priests, giving them the shoulder, the ·cheeks [jowls], and the ·inner organs [stomach]. 4 Give them the first of your grain, new wine, and oil, as well as the first wool you cut from your sheep. 5 The Lord your God has chosen the priests and their ·descendants [sons] out of all your tribes to stand and serve ·the [L in the name of the] Lord ·always [L all their days; 33:8–11].
6 If a Levite moves from one of your ·towns [L gates] anywhere in Israel where he ·lives [resides; sojourns] and comes to the place the Lord will choose [12:4–7], because ·he wants [L his soul desires] to serve the Lord there, 7 he may serve ·the [L the name of the] Lord his God. He will be like his ·fellow [L brother] Levites who ·serve [L stand] there before the Lord. 8 They all will have an equal share of the food. That is separate from what he has received from the sale of family possessions.
Do Not Follow Other Nations
9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, don’t learn to do the ·hateful [detestable; abhorrent; abominable] things the other nations do. 10 Don’t let anyone among you offer a son or daughter as a sacrifice in the fire [12:30–31]. Don’t let anyone use ·magic [divination; Ex. 7:11; Ezek. 21:21] or witchcraft, or ·try to explain the meaning of signs [augury or sorcery]. 11 Don’t let anyone ·try to control others with magic [cast spells], and don’t let them ·be mediums [consult/inquire of ghosts or spirits] or try to ·talk with the spirits of [consult] dead people [1 Sam. 28]. 12 The Lord ·hates [detests] anyone who does these things. Because the other nations do these things, the Lord your God will ·force [dispossess] them out of the land ahead of you. 13 But you must be ·innocent [blameless] in the presence of the Lord your God.
The Lord’s Special Prophet
14 The nations you will ·force out [dispossess] listen to people who use ·magic [divination] and witchcraft, but the Lord your God will not let you do those things. 15 The Lord your God will ·give [L raise up for] you a prophet like me, who is one of your own ·people [relatives; brothers; C ultimately Jesus]. Listen to him [Acts 3:25–26; 7:37]. 16 This is what you asked the Lord your God to do when you were ·gathered [assembled] at ·Mount Sinai [Horeb; 1:6]. You said, “Don’t make ·us [L me] listen to the voice of the Lord ·our [L my] God again, and don’t make ·us [L me] look at this ·terrible [great] fire anymore, or ·we [L I] will die [5:23–27].”
17 So the Lord said to me, “What they have said is good. 18 So I will ·give [L raise up for] them a prophet like you, who is one of their own ·people [relatives; brothers]. I will ·tell him what to say [L put my words in his mouth], and he will tell them everything I command. 19 This prophet will speak for me; anyone who does not listen when he speaks in my name will ·answer [be accountable] to me. 20 But if a prophet ·says something I did not tell him to say as though he were speaking for me [L speaks presumptuously in my name a word I did not command him to speak], or if a prophet speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must be killed [Jer. 28:15–17].”
21 You might be ·thinking [L saying in your heart/mind], “How can we know if a message is not from the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet says in the name of the Lord does not happen, it is not the Lord’s message. That prophet was speaking ·his own ideas [presumptuously]. Don’t be afraid of him.
Cities of Safety
19 When the Lord your God gives you land that belongs to the other nations, nations that he will ·destroy [cut off], you will ·force them out [dispossess them] and live in their cities and houses. 2 Then ·choose [set apart; separate] three cities in the middle of the land the Lord your God is giving you as your ·own [possession]. 3 ·Build roads to these cities [or Work out the distances], and divide the land the Lord is giving you into three parts so that someone who kills another person may run to ·these cities [L there].
4 This is the rule for someone who kills another person and runs to one of these cities in order to save his life [Ex. 21:13–14; Num. 35:6–34; Josh. 20]. But the person must have killed a neighbor ·without meaning to [accidentally; unintentionally], not out of hatred. 5 For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor to cut wood and swings an ax to cut down a tree. If the ax head ·flies [slips] off the handle, ·hitting and killing [L finds] the neighbor, the one who killed him may run to one of these cities to save his life. 6 Otherwise, the ·dead person’s relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer [near-kinsman; L avenger of blood] might be angry and chase him. If the city is far away, the relative might ·catch [L pursue and overtake] and kill the person, even though he should not be killed because there was no intent to kill his neighbor. 7 This is why I command you to ·choose [set apart; separate] these three cities.
11 But if a person hates his neighbor and, after ·hiding and waiting [lying in wait], ·attacks [L rises up] and ·kills [L strikes] him and then runs to one of these cities for safety, 12 the elders of his own city should send for the murderer. They should bring the person back from the city of safety and hand him over to the ·relative who has the duty of punishing the murderer [near-kinsman; L avenger of blood]. 13 ·Show no mercy [L Do not let your eyes show compassion on him]. You must ·remove [banish; purge] from Israel the ·guilt of murdering [L blood of] innocent people so that things will go well for you.
14 Do not move the ·stone that marks the border [boundary marker] of your neighbor’s land, which people long ago set in place [27:17; Job 24:2–4; Prov. 23:10–11; Hos. 5:10]. It marks what you inherit in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your ·own [possession].
Rules About Witnesses
15 One witness is not enough to accuse a person of a crime or sin. A case must be proved by two or three witnesses [17:6; Num. 35:30].
16 If a witness ·lies [is malicious/unjust] and accuses a person of a crime, 17 the two people who are arguing must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and judges who are ·on duty [in office in those days]. 18 The judges must check the matter carefully. The witness who is a liar, lying about a ·fellow Israelite [relative; brother], 19 must be punished. He must be punished in the same way the ·other person [relative; brother] would have been punished. You must ·get rid of [banish; purge] the evil among you. 20 The rest of the people will hear about this and be afraid, and no one among you will ever do such an evil thing again. 21 ·Show no mercy [L Do not let your eyes show compassion on him]. A life must be paid for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot [Ex. 21:24–25; Lev. 24:17–20].
Laws for War
20 When you go to war against your enemies and you see horses and chariots and an army that is bigger than yours, don’t be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, will be with you. 2 The priest must ·come [approach] and speak to the army before you ·go into [engage in] battle. 3 He will say, “Listen, Israel! Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Don’t lose ·your courage [L heart] or be afraid. Don’t panic or be ·frightened [in dread], 4 because the Lord your God goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies and to ·save you [give you the victory].”
5 The ·officers [or scribes] should say to the army, “·Has anyone [L Who has] built a new house but not ·given it to God [dedicated it]? He may go home, because he might die in battle and someone else would ·get to give his house to God [dedicate it]. 6 ·Has anyone [L Who has] planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? He may go home, because he might die in battle and someone else would enjoy his vineyard. 7 ·Is any man [L Who is] engaged to a woman and not yet married to her? He may go home, because he might die in battle and someone else would marry her.” 8 Then the ·officers [or scribes] should also say, “Is anyone here afraid? Has anyone lost ·his courage [L heart]? He may go home so that he will not ·cause others to lose their courage, too [L melt the hearts of his relatives/brothers like his heart].” 9 When the ·officers [scribes] finish speaking to the army, they should appoint commanders to lead it.
10 When you march up to attack a city, first make them an offer of peace. 11 If they accept your offer and open their gates to you, all the people of that city will ·become your slaves and work for you [serve you in forced labor]. 12 But if they do not make peace with you and fight you in battle, you should ·surround [besiege] that city. 13 The Lord your God will give it ·to you [L into your hands]. Then ·kill [L strike] all the men with your swords, 14 and you may take ·everything else [all the plunder] in the city for yourselves. Take the women, children, and animals, and you may use ·these things [the plunder] the Lord your God gives you from your enemies. 15 Do this to all the cities that are far away, that do not belong to the nations nearby.
16 But ·leave nothing alive [L do not let anything that breathes live] in the cities of the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. 17 ·Completely destroy [Devote to the Lord; Josh. 6:17] these people: the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded. 18 Otherwise, they will teach you what they do for their gods, and if you do these ·hateful [detestable; abhorrent; abominable] things, you will sin against the Lord your God.
19 If you ·surround [besiege] and attack a city for ·a long time [L many days], trying to capture it, do not destroy its trees with an ax. You can eat the fruit from the trees, but do not cut them down. ·These trees are not the enemy, so don’t make war against them [L Are these trees of the field human that you should go against them in siege?]. 20 But you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build devices to attack the city walls, until the city is captured.
The Transfiguration on the Mountain(A)
28 About eight days after Jesus said these things, he took Peter, John, and James and went up on a mountain to pray. 29 While Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face ·changed [was altered], and his clothes ·became shining white [or flashed white like lightning]. 30 Then [L look; T behold] two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with Jesus. [C God had given the Law through Moses, and Elijah was an important prophet (see 9:8); together they signify that Jesus fulfills the OT.] 31 They appeared in ·heavenly glory [L glory], talking about his departure [C Greek: exodos, perhaps recalling the Exodus from Egypt, and referring to Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension] which he ·would soon bring about [L was about to fulfill/accomplish] in Jerusalem. 32 [L Now; But] Peter and the others were ·very sleepy [L weighed down with sleep], but when they awoke fully, they saw the glory of Jesus and the two men standing with him. 33 When Moses and Elijah were ·about to leave [L leaving him], Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three ·tents [shelters; shrines; tabernacles; Lev. 23:42]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” [C Perhaps Peter wanted to prolong their stay or to commemorate their visit.] (Peter did not ·know what he was talking about [L realize/know what he was saying].)
34 While he was saying these things, a cloud came and ·covered [overshadowed] them, and they became afraid as ·the cloud covered them [L they entered the cloud]. 35 [L And; Then] A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son [Ps. 2:7], ·whom I have chosen [or my Chosen One; Is. 42:1]. Listen to him [Deut. 18:15; Acts 3:22]!”
36 When the voice finished speaking, only Jesus was there. Peter, John, and James ·said nothing [kept silent] and told no one at that time what they had seen.
Jesus Heals a Sick Boy(B)
37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus. 38 A man in the crowd ·shouted [cried out] to him, “Teacher, ·please [L I beg you to] come and look at my son, because he is my only child. 39 [L And look/T behold] ·An evil spirit [L A spirit] seizes my son, and suddenly ·he [or it] screams. It causes him to ·lose control of himself [have convulsions] and foam at the mouth. The evil spirit ·keeps on hurting [batters; mauls] him and almost never leaves him. 40 I begged your ·followers [disciples] to ·force [drive; cast] the evil spirit out, but they could not do it.”
41 Jesus answered, “·You people have no faith, and your lives are all wrong [L O unbelieving and corrupt/perverse generation]. How long must I stay with you and ·put up with [endure; bear with] you? Bring your son here.”
42 While the boy was coming, the demon threw him on the ground ·and made him lose control of himself [in convulsions]. But Jesus ·gave a strong command to [rebuked] the ·evil [defiling; L unclean; 4:33] spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 All the people were ·amazed [astonished; awestruck] at the ·great power [majesty; greatness] of God.
Jesus Talks About His Death(C)
While everyone was ·wondering [marveling] about all that Jesus did, he said to his ·followers [disciples], 44 “·Don’t forget what I tell you now [L Put these words into your ears]: [L For] The Son of Man will be ·handed over [betrayed; delivered] to ·people [his enemies; L human hands].” 45 But ·the followers [L they] did not understand ·what this meant [L this word/statement]; the meaning was hidden from them so they could not ·understand [perceive it; grasp it]. But they were afraid to ask Jesus about it.
Who Is the Greatest?(D)
46 Jesus’ followers began to have an argument about which one of them ·was [would be] the greatest. 47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a little child and stood the child beside him. 48 Then Jesus said, “Whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] this little child in my name ·accepts [welcomes; receives] me [C children had low social status, so the saying indicates concern for the lowly]. And whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] me ·accepts [welcomes; receives] the One who sent me, because whoever is least among you all is really the greatest.”
Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us(E)
49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone using your name to ·force [drive; cast] demons out of people. We told him to stop, because he ·does not belong to our group [L does not follow with us].”
50 But Jesus said to him, “Don’t ·stop [hinder; forbid] him, because whoever is not against you is for you.”
Book 3: Psalms 73–89
Should the Wicked Be Rich?
A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
73 ·God is truly [Surely God is] good to ·Israel [or those with integrity/virtue],
to those who have pure hearts.
2 But ·I had almost stopped believing [L as for me, my feet almost stumbled];
·I had almost lost my faith [my steps almost slipped]
3 because I was ·jealous [envious] of ·proud people [braggers; boasters].
I saw wicked people ·doing well [prospering].
4 They are not ·suffering [struggling; in pain];
·they [their bodies] are ·healthy [perfect] and strong.
5 They don’t have ·troubles [toils] like the rest of us;
they ·don’t have problems [are not plagued] like other people [Gen. 3:17–19].
6 They wear pride like a necklace
and ·put on violence as their clothing [L adorn themselves with garments of violence].
7 ·They are looking for profits [L Their eyes bulge with fat]
and ·do not control their selfish desires [cunning overflows from their hearts/minds].
8 They ·make fun of others [scoff] and speak ·evil [harm];
·proudly [from high] they speak of ·hurting [oppressing; exploiting] others.
9 They ·brag to the sky [L set their mouth against heaven].
·They say that they own [L Their tongue wanders] the earth.
10 So their people turn to them
and ·give them whatever they want [L they drink up water in abundance].
11 They say, “How can God know?
What does God Most High know?”
12 These people are wicked,
always ·at ease [carefree], and getting richer.
13 ·So why have I kept my heart pure [L In vain, I kept my heart pure…]?
·Why have I kept my hands from doing wrong [L …and washed my hands in innocence; Matt. 27:24]?
14 I ·have suffered [am plagued] all day long;
I have been ·punished [corrected] every morning.
15 God, if I had ·decided to talk like this [L said, “I will recount this,”],
I would have ·let your people down [L betrayed the generation/race of your children].
16 I ·tried [thought how] to understand all this,
but it was too ·hard [wearisome] ·for me to see [L in my eyes]
17 until I went to the ·Temple [sanctuary; Holy Place] of God.
Then I understood ·what will happen to them [L their fate/end].
18 You have put them in ·danger [L slippery places];
you cause them to ·be destroyed [L fall into disaster].
19 They are destroyed in a moment;
they are swept away by terrors.
20 It will be like waking from a dream.
Lord, when you ·rise up [awake; arouse yourself], ·they will disappear [L you despise their shadows].
21 When my heart was ·sad [bitter]
and ·I was angry [L my innards felt stabbed],
22 I was senseless and stupid.
I acted like an ·animal [brute beast] toward you.
23 But I am always with you [C in covenant relationship];
you have held my ·hand [L right hand; C guiding him].
24 You guide me with your advice,
and later you will receive me in ·honor [glory; C perhaps in the afterlife].
25 ·I have no one [L Whom do I have…?] in heaven but you;
I ·want [desire] nothing on earth besides you.
26 My body and my ·mind [heart] may become weak,
but God is ·my strength [L the rock of my heart].
He is ·mine [L my portion] forever.
27 Those who are far from ·God [L you] will ·die [perish];
you ·destroy [bring to an end] those who ·are unfaithful [prostitute themselves spiritually].
28 But I am close to God, and that is good.
The Lord God ·is [I have made] my ·protection [refuge].
I will ·tell [recount] all that you have done.
10 ·Good [Righteous] people ·take care [L know the desires] of their animals,
but even the ·kindest [most compassionate] acts of the wicked are cruel.
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