Print Page Options
Previous Prev Day Next DayNext

Old/New Testament

Each day includes a passage from both the Old Testament and New Testament.
Duration: 365 days
International Standard Version (ISV)
Version
Numbers 1-2

A Census of Israel is Taken(A)

In the Sinai desert, the Lord spoke to Moses inside the Tent of Meeting on the first day of the second month of the second year after they had left the land of Egypt. He said, “Take a census of the entire[a] Israeli community, numbering them by their tribes[b] and by ancestral houses. List the names of every male one-by-one, from 20 years and upward. You and Aaron are to register everyone in Israel who is able to go to war, company by company. One man from each tribe is to accompany you, each man being the leader of his ancestral house.

“Here is a list of names of the men who are to assist[c] you:

“From Reuben: Shedeur’s son Elizur. From Simeon: Zurishaddai’s son Shelumiel. From Judah: Amminadab’s son Nahshon. From Issachar: Zuar’s son Nethanel. From Zebulun: Helon’s son Eliab.

10 “From Joseph’s descendants through Ephraim: Ammihud’s son Elishama. From Manasseh: Pedahzur’s son Gamaliel. 11 From Benjamin: Gideoni’s son Abidan. 12 From Dan: Ammishaddai’s son Ahiezer. 13 From Asher: Ochran’s son Pagiel. 14 From Gad: Deuel’s son Eliasaph. 15 From Naphtali: Enan’s son Ahira.”

16 These men were appointed from within their communities, since they were leaders of their ancestral houses and heads of the tribes of Israel.

17 Moses and Aaron gathered these men who had been mentioned by name. 18 They assembled the entire community together during the second month. Then they recorded their ancestries,[d] according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as well as the names of the men[e] 20 years old and above individually,[f] 19 just as the Lord had commanded Moses. He numbered them in the Sinai desert.

Numbering the Tribes

20 The genealogies of the descendants of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 21 Those registered with the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.

22 The genealogies of Simeon’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 23 Those registered with the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.

24 The genealogies of Gad’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 25 Those registered with the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.

26 The genealogies of Judah’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 27 Those registered with the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.

28 The genealogies of Issachar’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 29 Those registered with the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.

30 The genealogies of Zebulun’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 31 Those registered with the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.

32 The genealogies of Joseph’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 33 Those registered with the tribe of Joseph numbered 40,500.

34 The genealogies of Manasseh’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 35 Those registered with the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.

36 The genealogies of Benjamin’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 37 Those registered with the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.

38 The genealogies of Dan’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 39 Those registered with the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.

40 The genealogies of Asher’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 41 Those registered with the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.

42 The genealogies of Naphtali’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 43 Those registered with the family of Naphtali numbered 53,400.

44 These individuals were the ones whom Moses and Aaron registered from the twelve leaders of Israel, each person from his ancestral house. 45 Everyone was numbered from the descendants of Israel, from their ancestral houses, from all the men who were 20 years and above and who could serve in the army. 46 The total of all those who were numbered was 603,550.

Exemption of the Tribe of Levi from the Census

47 The descendants of Levi were not counted according to their ancestral houses 48 because the Lord had ordered Moses: 49 “Be sure not to number or count the tribe of Levi with the rest of the Israelis. 50 Instead, appoint the descendants of Levi over the Tent of Meeting, all the vessels, and everything in it. They are to carry the tent and all the vessels in it. They are to attend to it and camp around it. 51 Whenever the tent is ready for travel, the descendants of Levi are to take it down. When it’s time to encamp, the descendants of Levi are to set it up. Any unauthorized person[g] who approaches it is to be executed. 52 Then the Israelis are to encamp around the tent,[h] arranged according to their company and the standard of their army. 53 But the descendants of Levi are to encamp on all sides of the Tent of Meeting so that divine wrath won’t fall on the congregation of Israel.[i] The descendants of Levi are to take care of the Tent of Meeting.”

54 The Israelis observed everything that the Lord had commanded Moses, doing exactly what they were told.

Encampment Orders

Later, the Lord told Moses and Aaron, “Every single Israeli[j] is to encamp beneath his standard with the emblem of his ancestral house. The Israelis are to encamp in front of and surrounding the Tent of Meeting.”

Eastern Encampment Order

“The encampment of Judah is to settle east toward the sunrise[k] under their standard. The leader of Judah is to be Amminadab’s son Nahshon. Those in his division number 74,600.[l]

“The tribe of Issachar is to encamp beside Judah.[m] The leader of Issachar is to be Zuar’s son Nethanel. Those in his division number 54,400.[n]

“Next is to be[o] the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of Zebulun is to be Helon’s son Eliab. Those in his division number 57,400. All those numbered by division in the camp of Judah total 186,400. They are to be the first to travel.”

Southern Encampment Order

10 “Toward the south is to be the division of the camp of Reuben under their standard. The leader of Reuben is to be Shedeur’s son Elizur. 11 Those in his division number 46,500.

12 “The tribe of Simeon is to camp beside Reuben.[p] The leader of Simeon is to be Zurishaddai’s son Shelumiel. 13 Those in his division number 59,300.

14 “Next is to be[q] the tribe of Gad. The leader of Gad is to be Deuel’s son Eliasaph. 15 Those in his division number 45,650. 16 All those numbered by division in the camp of Reuben total 151,450. They are to be the second to travel.”

Tribe at the Center

17 “Then the Tent of Meeting is to travel with the camp of the descendants of Levi in the middle of the camps. They are to travel just as they have camped, each as designated[r] under his standard.”

Western Encampment Order

18 “Toward the west[s] is to be the division of the camp of Ephraim under their standard. The leader of Ephraim is to be Ammihud’s son Elishama. 19 Those in his division number 40,500.

20 “The tribe of Manasseh is to encamp beside them.[t] The leader of Manasseh is to be Pedahzur’s son Gamaliel. 21 Those in his division number 32,200.

22 “Next is to be[u] the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of Benjamin is to be Gideoni’s son Abidan. 23 Those in his division number 35,400. 24 All those numbered by division in the camp Ephraim total 108,100. They are to be the third to travel.”

Northern Encampment Order

25 “Toward the north is to be the division of the camp of Dan under their standard. The leader of Dan is to be Ammishaddai’s son Ahiezer. 26 Those in his division number 62,700.

27 “The tribe of Asher is to encamp beside them.[v] The leader of Asher is to be Ochran’s son Pagiel. 28 Those in his division number 41,500.

29 “Next is to be[w] the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of Naphtali is to be Enan’s son Ahira. 30 Those in his division number 53,400. 31 All those numbered by division in the camp of Dan total 157,600. They are to be the last to travel under their standards.”

Summary of the Encampment

32 Here is a summary of the census of the Israelis according to the tribes of their ancestral houses: All the divisions in the camps numbered 603,550, 33 but the descendants of Levi were not numbered along with the other Israelis, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 34 So the Israelis did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses; that is, they encamped under their standard as each person traveled with his own tribe and ancestral house.

Mark 3:1-19

Jesus Heals a Man with a Paralyzed Hand(A)

Jesus[a] went into the synagogue again, and a man with a paralyzed hand was there. The people[b] watched Jesus[c] closely to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath,[d] intending to accuse him of doing something wrong. He told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Come forward.”[e] Then he asked them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do evil on Sabbath days,[f] to save a life or to destroy it?” But they remained silent.

Jesus[g] looked around at them in anger, deeply hurt because of their hard hearts. Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man[h] held it out, and his hand was restored to health. Immediately the Pharisees and Herodians[i] went out and began to plot how to kill him.

Jesus Encounters a Large Crowd

So Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea. A large crowd from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, from across the Jordan, and from the region around Tyre and Sidon followed him. They came to him because they kept hearing about everything he was doing. Jesus[j] told his disciples to have a boat ready for him so that the crowd wouldn’t crush him, 10 because he had healed so many people that everyone who had diseases kept crowding up against him in order to touch him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they would fall down in front of him and scream, “You are the Son of God!” 12 But he sternly ordered them again and again not to tell people who he was.

Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles(B)

13 Then Jesus[k] went up on a hillside and called to himself those whom he had decided on, and they approached him. 14 He appointed the Twelve,[l] whom he called apostles, to accompany him, to be sent out to preach, 15 and to have the authority to drive out demons. 16 He appointed the Twelve:[m] Simon (whom he named Peter), 17 Zebedee’s sons James and his brother John (whom he named Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus,[n] Simon the Cananaean,[o] 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

International Standard Version (ISV)

Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.