Old/New Testament
Aaron’s Descendants(A)
3 This is a record of the genealogies[a] of Aaron and Moses current as of[b] the day on which the Lord addressed Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 The[c] sons of Aaron were Nadab the first-born, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar 3 who[d] were anointed priests and whom he consecrated[e] as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they offered unauthorized[f] fire before him[g] in the Sinai wilderness. Since they didn’t have their own children, Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests under the authority of[h] Aaron their father.
Appointment of the Descendants of Levi as Priests
5 The Lord told Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to Aaron the priest so they may serve him. 7 They are to take care of his needs and the needs of the whole congregation at the Tent of Meeting by performing duties[i] at the tent. 8 They are to take charge of the utensils at the Tent of Meeting and meet the needs of the Israelis by performing duties on behalf of the tent. 9 Assign[j] the descendants of Levi to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelis. 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons so that they are to take responsibility for their priesthood. Any unauthorized[k] person who approaches it is to be put to death.”
The Descendants of Levi as Substitutes for the First-born
11 Later, the Lord told Moses, 12 “I’m taking the descendants of Levi for myself from among the Israelis in place of every first-born who opens the womb.[l] The descendants of Levi belong to me 13 because all the first-born belong to me. When[m] I destroyed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated all the first-born in Israel for myself—from human beings to livestock. They belong to me, since[n] I am the Lord.”
Numbering the Descendants of Levi
14 The Lord also told Moses in the Sinai wilderness, 15 “Number the descendants of Levi according to their ancestral houses and tribes, numbering every male from a month old and above.”
16 So Moses numbered them according to the instruction[o] of the Lord, as he had been commanded. 17 These are Levi’s descendants by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 These are names of Gershon’s descendants according to their families: Libni and Shimei. 19 These are the names of Kohath’s descendants according to their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 Merari’s descendants according to their families were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the descendants of Levi according to their ancestral house.
The Descendants of Gershon
21 The families of Libni and Shimei were descendants of Gershon. As families of the descendants of Gershon, 22 all the males a month old and above numbered 7,500. 23 The families of the descendants of Gershon encamped behind the tent toward the west.[p] 24 The leader of the tribe and family of Gershon was Lael’s son Eliasaph. 25 The duties of the descendants of Gershon at the Tent of Meeting pertained to the tent, the tent covering, the curtain[q] to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 26 the hangings at the courtyard, the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard that surrounded the tent, the altar, and all of the tent cords in use.
The Descendants of Kohath and Their Duties
27 The families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel were descendants of Kohath. As families of the descendants of Kohath, 28 all the males a month old and above numbered 8,600.[r] They were tasked to the care of the sanctuary. 29 The descendants of Kohath encamped beside the tent toward the south. 30 The leader of the tribe and family of Kohath was Uzziel’s son Elizaphan. 31 Their duties pertained to the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, and all the curtains in use. 32 The chief of all the leaders of the descendants of Levi was Aaron the priest’s son Eleazar. He was assigned to oversee those who were in charge of the services of the sanctuary.
The Descendants of Merari and Their Duties
33 The families of Mahli and Mushi were descendants of Merari. As families of Merari, 34 all the males a month old and above numbered 6,200. 35 The leader of the tribe and family of Merari was Abihail’s son Zuriel. The descendants of Merari encamped beside the tent toward the north. 36 The duties of the caretakers from the descendants of Merari included the boards of the tent, its bars, crossbars, sockets, all its utensils for their services, 37 the pillars around the courtyard, their sockets, pegs, and tent cords.
The Encampment of Moses and Aaron
38 In front of the tent and east of the Tent of Meeting, Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s[s] sons encamped facing the east. They were tasked to perform the duties of the sanctuary and care for the needs of the Israelis. Any unauthorized[t] person who approached was to be executed. 39 As the Lord had instructed, everyone counted by Moses and Aaron from the descendants of Levi, according to their tribe, all males from a month old and above numbered 22,000.
Numbering Israel’s First-born
40 Later the Lord instructed Moses: “Number all the first-born males of Israel from a month old and above and list their names. 41 Separate[u] the descendants of Levi for me—since[v] I am the Lord—in place of all the first-born sons of Israel. Also separate[w] the livestock of the descendants of Levi in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of Israel.” 42 So Moses numbered all the firstborn from the sons of Israel just as the Lord commanded him. 43 All the first-born males according to the list of their names from a month old and above numbered 22,273.
Creation of the Levite Ministry
44 Then the Lord told Moses, 45 “Separate the descendants of Levi in place of all the firstborn sons of Israel and the livestock of the descendants of Levi in place of their livestock. The descendants of Levi belong to me, since[x] I am the Lord. 46 You are to pay a ransom for the 273 first-born Israelis who exceed the census number of the descendants of Levi, 47 so collect five shekels for each individual,[y] denominated in shekels of the sanctuary, that is, the shekel that weighs 20 gerahs.[z] 48 Then give the money meant for ransom of their excess to Aaron and his sons.”
49 So Moses took the ransom money to account for the difference in the total number[aa] of those redeemed by the descendants of Levi. 50 From the firstborn of the Israelis, Moses took money amounting to 1,365 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 Moses gave the ransom money to Aaron and his sons according to the Lord’s instructions, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Duties of the Descendants of Kohath
4 The Lord told Moses and Aaron, 2 “Take a census[ab] of the descendants of Kohath from among the descendants of Levi according to their tribes and ancestral houses 3 from 30 years and older through the age of 50 years, from everyone who can enter the service to perform work at the Tent of Meeting.
4 “Here’s what the descendants of Kohath are to do regarding the Tent of Meeting and what’s inside the Most Holy Place: 5 When the camp is about to travel, Aaron and his sons are to come and take down the veil of the curtain and cover the Ark of the Testimony with it. 6 They are to set a leather-dyed[ac] skin covering over it, cover it with a pure blue cloth, and then insert its poles.
7 “They are to spread a blue cloth over the table of the Presence and on top of it the dishes, pans, bowls, pitchers for drink offerings,[ad] and the bread of presence are to be on it continually. 8 They are to spread over them a scarlet cloth and a leather-dyed[ae] skin covering and then insert its poles.
9 “They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lamp stand for the light with its lamp, lamp-snuffers, censer, and all the utensils for its oil with which they minister. 10 Then they are to put them with all the other[af] utensils on the leather-dyed[ag] skin covering and set them on the beams for transport.[ah]
11 “On the golden altar, they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with a leather-dyed[ai] skin covering, and then insert its poles. 12 Then they are to take all the utensils for service with which they minister at the sanctuary, set them on the blue cloth, cover them with the leather-dyed[aj] skin covering, and then set them on the beams for transport. 13 They are also to remove the ashes on the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 Then they are to put all the instruments with which they minister there—trays, forks, shovels, bowls, and all the utensils of the altar. They are to spread over it a leather-dyed[ak] skin covering and then insert its poles.
15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the utensils of the sanctuary, and the camp is about to travel, then the descendants of Kohath are to come and carry them, but they are not to touch the most sacred objects, so they won’t die. These are the duties of the descendants of Kohath at the Tent of Meeting.”
16 “Now the duty of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest is to maintain the oil for the light, the spiced incense, the daily offerings, andthe oil for anointing, to carry out all the duties of the tent and the sanctuary, and to maintain[al] its utensils.”
Protecting the Descendants of Kohath
17 Then the Lord told Moses and Aaron, 18 “You are not to eliminate the tribe of the families of the descendants of Kohath from the descendants of Levi. 19 But do this for them so that they may live and not die when they approach the Most Holy Place: Aaron and his sons are to go in and set specific responsibilities for each of them to carry out.[am] 20 But they are not to go in to see the sanctuary as it is being covered,[an] so they won’t die.”
Eleazar’s Duties
21 Then the Lord told Moses, 22 “Take a census[ao] of the descendants of Gershon according to their ancestral house and tribes. 23 Count their number from between 30 to 50 years old, including everyone who can enter the service to perform work at the Tent of Meeting.”
Gershonite Responsibilities
24 “These are the responsibilities that the descendants of Gershon are to have: 25 They are to carry the curtain of the tent, the covering of the Tent of Meeting, the dyed leather covering that goes over it, the curtain for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 26 the hangings for the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance to the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tent, the altar, the ropes, all the service utensils, and everything made for them. This is to be their service area. 27 The descendants of Gershon are to carry out the instructions of Aaron and his sons. You are to assign them their responsibilities to carry out. 28 This is the work of the tribes of Gershon at the Tent of Meeting—their duties under the supervision of[ap] Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.
Merarite Responsibilities
29 “For the descendants of Merari, number them according to their tribes and ancestral houses 30 from 30 to 50 years old as you count them, including everyone who can enter service and perform work at the Tent of Meeting. 31 This is to be their area of responsibility to carry out with respect to their service at the Tent of Meeting: the board of the tent, its bars, its crossbars, its sockets, 32 the pillars around the courtyard, their sockets, their pegs, their ropes, and all the utensils for all their services. Assign the utensils by name to each person whose responsibility it will be to carry them. 33 This is the work of the tribes of the descendants of Merari with reference to their service at the Tent of Meeting under the supervision of Aaron the priest’s son Ithamar.”
Responsibilities are Assigned
34 Moses, Aaron, and the congregational leaders numbered the descendants of Kohath according to their tribes and ancestral houses 35 from 30 to 50 years old—that is, everyone who entered the service to perform work at the Tent of Meeting. 36 The total according to their tribe numbered 2,750 37 from the tribe of the descendants of Kohath, everyone who would be serving at the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to what the Lord had said, under the supervision of Moses.
38 The tribes and the ancestral houses of the descendants of Gershon were numbered 39 from 30 to 50 years old; that is, everyone who entered the service to perform work at the Tent of Meeting. 40 The total according to their tribes and ancestral house numbered 2,630 41 from the tribes of the descendants of Gershon, everyone who would be serving at the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to what the Lord had said.
42 The tribes and ancestral house of Merari were numbered 43 from 30 to 50 years old; that is, everyone who entered the service to perform work at the Tent of Meeting. 44 The total according to their tribes numbered 3,200 45 from the tribes of the descendants of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to what the Lord had said, under the supervision of Moses.
46 The total of those who were numbered from the descendants of Levi by Moses and Aaron; that is, from the leaders of Israel counted according to their tribes and ancestral houses 47 from 30 to 50 years old, who entered the service for work at the Tent of Meeting 48 was 8,580. 49 They were numbered under the supervision of Moses according to what the Lord had said. Each person was assigned a responsibility to carry out, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Jesus is Accused of Working with Beelzebul(A)
20 Then he went home. Such a large crowd gathered again that Jesus and his disciples[a] couldn’t even eat. 21 When his family heard about it, they went to restrain him, because they kept saying, “He’s out of his mind!”
22 The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem kept repeating, “He has Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of demons.”
23 So Jesus[b] called them together and began to speak to them in parables. “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a household is divided against itself, that household won’t stand. 26 So if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot stand. Indeed, his end has come. 27 No one can go into a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions without first tying up the strong man. Then he can ransack his house. 28 I tell all of you[c] with certainty, people will be forgiven their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter.[d] 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven, but is guilty of eternal sin.” 30 …because they had been saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
The True Family of Jesus(B)
31 Then his mother and his brothers arrived. Milling around outside, they sent for him, continuously summoning him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him. They told him, “Look! Your mother and your brothers[e] are outside asking for you.”
33 He answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 Then looking at the people sitting around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
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