Old/New Testament

Aaron’s Walking Stick Produces Buds

17 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites. Get 12 walking sticks from them. Get one from the leader of each of Israel’s tribes. Write the name of each man on his walking stick. ³ Write Aaron’s name on Levi’s walking stick. There must be one stick for the head of each of Israel’s tribes. ⁴ Put the walking sticks in the tent of meeting. Place them in front of the ark where the tablets of the covenant law are kept. That is where I meet with you. ⁵ The walking stick that belongs to the man I choose will begin to grow new shoots. The Israelites are never happy with what you do. I will put an end to what they are saying.”

⁶ So Moses spoke to the Israelites. Their leaders gave him 12 walking sticks. They gave one for the leader of each of Israel’s tribes. Aaron’s walking stick was among them. ⁷ Moses put the sticks in front of the Lord in the tent where the tablets of the covenant law were kept.

⁸ The next day Moses entered the tent. He looked at Aaron’s walking stick. It stood for the tribe of Levi. Moses saw that it had begun to grow new shoots. It had also produced buds and flowers and almonds. ⁹ Then Moses brought out all the walking sticks from in front of the Lord. He brought them to all the Israelites. They looked at them. And each man took his own walking stick.

¹⁰ The Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s walking stick back in front of the ark where the tablets of the covenant law are kept. The stick will be kept there as a warning to those who refuse to obey. They are never happy with what I do. Aaron’s walking stick will put an end to what they are saying. Then they will not die.” ¹¹ Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.

¹² The Israelites said to Moses, “We’ll die! We are lost! All of us are lost! ¹³ Anyone who even comes near the Lord’s holy tent will die. Are all of us going to die?”

Duties of Priests and Levites

18 The Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, “You, your sons and your family are in charge of the sacred tent. You will be responsible for sins connected with the tent. And you and your sons alone will be responsible for sins connected with the office of priest. ² Bring the Levites from your tribe to join you. They will help you when you and your sons serve at the tent of meeting. That is where the tablets of the covenant law are kept. ³ The Levites will work for you. They must do everything that needs to be done at the tent. But they must not go near anything that belongs to the sacred tent. And they must not go near the altar. If they do, they and you will die. ⁴ They will help you take care of the tent of meeting. They will join you in all the work at the tent. No one else can come near you there.

⁵ “You will be responsible for taking care of the sacred tent and the altar. Then I will not be angry with the Israelites again. ⁶ I myself have chosen the Levites. I have chosen them from among the Israelites. They are a gift to you. I have set them apart to do the work at the tent of meeting. ⁷ But only you and your sons can serve as priests. Only you and your sons can work with everything at the altar and behind the curtain. I am letting you serve as priests. It is a gift from me. Anyone else who comes near the sacred tent must be put to death.”

Offerings for Priests and Levites

⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, “I have put you in charge of the offerings brought to me. The Israelites will give me holy offerings. I will give all their offerings to you and your sons. They are the part that belongs to you. They are your share for all time to come. ⁹ You will have a part of the very holy offerings. It is the part not burned in the fire. That part belongs to you and your sons. You will have a part of all the gifts the people bring me as very holy offerings. It does not matter whether they are grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings. ¹⁰ Eat your part as something that is very holy. Every male will eat it. You must consider it holy.

¹¹ “Part of the gifts the Israelites bring as wave offerings will be set aside. That part will also belong to you. I will give it to you and your sons and daughters. It is your share for all time to come. Everyone in your home who is ‘clean’ can eat it.

¹² “I will give you all the finest olive oil and grain the people give me. And I will give you all the finest fresh wine they give me. They give all those things as the first share of their harvest. ¹³ All the first shares of the harvest they bring me will belong to you. Everyone in your home who is ‘clean’ can eat it.

¹⁴ “Everything in Israel that is set apart to me belongs to you. ¹⁵ Offer to me every male born first to its mother. It belongs to you. That includes humans and animals alike. But you must buy back every oldest son. Suppose certain animals are ‘unclean.’ Then you must buy back every male born first to its mother. ¹⁶ When they are a month old, you must buy them back. You must pay the price to buy them back. The price is set at two ounces of silver. It must be weighed out according to the standard weights used in the sacred tent.

¹⁷ “But you must not buy back any male calf, sheep or goat born first. They are holy. Splash their blood against the altar. And burn their fat as a food offering. Its smell pleases me. ¹⁸ The meat will belong to you. It is just like the breast and the right thigh of the wave offering. Those parts belong to you. ¹⁹ Part of the holy offerings the Israelites bring to me will be set aside. No matter what it is, I will give it to you and your sons and daughters. It is your share for all time to come. It is a covenant of salt from me. The salt means that the covenant will last for all time to come for you and your children.”

²⁰ The Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, “You will not receive any part of the land I am giving to Israel. You will not have any share among them. I am your share. I am what you will receive among the Israelites.

²¹ “The Israelites will give me a tenth of everything they produce. And I will give it to the Levites. They serve at the tent of meeting. I will give them the tenth for the work they do there. ²² From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting. If they do, they will be punished for their sin. They will die. ²³ The Levites will do the work at the tent of meeting. They will be responsible for any sins connected with the tent. This is a law that will last for all time to come. The Levites will not receive any share among the Israelites. ²⁴ Instead, I will give the Levites the tenth as their share. It is the tenth that the Israelites bring me as an offering. That is why I said the Levites would not have any share of land among the Israelites.”

²⁵ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁶ “Speak to the Levites. Say to them, ‘You will receive the tenth from the Israelites. I will give it to you as your share. When I do, you must give a tenth of that tenth as an offering to the Lord. ²⁷ Your offering will be considered as if you gave grain from a threshing floor. It will be considered as juice from a winepress. ²⁸ In that way, you also will bring an offering to the Lord. You will bring it from the tenth you receive from the Israelites. You must give the Lord’s part to the priest Aaron. You must bring it from the tenth you receive. ²⁹ You must bring to the Lord a part of everything given to you. It must be the best and holiest part.’

³⁰ “Say to the Levites, ‘You must bring the best part. Then it will be considered as if you gave grain from a threshing floor. It will be considered as juice from a winepress. ³¹ You and your families can eat the rest of it anywhere. It is your pay for your work at the tent of meeting. ³² Bring the best part of what you receive. Then you will not be guilty of holding anything back. You will not make the holy offerings of the Israelites “unclean.” You will not die.’ ”

The Special Water That Makes People “Clean”

19 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, ² “Here is what the law I have commanded requires. Tell the Israelites to bring you a young red cow. It must not have any flaws at all. It must never have pulled a load. ³ Give it to Eleazar the priest. It must be taken outside the camp and killed in front of him. ⁴ Then Eleazar the priest must put some of its blood on his finger. He must sprinkle the blood toward the front of the tent of meeting. He must do it seven times. ⁵ While he watches, the young cow must be burned. Its hide, meat, blood and guts must be burned. ⁶ The priest must get some cedar wood, branches of a hyssop plant, and bright red wool. He must throw them on the young cow as it burns. ⁷ After that, the priest must wash his clothes. He must also take a bath. Then he can come into the camp. But he will be ‘unclean’ until evening. ⁸ The man who burns the young cow must wash his clothes. He must also take a bath. He too will be ‘unclean’ until evening.

⁹ “A man who is ‘clean’ will gather up the ashes of the young cow. He must put them in a place that is ‘clean.’ The place must be outside the camp. The ashes must be kept by the community of Israel. They will be added to the special water. The water will be used to make people pure from their sin. ¹⁰ The man who gathers up the ashes of the young cow must wash his clothes. He too will be ‘unclean’ until evening. This law is for the Israelites. It is also for the outsiders living among them. The law will last for all time to come.

¹¹ “Anyone who touches a dead person’s body will be ‘unclean’ for seven days. ¹² They must make themselves pure and ‘clean’ with the special water. They must do it on the third day. They must also do it on the seventh day. Then they will be ‘clean.’ But suppose they do not make themselves pure and ‘clean’ on the third and seventh days. Then they will not be ‘clean.’ ¹³ Anyone who touches a dead person’s body and does not make themselves pure and ‘clean’ makes my holy tent ‘unclean.’ They must be separated from Israel. The special water has not been sprinkled on them. So they are ‘unclean.’ And they remain ‘unclean.’

¹⁴ “Here is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent. Anyone who enters the tent will be ‘unclean’ for seven days. Anyone in the tent will also be ‘unclean’ for seven days. ¹⁵ And anything in it that is open and has no lid will be ‘unclean.’

¹⁶ “Suppose someone is out in the country. And suppose they touch someone who has been killed by a sword. Or they touch someone who has died a natural death. Or they touch a human bone or a grave. Then anyone who touches any of those things will be ‘unclean’ for seven days.

¹⁷ “Here is what I want you to do for someone who is ‘unclean.’ Put some ashes from the burned young cow into a jar. Pour fresh water on the ashes. ¹⁸ Then a man who is ‘clean’ must dip branches of a hyssop plant in the water. He must sprinkle the tent with it. Everything that belongs to the tent must be sprinkled with it. The people in the tent must also be sprinkled. Anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave must be sprinkled. So must anyone who has touched someone who has been killed. And so must anyone who has touched someone who has died a natural death. ¹⁹ The man who is ‘clean’ must sprinkle those who are ‘unclean.’ That must be done on the third and seventh days. On the seventh day those who are ‘unclean’ must be made pure and ‘clean.’ Those being made ‘clean’ must wash their clothes. They must take a bath. Then that evening they will be ‘clean.’ ²⁰ But what if those who are ‘unclean’ do not make themselves pure and ‘clean?’ Then they must be separated from the community. They have made my holy tent ‘unclean.’ The special water has not been sprinkled on them. They are ‘unclean.’ ²¹ This law will apply to all those people for all time to come.

“The man who sprinkles the special water must also wash his clothes. Anyone who touches the water will be ‘unclean’ until evening. ²² Anything that an ‘unclean’ person touches becomes ‘unclean.’ And anyone who touches it becomes ‘unclean’ until evening.”

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus. They told him all they had done and taught. ³¹ But many people were coming and going. So they did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said to his apostles, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place. You need to get some rest.”

³² So they went away by themselves in a boat to a quiet place. ³³ But many people who saw them leaving recognized them. They ran from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd. He felt deep concern for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

³⁵ By that time it was late in the day. His disciples came to him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “It’s already very late. ³⁶ Send the people away. Then they can go to the nearby countryside and villages to buy something to eat.”

³⁷ But Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s pay! Should we go and spend that much on bread? Are we supposed to feed them?”

³⁸ “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five loaves and two fish.”

³⁹ Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups of 100s and 50s. ⁴¹ Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves into pieces. Then he gave them to his disciples to pass around to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² All of them ate and were satisfied. ⁴³ The disciples picked up 12 baskets of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ The number of men who had eaten was 5,000.

Jesus Walks on the Water

⁴⁵ Right away Jesus made his disciples get into the boat. He had them go on ahead of him to Bethsaida. Then he sent the crowd away. ⁴⁶ After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

⁴⁷ Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was alone on land. ⁴⁸ He saw the disciples pulling hard on the oars. The wind was blowing against them. Shortly before dawn, he went out to them. He walked on the lake. When he was about to pass by them, ⁴⁹ they saw him walking on the lake. They thought he was a ghost, so they cried out. ⁵⁰ They all saw him and were terrified.

Right away Jesus said to them, “Be brave! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then he climbed into the boat with them. The wind died down. And they were completely amazed. ⁵² They had not understood about the loaves. They were stubborn.

⁵³ They went across the lake and landed at Gennesaret. There they tied up the boat. ⁵⁴ As soon as Jesus and his disciples got out, people recognized him. ⁵⁵ They ran through that whole area to bring to him those who were sick. They carried them on mats to where they heard he was. ⁵⁶ He went into the villages, the towns and the countryside. Everywhere he went, the people brought the sick to the market areas. Those who were sick begged him to let them touch just the edge of his clothes. And all who touched his clothes were healed.