Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The King of Peace Is Coming
11 A branch will grow
from a stump of a tree that was cut down.
So a new king will come
from the family of Jesse.[a]
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon that king.
The Spirit gives him wisdom, understanding, guidance and power.
And the Spirit teaches him to know and respect the Lord.
3 This king will be glad to obey the Lord.
He will not judge by the way things look.
He will not judge by what people say.
4 He will judge the poor honestly.
He will be fair in his decisions for the poor people of the land.
At his command evil people will be punished.
By his words the wicked will be put to death.
5 Goodness and fairness will give him strength.
They will be like a belt around his waist.
6 Then wolves will live in peace with lambs.
And leopards will lie down to rest with goats.
Calves, lions and young bulls will eat together.
And a little child will lead them.
7 Cows and bears will eat together in peace.
Their young will lie down together.
Lions will eat hay as oxen do.
8 A baby will be able to play near a cobra’s hole.
A child will be able to put his hand into the nest of a poisonous snake.
9 They will not hurt or destroy each other
on all my holy mountain.
The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord,
as the sea is full of water.
Korah, Dathan, Abiram and On
16 Korah, Dathan, Abiram and On turned against Moses. (Korah was the son of Izhar. Izhar was the son of Kohath, and Kohath was the son of Levi. Dathan and Abiram were brothers, the sons of Eliab. And On was the son of Peleth.) Dathan, Abiram and On were from the tribe of Reuben. 2 These 4 men gathered 250 other Israelite men and challenged Moses. They were well-known leaders chosen by the community. 3 They came as a group to speak to Moses and Aaron. The men said, “You have gone too far. All the people are holy. Every one of them is holy. And the Lord is with them. So why do you put yourselves above all the people?”
4 When Moses heard this, he bowed facedown. 5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who belongs to him. The Lord will bring the one who is holy near to him. The Lord will bring to himself the person he chooses. 6 So Korah, you and all your followers do this: Get some pans for burning incense. 7 Tomorrow put fire and incense in them. Then take them before the Lord. He will choose the man who is holy. You Levites have gone too far.”
8 Moses also said to Korah, “Listen, you Levites. 9 The God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelites. He brought you near to himself. You do the work in the Lord’s Holy Tent. You stand before all the Israelites and serve them. Isn’t that enough? 10 The Lord has brought you and all your fellow Levites near to himself. Now you want to be priests. 11 You and your followers have joined together against the Lord. Your complaint is not against Aaron.”
12 Then Moses called Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come! 13 You have brought us out of a land where much food grows. You brought us to the desert to kill us. And now you want to order us around. 14 You haven’t brought us into a land where much food grows. You haven’t given us any land with fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? No! We will not come!”
15 Then Moses became very angry. He said to the Lord, “Don’t accept their gifts. I have not taken anything from them, not even a donkey. I have not done wrong to any of them.”
16 Then Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers must stand before the Lord tomorrow. And Aaron will stand there with you and them. 17 Each of you must take your pan and put incense in it. Present these 250 pans before the Lord. You and Aaron must also present your pans.” 18 So each man got his pan and put burning incense in it. Then they stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 19 Korah gathered all his followers who were against Moses and Aaron. And they stood at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to everyone.
7 Remember your leaders. They taught God’s message to you. Remember how they lived and died, and copy their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
9 Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules about foods. Obeying such rules does not help anyone.
10 We have a sacrifice. But the priests who serve in the Holy Tent cannot eat from it. 11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place. There he offers this blood for sins. But the bodies of the animals are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the city. He died to make his people holy with his own blood. 13 So let us go to Jesus outside the camp. We should accept the same shame that Jesus had.
14 Here on earth we do not have a city that lasts forever. But we are looking for the city that we will have in the future. 15 So through Jesus let us always offer our sacrifice to God. This sacrifice is our praise, coming from lips that speak his name. 16 Do not forget to do good to others. And share with them what you have. These are the sacrifices that please God.
17 Obey your leaders and be under their authority. These men are watching you because they are responsible for your souls. Obey them so that they will do this work with joy, not sadness. It will not help you to make their work hard.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.