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The Duties of the Families Descended from Levi’s Sons
4 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Take a census of the Levites who are descended from Kohath. List them by families and households. 3 Register all the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who are qualified to work at the tent of meeting.
4 “This is the work the Kohathites will do in the tent of meeting: They will take care of the most holy things. 5 When the camp is supposed to move, Aaron and his sons will go in and take down the canopy that hangs over the ark containing the words of God’s promise. First they will cover the ark with the canopy. 6 Over this they will put a covering of fine leather. On top of that they will spread a cloth made entirely of violet material. Then they will put the poles in place.
7 “They will spread a violet cloth over the table of the presence and put on it the plates, dishes, bowls, and pitchers for the wine offerings. The bread that is always in the Lord’s presence will also be on it. 8 They will spread a bright red cloth over everything on the table. They will cover all this with fine leather. Then they will put the poles in place.
9 “They will take a violet cloth and cover the lamp stand, as well as the lamps, tongs, trays, and all the containers for the olive oil used in the lamps. 10 Then they will put the lamp stand and all its utensils under a covering of fine leather and put them on a frame to carry them.
11 “They will spread a violet cloth over the gold altar and cover the cloth with fine leather. Then they will put the poles in place.
12 “They will take all the articles that are used in the holy place, put them in a violet cloth, cover that with fine leather, and put them on a frame to carry them.
13 “After they take the ashes away, they will spread a purple cloth over the altar. 14 Next, they will put all the accessories used at the altar on it. These are the trays, forks, shovels, and bowls—all the altar’s accessories. They will spread a covering of fine leather over all this. Then they will put the poles in place.
15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy things and the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites will come to carry all the holy articles. They must never touch the holy things, or they will die. The Kohathites will carry all the things from the tent of meeting.
16 “Eleazar, son of the priest Aaron, will be in charge of the oil for the lamps, the sweet-smelling incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He is in charge of the whole tent and everything in it, the holy place and its contents.”
17 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 18 “Don’t let the Kohathite families from Levi’s tribe be destroyed. 19 This is what you must do so that they won’t die when they come near the most holy things: Aaron and his sons will go into the holy place and tell each man what he will do and what he will carry. 20 But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die.”
21 The Lord said to Moses, 22 “Also take a census of the Gershonites. List them by households and families. 23 Register all the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who are qualified to serve at the tent of meeting.
24 “This is what the Gershonite families will do and what they will carry: 25 They will carry the sheets that are part of the inner tent and the tent of meeting. They will also carry the inner cover for the tent of meeting, the outer cover of fine leather that goes over it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26 the curtains for the courtyard around the tent and the altar, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard, the ropes, and all the equipment used to set up the curtains. The Gershonites will do everything that needs to be done with these things. 27 All their work, whatever they carry and all their duties, will be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You are in charge of telling them everything they’re supposed to carry. 28 This is the work of the Gershonite families in the tent of meeting. Ithamar, son of the priest Aaron, will be in charge of them.
29 “Register the Merarites by families and households. 30 Register all the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who are qualified to serve at the tent of meeting. 31 These are their duties as they work at the tent of meeting: They will carry the framework for the inner tent, the crossbars, posts, and sockets, 32 the posts for the surrounding courtyard, the bases, pegs, and ropes. They must take care of all this equipment. Tell each man by name the things he will carry. 33 This is what the Merarite families will do as they work at the tent of meeting. Ithamar, son of the priest Aaron, will be in charge of them.”
34 Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their families and households. 35 They registered all the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who were qualified to work at the tent of meeting. 36 The total of those who were registered was 2,750. They were listed by families. 37 This was the total of all those in the Kohathite families who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded Moses and registered the Kohathites.
38 The Gershonites were registered by families and households. 39 All the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who were qualified to serve at the tent of meeting were registered. 40 The total of those who were registered was 2,630. They were listed by families and households. 41 This was the total of all those in the Gershonite families who worked at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded Moses and registered the Gershonites.
42 The Merarites were registered by families and households. 43 All the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who were qualified to serve at the tent of meeting were registered. 44 The total of all those who were registered was 3,200. They were listed by families. 45 This was the total of those registered in the Merarite families. Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded Moses and registered the Merarites.
46 The grand total of all the Levites whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered was 8,580. They were listed by families and households. 47 These were the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who were qualified to do the work of serving and who carried the tent of meeting.[a] 49 At the Lord’s command through Moses each man was registered and told what to do and what to carry.
So they were registered as the Lord commanded Moses.
Removing Unclean People from the Camp
5 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to send outside the camp anyone who has a serious skin disease or a discharge or anyone who is unclean [b] from touching a dead body. 3 Send all of these unclean men and women outside the camp. They must not make this camp where I live among you unclean.” 4 So the Israelites did as the Lord had told Moses. They sent these unclean people outside the camp.
Confessing and Paying for Sins
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Tell the Israelites: If you do something wrong to another person, you have been unfaithful to the Lord. When you realize your guilt, 7 you must confess your sin, pay in full for what you did wrong, add one-fifth to it, and give it to the person who was wronged. 8 But there may be no heir to whom the payment can be made. In that case, the payment for what you did wrong must be given to the Lord for the priest ⌞to use⌟. This payment is in addition to the ram which makes peace with the Lord.
9 “Any contribution over and above the holy offerings that the Israelites bring to the priest will belong to the priest. 10 Each person’s holy offerings will belong to that person, but whatever is given to the priest will belong to the priest.”
When a Husband Suspects That His Wife Has Been Unfaithful
11 The Lord said to Moses: 12 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: A man’s wife may have been unfaithful to him 13 and may have had sexual intercourse with another man without her husband’s knowledge. She may have kept it secret if there were no witnesses to accuse her and she wasn’t caught in the act.
14 “A husband may have a fit of jealousy and suspect his wife, whether she was actually unfaithful or not. 15 He must then take his wife to the priest along with eight cups of barley flour as an offering for her. He must not pour olive oil on the flour or put frankincense on it, since it is a grain offering brought because of the husband’s jealousy, an offering used for a confession—to remind someone of a sin that was committed.
16 “The priest will have the woman come forward and stand in the Lord’s presence. 17 Then the priest will take holy water in a piece of pottery and put some dust from the floor of the tent into the water. 18 The priest will bring the woman into the Lord’s presence and loosen her hair. In her hands he will put the offering used for a confession (that is, the grain offering brought because of the husband’s jealousy). The priest will hold in his hands the bitter water that can bring a curse.[c]
19 “Then the priest will say to her, ‘If no other man has had sexual intercourse with you and you haven’t been unfaithful to your husband, you’re not guilty. This bitter water that can bring a curse will not harm you. 20 If, in fact, you have been unfaithful and have had sexual intercourse with another man, 21 may the Lord make you an example for your people to see what happens when the curse of this oath comes true: The Lord will make your uterus drop and your stomach swell.’ [d]
“Then the priest will administer the oath and the curse by saying: 22 ‘May this water that can bring a curse go into your body and make your stomach swell and your uterus drop!’
“Then the woman will say, ‘Amen, amen!’
23 “The priest will write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. 24 Then he will have the woman drink the bitter water that can bring the curse. This water will go into her ⌞and⌟ become bitter. 25 The priest will take the grain offering she was holding, present it to the Lord, and bring it to the altar. 26 The priest will take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar. Then he will have the woman drink the water. 27 If she has become unclean by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that can bring the curse will go into her and become bitter. Her stomach will swell, her uterus will drop, and she will become cursed among her people. 28 But if the woman is not unclean and is pure, she is not guilty and will be able to have children.
29 “These are the instructions for how to deal with jealousy. They tell you what to do when a woman is unfaithful to her husband and becomes unclean. 30 They also tell you what to do when a husband has a fit of jealousy and is suspicious of his wife. He will make his wife stand in the Lord’s presence, and the priest will do everything these instructions tell him to do. 31 The husband isn’t guilty of doing anything wrong, but the woman will suffer the consequences of her sin.”
The Dead Come Back to Life(A)
18 Some Sadducees, who say that people will never come back to life, came to Jesus. They asked him, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother should marry his widow and have children for his brother.’ 20 There were seven brothers. The first got married and died without having children. 21 The second married her and died without having children. So did the third. 22 None of the seven brothers had any children. Last of all, the woman died. 23 When the dead come back to life, whose wife will she be? The seven brothers had married her.”
24 Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you mistaken because you don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power? 25 When the dead come back to life, they don’t marry. Rather, they are like the angels in heaven. 26 Haven’t you read in the book of Moses that the dead come back to life? It’s in the passage about the bush, where God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ 27 He’s not the God of the dead but of the living. You’re badly mistaken!”
Love God and Your Neighbor(B)
28 One of the experts in Moses’ Teachings went to Jesus during the argument with the Sadducees. He saw how well Jesus answered them, so he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of them all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. 30 So love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second most important commandment is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
32 The expert in Moses’ Teachings said to Jesus, “Teacher, that was well said! You’ve told the truth that there is only one God and no other besides him! 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus heard how wisely the man answered, he told the man, “You’re not too far from God’s kingdom.”
After that, no one dared to ask him another question.
How Can David’s Son Be David’s Lord?(C)
35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard, he asked, “How can the experts in Moses’ Teachings say that the Messiah is David’s son? 36 David, guided by the Holy Spirit, said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Take the honored position—the one next to me [God the Father] on the heavenly throne—
until I put your enemies under your control.” ’
37 David calls him Lord. So how can he be his son?”
Jesus Disapproves of the Example Set by the Experts in Moses’ Teachings(D)
The large crowd enjoyed listening to him.
A song; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.
48 The Lord is great.
He should be highly praised.
His holy mountain is in the city of our God.
2 Its beautiful peak is the joy of the whole earth.
Mount Zion is on the northern ridge.
It is the city of the great king.
3 God is in its palaces.
He has proved that he is a stronghold.
4 The kings have gathered.
They marched together.
5 ⌞When⌟ they saw ⌞Mount Zion⌟,
they were astonished.
They were terrified and ran away in fear.
6 Trembling seized them
like the trembling that a woman experiences during labor.
7 With the east wind you smash the ships of Tarshish.
8 The things we had only heard about, we have now seen
in the city of the Lord of Armies,
in the city of our God.
God makes Zion stand firm forever. Selah
9 Inside your temple we carefully reflect on your mercy, O God.
10 Like your name, O God,
your praise ⌞reaches⌟ to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Let Mount Zion be glad
and the cities of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments.
12 Walk around Zion.
Go around it.
Count its towers.
13 Examine its embankments.
Walk through its palaces.
Then you can tell the next generation,
14 “This God is our God forever and ever.
He will lead us beyond death.”
26 Like vinegar to the teeth,
like smoke to the eyes,
so is the lazy person to those who send him ⌞on a mission⌟.
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