Numbers 8
Arranging the Lamps
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Speak to Aaron, and say to him, ‘When you arrange the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.’ ”
3 Aaron did so; he arranged the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, and lit its lamps, as the Lord commanded Moses.
4 Now this construction of the lampstand was solid gold; its stem and corolla were solid throughout, according to the form the Lord showed Moses; thus he made the lampstand.
Cleansing and Consecrating the Levites
5 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
6 “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and consecrate them.†
7 Thus you shall do to them for their purification: Sprinkle water of purification on them, and a razor shall shave all their body; and they shall wash their clothes; then they shall be clean.
8 After this, they shall take a young bull from the oxen, with its grain offering of fine flour prepared with oil, and you shall take a young bull one year old from the oxen for a sin offering.
9 Then you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of testimony, and gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel.
10 So you shall bring the Levites before the Lord, and the children of Israel shall put their hands on the Levites;
11 and Aaron shall set apart the Levites before the Lord as a restitution offering from among the children of Israel, so they may do the works of the Lord.
12 Then the Levites shall put their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a whole burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for them.
13 “Then you shall stand the Levites before the Lord and before Aaron and his sons, and offer them as a restitution offering to the Lord.
14 Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and they shall be Mine.
15 After that, the Levites shall go in to do the works of the tabernacle of testimony. Thus you shall cleanse them and offer them as a restitution offering before the Lord.
16 For they are Mine as a restitution offering from among the children of Israel; I have taken them for Myself instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn from all the children of Israel.
17 For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine, from man to cattle; on the day I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them to Myself.
18 I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.
19 I have also given the Levites as a restitution offering to Aaron and his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the works of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of testimony, and to make atonement for the children of Israel. Thus there shall be no drawing near of the holy things among the children of Israel.”
20 So Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did to the Levites as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites; thus the children of Israel did to them.
21 Then the Levites sanctified themselves and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them before the Lord as a restitution offering; and Aaron made atonement for them to consecrate them.
22 After that, the Levites went in to minister in their liturgical service in the tabernacle of testimony before Aaron and his sons; as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
23 Moreover, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
24 “This is what pertains to the Levites: From twenty-five years old and above they shall enter to work in the tabernacle of testimony;
25 and at the age of fifty years they shall cease doing liturgical service. They shall work no more.
26 His brother shall minister liturgically in the tabernacle of testimony, to do guard duties, but he shall not do the works. Thus you shall do to the Levites regarding their duties.”
Psalms 77
18 And they tested God in their hearts By asking food for their souls;
19 And they slandered God and said, “Why is God unable to prepare a table in the desert?
20 Since He struck the rock, and waters flowed, And brooks flooded, Is He also unable to give us bread Or to prepare a table for His people?”
21 Therefore, the Lord heard and was enraged, And fire was kindled in Jacob, And wrath arose against Israel,
22 Because they did not believe in God, Nor put their hope in His salvation.
23 And He commanded the clouds above And opened the doors of heaven;
24 And He rained manna for them to eat And gave them the bread of heaven;
25 Man ate the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.
26 He took away the south wind from heaven, And with His power He brought in the southwest wind;
27 He rained flesh on them like dust And winged birds like the sand of the sea,
28 And they fell in the midst of their camp, All around their tents;
29 And they ate and were well filled, And He brought them their own desire;
30 They were not deprived of their desire. While their food was still in their mouth,
31 The wrath of God rose up against them, And killed their wealthy ones And shackled Israel’s chosen ones.
32 In all these things they still sinned And did not believe in His wonders;
33 And their days ended in folly And their years with haste.
34 When He killed them, they sought Him out, And turned back, and rose up early before God;
35 They remembered God was their helper, And the Most High God their redeemer.
36 But they deceived Him with their mouth And lied to Him with their tongue,
37 For their heart was not right with Him, Neither were they faithful to His covenant.
Proverbs of Solomon 16
11 The son of a king is in the light of life, And those acceptable to him are as a cloud of the latter rain.
12 The abodes of wisdom are more to be chosen than gold, And the abodes of discernment are more to be chosen than silver.†
13 The paths of life turn away from evil, And the ways of righteousness are length of life;
14 He who receives instruction shall be in good things, And he who heeds rebukes shall become wise;†
15 He who guards his own ways shall keep his own soul, And he who loves his life shall use his mouth sparingly.
Luke 6
Love of Enemies
27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.
30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.
31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.†
32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.
35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Be Merciful
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.†
38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
39 And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?
40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.†
41 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?
42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
Beware of Hypocrisy
43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?†
47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:
48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”