Numbers 14:11-15:41
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people provoke Me? How long will they not believe Me, with all the signs I performed among them? 12 I will strike them with death and destroy them, and I will make you and your father’s house into a great and more numerous nation than this one.” 13 Then Moses said to the Lord, “But the Egyptians will hear it for by Your might You brought these people up from among them, 14 and all the inhabitants of this land heard that You are the Lord among these people, who is seen plainly with the eyes, O Lord; and Your cloud stands upon them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now You would wipe out this people as one man, and the nations that heard Your name will speak, saying, 16 ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which He swore to give them, therefore He spread them out in the desert.’ 17 Now then, let Your strength, O Lord, be exalted in the manner You spoke, saying, 18 ‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth, taking away lawlessness, wrongdoings, and sins; but He would not cleanse the guilty by repaying the sins of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’ 19 Remit the sin of this people according to Your great mercy, as You were merciful to them from Egypt even until now.”
20 Again the Lord said to Moses, “I am merciful to them according to your word; 21 but truly, as I live, and My name lives, and all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord; 22 assuredly, all the men who are seeing My glory and signs, which I did in Egypt and in this desert, and put Me to the test now these ten times, and did not heed My voice, 23 they certainly shall not see the land I swore to their fathers; but their children who are here with Me and do not know good nor evil, every inexperienced youngster, to these I shall give the land; however, all those who provoked Me shall not see it. 24 Now My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and followed Me fully, I will bring him into the land where he went, and his seed shall inherit it. 25 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow, turn and depart for the desert by the way of the Red Sea.”
The Murmurers Are Punished
26 Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who murmur against Me? I heard the murmuring the children of Israel make against Me. 28 Say to them, ‘As I live, says the Lord, surely in the manner you spoke in My hearing, so I will do to you: 29 your bodies shall fall in this desert, and all your census, who were numbered from twenty years old and above, as many as murmured against Me; 30 and you shall not enter the land upon which I stretched out My hand that you might settle upon it, except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun; 31 but your children, whom you said would be plunder, I will bring them into the land, and they shall inherit the land from which you apostatized. 32 But your bodies shall fall in this desert; 33 however, your sons shall be shepherds in the desert forty years, and shall bear your fornication until your bodies are consumed in the desert. 34 According to the number of the days you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My fierce anger. 35 I the Lord have spoken; surely I will do so to all this evil congregation gathered together against Me. In this desert they shall be utterly destroyed, and there they shall die.’ ” 36 Now the men Moses sent to spy out the land, and who when they returned murmured against him to the congregation by bringing an evil report of the land, 37 those very men who spoke evil words against the land died by the plague before the Lord. 38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.
The First Invasion Fails
39 Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned exceedingly. 40 But they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place the Lord spoke about, for we sinned.” 41 So Moses said, “Now why do you transgress the word of the Lord? For this will not be easy for you. 42 Do not go up, for the Lord is not with you, and you shall fall before the face of your enemies. 43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from and disobeyed the Lord, the Lord will not be among you.” 44 But they rebelled and went up to the mountaintop; nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and turned them back and cut them down as far as Hormah. Then they returned to the camp.
Laws Surrounding Grain and Drink Offerings
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you, 3 and you make a whole burnt offering to the Lord, a whole burnt offering or a sacrifice, to make a great vow or a freewill offering, or in your feasts, to make a sweet aroma to the Lord, from the oxen or the sheep, 4 then he who brings his gifts to the Lord shall bring a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour prepared with one-fourth of a hin of oil; 5 and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering you shall offer with the whole burnt offering or the sacrifice, and for each male lamb you shall offer the same amounts, a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the Lord. 6 Or for a ram, when you offer it either as a whole burnt offering or a sacrifice, you shall offer with it a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour prepared with one-third of a hin of oil; 7 and as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a sweet aroma to the Lord. 8 Now if from the oxen you offer a whole burnt offering or a sacrifice, to make a great vow or a peace offering to the Lord, 9 then one shall offer with the young bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, prepared with half a hin of oil; 10 and you shall bring as the drink offering half a hin of wine as a burnt offering, a sweet aroma to the Lord.
11 ‘Thus you shall do for each young bull, for each ram, or for each male lamb from the sheep or the goats. 12 According to the number you offer, so you shall do with each one according to their number. 13 All native-born shall do these things in this manner in presenting a burnt offering for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 14 Now if a resident alien should come in among you in your land, or whoever may be among you in your generations, and he would offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the Lord, thus in the manner you offer, so shall the congregation offer to the Lord. 15 There shall be one law for you and for the resident alien who dwells among you, a perpetual law throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the resident alien be before the Lord. 16 There shall be one law and one ordinance for you and for the resident alien who dwells among you.’ ”
17 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you come into the land into which I bring you, 19 then it will be, when you eat from the bread of the land, that you shall take away the choice portion for the Lord. 20 You shall separate the choice portion of your bread as the firstfruits of the dough, as a choice portion from the threshing floor; thus you shall separate it 21 as the firstfruits of your dough, and you shall give to the Lord the choice portion throughout your generations.
Laws for Unintentional Sin
22 ‘Now when you utterly fail, and do not do all these commandments the Lord spoke to Moses— 23 as the Lord ordered you by the hand of Moses, from the day the Lord ordered you and onward throughout your generations— 24 then it will be, if it happened involuntarily out of sight of the congregation, the whole congregation shall offer one young bull without blemish from the oxen for a whole burnt offering, for a sweet aroma to the Lord, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male kid from the goats for a sin offering. 25 So the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be remitted them, for it was involuntary; they shall bring their gift, a burnt offering to the Lord, as their sin offering before the Lord concerning their involuntary sin. 26 So it shall be remitted for the whole congregation of the children of Israel and the resident alien who dwells among them, because all the people did it involuntarily. 27 Now if a soul should sin involuntarily, he shall bring a female goat in its first year for a sin offering. 28 So the priest shall make atonement for the soul who acts involuntarily and sins involuntarily before the Lord, to make atonement for him. 29 As for anyone who may have acted involuntarily, there shall be one law both for the native-born among the children of Israel and for the resident alien who dwells among them.
30 ‘But the soul who may do something with a hand of arrogance, whether he is native-born or a resident alien, that one is provoking God; and he shall be utterly destroyed from among His people. 31 Because he despised the word of the Lord and broke His commandments, that soul shall be destroyed; his guilt shall be upon him.’ ”
Penalty for Sabbath-breaking
32 Now while the children of Israel were in the desert, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 So those who found him gathering wood on the Sabbath day brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel. 34 They put him under guard because they had not decided what to do with him. 35 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Let the man be surely put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones.” 36 So, as the Lord ordered Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones.
Tassels on Vestments
37 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 38 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them to make tassels for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. 39 Then it shall be, you shall have the tassels; and you shall look upon these, and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them; and you shall not turn aside after your minds and your eyes by which you prostitute yourselves, 40 and may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brings you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”
Psalm 45
1 For the End; for the sons of Korah; a psalm concerning hidden things.
2 God is our refuge and power;
A help in afflictions that severely befall us.
3 Therefore we will not fear when the earth is troubled,
And when the mountains are removed into the hearts of the seas.
4 Their waters roared and were troubled;
The mountains were troubled by His might.
(Pause)
5 The torrents of the river gladden the city of God;
The Most High sanctified His tabernacle.
6 God is in her midst; she shall not be shaken;
God shall help her early in the morning.
7 The nations were troubled; kingdoms fell;
He uttered His voice; the earth shook.
8 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our protector.
(Pause)
9 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
The wonders He wrought on the earth.
10 When He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth,
He will break the bow and shatter the weapon;
And He will burn up the shields in fire.
11 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations;
I will be exalted in the earth.
12 The Lord of hosts is with us,
The God of Jacob is our protector.
Proverbs 9:12–15
12 My son, if you become wise in yourself,
you shall also be wise toward your neighbor;
But if you prove to be evil, you alone will go through troubles.
13 He who supports himself with lies will shepherd winds
And chase flying birds;
14 For he abandoned the ways of his own vineyard
And strayed from paths of his own farming;
15 And he will pass through a waterless desert,
A land assigned to drought,
And he gathers barrenness with his hands.
Mark 1:21–45
21 Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.
22 And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
23 Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
24 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”
26 And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.
27 Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
28 And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.
Peter’s Mother-in-Law Healed
29 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.
31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.
Many Healed After Sabbath Sunset
32 At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.
33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
34 Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
Preaching in Galilee
35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.
37 When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”
38 But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”
39 And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.
Jesus Cleanses a Leper
40 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.
43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once,
44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”45 However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.