Numbers 4:34-6:26
34 Thus Moses, Aaron, and the rulers of the congregation took a census of the sons of the Kohathites by their tribes and their fathers’ houses, 35 from twenty-five years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the liturgical service for work in the tabernacle of testimony. 36 Their numbering according to their tribes was two thousand seven hundred fifty. 37 This is the numbering of the tribe of the Kohathites, all who were serving liturgically in the tabernacle of testimony, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the voice of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
38 Those numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their tribes and their fathers’ houses, 39 from twenty-five years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone entering the liturgical service to do the works in the tabernacle of testimony— 40 those numbered by their tribes and their fathers’ houses, were two thousand six hundred thirty. 41 This was the census of the tribe of the sons of Gershon, everyone serving in the tabernacle of testimony, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the voice of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
42 Those numbered of the tribe of the sons of Merari, who were numbered by their tribes and their fathers’ houses, 43 from twenty-five years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone entering the liturgical service for the works in the tabernacle of testimony— 44 those numbered by their tribes and their fathers’ houses were three thousand two hundred. 45 This was the census of the tribe of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the voice of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
46 All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the rulers of Israel numbered, by their tribes and their fathers’ houses, 47 from twenty-five years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone entering for the task of works and the works of carrying the things in the tabernacle of testimony— 48 those numbered were eight thousand five hundred eighty. 49 By the voice of the Lord by the hand of Moses they were numbered, each man according to his works and according to his task; thus were they numbered by him, in the manner the Lord commanded Moses.
The Unclean Are Isolated
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the children of Israel to put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has an involuntary discharge of semen, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. 3 You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, so they may not defile their camps, in the midst of which I dwell.” 4 So the children of Israel did so, and sent them outside the camp; as the Lord spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.
Confession and Restitution
5 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘When a man or woman commits one of the sins that humans commit, and actually disregards a neighbor, that soul has committed a trespass. 7 Then he shall confess openly the sin he committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in the capital amount, plus one-fifth of it, and repay the one he wronged. 8 But if the man has no close relative to make restitution on his behalf for the trespass, the restitution for the wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him. 9 Every offering that is sanctified among the children of Israel, which they bring to the Lord for the priest, shall be his. 10 So the sanctified offerings of each man shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be his.’ ”
Unfaithful Wives
11 Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘If any man’s wife commits transgression and disregards and despises him, 13 and someone has sexual intercourse with her, and she conceals it from her husband and keeps it hidden, but she is defiled, and there was no witness against her, nor was she caught— 14 and if a spirit of jealousy comes upon him, and he becomes jealous of his wife, who is defiled; or if a spirit of jealousy comes upon him, and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she is not defiled— 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall bring the gift required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it, and put no frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for bringing sin to remembrance.
16 ‘Then the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord. 17 The priest shall take clean running water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust on the floor of the tabernacle of testimony and throw it into the water. 18 Then the priest shall stand the woman before the Lord, uncover the woman’s head, and put the sacrifice for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy; and the priest shall have in his hand the water of conviction that brings a curse. 19 Then the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not committed transgression to be defiled while under your husband’s jurisdiction, be innocent from this water of conviction that brings a curse. 20 But if you committed transgression and defiled yourself under your husband’s jurisdiction, and some man other than your husband had sexual relations with you”— 21 then the priest shall put the woman under oath by the words of the oath of this curse; and the priest shall say to the woman, “the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh rot and your belly swell; 22 and may this water that causes this curse go into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.” Then the woman shall say, “May it be so.”
23 ‘Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and wipe them off into the water of conviction that brings a curse. 24 Then he shall give the woman a drink of this water of conviction that brings a curse, and it shall enter her. 25 Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, put the sacrifice before the Lord, and bring it to the altar; 26 and the priest shall take a handful of the sacrifice as its memorial portion, offer it on the altar, and afterward give the woman the water to drink. 27 So it shall be, if she is defiled but kept it hidden from her husband, then the water of conviction that brings a curse will enter her, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman is not defiled, but is clean, then she shall be innocent and may conceive children.
29 ‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s jurisdiction, transgresses and defiles herself, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her. 31 Then the man shall be innocent of guilt, but that woman shall bear her guilt.’ ”
Law Concerning Vows
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When either a man or woman vows an extraordinary vow to sanctify himself as one of purity to the Lord, 3 he shall separate himself from wine and intoxicants, and shall not drink any wine and vinegar made from wine, and any vinegar made from intoxicants; neither shall he drink anything made from grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. 4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. 5 All the days of his vow of purification no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he vowed to the Lord; he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. 6 All the days of his vow to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. 7 He shall not defile himself even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because the vow of his God is on his head. 8 All the days of his vow he shall be holy to the Lord. 9 But if anyone dies very suddenly near him on the spot, the head of his vow shall be defiled; and he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. 10 Then on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of testimony. 11 Then the priest shall make one a sin offering and the other a whole burnt offering and make atonement for him, concerning which he sinned in regard to the corpse; and he shall sanctify his head that day. 12 He shall sanctify to the Lord the days of his vow, and bring a male lamb in its first year as a trespass offering; but the former days shall be null and void, because the head of his vow was defiled.
13 ‘Now this is the law of vowing: When the days of his vow are fulfilled, he shall be brought to the doors of the tabernacle of testimony. 14 Then he shall offer his gift to the Lord: one male lamb in its first year without blemish as a whole burnt offering, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish as a sin offering, one ram without blemish as a peace offering, 15 a basket of unleavened bread of fine flour, prepared with oil, and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and their grain offering with their drink offering. 16 Then the priest shall bring these things before the Lord and offer his sin offering and his whole burnt offering; 17 and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall also offer his grain offering and his drink offering. 18 Then the one vowing shall shave the head of his vow at the doors of the tabernacle of testimony; and he shall put his hair on the fire, which is under the sacrifice of the peace offering. 19 Then the priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, one unleavened loaf from the basket, and one unleavened cake, and put these upon the hands of the one vowing after he has shaved the head of his vow; 20 and the priest shall bring these things as a deposit offering before the Lord; they are holy for the priest, together with the breast of the deposit offering and the thigh of the choice portion. After that, the one vowing may drink wine.’ 21 This is the law of the one vowing, who vows to the Lord his gift to the Lord concerning his vow; and the force of his vow is not limited to what he could afford regarding his vow, which he vows according to the law of purity.”
The Priest’s Blessing
22 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them (My name shall be put on the children of Israel, and I the Lord shall bless them):
24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be merciful to you;
26 the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” ’ ”
Psalms 41
1 For the End; for understanding; for the sons of Korah.
2 As the deer longs for the springs of waters,
So my soul longs for You, O God.
3 My soul thirsts for the living God;
When shall I come and appear before the face of God?
4 My tears were my bread day and night,
When they said to me each day, “Where is your God?”
5 I remembered these things, and poured out my soul within me;
For I shall enter the place of the wondrous tabernacle, even the house of God,
To celebrate a festival with a voice of great joy and praise.
6 Why are you so sad, O my soul?
And why do you trouble me?
Hope in God, for I will give thanks to Him;
My God is the salvation of my countenance.
7 My soul within me was troubled;
Therefore I will remember You
From the land of the Jordan and Hermon,
From the small mountain.
8 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows went over me.
9 By day the Lord shall command His mercy,
And by night His ode will be with me,
A prayer to the God of my life.
10 I will say to God, “You are my protector.
Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go about with a sad face when my enemies afflict me?”
11 Those who afflict me revile me when they break my bones,
When they speak to me each day, saying, “Where is your God?”
12 Why are you so sad, O my soul?
And why do you trouble me?
Hope in God, for I will give thanks to Him.
My God is the salvation of my countenance.
Psalms 42
1 A psalm by David.
Judge me, O God, and pass judgment in my cause against an unholy nation;
Deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.
2 For You, O God, are my strength;
Why do You cast me off?
Why do I go about with a sad face when my enemy afflicts me?
3 Send out Your light and Your truth;
They guided me and led me to Your holy mountain
And to Your tabernacles.
4 And I will come to the altar of God,
To the God who makes glad my youth;
I will give thanks to You with the lyre, O God, my God.
5 Why are you so sad, O my soul? And why do you trouble me?
Hope in God, for I will give thanks to Him;
My God is the salvation of my countenance.
Proverbs 8:27–31
27 When He prepared heaven, I was present with Him,
And when He set apart His throne upon the winds.
28 When He made strong the things above the clouds,
And made sure the fountains under heaven,
29 And made strong the foundations of the earth,
I was working beside Him;
30 I was He in whom He rejoiced;
Daily and continually I was gladdened by His face.
31 When He completed the world, He rejoiced,
And He rejoiced in the sons of men.
Matthew 27:27–44
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.
28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
29 When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
30 Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.
31 And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.
The King on a Cross
32 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross.
33 And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull,
34 they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.
35 Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:
“They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”
36 Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.
37 And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:
THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.
39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads
40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said,
42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.
43 “He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.