Matthew 23:13–24; Romans 5:12–21; Psalm 54; Numbers 15–17

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Matthew 23:13–24

13 But woe nto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you oshut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you pneither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.1 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single qproselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a rchild of shell2 as yourselves.

16 Woe to tyou, ublind guides, who say, vIf anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath. 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or wthe temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by xthe gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath. 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or ythe altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by zhim who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by aheaven swears by bthe throne of God and by chim who sits upon it.

23 dWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For eyou tithe mint and dill and fcumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: gjustice and mercy and faithfulness. hThese you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing ia camel!


Romans 5:12–21

Death in Adam, Life in Christ

12 Therefore, just as tsin came into the world through one man, and udeath through sin, and vso death spread to all men1 because wall sinned 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but xsin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not ylike the transgression of Adam, zwho was a type of athe one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for bmany. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For cthe judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought djustification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness ereign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore, as one trespass2 led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness3 leads to justification and life for fall men. 19 For as by the one man’s gdisobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s hobedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now ithe law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, jgrace abounded all the more, 21 so that, kas sin reigned in death, lgrace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.


Psalm 54

The Lord Upholds My Life

To the choirmaster: with tstringed instruments. A Maskil1 of David, uwhen the Ziphites went and told Saul, Is not David hiding among us?

O God, save me by your vname,

and vindicate me by your might.

O God, whear my prayer;

give ear to the words of my mouth.

xFor ystrangers2 have risen against me;

ruthless men zseek my life;

they do not set God before themselves. Selah

Behold, aGod is my helper;

the Lord is the upholder of my life.

He will return the evil to my enemies;

in your bfaithfulness cput an end to them.

With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;

I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, dfor it is good.

For he has delivered me from every trouble,

and my eye has elooked in triumph on my enemies.


Numbers 15–17

Laws About Sacrifices

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, xWhen you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you, and yyou offer to the Lord from the herd or from the flock a food offering1 or a burnt offering or a sacrifice, zto fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or aat your appointed feasts, to make a bpleasing aroma to the Lord, then che who brings his offering shall offer to the Lord da grain offering of a tenth of an ephah2 of fine flour, emixed with a quarter of a hin3 of oil; and you shall offer with the burnt offering, or for the sacrifice, a quarter of a hin of fwine for the drink offering for each lamb. gOr for a ram, you shall offer for a grain offering two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil. And for the drink offering you shall offer a third of a hin of wine, a bpleasing aroma to the Lord. And when you offer a bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, to zfulfill a vow or for hpeace offerings to the Lord, then one shall offer iwith the bull a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with half a hin of oil. 10 And you shall offer for the drink offering half a hin of wine, as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

11 jThus it shall be done for each bull or ram, or for each lamb or young goat. 12 As many as you offer, so shall you do with each one, as many as there are. 13 Every native Israelite shall do these things in this way, in offering a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 14 And if a stranger is sojourning with you, or anyone is living permanently among you, and he wishes to offer a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord, he shall do as you do. 15 For the assembly, kthere shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the Lord. 16 One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.

17 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 lSpeak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land to which I bring you 19 and when you eat of mthe bread of the land, you shall present a contribution to the Lord. 20 nOf the first of your dough you shall present a loaf as a contribution; like a ocontribution from the threshing floor, so shall you present it. 21 nSome of the first of your dough you shall give to the Lord as a contribution throughout your generations.

Laws About Unintentional Sins

22 pBut if you sin unintentionally,4 and do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses, 23 all that the Lord has commanded you by Moses, from the day that the Lord gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations, 24 then if it was done unintentionally qwithout the knowledge of the congregation, all the congregation shall offer one bull from the herd for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord, rwith its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the rule, and sone male goat for a sin offering. 25 tAnd the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the people of Israel, and they shall be forgiven, because it was a mistake, and they have brought their offering, a food offering to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord for their mistake. 26 And all the congregation of the people of Israel shall be forgiven, and the stranger who sojourns among them, because the whole population was involved in the mistake.

27 uIf one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. 28 vAnd the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. 29 wYou shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. 30 xBut the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has ydespised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.

A Sabbathbreaker Executed

32 While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man zgathering sticks on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. 34 aThey put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. 35 And the Lord said to Moses, bThe man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall cstone him with stones outside the camp. 36 And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Tassels on Garments

37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to dmake tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 39 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, enot to follow5 after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined fto whore after. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be gholy to your God. 41 hI am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God.

Korah’s Rebellion

Now iKorah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and jDathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. kThey assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, lYou have gone too far! For mall in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord? When Moses heard it, nhe fell on his face, and he said to Korah and all his company, In the morning the Lord will show owho is his,6 and who is pholy, and will bring him near to him. The one qwhom he chooses he will rbring near to him. Do this: take scensers, Korah and all his company; put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. tYou have gone too far, sons of Levi! And Moses said to Korah, Hear now, you sons of Levi: is it utoo small a thing for you that the God of Israel has vseparated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, 10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? 11 Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is wAaron that you grumble against him?

12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, We will not come up. 13 Is it xa small thing that you have brought us up out of ya land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also zmake yourself a prince over us? 14 Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up. 15 And Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, aDo not respect their offering. bI have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.

16 And Moses said to Korah, Be present, you and all your company, cbefore the Lord, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. 17 And dlet every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the Lord his censer, e250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer. 18 So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. fAnd the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

20 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 21 gSeparate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them hin a moment. 22 And they ifell on their faces and said, O God, jthe God of the spirits of all flesh, kshall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation? 23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, lDepart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins. 27 So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood mat the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. 28 And Moses said, Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been nof my own accord. 29 If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, othen the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord creates something new, and pthe ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they qgo down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.

31 rAnd as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. 32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and sall the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and tthey perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up! 35 And ufire came out from the Lord and consumed vthe 250 men offering the incense.

36 7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37 Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy. 38 As for the censers of wthese men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the Lord, and they became holy. xThus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel. 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar, 40 to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so ythat no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the Lord, lest he become like Korah and his companyas the Lord said to him through Moses.

41 But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel zgrumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, You have killed the people of the Lord. 42 And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, athe cloud covered it, and bthe glory of the Lord appeared. 43 And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 cGet away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. dAnd they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for ewrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun. 47 So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living, and fthe plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, gbesides those who died in the affair of Korah. 50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

Aaron’s Staff Buds

8 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, hSpeak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers’ house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. Write each man’s name on his staff, and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers’ house. Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, iwhere I meet with you. And the staff of the man jwhom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me kthe grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you. Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. And Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in lthe tent of the testimony.

On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, Put back mthe staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept nas a sign for the rebels, othat you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die. 11 Thus did Moses; as the Lord commanded him, so he did.

12 And the people of Israel said to Moses, Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. 13 pEveryone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?