God Is King over All the Earth

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

The People Complain

1 And the people ^acomplained ^bin the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses ^cprayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. 3 So the name of that place was called ^dTaberah,¹ because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

4 Now the rabble that was among them had a strong ^ecraving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, ^f“Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now our strength is dried up, and ^gthere is nothing at all but this ^hmanna to look at.”

7 Now the manna was ⁱlike coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. 8 The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. 9 ^jWhen the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

10 ^kMoses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. 11 Moses said to the Lord, ^l“Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the ^mburden of all this people on me? 12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the ⁿland that you swore to give their fathers? 13 ^oWhere am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ 14 I am not able to carry all this people ^palone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 ^qIf you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”

Elders Appointed to Aid Moses

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^r“Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the ^selders of the people and ^tofficers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you ^uand put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For ^vit was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have ^wrejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number ^xsix hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ 22 ^yShall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” 23 And the Lord said to Moses, ^z“Is the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”

Quail and a Plague

31 Then a wind from the Lord sprang up, ^fand it brought ^gquail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits¹ above the ground. 32 And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers.² And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 ^hWhile the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck down the people with a very great ⁱplague. 34 Therefore the name of that place was called ^jKibroth-hattaavah,³ because there they buried the people who had the craving. 35 ^kFrom Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to ^lHazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.

The Cost of Discipleship

25 ⁿNow great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own ^ofather and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and ^peven his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not ^qbear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and ^rcount the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and ^sdeliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not ^trenounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Salt Without Taste Is Worthless

34 ^u“Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

1 ^vNow the ^wtax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and ^xeats with them.”

3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and ^ygo after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he ^zlays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one ^asinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins,¹ if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”