Numbers 8–12

Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand. And Aaron did so: he set up its lamps in front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. And ithis was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was hammered work; according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and cleanse them. Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the jwater of purification upon them, and klet them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. Then let them take a bull from the herd and lits grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, mand you shall take another bull from the herd for a sin offering. nAnd you shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting oand assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel. 10 When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel pshall lay their hands on the Levites, 11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord. 12 Then the Levites qshall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer rthe one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord to make atonement for the Levites. 13 And you shall set the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as sa wave offering to the Lord.

14 Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and tthe Levites shall be mine. 15 And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a swave offering. 16 For they are uwholly given to me from among the people of Israel. vInstead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. 17 wFor all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, 18 and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. 19 uAnd I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and xto make atonement for the people of Israel, ythat there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary.

20 Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them. 21 And zthe Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and aAaron offered them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 This applies to the Levites: bfrom twenty-five years old and upward they1 shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. 25 And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. 26 They minister2 to their brothers in the tent of meeting cby keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.

And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, din the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. eOn the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it. So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. And there were certain men who were funclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and gthey came before Moses and Aaron on that day. And those men said to him, We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the Lord’s hoffering at its appointed time among the people of Israel? And Moses said to them, Wait, that iI may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the Lord. 11 jIn the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. kThey shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 lThey shall leave none of it until the morning, mnor break any of its bones; naccording to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. 13 But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, othat person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring the Lord’s poffering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. 14 And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. qYou shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.

15 rOn the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And sat evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day3 and the appearance of fire by night. 17 And whenever the cloud tlifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. 18 At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. uAs long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel vkept the charge of the Lord and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out. 21 And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. 22 Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel wremained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. 23 At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. vThey kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for xsummoning the congregation and for breaking camp. And when yboth are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. But if they blow only one, then zthe chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. When you blow an alarm, athe camps that are on the east side shall set out. And when you blow an alarm the second time, bthe camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. But when the assembly is to be gathered together, cyou shall blow a long blast, but you shall not dsound an alarm. eAnd the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. And fwhen you go to war in your land against the adversary who goppresses you, then you shall dsound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be hremembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. 10 iOn the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and jat the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be ka reminder of you before your God: I am the Lord your God.

11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, lthe cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel mset out by stages from the nwilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the owilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time pat the command of the Lord by Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out qfirst by their companies, and over their company was rNahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon.

17 And when sthe tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, twho carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And uthe standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was vElizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was wShelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was xEliasaph the son of yDeuel.

21 Then the Kohathites set out, zcarrying the holy things, and athe tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And bthe standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was cElishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was cGamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was dAbidan the son of Gideoni.

25 Then ethe standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the frear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was gAhiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was hPagiel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was iAhira the son of Enan. 28 jThis was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out.

29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of kReuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, lI will give it to you. Come with us, and we will do good to you, for mthe Lord has promised good to Israel. 30 But he said to him, I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred. 31 And he said, Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve nas eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, owhatever good the Lord will do to us, the same will we do to you.

33 So they set out from pthe mount of the Lord three days’ journey. And the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them three days’ journey, to seek out qa resting place for them. 34 rAnd the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp.

35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, sArise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you. 36 And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.

And tthe people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, uhis anger was kindled, and vthe fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Then wthe people cried out to Moses, xand Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. So the name of that place was called yTaberah,4 because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

Now the zrabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also awept again and said, bOh that we had meat to eat! cWe remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.

Now dthe manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. eThe 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. fAnd the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. gWhen the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

10 Moses heard the people hweeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. 11 iMoses said to the Lord, Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? 12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, jCarry them in your bosom, as a knurse carries a nursing child, to the land lthat you swore to give their fathers? 13 mWhere 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 nI am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, Gather for me oseventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and pofficers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 qAnd I will come down and talk with you there. And rI will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and sthey shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 And say to the people, tConsecrate 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? uFor it 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, vuntil it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, wWhy did we come out of Egypt? 21 But Moses said, xThe people among whom I am number six 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, zIs the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether amy word will come true for you or not.

24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. bAnd he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25 Then cthe Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.

26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they dhad not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp. 28 And eJoshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, My lord Moses, fstop them. 29 But Moses said to him, Are you jealous for my sake? gWould that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them! 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

31 Then a hwind from the Lord sprang up, and it brought quail 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 cubits5 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 ihomers.6 And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 jWhile the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and kthe Lord struck down the people with a very great plague. 34 Therefore the name of that place was called lKibroth-hattaavah,7 because there they buried the people who had the craving. 35 mFrom Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to nHazeroth, and they remained at nHazeroth.

Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? oHas he not spoken through us also? And pthe Lord heard it. Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting. And the three of them came out. And qthe Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him rin a vision; I speak with him sin a dream. Not so with tmy servant Moses. uHe is faithful in all my house. With him I speak vmouth to mouth, clearly, and not in wriddles, and he beholds xthe form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.

10 When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, yMiriam was zleprous,8 like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. 11 And Aaron said to Moses, Oh, my lord, ado not punish us9 because we have done foolishly and have sinned. 12 Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb. 13 And Moses cried to the Lord, O God, please heal herplease. 14 But the Lord said to Moses, If her father had but bspit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be cshut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again. 15 So Miriam dwas shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. 16 After that the people set out from eHazeroth, and camped in fthe wilderness of Paran.

Read in Context

Zechariah 2–4:7

1 And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, oa man with a measuring line in his hand! Then I said, Where are you going? And he said to me, pTo measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length. And behold, qthe angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him and said to him, Run, say to that young man, rJerusalem shall be inhabited sas villages without walls, because of tthe multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her ua wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.

Up! Up! vFlee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have wspread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord. xUp! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me2 to the nations who plundered you, yfor he who touches you touches zthe apple of his eye: Behold, aI will shake my hand over them, band they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then cyou will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. 10 dSing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for ebehold, I come fand I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. 11 gAnd many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. fAnd I will dwell in your midst, and cyou shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 12 hAnd the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again ichoose Jerusalem.

13 Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

Then he showed me jJoshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and kSatan3 standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, lThe Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has mchosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this na brand4 plucked from the fire? Now jJoshua was standing before the angel, oclothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to pthose who were standing before him, qRemove the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, Behold, rI have taken your iniquity away from you, and sI will clothe you with pure vestments. And I said, tLet them put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.

And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured jJoshua, Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and ukeep my charge, then you shall vrule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among wthose who are standing here. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for xthey are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring ymy servant zthe Branch. For behold, on athe stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with bseven eyes,5 I will cengrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and dI will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come eunder his vine and under his fig tree.

And fthe angel who talked with me came again gand woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, What do you see? I said, I see, and behold, ha lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and iseven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are jtwo olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left. And I said to fthe angel who talked with me, What are these, my lord? Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, kDo you not know what these are? I said, No, my lord. Then he said to me, This is the word of the Lord to lZerubbabel: mNot by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, nO great mountain? Before lZerubbabel oyou shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward pthe top stone amid shouts of Grace, grace to it!

Read in Context

Luke 17:11–18:14

11 jOn the way to Jerusalem khe was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,1 lwho stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 When he saw them he said to them, Go and mshow yourselves to the priests. And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, npraising God with a loud voice; 16 and ohe fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was pa Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, Were not qten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and rgive praise to God except this sforeigner? 19 And he said to him, Rise and go your way; tyour faith has tmade you well.2

20 Being asked by the Pharisees uwhen the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, The kingdom of God vis not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor wwill they say, Look, here it is! or There! for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.3

22 And he said to the disciples, xThe days are coming when you will desire yto see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 zAnd they will say to you, Look, there! or Look, here! Do not go out or follow them. 24 aFor as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be bin his day.4 25 But first che must suffer many things and cbe rejected by this generation. 26 dJust as it was in the days of eNoah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 fThey were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of gLotthey were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 hbut on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all 30 so will it be ion the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, jlet the one who is on kthe housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. 32 lRemember Lot’s wife. 33 mWhoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will nkeep it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. 35 oThere will be two women pgrinding together. One will be taken and the other left.5 37 And they said to him, Where, Lord? He said to them, qWhere the corpse6 is, there the vultures7 will gather.

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ralways to pray and not slose heart. He said, In a certain city there was a judge who tneither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, Give me justice against my adversary. For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, uThough I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And vwill not God give justice to whis elect, xwho cry to him day and night? yzWill he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them aspeedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, bwill he find faith on earth?

He also told this parable to some cwho trusted din themselves that they were righteous, eand treated others with contempt: 10 Two men fwent up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, gstanding by himself, prayed8 hthus: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 iI fast twice a week; jI give tithes of all that I get. 13 But the tax collector, gstanding far off, kwould not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but lbeat his breast, saying, God, mbe merciful to me, a sinner! 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For neveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

Read in Context

Luke 23:44–56

44 mIt was now about the sixth hour,1 and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,2 45 while the sun’s light failed. And nthe curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, ocalling out with a loud voice, said, Father, pinto your hands I qcommit my spirit! And having said this rhe breathed his last. 47 Now swhen the centurion saw what had taken place, the praised God, saying, Certainly this man was innocent! 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home ubeating their breasts. 49 And all vhis acquaintances and wthe women who had followed him from Galilee xstood at a distance watching these things.

50 yNow there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action; and he zwas looking for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and alaid him in a tomb cut in stone, bwhere no one had ever yet been laid. 54 It was the day of cPreparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.3 55 dThe women ewho had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they returned and fprepared spices and ointments.

On the Sabbath they rested gaccording to the commandment.

Read in Context

Acts 2

When fthe day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like ga mighty rushing wind, and hit filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues ias of fire appeared to them and rested1 on each one of them. And they were all jfilled with the Holy Spirit and began kto speak in other tongues las the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And mat this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And nthey were amazed and astonished, saying, Are not all these who are speaking oGalileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and pMedes and qElamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and rproselytes, Cretans and Arabianswe hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God. 12 And sall were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, What does this mean? 13 But others tmocking said, They are filled with new wine.

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, usince it is only the third hour of the day.2 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

17  vAnd in the last days it shall be, God declares,

wthat I will pour out my Spirit xon all flesh,

and your sons and yyour daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams;

18  even on my male servants and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and zthey shall prophesy.

19  And I will show wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below,

blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;

20  athe sun shall be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before bthe day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

21  And it shall come to pass that ceveryone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

22 Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, da man attested to you by God ewith fmighty works and wonders and signs that gGod did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know 23 this Jesus,3 hdelivered up according to ithe definite plan and jforeknowledge of God, kyou crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 lGod raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because mit was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,

nI saw the Lord always before me,

for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;

26  therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;

my flesh also will dwell oin hope.

27  For you will not abandon my soul to pHades,

qor let your rHoly One ssee corruption.

28  You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will make me full of gladness with your presence.

29 Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about tthe patriarch David uthat he both died and vwas buried, and whis tomb is with us to this day. 30 xBeing therefore a prophet, and knowing that yGod had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that zhe was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus aGod raised up, band of that we all are witnesses. 33 cBeing therefore dexalted at the right hand of God, and having received from ethe Father fthe promise of the Holy Spirit, ghe has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For hDavid did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

iThe Lord said to my Lord,

Sit at my right hand,

35  until I make your enemies your footstool.

36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that jGod has made him kboth Lord and Christ, this Jesus lwhom you crucified.

37 Now when mthey heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers, nwhat shall we do? 38 And Peter said to them, oRepent and pbe baptized every one of you qin the name of Jesus Christ rfor the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive sthe gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For tthe promise is for you and ufor your children and for all vwho are far off, everyone wwhom the Lord our God calls to himself. 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, xSave yourselves from this ycrooked generation. 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and zthere were added that day about three thousand souls.

42 And athey devoted themselves to the apostles’ bteaching and the cfellowship, to dthe breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe4 came upon every soul, and emany wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and fhad all things in common. 45 And fthey were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, gattending the temple htogether and ibreaking bread in their homes, they received their food jwith glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and khaving favor with all the people. And the Lord ladded to their number mday by day those who nwere being saved.

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Acts 10

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of wwhat was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man xwho feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. yAbout the ninth hour of the day1 zhe saw clearly in a vision aan angel of God come in and say to him, Cornelius. And he stared at him in terror and said, What is it, Lord? And he said to him, Your prayers and your alms bhave ascended cas a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging dwith one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, ePeter went up fon the housetop about gthe sixth hour2 to pray. 10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into ha trance 11 and saw ithe heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: Rise, Peter; kill and eat. 14 But Peter said, By no means, Lord; jfor I have never eaten anything that is kcommon or lunclean. 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, mWhat God has made clean, do not call common. 16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what nthe vision that he had seen might mean, behold, othe men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate 18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was pondering nthe vision, pthe Spirit said to him, Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 Rise and go down and qaccompany them without hesitation,3 for I have sent them. 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming? 22 And they said, Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and rGod-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by sa holy angel to send for you to come to his house and tto hear what you have to say. 23 So he invited them in to be his guests.

The next day he rose and went away with them, and usome of vthe brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and wfell down at his feet and xworshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, yStand up; I too am a man. 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. 28 And he said to them, You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew zto associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but aGod has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.

30 And Cornelius said, bFour days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at cthe ninth hour,4 and behold, da man stood before me in bright clothing 31 and said, Cornelius, eyour prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. 33 So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.

34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: Truly I understand that fGod gshows no partiality, 35 but fin every nation anyone who fears him and hdoes what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for ithe word that he sent to Israel, jpreaching good news of kpeace through Jesus Christ (lhe is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, mbeginning nfrom Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how oGod anointed Jesus of Nazareth pwith the Holy Spirit and with qpower. He went about doing good and healing all rwho were oppressed by the devil, sfor God was with him. 39 And twe are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. uThey put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but vGod raised him on wthe third day and made him to xappear, 41 ynot to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as zwitnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And ahe commanded us to preach to the people and to testify bthat he is the one appointed by God to be judge cof the living and the dead. 43 dTo him eall the prophets bear witness that feveryone who believes in him receives gforgiveness of sins hthrough his name.

44 While Peter was still saying these things, ithe Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among jthe circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because kthe gift of the Holy Spirit lwas poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them mspeaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 nCan anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit ojust as we have? 48 And he pcommanded them qto be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

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2 Corinthians 10:5–13

We destroy arguments and qevery lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to robey Christ, sbeing ready to punish every disobedience, twhen your obedience is complete.

uLook at what is before your eyes. vIf anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, let him remind himself that just as whe is Christ’s, xso also are we. For even if I boast a little too much of your authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. 10 For they say, His letters are weighty and strong, but zhis bodily presence is weak, and ahis speech of no account. 11 Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. 12 Not that we dare to classify or bcompare ourselves with some of those who care commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are dwithout understanding.

13 But we will not boast ebeyond limits, but will fboast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, gto reach even to you.

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Hebrews 3:1–6

Therefore, holy brothers,1 you who share in ra heavenly calling, consider Jesus, sthe apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, tjust as Moses also was faithful in all God’s2 house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Mosesas much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but uthe builder of all things is God.) vNow Moses was faithful in all God’s house was a servant, xto testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as ya son. And zwe are his house, if indeed we ahold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.3

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Revelation 11:1–3

Then I was given ma measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure nthe court outside the temple; leave that out, for oit is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for pforty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for p1,260 days, qclothed in sackcloth.

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2 View All Leviticus 19:27