Bread from Heaven

¹They kset out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. ²And the whole congregation of the people of Israel lgrumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, ³and the people of Israel said to them, m“Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, nwhen we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain obread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may ptest them, whether they will walk in my law or not. ⁵On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, qit will be twice as much as they gather daily.” ⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, r“At evening syou shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷and in the morning you shall see the tglory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For uwhat are we, that you grumble against us?” ⁸And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—vwhat are we? Your grumbling is not wagainst us but against the Lord.”

⁹Then Moses xsaid to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, y‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” ¹⁰And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the tglory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. ¹¹And the Lord said to Moses, ¹²“I zhave heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At atwilight you shall eat meat, and bin the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

¹³In the evening cquail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning ddew lay around the camp. ¹⁴And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, e“What is it?”1 For they fdid not know what it was. And Moses said to them, g“It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an homer,2 according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” ¹⁷And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. ¹⁸But when they measured it with an omer, iwhoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. ¹⁹And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” ²⁰But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and jit bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. ²¹Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

²²On kthe sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, ²³he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of lsolemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’” ²⁴So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and mit did not stink, and there were no worms in it. ²⁵Moses said, “Eat it today, for ltoday is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”

²⁷On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. ²⁸And the Lord said to Moses, n“How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? ²⁹See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” ³⁰So the people orested on the seventh day.

³¹Now the house of Israel called its name pmanna. It was qlike coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. ³²Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” ³³And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a rjar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” ³⁴As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before sthe testimony to be kept. ³⁵The people of Israel tate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till uthey came to the border of the land of Canaan. ³⁶(An omer is vthe tenth part of an ephah.)3

Jesus and Zacchaeus

¹cHe entered Jericho and was passing through. ²And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³And dhe was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴So he ran on ahead and climbed up into ea sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for fI must stay at your house today.” ⁶So he hurried and came down and greceived him joyfully. ⁷And when they saw it, they all hgrumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods iI give to the poor. And if I have jdefrauded anyone of anything, I restore it kfourfold.” ⁹And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since lhe also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For mthe Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because nthey supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. ¹²He said therefore, o“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. ¹³Calling pten of his servants,1 he gave them ten minas,2 and said to them, ‘Engage in business quntil I come.’ ¹⁴But rhis citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ ¹⁵When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. ¹⁶The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ ¹⁷And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!3 Because you have been sfaithful in a very little, tyou shall have authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ ¹⁹And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ ²⁰Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in ua handkerchief; ²¹for I was afraid of you, because you are va severe man. You take wwhat you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ ²²He said to him, x‘I will condemn you with your own words, yyou wicked servant! You knew that I was va severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? ²³Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ ²⁴And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ ²⁵And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ²⁶‘I tell you that zto everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ²⁷But ras for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and aslaughter them before me.’”

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸And when he had said these things, bhe went on ahead, cgoing up to Jerusalem. ²⁹dWhen he drew near to Bethphage and eBethany, at fthe mount that is called Olivet, he sent gtwo of the disciples, ³⁰saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, hon which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” ³²So those who were sent went away and found it ijust as he had told them. ³³And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” ³⁴And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” ³⁵And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. ³⁶And as he rode along, they jspread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—kthe whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice lfor all the mighty works that they had seen, ³⁸saying, m“Blessed is nthe King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and oglory in the highest!” ³⁹pAnd some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ⁴⁰He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, qthe very stones would cry out.”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

⁴¹rAnd when he drew near and saw the city, she wept over it, ⁴²saying, t“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now uthey are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³For vthe days will come upon you, when your enemies wwill set up a barricade around you and xsurround you and hem you in on every side ⁴⁴yand tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And zthey will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know athe time of your bvisitation.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

⁴⁵cAnd he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, ⁴⁶saying to them, “It is written, d‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but eyou have made it a den of robbers.”

⁴⁷fAnd he was teaching daily in the temple. gThe chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, ⁴⁸but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

Elihu Asserts God's Justice

¹Then Elihu answered and said:

²“Hear my words, you wise men,

and give ear to me, you who know;

³for gthe ear tests words

as the palate tastes food.

⁴Let us choose hwhat is right;

let us know among ourselves what is good.

⁵For Job has said, ‘I am iin the right,

and jGod has taken away my right;

⁶in spite of my right I am counted a liar;

my wound is incurable, though I am kwithout transgression.’

⁷What man is like Job,

who ldrinks up scoffing like water,

⁸who travels in company with evildoers

and walks mwith wicked men?

⁹For nhe has said, ‘It profits a man nothing

that he should take delight in God.’

¹⁰“Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:

far be it from God that he should odo wickedness,

and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.

¹¹For according to pthe work of a man he will repay him,

and qaccording to his ways he will make it befall him.

¹²Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,

and rthe Almighty will not pervert justice.

¹³Who gave him charge over the earth,

and who slaid on him1 the whole world?

¹⁴If he should tset his heart to it

and ugather to himself his vspirit and his breath,

¹⁵all flesh would perish together,

and man would wreturn to dust.

¹⁶“If you have understanding, hear this;

listen to what I say.

¹⁷xShall one who hates justice govern?

Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,

¹⁸who ysays to a king, ‘Worthless one,’

and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’

¹⁹who zshows no partiality to princes,

nor regards the rich amore than the poor,

for bthey are all the work of his hands?

²⁰In a moment cthey die;

at dmidnight the people are shaken and pass away,

and the mighty are taken away by eno human hand.

²¹“For his eyes are on fthe ways of a man,

and he sees all his fsteps.

²²There is no ggloom or hdeep darkness

where evildoers may hide themselves.

²³For God2 has no need to consider a man further,

that he should go before God in ijudgment.

²⁴He jshatters the mighty without investigation

and sets lothers in their place.

²⁵Thus, knowing their works,

he moverturns them in the night, and they are crushed.

²⁶He strikes them for their wickedness

in a place for all to see,

²⁷because they turned aside from nfollowing him

and had no regard for any of his ways,

²⁸so that they ocaused the cry of the poor to come to him,

and he pheard the cry of the afflicted—

²⁹When he is quiet, who can condemn?

When he hides his face, who can behold him,

whether it be a nation or a man?—

³⁰that a godless man should not reign,

that he should not ensnare the people.

³¹“For has anyone said to God,

‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more;

³²rteach me what I do not see;

if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?

³³Will he then make repayment to suit you,

because you reject it?

For you must choose, and not I;

therefore sdeclare what you know.3

³⁴Men of understanding will say to me,

and the wise man who hears me will say:

³⁵‘Job tspeaks without knowledge;

his words are without insight.’

³⁶Would that Job were tried to the end,

because he answers like wicked men.

³⁷For he adds rebellion to his sin;

he uclaps his hands among us

and multiplies his words against God.”

The Light of the Gospel

¹Therefore, having xthis ministry yby the mercy of God,1 we do not lose heart. ²But we have renounced zdisgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice2 cunning or ato tamper with God's word, but bby the open statement of the truth cwe would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. ³And even dif our gospel is veiled, eit is veiled to fthose who are perishing. ⁴In their case gthe god of this world dhas blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing hthe light of ithe gospel of the glory of Christ, jwho is the image of God. ⁵For what kwe proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with lourselves as your servants3 for Jesus' sake. ⁶For God, who said, m“Let light shine out of darkness,” nhas shone in our hearts to give othe light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

⁷But we have this treasure in pjars of clay, qto show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸We are rafflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹persecuted, but snot forsaken; tstruck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ualways carrying in the body the death of Jesus, vso that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. ¹¹For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹²So wdeath is at work in us, but life in you.

¹³Since we have xthe same spirit of faith according to what has been written, y“I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, ¹⁴knowing that zhe who raised the Lord Jesus awill raise us also with Jesus and bbring us with you into his presence. ¹⁵For cit is all for your sake, so that as dgrace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, eto the glory of God.

¹⁶So we do not lose heart. fThough our outer self4 is wasting away, gour inner self his being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For ithis light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸jas we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.