Census of the New Generation

¹After the plague, the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest, ²“Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers' houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war.” ³And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ⁴“Take a census of the people,1 from twenty years old and upward,” as the Lord commanded Moses. The people of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:

⁵Reuben, the firstborn of Israel; the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the clan of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the clan of the Palluites; ⁶of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the clan of the Carmites. ⁷These are the clans of the Reubenites, and those listed were 43,730. ⁸And the sons of Pallu: Eliab. ⁹The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, chosen from the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord ¹⁰and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a warning. ¹¹But the sons of Korah did not die.

¹²The sons of Simeon according to their clans: of Nemuel, the clan of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the clan of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the clan of the Jachinites; ¹³of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the clan of the Shaulites. ¹⁴These are the clans of the Simeonites, 22,200.

¹⁵The sons of Gad according to their clans: of Zephon, the clan of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the clan of the Haggites; of Shuni, the clan of the Shunites; ¹⁶of Ozni, the clan of the Oznites; of Eri, the clan of the Erites; ¹⁷of Arod, the clan of the Arodites; of Areli, the clan of the Arelites. ¹⁸These are the clans of the sons of Gad as they were listed, 40,500.

¹⁹The sons of Judah were Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰And the sons of Judah according to their clans were: of Shelah, the clan of the Shelanites; of Perez, the clan of the Perezites; of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites. ²¹And the sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the clan of the Hamulites. ²²These are the clans of Judah as they were listed, 76,500.

²³The sons of Issachar according to their clans: of Tola, the clan of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the clan of the Punites; ²⁴of Jashub, the clan of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the clan of the Shimronites. ²⁵These are the clans of Issachar as they were listed, 64,300.

²⁶The sons of Zebulun, according to their clans: of Sered, the clan of the Seredites; of Elon, the clan of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the clan of the Jahleelites. ²⁷These are the clans of the Zebulunites as they were listed, 60,500.

²⁸The sons of Joseph according to their clans: Manasseh and Ephraim. ²⁹The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the clan of the Machirites; and Machir was the father of Gilead; of Gilead, the clan of the Gileadites. ³⁰These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the clan of the Iezerites; of Helek, the clan of the Helekites; ³¹and of Asriel, the clan of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the clan of the Shechemites; ³²and of Shemida, the clan of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the clan of the Hepherites. ³³Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters. And the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ³⁴These are the clans of Manasseh, and those listed were 52,700.

³⁵These are the sons of Ephraim according to their clans: of Shuthelah, the clan of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the clan of the Becherites; of Tahan, the clan of the Tahanites. ³⁶And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the clan of the Eranites. ³⁷These are the clans of the sons of Ephraim as they were listed, 32,500. These are the sons of Joseph according to their clans.

³⁸The sons of Benjamin according to their clans: of Bela, the clan of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the clan of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram, the clan of the Ahiramites; ³⁹of Shephupham, the clan of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the clan of the Huphamites. ⁴⁰And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the clan of the Ardites; of Naaman, the clan of the Naamites. ⁴¹These are the sons of Benjamin according to their clans, and those listed were 45,600.

⁴²These are the sons of Dan according to their clans: of Shuham, the clan of the Shuhamites. These are the clans of Dan according to their clans. ⁴³All the clans of the Shuhamites, as they were listed, were 64,400.

⁴⁴The sons of Asher according to their clans: of Imnah, the clan of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the clan of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the clan of the Beriites. ⁴⁵Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the clan of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the clan of the Malchielites. ⁴⁶And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. ⁴⁷These are the clans of the sons of Asher as they were listed, 53,400.

⁴⁸The sons of Naphtali according to their clans: of Jahzeel, the clan of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the clan of the Gunites; ⁴⁹of Jezer, the clan of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the clan of the Shillemites. ⁵⁰These are the clans of Naphtali according to their clans, and those listed were 45,400.

⁵¹This was the list of the people of Israel, 601,730.

⁵²The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵³“Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. ⁵⁴To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list. ⁵⁵But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. ⁵⁶Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller.”

⁵⁷This was the list of the Levites according to their clans: of Gershon, the clan of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the clan of the Kohathites; of Merari, the clan of the Merarites. ⁵⁸These are the clans of Levi: the clan of the Libnites, the clan of the Hebronites, the clan of the Mahlites, the clan of the Mushites, the clan of the Korahites. And Kohath was the father of Amram. ⁵⁹The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister. ⁶⁰And to Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ⁶¹But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord. ⁶²And those listed were 23,000, every male from a month old and upward. For they were not listed among the people of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the people of Israel.

⁶³These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. ⁶⁴But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. ⁶⁵For the Lord had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Save Me, O God

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David.

¹Save me, O God!

For the waters have come up to my neck.1

²I sink in deep mire,

where there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters,

and the flood sweeps over me.

³I am weary with my crying out;

my throat is parched.

My eyes grow dim

with waiting for my God.

⁴More in number than the hairs of my head

are those who hate me without cause;

mighty are those who would destroy me,

those who attack me with lies.

What I did not steal

must I now restore?

⁵O God, you know my folly;

the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

⁶Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,

O Lord God of hosts;

let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me,

O God of Israel.

⁷For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach,

that dishonor has covered my face.

⁸I have become a stranger to my brothers,

an alien to my mother's sons.

⁹For zeal for your house has consumed me,

and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.

¹⁰When I wept and humbled2 my soul with fasting,

it became my reproach.

¹¹When I made sackcloth my clothing,

I became a byword to them.

¹²I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,

and the drunkards make songs about me.

¹³But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.

At an acceptable time, O God,

in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.

¹⁴Deliver me

from sinking in the mire;

let me be delivered from my enemies

and from the deep waters.

¹⁵Let not the flood sweep over me,

or the deep swallow me up,

or the pit close its mouth over me.

¹⁶Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;

according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.

¹⁷Hide not your face from your servant;

for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.

¹⁸Draw near to my soul, redeem me;

ransom me because of my enemies!

¹⁹You know my reproach,

and my shame and my dishonor;

my foes are all known to you.

²⁰Reproaches have broken my heart,

so that I am in despair.

I looked for pity, but there was none,

and for comforters, but I found none.

²¹They gave me poison for food,

and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

²²Let their own table before them become a snare;

and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.3

²³Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,

and make their loins tremble continually.

²⁴Pour out your indignation upon them,

and let your burning anger overtake them.

²⁵May their camp be a desolation;

let no one dwell in their tents.

²⁶For they persecute him whom you have struck down,

and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.

²⁷Add to them punishment upon punishment;

may they have no acquittal from you.4

²⁸Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;

let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

²⁹But I am afflicted and in pain;

let your salvation, O God, set me on high!

³⁰I will praise the name of God with a song;

I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

³¹This will please the Lord more than an ox

or a bull with horns and hoofs.

³²When the humble see it they will be glad;

you who seek God, let your hearts revive.

³³For the Lord hears the needy

and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

³⁴Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and everything that moves in them.

³⁵For God will save Zion

and build up the cities of Judah,

and people shall dwell there and possess it;

³⁶the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,

and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

¹Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,

from Sela, by way of the desert,

to the mount of the daughter of Zion.

²Like fleeing birds,

like a scattered nest,

so are the daughters of Moab

at the fords of the Arnon.

³“Give counsel;

grant justice;

make your shade like night

at the height of noon;

shelter the outcasts;

do not reveal the fugitive;

⁴let the outcasts of Moab

sojourn among you;

be a shelter to them1

from the destroyer.

When the oppressor is no more,

and destruction has ceased,

and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,

⁵then a throne will be established in steadfast love,

and on it will sit in faithfulness

in the tent of David

one who judges and seeks justice

and is swift to do righteousness.”

⁶We have heard of the pride of Moab—

how proud he is!—

of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;

in his idle boasting he is not right.

⁷Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,

let everyone wail.

Mourn, utterly stricken,

for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.

⁸For the fields of Heshbon languish,

and the vine of Sibmah;

the lords of the nations

have struck down its branches,

which reached to Jazer

and strayed to the desert;

its shoots spread abroad

and passed over the sea.

⁹Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer

for the vine of Sibmah;

I drench you with my tears,

O Heshbon and Elealeh;

for over your summer fruit and your harvest

the shout has ceased.

¹⁰And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field,

and in the vineyards no songs are sung,

no cheers are raised;

no treader treads out wine in the presses;

I have put an end to the shouting.

¹¹Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,

and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.

¹²And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.

¹³This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab in the past. ¹⁴But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.”

Stewards of God's Grace

¹Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh,1 arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, ²so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. ³For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. ⁴With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; ⁵but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

⁷The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. ⁸Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. ⁹Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: ¹¹whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Suffering as a Christian

¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory2 and of God rests upon you. ¹⁵But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. ¹⁶Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. ¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸And

“If the righteous is scarcely saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”3

¹⁹Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.