David Organizes the Levites

¹qWhen David was old and full of days, rhe made Solomon his son king over Israel.

²David1 assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. ³The Levites, sthirty years old and upward, were numbered, and tthe total was u38,000 men. ⁴“Twenty-four thousand of these,” David said,2 v“shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord, 6,000 shall be wofficers and judges, ⁵4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments xthat I have made for praise.” ⁶yAnd David organized them in divisions zcorresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

⁷aThe sons of Gershon3 were Ladan and Shimei. ⁸The sons of Ladan: bJehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. ⁹The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers' houses of Ladan. ¹⁰And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, therefore they became counted as a single father's house.

¹²cThe sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. ¹³dThe sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. eAaron was set apart to dedicate the most holy things, that he and his sons forever should fmake offerings before the Lord and gminister to him and hpronounce blessings in his name forever. ¹⁴But the sons of Moses the iman of God were named among the jtribe of Levi. ¹⁵The ksons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶The sons of Gershom: lShebuel the chief. ¹⁷The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹The msons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰nThe sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second.

²¹oThe sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and pKish. ²²Eleazar died qhaving no sons, but only daughters; their rkinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them. ²³sThe sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

²⁴tThese were the sons of Levi by their fathers' houses, the heads of fathers' houses uas they were listed according to the number of the names of the individuals from vtwenty years old and upward who were to do the work for the service of the house of the Lord. ²⁵For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, whas given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶And so the Levites no longer need xto carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service.” ²⁷For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from vtwenty years old and upward. ²⁸For their duty was to assist the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, having the care of the courts and the chambers, the cleansing of all that is holy, and any work for the service of the house of God. ²⁹Their duty was also to assist with the yshowbread, the zflour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the abaked offering, the boffering mixed with oil, and all cmeasures of quantity or size. ³⁰And they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the Lord, and likewise at evening, ³¹and whenever burnt offerings were offered to the Lord don Sabbaths, enew moons, and feast days, faccording to the number required of them, regularly before the Lord. ³²Thus gthey were to keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary, and to attend the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the hservice of the house of the Lord.

Stewards of God's Grace

¹Since therefore zChrist suffered in the flesh,1 aarm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for bwhoever has suffered in the flesh chas ceased from sin, ²dso as to live for ethe rest of the time in the flesh fno longer for human passions but gfor the will of God. ³For the time that is past hsuffices ifor 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 jdebauchery, and kthey malign you; ⁵but they will give account to him who is ready lto judge the living and the dead. ⁶For this is why mthe 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.

⁷nThe end of all things is at hand; therefore obe self-controlled and sober-minded pfor the sake of your prayers. ⁸Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since qlove covers a multitude of sins. ⁹rShow hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰sAs each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, tas good stewards of God's varied grace: ¹¹whoever speaks, as one who speaks uoracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves vby the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything wGod may be glorified through Jesus Christ. xTo him belong glory and ydominion forever and ever. Amen.

Suffering as a Christian

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

k“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 lentrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Woe to the Oppressors

¹lWoe to those who devise wickedness

and work evil mon their beds!

When the morning dawns, they perform it,

because it is in the power of their hand.

²They covet fields and nseize them,

and houses, and take them away;

they oppress a man and his house,

a man and his inheritance.

³Therefore thus says the Lord:

behold, against othis family I am devising disaster,1

from which you cannot remove your necks,

and you pshall not walk haughtily,

qfor it will be a time of disaster.

⁴In that day rthey shall take up a taunt song against you

and moan bitterly,

and say, “We are utterly ruined;

she changes the portion of my people;

show he removes it from me!

tTo an apostate he allots our fields.”

⁵Therefore you will have none uto cast the line by lot

in the assembly of the Lord.

⁶v“Do not preach”—thus they preach—

w“one should not preach of such things;

xdisgrace will not overtake us.”

⁷Should this be said, O house of Jacob?

vHas the Lord grown impatient?2

Are these his deeds?

Do not my words do good

to him who walks uprightly?

⁸But lately ymy people have risen up as an enemy;

you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly

with no thought of war.3

⁹The women of my people you drive out

from their delightful houses;

from their young children you take away

my splendor forever.

¹⁰zArise and go,

for this is no aplace to rest,

because of buncleanness that destroys

with a grievous destruction.

¹¹If a man should go about and cutter wind and lies,

saying, “I will preach to you dof wine and strong drink,”

he would be the preacher for this people!

¹²I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob;

eI will gather fthe remnant of Israel;

I will set them together

like sheep in a fold,

hlike a flock in its pasture,

a noisy multitude of men.

¹³iHe who opens the breach goes up before them;

they break through and pass the gate,

jgoing out by it.

Their king passes on before them,

kthe Lord at their head.

The Lord's Prayer

¹Now Jesus1 was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, gas John taught his disciples.” ²And he said to them, h“When you pray, say:

i“Father, jhallowed be kyour name.

lYour kingdom come.

³mGive us neach day our daily bread,2

⁴and oforgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And plead us not into temptation.”

⁵And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? ⁸I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything qbecause he is his friend, yet because of his impudence3 he will rise and give him whatever he needs. ⁹And I tell you, rask, and sit will be given to you; tseek, and you will find; uknock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹What father among you, if his son asks for4 a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹²or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, wwho are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father xgive the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

¹⁴yNow he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵But some of them said, “He casts out demons zby Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶while others, ato test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷bBut he, cknowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, dby whom do eyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰But if it is by fthe finger of God that I cast out demons, then gthe kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ²²hbut when one stronger than he attacks him and iovercomes him, he takes away his jarmor in which he trusted and kdivides his spoil. ²³lWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

²⁴m“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through nwaterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And othe last state of that person is worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

²⁷As he said these things, pa woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, q“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ²⁸But he said, r“Blessed rather are those swho hear the word of God and tkeep it!”

The Sign of Jonah

²⁹uWhen the crowds were increasing, he began to say, v“This generation is an evil generation. wIt seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰For as xJonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹yThe queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and zcondemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, asomething greater than Solomon is here. ³²bThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and zcondemn it, for cthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, asomething greater than Jonah is here.

The Light in You

³³d“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ³⁴Your eye is ethe lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is fbad, your body is full of darkness. ³⁵eTherefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. ³⁶If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, gas when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷While Jesus5 was speaking, ha Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ³⁸The Pharisee was astonished to see ithat he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹And the Lord said to him, j“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of kgreed and wickedness. ⁴⁰lYou fools! jDid not he who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹But mgive as alms those things that are within, and behold, neverything is clean for you.

⁴²o“But woe to you Pharisees! For pyou tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect qjustice and rthe love of God. sThese you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ⁴³Woe to you Pharisees! For tyou love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴Woe to you! uFor you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵One of vthe lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ⁴⁶And he said, “Woe to you wlawyers also! For xyou load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ⁴⁷yWoe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ⁴⁸zSo you are witnesses and you aconsent to the deeds of byour fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹Therefore also cthe Wisdom of God said, d‘I will send them eprophets and apostles, fsome of whom they will gkill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰so that hthe blood of all the prophets, shed ifrom the foundation of the world, may be jcharged against this generation, ⁵¹from the blood of kAbel to the blood of lZechariah, who perished between mthe altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be jrequired of this generation. ⁵²Woe to you nlawyers! oFor you have taken away the key of pknowledge. You qdid not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, ⁵⁴rlying in wait for him, sto catch him in something he might say.