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All night long the people cried out in distress.
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They complained against Moses and Aaron, and said, "It would have been better to die in Egypt or even here in the wilderness!
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Why is the LORD taking us into that land? We will be killed in battle, and our wives and children will be captured. Wouldn't it be better to go back to Egypt?"
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So they said to one another, "Let's choose a leader and go back to Egypt!"
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Then Moses and Aaron bowed to the ground in front of all the people.
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And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, two of the spies, tore their clothes in sorrow
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and said to the people, "The land we explored is an excellent land.
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If the LORD is pleased with us, he will take us there and give us that rich and fertile land.
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Do not rebel against the LORD and don't be afraid of the people who live there. We will conquer them easily. The LORD is with us and has defeated the gods who protected them; so don't be afraid."
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The whole community was threatening to stone them to death, but suddenly the people saw the dazzling light of the LORD's presence appear over the Tent.
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The LORD said to Moses, "How much longer will these people reject me? How much longer will they refuse to trust in me, even though I have performed so many miracles among them?
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I will send an epidemic and destroy them, but I will make you the father of a nation that is larger and more powerful than they are!"
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But Moses said to the LORD, "You brought these people out of Egypt by your power. When the Egyptians hear what you have done to your people,
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they will tell it to the people who live in this land. These people have already heard that you, LORD, are with us, that you appear in plain sight when your cloud stops over us, and that you go before us in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
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Now if you kill all your people, the nations who have heard of your fame will say
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that you killed your people in the wilderness because you were not able to bring them into the land you promised to give them.
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So now, LORD, I pray, show us your power and do what you promised when you said,
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'I, the LORD, am not easily angered, and I show great love and faithfulness and forgive sin and rebellion. Yet I will not fail to punish children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for the sins of their parents.'
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And now, LORD, according to the greatness of your unchanging love, forgive, I pray, the sin of these people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt."
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The LORD answered, "I will forgive them, as you have asked.
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But I promise that as surely as I live and as surely as my presence fills the earth,
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none of these people will live to enter that land. They have seen the dazzling light of my presence and the miracles that I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, but they have tried my patience over and over again and have refused to obey me.
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They will never enter the land which I promised to their ancestors. None of those who have rejected me will ever enter it.
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But because my servant Caleb has a different attitude and has remained loyal to me, I will bring him into the land which he explored, and his descendants will possess the land
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in whose valleys the Amalekites and the Canaanites now live. Turn back tomorrow and go into the wilderness in the direction of the Gulf of Aqaba."
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The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
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"How much longer are these wicked people going to complain against me? I have heard enough of these complaints!
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Now give them this answer: 'I swear that as surely as I live, I will do to you just what you have asked. I, the LORD, have spoken.
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You will die and your corpses will be scattered across this wilderness. Because you have complained against me, none of you over twenty years of age will enter that land.
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I promised to let you live there, but not one of you will, except Caleb and Joshua.
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You said that your children would be captured, but I will bring them into the land that you rejected, and it will be their home.
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You will die here in this wilderness.
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Your children will wander in the wilderness for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last one of you dies.
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You will suffer the consequences of your sin for forty years, one year for each of the forty days you spent exploring the land. You will know what it means to have me against you!
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I swear that I will do this to you wicked people who have gathered together against me. Here in the wilderness every one of you will die. I, the LORD, have spoken.' "
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The men Moses had sent to explore the land brought back a false report which caused the people to complain against the LORD. And so the LORD struck them with a disease, and they died.
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Of the twelve spies only Joshua and Caleb survived.
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When Moses told the Israelites what the LORD had said, they mourned bitterly.
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Early the next morning they started out to invade the hill country, saying, "Now we are ready to go to the place which the LORD told us about. We admit that we have sinned."
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But Moses said, "Then why are you disobeying the LORD now? You will not succeed!
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Don't go. The LORD is not with you, and your enemies will defeat you.
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When you face the Amalekites and the Canaanites, you will die in battle; the LORD will not be with you, because you have refused to follow him."
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Yet they still dared to go up into the hill country, even though neither the LORD's Covenant Box nor Moses left the camp.
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Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived there attacked and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hormah.
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the following regulations for the people of Israel to observe in the land that he was going to give them.
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A bull, a ram, a sheep, or a goat may be presented to the LORD as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice in fulfillment of a vow or as a freewill offering or as an offering at your regular religious festivals; the odor of these food offerings is pleasing to the LORD.
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Whoever presents a sheep or a goat as a burnt offering to the LORD is to bring with each animal 2 pounds of flour mixed with 2 pints of olive oil as a grain offering, together with 2 pints of wine.
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When a ram is offered, 4 pounds of flour mixed with 3 pints of olive oil are to be presented as a grain offering,
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together with 3 pints of wine. The odor of these sacrifices is pleasing to the LORD.
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When a bull is offered to the LORD as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice in fulfillment of a vow or as a fellowship offering,
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a grain offering of 6 pounds of flour mixed with 4 pints of olive oil is to be presented,
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together with 4 pints of wine. The odor of this sacrifice is pleasing to the LORD.
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That is what shall be offered with each bull, ram, sheep, or goat.
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When more than one animal is offered, the accompanying offering is to be increased proportionately.
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All native Israelites are to do this when they present a food offering, an odor pleasing to the LORD.
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And if at any time foreigners living among you, whether on a temporary or a permanent basis, make a food offering, an odor that pleases the LORD, they are to observe the same regulations.
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For all time to come, the same rules are binding on you and on the foreigners who live among you. You and they are alike in the LORD's sight;
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the same laws and regulations apply to you and to them.
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the following regulations for the people of Israel to observe in the land that he was going to give them.
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When any food produced there is eaten, some of it is to be set aside as a special contribution to the LORD.
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When you bake bread, the first loaf of the first bread made from the new grain is to be presented as a special contribution to the LORD. This is to be presented in the same way as the special contribution you make from the grain you thresh.
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For all time to come, this special gift is to be given to the LORD from the bread you bake.
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But suppose someone unintentionally fails to keep some of these regulations which the LORD has given Moses.
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And suppose that in the future the community fails to do everything that the LORD commanded through Moses.
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If the mistake was made because of the ignorance of the community, they are to offer a bull as a burnt offering, an odor that pleases the LORD, with the proper grain offering and wine offering. In addition, they are to offer a male goat as a sin offering.
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The priest shall perform the ritual of purification for the community, and they will be forgiven, because the mistake was unintentional and they brought their sin offering as a food offering to the LORD.
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The whole community of Israel and the foreigners living among them will be forgiven, because everyone was involved in the mistake.
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If any of you sin unintentionally, you are to offer a one-year-old female goat as a sin offering.
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At the altar the priest shall perform the ritual of purification to purify you from your sin, and you will be forgiven.
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The same regulation applies to all who unintentionally commit a sin, whether they are native Israelites or resident foreigners.
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But any who sin deliberately, whether they are natives or foreigners, are guilty of treating the LORD with contempt, and they shall be put to death,
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because they have rejected what the LORD said and have deliberately broken one of his commands. They are responsible for their own death.
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Once, while the Israelites were still in the wilderness, a man was found gathering firewood on the Sabbath.
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He was taken to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community,
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and was put under guard, because it was not clear what should be done with him.
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Then the LORD said to Moses, "The man must be put to death; the whole community is to stone him to death outside the camp."
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So the whole community took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD had commanded.
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The LORD commanded Moses
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to say to the people of Israel: "Make tassels on the corners of your garments and put a blue cord on each tassel. You are to do this for all time to come.
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The tassels will serve as reminders, and each time you see them you will remember all my commands and obey them; then you will not turn away from me and follow your own wishes and desires.
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The tassels will remind you to keep all my commands, and you will belong completely to me.
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I am the LORD your God; I brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD."
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Korah son of Izhar, from the Levite clan of Kohath, rebelled against the leadership of Moses. He was joined by three members of the tribe of Reuben---Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth---and by 250 other Israelites, well-known leaders chosen by the community.
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They assembled before Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! All the members of the community belong to the LORD, and the LORD is with all of us. Why, then, Moses, do you set yourself above the LORD's community?"
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When Moses heard this, he threw himself on the ground and prayed.
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Then he said to Korah and his followers, "Tomorrow morning the LORD will show us who belongs to him; he will let the one who belongs to him, that is, the one he has chosen, approach him at the altar.
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Tomorrow morning you and your followers take fire pans, put live coals and incense on them, and take them to the altar. Then we will see which of us the LORD has chosen. You Levites are the ones who have gone too far!"
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Moses continued to speak to Korah. "Listen, you Levites!
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Do you consider it a small matter that the God of Israel has set you apart from the rest of the community, so that you can approach him, perform your service in the LORD's Tent, and minister to the community and serve them?
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He has let you and all the other Levites have this honor---and now you are trying to get the priesthood too!
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When you complain against Aaron, it is really against the LORD that you and your followers are rebelling."
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Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, but they said, "We will not come!
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Isn't it enough that you have brought us out of the fertile land of Egypt to kill us here in the wilderness? Do you also have to lord it over us?
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You certainly have not brought us into a fertile land or given us fields and vineyards as our possession, and now you are trying to deceive us. We will not come!"
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Moses became angry and said to the LORD, "Do not accept any offerings these men bring. I have not wronged any of them; I have not even taken one of their donkeys."
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Moses said to Korah, "Tomorrow you and your 250 followers must come to the Tent of the LORD's presence; Aaron will also be there.
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Each of you will take his fire pan, put incense on it, and then present it at the altar."
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So they each took their fire pans, put live coals and incense on them, and stood at the entrance of the Tent with Moses and Aaron.
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Then Korah gathered the whole community, and they stood facing Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the Tent. Suddenly the dazzling light of the LORD's presence appeared to the whole community,
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and the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
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"Move back from these people, and I will destroy them immediately."
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But Moses and Aaron bowed down with their faces to the ground and said, "O God, you are the source of all life. When one of us sins, do you become angry with the whole community?"
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The LORD said to Moses,
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"Tell the people to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram."
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Then Moses, accompanied by the leaders of Israel, went to Dathan and Abiram.
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He said to the people, "Get away from the tents of these wicked men and don't touch anything that belongs to them. Otherwise, you will be wiped out with them for all their sins."
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So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing at the entrance of their tents, with their wives and children.
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Moses said to the people, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it is not by my own choice that I have done them.
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If these men die a natural death without some punishment from God, then the LORD did not send me.
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But if the LORD does something unheard of, and the earth opens up and swallows them with all they own, so that they go down alive to the world of the dead, you will know that these men have rejected the LORD."
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As soon as he had finished speaking, the ground under Dathan and Abiram split open
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and swallowed them and their families, together with all of Korah's followers and their possessions.
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So they went down alive to the world of the dead, with their possessions. The earth closed over them, and they vanished.
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All the people of Israel who were there fled when they heard their cry. They shouted, "Run! The earth might swallow us too!"
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Then the LORD sent a fire that blazed out and burned up the 250 men who had presented the incense.
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Then the LORD said to Moses,
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"Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the bronze fire pans from the remains of those who have been burned, and scatter the coals from the fire pans somewhere else, because the fire pans are holy.
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They became holy when they were presented at the LORD's altar. So take the fire pans of these who were put to death for their sin, beat them into thin plates, and make a covering for the altar. It will be a warning to the people of Israel."
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So Eleazar the priest took the fire pans and had them beaten into thin plates to make a covering for the altar.
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This was a warning to the Israelites that no one who was not a descendant of Aaron should come to the altar to burn incense for the LORD. Otherwise he would be destroyed like Korah and his men. All this was done as the LORD had commanded Eleazar through Moses.
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The next day the whole community complained against Moses and Aaron and said, "You have killed some of the LORD's people."
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After they had all gathered to protest to Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tent and saw that the cloud was covering it and that the dazzling light of the LORD's presence had appeared.
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Moses and Aaron went and stood in front of the Tent,
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and the LORD said to Moses,
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"Move back from these people, and I will destroy them on the spot!" The two of them bowed down with their faces to the ground,
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and Moses said to Aaron, "Take your fire pan, put live coals from the altar in it, and put some incense on the coals. Then hurry with it to the people and perform the ritual of purification for them. Hurry! The LORD's anger has already broken out and an epidemic has already begun."
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Aaron obeyed, took his fire pan and ran into the middle of the assembled people. When he saw that the plague had already begun, he put the incense on the coals and performed the ritual of purification for the people.
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This stopped the plague, and he was left standing between the living and the dead.
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The number of people who died was 14,700, not counting those who died in Korah's rebellion.
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When the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tent.
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Then Jesus went back to the synagogue, where there was a man who had a paralyzed hand.
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Some people were there who wanted to accuse Jesus of doing wrong; so they watched him closely to see whether he would cure the man on the Sabbath.
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Jesus said to the man, "Come up here to the front."
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Then he asked the people, "What does our Law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To help or to harm? To save someone's life or to destroy it?" But they did not say a thing.
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Jesus was angry as he looked around at them, but at the same time he felt sorry for them, because they were so stubborn and wrong. Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and it became well again.
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So the Pharisees left the synagogue and met at once with some members of Herod's party, and they made plans to kill Jesus.
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Jesus and his disciples went away to Lake Galilee, and a large crowd followed him. They had come from Galilee, from Judea,
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from Jerusalem, from the territory of Idumea, from the territory on the east side of the Jordan, and from the region around the cities of Tyre and Sidon. All these people came to Jesus because they had heard of the things he was doing.
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The crowd was so large that Jesus told his disciples to get a boat ready for him, so that the people would not crush him.
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He had healed many people, and all the sick kept pushing their way to him in order to touch him.
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And whenever the people who had evil spirits in them saw him, they would fall down before him and scream, "You are the Son of God!"
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Jesus sternly ordered the evil spirits not to tell anyone who he was.
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Then Jesus went up a hill and called to himself the men he wanted. They came to him,
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and he chose twelve, whom he named apostles. "I have chosen you to be with me," he told them. "I will also send you out to preach,
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and you will have authority to drive out demons."
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These are the twelve he chose: Simon (Jesus gave him the name Peter);
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James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee (Jesus gave them the name Boanerges, which means "Men of Thunder");
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Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Patriot,
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and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.
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Then Jesus went home. Again such a large crowd gathered that Jesus and his disciples had no time to eat.
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When his family heard about it, they set out to take charge of him, because people were saying, "He's gone mad!"
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Some teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem were saying, "He has Beelzebul in him! It is the chief of the demons who gives him the power to drive them out."
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So Jesus called them to him and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan?
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If a country divides itself into groups which fight each other, that country will fall apart.
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If a family divides itself into groups which fight each other, that family will fall apart.
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So if Satan's kingdom divides into groups, it cannot last, but will fall apart and come to an end.
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"No one can break into a strong man's house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house.
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"I assure you that people can be forgiven all their sins and all the evil things they may say.
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But whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, because he has committed an eternal sin."
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(Jesus said this because some people were saying, "He has an evil spirit in him.")
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Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside the house and sent in a message, asking for him.
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A crowd was sitting around Jesus, and they said to him, "Look, your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, and they want you."
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Jesus answered, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"
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He looked at the people sitting around him and said, "Look! Here are my mother and my brothers!
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Whoever does what God wants is my brother, my sister, my mother."
