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People who make special promises to the Lord
6 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Tell the Israelites this: “A man or a woman may want to make a special promise to the Lord. That will make him or her separate from other people, as a Nazirite.[a] 3 They must not drink wine. They must not drink any alcohol or vinegar. They must not drink the juice of grapes, or eat grapes or raisins. 4 They must not eat the seeds of grapes for all the time that they are Nazirites. They must not even eat the skins of grapes.
5 A person must not cut his hair during the time that he is a Nazirite. He must be different all the time that he is separate for the Lord. He must let the hair on his head grow long. 6 He must not go near a dead body while he is separate for the Lord. 7 His hair shows that he is separate for God. So he must not go near a dead body. He must not go near it even if the dead person is his father, mother, brother or sister. 8 During the time that the person is a Nazirite, they are holy because they belong to the Lord.
9 The Nazirite may be near to a person when that person dies suddenly. Then his head becomes unclean. He must remove all the hair from his head seven days after the person dies. Then he will be clean. 10 On day 8, he must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the door of the Tent of Meeting. He must give them to the priest. 11 The priest must sacrifice one bird as a sin offering and the other bird as a burnt offering. The priest must do that because the Nazirite sinned. He went too near to a dead body. That will make the Nazirite's head clean again on that same day. 12 He must begin his time as a Nazirite again, with a new promise to the Lord. He cannot include the days before he became unclean. He must bring a male lamb that is one year old. That is a guilt offering.
13 He is a Nazirite for a certain time. When that time finishes, the people must bring him to the door of the Tent of Meeting. 14 He must offer to the Lord three animals that have nothing wrong with them. He must offer a young male sheep that is one year old. That is a burnt offering. He must offer a young female sheep that is one year old. That is a sin offering. He must offer a male sheep. That is a friendship offering. 15 And he must bring a basket of bread that people have made without yeast. He must bring cakes that people have made with the best flour and oil. Also, he must bring thin biscuits with oil on them. But they must not have yeast in them either. He must bring the proper grain offerings and drink offerings with them.
16 The priest must offer those things to the Lord. And he must sacrifice the sin offering and the burnt offering. 17 Then the priest must sacrifice the male sheep as a friendship offering to the Lord. He must offer the basket of bread. He must give the grain offering and the drink offering with it.
18 Then the Nazirite must stand at the place where people go into the Tent of Meeting. He must remove all the hair from his head. He must put his hair into the same fire where the priest has cooked the friendship offering.
19 When the male sheep is cooked, the priest must take its shoulder. Also, he must take one cake and one thin biscuit from the basket. The cake and the biscuit must not have yeast in them. The priest must put these things into the hands of the Nazirite who has removed the hair from his head. 20 The Nazirite must give those things back to the priest. The priest must lift them up to the Lord as a special gift. They are a special gift for the priest. Also, the priest can eat the front part of the sheep and its back leg. After that, the Nazirite can drink wine.”
21 Those are the rules about Nazirites. Also, the Nazirite may give anything else that he can give. And he must bring any other gift that he promised to the Lord.’
The priests' blessing
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 ‘Tell Aaron and his sons to use these words when they ask me to bless the Israelites.
24 They must say:
“I pray that the Lord will bless you.
I pray that he will keep you safe.
25 I pray that the Lord will smile at you.
And I pray that he will be very kind to you.
26 I pray that the Lord will be pleased with you.
And I pray that he will give you peace in your minds.”
27 Aaron and his sons must use my name to bless the Israelites. If they do that, I will certainly bless them.’
Offerings for the special tent
7 When Moses had put up God's Tent, he poured special oil on it. He also poured it on the things in the tent, the altar and all the tools. This showed that all these things were special for God to use. 2 Then the 12 leaders of Israel's tribes came to God's Tent. They brought gifts. These men were the leaders who had helped to count the people. 3 They brought their gifts to the Lord. They brought six carts, one cart for every two leaders. They brought 12 oxen. That was one ox for each leader. They brought it all to God's Tent.
4 The Lord said to Moses, 5 ‘Accept these gifts from the leaders. Give them to the Levites. All the Levites can use them for their work at the Tent of Meeting.’
6 So Moses took the carts and the oxen and he gave them to the Levites. 7 He gave two carts and four oxen to the descendants of Gershon. 8 He gave four carts and eight oxen to the descendants of Merari for their work. Ithamar was the son of Aaron. He had to tell the descendants of Merari the work that they should do. 9 But the descendants of Kohath had to carry everything that was special on their shoulders. So Moses did not give any carts or oxen to the descendants of Kohath.
10 When Moses poured special oil on the altar, the leaders also brought gifts. They offered their gifts to God in front of the altar. 11 The Lord said to Moses: ‘One leader must bring a gift to the altar every day. That is how they will make the altar special for me.’ 12 On the first day, Nahshon, the son of Amminadab from the tribe of Judah brought his gift. 13 He brought a plate and a bowl that someone had made from silver. The plate weighed 130 shekels. The bowl weighed 70 shekels. They had weighed the silver by the shekel of God's Holy Tent. Both of those were full of good flour that he had mixed with oil. They were for a grain offering. 14 He brought one small dish that someone had made from gold. It weighed ten shekels and it was full of incense. 15 He brought one young bull, one male sheep and one male lamb that was less than one year old. Those animals were for a burnt offering. 16 He brought one male goat for a sin offering. 17 He also brought two oxen, five male sheep, five male goats, and five male lambs that were less than one year old. Those animals were for the friendship offerings. That was the gift of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab.
18 On day 2, Nethanel, the son of Zuar, from the tribe of Issachar brought his gift. 19 He brought a plate and a bowl that someone had made from silver. The plate weighed 130 shekels. The bowl weighed 70 shekels. They had weighed the silver by the shekel of God's Holy Tent. Both of those were full of good flour that he had mixed with oil. They were for a grain offering. 20 He brought one small dish that someone had made from gold. It weighed ten shekels and it was full of incense. 21 He brought one young bull, one male sheep and one male lamb that was less than one year old. Those animals were for a burnt offering. 22 He brought one male goat for a sin offering. 23 He also brought two oxen, five male sheep, five male goats, and five male lambs that were less than one year old. Those animals were for the friendship offerings. That was the gift of Nethanel, the son of Zuar.
24 On day 3, Eliab, the son of Helon, from the tribe of Zebulun brought his gift. 25 He brought a plate and a bowl that someone had made from silver. The plate weighed 130 shekels. The bowl weighed 70 shekels. They had weighed the silver by the shekel of God's Holy Tent. Both of those were full of good flour that he had mixed with oil. They were for a grain offering. 26 He brought one small dish that someone had made from gold. It weighed ten shekels and it was full of incense. 27 He brought one young bull, one male sheep and one male lamb that was less than one year old. Those animals were for a burnt offering. 28 He brought one male goat for a sin offering. 29 He also brought two oxen, five male sheep, five male goats, and five male lambs that were less than one year old. Those animals were for the friendship offerings. That was the gift of Eliab, the son of Helon.
30 On day 4, Elizur, the son of Shedeur, from the tribe of Reuben brought his gift. 31 He brought a plate and a bowl that someone had made from silver. The plate weighed 130 shekels. The bowl weighed 70 shekels. They had weighed the silver by the shekel of God's Holy Tent. Both of those were full of good flour that he had mixed with oil. They were for a grain offering. 32 He brought one small dish that someone had made from gold. It weighed ten shekels and it was full of incense. 33 He brought one young bull, one male sheep and one male lamb that was less than one year old. Those animals were for a burnt offering. 34 He brought one male goat for a sin offering. 35 He also brought two oxen, five male sheep, five male goats, and five male lambs that were less than one year old. Those animals were for the friendship offerings. That was the gift of Elizur, the son of Shedeur.
36 On day 5, Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, from the tribe of Simeon brought his gift. 37 He brought a plate and a bowl that someone had made from silver. The plate weighed 130 shekels. The bowl weighed 70 shekels. They had weighed the silver by the shekel of God's Holy Tent. Both of those were full of good flour that he had mixed with oil. They were for a grain offering. 38 He brought one small dish that someone had made from gold. It weighed ten shekels and it was full of incense. 39 He brought one young bull, one male sheep and one male lamb that was less than one year old. Those animals were for a burnt offering. 40 He brought one male goat for a sin offering. 41 He also brought two oxen, five male sheep, five male goats, and five male lambs that were less than one year old. Those animals were for the friendship offerings. That was the gift of Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai.
42 On day 6, Eliasaph, the son of Deuel, from the tribe of Gad brought his gift. 43 He brought a plate and a bowl that someone had made from silver. The plate weighed 130 shekels. The bowl weighed 70 shekels. They had weighed the silver by the shekel of God's Holy Tent. Both of those were full of good flour that he had mixed with oil. They were for a grain offering. 44 He brought one small dish that someone had made from gold. It weighed ten shekels and it was full of incense. 45 He brought one young bull, one male sheep and one male lamb that was less than one year old. Those animals were for a burnt offering. 46 He brought one male goat for a sin offering. 47 He also brought two oxen, five male sheep, five male goats, and five male lambs that were less than one year old. Those animals were for the friendship offerings. That was the gift of Eliasaph, the son of Deuel.
48 On day 7, Elishama, the son of Ammihud, from the tribe of Ephraim brought his gift. 49 He brought a plate and a bowl that someone had made from silver. The plate weighed 130 shekels. The bowl weighed 70 shekels. They had weighed the silver by the shekel of God's Holy Tent. Both of those were full of good flour that he had mixed with oil. They were for a grain offering. 50 He brought one small dish that someone had made from gold. It weighed ten shekels and it was full of incense. 51 He brought one young bull, one male sheep and one male lamb that was less than one year old. Those animals were for a burnt offering. 52 He brought one male goat for a sin offering. 53 He also brought two oxen, five male sheep, five male goats, and five male lambs that were less than one year old. Those animals were for the friendship offerings. That was the gift of Elishama, the son of Ammihud.
54 On day 8, Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, from the tribe of Manasseh brought his gift. 55 He brought a plate and a bowl that someone had made from silver. The plate weighed 130 shekels. The bowl weighed 70 shekels. They had weighed the silver by the shekel of God's Holy Tent. Both of those were full of good flour that he had mixed with oil. They were for a grain offering. 56 He brought one small dish that someone had made from gold. It weighed ten shekels and it was full of incense. 57 He brought one young bull, one male sheep and one male lamb that was less than one year old. Those animals were for a burnt offering. 58 He brought one male goat for a sin offering. 59 He also brought two oxen, five male sheep, five male goats, and five male lambs that were less than one year old. Those animals were for the friendship offerings. That was the gift of Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur.
60 On day 9, Abidan, the son of Gideoni, from the tribe of Benjamin brought his gift. 61 He brought a plate and a bowl that someone had made from silver. The plate weighed 130 shekels. The bowl weighed 70 shekels. They had weighed the silver by the shekel of God's Holy Tent. Both of those were full of good flour that he had mixed with oil. They were for a grain offering. 62 He brought one small dish that someone had made from gold. It weighed ten shekels and it was full of incense. 63 He brought one young bull, one male sheep and one male lamb that was less than one year old. Those animals were for a burnt offering. 64 He brought one male goat for a sin offering. 65 He also brought two oxen, five male sheep, five male goats, and five male lambs that were less than one year old. Those animals were for the friendship offerings. That was the gift of Abidan, the son of Gideoni.
66 On day 10, Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, from the tribe of Dan brought his gift. 67 He brought a plate and a bowl that someone had made from silver. The plate weighed 130 shekels. The bowl weighed 70 shekels. They had weighed the silver by the shekel of God's Holy Tent. Both of those were full of good flour that he had mixed with oil. They were for a grain offering. 68 He brought one small dish that someone had made from gold. It weighed ten shekels and it was full of incense. 69 He brought one young bull, one male sheep and one male lamb that was less than one year old. Those animals were for a burnt offering. 70 He brought one male goat for a sin offering. 71 He also brought two oxen, five male sheep, five male goats, and five male lambs that were less than one year old. Those animals were for the friendship offerings. That was the gift of Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai.
72 On day 11, Pagiel, the son of Ocran, from the tribe of Asher brought his gift. 73 He brought a plate and a bowl that someone had made from silver. The plate weighed 130 shekels. The bowl weighed 70 shekels. They had weighed the silver by the shekel of God's Holy Tent. Both of those were full of good flour that he had mixed with oil. They were for a grain offering. 74 He brought one small dish that someone had made from gold. It weighed ten shekels and it was full of incense. 75 He brought one young bull, one male sheep and one male lamb that was less than one year old. Those animals were for a burnt offering. 76 He brought one male goat for a sin offering. 77 He also brought two oxen, five male sheep, five male goats, and five male lambs that were less than one year old. Those animals were for the friendship offerings. That was the gift of Pagiel, the son of Ocran.
78 On day 12, Ahira, the son of Enan, from the tribe of Naphtali brought his gift. 79 He brought a plate and a bowl that someone had made from silver. The plate weighed 130 shekels. The bowl weighed 70 shekels. They had weighed the silver by the shekel of God's Holy Tent. Both of those were full of good flour that he had mixed with oil. They were for a grain offering. 80 He brought one small dish that someone had made from gold. It weighed ten shekels and it was full of incense. 81 He brought one young bull, one male sheep and one male lamb that was less than one year old. Those animals were for a burnt offering. 82 He brought one male goat for a sin offering. 83 He also brought two oxen, five male sheep, five male goats, and five male lambs that were less than one year old. Those animals were for the friendship offerings. That was the gift of Ahira, the son of Enan.
84 The leaders of Israel brought these gifts to the altar when Moses poured special oil on it. They brought all the gifts in the list below. They brought 12 plates and 12 bowls that people had made from silver. 85 Each plate weighed 130 shekels and each bowl weighed 70 shekels. All the silver weighed 2,400 shekels. That was the shekel of God's Holy Tent. 86 They brought 12 small dishes that people had made from gold. Each small dish weighed ten shekels. They were each full of incense. All the gold weighed 120 shekels. 87 All the animals for the burnt offering were 12 young bulls, 12 male sheep and 12 male lambs that were one year old. They also brought the proper grain offerings with those animals. And they brought 12 male goats for a sin offering. 88 There were also another 24 oxen, 60 male sheep, 60 male goats and 60 male lambs. The male lambs were one year old. Those animals were for the friendship offering. That was the offering when they made the altar special for God. That was after Moses had poured special oil on it.
89 When Moses went into the Tent of Meeting, to speak with the Lord, the Lord did speak to him. And Moses heard the Lord. The sound came from above the lid which was on the top of the Covenant Box. On the lid, there were images of two cherubs. The sound came from between the cherubs. That was how the Lord spoke to Moses.
38 As Jesus was teaching the people, he said, ‘Be careful not to do the same as the teachers of God's Law. They want people to think that they are important. So they walk about in beautiful long clothes. They like people to praise them in the market place. 39 They want to sit in the best seats in the meeting places. They choose the most important places at special meals. 40 But these men take things away from women after their husbands have died, even their houses. Then they pray for a long time so that other people will praise them. Because they do these things, God will punish those men much more than other people.’
Jesus talks about people who give to God
41 Many people were giving their gifts for the temple. There was a box for money there. People threw their coins into it. Jesus sat near the box and he watched them. Many rich people put a lot of money into the box. 42 But then a woman came there. Her husband had died and she was very poor. She put two small coins that had only a little value into the box.
43 Jesus asked his disciples to come to him. He said to them, ‘I tell you this: This poor woman has put a better gift into the box than all the other people have put in there. 44 All those rich people have plenty of money. They only put a small part of that into the box. But this woman has almost nothing. She put in all the money that she had. That was all the money that she needed to live.’
Jesus talks about future events
13 Then Jesus left the temple. While he was leaving, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Teacher, look at these great buildings! The stones in the walls of God's House are really great!’
2 Jesus said to him, ‘Yes, look at all these large buildings! But I tell you, enemies will completely destroy them. Not even one stone will remain on top of another stone.’
3 After that, Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. He could look across the valley at the temple. Peter, James, John and Andrew went together to talk with him. The crowd was not there. 4 They said to Jesus, ‘Please tell us when all these things will happen. What will show us that they will soon happen?’
5 Jesus began to say to them, ‘Be careful! Some people will tell you things that are not true. Do not believe those people. 6 Many people will say that they have come on my behalf. They will say, “I am the Messiah!” and they will deceive many people. 7 You will hear about wars. And there will be reports about wars in other places. Do not be afraid. Those things must happen, but that is not yet the end of everything. 8 People in one country will attack the people in another country. Kings and their armies will fight against other kings and their armies. The ground will shake in many different places. In some places, people will be hungry, with no food. Those things are like the first pains that a mother has before her baby is born.
9 So be careful! People will be against you. They will take you to stand in front of their leaders. They will punish you with whips in their meeting places. They will take you to stand in front of kings and rulers. This will happen because you are my disciples. You will tell them the good news about me. 10 Yes, you must first tell the good news about me to people in every country. 11 When people take you to their leaders to show that you have done bad things, do not be afraid. Do not worry about what you should say. You should say the words that God gives you at that time. You will not be speaking your own words. Those words will come from the Holy Spirit.
12 At that time, a man will let people kill his own brother. A father will let people kill his own child. Children will be against their parents. They will even ask people to kill their parents. 13 All people will hate you because you are my disciples. But God will save the person who remains strong until the end.
The sons of Korah wrote this psalm for the music leader.
Riches cannot save you
49 Listen to this, people from every nation.
Yes, listen carefully,
everyone who lives in this world!
2 All people must listen, whoever you are,
whether you are rich people or poor people.
3 I will speak wise words to you.
When you know my thoughts,
you will understand things better.
4 I have studied proverbs.
I explain what they mean
as I make music on my harp.
5 When trouble comes,
why am I afraid?
When cruel people are all round me,
and they want to hurt me,
why am I afraid?
6 Those people think that their money will keep them safe.
They are proud about their riches.
7 Nobody can pay the price to save another person.
Nobody can pay God the price for their life.
8 A human life costs too much to buy it back.
Nobody could ever pay enough.
9 So nobody can live for ever.
Everyone goes to their grave one day.
10 Surely you see that even wise people die,
in the way that fools and stupid people also die.
Then their money will belong to someone else.
11 Their graves will be their homes for ever.
They had their own land,
which was called by their name,
12 but people do not live for ever,
even if they are very rich.
They will die, just like the animals.
13 The same thing will happen to fools,
and to those who copy their way of life.
Selah.
14 They will follow one another like sheep.
Death will be their shepherd
that leads them into their graves.
But when the day arrives,
righteous people will rule over them.
They will no longer live in their great houses,
but death will destroy their bodies in their graves.
15 But God will save my life from the power of death.
He will take me to a safe place with him.
Selah.
16 If somebody becomes rich
and he has more and more things,
do not be afraid![a]
17 He cannot take anything with him when he dies.
His riches cannot go with him into death.
18 While he lived, he was happy with his life.
He thought, ‘People will praise me,
because I am rich.’
19 But he will join his ancestors in death.
He will never see the light of day again.
20 Rich people do not always understand the truth.
They will die, just like the animals.
27 If you respect and obey the Lord, you will live longer.
But wicked people will die before they are old.
28 What good people hope to receive causes them to be happy.
But wicked people never receive what they hope for.
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