Calling, Character, and Consecration

1. Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2. “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, 3. from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter into the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting. 4. “This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting, the most holy things. 5. When the camp moves forward, Aaron shall go in, and his sons, and they shall take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it, 6. and shall put a covering of sealskin on it, and shall spread over it a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7. “On the table of show bread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the spoons, the bowls, and the cups with which to pour out; and the continual bread shall be on it. 8. They shall spread on them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles. 9. “They shall take a blue cloth, and cover the lamp stand of the light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuff dishes, and all its oil vessels, with which they minister to it. 10. They shall put it and all its vessels within a covering of sealskin, and shall put it on the frame. 11. “On the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles. 12. “They shall take all the vessels of ministry, with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the frame. 13. “They shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth on it. 14. They shall put on it all its vessels, with which they minister about it, the fire pans, the meat hooks, the shovels, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of sealskin, and put in its poles. 15. “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary, and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp moves forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it: but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting. 16. “The duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the continual meal offering, and the anointing oil, the requirements of all the tabernacle, and of all that is in it, the sanctuary, and its furnishings.” 17. Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 18. “Don’t cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; 19. but thus do to them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them everyone to his service and to his burden; 20. but they shall not go in to see the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die.” 21. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 22. “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses, by their families; 23. you shall count them from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old; all who enter in to wait on the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting. 24. “This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens: 25. they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, and the covering of sealskin that is above on it, and the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting, 26. and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and whatever shall be done with them. They shall serve in there. 27. At the commandment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burden, and in all their service; and you shall appoint their duty to them in all their responsibilities. 28. This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the Tent of Meeting: and their duty shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29. “As for the sons of Merari, you shall count them by their families, by their fathers’ houses; 30. you shall count them from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who enters on the service, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting. 31. This is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, 32. and the pillars of the court around it, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name you shall appoint the instruments of the duty of their burden. 33. This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the Tent of Meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 34. Moses and Aaron and the princes of the congregation counted the sons of the Kohathites by their families, and by their fathers’ houses, 35. from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting. 36. Those who were counted of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred fifty. 37. These are those who were counted of the families of the Kohathites, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses. 38. Those who were counted of the sons of Gershon, their families, and by their fathers’ houses, 39. from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting, 40. even those who were counted of them, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, were two thousand six hundred thirty. 41. These are those who were counted of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of Yahweh. 42. Those who were counted of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, 43. from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting, 44. even those who were counted of them by their families, were three thousand two hundred. 45. These are those who were counted of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses. 46. All those who were counted of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel counted, by their families, and by their fathers’ houses, 47. from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered in to do the work of service, and the work of bearing burdens in the Tent of Meeting, 48. even those who were counted of them, were eight thousand five hundred eighty. 49. According to the commandment of Yahweh they were counted by Moses, everyone according to his service, and according to his burden. Thus were they counted by him, as Yahweh commanded Moses. 1. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2. “Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and everyone who has an issue, and whoever is unclean by the dead. 3. Both you shall put male and female outside of the camp; that they not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.” 4. The children of Israel did so, and put them outside of the camp; as Yahweh spoke to Moses, so did the children of Israel. 5. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 6. “Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against Yahweh, and that soul is guilty; 7. then he shall confess his sin which he has done, and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him in respect of whom he has been guilty. 8. But if the man has no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made to Yahweh shall be the priest’s; besides the ram of the atonement, by which atonement shall be made for him. 9. Every heave offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they present to the priest, shall be his. 10. Every man’s holy things shall be his: whatever any man gives the priest, it shall be his.’” 11. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 12. “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray, and is unfaithful to him, 13. and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and this is kept concealed, and she is defiled, and there is no witness against her, and she isn’t taken in the act; 14. and the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she is defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she isn’t defiled: 15. then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her offering for her: one tenth of an ephah of barley meal. He shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to memory. 16. The priest shall bring her near, and set her before Yahweh; 17. and the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water. 18. The priest shall set the woman before Yahweh, and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose, and put the meal offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal offering of jealousy. The priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that brings a curse. 19. The priest shall cause her to swear, and shall tell the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you haven’t gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse. 20. But if you have gone astray, being under your husband, and if you are defiled, and some man has lain with you besides your husband:” 21. then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall tell the woman, “Yahweh make you a curse and an oath among your people, when Yahweh allows your thigh to fall away, and your body to swell; 22. and this water that brings a curse will go into your bowels, and make your body swell, and your thigh fall away.” The woman shall say, “Amen, Amen.” 23. “‘The priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness. 24. He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causes the curse; and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter. 25. The priest shall take the meal offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the meal offering before Yahweh, and bring it to the altar. 26. The priest shall take a handful of the meal offering, as its memorial, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. 27. When he has made her drink the water, then it shall happen, if she is defiled, and has committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causes the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her body will swell, and her thigh will fall away: and the woman will be a curse among her people. 28. If the woman isn’t defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive offspring. 29. “‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goes astray, and is defiled; 30. or when the spirit of jealousy comes on a man, and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall set the woman before Yahweh, and the priest shall execute on her all this law. 31. The man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity.’” 1. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2. “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: ‘When either man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to Yahweh, 3. he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of fermented drink, neither shall he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or dried. 4. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is made of the grapevine, from the seeds even to the skins. 5. “‘All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall come on his head, until the days are fulfilled, in which he separates himself to Yahweh. He shall be holy. He shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow long. 6. “‘All the days that he separates himself to Yahweh he shall not go near a dead body. 7. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die; because his separation to God is on his head. 8. All the days of his separation he is holy to Yahweh. 9. “‘If any man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles the head of his separation; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing. On the seventh day he shall shave it. 10. On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the Tent of Meeting. 11. The priest shall offer one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned by reason of the dead, and shall make his head holy that same day. 12. He shall separate to Yahweh the days of his separation, and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a trespass offering; but the former days shall be void, because his separation was defiled. 13. “‘This is the law of the Nazirite: when the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall be brought to the door of the Tent of Meeting, 14. and he shall offer his offering to Yahweh, one male lamb a year old without defect for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old without defect for a sin offering, and one ram without defect for peace offerings, 15. and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their meal offering, and their drink offerings. 16. The priest shall present them before Yahweh, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering. 17. He shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer also its meal offering, and its drink offering. 18. The Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings. 19. The priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaved the head of his separation; 20. and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh. This is holy for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is offered. After that the Nazirite may drink wine. 21. “‘This is the law of the Nazirite who vows, and of his offering to Yahweh for his separation, besides that which he is able to get. According to his vow which he vows, so he must do after the law of his separation.’” 22. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 23. “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is how you shall bless the children of Israel.’ You shall tell them, 24. ‘Yahweh bless you, and keep you. 25. Yahweh make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. 26. Yahweh lift up his face toward you, and give you peace.’ 27. “So they shall put my name on the children of Israel; and I will bless them.”

1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ our hope; 2. to Timothy, my true child in faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3. As I urged you when I was going into Macedonia, stay at Ephesus that you might command certain men not to teach a different doctrine, 4. and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, rather than God’s stewardship, which is in faith— 5. but the goal of this command is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith; 6. from which things some, having missed the mark, have turned away to vain talking; 7. desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say, nor about what they strongly affirm. 8. But we know that the law is good, if a person uses it lawfully, 9. as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10. for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine; 11. according to the Good News of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. 12. And I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service; 13. although I was before a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14. The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15. The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16. However, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might display all his patience, for an example of those who were going to believe in him for eternal life. 17. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 18. This instruction I commit to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which were given to you before, that by them you may wage the good warfare; 19. holding faith and a good conscience; which some having thrust away made a shipwreck concerning the faith; 20. of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme. 1. I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men: 2. for kings and all who are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence. 3. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; 4. who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth. 5. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6. who gave himself as a ransom for all; the testimony in its own times; 7. to which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth in Christ, not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8. I desire therefore that the men in every place pray, lifting up holy hands without anger and doubting. 9. In the same way, that women also adorn themselves in decent clothing, with modesty and propriety; not just with braided hair, gold, pearls, or expensive clothing; 10. but (which becomes women professing godliness) with good works. 11. Let a woman learn in quietness with full submission. 12. But I don’t permit a woman to teach, nor to exercise authority over a man, but to be in quietness. 13. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14. Adam wasn’t deceived, but the woman, being deceived, has fallen into disobedience; 15. but she will be saved through her childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and sanctification with sobriety. 1. This is a faithful saying: if a man seeks the office of an overseer, he desires a good work. 2. The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching; 3. not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4. one who rules his own house well, having children in subjection with all reverence; 5. (but if a man doesn’t know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the assembly of God?) 6. not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7. Moreover he must have good testimony from those who are outside, to avoid falling into reproach and the snare of the devil. 8. Servants, in the same way, must be reverent, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for money; 9. holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. 10. Let them also first be tested; then let them serve if they are blameless. 11. Their wives in the same way must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 12. Let servants be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13. For those who have served well gain for themselves a good standing, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. 14. These things I write to you, hoping to come to you shortly; 15. but if I wait long, that you may know how men ought to behave themselves in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 16. Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory.

1. Hear, Yahweh, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2. Preserve my soul, for I am godly. You, my God, save your servant who trusts in you. 3. Be merciful to me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. 4. Bring joy to the soul of your servant, for to you, Lord, do I lift up my soul. 5. For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you. 6. Hear, Yahweh, my prayer. Listen to the voice of my petitions. 7. In the day of my trouble I will call on you, for you will answer me. 8. There is no one like you among the gods, Lord, nor any deeds like your deeds. 9. All nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord. They shall glorify your name. 10. For you are great, and do wondrous things. You are God alone. 11. Teach me your way, Yahweh. I will walk in your truth. Make my heart undivided to fear your name. 12. I will praise you, Lord my God, with my whole heart. I will glorify your name forever more. 13. For your loving kindness is great toward me. You have delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol. 14. God, the proud have risen up against me. A company of violent men have sought after my soul, and they don’t hold regard for you before them. 15. But you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth. 16. Turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give your strength to your servant. Save the son of your servant. 17. Show me a sign of your goodness, that those who hate me may see it, and be shamed, because you, Yahweh, have helped me, and comforted me.