From Covenant Violation to Priestly Succession

1. Israel stayed in Shittim; and the people began to play the prostitute with the daughters of Moab; 2. for they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods. The people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3. Israel joined himself to Baal Peor. Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel. 4. Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up to Yahweh before the sun, that the fierce anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.” 5. Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Everyone kill his men who have joined themselves to Baal Peor.” 6. Behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought to his brothers a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 7. When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the middle of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand. 8. He went after the man of Israel into the pavilion, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. 9. Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. 10. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 11. “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I didn’t consume the children of Israel in my jealousy. 12. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace. 13. It shall be to him, and to his offspring after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’” 14. Now the name of the man of Israel that was slain, who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a fathers’ house among the Simeonites. 15. The name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur. He was head of the people of a fathers’ house in Midian. 16. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 17. “Harass the Midianites, and strike them, 18. for they harassed you with their wiles, wherein they have deceived you in the matter of Peor, and in the incident regarding Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.” 1. After the plague, Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, 2. “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all who are able to go out to war in Israel.” 3. Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, 4. “Take a census, from twenty years old and upward; as Yahweh commanded Moses and the children of Israel.” These are those that came out of the land of Egypt. 5. Reuben, the firstborn of Israel; the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; 6. of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. 7. These are the families of the Reubenites; and those who were counted of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred thirty. 8. The sons of Pallu: Eliab. 9. The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. These are that Dathan and Abiram, who were called by the congregation, who rebelled against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they rebelled against Yahweh, 10. and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died; at the time the fire devoured two hundred fifty men, and they became a sign. 11. Notwithstanding, the sons of Korah didn’t die. 12. The sons of Simeon after their families: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites; 13. of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. 14. These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty-two thousand two hundred. 15. The sons of Gad after their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites; 16. of Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites; 17. of Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites. 18. These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were counted of them, forty thousand and five hundred. 19. The sons of Judah: Er and Onan. Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. 20. The sons of Judah after their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites. 21. The sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. 22. These are the families of Judah according to those who were counted of them, seventy-six thousand five hundred. 23. The sons of Issachar after their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the family of the Punites; 24. of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. 25. These are the families of Issachar according to those who were counted of them, sixty-four thousand three hundred. 26. The sons of Zebulun after their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. 27. These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were counted of them, sixty thousand five hundred. 28. The sons of Joseph after their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. 29. The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir became the father of Gilead; of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. 30. These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the family of the Iezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites; 31. and Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; 32. and Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. 33. Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 34. These are the families of Manasseh. Those who were counted of them were fifty-two thousand seven hundred. 35. These are the sons of Ephraim after their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. 36. These are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. 37. These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were counted of them, thirty-two thousand five hundred. These are the sons of Joseph after their families. 38. The sons of Benjamin after their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites; 39. of Shephupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. 40. The sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. 41. These are the sons of Benjamin after their families; and those who were counted of them were forty-five thousand six hundred. 42. These are the sons of Dan after their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan after their families. 43. All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those who were counted of them, were sixty-four thousand four hundred. 44. The sons of Asher after their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the family of the Berites. 45. Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. 46. The name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. 47. These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those who were counted of them, fifty-three thousand and four hundred. 48. The sons of Naphtali after their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites; 49. of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. 50. These are the families of Naphtali according to their families; and those who were counted of them were forty-five thousand four hundred. 51. These are those who were counted of the children of Israel, six hundred one thousand seven hundred thirty. 52. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 53. “To these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names. 54. To the more you shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer you shall give the less inheritance. To everyone according to those who were counted of him shall his inheritance be given. 55. Notwithstanding, the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. 56. According to the lot shall their inheritance be divided between the more and the fewer.” 57. These are those who were counted of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. 58. These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. Kohath became the father of Amram. 59. The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. She bore to Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. 60. To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61. Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before Yahweh. 62. Those who were counted of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and upward; for they were not counted among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel. 63. These are those who were counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who counted the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 64. But among these there was not a man of them who were counted by Moses and Aaron the priest, who counted the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65. For Yahweh had said of them, “They shall surely die in the wilderness.” There was not a man left of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 1. Then the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph came near. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. 2. They stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the Tent of Meeting, saying, 3. “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against Yahweh in the company of Korah, but he died in his own sin. He had no sons. 4. Why should the name of our father be taken away from among his family, because he had no son? Give to us a possession among the brothers of our father.” 5. Moses brought their cause before Yahweh. 6. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 7. “The daughters of Zelophehad speak right. You shall surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers. You shall cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. 8. You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. 9. If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10. If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11. If his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his kinsman who is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it. This shall be a statute and ordinance for the children of Israel, as Yahweh commanded Moses.’” 12. Yahweh said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. 13. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered; 14. because in the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin, to honor me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) 15. Moses spoke to Yahweh, saying, 16. “Let Yahweh, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, 17. who may go out before them, and who may come in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in; that the congregation of Yahweh may not be as sheep which have no shepherd.” 18. Yahweh said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. 19. Set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and commission him in their sight. 20. You shall give authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may obey. 21. He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before Yahweh. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.” 22. Moses did as Yahweh commanded him. He took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation. 23. He laid his hands on him, and commissioned him, as Yahweh spoke by Moses.

1. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2. to whom also Abraham divided a tenth part of all (being first, by interpretation, “king of righteousness”, and then also “king of Salem”, which means “king of peace”; 3. without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God), remains a priest continually. 4. Now consider how great this man was, to whom even Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth out of the best plunder. 5. They indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brothers, though these have come out of the body of Abraham, 6. but he whose genealogy is not counted from them has accepted tithes from Abraham, and has blessed him who has the promises. 7. But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. 8. Here people who die receive tithes, but there one receives tithes of whom it is testified that he lives. 9. We can say that through Abraham even Levi, who receives tithes, has paid tithes, 10. for he was yet in the body of his father when Melchizedek met him. 11. Now if there were perfection through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people have received the law), what further need was there for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron? 12. For the priesthood being changed, there is of necessity a change made also in the law. 13. For he of whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. 14. For it is evident that our Lord has sprung out of Judah, about which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. 15. This is yet more abundantly evident, if after the likeness of Melchizedek there arises another priest, 16. who has been made, not after the law of a fleshly commandment, but after the power of an endless life: 17. for it is testified, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” 18. For there is an annulling of a foregoing commandment because of its weakness and uselessness 19. (for the law made nothing perfect), and a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. 20. Inasmuch as he was not made priest without the taking of an oath 21. (for they indeed have been made priests without an oath), but he with an oath by him that says of him, “The Lord swore and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.’” 22. By so much, Jesus has become the collateral of a better covenant. 23. Many, indeed, have been made priests, because they are hindered from continuing by death. 24. But he, because he lives forever, has his priesthood unchangeable. 25. Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them. 26. For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 27. who doesn’t need, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. For he did this once for all, when he offered up himself. 28. For the law appoints men as high priests who have weakness, but the word of the oath which came after the law appoints a Son forever who has been perfected. 1. Now in the things which we are saying, the main point is this. We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2. a servant of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. 3. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. 4. For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; 5. who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses was warned by God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for he said, “See, you shall make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.” 6. But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law. 7. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8. For finding fault with them, he said, “Behold, the days come”, says the Lord, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; 9. not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they didn’t continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them,” says the Lord. 10. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days,” says the Lord; “I will put my laws into their mind, I will also write them on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11. They will not teach every man his fellow citizen, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know me, from their least to their greatest. 12. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.” 13. In that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away. 1. Now indeed even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service, and an earthly sanctuary. 2. For a tabernacle was prepared. In the first part were the lamp stand, the table, and the show bread; which is called the Holy Place. 3. After the second veil was the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, 4. having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; 5. and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, of which things we can’t speak now in detail. 6. Now these things having been thus prepared, the priests go in continually into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the services, 7. but into the second the high priest alone, once in the year, not without blood, which he offers for himself, and for the errors of the people. 8. The Holy Spirit is indicating this, that the way into the Holy Place wasn’t yet revealed while the first tabernacle was still standing; 9. which is a symbol of the present age, where gifts and sacrifices are offered that are incapable, concerning the conscience, of making the worshiper perfect; 10. being only (with meats and drinks and various washings) fleshly ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation. 11. But Christ having come as a high priest of the coming good things, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, 12. nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption. 13. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify to the cleanness of the flesh: 14. how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15. For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16. For where a last will and testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him who made it. 17. For a will is in force where there has been death, for it is never in force while he who made it lives. 18. Therefore even the first covenant has not been dedicated without blood. 19. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20. saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.” 21. Moreover he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry in the same way with the blood. 22. According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission. 23. It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24. For Christ hasn’t entered into holy places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25. nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place year by year with blood not his own, 26. or else he must have suffered often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27. Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment, 28. so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who are eagerly waiting for him for salvation.

1. Yahweh reigns! He is clothed with majesty! Yahweh is armed with strength. The world also is established. It can’t be moved. 2. Your throne is established from long ago. You are from everlasting. 3. The floods have lifted up, Yahweh, the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their waves. 4. Above the voices of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea, Yahweh on high is mighty. 5. Your statutes stand firm. Holiness adorns your house, Yahweh, forever more.