The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?^(A)

^15 (B)Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. ¹⁶ And they sent to Him their disciples with the ^(C)Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not ^[a]regard the person of men. ¹⁷ Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus ^[b]perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show Me the tax money.”

So they brought Him a denarius.

²⁰ And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”

²¹ They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

And He said to them, ^(D)“Render^[c] therefore to Caesar the things that are ^(E)Caesar’s, and to God the things that are ^(F)God’s.” ²² When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?^(G)

^23 (H)The same day the Sadducees, ^(I)who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, ²⁴ saying: “Teacher, ^(J)Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁵ Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. ²⁷ Last of all the woman died also. ²⁸ Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”

²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “You are ^[d]mistaken, ^(K)not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. ³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but ^(L)are like angels ^[e]of God in heaven. ³¹ But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ^32 (M)‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” ³³ And when the multitudes heard this, ^(N)they were astonished at His teaching.

God’s Judgment Defended

3 What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? ² Much in every way! Chiefly because ^(A)to them were committed the ^[a]oracles of God. ³ For what if ^(B)some did not believe? ^(C)Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? ^4 (D)Certainly not! Indeed, let ^(E)God be ^[b]true but ^(F)every man a liar. As it is written:

⁵ But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? ^(H)(I speak as a man.) ⁶ Certainly not! For then ^(I)how will God judge the world?

⁷ For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? ⁸ And why not say, ^(J)“Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their ^[c]condemnation is just.

All Have Sinned^(K)

⁹ What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that ^(L)they are all under sin.

¹⁰ As it is written:

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever ^(S)the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that ^(T)every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become ^[e]guilty before God. ²⁰ Therefore ^(U)by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

God’s Righteousness Through Faith

²¹ But now ^(V)the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, ^(W)being witnessed by the Law ^(X)and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all ^[f]and on all who believe. For ^(Y)there is no difference; ²³ for ^(Z)all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified ^[g]freely ^(AA)by His grace ^(AB)through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God set forth ^(AC)as a ^[h]propitiation ^(AD)by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over ^(AE)the sins that were previously committed, ²⁶ to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Boasting Excluded

^27 (AF)Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸ Therefore we conclude ^(AG)that a man is ^[i]justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. ²⁹ Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, ³⁰ since ^(AH)there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹ Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

A Prayer of Repentance

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David ^(A)when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

Offerings of the Leaders

7 Now it came to pass, when Moses had finished ^(A)setting up the tabernacle, that he ^(B)anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings, and the altar and all its utensils; so he anointed them and consecrated them. ² Then ^(C)the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers’ houses, who were the leaders of the tribes ^[a]and over those who were numbered, made an offering. ³ And they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart for every two of the leaders, and for each one an ox; and they presented them before the tabernacle.

⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵ “Accept these from them, that they may be used in doing the work of the tabernacle of meeting; and you shall give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service.” ⁶ So Moses took the carts and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ Two carts and four oxen ^(D)he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service; ^8 (E)and four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the ^[b]authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. ⁹ But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because theirs was ^(F)the service of the holy things, ^(G)which they carried on their shoulders.

¹⁰ Now the leaders offered ^(H)the dedication offering for the altar when it was anointed; so the leaders offered their offering before the altar. ¹¹ For the Lord said to Moses, “They shall offer their offering, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar.”

¹² And the one who offered his offering on the first day was ^(I)Nahshon the son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah. ¹³ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to ^(J)the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a ^(K)grain offering; ¹⁴ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of ^(L)incense; ^15 (M)one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb ^(N)in its first year, as a burnt offering; ¹⁶ one kid of the goats as a ^(O)sin offering; ¹⁷ and for ^(P)the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

¹⁸ On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, leader of Issachar, presented an offering. ¹⁹ For his offering he offered one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ²⁰ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ²¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ²² one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ²³ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar.

²⁴ On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, leader of the children of Zebulun, presented an offering. ²⁵ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ²⁶ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ²⁷ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ²⁸ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ²⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon.

³⁰ On the fourth day ^(Q)Elizur the son of Shedeur, leader of the children of Reuben, presented an offering. ³¹ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ³² one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ³³ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ³⁴ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ³⁵ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur.

³⁶ On the fifth day ^(R)Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, leader of the children of Simeon, presented an offering. ³⁷ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ³⁸ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ³⁹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁴¹ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

⁴² On the sixth day ^(S)Eliasaph the son of ^[c]Deuel, leader of the children of Gad, presented an offering. ⁴³ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁴⁴ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁴⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as ^(T)a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

⁴⁸ On the seventh day ^(U)Elishama the son of Ammihud, leader of the children of Ephraim, presented an offering. ⁴⁹ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁵⁰ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁵² one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁵³ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.

⁵⁴ On the eighth day ^(V)Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, leader of the children of Manasseh, presented an offering. ⁵⁵ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁵⁶ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵⁷ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

⁶⁰ On the ninth day ^(W)Abidan the son of Gideoni, leader of the children of Benjamin, presented an offering. ⁶¹ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁶² one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶³ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁶⁵ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.

⁶⁶ On the tenth day ^(X)Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, leader of the children of Dan, presented an offering. ⁶⁷ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁶⁸ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶⁹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁷¹ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

⁷² On the eleventh day ^(Y)Pagiel the son of Ocran, leader of the children of Asher, presented an offering. ⁷³ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁷⁴ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁷⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ocran.

⁷⁸ On the twelfth day ^(Z)Ahira the son of Enan, leader of the children of Naphtali, presented an offering. ⁷⁹ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁸⁰ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁸¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁸² one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁸³ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan.

⁸⁴ This was ^(AA)the dedication offering for the altar from the leaders of Israel, when it was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold pans. ⁸⁵ Each silver platter weighed one hundred and thirty shekels and each bowl seventy shekels. All the silver of the vessels weighed two thousand four hundred shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁸⁶ The twelve gold pans full of incense weighed ten shekels apiece, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; all the gold of the pans weighed one hundred and twenty shekels. ⁸⁷ All the oxen for the burnt offering were twelve young bulls, the rams twelve, the male lambs in their first year twelve, with their grain offering, and the kids of the goats as a sin offering twelve. ⁸⁸ And all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace offerings were twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, and the lambs in their first year sixty. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was ^(AB)anointed.

⁸⁹ Now when Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting ^(AC)to speak with Him, he heard ^(AD)the voice of One speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony, from ^(AE)between the two cherubim; thus He spoke to him.

Arrangement of the Lamps^(AF)

8 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Speak to Aaron, and say to him, ‘When you ^(AG)arrange the lamps, the seven ^(AH)lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.’ ” ³ And Aaron did so; he arranged the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. ^4 (AI)Now this workmanship of the lampstand was hammered gold; from its shaft to its flowers it was ^(AJ)hammered work. ^(AK)According to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Cleansing and Dedication of the Levites

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them ceremonially. ⁷ Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle ^(AL)water of purification on them, and ^(AM)let^[d] them shave all their body, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. ⁸ Then let them take a young bull with ^(AN)its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering. ^9 (AO)And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, ^(AP)and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel. ¹⁰ So you shall bring the Levites before the Lord, and the children of Israel ^(AQ)shall lay their hands on the Levites; ¹¹ and Aaron shall ^[e]offer the Levites before the Lord like a ^(AR)wave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the Lord. ^12 (AS)Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.

¹³ “And you shall stand the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and then offer them like a wave offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Thus you shall ^(AT)separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be ^(AU)Mine. ¹⁵ After that the Levites shall go in to service the tabernacle of meeting. So you shall cleanse them and ^(AV)offer them like a wave offering. ¹⁶ For they are ^(AW)wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; I have taken them for Myself ^(AX)instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel. ^17 (AY)For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine, both man and beast; on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I ^[f]sanctified them to Myself. ¹⁸ I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel. ¹⁹ And ^(AZ)I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the work for the children of Israel in the tabernacle of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, ^(BA)that there be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did to the Levites; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel did to them. ^21 (BB)And the Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes; then Aaron presented them like a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ^22 (BC)After that the Levites went in to do their work in the tabernacle of meeting before Aaron and his sons; ^(BD)as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “This is what pertains to the Levites: ^(BE)From twenty-five years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the tabernacle of meeting; ²⁵ and at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more. ²⁶ They may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meeting, ^(BF)to attend to needs, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall do to the Levites regarding their duties.”