The Second Census

26 After the plague^(A) the Lord said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, ² “Take a census^(B) of the whole Israelite community by families—all those twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army^(C) of Israel.” ³ So on the plains of Moab^(D) by the Jordan across from Jericho,^(E) Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them and said, ⁴ “Take a census of the men twenty years old or more, as the Lord commanded Moses.”

These were the Israelites who came out of Egypt:^(F)

⁵ The descendants of Reuben,^(G) the firstborn son of Israel, were:

⁷ These were the clans of Reuben; those numbered were 43,730.

⁸ The son of Pallu was Eliab, ⁹ and the sons of Eliab^(L) were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. The same Dathan and Abiram were the community^(M) officials who rebelled against Moses and Aaron and were among Korah’s followers when they rebelled against the Lord.^{(N) 10} The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them^(O) along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire devoured the 250 men.^(P) And they served as a warning sign.^{(Q) 11} The line of Korah,^(R) however, did not die out.^(S)

¹² The descendants of Simeon by their clans were:

¹⁴ These were the clans of Simeon;^(W) those numbered were 22,200.^(X)

¹⁵ The descendants of Gad by their clans were:

¹⁸ These were the clans of Gad;^(Z) those numbered were 40,500.

¹⁹ Er^(AA) and Onan^(AB) were sons of Judah, but they died^(AC) in Canaan.

²⁰ The descendants of Judah by their clans were:

²² These were the clans of Judah;^(AI) those numbered were 76,500.

²³ The descendants of Issachar by their clans were:

²⁵ These were the clans of Issachar;^(AL) those numbered were 64,300.

²⁶ The descendants of Zebulun^(AM) by their clans were:

²⁷ These were the clans of Zebulun;^(AN) those numbered were 60,500.

²⁸ The descendants of Joseph^(AO) by their clans through Manasseh and Ephraim^(AP) were:

²⁹ The descendants of Manasseh:^(AQ)

³⁴ These were the clans of Manasseh; those numbered were 52,700.^(AY)

³⁵ These were the descendants of Ephraim^(AZ) by their clans:

³⁷ These were the clans of Ephraim;^(BA) those numbered were 32,500.

These were the descendants of Joseph by their clans.

³⁸ The descendants of Benjamin^(BB) by their clans were:

⁴¹ These were the clans of Benjamin;^(BD) those numbered were 45,600.

⁴² These were the descendants of Dan^(BE) by their clans:^(BF)

These were the clans of Dan: ⁴³ All of them were Shuhamite clans; and those numbered were 64,400.

⁴⁴ The descendants of Asher^(BH) by their clans were:

⁴⁷ These were the clans of Asher;^(BI) those numbered were 53,400.

⁴⁸ The descendants of Naphtali^(BJ) by their clans were:

⁵⁰ These were the clans of Naphtali;^(BK) those numbered were 45,400.^(BL)

⁵¹ The total number of the men of Israel was 601,730.^(BM)

⁵² The Lord said to Moses, ⁵³ “The land is to be allotted to them as an inheritance based on the number of names.^{(BN) 54} To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one; each is to receive its inheritance according to the number^(BO) of those listed.^{(BP) 55} Be sure that the land is distributed by lot.^(BQ) What each group inherits will be according to the names for its ancestral tribe. ⁵⁶ Each inheritance is to be distributed by lot among the larger and smaller groups.”

⁵⁷ These were the Levites^(BR) who were counted by their clans:

⁶² All the male Levites a month old or more numbered 23,000.^(CA) They were not counted^(CB) along with the other Israelites because they received no inheritance^(CC) among them.^(CD)

⁶³ These are the ones counted^(CE) by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab^(CF) by the Jordan across from Jericho.^{(CG) 64} Not one of them was among those counted^(CH) by Moses and Aaron^(CI) the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. ⁶⁵ For the Lord had told those Israelites they would surely die in the wilderness,^(CJ) and not one of them was left except Caleb^(CK) son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.^(CL)

That Which Defiles^(A)

15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”^(B)

³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’^[a](C) and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^{[b](D) 5} But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ ⁶ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

¹⁰ Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. ¹¹ What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them,^(G) but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”^(H)

¹² Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

¹³ He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted^(I) will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴ Leave them; they are blind guides.^[d](J) If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”^(K)

¹⁵ Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”^(L)

¹⁶ “Are you still so dull?”^(M) Jesus asked them. ¹⁷ “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart,^(N) and these defile them. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.^{(O) 20} These are what defile a person;^(P) but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman^(Q)

²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.^{(R) 22} A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David,^(S) have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”^(T)

²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”^(U)

²⁵ The woman came and knelt before him.^(V) “Lord, help me!” she said.

²⁶ He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁷ “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith!^(W) Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand^(X)(Y)(Z)

²⁹ Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. ³⁰ Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.^{(AA) 31} The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.^(AB)

³² Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people;^(AC) they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

³³ His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

³⁴ “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

³⁵ He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them^(AD) and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. ³⁷ They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.^{(AE) 38} The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.