Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The King of Peace Is Coming
11 A new branch will grow
from a stump of a tree;
so a new king will come
from the family of Jesse.[a]
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon that king.
The Spirit will give him wisdom and understanding, guidance and power.
The Spirit will teach him to know and respect the Lord.
3 This king will be glad to obey the Lord.
He will not judge by the way things look
or decide by what he hears.
4 But he will judge the poor honestly;
he will be fair in his decisions for the poor people of the land.
At his command evil people will be punished,
and by his words the wicked will be put to death.
5 Goodness and fairness will give him strength,
like a belt around his waist.
6 Then wolves will live in peace with lambs,
and leopards will lie down to rest with goats.
Calves, lions, and young bulls will eat together,
and a little child will lead them.
7 Cows and bears will eat together in peace.
Their young will lie down to rest together.
Lions will eat hay as oxen do.
8 A baby will be able to play near a cobra’s hole,
and a child will be able to put his hand into the nest of a poisonous snake.
9 They will not hurt or destroy each other
on all my holy mountain,
because the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord,
as the sea is full of water.
Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On
16 Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On turned against Moses. (Korah was the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi; Dathan and Abiram were brothers, the sons of Eliab; and On was the son of Peleth; Dathan, Abiram, and On were from the tribe of Reuben.) 2 These men gathered two hundred fifty other Israelite men, well-known leaders chosen by the community, and challenged Moses. 3 They came as a group to speak to Moses and Aaron and said, “You have gone too far. All the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. So why do you put yourselves above all the people of the Lord?”
4 When Moses heard this, he bowed facedown. 5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who belongs to him. He will bring the one who is holy near to him; he will bring to himself the person he chooses. 6 So Korah, you and all your followers do this: Get some pans for burning incense. 7 Tomorrow put fire and incense in them and take them before the Lord. He will choose the man who is holy. You Levites have gone too far.”
8 Moses also said to Korah, “Listen, you Levites. 9 The God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelites. He brought you near to himself to do the work in the Lord’s Holy Tent and to stand before all the Israelites and serve them. Isn’t that enough? 10 He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near to himself, yet now you want to be priests. 11 You and your followers have joined together against the Lord. Your complaint is not against Aaron.”
12 Then Moses called Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come! 13 You have brought us out of a fertile land to this desert to kill us, and now you want to order us around. 14 You haven’t brought us into a fertile land; you haven’t given us any land with fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? No! We will not come!”
15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Don’t accept their gifts. I have not taken anything from them, not even a donkey, and I have not done wrong to any of them.”
16 Then Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers must stand before the Lord tomorrow. And Aaron will stand there with you and them. 17 Each of you must take your pan and put incense in it; present these two hundred fifty pans before the Lord. You and Aaron must also present your pans.” 18 So each man got his pan and put burning incense in it and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 19 Korah gathered all his followers who were against Moses and Aaron, and they stood at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to everyone.
7 Remember your leaders who taught God’s message to you. Remember how they lived and died, and copy their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
9 Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules about foods, which do not help those who obey them.
10 We have a sacrifice, but the priests who serve in the Holy Tent cannot eat from it. 11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place where he offers this blood for sins. But the bodies of the animals are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the city to make his people holy with his own blood. 13 So let us go to Jesus outside the camp, holding on as he did when we are abused.
14 Here on earth we do not have a city that lasts forever, but we are looking for the city that we will have in the future. 15 So through Jesus let us always offer to God our sacrifice of praise, coming from lips that speak his name. 16 Do not forget to do good to others, and share with them, because such sacrifices please God.
17 Obey your leaders and act under their authority. They are watching over you, because they are responsible for your souls. Obey them so that they will do this work with joy, not sadness. It will not help you to make their work hard.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.