Numbers 31; Psalm 146; 2 Kings 22; Ezekiel 25; 1 Corinthians 15

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Numbers 31

Vengeance on Midian

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, nAvenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall obe gathered to your people. So Moses spoke to the people, saying, Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war. So there were provided, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand parmed for war. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and qthe trumpets for the alarm in his hand. They warred against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and rkilled every male. They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, sEvi, Rekem, tZur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed uBalaam the son of Beor with the sword. And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods. 10 All their cities in the places where they lived, and all their vencampments, they burned with fire, 11 wand took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man and of beast. 12 Then they brought the captives and the plunder and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on xthe plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

13 Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the chiefs of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp. 14 And Moses was angry with ythe officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 15 Moses said to them, Have you zlet all the women live? 16 Behold, athese, bon Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of cPeor, and so dthe plague came among the congregation of the Lord. 17 Now therefore, ekill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. 18 But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him fkeep alive for yourselves. 19 gEncamp outside the camp seven days. Whoever of you has killed any person and hwhoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats’ hair, and every article of wood.

21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men in the army who had gone to battle: This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded Moses: 22 only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified iwith the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water. 24 You must jwash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. And afterward you may come into the camp.

25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation, 27 and kdivide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. 28 And levy for the Lord a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, lone out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks. 29 Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the Lord. 30 And from the people of Israel’s half you shall take mone drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites nwho keep guard over the tabernacle of the Lord. 31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

32 Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him. 36 And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500 sheep, 37 and othe Lord’s tribute of sheep was 675. 38 The cattle were 36,000, of which the Lord’s tribute was 72. 39 The donkeys were 30,500, of which the Lord’s tribute was 61. 40 The persons were 16,000, of which the Lord’s tribute was 32 persons. 41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the contribution for the Lord, to Eleazar the priest, pas the Lord commanded Moses.

42 From the people of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had served in the army 43 now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 and 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 persons 47 qfrom the people of Israel’s half Moses took one of every 50, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who kept guard over the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

48 Then rthe officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses 49 and said to Moses, Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us. 50 And we have brought the Lord’s offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, sto make atonement for ourselves before the Lord. 51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all crafted articles. 52 And all the gold of the contribution that they presented to the Lord, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels.1 53 t(The men in the army had each taken plunder for himself.) 54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, uas a memorial for the people of Israel before the Lord.


Psalm 146

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

nPraise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

I will praise the Lord oas long as I live;

pI will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

qPut not your trust in princes,

rin a son of man, in whom there is sno salvation.

When this breath departs, he returns to the earth;

on that very day his plans perish.

uBlessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose vhope is in the Lord his God,

wwho made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

xwho keeps faith forever;

ywho executes justice for the oppressed,

zwho gives food to the hungry.

aThe Lord sets the prisoners free;

bthe Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

cThe Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

dthe Lord loves the righteous.

eThe Lord watches over the sojourners;

fhe upholds the widow and the fatherless,

but gthe way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10  hThe Lord will reign forever,

your God, O Zion, to all generations.

nPraise the Lord!


2 Kings 22

Josiah Reigns in Judah

aJosiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of bBozkath. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, cand he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

Josiah Repairs the Temple

In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the Lord, saying, Go up to dHilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money ethat has been brought into the house of the Lord, which fthe keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. gAnd let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the Lord, repairing the house (that is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons), and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. But hno accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, I have found ithe Book of the Law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord. 10 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.

11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, jhe tore his clothes. 12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and kAhikam the son of Shaphan, and lAchbor the son of lMicaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, 13 Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is mthe wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.

14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of nTikvah, son of nHarhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in othe Second Quarter), and they talked with her. 15 And she said to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17 pBecause they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore mmy wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. 18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 19 qbecause your heart was penitent, and you rhumbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become sa desolation and ta curse, and you uhave torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and vyou shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place. And they brought back word to the king.


Ezekiel 25

Prophecy Against Ammon

The word of the Lord came to me: wSon of man, xset your face toward ythe Ammonites and prophesy against them. Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: zThus says the Lord God, Because you said, aAha! over my bsanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, therefore behold, I am handing you over to cthe people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. I will make dRabbah a epasture for camels and Ammon1 ea fold for flocks. vThen you will know that I am the Lord. For thus says the Lord God: Because fyou have clapped your hands gand stamped your feet and hrejoiced with all the imalice within your soul against the land of Israel, therefore, behold, jI have stretched out my hand against you, and kwill hand you over as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

Prophecy Against Moab and Seir

Thus says the Lord God: Because lMoab and mSeir2 said, Behold, the nhouse of Judah is like all the other nations, therefore lI will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, oBeth-jeshimoth, pBaal-meon, and qKiriathaim. 10 I will give it ralong with the Ammonites sto the people of the East as a possession, tthat the Ammonites may be remembered no more among the nations, 11 land I will execute judgments upon Moab. uThen they will know that I am the Lord.

Prophecy Against Edom

12 Thus says the Lord God: Because vEdom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended win taking vengeance on them, 13 therefore thus says the Lord God, xI will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate; from yTeman even to zDedan they shall fall by the sword. 14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom aby the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and bthey shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord God.

Prophecy Against Philistia

15 Thus says the Lord God: Because cthe Philistines dacted revengefully and took vengeance ewith malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity, 16 therefore thus says the Lord God, xBehold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off fthe Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast. 17 I will execute great vengeance on them gwith wrathful rebukes. hThen they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them.


1 Corinthians 15

The Resurrection of Christ

Now I would remind you, brothers,1 of the gospel gI preached to you, which you received, hin which you stand, and by which iyou are being saved, if you jhold fast to the word I preached to youkunless you believed in vain.

For lI delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died mfor our sins nin accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised oon the third day pin accordance with the Scriptures, and that qhe appeared to Cephas, then rto the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to sJames, then tto all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, uhe appeared also to me. For vI am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because wI persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, xI worked harder than any of them, ythough it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, zhow can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, athen not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that bhe raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and cyou are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who dhave fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope2 in this life only, ewe are of all people most to be pitied.

20 But in fact fChrist has been raised from the dead, gthe firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as hby a man came death, iby a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For jas in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then kat his coming lthose who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers mthe kingdom to God the Father after destroying nevery rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign ountil he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be pdestroyed is death. 27 For qGod3 has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when it says, all things are put in subjection, it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When rall things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that sGod may be all in all.

29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? 30 Why are we tin danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by umy pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, vI die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, wI fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, xLet us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. 33 yDo not be deceived: zBad company ruins good morals.4 34 aWake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For bsome have no knowledge of God. cI say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

35 But someone will ask, dHow are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come? 36 You foolish person! eWhat you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

42 fSo is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; git is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, hThe first man Adam became a living being;5 ithe last Adam became a jlife-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 kThe first man was from the earth, la man of dust; mthe second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, nso also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just oas we have borne the image of the man of dust, pwe shall6 also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Mystery and Victory

50 I tell you this, brothers: qflesh and blood rcannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. sWe shall not all sleep, tbut we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For uthe trumpet will sound, and vthe dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and wthis mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

xDeath is swallowed up in victory.

55  yO death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?

56 The sting of death is sin, and zthe power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, awho gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 bTherefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in cthe work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord dyour labor is not in vain.