Numbers 17; Numbers 18; Numbers 19; Mark 6:30-56

1 The Lord said to Moses,

2 "Speak to the people of Israel and get twelve walking sticks from them -- one from the leader of each tribe. Write the name of each man on his stick, and

3 on the stick from Levi, write Aaron's name. There must be one stick for the head of each tribe.

4 Put them in the Meeting Tent in front of the Ark of the Agreement, where I meet with you.

5 I will choose one man whose walking stick will begin to grow leaves; in this way I will stop the Israelites from always complaining against you."

6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites. Each of the twelve leaders gave him a walking stick -- one from each tribe -- and Aaron's walking stick was among them.

7 Moses put them before the Lord in the Tent of the Agreement.

8 The next day, when Moses entered the Tent, he saw that Aaron's stick (which stood for the family of Levi) had grown leaves. It had even budded, blossomed, and produced almonds.

9 So Moses brought out to the Israelites all the walking sticks from the Lord's presence. They all looked, and each man took back his stick.

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Put Aaron's walking stick back in front of the Ark of the Agreement. It will remind these people who are always turning against me to stop their complaining against me so they won't die."

11 So Moses obeyed what the Lord commanded him.

12 The people of Israel said to Moses, "We are going to die! We are destroyed. We are all destroyed!

13 Anyone who even comes near the Holy Tent of the Lord will die. Will we all die?"

1 The Lord said to Aaron, "You, your sons, and your family are now responsible for any wrongs done against the Holy Place; you and your sons are responsible for any wrongs done against the priests.

2 Bring with you your fellow Levites from your tribe, and they will help you and your sons serve in the Tent of the Agreement.

3 They are under your control, to do all the work that needs to be done in the Tent. But they must not go near the things in the Holy Place or near the altar. If they do, both you and they will die.

4 They will join you in taking care of the Meeting Tent. They must do the work at the Tent, and no one else may come near you.

5 "You must take care of the Holy Place and the altar so that I won't become angry with the Israelites again.

6 I myself chose your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift given for you to the Lord, to work at the Meeting Tent.

7 But only you and your sons may serve as priests. Only you may serve at the altar or go behind the curtain. I am giving you this gift of serving as a priest, and anyone else who comes near the Holy Place will be put to death."

8 Then the Lord said to Aaron, "I myself make you responsible for the offerings given to me. All the holy offerings that the Israelites give to me, I give to you and your sons as your share, your continual portion.

9 Your share of the holy offerings is that part which is not burned. When the people bring me gifts as most holy offerings, whether they are grain or sin or penalty offerings, they will be set apart for you and your sons.

10 You must eat the offering in a most holy place. Any male may eat it, but you must respect it as holy.

11 "I also give you the offerings the Israelites present to me. I give these to you and your sons and daughters as your continual share. Anyone in your family who is clean may eat it.

12 "And I give you all the best olive oil and all the best new wine and grain. This is what the Israelites give to me, the Lord, from the first crops they harvest.

13 When they bring to the Lord all the first things they harvest, they will be yours. Anyone in your family who is clean may eat these things.

14 "Everything in Israel that is given to the Lord is yours.

15 The first one born to any family, whether people or animals, will be offered to the Lord. And that will be yours. But you must make a payment for every firstborn child and every firstborn animal that is unclean.

16 When they are one month old, you must make a payment for them of two ounces of silver, as set by the Holy Place measure.

17 "But you must not make a payment for the firstborn ox or sheep or goat. Those animals are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire. The smell is pleasing to the Lord.

18 But the meat will be yours, just as the breast that is presented and the right thigh will be yours.

19 Anything the Israelites present as holy gifts I, the Lord, give to you, your sons and daughters as your continual portion. This is a last-ing agreement of saltn before the Lord for you and your children forever."

20 The Lord also said to Aaron, "You will not inherit any of the land, and you will not own any land among the other people. I will be yours. Out of all the Israelites, only you will inherit me.

21 "When the people of Israel give me a tenth of what they make, I will give that tenth to the Levites. This is their payment for the work they do serving at the Meeting Tent.

22 But the other Israelites must never go near the Meeting Tent, or they will die for their sin.

23 Only the Levites should work in the Meeting Tent and be responsible for any sins against it. This is a rule from now on. The Levites will not inherit any land among the other Israelites,

24 but when the Israelites give a tenth of everything they make to me, I will give that tenth to the Levites as a reward. That is why I said about the Levites: 'They will not inherit any land among the Israelites.'"

25 The Lord said to Moses,

26 "Speak to the Levites and tell them: 'You will receive a tenth of everything the Israelites make, which I will give to you. But you must give a tenth of that back to the Lord.

27 I will accept your offering just as much as I accept the offerings from others, who give new grain or new wine.

28 In this way you will present an offering to the Lord as the other Israelites do. When you receive a tenth from the Israelites, you will give a tenth of that to Aaron, the priest, as the Lord's share.

29 Choose the best and holiest part from what you are given as the portion you must give to the Lord.'

30 "Say to the Levites: 'When you present the best, it will be accepted as much as the grain and wine from the other people.

31 You and your families may eat all that is left anywhere, because it is your pay for your work in the Meeting Tent.

32 And if you always give the best part to the Lord, you will never be guilty. If you do not sin against the holy offerings of the Israelites, you will not die.'"

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

2 "These are the teachings that the Lord commanded. Tell the Israelites to get a young red cow that does not have anything wrong with it and that has never been worked.

3 Give the cow to Eleazar the priest; he will take it outside the camp and kill it.

4 Then Eleazar the priest must put some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Meeting Tent.

5 The whole cow must be burned while he watches; the skin, the meat, the blood, and the intestines must all be burned.

6 Then the priest must take a cedar stick, a hyssop branch, and a red string and throw them onto the burning cow.

7 After the priest has washed himself and his clothes with water, he may come back into the camp, but he will be unclean until evening.

8 The man who burns the cow must wash himself and his clothes in water; he will be unclean until evening.

9 "Then someone who is clean will collect the ashes from the cow and put them in a clean place outside the camp. The Israelites will keep these ashes to use in the cleansing water, in a special ceremony to cleanse away sin.

10 The man who collected the cow's ashes must wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. This is a lasting rule for the Israelites and for the foreigners among them.

11 "Those who touch a dead person's body will be unclean for seven days.

12 They must wash themselves with the cleansing water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not wash themselves on the third day and the seventh day, they cannot be clean.

13 If those who touch a dead person's body stay unclean and go to the Lord's Holy Tent, it becomes unclean; they must be cut off from Israel. If the cleansing water is not sprinkled on them, they are unclean and will stay unclean.

14 "This is the teaching about someone who dies in a tent: Anyone in the tent or anyone who enters it will be unclean for seven days.

15 And every open jar or pot without a cover becomes unclean.

16 If anyone is outside and touches someone who was killed by a sword or who died a natural death, or if anyone touches a human bone or a grave, that person will be unclean for seven days.

17 "So you must use the ashes from the burnt offering to make that person clean again. Pour fresh water over the ashes into a jar.

18 A clean person must take a hyssop branch and dip it into the water, and then he must sprinkle it over the tent and all its objects. He must also sprinkle the people who were there, as well as anyone who touched a bone, or the body of someone who was killed, or a dead person, or a grave.

19 The person who is clean must sprinkle this water on the unclean people on the third day and on the seventh day. On the seventh day they will become clean. They must wash their clothes and take a bath, and they will be clean that evening.

20 If any who are unclean do not become clean, they must be cut off from the community. Since they were not sprinkled with the cleansing water, they stay unclean, and they could make the Lord's Holy Tent unclean.

21 This is a lasting rule. Those who sprinkle the cleansing water must also wash their clothes, and anyone who touches the water will be unclean until evening.

22 Anything an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and whoever touches it will be unclean until evening."

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him about all the things they had done and taught.

31 Crowds of people were coming and going so that Jesus and his followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves, and we will go to a lonely place to get some rest."

32 So they went in a boat by themselves to a lonely place.

33 But many people saw them leave and recognized them. So from all the towns they ran to the place where Jesus was going, and they got there before him.

34 When he arrived, he saw a great crowd waiting. He felt sorry for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.

35 When it was late in the day, his followers came to him and said, "No one lives in this place, and it is already very late.

36 Send the people away so they can go to the countryside and towns around here to buy themselves something to eat."

37 But Jesus answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "We would all have to work a month to earn enough money to buy that much bread!"

38 Jesus asked them, "How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see." When they found out, they said, "Five loaves and two fish."

39 Then Jesus told his followers to have the people sit in groups on the green grass.

40 So they sat in groups of fifty or a hundred.

41 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish and, looking up to heaven, he thanked God for the food. He divided the bread and gave it to his followers for them to give to the people. Then he divided the two fish among them all.

42 All the people ate and were satisfied.

43 The followers filled twelve baskets with the leftover pieces of bread and fish.

44 There were five thousand men who ate.

45 Immediately Jesus told his followers to get into the boat and go ahead of him to Bethsaida across the lake. He stayed there to send the people home.

46 After sending them away, he went into the hills to pray.

47 That night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on the land.

48 He saw his followers struggling hard to row the boat, because the wind was blowing against them. Between three and six o'clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the water, and he wanted to walk past the boat.

49 But when they saw him walking on the water, they thought he was a ghost and cried out.

50 They all saw him and were afraid. But quickly Jesus spoke to them and said, "Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid."

51 Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind became calm. The followers were greatly amazed.

52 They did not understand about the miracle of the five loaves, because their minds were closed.

53 When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret and tied the boat there.

54 When they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus.

55 They ran everywhere in that area and began to bring sick people on mats wherever they heard he was.

56 And everywhere he went -- into towns, cities, or countryside -- the people brought the sick to the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch just the edge of his coat, and all who touched it were healed.