The People Rebel

1Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”

5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. 6Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey. 9Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

Moses Pleads for the People

11The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? 12I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

13But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from their midst, 14and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O Lord, are in the midst of this people, for You, O Lord, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say, 16‘Because the Lord could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ 17But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, 18‘The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’ 19Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

The Lord Pardons and Rebukes

20So the Lord said, “I have pardoned them according to your word; 21but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. 22Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, 23shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. 24But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. 25Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”

26The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 27“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. 28Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you; 29your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. 30Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey—I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. 32But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. 33Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness. 34According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. 35I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die.’ ”

36As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, 37even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the Lord. 38But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

Israel Repulsed

39When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly. 40In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Here we are; we have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised.” 41But Moses said, “Why then are you transgressing the commandment of the Lord, when it will not succeed? 42Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. 43For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following the Lord. And the Lord will not be with you.” 44But they went up heedlessly to the ridge of the hill country; neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses left the camp. 45Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as Hormah.

Laws for Canaan

1Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where you are to live, which I am giving you, 3then make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your appointed times, to make a soothing aroma to the Lord, from the herd or from the flock. 4The one who presents his offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of oil, 5and you shall prepare wine for the drink offering, one-fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for each lamb. 6Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil; 7and for the drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a soothing aroma to the Lord. 8When you prepare a bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a special vow, or for peace offerings to the Lord, 9then you shall offer with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-half a hin of oil; 10and you shall offer as the drink offering one-half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord.

11‘Thus it shall be done for each ox, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats. 12According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do for everyone according to their number. 13All who are native shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord.

Law of the Sojourner

14If an alien sojourns with you, or one who may be among you throughout your generations, and he wishes to make an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord, just as you do so he shall do. 15As for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the Lord. 16There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.’ ”

Jesus before His Accusers

53They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes *gathered together. 54Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire. 55Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. 56For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. 57Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, 58“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’ ” 59Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. 60The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” 61But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? 64You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. 65Some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers received Him with slaps in the face.

Peter’s Denials

66As Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest *came, 67and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.” 68But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he went out onto the porch. 69The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!” 70But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.” 71But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” 72Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he began to weep.

PSALM 53

Folly and Wickedness of Men.

For the choir director; according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.

1The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”

They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;

There is no one who does good.

2God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men

To see if there is anyone who understands,

Who seeks after God.

3Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

There is no one who does good, not even one.

4Have the workers of wickedness no knowledge,

Who eat up My people as though they ate bread

And have not called upon God?

5There they were in great fear where no fear had been;

For God scattered the bones of him who encamped against you;

You put them to shame, because God had rejected them.

6Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!

When God restores His captive people,

Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

4Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,

But righteousness delivers from death.