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Psalm 106

A Confession of Israel’s Sins

¹ Praise the Lord!
   O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.
² Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,
   or declare all his praise?
³ Happy are those who observe justice,
   who do righteousness at all times.

⁴ Remember me, O Lord, when you show favour to your people;
   help me when you deliver them;
⁵ that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
   that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
   that I may glory in your heritage.

⁶ Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
   we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.
⁷ Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
   did not consider your wonderful works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
   but rebelled against the Most High^* at the Red Sea.^*
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
   so that he might make known his mighty power.
⁹ He rebuked the Red Sea,^* and it became dry;
   he led them through the deep as through a desert.
¹⁰ So he saved them from the hand of the foe,
   and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.
¹¹ The waters covered their adversaries;
   not one of them was left.
¹² Then they believed his words;
   they sang his praise.

¹³ But they soon forgot his works;
   they did not wait for his counsel.
¹⁴ But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
   and put God to the test in the desert;
¹⁵ he gave them what they asked,
   but sent a wasting disease among them.

¹⁶ They were jealous of Moses in the camp,
   and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
¹⁷ The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
   and covered the faction of Abiram.
¹⁸ Fire also broke out in their company;
   the flame burned up the wicked.

The Seven Lamps

8The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand. ³Aaron did so; he set up its lamps to give light in front of the lampstand, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴Now this was how the lampstand was made, out of hammered work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was hammered work; according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Consecration and Service of the Levites

5 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ⁶Take the Levites from among the Israelites and cleanse them. ⁷Thus you shall do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification on them, have them shave their whole body with a razor and wash their clothes, and so cleanse themselves. ⁸Then let them take a young bull and its grain-offering of choice flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull for a sin-offering. ⁹You shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting, and assemble the whole congregation of the Israelites. ¹⁰When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the Israelites shall lay their hands on the Levites, ¹¹and Aaron shall present the Levites before the Lord as an elevation-offering from the Israelites, that they may perform the service of the Lord. ¹²The Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and he shall offer one for a sin-offering and the other for a burnt-offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³Then you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and you shall present them as an elevation-offering to the Lord.

14 Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the other Israelites, and the Levites shall be mine. ¹⁵Thereafter the Levites may go in to perform service at the tent of meeting, once you have cleansed them and presented them as an elevation-offering. ¹⁶For they are unreservedly given to me from among the Israelites; I have taken them for myself, in place of all that open the womb, the firstborn of all the Israelites. ¹⁷For all the firstborn among the Israelites are mine, both human and animal. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, ¹⁸but I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the Israelites. ¹⁹Moreover, I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to do the service for the Israelites at the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the Israelites, in order that there may be no plague among the Israelites for coming too close to the sanctuary.

20 Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the Israelites did with the Levites accordingly; the Israelites did with the Levites just as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning them. ²¹The Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; then Aaron presented them as an elevation-offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²²Thereafter the Levites went in to perform their service in the tent of meeting in attendance on Aaron and his sons. As the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they dealt with them.

23 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²⁴This applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upwards they shall begin to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting; ²⁵and from the age of fifty years they shall retire from the duty of the service and serve no more. ²⁶They may assist their brothers in the tent of meeting in carrying out their duties, but they shall perform no service. Thus you shall deal with the Levites in assigning their duties.

Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection

30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; ³¹for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.’ ³²But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Who Is the Greatest?

33 Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ ³⁴But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. ³⁵He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ ³⁶Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’

Another Exorcist

38 John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone^* casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ ³⁹But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. ⁴⁰Whoever is not against us is for us. ⁴¹For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

Temptations to Sin

42 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me,^* it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. ⁴³If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell,^* to the unquenchable fire.^{* 45}And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.^{*,* 47}And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell,^{* 48}where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

49 ‘For everyone will be salted with fire.^{* 50}Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?^* Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’

¹⁹ They made a calf at Horeb
   and worshipped a cast image.
²⁰ They exchanged the glory of God^*
   for the image of an ox that eats grass.
²¹ They forgot God, their Saviour,
   who had done great things in Egypt,
²² wondrous works in the land of Ham,
   and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.^*
23 Therefore he said he would destroy them—
   had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
   to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

²⁴ Then they despised the pleasant land,
   having no faith in his promise.
²⁵ They grumbled in their tents,
   and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
²⁶ Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
   that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
²⁷ and would disperse^* their descendants among the nations,
   scattering them over the lands.

²⁸ Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor,
   and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
²⁹ they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
   and a plague broke out among them.
³⁰ Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
   and the plague was stopped.
³¹ And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness
   from generation to generation for ever.

³² They angered the Lord ^* at the waters of Meribah,
   and it went ill with Moses on their account;
³³ for they made his spirit bitter,
   and he spoke words that were rash.

³⁴ They did not destroy the peoples
   as the Lord commanded them,
³⁵ but they mingled with the nations
   and learned to do as they did.
³⁶ They served their idols,
   which became a snare to them.
³⁷ They sacrificed their sons
   and their daughters to the demons;
³⁸ they poured out innocent blood,
   the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
   and the land was polluted with blood.
³⁹ Thus they became unclean by their acts,
   and prostituted themselves in their doings.

⁴⁰ Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
   and he abhorred his heritage;
⁴¹ he gave them into the hand of the nations,
   so that those who hated them ruled over them.
⁴² Their enemies oppressed them,
   and they were brought into subjection under their power.
⁴³ Many times he delivered them,
   but they were rebellious in their purposes,
   and were brought low through their iniquity.
⁴⁴ Nevertheless, he regarded their distress
   when he heard their cry.
⁴⁵ For their sake he remembered his covenant,
   and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
⁴⁶ He caused them to be pitied
   by all who held them captive.

Job Replies: I Am a Laughing-stock

12Then Job answered:
² ‘No doubt you are the people,
   and wisdom will die with you.
³ But I have understanding as well as you;
   I am not inferior to you.
   Who does not know such things as these?
⁴ I am a laughing-stock to my friends;
   I, who called upon God and he answered me,
   a just and blameless man, I am a laughing-stock.
⁵ Those at ease have contempt for misfortune,^*
   but it is ready for those whose feet are unstable.
⁶ The tents of robbers are at peace,
   and those who provoke God are secure,
   who bring their god in their hands.^*

⁷ ‘But ask the animals, and they will teach you;
   the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
⁸ ask the plants of the earth,^* and they will teach you;
   and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
⁹ Who among all these does not know
   that the hand of the Lord has done this?
¹⁰ In his hand is the life of every living thing
   and the breath of every human being.
¹¹ Does not the ear test words
   as the palate tastes food?
¹² Is wisdom with the aged,
   and understanding in length of days?

¹³ ‘With God^* are wisdom and strength;
   he has counsel and understanding.
¹⁴ If he tears down, no one can rebuild;
   if he shuts someone in, no one can open up.
¹⁵ If he withholds the waters, they dry up;
   if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
¹⁶ With him are strength and wisdom;
   the deceived and the deceiver are his.
¹⁷ He leads counsellors away stripped,
   and makes fools of judges.
¹⁸ He looses the sash of kings,
   and binds a waistcloth on their loins.
¹⁹ He leads priests away stripped,
   and overthrows the mighty.
²⁰ He deprives of speech those who are trusted,
   and takes away the discernment of the elders.
²¹ He pours contempt on princes,
   and looses the belt of the strong.
²² He uncovers the deeps out of darkness,
   and brings deep darkness to light.
²³ He makes nations great, then destroys them;
   he enlarges nations, then leads them away.
²⁴ He strips understanding from the leaders^* of the earth,
   and makes them wander in a pathless waste.
²⁵ They grope in the dark without light;
   he makes them stagger like a drunkard.

The Rest That God Promised

4Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it. ²For indeed the good news came to us just as to them; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.^{* 3}For we who have believed enter that rest, just as God^* has said,
‘As in my anger I swore,
“They shall not enter my rest” ’,
though his works were finished at the foundation of the world. ⁴For in one place it speaks about the seventh day as follows: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.’ ⁵And again in this place it says, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’ ⁶Since therefore it remains open for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, ⁷again he sets a certain day—‘today’—saying through David much later, in the words already quoted,
‘Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.’
⁸For if Joshua had given them rest, God^* would not speak later about another day. ⁹So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; ¹⁰for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labours as God did from his. ¹¹Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.

12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.