My other websites: Catholic, Prophets today, For Kids

Read Today’s Bible Verses following here:

Numbers 33

Stages of the Journey.

1The following are the stages by which the Israelites went out by companies from the land of Egypt under the guidance of Moses and Aaron.^*

2Moses recorded the starting points of the various stages at the direction of the LORD. These are the stages according to their starting points:

3They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover the Israelites went forth in triumph, in view of all Egypt,

4while the Egyptians buried those whom the LORD had struck down, every firstborn; on their gods, too, the LORD executed judgments.^a

From Egypt to Sinai.

5Setting out from Rameses, the Israelites camped at Succoth.

6Setting out from Succoth, they camped at Etham near the edge of the wilderness.

7Setting out from Etham, they turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which is opposite Baal-zephon, and they camped opposite Migdol.^b

8Setting out from Pi-hahiroth, they crossed over through the sea into the wilderness,^c and after they traveled a three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, they camped at Marah.

9Setting out from Marah, they came to Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.^d

10Setting out from Elim, they camped beside the Red Sea.

11Setting out from the Red Sea, they camped in the wilderness of Sin.

12Setting out from the wilderness of Sin, they camped at Dophkah.

13Setting out from Dophkah, they camped at Alush.

14Setting out from Alush, they camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.^e

15Setting out from Rephidim, they camped in the wilderness of Sinai.^f

From Sinai to Kadesh.

16Setting out from the wilderness of Sinai, they camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.

17Setting out from Kibroth-hattaavah, they camped at Hazeroth.^g

18Setting out from Hazeroth, they camped at Rithmah.

19Setting out from Rithmah, they camped at Rimmon-perez.

20Setting out from Rimmon-perez, they camped at Libnah.

21Setting out from Libnah, they camped at Rissah.

22Setting out from Rissah, they camped at Kehelathah.

23Setting out from Kehelathah, they camped at Mount Shepher.

24Setting out from Mount Shepher, they camped at Haradah.

25Setting out from Haradah, they camped at Makheloth.

26Setting out from Makheloth, they camped at Tahath.

27Setting out from Tahath, they camped at Terah.

28Setting out from Terah, they camped at Mithkah.

29Setting out from Mithkah, they camped at Hashmonah.

30^* Setting out from Hashmonah, they camped at Moseroth.

31Setting out from Moseroth, they camped at Bene-jaakan.

32Setting out from Bene-jaakan, they camped at Mount Gidgad.

33Setting out from Mount Gidgad, they camped at Jotbathah.

34Setting out from Jotbathah, they camped at Abronah.

35Setting out from Abronah, they camped at Ezion-geber.^*

36Setting out from Ezion-geber, they camped in the wilderness of Zin, that is, Kadesh.^h

From Kadesh to the Plains of Moab.

37Setting out from Kadesh, they camped at Mount Hor on the border of the land of Edom.

38Aaron the priest ascended Mount Horⁱ at the LORD’s direction, and there he died in the fortieth year after the departure of the Israelites from the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month.

39Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

40^* When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who ruled over the Negeb in the land of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming….

41^* Setting out from Mount Hor, they camped at Zalmonah.

42Setting out from Zalmonah, they camped at Punon.

43Setting out from Punon, they camped at Oboth.

44Setting out from Oboth, they camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab.

45Setting out from Iye-abarim, they camped at Dibon-gad.

46Setting out from Dibon-gad, they camped at Almon-diblathaim.

47Setting out from Almon-diblathaim, they camped in the Abarim range opposite Nebo.

48Setting out from the Abarim range, they camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

49They camped by the Jordan on the plains of Moab extended from Beth-jeshimoth to Abel-shittim.

Conquest and Division of Canaan.

50The LORD spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho:

51Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you go across the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

52dispossess all the inhabitants of the land before you; destroy all their stone figures, destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places.^j

53You will take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.

54You will apportion the land among yourselves by lot, clan by clan, assigning a large heritage to a large clan and a small heritage to a small clan.^k Wherever anyone’s lot falls, there will his possession be; you will apportion these shares within your ancestral tribe.

55But if you do not dispossess the inhabitants of the land before you, those whom you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will harass you in the land where you live,^l

56and I will treat you as I had intended to treat them.

Numbers 34

The Boundaries.

1The LORD spoke to Moses:

2Give the Israelites this order: When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the territory that shall fall to you as your heritage—the land of Canaan with its boundaries:

3Your southern boundary will be at the wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom;^a on the east your southern boundary will begin at the end of the Salt Sea.

4Then your boundary will turn south of the Akrabbim Pass and cross Zin. Terminating south of Kadesh-barnea, it extends to Hazar-addar and crosses to Azmon.^b

5Then the boundary will turn from Azmon to the Wadi of Egypt and terminate at the Sea.^c

6For your western boundary you will have the Great Sea^* with its coast; this will be your western boundary.

7This will be your boundary on the north: from the Great Sea you will draw a line to Mount Hor,^*

8and draw it from Mount Hor to Lebo-hamath, with the boundary terminating at Zedad.

9Then the boundary extends to Ziphron and terminates at Hazar-enan. This will be your northern boundary.

10For your eastern boundary you will draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham.

11From Shepham the boundary will go down to Riblah, east of Ain, and descending further, the boundary will strike the ridge on the east side of the Sea of Chinnereth;^*

12then the boundary will descend along the Jordan and terminate with the Salt Sea.

This will be your land, with the boundaries that surround it.

13Moses also gave this order to the Israelites: “This is the land, to be apportioned among you by lot, which the LORD has commanded to be given to the nine and a half tribes.

14For the tribe of the Reubenites according to their ancestral houses, and the tribe of the Gadites according to their ancestral houses, as well as half of the tribe of Manasseh, have already received their heritage;

15these two and a half tribes have received their heritage across the Jordan opposite Jericho, in the east, toward the sunrise.”

Supervisors of the Allotment.

16The LORD spoke to Moses:

17These are the names of the men who shall apportion the land among you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua, son of Nun;

18^d and you will designate one leader from each of the tribes to apportion the land.

19These are the names of the men:

from the tribe of Judah: Caleb, son of Jephunneh,

20from the tribe of the Simeonites: Samuel, son of Ammihud;

21from the tribe of Benjamin: Elidad, son of Chislon;

22from the tribe of the Danites: a leader, Bukki, son of Jogli;

23for the descendants of Joseph: from the tribe of the Manassites: a leader, Hanniel, son of Ephod; and

24from the tribe of the Ephraimites: a leader, Kemuel, son of Shiphtan;

25from the tribe of the Zebulunites: a leader, Elizaphan, son of Parnach;

26from the tribe of the Issacharites: a leader, Paltiel, son of Azzan;

27from the tribe of the Asherites: a leader, Ahihud, son of Shelomi;

28from the tribe of the Naphtalites: a leader, Pedahel, son of Ammihud.

29These are the ones whom the LORD commanded to apportion to the Israelites their heritage in the land of Canaan.

Numbers 35

Cities for the Levites.
1The LORD spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho:
2^a Command the Israelites out of the heritage they possess to give the Levites cities to dwell in; you will also give the Levites the pasture lands around the cities.
3The cities will be for them to dwell in, and the pasture lands will be for their cattle, their flocks, and all their other animals.
4The pasture lands of the cities to be assigned the Levites shall extend a thousand cubits out from the city walls in every direction.
5You will measure out two thousand cubits outside the city along the east side, two thousand cubits along the south side, two thousand cubits along the west side, and two thousand cubits along the north side, with the city lying in the center. These will be the pasture lands of their cities.


6^b Now these are the cities you will give to the Levites: the six cities of asylum which you must establish for the homicide to run to, and in addition forty-two other cities—
7a total of forty-eight cities with their pasture lands which you will assign to the Levites.
8^* In assigning the cities from what the Israelites possess, take more from a larger group and fewer from a smaller one, so that each will cede cities to the Levites in proportion to the heritage which it receives.

Cities of Asylum.
9^c The LORD spoke to Moses:
10Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you go across the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
11select for yourselves cities to serve as cities of asylum, where a homicide who has killed someone inadvertently may flee.
12These cities will serve you as places of asylum from the avenger of blood,^* so that a homicide will not be put to death until tried before the community.
13As for the cities you assign, you will have six cities of asylum:
14you will designate three cities beyond the Jordan, and you will designate three cities in the land of Canaan. These will be cities of asylum.
15These six cities will serve as places of asylum for the Israelites, and for the resident or transient aliens among them, so that anyone who has killed a person inadvertently may flee there.

Murder and Manslaughter.
16^* If someone strikes another with an iron instrument and causes death, that person is a murderer, and the murderer must be put to death.^d
17If someone strikes another with a death-dealing stone in the hand and death results, that person is a murderer, and the murderer must be put to death.
18Or if someone strikes another with a death-dealing club in the hand and death results, that person is a murderer, and the murderer must be put to death.
19The avenger of blood is the one who will kill the murderer, putting the individual to death on sight.


20If someone pushes another out of hatred, or throws something from an ambush, and death results,^e
21or strikes another with the hand out of enmity and death results, the assailant must be put to death as a murderer. The avenger of blood will kill the murderer on sight.


22^f However, if someone pushes another without malice aforethought, or without lying in ambush throws some object at another,
23or without seeing drops upon another some death-dealing stone and death results, although there was neither enmity nor malice—
24then the community will judge between the assailant and the avenger of blood in accordance with these norms.
25The community will deliver the homicide from the avenger of blood and the community will return the homicide to the city of asylum where the latter had fled;^g and the individual will stay there until the death of the high priest who has been anointed with sacred oil.
26If the homicide leaves at all the bounds of the city of asylum to which flight had been made,
27and is found by the avenger of blood beyond the bounds of the city of asylum, and the avenger of blood kills the homicide, the avenger incurs no bloodguilt;
28for the homicide was required to stay in the city of asylum until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may the homicide return to the land of the homicide’s possession.


29This is the statute for you throughout all your generations, wherever you live, for rendering judgment.

Judgment.
30Whenever someone kills another, the evidence of witnesses is required to kill the murderer.^h A single witness does not suffice for putting a person to death.

No Indemnity.
31You will not accept compensation in place of the life of a murderer who deserves to die, but that person must be put to death.
32Nor will you accept compensation to allow one who has fled to a city of asylum to return to live in the land before the death of the high priest.
33You will not pollute the land where you live. For bloodshed pollutes the land, and the land can have no expiation for the blood shed on it except through the blood of the one who shed it.
34Do not defile the land in which you live and in the midst of which I dwell;ⁱ for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the Israelites.

Numbers 36

Inheritance of Daughters.

1The heads of the ancestral houses in a clan of the descendants of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh—one of the Josephite clans—came up and spoke before Moses and Eleazar the priest and before the leaders who were the heads of the ancestral houses of the Israelites.

2They said: “The LORD commanded my lord to apportion the land by lot for a heritage among the Israelites;^a and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the heritage of Zelophehad our kinsman to his daughters.

3But if they marry into one of the other Israelite tribes, their heritage will be withdrawn from our ancestral heritage and will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry; thus the heritage that fell to us by lot will be diminished.

4When the Israelites celebrate the jubilee year,^* the heritage of these women will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry and their heritage will be withdrawn from that of our ancestral tribe.”

5^* So Moses commanded the Israelites at the direction of the LORD: “The tribe of the Josephites are right in what they say.

6This is what the LORD commands with regard to the daughters of Zelophehad: They may marry anyone they please, provided they marry into a clan of their ancestral tribe,

7so that no heritage of the Israelites will pass from one tribe to another, but all the Israelites will retain their own ancestral heritage.

8Every daughter who inherits property in any of the Israelite tribes will marry someone belonging to a clan of her own ancestral tribe, in order that all the Israelites may remain in possession of their own ancestral heritage.

9Thus, no heritage will pass from one tribe to another, but all the Israelite tribes will retain their own ancestral heritage.”

10The daughters of Zelophehad did exactly as the LORD commanded Moses.

11Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, Zelophehad’s daughters, married sons of their uncles on their father’s side.

12They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh, son of Joseph; hence their heritage remained in the tribe of their father’s clan.

Conclusion.

13These are the commandments and decisions which the LORD commanded the Israelites through Moses, on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan opposite Jericho.

Hebrews 7

Melchizedek, a Type of Christ.

1^* This “Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High,”^* “met Abraham as he returned from his defeat of the kings” and “blessed him.”^a

2^* And Abraham apportioned to him “a tenth of everything.” His name first means righteous king, and he was also “king of Salem,” that is, king of peace.

3Without father, mother, or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life,^* thus made to resemble the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.^b

4^* See how great he is to whom the patriarch “Abraham [indeed] gave a tenth” of his spoils.^c

5The descendants of Levi who receive the office of priesthood have a commandment according to the law to exact tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, although they also have come from the loins of Abraham.^d

6But he who was not of their ancestry received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises.

7Unquestionably, a lesser person is blessed by a greater.^*

8In the one case, mortal men receive tithes; in the other, a man of whom it is testified that he lives on.

9One might even say that Levi^* himself, who receives tithes, was tithed through Abraham,

10for he was still in his father’s loins when Melchizedek met him.

11^* If, then, perfection came through the levitical priesthood, on the basis of which the people received the law, what need would there still have been for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not reckoned according to the order of Aaron?^e

12When there is a change of priesthood, there is necessarily a change of law as well.

13Now he of whom these things are said^* belonged to a different tribe, of which no member ever officiated at the altar.

14It is clear that our Lord arose from Judah,^* and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.^f

15^* It is even more obvious if another priest is raised up after the likeness of Melchizedek,

16who has become so, not by a law expressed in a commandment concerning physical descent but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.^*

17For it is testified:

“You are a priest forever

according to the order of Melchizedek.”^g

18On the one hand, a former commandment is annulled because of its weakness and uselessness,^h

19for the law brought nothing to perfection; on the other hand, a better hope^* is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

20^* And to the degree that this happened not without the taking of an oath^*—for others became priests without an oath,

21but he with an oath, through the one who said to him:

“The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent:ⁱ

‘You are a priest forever’”—

22^j to that same degree has Jesus [also] become the guarantee of an [even] better covenant.^*

23Those priests were many because they were prevented by death from remaining in office,

24but he, because he remains forever, has a priesthood that does not pass away.^k

25^* Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them.^l

26^m It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:^* holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens.^*

27He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day,^*n first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself.

28For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests, but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law, appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.^o

Sermons Rosary Prayers Catholic Answers

The complete Book of Numbers

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS

The Book of Numbers derives its name from the account of the two censuses taken of the Hebrew people, one near the beginning and the other toward the end of the journey in the wilderness (chaps. 1 and 26). It continues the story of that journey begun in Exodus, and describes briefly the experiences of the Israelites for a period of thirty-eight years, from the end of their encampment at Sinai to their arrival at the border of the promised land. Numerous legal ordinances are interspersed in the account, making the book a combination of law and history.

The book divides neatly into two parts. Each part begins with a census of the people (chaps. 1 and 26) and inaugurates a period of preparation prior to entering the promised land. In the first case these preparations come to a tragic end when scouts are sent forth to survey the promised land (chaps. 13–14). Upon their return, the people are so disheartened by the description of the native inhabitants and the seemingly impossible task that lies in front of them that they refuse to enter the land. This results in a decision to doom that entire generation to death and to allow another generation the chance to enter. After the death of the first generation, then, a second census is taken (chap. 26) and again preparations are made to enter the land. In this case, however, the birth of a new generation suggests these preparations will not be in vain. The book ends with the Israelites across the Jordan outside the land of Canaan, underscoring a chief theme of the Pentateuch as a whole: the people anticipating the fulfillment of God’s promise of the land.

In the New Testament numerous allusions to incidents in the Book of Numbers appear: the bronze serpent (Jn 3:14–15), the sedition of Korah and its consequences (1 Cor 10:10), the prophecies of Balaam (2 Pt 2:15–16), and the water gushing from the rock (1 Cor 10:4).

The chief divisions of the Book of Numbers are as follows:

Census and Preparation for the Departure from Sinai (1:1–10:10)
Departure, Rebellion, and Wandering in the Wilderness for Forty Years (10:11–25:18)
Second Census of a New Generation and Preparation to Enter the Promised Land (25:19–36:13)

I. CENSUS AND PREPARATION FOR THE DEPARTURE FROM SINAI

The book of Hebrews

THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS

As early as the second century, this treatise, which is of great rhetorical power and force in its admonition to faithful pilgrimage under Christ’s leadership, bore the title “To the Hebrews.” It was assumed to be directed to Jewish Christians. Usually Hebrews was attached in Greek manuscripts to the collection of letters by Paul. Although no author is mentioned (for there is no address), a reference to Timothy (Heb 13:23) suggested connections to the circle of Paul and his assistants. Yet the exact audience, the author, and even whether Hebrews is a letter have long been disputed.

The author saw the addressees in danger of apostasy from their Christian faith. This danger was due not to any persecution from outsiders but to a weariness with the demands of Christian life and a growing indifference to their calling (Heb 2:1; 4:14; 6:1–12; 10:23–32). The author’s main theme, the priesthood and sacrifice of Jesus (Heb 3–10), is not developed for its own sake but as a means of restoring their lost fervor and strengthening them in their faith. Another important theme of the letter is that of the pilgrimage of the people of God to the heavenly Jerusalem (11:10; 12:1–3, 18–29; 13:14). This theme is intimately connected with that of Jesus’ ministry in the heavenly sanctuary (Heb 9:11–10:22).

The author calls this work a “message of encouragement” (Heb 13:22), a designation that is given to a synagogue sermon in Acts 13:15. Hebrews is probably therefore a written homily, to which the author gave an epistolary ending (Heb 13:22–25). The author begins with a reminder of the preexistence, incarnation, and exaltation of Jesus (Heb 1:3) that proclaimed him the climax of God’s word to humanity (Heb 1:1–3). He dwells upon the dignity of the person of Christ, superior to the angels (Heb 1:4–2:2). Christ is God’s final word of salvation communicated (in association with accredited witnesses to his teaching: cf. Heb 2:3–4) not merely by word but through his suffering in the humanity common to him and to all others (Heb 2:5–16). This enactment of salvation went beyond the pattern known to Moses, faithful prophet of God’s word though he was, for Jesus as high priest expiated sin and was faithful to God with the faithfulness of God’s own Son (Heb 2:17–3:6).

Just as the infidelity of the people thwarted Moses’ efforts to save them, so the infidelity of any Christian may thwart God’s plan in Christ (3:6–4:13). Christians are to reflect that it is their humanity that Jesus took upon himself, with all its defects save sinfulness, and that he bore the burden of it until death out of obedience to God. God declared this work of his Son to be the cause of salvation for all (Heb 4:14–5:10). Although Christians recognize this fundamental teaching, they may grow weary of it and of its implications, and therefore require other reflections to stimulate their faith (5:11–6:20).

Therefore, the author presents to the readers for their reflection the everlasting priesthood of Christ (Heb 7:1–28), a priesthood that fulfills the promise of the Old Testament (Heb 8:1–13). It also provides the meaning God ultimately intended in the sacrifices of the Old Testament (Heb 9:1–28): these pointed to the unique sacrifice of Christ, which alone obtains forgiveness of sins (Heb 10:1–18). The trial of faith experienced by the readers should resolve itself through their consideration of Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary and his perpetual intercession there on their behalf (Heb 7:25; 8:1–13). They should also be strengthened by the assurance of his foreordained parousia, and by the fruits of faith that they have already enjoyed (Heb 10:19–39).

It is in the nature of faith to recognize the reality of what is not yet seen and is the object of hope, and the saints of the Old Testament give striking example of that faith (Heb 11:1–40). The perseverance to which the author exhorts the readers is shown forth in the earthly life of Jesus. Despite the afflictions of his ministry and the supreme trial of his suffering and death, he remained confident of the triumph that God would bring him (Heb 12:1–3). The difficulties of human life have meaning when they are accepted as God’s discipline (Heb 12:4–13), and if Christians persevere in fidelity to the word in which they have believed, they are assured of possessing forever the unshakable kingdom of God (Heb 12:14–29).

The letter concludes with specific moral commandments (Heb 13:1–17), in the course of which the author recalls again his central theme of the sacrifice of Jesus and the courage needed to associate oneself with it in faith (Heb 13:9–16).

As early as the end of the second century, the church of Alexandria in Egypt accepted Hebrews as a letter of Paul, and that became the view commonly held in the East. Pauline authorship was contested in the West into the fourth century, but then accepted. In the sixteenth century, doubts about that position were again raised, and the modern consensus is that the letter was not written by Paul. There is, however, no widespread agreement on any of the other suggested authors, e.g., Barnabas, Apollos, or Prisc(ill)a and Aquila. The document itself has no statement about its author.

Among the reasons why Pauline authorship has been abandoned are the great difference of vocabulary and style between Hebrews and Paul’s letters, the alternation of doctrinal teaching with moral exhortation, the different manner of citing the Old Testament, and the resemblance between the thought of Hebrews and that of Alexandrian Judaism. The Greek of the letter is in many ways the best in the New Testament.

Since the letter of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians, written about A.D. 96, most probably cites Hebrews, the upper limit for the date of composition is reasonably certain. While the letter’s references in the present tense to the Old Testament sacrificial worship do not necessarily show that temple worship was still going on, many older commentators and a growing number of recent ones favor the view that it was and that the author wrote before the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. In that case, the argument of the letter is more easily explained as directed toward Jewish Christians rather than those of Gentile origin, and the persecutions they have suffered in the past (cf. Heb 10:32–34) may have been connected with the disturbances that preceded the expulsion of the Jews from Rome in A.D. 49 under the emperor Claudius. These were probably caused by disputes between Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah and those who did not.

The principal divisions of the Letter to the Hebrews are the following:

1. Introduction (1:1–4)
2. The Son Higher than the Angels (1:5–2:18)
3. Jesus, Faithful and Compassionate High Priest (3:1–5:10)
4. Jesus’ Eternal Priesthood and Eternal Sacrifice (5:11–10:39)
5. Examples, Discipline, Disobedience (11:1–12:29)
6. Final Exhortation, Blessing, Greetings (13:1–25)