Monday, 11 Sivan 5784 / June 17, 2024
Day 534 Readings
Torah: Parshat Behaalotecha, 2nd Portion (Bamidbar (Numbers) 8:15-8:26)
Numbers 8:15-26
English Standard Version
15 And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a wave offering. 16 For they are wholly given to me from among the people of Israel. Instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. 17 For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, 18 and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. 19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary.”
20 Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them. 21 And the Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
Retirement of the Levites
23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they[a] shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. 25 And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. 26 They minister[b] to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”
BIBLE Study Together
Isaiah 45:14-46:13
Isaiah 45
English Standard Version
The Lord, the Only Savior
14 Thus says the Lord: “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.’”
15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17 But Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.
18 For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’[a]I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right.
20 “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
21 Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.
22 “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’[b]
24 “Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.
25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.”
Isaiah 46
The Idols of Babylon and the One True God
1 Bel bows down; Nebo stoops; their idols are on beasts and livestock; these things you carry are borne as burdens on weary beasts.
2 They stoop; they bow down together; they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity.
3 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb;
4 even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.
5 “To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?
6 Those who lavish gold from the purse, and weigh out silver in the scales, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship!
7 They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble.
8 “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, 9 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ 11 calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.
12 “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart, you who are far from righteousness: 13 I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off, and my salvation will not delay; I will put salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory.”
ESV Readings
Scripture
Proverbs 11
English Standard Version
1 A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.
2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust.
7 When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth[a] perishes too.
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked walks into it instead.
9 With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.
10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness.
11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.
12 Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.
13 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.
14 Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.
15 Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm, but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure.
16 A gracious woman gets honor, and violent men get riches.
17 A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.
18 The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.
19 Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die.
20 Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those of blameless ways are his delight.
21 Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.
22 Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good, the expectation of the wicked in wrath.
24 One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.
26 The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.
27 Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor,[b] but evil comes to him who searches for it.
28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
29 Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.
31 If the righteous is repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!
Proverbs 12
Deuteronomy 18
Amos 2:6-16
English Standard Version
Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals—7 those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; 8 they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.
9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.10 Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.11 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?” declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’
13 “Behold, I will press you down in your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses down. 14 Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain his strength, nor shall the mighty save his life; 15 he who handles the bow shall not stand, and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself, nor shall he who rides the horse save his life; 16 and he who is stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day,” declares the Lord.
Matthew 1:1-17
English Standard Version
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,[a] 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,[b] 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos,[c] and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,[d] and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.