52 Then the Lord said to Moses, 53“The land is to be divided among the tribes as an inheritance, according to the number of names. 54Increase the inheritance for a large tribe and decrease it for a small one; each tribe is to receive its inheritance according to the number of those registered.

55 Indeed, the land must be divided by lot; they shall receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers. 56Each inheritance is to be divided by lot among the larger and smaller tribes.”

57 Now these were the Levites numbered by their clans:

58 These were the families of the Levites:

Now Kohath was the father of Amram, 59and Amram’s wife was named Jochebed. She was also a daughter of Levi, born to Levi in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam. 60Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar were born to Aaron, 61but Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord.

62 The registration of the Levites totaled 23,000, every male a month old or more; they were not numbered among the other Israelites, because no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites.

63 These were the ones numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.

64 Among all these, however, there was not one who had been numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Wilderness of Sinai. 65For the Lord had told them that they would surely die in the wilderness. Not one was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

1 Now the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They approached 2the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole congregation, and said, 3“Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among the followers of Korah who gathered together against the Lord. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons. 4Why should the name of our father disappear from his clan because he had no sons? Give us property among our father’s brothers.”

5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord, 6and the Lord answered him, 7“The daughters of Zelophehad speak correctly. You certainly must give them property as an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer their father’s inheritance to them.

8 Furthermore, you shall say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, you are to transfer his inheritance to his daughter. 9If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. 10If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11And if his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the next of kin from his clan, that he may take possession of it. This is to be a statutory ordinance for the Israelites, as the Lord has commanded Moses.’”

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range and see the land that I have given the Israelites. 13After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was; 14for when the congregation contended in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against My command to show My holiness in their sight regarding the waters.” Those were the waters of Meribah in Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin.

15 So Moses appealed to the Lord, 16“May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 17who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

18 And the Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man with the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. 19Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and commission him in their sight. 20Confer on him some of your authority, so that the whole congregation of Israel will obey him. 21He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the Lord by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him— the entire congregation— will go out and come in.”

22 Moses did as the Lord had commanded him. He took Joshua, had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, 23and laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord had instructed through Moses.

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2“Command the Israelites and say to them: See that you present to Me at its appointed time the food for My food offerings, as a pleasing aroma to Me.

3 And tell them that this is the food offering you are to present to the Lord as a regular burnt offering each day: two unblemished year-old male lambs. 4Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight, 5along with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives.

6 This is a regular burnt offering established at Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. 7The drink offering accompanying each lamb shall be a quarter hin. Pour out the offering of fermented drink to the Lord in the sanctuary area. 8And offer the second lamb at twilight, with the same grain offering and drink offering as in the morning. It is a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

9 On the Sabbath day, present two unblemished year-old male lambs, accompanied by a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, as well as a drink offering.

10 This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

11 At the beginning of every month, you are to present to the Lord a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished, 12along with three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with the ram, 13and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each lamb. This is a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord.

14 Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine with each bull, a third of a hin with the ram, and a quarter hin with each lamb. This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon throughout the year.

15 In addition to the regular burnt offering with its drink offering, one male goat is to be presented to the Lord as a sin offering.

1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

7 Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”

11 John replied, “Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”

12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

13“Collect no more than you are authorized,” he answered.

14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

“Do not take money by force or false accusation,” he said. “Be content with your wages.”

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John could be the Christ. 16John answered all of them: “I baptize you with water, but One more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

18 With these and many other exhortations, John proclaimed the good news to the people. 19But when he rebuked Herod the tetrarch regarding his brother’s wife Herodias and all the evils he had done, 20Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, heaven was opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”