Bamidbar, בְּמִדְבַּר

Passages

Torah: Numbers 1:47 - 1:54
Gospel: Luke 1:39-80

Torah — Numbers 1:47 - 1:54

1:47 The Levites from their ancestors’ tribe were not mustered in their midst.

1:48 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

1:49 “You will not muster the tribe of Levi, and you will not take a census of them in the midst of the Israelites.

1:50 You will appoint them over the tabernacle of the testimony, over all its vessels, and over all that belongs to it. They will carry the tabernacle and all its vessels, and they will care for it; and they will camp around the tabernacle.

1:51 And when the tabernacle is set out, the Levites will take it down, and when encamping the tabernacle the Levites will set it up; the stranger that approaches it will be put to death.

1:52 The Israelites will encamp, each in their own camp, and each by their own banner according to their divisions.

1:53 But the Levites will encamp around the tabernacle of the testimony, and there will not be wrath on the community of the Israelites; and the Levites will keep the requirements of the tabernacle of the testimony.”

1:54 And the Israelites did thus; they did everything that Yahweh commanded Moses.

1:47 But the families of the tribe of Levi were not counted along with the others.

1:48 The Lord had spoken to Moses. He had said,

1:49 “You must not count the men from the tribe of Levi. Do not include them when you list the other men of Israel.

1:50 “Instead, put the Levites in charge of the holy tent. That is where the tablets of the covenant are kept. The Levites will be in charge of everything that belongs to the holy tent. They must carry the tent and everything that belongs to it. They must take care of it. They must set up camp around it.

1:51 “When the holy tent must be moved, the Levites must take it down. And when the tent must be set up, the Levites must do it. Anyone else who goes near it will be put to death.

1:52 “The people of Israel must set up their tents by companies. All of them must be in their own camps under their own flags.

1:53 “But the Levites must set up their tents around the holy tent where the tablets of the covenant are kept. Then my anger will not fall on the community of Israel. The Levites will be held accountable for taking care of the tent.”

1:54 The people of Israel did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Gospel — Luke 1:39-80

1:39 Mary Visits Elizabeth Now in those days Mary set out and traveled with haste into the hill country, to a town of Judah,

1:40 and entered into the house of Zechariah, and greeted Elizabeth.

1:41 And it happened that when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby in her womb leaped and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

1:42 And she cried out with a loud shout and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

1:43 And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

1:44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy!

1:45 And blessed is she who believed that there will be a fulfillment to what was spoken to her from the Lord!”

1:46 Mary’s Hymn of Praise to God And Mary said, “My soul exalts the Lord,

1:47     and my spirit has rejoiced greatly in God my Savior,

1:48 because he has looked upon the humble state of his female slave, for behold, from now on all generations will consider me blessed,

1:49 because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

1:50 And his mercy is for generation after generation to those who fear him.

1:51 He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has dispersed the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

1:52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly.

1:53 He has filled those who are hungry with good things, and those who are rich he has sent away empty-handed.

1:54 He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,

1:55 just as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

1:56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and returned to her home.

1:57 The Birth of John the Baptist Now the time came for Elizabeth that she should give birth, and she gave birth to a son.

1:58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

1:59 And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were wanting to name him after his father Zechariah.

1:60 And his mother answered and said, “No, but he will be named John.”

1:61 And they said to her, “There is no one of your relatives who is called by this name.”

1:62 So they made signs to his father asking what he wanted him to be named,

1:63 and he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, saying, “John is his name.” And they were all astonished.

1:64 And his mouth and his tongue were opened immediately, and he began to speak, praising God.

1:65 And fear came on all those who lived near them, and in all the hill country of Judea all these events were discussed.

1:66 And all those who heard kept these things in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be? For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him!”

1:67 The Praise and Prophecy of Zechariah And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

1:68 “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited to help and has redeemed his people,

1:69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

1:70 just as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from earliest times—

1:71     salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all those who hate us,

1:72 to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,

1:73 the oath that he swore to Abraham our father, to grant us

1:74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, could serve him without fear

1:75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

1:76 And so you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways,

1:77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins,

1:78 because of the merciful compassion of our God by which the dawn will visit to help us from on high,

1:79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace.”

1:80 And the child kept growing and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

1:39 Mary Visits Elizabeth At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in Judea’s hill country.

1:40 There she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.

1:41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby inside her jumped. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

1:42 In a loud voice she called out, “God has blessed you more than other women. And blessed is the child you will have!

1:43 But why is God so kind to me? Why has the mother of my Lord come to me?

1:44 As soon as I heard the sound of your voice, the baby inside me jumped for joy.

1:45 You are a woman God has blessed. You have believed that what the Lord has said to you will be done!”

1:46 Mary’s Song Mary said, “My soul gives glory to the Lord.

1:47     My spirit delights in God my Savior.

1:48 He has taken note of me even though I am not important. From now on all people will call me blessed.

1:49     The Mighty One has done great things for me. His name is holy.

1:50 He shows his mercy to those who have respect for him, from parent to child down through the years.

1:51 He has done mighty things with his arm. He has scattered those who are proud in their deepest thoughts.

1:52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones. But he has lifted up people who are not important.

1:53 He has filled those who are hungry with good things. But he has sent those who are rich away empty.

1:54 He has helped the people of Israel, who serve him. He has always remembered to be kind

1:55 to Abraham and his children down through the years. He has done it just as he said to our people of long ago.”

1:56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months. Then she returned home.

1:57 John the Baptist Is Born The time came for Elizabeth to have her baby. She gave birth to a son.

1:58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very kind to her. They shared her joy.

1:59 On the eighth day, they came to have the child circumcised. They were going to name him Zechariah, like his father.

1:60 But his mother spoke up. “No!” she said. “He must be called John.”

1:61 They said to her, “No one among your relatives has that name.”

1:62 Then they motioned to his father. They wanted to find out what he would like to name the child.

1:63 He asked for something to write on. Then he wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was amazed.

1:64 Right away Zechariah could speak again. His first words gave praise to God.

1:65 The neighbors were all filled with fear and wonder. All through Judea’s hill country, people were talking about all these things.

1:66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it. And because the Lord was with John, they asked, “What is this child going to be?”

1:67 Zechariah’s Song His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit. He prophesied,

1:68 “Give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel! He has come and set his people free.

1:69 He has acted with great power and has saved us. He did it for those who are from the family line of his servant David.

1:70 Long ago holy prophets said he would do it.

1:71 He has saved us from our enemies. We are rescued from all who hate us.

1:72 He has been kind to our people. He has remembered his holy covenant.

1:73     He made an oath to our father Abraham.

1:74 He promised to save us from our enemies, so that we could serve him without fear.

1:75     He wants us to be holy and godly as long as we live.

1:76 “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God. You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare the way for him.

1:77 You will tell his people how they can be saved. You will tell them that their sins can be forgiven.

1:78 All of that will happen because our God is tender and caring. His kindness will bring the rising sun to us from heaven.

1:79 It will shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death. It will guide our feet on the path of peace.”

1:80 The child grew up, and his spirit became strong. He lived in the desert until he appeared openly to Israel.

Passages

Torah — Numbers 1:47 - 1:54

LEB translation

NIRV translation

Gospel — Luke 1:39-80

LEB translation

NIRV translation