The One Year Bible TLB (54 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
Reverence for God adds hours to each day;
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so how can the wicked expect a long, good life?
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The hope of good men is eternal happiness; the hopes of evil men are all in vain.
March 7The Lord said to Moses,
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“Tell Aaron that when he lights the seven lamps in the lampstand, he is to set them so that they will throw their light forward.”
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So Aaron did this.
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The lampstand, including the floral decorations on the base and branches, was made entirely of beaten gold. It was constructed according to the exact design the Lord had shown Moses.
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Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now set apart the Levites from the other people of Israel.
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Do this by sprinkling water of purification upon them, then having them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothing and themselves.
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Have them bring a young bull and a grain offering of fine flour mingled with oil, along with another young bull for a sin offering.
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Then bring the Levites to the door of the Tabernacle as all the people watch.
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There the leaders
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of the tribes shall lay their hands upon them,
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and Aaron, with a gesture of offering, shall present them to the Lord as a gift from the entire nation of Israel. The Levites will represent all the people in serving the Lord.
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“Next, the Levite leaders shall lay their hands upon the heads of the young bulls and offer them before the Lord; one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites.
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Then the Levites are to be presented to Aaron and his sons, just as any other gift to the Lord is given to the priests!
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In this way you will dedicate the Levites from among the rest of the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.
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After you have sanctified them and presented them in this way, they shall go in and out of the Tabernacle to do their work.
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“They are mine from among all the people of Israel, and I have accepted them in place of all the firstborn children of the Israelites: I have taken the Levites as their substitutes.
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For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both men and animals; I claimed them for myself the night I killed all the firstborn Egyptians.
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Yes, I have accepted the Levites in place of all the eldest sons of Israel.
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And I will give the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons. The Levites will carry out the sacred duties required of the people of Israel in the Tabernacle, and will offer the people’s sacrifices, making atonement for them. There will be no plague among the Israelites—as there would be if the ordinary people entered the Tabernacle.”
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So Moses and Aaron and all the people of Israel dedicated the Levites, carefully following Jehovah’s instructions to Moses.
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The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them to the Lord in a gesture of offering. He then performed the rite of atonement over them to purify them.
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After that they went into the Tabernacle as assistants to Aaron and his sons; everything was done just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
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The Lord also instructed Moses, “The Levites are to begin serving in the Tabernacle at the age of twenty-five, and are to retire at the age of fifty.
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After retirement they can assist with various light duties in the Tabernacle, but will have no regular responsibilities.”
9:
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Jehovah gave these instructions to Moses while he and the rest of the Israelis were on the Sinai peninsula, during the first month of the second year after leaving Egypt:
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“The people of Israel must celebrate the Passover annually on April first,
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beginning in the evening. Be sure to follow all of my instructions concerning this celebration.”
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So Moses announced that the Passover celebration would begin on the evening of April first, there in the Sinai peninsula, just as the Lord had commanded.
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But as it happened, some of the men had just attended a funeral and were ceremonially defiled by having touched the dead, so they couldn’t eat the Passover lamb that night. They came to Moses and Aaron and explained their problem and protested at being forbidden from offering their sacrifice to the Lord at the time he had appointed.
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Moses said he would ask the Lord about it,
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and this was God’s reply:
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“If any of the people of Israel, now or in the generations to come, are defiled at Passover time because of touching a dead body, or if they are on a journey and cannot be present, they may still celebrate the Passover, but one month later,
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on May first,
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beginning in the evening. They are to eat the lamb at that time, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
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They must not leave any of it until the next morning, and must not break a bone of it, and must follow all the regular instructions concerning the Passover.
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“But anyone who is not defiled, and anyone who is not away on a trip, and yet refuses to celebrate the Passover at the regular time, shall be excommunicated from the people of Israel for refusing to sacrifice to Jehovah at the proper time; he must bear his guilt.
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And if a foreigner is living among you and wants to celebrate the Passover to the Lord, he shall follow all these same instructions. There is one law for all.”
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On the day the Tabernacle was raised the Cloud covered it; and that evening the Cloud changed to the appearance of fire, and stayed that way throughout the night.
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It was always so—the daytime Cloud changing to the appearance of fire at night.
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When the Cloud lifted, the people of Israel moved on to wherever it stopped, and camped there.
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In this way they journeyed at the command of the Lord and stopped where he told them to, then remained there as long as the Cloud stayed.
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If it stayed a long time, then they stayed a long time. But if it stayed only a few days, then they remained only a few days; for so the Lord had instructed them.
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Sometimes the fire-cloud stayed only during the night and moved on the next morning. But day or night, when it moved, the people broke camp and followed.
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If the Cloud stayed above the Tabernacle two days, a month, or a year, that is how long the people of Israel stayed; but as soon as it moved, they moved.
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So it was that they camped or traveled at the commandment of the Lord; and whatever the Lord told Moses they should do, they did.
“When you see the horrible thing standing in the Temple
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—reader, pay attention!—flee, if you can, to the Judean hills.
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Hurry! If you are on your rooftop porch, don’t even go back into the house. If you are out in the fields, don’t even return for your money or clothes.
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“Woe to pregnant women in those days, and to mothers nursing their children.
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And pray that your flight will not be in winter.
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For those will be days of such horror as have never been since the beginning of God’s creation, nor will ever be again.
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And unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, not a soul in all the earth will survive. But for the sake of his chosen ones he will limit those days.
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“And then if anyone tells you, ‘This is the Messiah,’ or, ‘That one is,’ don’t pay any attention.
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For there will be many false Messiahs and false prophets who will do wonderful miracles that would deceive, if possible, even God’s own children.
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Take care! I have warned you!
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“After the tribulation ends, then the sun will grow dim and the moon will not shine,
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and the stars will fall—the heavens will convulse.
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“Then all mankind will see me, the Messiah,
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coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
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And I will send out the angels to gather together my chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest bounds of earth and heaven.
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“Now, here is a lesson from a fig tree. When its buds become tender and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that spring has come.
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And when you see these things happening that I’ve described, you can be sure that my return is very near, that I am right at the door.
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“Yes, these are the events that will signal the end of the age.
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Heaven and earth shall disappear, but my words stand sure forever.
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“However, no one, not even the angels in heaven, nor I myself,
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knows the day or hour when these things will happen; only the Father knows.
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And since you don’t know when it will happen, stay alert. Be on the watch for my return.
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“My coming
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can be compared with that of a man who went on a trip to another country. He laid out his employees’ work for them to do while he was gone and told the gatekeeper to watch for his return.
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“Keep a sharp lookout! For you do not know when I
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will come, at evening, at midnight, early dawn or late daybreak. Don’t let me find you sleeping.
Watch for my return!
This is my message to you and to everyone else.”
The mighty God, the Lord, has summoned all mankind from east to west!
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God’s glory-light shines from the beautiful Temple
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on Mount Zion.
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He comes with the noise of thunder,
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surrounded by devastating fire; a great storm rages round about him.
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He has come to judge his people. To heaven and earth he shouts,
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“Gather together my own people who by their sacrifice upon my altar have promised to obey me.”
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God will judge them with complete fairness, for all heaven declares that he is just.
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O my people, listen! For I am your God. Listen! Here are my charges against you:
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I have no complaint about the sacrifices you bring to my altar, for you bring them regularly.
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But it isn’t sacrificial bullocks and goats that I really want from you.
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For all the animals of field and forest are mine! The cattle on a thousand hills! And all the birds upon the mountains!
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If I were hungry, I would not mention it to you—for all the world is mine and everything in it.
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No, I don’t need your sacrifices of flesh and blood.
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What I want from you is your true thanks; I want your promises fulfilled.
I want you to trust me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you and you can give me glory.
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But God says to evil men: Recite my laws no longer and stop claiming my promises,
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for you have refused my discipline, disregarding my laws.
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You see a thief and help him, and spend your time with evil and immoral men.
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You curse and lie, and vile language streams from your mouths.
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You slander your own brother.
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I remained silent—you thought I didn’t care—but now your time of punishment has come, and I list all the above charges against you.
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This is the last chance for all of you who have forgotten God, before I tear you apart—and no one can help you then.
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But true praise is a worthy sacrifice; this really honors me. Those who walk my paths will receive salvation from the Lord.
God protects the upright but destroys the wicked.
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The good shall never lose God’s blessings, but the wicked shall lose everything.