Numbers 9 - 10, Acts 28, Psalms 92 - 93

The Passover

9Thus Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in ^athe first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ²“Now, let the sons of Israel observe the Passover at ^aits appointed time. ³“On the fourteenth day of this month, ¹at twilight, you shall observe it at its appointed time; you shall observe it according to all its statutes and according to all its judgments.” ⁴So Moses ¹told the sons of Israel to celebrate the Passover. ⁵^aAnd they celebrated the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; ^baccording to all that Yahweh had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel did. ⁶But there were some men who were ^aunclean because of a ¹dead person, so that they could not celebrate Passover on that day; so ^bthey came near before Moses and Aaron on that day. ⁷And those men said to him, “We are unclean because of a ¹dead person. But why are we restrained from bringing near the offering of Yahweh at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” ⁸Moses therefore said to them, “¹^,^aWait, and I will listen to what Yahweh will command concerning you.”

⁹Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If any one of you or of your generations becomes unclean because of a dead ¹person, or is on a distant journey, he may, however, celebrate the Passover to Yahweh. ¹¹‘In the second month on the ^afourteenth day at twilight, they shall observe it; they ^bshall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ¹²‘They ^ashall leave none of it until morning ^bnor break a bone of it; according to all the statute of the Passover they shall celebrate it. ¹³‘^aBut the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and yet ¹neglects to celebrate the Passover, that ²person shall then be cut off from his people, for he did not bring near the offering of Yahweh at its appointed time. That man ^bwill bear his sin. ¹⁴‘^aIf a sojourner sojourns among you and ¹celebrates the Passover to Yahweh, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its judgment, so he shall do; you shall have ^bone statute, both for the sojourner and for the native of the land.’”

The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle

¹⁵Now on ^athe day that the tabernacle was erected ^bthe cloud covered the tabernacle, the ^ctent of the testimony, and ^din the evening it was like the appearance of fire over the tabernacle until morning. ¹⁶So it was continuously; ^athe cloud would cover it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. ¹⁷^aNow whenever the cloud would go up from over the tent, afterward the sons of Israel would then set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the sons of Israel would camp. ¹⁸At the ¹command of Yahweh the sons of Israel would set out, and at the ²command of Yahweh they would camp; ^aas long as the cloud settled over the tabernacle, they remained camped. ¹⁹Even when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, ¹the sons of Israel would keep the charge of Yahweh and not set out. ²⁰If ¹sometimes the cloud remained a few days over the tabernacle, ^aaccording to the ²command of Yahweh they remained camped. Then according to the ³command of Yahweh they set out. ²¹If ¹sometimes the cloud ²remained from evening until morning, when the cloud was lifted in the morning, they would move out; or if it remained in the daytime and at night, whenever the cloud was lifted, they would set out. ²²Whether it was two days or a month or a year that the cloud lingered over the tabernacle, dwelling above it, the sons of Israel remained camped and did not set out; but ^awhen it was lifted, they did set out. ²³^aAt the ¹command of Yahweh they camped, and at the ²command of Yahweh they set out; they kept the charge of Yahweh, according to the ³command of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.

The Silver Trumpets

10Yahweh spoke further to Moses, saying, ²“Make yourself two trumpets of silver, of hammered work you shall make them; and you shall use them for ^asummoning the congregation and for having the camps set out. ³“^aSo both will be blown, and all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ⁴“Yet if only one is blown, then the ^aleaders, the heads of the ¹divisions of Israel, shall assemble before you. ⁵“But when you blow an alarm, the camps that are pitched ^aon the east side shall set out. ⁶“Then you will blow an alarm the second time, and the camps that are pitched on ^athe south side shall set out; an alarm is to be blown for them to set out. ⁷“When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow without ^asounding an alarm. ⁸“^aThe priestly sons of Aaron, moreover, shall blow the trumpets; and ¹this shall be for you a perpetual statute throughout your generations. ⁹“Now when you go to war in your land against the adversary who ^aattacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be ^bremembered before Yahweh your God and be saved from your enemies. ¹⁰“Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed ¹feasts, and on the first days of your months, ^ayou shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a remembrance of you before your God. I am Yahweh your God.”

Israel Sets Out from Sinai

¹¹Now it happened in ^athe second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, that the cloud was lifted from over the ¹tabernacle of the testimony; ¹²and the sons of Israel set out on ^atheir journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. Then the cloud settled down in the ^bwilderness of Paran. ¹³^aSo they moved out for the first time according to the ¹command of Yahweh by the hand of Moses. ¹⁴And the standard of the camp of the sons of Judah, according to their armies, ^aset out first, with Nahshon the son of Amminadab, over its army, ¹⁵and Nethanel the son of Zuar, over the tribal army of the sons of Issachar; ¹⁶and Eliab the son of Helon over the tribal army of the sons of Zebulun.

¹⁷^aThen the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were carrying the tabernacle, set out. ¹⁸Next ^athe standard of the camp of Reuben, according to their armies, set out with Elizur the son of Shedeur, over its army, ¹⁹and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai over the tribal army of the sons of Simeon, ²⁰and Eliasaph the son of Deuel over the tribal army of the sons of Gad.

²¹^aThen the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy objects; and ^bthe tabernacle was set up before their arrival. ²²^aNext the standard of the camp of the sons of Ephraim, according to their armies, set out, with Elishama the son of Ammihud over its army, ²³and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur over the tribal army of the sons of Manasseh; ²⁴and Abidan the son of Gideoni over the tribal army of the sons of Benjamin.

²⁵^aThen the standard of the camp of the sons of Dan, according to their armies, which formed the ^brear guard for all the camps, set out, with Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai over its army, ²⁶and Pagiel the son of Ochran over the tribal army of the sons of Asher; ²⁷and Ahira the son of Enan over the tribal army of the sons of Naphtali. ²⁸¹This was the order of march of the sons of Israel by their armies as they set out.

²⁹Then Moses said to ^aHobab the son of ^bReuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out to the place of which Yahweh said, ‘^cI will give it to you’; ^dcome with us and we will do you good, for Yahweh ^ehas ¹promised good concerning Israel.” ³⁰But he said to him, “^aI will not come, but rather will go to my own land and kin.” ³¹Then he said, “Please do not leave us, inasmuch as you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you ^awill be as eyes for us. ³²“So it will be, if you go with us, that ¹^,^awhatever good Yahweh ²does for us, ^bwe will ³do for you.”

³³^aThus they set out from the mount of Yahweh three days’ journey, with ^bthe ark of the covenant of Yahweh journeying in front of them for the ¹three days, to spy out ^ca resting place for them. ³⁴^aNow the cloud of Yahweh was over them by day when they set out from the camp.

³⁵Then it happened when the ark set out that Moses said, “^aRise up, O Yahweh!And let Your enemies be scattered,And let those ^bwho hate You flee ¹before You.”

³⁶And when it came to rest, he said, “^aReturn, O Yahweh,To the myriad ^bthousands of Israel.”

On the Island of Malta

28And when ^athey had been brought safely through to shore, ^bthen we learned that ^cthe island was called ¹Malta. ²^aAnd the ¹natives showed us extraordinary affection; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and ^breceived us all. ³But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out ¹because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. ⁴And when ^athe ¹natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “^bUndoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, ²Justice has not allowed him to live.” ⁵However ^ahe shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶But they were waiting for him to soon swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, changing their minds, they ^abegan to say that he was a god.

⁷Now in the areas around that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days. ⁸And it happened that the father of Publius was lying afflicted with fever and dysentery; and Paul, going to see him and having ^aprayed, ^blaid his hands on him and healed him. ⁹And after this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and being healed. ¹⁰They also bestowed on us many honors of respect; and when we were setting sail, they ¹supplied us with ²all we needed.

Paul Arrives in Rome

¹¹Now at the end of three months we set sail on ^aan Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had ¹the Twin Brothers for its figurehead. ¹²After we put into Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. ¹³From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and after a day when a south wind sprang up, on the second day we came to Puteoli. ¹⁴¹There we found some ^abrothers, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to Rome. ¹⁵And the ^abrothers, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the ¹Market of Appius and ²Three Inns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

¹⁶And when we entered Rome, Paul was ^aallowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.

Paul’s Ministry in Rome

¹⁷And it happened that after three days ¹Paul called together those who were ^athe leading men of the Jews, and when they came together, he began saying to them, “^bBrothers, ^cthough I had done nothing against our people or ^dthe customs of our ²fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. ¹⁸“And when they had ^aexamined me, they ^bwere willing to release me because there was ^cno ground ¹for putting me to death. ¹⁹“But when the Jews ¹objected, I was forced to ^aappeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation against my nation. ²⁰“For this reason, therefore, I ¹requested to see you and to speak with you, for I am wearing ^athis chain for ^bthe sake of the hope of Israel.” ²¹And they said to him, “We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of ^athe brothers come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you. ²²“But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this ^asect, it is known to us that ^bit is spoken against everywhere.”

²³And when they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at ^ahis lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly ^bbearing witness about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, ^cfrom both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening. ²⁴^aAnd some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others were not believing. ²⁵And when they disagreed with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, ²⁶saying, ‘^aGo to this people and say,“¹^,^bYou will keep on hearing, ²but will not understand;And ³you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

²⁷^aFor the heart of this people has become dull,And with their ears they scarcely hear,And they have closed their eyes;Lest they might see with their eyes,And hear with their ears,And understand with their heart and return,And I heal them.”’

²⁸“Therefore let it be known to you that ^athis salvation of God was sent ^bto the Gentiles—they will also hear.” ²⁹¹[When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.]

³⁰And he stayed two full years ¹in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, ³¹¹^,^apreaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ ^bwith all confidence, unhindered.

How Great Are Your Works, O Yahweh

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.

It is ^agood to give thanks to YahwehAnd to ^bsing praises to Your name, O Most High;²To ^adeclare Your lovingkindness in the morningAnd Your ^bfaithfulness ¹by night,³¹With the ^aten-stringed lute and with the ^bharp,²With resounding music ³upon the ^clyre.⁴For You, O Yahweh, have made me glad by ¹what You ^ahave done,I will ^bsing for joy at the ^cworks of Your hands.⁵How ^agreat are Your works, O Yahweh!Your ¹^,^bthoughts are very ^cdeep.⁶A ^asenseless man does not know,And a ^bfool does not understand this:⁷That when the wicked ^aflourished like grassAnd all ^bthe workers of iniquity blossomed,It was only that they might be ^cdestroyed forevermore.⁸But You are ^aon high forever, O Yahweh.⁹For, behold, Your enemies, O Yahweh,For, behold, ^aYour enemies will perish;All the workers of iniquity will be ^bscattered.¹⁰But You have raised up my ^ahorn like that of the wild ox;I have ¹been ^banointed with fresh oil.¹¹And my eye has ^alooked exultantly upon ¹my foes,My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.¹²The ^arighteous man will ¹flourish like the palm tree,He will grow like a ^bcedar in Lebanon.¹³^aPlanted in the house of Yahweh,They will flourish ^bin the courts of our God.¹⁴They will still ¹^,^ayield fruit in old age;They shall be ²rich and fresh,¹⁵To ¹declare that ^aYahweh is upright;He is my ^brock, and there is ^cno unrighteousness in Him.

Yahweh Reigns Forevermore

93^aYahweh ¹reigns, He is ^bclothed with majesty;Yahweh has ^cclothed and girded Himself with strength;Indeed, the ^dworld is established, it will not be shaken.²Your ^athrone is established from of old;You ^bare from everlasting.³The ^arivers have lifted up, O Yahweh,The rivers have lifted up their voice,The rivers lift up their pounding waves.⁴More than the voices of many waters,Than the mighty breakers of the sea,Yahweh ^aon high is mighty.⁵Your ^atestimonies are very faithful;^bHoliness befits Your house,O Yahweh, ¹forevermore.