23rd March

¹ And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,² Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers,³ From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.⁴ This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things:⁵ And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it:⁶ And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.⁷ And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon:⁸ And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put in the staves thereof.⁹ And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it:¹⁰ And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put it upon a bar.¹¹ And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:¹² And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put them on a bar:¹³ And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:¹⁴ And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skins, and put to the staves of it.¹⁵ And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.¹⁶ And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.¹⁷ And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying,¹⁸ Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:¹⁹ But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden:²⁰ But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.²¹ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,²² Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families;²³ From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.²⁴ This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for burdens:²⁵ And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers' skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,²⁶ And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they serve.²⁷ At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service: and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens.²⁸ This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.²⁹ As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers;³⁰ From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.³¹ And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,³² And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.³³ This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.³⁴ And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers,³⁵ From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation:³⁶ And those that were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.³⁷ These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.³⁸ And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers,³⁹ From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,⁴⁰ Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.⁴¹ These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD.⁴² And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers,⁴³ From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,⁴⁴ Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred.⁴⁵ These be those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.⁴⁶ All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers,⁴⁷ From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation.⁴⁸ Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore,⁴⁹ According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the LORD commanded Moses.

¹ The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;² To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;³ To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;⁴ To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.⁵ A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:⁶ To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.⁸ My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:⁹ For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.¹¹ If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:¹² Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:¹³ We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:¹⁴ Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:¹⁵ My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:¹⁶ For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.¹⁷ Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.¹⁸ And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.¹⁹ So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.²⁰ Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:²¹ She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,²² How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?²³ Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.²⁴ Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;²⁵ But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:²⁶ I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;²⁷ When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.²⁸ Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:²⁹ For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:³⁰ They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.³¹ Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.³² For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.³³ But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

¹ Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.² And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.³ And he spake this parable unto them, saying,⁴ What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?⁵ And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.⁶ And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.⁷ I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.⁸ Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?⁹ And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.¹⁰ Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.¹¹ And he said, A certain man had two sons:¹² And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.¹³ And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.¹⁴ And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.¹⁵ And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.¹⁶ And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.¹⁷ And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,¹⁹ And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.²⁰ And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.²¹ And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.²² But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:²³ And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.²⁵ Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.²⁶ And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.²⁷ And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.²⁸ And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.²⁹ And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:³⁰ But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.³¹ And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.³² It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.