3rd April

¹ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,² Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod.³ And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers.⁴ And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you.⁵ And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you.⁶ And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.⁷ And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.⁸ And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.⁹ And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod.¹⁰ And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.¹¹ And Moses did so: as the LORD commanded him, so did he.¹² And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.¹³ Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the LORD shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?

¹ And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.² And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.³ And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.⁴ And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.⁵ And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.⁶ And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.⁷ Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office for everything of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest's office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.⁸ And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever.⁹ This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.¹⁰ In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee.¹¹ And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.¹² All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee.¹³ And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the LORD, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it.¹⁴ Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.¹⁵ Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.¹⁶ And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.¹⁷ But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the LORD.¹⁸ And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are thine.¹⁹ All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee.²⁰ And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.²¹ And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.²² Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.²³ But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.²⁴ But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.²⁵ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,²⁶ Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.²⁷ And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.²⁸ Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD's heave offering to Aaron the priest.²⁹ Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it.³⁰ Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress.³¹ And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation.³² And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.

¹ A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.² A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.³ He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.⁴ The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.⁵ A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.⁶ Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.⁷ There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.⁸ The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.⁹ The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.¹⁰ Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.¹¹ Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.¹² Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.¹³ Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.¹⁴ The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.¹⁵ Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.¹⁶ Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.¹⁷ A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health.¹⁸ Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.¹⁹ The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.²⁰ He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.²¹ Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.²² A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.²³ Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.²⁴ He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.²⁵ The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.

¹ O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?² This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?³ Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?⁴ Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.⁵ He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?⁶ Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.⁷ Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.⁸ And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.⁹ So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.¹⁰ For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.¹¹ But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.¹² And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.¹³ Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:¹⁴ That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.¹⁵ Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.¹⁶ Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.¹⁷ And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.¹⁸ For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.¹⁹ Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.²⁰ Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.²¹ Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.²² But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.²³ But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.²⁴ Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.²⁵ But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.²⁶ For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.²⁷ For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.²⁹ And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

¹ Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;² But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.³ Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:⁴ But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,⁵ To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.⁶ And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.⁷ Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.⁸ Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.⁹ But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?¹⁰ Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.¹¹ I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.¹² Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.¹³ Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.¹⁴ And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.¹⁵ Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.¹⁶ Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?¹⁷ They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.¹⁸ But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.¹⁹ My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,²⁰ I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.²¹ Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?²² For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.²³ But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.²⁴ Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.²⁵ For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.²⁶ But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.²⁷ For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.²⁸ Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.²⁹ But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.³⁰ Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.³¹ So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.