Numbers 20:1–21; Luke 20:19–44

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Numbers 20:1–21

The Death of Miriam

And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came kinto the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And lMiriam died there and was buried there.

The Waters of Meribah

mNow there was no water for the congregation. nAnd they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people oquarreled with Moses and said, Would that we had perished pwhen our brothers perished before the Lord! Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? And qwhy have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink. Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and rfell on their faces. sAnd the glory of the Lord appeared to them, and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, tTake the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So uyou shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle. And Moses took the staff vfrom before the Lord, as he commanded him.

Moses Strikes the Rock

10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, wHear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock? 11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, uand water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because xyou did not believe in me, yto uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them. 13 zThese are the waters of Meribah,1 where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy.

Edom Refuses Passage

14 aMoses sent messengers from Kadesh to bthe king of Edom: Thus says cyour brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: 15 dhow our fathers went down to Egypt, eand we lived in Egypt a long time. fAnd the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. 16 And gwhen we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and hsent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. 17 iPlease let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, jor drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory. 18 But Edom said to him, You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you. 19 And the people of Israel said to him, We will go up by the highway, kand if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, lthen I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more. 20 But he said, mYou shall not pass through. And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. 21 Thus Edom nrefused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel oturned away from him.


Luke 20:19–44

Paying Taxes to Caesar

19 hThe scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. 20 iSo they jwatched him and sent spies, who kpretended to be sincere, that they might lcatch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of mthe governor. 21 So they asked him, Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and oshow no partiality,1 but truly teach pthe way of God. 22 Is it lawful for us to give qtribute to rCaesar, or not? 23 But he perceived their scraftiness, and said to them, 24 Show me ta denarius.2 Whose likeness and inscription does it have? They said, Caesar’s. 25 He said to them, Then urender to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. 26 And they were not able in the presence of the people vto catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

27 There came to him wsome Sadducees, xthose who deny that there is a resurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote for us ythat if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man3 must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.

34 And Jesus said to them, zThe sons of this age amarry and aare given in marriage, 35 but those who are bconsidered worthy to attain to cthat age and to the resurrection from the dead dneither marry dnor are given in marriage, 36 for ethey cannot die anymore, because they are fequal to angels and gare hsons of God, being isons4 of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, jeven Moses showed, in kthe passage about the bush, where he calls lthe Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all mlive to him. 39 Then some of the scribes nanswered, Teacher, you have spoken well. 40 For othey no longer dared to ask him any question.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

41 pBut he said to them, How can they say that qthe Christ is qDavid’s son? 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,

rThe Lord said to my Lord,

Sit at my right hand,

43  until I make your enemies syour footstool.

44 David thus calls him Lord, so thow is he his son?