The Inheritance of the Levites

35¹ While Israel was camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab across from Jericho, the Lord said to Moses, ² "Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites from their property certain towns to live in, along with the surrounding pasturelands. ³ These towns will be for the Levites to live in, and the surrounding lands will provide pasture for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock. ⁴ The pastureland assigned to the Levites around these towns will extend 1,500 feet from the town walls in every direction. ⁵ Measure off 3,000 feet outside the town walls in every direction-east, south, west, north-with the town at the center. This area will serve as the larger pastureland for the towns. ⁶ "Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety. In addition, give them forty-two other towns. ⁷ In all, forty-eight towns with the surrounding pastureland will be given to the Levites. ⁸ These towns will come from the property of the people of Israel. The larger tribes will give more towns to the Levites, while the smaller tribes will give fewer. Each tribe will give property in proportion to the size of its land."

The Cities of Refuge

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰ "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. "When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ¹¹ designate cities of refuge to which people can flee if they have killed someone accidentally. ¹² These cities will be places of protection from a dead person's relatives who want to avenge the death. The slayer must not be put to death before being tried by the community. ¹³ Designate six cities of refuge for yourselves, ¹⁴ three on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west in the land of Canaan. ¹⁵ These cities are for the protection of Israelites, foreigners living among you, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee there for safety. ¹⁶ "But if someone strikes and kills another person with a piece of iron, it is murder, and the murderer must be executed. ¹⁷ Or if someone with a stone in his hand strikes and kills another person, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if someone strikes and kills another person with a wooden object, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death. ¹⁹ The victim's nearest relative is responsible for putting the murderer to death. When they meet, the avenger must put the murderer to death. ²⁰ So if someone hates another person and waits in ambush, then pushes him or throws something at him and he dies, it is murder. ²¹ Or if someone hates another person and hits him with a fist and he dies, it is murder. In such cases, the avenger must put the murderer to death when they meet. ²² "But suppose someone pushes another person without having shown previous hostility, or throws something that unintentionally hits another person, ²³ or accidentally drops a huge stone on someone, though they were not enemies, and the person dies. ²⁴ If this should happen, the community must follow these regulations in making a judgment between the slayer and the avenger, the victim's nearest relative: ²⁵ The community must protect the slayer from the avenger and must escort the slayer back to live in the city of refuge to which he fled. There he must remain until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the sacred oil. ²⁶ "But if the slayer ever leaves the limits of the city of refuge, ²⁷ and the avenger finds him outside the city and kills him, it will not be considered murder. ²⁸ The slayer should have stayed inside the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to his own property.

The Law concerning Bloodshed

²⁹ These are legal requirements for you to observe from generation to generation, wherever you may live. ³⁰ "All murderers must be put to death, but only if evidence is presented by more than one witness. No one may be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. ³¹ Also, you must never accept a ransom payment for the life of someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution; murderers must always be put to death. ³² And never accept a ransom payment from someone who has fled to a city of refuge, allowing a slayer to return to his property before the death of the high priest. ³³ This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder. ³⁴ You must not defile the land where you live, for I live there myself. I am the Lord, who lives among the people of Israel."

The Law concerning the Marriage of Heiresses

36¹ Then the heads of the clans of Gilead-descendants of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph-came to Moses and the family leaders of Israel with a petition. ² They said, "Sir, the Lord instructed you to divide the land by sacred lot among the people of Israel. You were told by the Lord to give the grant of land owned by our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. ³ But if they marry men from another tribe, their grants of land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way, the total area of our tribal land will be reduced. ⁴ Then when the Year of Jubilee comes, their portion of land will be added to that of the new tribe, causing it to be lost forever to our ancestral tribe."

⁵ So Moses gave the Israelites this command from the Lord : "The claim of the men of the tribe of Joseph is legitimate. ⁶ This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry anyone they like, as long as it is within their own ancestral tribe. ⁷ None of the territorial land may pass from tribe to tribe, for all the land given to each tribe must remain within the tribe to which it was first allotted. ⁸ The daughters throughout the tribes of Israel who are in line to inherit property must marry within their tribe, so that all the Israelites will keep their ancestral property. ⁹ No grant of land may pass from one tribe to another; each tribe of Israel must keep its allotted portion of land." ¹⁰ The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses. ¹¹ Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah all married cousins on their father's side. ¹² They married into the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. Thus, their inheritance of land remained within their ancestral tribe. ¹³ These are the commands and regulations that the Lord gave to the people of Israel through Moses while they were camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

Jesus' Teaching on Divorce

10¹ Then Jesus left Capernaum and went down to the region of Judea and into the area east of the Jordan River. Once again crowds gathered around him, and as usual he was teaching them. ² Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: "Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?" ³ Jesus answered them with a question: "What did Moses say in the law about divorce?" ⁴ "Well, he permitted it," they replied. "He said a man can give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away." ⁵ But Jesus responded, "He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts. ⁶ But 'God made them male and female' from the beginning of creation. ⁷ 'This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, ⁸ and the two are united into one.' Since they are no longer two but one, ⁹ let no one split apart what God has joined together." ¹⁰ Later, when he was alone with his disciples in the house, they brought up the subject again. ¹¹ He told them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her. ¹² And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery."

Jesus Blesses Little Children

¹³ One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. ¹⁵ I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it." ¹⁶ Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

The Rich Young Ruler

¹⁷ As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" ¹⁸ "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked. "Only God is truly good. ¹⁹ But to answer your question, you know the commandments: 'You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.' " ²⁰ "Teacher," the man replied, "I've obeyed all these commandments since I was young." ²¹ Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. "There is still one thing you haven't done," he told him. "Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." ²² At this the man's face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. ²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!" ²⁴ This amazed them. But Jesus said again, "Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. ²⁵ In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!" ²⁶ The disciples were astounded. "Then who in the world can be saved?" they asked. ²⁷ Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God." ²⁸ Then Peter began to speak up. "We've given up everything to follow you," he said. ²⁹ "Yes," Jesus replied, "and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, ³⁰ will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property-along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. ³¹ But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then. "