Defeat of Og King of Bashan

3 Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan^(A) with his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei.^{(B) 2} The Lord said to me, “Do not be afraid^(C) of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”

³ So the Lord our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down,^(D) leaving no survivors.^{(E) 4} At that time we took all his cities.^(F) There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them—the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom^(G) in Bashan.^{(H) 5} All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages. ⁶ We completely destroyed^[a] them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying^[b](I) every city—men, women and children. ⁷ But all the livestock^(J) and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves.

⁸ So at that time we took from these two kings of the Amorites^(K) the territory east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Gorge as far as Mount Hermon.^{(L) 9} (Hermon is called Sirion^(M) by the Sidonians; the Amorites call it Senir.)^{(N) 10} We took all the towns on the plateau, and all Gilead, and all Bashan as far as Salekah^(O) and Edrei, towns of Og’s kingdom in Bashan. ¹¹ (Og king of Bashan was the last of the Rephaites.^(P) His bed was decorated with iron and was more than nine cubits long and four cubits wide.^[c] It is still in Rabbah^(Q) of the Ammonites.)

Division of the Land

¹² Of the land that we took over at that time, I gave the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory north of Aroer^(R) by the Arnon Gorge, including half the hill country of Gilead, together with its towns. ¹³ The rest of Gilead and also all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh.^(S) (The whole region of Argob in Bashan used to be known as a land of the Rephaites.^{(T) 14} Jair,^(U) a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maakathites;^(V) it was named^(W) after him, so that to this day Bashan is called Havvoth Jair.^[d]) ¹⁵ And I gave Gilead to Makir.^{(X) 16} But to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory extending from Gilead down to the Arnon Gorge (the middle of the gorge being the border) and out to the Jabbok River,^(Y) which is the border of the Ammonites. ¹⁷ Its western border was the Jordan in the Arabah,^(Z) from Kinnereth^(AA) to the Sea of the Arabah^(AB) (that is, the Dead Sea^(AC)), below the slopes of Pisgah.

¹⁸ I commanded you at that time: “The Lord your God has given^(AD) you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of the other Israelites.^{(AE) 19} However, your wives,^(AF) your children and your livestock^(AG) (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you, ²⁰ until the Lord gives rest to your fellow Israelites as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you.”

Moses Forbidden to Cross the Jordan

²¹ At that time I commanded Joshua: “You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. ²² Do not be afraid^(AH) of them;^(AI) the Lord your God himself will fight^(AJ) for you.”

²³ At that time I pleaded^(AK) with the Lord: ²⁴ “Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness^(AL) and your strong hand. For what god^(AM) is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works^(AN) you do?^{(AO) 25} Let me go over and see the good land^(AP) beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.^(AQ)”

²⁶ But because of you the Lord was angry^(AR) with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the Lord said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. ²⁷ Go up to the top of Pisgah^(AS) and look west and north and south and east.^(AT) Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross^(AU) this Jordan.^{(AV) 28} But commission^(AW) Joshua, and encourage^(AX) and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across^(AY) and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” ²⁹ So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.^(AZ)

ד Daleth

ה He

The Authority of Jesus Questioned^(A)

20 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts^(B) and proclaiming the good news,^(C) the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. ² “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”^(D)

³ He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: ⁴ John’s baptism^(E)—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

⁵ They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people^(F) will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”^(G)

⁷ So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

⁸ Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants^(H)

⁹ He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard,^(I) rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.^{(J) 10} At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. ¹² He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

¹³ “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love;^(K) perhaps they will respect him.’

¹⁴ “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and kill those tenants^(L) and give the vineyard to others.”

When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”

¹⁷ Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”^(N)

¹⁹ The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him^(O) immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.^(P)

Paying Taxes to Caesar^(Q)

²⁰ Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said,^(R) so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.^{(S) 21} So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.^{(T) 22} Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³ He saw through their duplicity and said to them, ²⁴ “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

²⁵ He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s,^(U) and to God what is God’s.”

²⁶ They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

The Resurrection and Marriage^(V)

²⁷ Some of the Sadducees,^(W) who say there is no resurrection,^(X) came to Jesus with a question. ²⁸ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.^{(Y) 29} Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. ³⁰ The second ³¹ and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. ³² Finally, the woman died too. ³³ Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

³⁴ Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come^(Z) and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, ³⁶ and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children,^(AA) since they are children of the resurrection. ³⁷ But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’^{[b](AB) 38} He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

³⁹ Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” ⁴⁰ And no one dared to ask him any more questions.^(AC)

Whose Son Is the Messiah?^(AD)

⁴¹ Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David?^{(AE) 42} David himself declares in the Book of Psalms:

⁴⁴ David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

⁴⁵ While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.^{(AG) 47} They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”