NUMBERS 4:Yesterday we learned that the Levite clans were given separate tasks in the care of the sacred tent. The 22,000 Levites became substitutes for Israel's 22,273 first-born sons.

PSALM 28:David cries out to the Lord with all his heart. I love the imagery of the Lord as David's 'rock', 'shield', and 'shepherd'. (v1, 7, 9) Bible translators who translate into ethnic languages often need to make the difficult choice of whether to retain a figure of speech more literally, or just to give its meaning. For instance, at the first of v1 and 7, the GNT chose to give the meaning without using metaphors, but the NLT translated David's metaphors more literally.

Luke 19a:Yesterday in Luke 18, we heard of Jesus' encounter with the rich young man, Jesus again predicted his death, and blind Bartimaeus (as named in Mark) was healed at Jericho.

NLT Translation notes:[This psalm starts out speaking directly to the Lord. But starting in verse 5, many English readers will think the psalmist suddenly starts talking _about_ the Lord. This is probably not the case! I interpret the Hebrew here as using the third person as an honorific while still speaking to the Lord. Similarly in English, it is possible to use the third person "Mr. President ... he..." when speaking formally to our president. (I suspect this is seldom done these days.) In my dialect of English, I much prefer making it clear that the psalmist is still speaking to the Lord, not just about the Lord. All the changes below are simply changing 'he/his' to 'you/your', and 'the LORD' to 'you, LORD'.]5 They care nothing for what [You, LORD, have] doneor for what [your] hands have made.So [You] will tear them down,and they will never be rebuilt!6 Praise [You] LORD!For [You have] heard my cry for mercy.7 [You,] LORD [are] my strength and shield.I trust [in You] with all my heart.[You help] me, and my heart is filled with joy.I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.8 [You, LORD, give your] people strength.[You are] a safe fortress for [your] anointed king.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.