Parsha Matot – Masei

Chapter 30:2-17

Men and Vows

Num 30:1  (30:2) And Moses spoke unto the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying: This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded.

Num 30:2  (30:3) When a man voweth a vow unto the LORD, or sweareth an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

Women and Vows

Num 30:3  (30:4) Also when a woman voweth a vow unto the LORD, and bindeth herself by a bond, being in her father’s house, in her youth,
Num 30:4  (30:5) and her father heareth her vow, or her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father holdeth his peace at her, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.
Num 30:5  (30:6) But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth, none of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand; and the LORD will forgive her, because her father disallowed her.

Num 30:6  (30:7) And if she be married to a husband, while her vows are upon her, or the clear utterance of her lips, wherewith she hath bound her soul;
Num 30:7  (30:8) and her husband hear it, whatsoever day it be that he heareth it, and hold his peace at her; then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.
Num 30:8  (30:9) But if her husband disallow her in the day that he heareth it, then he shall make void her vow which is upon her, and the clear utterance of her lips, wherewith she hath bound her soul; and the LORD will forgive her.

Num 30:9  (30:10) But the vow of a widow, or of her that is divorced, even every thing wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand against her.
Num 30:10  (30:11) And if a woman vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath,
Num 30:11  (30:12) and her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.
Num 30:12  (30:13) But if her husband make them null and void in the day that he heareth them, then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips, whether it were her vows, or the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD will forgive her.
Num 30:13  (30:14) Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may let it stand, or her husband may make it void.

Num 30:14  (30:15) But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day, then he causeth all her vows to stand, or all her bonds, which are upon her; he hath let them stand, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.
Num 30:15  (30:16) But if he shall make them null and void after that he hath heard them, then he shall bear her iniquity.

Num 30:16  (30:17) These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter, being in her youth, in her father’s house.

Chapter 31:1-12

Vengeance on Midian

Num 31:1  And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
Num 31:2  ‘Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites; afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.’

Num 31:3  And Moses spoke unto the people, saying: ‘Arm ye men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the LORD’S vengeance on Midian.
Num 31:4  Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.’

Num 31:5  So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
Num 31:6  And Moses sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.
Num 31:7  And they warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew every male.
Num 31:8  And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian; Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

Num 31:9  And the children of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took for a prey.
Num 31:10  And all their cities in the places wherein they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burnt with fire.
Num 31:11  And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of man and of beast.
Num 31:12  And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp, unto the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho.

Chapter 31:13-54

Num 31:13  And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.
Num 31:14  And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war.
Num 31:15  And Moses said unto them: ‘Have ye saved all the women alive?
Num 31:16  Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to revolt so as to break faith with the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD.
Num 31:17  Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
Num 31:18  But all the women children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

Num 31:19  And encamp ye without the camp seven days; whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, ye and your captives.
Num 31:20  And as to every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood, ye shall purify.’

Num 31:21  And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war that went to the battle: ‘This is the statute of the law which the LORD hath commanded Moses:
Num 31:22  Howbeit the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
Num 31:23  every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of sprinkling; and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make to go through the water.
Num 31:24  And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye may come into the camp.’

Num 31:25  And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
Num 31:26  ‘Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation;
Num 31:27  and divide the prey into two parts: between the men skilled in war, that went out to battle, and all the congregation;
Num 31:28  and levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the flocks;
Num 31:29  take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, as a portion set apart for the LORD.
Num 31:30  And of the children of Israel’s half, thou shalt take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, even of all the cattle, and give them unto the Levites, that keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.’

Num 31:31  And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
Num 31:32  Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,
Num 31:33  and threescore and twelve thousand beeves,
Num 31:34  and threescore and one thousand asses,
Num 31:35  and thirty and two thousand persons in all, of the women that had not known man by lying with him.

Num 31:36  And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep.
Num 31:37  And the LORD’S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.
Num 31:38  And the beeves were thirty and six thousand, of which the LORD’S tribute was threescore and twelve.
Num 31:39  And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred, of which the LORD’S tribute was threescore and one.
Num 31:40  And the persons were sixteen thousand, of whom the LORD’S tribute was thirty and two persons.

Num 31:41  And Moses gave the tribute, which was set apart for the LORD, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Num 31:42  And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided off from the men that warred –
Num 31:43  now the congregation’s half was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,
Num 31:44  and thirty and six thousand beeves,
Num 31:45  and thirty thousand and five hundred asses,
Num 31:46  and sixteen thousand persons –
Num 31:47  even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, that kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.

Num 31:48  And the officers that were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses;
Num 31:49  and they said unto Moses: ‘Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war that are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.
Num 31:50  And we have brought the LORD’S offering, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, armlets, and bracelets, signet-rings, ear-rings, and girdles, to make atonement for our souls before the LORD.’

Num 31:51  And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.
Num 31:52  And all the gold of the gift that they set apart for the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. –
Num 31:53  For the men of war had taken booty, every man for himself. –
Num 31:54  And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.

Chapter 32:1-19

Reuben and Gad Settle in Gilead

Num 32:1  Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle; and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle,
Num 32:2  the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying:
Num 32:3  ‘Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
Num 32:4  the land which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle.’

Num 32:5  And they said: ‘If we have found favour in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession; bring us not over the Jordan.’

Num 32:6  And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: ‘Shall your brethren go to the war, and shall ye sit here?
Num 32:7  And wherefore will ye turn away the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?
Num 32:8  Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
Num 32:9  For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they turned away the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.
Num 32:10  And the LORD’S anger was kindled in that day, and He swore, saying:
Num 32:11  Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed Me;
Num 32:12  save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; because they have wholly followed the LORD.
Num 32:13  And the LORD’S anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander to and fro in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.

Num 32:14  And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, a brood of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.
Num 32:15  For if ye turn away from after Him, He will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and so ye will destroy all this people.’

Num 32:16  And they came near unto him, and said: ‘We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones;
Num 32:17  but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place; and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
Num 32:18  We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.
Num 32:19  For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan, and forward, because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side of the Jordan eastward.’

Chapter 32:20-42

Num 32:20  And Moses said unto them: ‘If ye will do this thing: if ye will arm yourselves to go before the LORD to the war,
Num 32:21  and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the LORD, until He hath driven out His enemies from before Him,
Num 32:22  and the land be subdued before the LORD, and ye return afterward; then ye shall be clear before the LORD, and before Israel, and this land shall be unto you for a possession before the LORD.

Num 32:23  But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD; and know ye your sin which will find you.
Num 32:24  Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.’

Num 32:25  And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke unto Moses, saying: ‘Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.
Num 32:26  Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead;
Num 32:27  but thy servants will pass over, every man that is armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.’

Num 32:28  So Moses gave charge concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel.
Num 32:29  And Moses said unto them: ‘If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every man that is armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you, then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession;
Num 32:30  but if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.’

Num 32:31  And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying: ‘As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.
Num 32:32  We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.’

Num 32:33  And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, according to the cities thereof with their borders, even the cities of the land round about.
Num 32:34  And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer;
Num 32:35  and Atroth-shophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah;
Num 32:36  and Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran; fortified cities, and folds for sheep.

Num 32:37  And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim;
Num 32:38  and Nebo, and Baal-meon – their names being changed – and Sibmah; and gave their names unto the cities which they builded.

Num 32:39  And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites that were therein.
Num 32:40  And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.
Num 32:41  And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the villages thereof, and called them Havvoth-jair.

Num 32:42  And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

Chapter 33:1-49

Recounting Israel’s Journey

Num 33:1  These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.
Num 33:2  Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the LORD, and these are their stages according to their starting places.

Num 33:3  They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover, the people of Israel went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians,
Num 33:4  while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them. On their gods also the LORD executed judgments.

Num 33:5  So the people of Israel set out from Rameses and camped at Succoth.
Num 33:6  And they set out from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.
Num 33:7  And they set out from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which is east of Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol.
Num 33:8  And they set out from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and they went a three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.
Num 33:9  And they set out from Marah and came to Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.
Num 33:10  And they set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

Num 33:11  And they set out from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin.
Num 33:12  And they set out from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah.
Num 33:13  And they set out from Dophkah and camped at Alush.
Num 33:14  And they set out from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

Num 33:15  And they set out from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.
Num 33:16  And they set out from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.
Num 33:17  And they set out from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.
Num 33:18  And they set out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.
Num 33:19  And they set out from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.
Num 33:20  And they set out from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.
Num 33:21  And they set out from Libnah and camped at Rissah.
Num 33:22  And they set out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.
Num 33:23  And they set out from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.
Num 33:24  And they set out from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.
Num 33:25  And they set out from Haradah and camped at Makheloth.
Num 33:26  And they set out from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

Num 33:27  And they set out from Tahath and camped at Terah.
Num 33:28  And they set out from Terah and camped at Mithkah.
Num 33:29  And they set out from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.
Num 33:30  And they set out from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

Num 33:31  And they set out from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.
Num 33:32  And they set out from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.
Num 33:33  And they set out from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.
Num 33:34  And they set out from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.
Num 33:35  And they set out from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.
Num 33:36  And they set out from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh).

Num 33:37  And they set out from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.
Num 33:38  And Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at the command of the LORD and died there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month.
Num 33:39  And Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

Num 33:40  And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the people of Israel.
Num 33:41  And they set out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.
Num 33:42  And they set out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon.
Num 33:43  And they set out from Punon and camped at Oboth.
Num 33:44  And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the territory of Moab.
Num 33:45  And they set out from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad.
Num 33:46  And they set out from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim.
Num 33:47  And they set out from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.

Num 33:48  And they set out from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho;
Num 33:49  they camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

Chapter 33:50-56

Drive Out the Inhabitants

Num 33:50  And the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
Num 33:51  “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
Num 33:52  then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places.
Num 33:53  And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.

Num 33:54  You shall inherit the land by lot according to your clans. To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance. Wherever the lot falls for anyone, that shall be his. According to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit.

Num 33:55  But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.
Num 33:56  And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.”

Chapter 34:1-15

Boundaries of the Land

Num 34:1  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Num 34:2  “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders),
Num 34:3  your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of the Salt Sea on the east.
Num 34:4  And your border shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon.
Num 34:5  And the border shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and its limit shall be at the sea.

Num 34:6  “For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its coast. This shall be your western border.

Num 34:7  “This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to Mount Hor.
Num 34:8  From Mount Hor you shall draw a line to Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at Zedad.
Num 34:9  Then the border shall extend to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern border.

Num 34:10  “You shall draw a line for your eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham.
Num 34:11  And the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain. And the border shall go down and reach to the shoulder of the Sea of Chinnereth on the east.
Num 34:12  And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around.”

Num 34:13  Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, “This is the land that you shall inherit by lot, which the LORD has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe.
Num 34:14  For the tribe of the people of Reuben by fathers’ houses and the tribe of the people of Gad by their fathers’ houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Num 34:15  The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

Chapter 34:16-29

List of Tribal Chiefs

Num 34:16  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Num 34:17  “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun.
Num 34:18  You shall take one chief from every tribe to divide the land for inheritance.
Num 34:19  These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
Num 34:20  Of the tribe of the people of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.
Num 34:21  Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.
Num 34:22  Of the tribe of the people of Dan a chief, Bukki the son of Jogli.
Num 34:23  Of the people of Joseph: of the tribe of the people of Manasseh a chief, Hanniel the son of Ephod.
Num 34:24  And of the tribe of the people of Ephraim a chief, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.

Num 34:25  Of the tribe of the people of Zebulun a chief, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.
Num 34:26  Of the tribe of the people of Issachar a chief, Paltiel the son of Azzan.
Num 34:27  And of the tribe of the people of Asher a chief, Ahihud the son of Shelomi.
Num 34:28  Of the tribe of the people of Naphtali a chief, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.”
Num 34:29  These are the men whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Chapter 35:1-8

Cities for the Levites

Num 35:1  The LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
Num 35:2  “Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in. And you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities.
Num 35:3  The cities shall be theirs to dwell in, and their pasturelands shall be for their cattle and for their livestock and for all their beasts.
Num 35:4  The pasturelands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all around.
Num 35:5  And you shall measure, outside the city, on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall belong to them as pastureland for their cities.

Num 35:6  “The cities that you give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities.
Num 35:7  All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be forty-eight, with their pasturelands.
Num 35:8  And as for the cities that you shall give from the possession of the people of Israel, from the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites.”

Chapter 35:9-39

Cities of Refuge

Num 35:9  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Num 35:10  “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
Num 35:11  then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there.
Num 35:12  The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
Num 35:13  And the cities that you give shall be your six cities of refuge.
Num 35:14  You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge.

Num 35:15  These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.
Num 35:16  “But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
Num 35:17  And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
Num 35:18  Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
Num 35:19  The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.

Num 35:20  And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died,
Num 35:21  or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
Num 35:22  “But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him without lying in wait
Num 35:23  or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm,
Num 35:24  then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules.
Num 35:25  And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.

Num 35:26  But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled,
Num 35:27  and the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood.
Num 35:28  For he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession.

Num 35:29  And these things shall be for a statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
Num 35:30  “If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness.

Num 35:31  Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death.
Num 35:32  And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest.
Num 35:33  You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
Num 35:34  You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.”

Chapter 36:1-13

Marriage of Female Heirs

Num 36:1  And the heads of the fathers’ houses of the family of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses, and before the princes, the heads of the fathers’ houses of the children of Israel;
Num 36:2  and they said: ‘The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel; and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.

Num 36:3  And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong; so will it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.
Num 36:4  And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be added unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong; so will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.’

Num 36:5  And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying: ‘The tribe of the sons of Joseph speaketh right.
Num 36:6  This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying: Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married.
Num 36:7  So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall cleave every one to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
Num 36:8  And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may possess every man the inheritance of his fathers.
Num 36:9  So shall no inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall cleave each one to its own inheritance.’

Num 36:10  Even as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad.
Num 36:11  For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father’s brothers’ sons.
Num 36:12  They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

Num 36:13  These are the commandments and the ordinances, which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

Jeremiah 2:4-28

Jer 2:4  Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel;
Jer 2:5  Thus saith the LORD: What unrighteousness have your fathers found in Me, that they are gone far from Me, and have walked after things of nought, and are become nought?
Jer 2:6  Neither said they: ‘Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt; that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?’
Jer 2:7  And I brought you into a land of fruitful fields, to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled My land, and made My heritage an abomination.
Jer 2:8  The priests said not: ‘Where is the LORD?’ And they that handle the law knew Me not, and the rulers transgressed against Me; the prophets also prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Jer 2:9  Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children’s children will I plead.
Jer 2:10  For pass over to the isles of the Kittites, and see, and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there hath been such a thing.
Jer 2:11  Hath a nation changed its gods, which yet are no gods? But My people hath changed its glory for that which doth not profit.
Jer 2:12  Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye exceeding amazed, saith the LORD.
Jer 2:13  For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
Jer 2:14  Is Israel a servant? Is he a home-born slave? Why is he become a prey?
Jer 2:15  The young lions have roared upon him, and let their voice resound; and they have made his land desolate, his cities are laid waste, without inhabitant.
Jer 2:16  The children also of Noph and Tahpanhes feed upon the crown of thy head.
Jer 2:17  Is it not this that doth cause it unto thee, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when He led thee by the way?
Jer 2:18  And now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? Or what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River?
Jer 2:19  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil and a bitter thing, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, neither is My fear in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
Jer 2:20  For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands, and thou saidst: ‘I will not transgress’; upon every high hill and under every leafy tree thou didst recline, playing the harlot.
Jer 2:21  Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed; how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto Me?
Jer 2:22  For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord GOD.
Jer 2:23  How canst thou say: ‘I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baalim’? See thy way in the Valley, know what thou hast done; thou art a swift young camel traversing her ways;
Jer 2:24  A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind in her desire; her lust, who can hinder it? All they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.
Jer 2:25  Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst; but thou saidst: ‘There is no hope; no, for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.’
Jer 2:26  As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets;
Jer 2:27  Who say to a stock: ‘Thou art my father’, and to a stone: ‘Thou hast brought us forth’, for they have turned their back unto Me, and not their face; but in the time of their trouble they will say: ‘Arise, and save us.’
Jer 2:28  But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble; for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.

James 4:1-12

Warning Against Worldliness

Jas 4:1  What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
Jas 4:2  You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
Jas 4:3  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Jas 4:4  You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Jas 4:5  Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?
Jas 4:6  But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jas 4:8  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Jas 4:9  Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Jas 4:10  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Jas 4:11  Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
Jas 4:12  There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?