Parsha Matot

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 31:13-24

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.’

Chapter 31:25-41

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.

Chapter 31:42-54

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.

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Jer 1:1  The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,
Jer 1:2  to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
Jer 1:3  It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

The Call of Jeremiah

Jer 1:4  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:
Jer 1:5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations.
Jer 1:6  Then said I: ‘Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child.’
Jer 1:7  But the LORD said unto me: say not: I am a child; for to whomsoever I shall send thee thou shalt go, and whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak.
Jer 1:8  Be not afraid of them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth His hand, and touched my mouth; and the LORD said unto me: Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth;
Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, and to destroy and to overthrow; to build, and to plant.
Jer 1:11  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying: ‘Jeremiah, what seest thou?’ And I said: ‘I see a rod of an almond-tree.’
Jer 1:12  Then said the LORD unto me: ‘Thou hast well seen; for I watch over My word to perform it.’
Jer 1:13  And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying: ‘What seest thou?’ And I said: ‘I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is from the north.’
Jer 1:14  Then the LORD said unto me: ‘Out of the north the evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
Jer 1:15  For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
Jer 1:16  And I will utter My judgments against them touching all their wickedness; in that they have forsaken me, and have offered unto other gods, and worshipped the work of their own hands.
Jer 1:17  Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee; be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay thee before them.
Jer 1:18  For, behold, I have made thee this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
Jer 1:19  And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.’

Jeremiah 2:1-3

Israel Forsakes the Lord

Jer 2:1  And the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Jer 2:2  Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus saith the LORD: I remember for thee the affection of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
Jer 2:3  Israel is the LORD’S hallowed portion, His first-fruits of the increase; all that devour him shall be held guilty, evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.

Acts 9:1-22

The Conversion of Saul

Act 9:1  But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
Act 9:2  and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Act 9:3  Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.
Act 9:4  And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
Act 9:5  And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Act 9:6  But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

Act 9:7  The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.
Act 9:8  Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
Act 9:9  And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Act 9:10  Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

Act 9:11  And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,
Act 9:12  and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”

Act 9:13  But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.
Act 9:14  And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”

Act 9:15  But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
Act 9:16  For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

Act 9:17  So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Act 9:18  And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized;

Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues

Act 9:19  and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.
Act 9:20  And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Act 9:21  And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”
Act 9:22  But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

Torah – 1917 JPS
Brit Hahagaddah – The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®)
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