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The Law of Vows
30 Then Moses spoke to the leaders of the tribes of the Israelites, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: 2 If a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to bind himself with a pledge [of abstinence], he shall not break (violate, profane) his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
3 “Also if a woman makes a vow to the Lord and binds herself by a pledge [of abstinence], while living in her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and her pledge by which she has bound herself, and he offers no objection, then all her vows shall stand and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father disapproves of her [making her vow] on the day that he hears about it, none of her vows or her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will forgive her because her father has disapproved of her [making the vow].
6 “But if she marries while under her vows or if she has bound herself by a rash statement, 7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing about it on the day he hears it, then her vows shall stand and her pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 8 But if her husband disapproves of her [making her vow or pledge] on the day that he hears of it, then he shall annul her vow which she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she bound herself; and the Lord will forgive her.
9 “But the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, everything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. 10 However, if she vowed in her husband’s house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not disapprove of her [making the vow], then all her vows and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband absolutely annuls them on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeds from her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge shall not stand. Her husband has annulled them, and the Lord will forgive her.
13 “Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her [concerning the matter] from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her pledges which are on her. He has confirmed them because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them. 15 But if he indeed nullifies them after he hears of them, then he shall be responsible for and bear her guilt [for breaking her promise].”
16 These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter while she is a youth in her father’s house.
The Slaughter of Midian
31 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Take vengeance for the Israelites on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people [in death].” 3 Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for war, so that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian [for seducing Israel to participate in idolatry].(A) 4 A thousand [fighting men] from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” 5 So out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe were selected, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to war with them, and the sacred vessels [of the sanctuary] and the trumpets to blow the alarm in his hand. 7 They made war against Midian, just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur [the father of Cozbi] and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; also Balaam the son of Beor they killed with the sword.(B) 9 The sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their children; and all their cattle, all their livestock, and all their property they took as spoil [of war]. 10 They burned all the cities where they lived, and all their encampments with fire. 11 They took all the plunder and all the spoils of war, both people and livestock. 12 Then they brought the captives, the spoils, and the plunder to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the Israelites at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan [River] across from Jericho.
13 Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp. 14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, who served in the war. 15 And Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? 16 Look, these [are the women who] caused the Israelites, by the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and so a plague came among the congregation of the Lord.(C) 17 Now therefore, kill every male among the children, and kill every woman who is not a virgin. 18 But all the young girls who have not known a man intimately, keep alive for yourselves [to marry]. 19 Camp outside the camp for seven days; whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any dead body, purify yourselves and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 You shall purify every garment and every article made of leather and all the things made of goats’ hair, and every article made of wood.”
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded Moses: 22 only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that can stand fire, you shall pass through fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water of purification [to remove its impurity]; and all that cannot stand fire [such as fabrics] you shall pass through water. 24 And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may come into the camp.”
Division of the Spoil of War
25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “You and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the fathers’ households of the congregation are to take a count of the spoil of war that was captured, both people and livestock. 27 Divide the spoil into two [equal] parts between those who were involved in the war, that is, those who went out to battle and all [the rest of] the congregation. 28 Levy a tax for the Lord from the warriors who went to battle, one in five hundred of the persons, the oxen, the donkeys, and the flocks. 29 Take this tribute from the warriors’ half and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the Lord. 30 From the Israelites’ half [of the spoil] you shall take one out of every fifty of the persons, the oxen, the donkeys, the flocks, and of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who are in charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.” 31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
32 The plunder that remained from the spoil of war which the warriors had taken, was 675,000 sheep, 33 and 72,000 cattle, 34 and 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000 persons in all, of the [Midianite] women who were virgins.
36 The half share, the portion of those who went to war, was 337,500 sheep in number, 37 and the Lord’s levy (tax) of the sheep was 675; 38 the cattle were 36,000, from which the Lord’s levy was 72; 39 the donkeys were 30,500, from which the Lord’s levy was 61; 40 the persons were 16,000, from whom the Lord’s levy was 32 persons. 41 Moses gave the levy which was the Lord’s offering to Eleazar the priest, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
42 As for the Israelites’ half, which Moses separated from that of the warriors— 43 now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep, 44 and 36,000 cattle, 45 and 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 people— 47 and from the Israelites’ half, Moses took one out of every fifty, both of persons and animals, and gave them to the Levites, who were in charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, approached Moses, 49 and they said to him, “Your servants have counted the warriors under our command, and not one man of us is missing. 50 So we have brought as an offering to the Lord what each man obtained—articles of gold, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.” 51 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all the handmade articles. 52 All the gold of the offering which they presented to the Lord from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds was 16,750 shekels. 53 For the men of war had taken plunder, every man for himself. 54 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) as a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord.
The Devil Tempts Jesus
4 Now Jesus, full of [and in perfect communication with] the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness(A) 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they ended, He was hungry.(B) 3 Then the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to turn into bread.” 4 Jesus replied to him, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone[a].’”(C)
5 Then he led Jesus up [to a high mountain] and displayed before Him all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth [and their magnificence] in the twinkling of an eye. 6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this realm and its glory [its power, its renown]; because it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore if You worship before me, it will all be Yours.” 8 Jesus replied to him, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.’”(D)
9 Then he led Jesus to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle (highest point) of the temple, and said [mockingly] to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; 10 for it is written and forever remains written,
‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard and protect You,’
11 and,
‘they will lift You up on their hands,
So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’”(E)
12 Jesus replied to him, “It is said [in Scripture], ‘you shall not tempt the Lord your God [to prove Himself to you].’”(F)
13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he [temporarily] left Him until a more opportune time.
Jesus’ Public Ministry
14 Then Jesus went back to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news about Him spread through the entire region. 15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised and glorified and honored by all.
16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,(G)
18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah),
Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),
19
to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].”(H)
20 Then He rolled up the scroll [having stopped in the middle of the verse], gave it back to the attendant and sat down [to teach]; and the eyes of all those in the synagogue were [attentively] fixed on Him. 21 He began speaking to them: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and in your presence.” 22 And [as He continued on] they all were speaking well of Him, and were in awe and were wondering about the words of grace which were coming from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” 23 So He said to them, “You will no doubt quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal Yourself! Whatever [miracles] that we heard were done [by You] in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown as well.’” 24 Then He said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. 25 But in truth I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was closed up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; 26 and yet Elijah was not sent [by the Lord] to a single one of them, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.(I) 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and not one of them was cleansed [by being healed] except Naaman the Syrian.”(J) 28 As they heard these things [about God’s grace to these two Gentiles], the people in the synagogue were filled with a great rage; 29 and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to hurl Him down the cliff. 30 But passing [miraculously] through the crowd, He went on His way.
The Thirsting Soul Satisfied in God.
A Psalm of David; when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 O God, You are my God; with deepest longing I will seek You;
My [a]soul [my life, my very self] thirsts for You, my flesh longs and sighs for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2
So I have gazed upon You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.(A)
3
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
4
So will I bless You as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5
My [b]soul [my life, my very self] is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises [to You] with joyful lips.
6
When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate and thoughtfully focus on You in the night watches,
7
For You have been my help,
And in the shadow of Your wings [where I am always protected] I sing for joy.
8
My [c]soul [my life, my very self] clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.
9
But those who seek my life to destroy it
Will [be destroyed and] go into the depths of the earth [into the underworld].
10
They will be given over to the power of the sword;
They will be a prey for foxes.
11
But the king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him [honoring the true God, acknowledging His authority and majesty] will glory,
For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.
20
The perverse in heart are repulsive and shamefully vile to the Lord,
But those who are blameless and above reproach in their walk are His delight!
21
Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished,
But the descendants of the righteous will be freed.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.