# verses

text:
in order to be offered through you, shall offer an immaculate male from the oxen, or from the sheep, or from the goats.


text:
The man who will have offered a victim of peace offerings to the Lord, either fulfilling his vows or offering spontaneously, whether of oxen, or of sheep, shall offer what is immaculate, so that it may be acceptable. There shall be no blemish in it.


text:
If it is blind, or if it is broken, or if it has a scar, or if it is has a boil, or a skin disease or infection, you shall not offer these to the Lord, nor shall you burn any of these upon the altar of the Lord.


text:
An ox or a sheep, having an amputated ear or tail, you are able to offer voluntarily, but a vow is not able to be fulfilled by these.


text:
You shall not offer to the Lord any animal which has the testicles bruised, or crushed, or cut and taken away, and you shall not cause any of these things in your land.


text:
From the hand of a foreigner, you shall not offer bread to your God, nor anything else that he would choose to give; for all this has been corrupted and blemished. You shall not accept them.


text:
An ox, a sheep, or a goat, when they have been born, shall be under the udder of their mother for seven days. But on the eighth day and thereafter, they are able to be offered to the Lord.


text:
you shall eat it on the same day; none of it shall remain until morning on the next day. I am the Lord.


text:
Do not pollute my holy name, so that I may be sanctified in the midst of the sons of Israel. I am the Lord, who sanctifies you,


text:
Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: These are the feasts of the Lord, which you shall call holy.


text:
For six days you shall do work; the seventh day, because it is the rest of the Sabbath, shall be called holy. You shall do no work on that day; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwelling places.


text:
And the fifteenth day of this month is the solemnity of the unleavened bread of the Lord. For seven days shall you eat unleavened bread.


text:
But you shall offer a sacrifice with fire, for seven days, to the Lord. Then the seventh day shall be more honored and more holy; and you shall do no servile work in it.


text:
Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: When you will have entered into the land which I will give to you, and you will have harvested your grain fields, you shall carry the sheaves of grain, the first-fruits of your harvest, to the priest.


text:
He shall lift up a sheaf before the Lord, on the day after the Sabbath, so that it may be acceptable for you, and he shall sanctify it.


text:
And on the same day that the sheaf is consecrated, a one-year-old immaculate lamb shall be slain as a holocaust of the Lord.


text:
And the libations shall be offered with it: two-tenths of fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil, as an incense and a most sweet odor for the Lord; likewise, libations of wine, the fourth part of a hin.


text:
Bread, and parched grain, and boiled grain, you shall not eat from the grain field, until the day when you shall offer from it to your God. It is an everlasting precept in your generations and in all of your dwelling places.


text:
Therefore, you shall number from the day after the Sabbath, in which you offered a sheaf of the first-fruits, seven full weeks,


text:
all the way to the day after the completion of the seventh week, that is, fifty days, and then you shall offer a new sacrifice to the Lord,


text:
from all of your dwelling places: two loaves from the first-fruits, from two-tenths of leavened fine wheat flour, which you shall bake as the first-fruits of the Lord.


text:
And you shall offer with the bread: seven immaculate one-year-old lambs, and one calf from the herd, and two rams, and these shall be a holocaust, with their libations, as a most sweet odor to the Lord.


text:
And when the priest has lifted them up with the loaves of the first-fruits, in the sight of the Lord, they shall fall to his use.


text:
And you shall call this day most honored and most holy; you shall do no servile work in it. It shall be an everlasting ordinance in all your dwelling places and generations.


text:
And when you will have harvested the grain fields of your land, you shall not cut it down all the way to the ground; neither shall you gather the remnants of the ears of grain, but you shall leave these for paupers and strangers. I am the Lord your God.


text:
Say to the sons of Israel: The seventh month, the first day of the month, shall be a Sabbath for you, a memorial, with the sounding of trumpets, and it shall be called holy.


text:
The tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of atonement; it shall be most honored, and it shall be called holy. And you shall afflict your souls on that day, and you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord.


text:
You shall do no servile work in the time of this day; for it is a day of propitiation, so that the Lord your God may be merciful to you.


text:
Therefore, you shall do no work on that day. This shall be an everlasting ordinance for you in all your generations and dwelling places.


text:
It is a Sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls beginning on the ninth day of the month: from evening until evening you shall celebrate your Sabbaths.


text:
Say to the sons of Israel: From the fifteenth day of this seventh month, there shall be the Feast of Tabernacles: seven days for the Lord.


text:
And for seven days you shall offer holocausts to the Lord. Likewise, the eighth day shall be most honored and most holy, and you shall offer holocausts to the Lord. For it is the day of assembly and gathering. You shall do no servile work in it.


text:
These are the feasts of the Lord, which you shall call most honored and most holy, and in them you shall offer oblations to the Lord: holocausts and libations according to the rite of each particular day,


text:
aside from the Sabbaths of the Lord, and your donations, and that which you offer by a vow, or which you give to the Lord spontaneously.


text:
Therefore, from the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you will have gathered together all the fruits of your land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days. The first day and the eighth day shall be a Sabbath, that is, a day of rest.


text:
And you shall take for yourselves, on the first day, the fruits of the most beautiful tree, and branches of palm trees, and branches of trees with thick foliage, and willows from the torrent. And you shall rejoice in the sight of the Lord your God.


text:
And you shall celebrate its solemnity for seven days each year. This shall be an everlasting ordinance in your generations. In the seventh month, you shall celebrate the feast,


text:
and you shall live under shelters for seven days. All who are of the family of Israel shall dwell in tabernacles,


text:
so that your posterity may learn that I caused the sons of Israel to live in tabernacles, when I led them away from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.


text:
Instruct the sons of Israel, so that they may bring to you clear oil from the purest olives, in order to supply the lamps continuously


text:
outside the veil of the testimony in the tabernacle of the covenant. And Aaron shall place these, from evening until morning, before the Lord, as a perpetual worship and ritual in your generations.


text:
You shall also receive fine wheat flour, and you shall bake twelve loaves from it, each loaf of which shall have two-tenths.


text:
And you shall place upon them the clearest frankincense, so that the bread may be a memorial of oblation for the Lord.


text:
On each Sabbath, they shall be changed before the Lord, having been received from the sons of Israel as an everlasting covenant.


text:
And they shall be for Aaron and his sons, so that they may eat these in the holy place; for it is the Holy of holies from the sacrifices of the Lord, as a perpetual right.


text:
Then, behold, the son of an Israelite woman, whom she had born of an Egyptian man among the sons of Israel, going out, was quarreling in the camp with a man of Israel.


text:
And when he had blasphemed the name, and had cursed it, he was led to Moses. (Now his mother was called Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri from the tribe of Dan.)


text:
saying: Lead away the blasphemer beyond the camp, and let all who heard him place their hands upon his head, and let the entire people stone him.


text:
and whoever will have blasphemed the name of the Lord shall be put to death. The entire multitude shall overwhelm him with stones, whether he be a citizen or a sojourner. Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death.


text:
Whoever will have inflicted a blemish on any of his citizens, just as he has done, so shall it be done to him:


text:
fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, shall he repay. Whatever degree of blemish he has inflicted, so shall he be compelled to suffer.


text:
Let there be equal judgment among you, whether it is a sojourner or a citizen who will have sinned. For I am the Lord your God.


text:
And Moses spoke to the sons of Israel. And they led away him who had blasphemed, beyond the camp, and they overwhelmed him with stones. And the sons of Israel did just as the Lord had instructed Moses.


text:
Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: When you will have entered into the land which I will give to you, rest on the Sabbath of the Lord.


text:
For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall care for your vineyard, and you shall gather its fruits.


text:
But in the seventh year, there shall be a Sabbath of the land, a resting of the Lord. You shall not sow your field, and you shall not care for your vineyard.


text:
What the soil shall spontaneously produce, you shall not harvest. And you shall not gather the grapes of the first-fruits as a crop. For it is a year of rest for the land.


text:
But these shall be yours for food, for you and for your men and women servants, and for your hired hands, and for the newcomers who sojourn with you:


text:
You shall also number for yourselves seven weeks of years, that is, seven times seven, which together makes forty-nine years.


text:
And you shall sound the trumpet in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, at the time of the atonement, throughout all your land.


text:
And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim a remission for all the inhabitants of your land: for the same is the Jubilee. A man shall return to his possession, and each one shall go back to his original family,


text:
for it is the Jubilee and the fiftieth year. You shall not sow, and you shall not reap what grows in the field of its own accord, and you shall not gather the first-fruits of the crop,


text:
When you will sell anything to your fellow citizen, or buy anything from him, do not cause your brother grief, but buy from him according to the number of years from the Jubilee,


text:
The more years that will remain after the Jubilee, the more the price shall increase, and the less the time is numbered, so much less shall the purchase price be. For he will sell to you the time for the produce.


text:
Do be willing to afflict your countrymen, but let each one fear his God. For I am the Lord your God.


text:
Accomplish my precepts, and observe my judgments, and complete them, so that you may be able to live in the land without any fear,


text:
and so that the soil may produce its fruits for you, from which you may eat, even to fullness, dreading violence by no one.


text:
But if you will say: What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we do not sow and do not gather our produce?


text:
And in the eighth year you shall sow, but you shall eat from the old produce, until the ninth year, until what is new matures, you shall eat what is old.


text:
Also, the land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for it is mine, and you are newcomers and settlers to me.


text:
If your brother, being in need, will have sold his little possession and his close relative is willing, he is able to redeem what he had sold.


text:
the produce shall be calculated from that time when he sold it. And what is lacking, he shall repay to the buyer, and so he shall receive his possession.


text:
But if his hand will not have discovered a way to repay the price, the buyer shall have what he bought, until the year of the Jubilee. For in that year all that has been sold shall return to the owner, and to the original possessor.


text:
Whoever will have sold a house within the walls of a city shall have the freedom to redeem it, until one year has been completed.


text:
If he has not redeemed it, and the year will have turned full circle, the buyer and his posterity shall possess it, in perpetuity, and it is not able to be redeemed, even in the Jubilee.


text:
But if the house is in a village, which has no walls, it shall be sold by the law of the fields. If it has not been redeemed beforehand, then in the Jubilee it shall return to the owner.


text:
If they have not been redeemed, then in the Jubilee they shall return to the owners, for the houses of the cities of the Levites are for their possession among the sons of Israel.


text:
If your brother has become impoverished, or infirm of hand, and you take him in, like a newcomer or a sojourner, and he lives with you,


text:
do not accept usury from him, nor anything more than what you gave. Fear your God, so that your brother may be able to live with you.


text:
I am the Lord your God, who led you away from the land of Egypt, so that I might give to you the land of Canaan, and so that I may be your God.


text:
If your brother, having been compelled by poverty, will have sold himself to you, you shall not oppress him with the servitude of indentured servants.


text:
But he shall be like a hired hand or a settler; he shall work with you, until the year of the Jubilee.


text:
And after that, he shall depart with his children, and he shall return to his kindred, to the possession of his fathers.


text:
For these are my servants, and I led them away from the land of Egypt; let them not be sold into the condition of servitude.


text:
and from the newcomers who sojourn with you, or who have been born from them in your land. These you shall have as servants,


text:
and, by the right of inheritance, you shall transmit them to your posterity, and you shall possess them forever. But do not oppress your brothers, the sons of Israel, by power.


text:
If the hand of a newcomer or a sojourner will have grown strong among you, and your brother, having become impoverished, will have sold himself to him, or to any of his stock,


text:
either the paternal uncle, or the paternal uncle’s son, or his close relative, by blood or by affinity. But if he himself will be able also, he shall redeem himself,


text:
considering only the years from the time of his selling until the year of the Jubilee, and calculating the money for which he was sold, according to the number of years and the accounting of a hired hand.


text:
If there will have been many years which remain until the Jubilee, according to these shall he also repay the price.


text:
If few, he shall determine the accounting with him according to the number of years, and he shall repay to the buyer by what is left remaining of the years;


text:
But if, by these means, he will not be able to be redeemed, then in the year of the Jubilee he shall depart with his children.


text:
I am the Lord your God. You shall not make for yourselves an idol or a graven image. Neither shall you erect a monument, or set up a conspicuous stone in your land, in order that you may adore it. For I am the Lord your God.


text:
If you will walk in my precepts, and observe my commandments, and accomplish them, I will give to you rain in its time,


text:
The threshing of the harvest shall last until the vintage, and the vintage shall overtake the sowing. And you shall eat your bread to fullness, and you shall live in your land without fear.


text:
I will give peace to your most distant regions. You will sleep, and there will be no one to strike you with terror. I will take away harmful wild beasts, and the sword will not cross your borders.


text:
Five of yours will pursue a hundred foreigners, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand. Your enemies will fall by the sword in your sight.


text:
I will look with favor upon you, and I will cause you to increase; you will be multiplied, and I will confirm my covenant with you.


text:
You will eat the oldest of what is old, and, when what is new arrives, you will throw away what is old.


text:
I am the Lord your God, who led you away from the land of the Egyptians, lest you serve them, and who broke the chains around your necks, so that you would walk upright.


text:
if you despise my laws, and disdain my judgments, so that you do not accomplish those things which have been established by me, and so that you lead my covenant away into nullification,


text:
then I also will do these things to you. I will quickly visit you with destitution, and burning heat, which will waste away your eyes, and consume your lives. In vain will you sow your seed, which will be devoured by your enemies.


text:
I will set my face against you, and you will fall down before your enemies, and you will be subjugated to those who hate you. You will flee, though no one pursues.


text:
But if you will not be obedient to me in this way, then I will add sevenfold to your chastisement, because of your sins.


text:
And I will crush the pride in your hardness, and I will give to you heaven above like iron, and the earth below like brass.


text:
Your labor will be consumed to no purpose; the land will not bring forth seedlings, nor will the trees provide their fruit.


text:
If you walk as an adversary to me, and if you are not willing to listen to me, I will add sevenfold to your plagues, because of your sins.


text:
And I will send upon you the wild beasts of the field, which will consume you and your cattle, and which will reduce everything to paucity, and cause your roadways to become desolate.


text:
But if you are not willing to receive discipline in this way, and you still walk as an adversary to me,


text:
likewise, I will advance against you as an adversary, and I will strike you seven times, because of your sins.


text:
And I will lead over you the sword that shall avenge my covenant. And when you will have fled into the cities, I will send a pestilence into your midst, and you will be delivered into the hands of your enemies.


text:
After this, I will have broken the staff of your bread, so that ten women bake bread in one oven, and distribute it by weight. And you shall eat and not be filled.


text:
then I also will advance against you, with an opposing fury, and I will chastise you with seven plagues, because of your sins:


text:
I will destroy your high places, and I will break apart your false images. You will fall among the ruins of your idols, and my soul will abominate you:


text:
so much so that I will reduce your cities to a wilderness, and I will make your Sanctuaries desolate, and I will no longer accept the most sweet odors.


text:
And I will utterly ruin your land, and your enemies shall be stupefied at it, when they will have become its inhabitants.


text:
Then I will scatter you among the Gentiles, and I will unsheathe the sword after you. And your land will be deserted, and your cities will be demolished.


text:
Then the land will be pleased by her Sabbaths, throughout all the days of her solitude. So, while you will be


text:
in the land of the enemy, she will worship and rest in the Sabbath of her solitude, because she will not have rested in your Sabbaths, when you lived in her.


text:
And whoever of you will remain, I will send terror into their hearts in the regions of their enemies. The sound of a flying leaf will terrify them, and so they will flee, as if from the sword. They will fall, though no one pursues.


text:
And they will each fall upon their brothers, as if they were fleeing from wars; no one among you will dare to resist your foes.


text:
But if some few of these still remain, they shall waste away in their iniquities, in the land of their enemies, and they will be afflicted, because of the sins of their fathers and their own sins,


text:
until they confess their iniquities, and those of their ancestors, by which they have transgressed against me and walked as adversaries to me.


text:
Therefore, I also will walk against them, and I will lead them into a hostile land, until their uncircumcised mind shall be ashamed. Then shall they pray on behalf of their impiety.


text:
And I will remember my covenant, which I formed with Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham. I will also remember the land,


text:
which, when she will be left behind by them, shall be pleased by her Sabbaths, enduring solitude because of them. Yet truly, they shall pray for their sins, because they cast aside my judgments, and they despised my laws.


text:
And even after so much, when they were in the land of their enemy, I did not cast them off entirely, and I did not so despise them that they would be consumed, nor so that I would nullify my covenant with them. For I am the Lord their God.


text:
And I will remember my original covenant, when I led them away from the land of Egypt, in the sight of the Gentiles, so as to be their God. I am the Lord. These are the judgments, and precepts, and laws, which the Lord has granted between himself and the sons of Israel, on mount Sinai, by the hand of Moses.


text:
Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: The man who will have made a vow and espoused his soul to God shall give the price according to the estimation.


text:
If it is a male from twenty years to sixty years, he shall give fifty shekels of silver, by the measure of the Sanctuary;


text:
If he is poor, and he does not have the means to pay the estimation, he shall stand before the priest, and however much he will value him and see that he is able to pay, so much shall he give.


text:
and it cannot be exchanged, that is, neither better for worse, nor worse for better. And if he has exchanged it, both that which was exchanged, and that for which it was exchanged shall be consecrated to the Lord.


text:
An unclean animal which could not be sacrificed to the Lord, if anyone has vowed it, shall be led before the priest,


text:
If a man has vowed his house, and he has sanctified it to the Lord, the priest shall examine it, whether it is good or bad, and it shall be sold according to the price which he will have established.


text:
But if he who vowed it was willing to redeem it, he shall give a fifth part beyond the estimation, and he shall have the house.


text:
But if he has vowed a field of his possession, and has consecrated it to the Lord, the price shall be estimated according to the measure of the seed. If the land would be sown with thirty measures of barley, then let it be sold for fifty shekels of silver.


text:
If he has vowed his field beginning from the current year of Jubilee, as much as it may be worth, so shall it be estimated.


text:
But if, after some amount of time, the priest shall evaluate the money according to the number of years that remain until the Jubilee, then the price shall be reduced.


text:
But if he who had vowed it, was willing to redeem his field, he shall add a fifth part of the money to the estimation, and then he shall possess it.


text:
But if he is not willing to redeem it, then it shall be sold to any other; he who vowed it is no longer able to redeem it.


text:
For when the day of Jubilee arrives, it shall be sanctified to the Lord. And as a possession that has been consecrated, it rightfully belongs to the priest.


text:
If a field has been bought, and it is not from the possession of ancestors, it shall be sanctified to the Lord.


text:
The priest shall evaluate the price according to the number of years until the Jubilee; and the one who had vowed it shall give to the Lord.


text:
Then, in the Jubilee, it shall be returned to the former owner, the one who had sold it and who had held it within the lot of his possession.


text:
All estimation shall be weighed according to the shekel of the Sanctuary. A shekel has twenty obols.


text:
The firstborn, which belong to the Lord, no one is able to sanctify or vow, whether it is an ox, or a sheep, they are for the Lord.


text:
But if it is an unclean animal, whoever offers it shall redeem it, according to your estimation, and he shall add a fifth part to the price. If he is not willing to redeem it, it shall be sold to another for whatever amount it was estimated by you.


text:
All that is consecrated to the Lord, whether it is a man, or an animal, or a field, shall not be sold; neither is it able to be redeemed. Anything, once it has been consecrated, shall be the Holy of holies to the Lord.


text:
And all that has been consecrated, which is offered by man, shall not be redeemed, but shall surely die.


text:
All the tithes of the land, whether from the grain, or from the fruits of trees, are for the Lord and are sanctified to him.


text:
Out of all the tithes of oxen, and sheep, and goats, which cross under the rod of the shepherd, every tenth one that arrives shall be sanctified to the Lord.


text:
It shall not be chosen by what is good or bad; neither shall it be exchanged for another. If anyone has exchanged it, both that which was exchanged, and that for which it was exchanged, shall be sanctified to the Lord and shall not be redeemed.


text:
And the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the covenant, on the first day of the second month, in the year after their departure from Egypt, saying:


text:
“Take a total of the entire assembly of the sons of Israel, by their families and houses, and the names of each one, of whomever is of the male sex,


text:
from twenty years and above, of all the able-bodied men out of Israel, and you shall number them by their companies, you and Aaron.


text:
And from the sons of Joseph: of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; of Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur;


text:
These are the very noble leaders of the multitude, by their tribes and kinships, and the heads of the army of Israel.


text:
and they gathered them together on the first day of the second month, taking a census of them by kinships, and houses, and families, and heads, and the names of each one from twenty years and above,


text:
Of Ruben, the firstborn of Israel, by their generations and families and houses, and the names of each head, of all who were of the male sex, from twenty years and above, capable of going to war,


text:
Of the sons of Simeon, by their generations and families, and the houses of their kinships, having been counted by the names and heads of each one, of all who were of the male sex, from twenty years and above, capable of going to war,


text:
Of the sons of Gad, by their generations and families, and the houses of their kinships, having been counted by the names of each one, from twenty years and above, of all who could go forth to war,


text:
Of the sons of Judah, by their generations and families, and the houses of their kinships, by the names of each one, from twenty years and above, of all who were able to go forth to war,


text:
Of the sons of Issachar, by their generations and families, and the houses of their kinships, by the names of each one, from twenty years and above, of all who could go forth to war,


text:
Of the sons of Zebulon, by their generations and families, and the houses of their kinships, having been counted by the names of each one, from twenty years and above, of all who were able to go forth to war,


text:
From the sons of Joseph, of the sons of Ephraim, by their generations and families, and the houses of their kinships, having been counted by the names of each one, from twenty years and above, of all who were able to go forth to war,


text:
Furthermore, of the sons of Manasseh, by their generations and families, and the houses of their kinships, having been counted by the names of each one, from twenty years and above, of all who were able to go forth to war,


text:
Of the sons of Benjamin, by their generations and families, and the houses of their kinships, having been counted by the names of each one, from twenty years and above, of all who were able to go forth to war,


text:
Of the sons of Dan, by their generations and families, and the houses of their kinships, having been counted by the names of each one, from twenty years and above, of all who were able to go forth to war,


text:
Of the sons of Asher, by their generations and families, and the houses of their kinships, having been counted by the names of each one, from twenty years and above, of all who were able to go forth to war,


text:
Of the sons of Naphtali, by their generations and families, and the houses of their kinships, having been counted by the names of each one, from twenty years and above, of all who were able to go forth to war,


text:
These are the ones who were numbered by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one by the houses of their kinships.


text:
And the entire number of the sons of Israel by their houses and families, from twenty years and above, who were able to go forth to war, were


text:
But appoint them over the tabernacle of the testimony, and all its vessels, and whatever pertains to the ceremonies. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its articles. And they shall be for the ministry, and they shall encamp all around the tabernacle.


text:
When you would depart, the Levites shall take down the tabernacle. When you are to make camp, they shall set it up. Any outsider who will approach it shall be killed.


text:
Moreover, the Levites shall fix their tents all around the tabernacle, lest there be an indignation over the multitude of the sons of Israel. And they shall stand watch as guardians over the tabernacle of the testimony.”


text:
“Each one shall make camp, by their troops, as well as by their insignia and standards, and by the houses of their kinships, all around the tabernacle of the covenant.”


text:
To the east, Judah shall fix his tents, by the companies of his army. And the leader of his sons shall be Nahshon the son of Amminadab.


text:
Beside him, those of the tribe of Issachar were encamped, whose leader was Nathanael the son of Zuar.


text:
All who were numbered in the camp of Judah were one hundred eighty-six thousand four hundred. And these, by their companies, shall go forth first.


text:
In the camp of the sons of Ruben, toward the south side, the leader shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.


text:
Beside him, those of the tribe of Simeon were encamped, whose leader was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.


text:
And the entire army of his fighting men, who were numbered, were forty-five thousand six hundred fifty.


text:
All who were counted in the camp of Ruben were one hundred fifty thousand and one thousand four hundred fifty, by their companies. These shall advance in the second place.


text:
But the tabernacle of the testimony shall be lifted up by the officers of the Levites and their companies. In the manner in which it is set up, so also shall it be taken down. Each one shall advance according to their places and ranks.


text:
On the west side, there shall be the camp of the sons of Ephraim, whose leader was Elishama the son of Ammihud.


text:
All who were numbered in the camp of Ephraim were one hundred eight thousand one hundred, by their companies. These shall advance third.


text:
Toward the north side, the sons of Dan were encamped, whose leader was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.


text:
Beside him, those of the tribe of Asher fixed their tents, whose leader was Pagiel the son of Ochran.


text:
The entire army of his fighting men, who were numbered, were forty thousand and one thousand five hundred.


text:
All who were numbered in the camp of Dan were one hundred fifty-seven thousand six hundred; and these shall advance at the very end.


text:
This is the number of the sons of Israel, of their army divided by the houses of their kinships and their companies: six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty.


text:
And the sons of Israel acted according to all the things that the Lord had commanded. They were encamped by their companies, and they advanced by the families and houses of their fathers.


text:
These are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day when the Lord spoke to Moses on mount Sinai.


text:
And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: his firstborn Nadab, then Abihu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar.


text:
These the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed and whose hands were filled and consecrated in order to exercise the priesthood.


text:
For Nadab and Abihu died without children, when they offered, in the sight of the Lord, a strange fire, in the desert of Sinai. And so, Eleazar and Ithamar exercised the priesthood in the sight of Aaron, their father.


text:
“Bring forward the tribe of Levi, and cause them to stand in the sight of Aaron the priest, in order to minister to him. And let them keep watch outside,


text:
and let them observe whatever pertains to the ritual for the multitude, in front of the tabernacle of the testimony,


text:
And you shall give the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons; for they have been delivered to them by the sons of Israel.


text:
But you shall appoint Aaron and his sons over the service of priesthood. The outsider who approaches to minister shall be put to death.”


text:
“I have taken the Levites from the sons of Israel. For the Levites, and all the firstborn who open the womb among the sons of Israel, shall be mine.


text:
For every firstborn is mine. From the time that I struck the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I have sanctified for myself whatever is born first in Israel. From man, even to beast, they are mine. I am the Lord.”


text:
“Number the sons of Levi by the houses of their fathers and their families, every male from one month and above.”


text:
The people of these were numbered, of the male sex, from one month and above: seven thousand five hundred.


text:
the tabernacle itself, and its covering; the tent that is drawn before the doors of the covering of the covenant; and the curtains of the atrium; likewise, the tent that is suspended at the entrance of the atrium of the tabernacle; and whatever pertains to the ritual of the altar; the cords of the tabernacle and all its implements.


text:
The kinship of Kohath includes the peoples of the Amramites and Izharites and Hebronites and Uzzielites. These are the families of the Kohathites, having been counted by their names,


text:
all those of the male gender, from one month and above: eight thousand six hundred. They shall keep watch over the Sanctuary,


text:
And they shall take care of the ark, and the table and the lampstand, the altars and the vessels of the Sanctuary, by which they minister, and the veil, and all the articles of this kind.


text:
But the leader of the leaders of the Levites, Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, shall be over those who watch over the care of the Sanctuary.


text:
And truly, from Merari are the peoples of the Mahlites and Mushites, having been counted by their names,


text:
Under their care shall be the panels of the tabernacle, and the bars, and the columns with their bases, and all the things which pertain to service of this kind,


text:
Moses and Aaron, with their sons, shall make camp before the tabernacle of the covenant, that is, on the east side, holding the custody of the Sanctuary in the midst of the sons of Israel. Whatever foreigner approaches it shall die.


text:
All the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by their families according to the precept of the Lord, of the male gender, from one month and above, were twenty-two thousand.


text:
And the Lord said to Moses: “Number the firstborn of the male sex from the sons of Israel, from one month and above, and you shall take their total.


text:
And you shall bring the Levites to me, in place of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and you shall bring their cattle to me, in place of all the firstborn of the cattle of the sons of Israel. I am the Lord.”


text:
And the males by their names, from one month and above, were twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.


text:
“Take the Levites, in place of the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites, in place of their cattle, and so the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.


text:
But for the price of the two hundred and seventy-three, which exceed the number of the Levites compared to the number of firstborn of the sons of Israel,


text:
you shall take five shekels for each head, by the measure of the Sanctuary. A shekel has twenty obols.


text:
Therefore, Moses took the money for those that were in excess, and whom they had redeemed from the Levites


text:
in place of the firstborn of the sons of Israel: one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary.


text:
from thirty years and above, even to the fiftieth year, of all who enter so as to stand and minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.


text:
Aaron and his sons shall enter, when the camp is going to move, and they shall take down the veil, which hangs before the entrance, and they shall wrap the ark of the testimony in it,


text:
and they shall cover it further with a veil of violet skins, and they shall extend over it a cloth made entirely of hyacinth, and they shall draw in the bars.


text:
Likewise, they shall wrap the table of the presence in a cloth of hyacinth, and they shall place with it the censers and little mortars, the cups and bowls for pouring out libations; the bread shall be always on it.


text:
And they shall extend over it a cloth of scarlet, which they shall further cover with a veil of violet skins, and they shall draw in the bars.


text:
They shall take also a cloth of hyacinth, with which they shall cover the lampstand with the lamps, and its tongs, and the candle snuffers, and all the vessels of oil, which are necessary for the preparation of the lamps.


text:
And certainly they shall wrap the golden altar in a hyacinth garment, and they shall extend over it a covering of violet skins, and they shall draw in the bars.


text:
All the vessels with which they minister in the Sanctuary they shall wrap in a cloth of hyacinth, and they shall extend over it a covering of violet skins, and they shall draw in the bars.


text:
and they shall place it with all the vessels which they use in its ministry, that is, receptacles for fire, small hooks as well as forks, larger hooks and shovels. They shall cover all the vessels of the altar together with a veil of violet skins, and they shall draw in the bars.


text:
And when Aaron and his sons have wrapped the Sanctuary and its vessels at the dismantling of the camp, then the sons of Kohath shall enter, so as to carry what has been wrapped. And they shall not touch the vessels of the Sanctuary, lest they die. These are the burdens of the sons of Kohath concerning the tabernacle of the covenant.


text:
Over them shall be Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to whom belongs the care of the oil to prepare the lamps, and the incense compound, and the sacrifice, which is offered continually, and the oil of unction, and whatever pertains to the service of the tabernacle, and all the vessels that are in the Sanctuary.”


text:
But do this for them, so that they may live, and so that they may not die by touching the Holies of holies. Aaron and his sons shall enter, and they shall assign the work of each one, and they shall determine what each one ought to carry.


text:
Let no others, out of curiosity, see the things that are in the Sanctuary before they are wrapped, otherwise they shall die.”


text:
from thirty years and above, even to fifty years. Number all those who enter and minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.


text:
to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the roof of the covenant, the other covering, and the veil over everything, and the violet tent, which hangs at the entrance of the tabernacle of the covenant,


text:
the curtains of the atrium, and the veil at the entrance, which is before tabernacle. Everything that pertains to the altar, the cords, and the vessels of the ministry


text:
the sons of Gershon shall carry, under the orders of Aaron and his sons. And so shall each one know to which burden he ought to surrender.


text:
This is the service of the family of the Gershonites, in the tabernacle of the covenant, and they shall be under the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.


text:
Likewise, you shall take a census of the sons of Merari, by the families and houses of their fathers,


text:
from thirty years and above, even to fifty years, of all who enter to the office of their ministry and to the service of the covenant of the testimony.


text:
These are their burdens: They shall carry the panels of the tabernacle and its bars, the columns and their bases,


text:
also the columns surrounding the atrium, with their bases and tent pegs and cords. They shall accept by number all the vessels and articles, and so shall they carry them.


text:
This is the office of the family of the Merarites, and their ministry for the tabernacle of the covenant. And they shall be under the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.”


text:
Therefore, Moses and Aaron, and the leaders of the assembly, took a census of the sons of Kohath, by the kinships and houses of their fathers,


text:
from thirty years and above, even to the fiftieth year, of all who enter to the ministry of the tabernacle of the covenant.


text:
This is the number of the people of Kohath, who enter the tabernacle of the covenant. These Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.


text:
from thirty years and above, even to the fiftieth year, all who enter so as to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.


text:
This is the people of the Gershonites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord.


text:
from thirty years and above, even to the fiftieth year, all who enter to fulfill the rituals of the tabernacle of the covenant.


text:
This is the number of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.


text:
All who were counted from the Levites, and whom, by name, Moses and Aaron, and the leaders of Israel, counted by the kinships and houses of their fathers,


text:
from thirty years and above, until the fiftieth year, entering for the ministry of the tabernacle and carrying the burdens,


text:
Moses took a census of them, according to the word of the Lord, each one according to their office and their burdens, just as the Lord had instructed him.


text:
“Instruct the sons of Israel to cast out of the camp every leper, and those who have a flow of seed, and those who have been polluted because of the dead;


text:
And the sons of Israel did so, and they cast them out, beyond the camp, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.


text:
“Say to the sons of Israel: A man or a woman, when they have done anything out of all the sins that often befall men, or if, by negligence, they have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and so have committed an offense,


text:
they shall confess their sin, and they shall restore the principle itself, plus a fifth part above it, to any against whom they have sinned.


text:
But if there would be no one to receive it, they shall give it to the Lord, and it shall be for the priest, except for the ram, which is offered for expiation, in order to be a pleasing victim.


text:
with whatever is offered by each one at the Sanctuary, and which is delivered into the hands of the priest; it shall be his.”


text:
“Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: The man whose wife will have gone astray, and, disdaining her husband,


text:
will have slept with another man, and if her husband cannot discover it, but the adultery is secret, and if it cannot be proved by witnesses, because she was not caught in the shameful act,


text:
if the spirit of jealousy stirs up the husband against his wife, who either has been polluted or is being assailed with a false suspicion,


text:
he shall bring her to the priest, and he shall offer an oblation for her, a tenth part of native barley meal. He shall not pour oil over it, nor shall he place frankincense on it, because it is a sacrifice for jealousy, or an oblation investigating adultery.


text:
And he shall take up holy water in an earthen vessel, and he shall cast a little earth from the pavement of the tabernacle into it.


text:
And while the woman stands before the Lord, he shall uncover her head, and he shall place over her hands the sacrifice of recollection and oblation of jealousy. But he shall take hold of the most bitter waters, in which he has gathered curses with loathing.


text:
And he shall bind her by an oath, and he shall say: ‘If another man has not slept with you, and if you have not been polluted by forsaking the bed of your husband, these most bitter waters, into which I have gathered curses, shall not harm you.


text:
But if you have turned away from your husband, and also have been defiled, and have lain together with another man,


text:
these curses shall be thrown upon you: May the Lord turn you into a curse and an example among all his people. May he cause your thigh to rot, and may your abdomen swell up and burst out.


text:
May the cursed waters enter into your stomach, and may your womb swell and your thigh rot.’ And the woman shall respond: ‘Amen, amen.’


text:
And the priest shall write these curses in a little book, and then he shall erase them with the very bitter waters, into which he had gathered the curses,


text:
the priest shall take from her hand the sacrifice of jealousy, and he shall elevate it before the Lord, and he shall impose it upon the altar. Yet only after he first


text:
takes a handful of the sacrifice from that which is offered, and burns it upon the altar, and then he may give the most bitter waters to the woman as a drink.


text:
And when she drinks it, if she has been defiled, and, having despised her husband, is guilty of adultery, the curse shall pass through her, and as her belly swells up, her thigh shall decay, and the woman shall become a curse and an example to all the people.


text:
This is the law for jealousy. If a woman has turned aside from her husband, and if she has been polluted,


text:
and if the husband, being stirred up by the spirit of jealousy, has brought her before the sight of the Lord, and the priest has acted toward her according to all that has been written:


text:
“Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: A man or a woman, when they have made a vow so that they may be sanctified, and when they are willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord,


text:
shall abstain from wine and from anything which is able to inebriate. They shall not drink vinegar made from wine or from any other drink, nor anything pressed from the grape. They shall not eat grapes, neither fresh nor dried.


text:
During all the days that they are consecrated to the Lord by vow, they shall not eat whatever may be from the vineyard, from raisins, even to grape seeds.


text:
During all the time of his separation, no razor shall pass over his head, even until the completion of the day when he is consecrated to the Lord. He shall be holy, letting the hair of his head grow long.


text:
nor shall he contaminate himself, even over the funeral of his father, or his mother, or his brother, or his sister. For the consecration of his God is upon his head.


text:
But if anyone will have died unexpectedly before him, the head of his consecration shall be polluted, and he shall shave it in that very place, on the same day of his purification, and again on the seventh day.


text:
Then, on the eighth day, he shall offer two turtledoves or two young pigeons, to the priest at the entrance to the covenant of the testimony.


text:
And the priest shall effect one for sin, and the other as a holocaust, and he shall pray for him, because he has sinned on account of the dead. And he shall sanctify his head on that day.


text:
And he shall consecrate to the Lord the days of his separation, offering a one-year-old lamb for sin, yet in such a manner that the former days will be made null and void, because his sanctification was polluted.


text:
This is the law of consecration. When the days that he had decreed by vow have been completed, he shall bring him to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant,


text:
and he shall offer his oblation to the Lord: an immaculate one-year-old male lamb as a holocaust, and an immaculate one-year-old female lamb for sin, and an immaculate ram, a peace-offering victim,


text:
also, a basket of unleavened bread, which has been sprinkled with oil, and cakes without leaven, anointed with oil, as well as the libations of each one.


text:
And the priest shall offer them before the Lord, and he shall perform both the sin offering and the holocaust.


text:
Yet truly, the ram he shall immolate as a peace-offering victim to the Lord, offering at the same time the basket of unleavened bread, and the libations which are required by custom.


text:
Then the Nazarite shall be shaved of the long hair of his consecration, before the door of the tabernacle of the covenant. And he shall take his hair, and he shall place it upon the fire, which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings.


text:
And he shall take the cooked shoulder of the ram, and one twist of bread without leaven from the basket, and one unleavened cake, and he shall deliver them into the hands of the Nazarite, after his head has been shaven.


text:
And receiving them again from him, he shall elevate them in the sight of the Lord. And having been sanctified, these shall be for the priest, as also the breast, which was ordered to be separated, and the leg. After this, the Nazarite is able to drink wine.


text:
This is the law of the Nazarite, when he has vowed his oblation to the Lord in the time of his consecration, aside from those things which his hand shall find. According to what he had vowed in his mind, so shall he do, to the perfection of his sanctification.”


text:
Now it happened in the day when Moses completed the tabernacle, and he set it up, and he anointed and sanctified it with all of its vessels, and similarly the altar and all of its vessels,


text:
that the leaders of Israel and the heads of the families, who were in each tribe and who were in charge of those who had been numbered, offered


text:
their gifts in the sight of the Lord: six covered wagons with twelve oxen. Two leaders offered one wagon, and each offered one ox, and they offered these in the sight of the tabernacle.


text:
“Receive these things from them, in order to serve in the ministry of the tabernacle, and you shall deliver them to the Levites, according to the order of their ministry.”


text:
The other four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their offices and service, under the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.


text:
But to the sons of Kohath he gave no wagons or oxen, because they serve in the Sanctuary and they carry their burdens on their shoulders.


text:
Therefore, the leaders offered, at the dedication of the altar on the day when it was anointed, their oblation before the altar.


text:
And the Lord said to Moses: “Let each of the leaders, on each of the days, offer their gifts for the dedication of the altar.”


text:
And in it were these: a silver dish weighing one hundred thirty shekels, a silver bowl having seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, and both were filled with fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil as a sacrifice,


text:
and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five one-year-old lambs. This was the oblation of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab.


text:
a silver dish weighing one hundred thirty shekels, a silver bowl having seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, and both were filled with fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil as a sacrifice,


text:
and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five one-year-old lambs. This was the oblation of Nathanael, the son of Zuar.


text:
offered a silver dish weighing one hundred thirty shekels, a silver bowl having seventy shekels, by the weight of the Sanctuary, and both were filled with fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil as a sacrifice,


text:
and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five one-year-old lambs. This is the oblation of Eliab the son of Helon.


text:
and for victims of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five one-year-old lambs. This was the oblation of Elizur, the son of Shedeur.


text:
and for victims of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five one-year-old lambs. This was the oblation of Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai.


text:
and for victims of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five one-year-old lambs. This was the oblation of Eliasaph, the son of Reuel.


text:
and for victims of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five one-year-old lambs. This was the oblation of Elishama, the son of Ammihud.


text:
and for victims of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five one-year-old lambs. This was the oblation of Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur.


text:
and for victims of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five one-year-old lambs. This was the oblation of Abidan, the son of Gideoni.


text:
and for victims of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five one-year-old lambs. This was the oblation of Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai.


text:
and for victims of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five one-year-old lambs. This was the oblation of Pagiel, the son of Ochran.


text:
and for victims of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five one-year-old lambs. This was the oblation of Ahira, the son of Enan.


text:
These were the oblations from the leaders of Israel for the dedication of the altar on the day when it was consecrated: twelve dishes of silver, twelve bowls of silver, twelve little mortars of gold,


text:
such that each dish had one hundred thirty shekels of silver, and each bowl had seventy shekels, that is, putting all of the vessels from silver together, two thousand four hundred shekels, by the weight of the Sanctuary,


text:
and twelve little mortars of gold, filled with incense, weighing ten shekels by the weight of the Sanctuary, that is, all together one hundred twenty shekels of gold,


text:
and twelve oxen from the herd as a holocaust, twelve rams, twelve one-year-old lambs, with their libations, and twelve he-goats for sin;


text:
and for victims of peace offerings: twenty-four oxen, sixty rams, sixty he-goats, and sixty one-year-old lambs. These were the oblations for the dedication of the altar, when it was anointed.


text:
And when Moses entered into the tabernacle of the covenant, to consult the oracle, he heard the voice of One speaking to him from the propitiatory, which is over the ark of the testimony between the two cherubims, and there he also spoke to him.


text:
“Speak to Aaron, and you shall say to him: When you place the seven lamps, let the lampstand be set up on the south side. Therefore, give this instruction: that the lamps should look out from the region opposite the north, toward the table of the bread of the presence; they shall give light opposite that area, toward the area that the lampstand faces.”


text:
Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand: it was of ductile gold, both the main shaft and all that originated from both sides of the branches. According to the example that the Lord revealed to Moses, so did he make the lampstand.


text:
according to this ritual: Let them be sprinkled with the water of illumination, and let them shave off all the hairs of their body. And when they have washed their garments and have been cleansed,


text:
they shall take an ox from the herd, with its libation of fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil; then you shall receive another ox from the herd for sin.


text:
And you shall bring forward the Levites before the tabernacle of the covenant, calling together all the multitude of the sons of Israel.


text:
And Aaron shall offer the Levites as a gift in the sight of the Lord, from the sons of Israel, so that they may serve in his ministry.


text:
Likewise, the Levites shall place their hands upon the heads of the oxen; you shall make use of one of these for sin, and the other as a holocaust to the Lord, so that you may intercede for them.


text:
And you shall set the Levites in the sight of Aaron and his sons, and you shall consecrate those being offered to the Lord,


text:
And after this, they shall enter the tabernacle of the covenant, in order to serve me. And so shall you purify and consecrate them as an oblation to the Lord. For they were given to me as a gift from the sons of Israel.


text:
For all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, as much from men as from beasts, are mine. From the day when I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I have sanctified them to myself.


text:
And I have delivered them as a gift to Aaron and his sons, from the midst of the people, in order to serve me, for Israel, in the tabernacle of the covenant, and in order to pray for them, lest there be a scourge among the people, if they were to dare to approach to my Sanctuary.”


text:
And Moses and Aaron, and all the multitude of the sons of Israel, accomplished all that the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites.


text:
And they were purified, and they washed their garments. And Aaron lifted them up in the sight of the Lord, and he prayed for them,


text:
so that, having been purified, they might enter to their duties in the tabernacle of the covenant before Aaron and his sons. Just as the Lord had instructed Moses about the Levites, so was it done.


text:
“This is the law of the Levites: From twenty-five years and above, they shall enter to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.


text:
And they shall be the ministers of their brothers in the tabernacle of the covenant, in order to care for the things that have been commended to them, but not to perform the works themselves. So shall you assign the Levites in their duties.”


text:
The Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the second year after they departed from the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying:


text:
on the fourteenth day of this month, in the evening, according to all of its ceremonies and justifications.”


text:
And they observed it at its proper time: on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, at mount Sinai. The sons of Israel acted according to all the things that the Lord had commanded Moses.


text:
But behold, certain ones, who were not able to observe the Passover on that day, being unclean because of the life of a man, approaching Moses and Aaron,


text:
said to them: “We are unclean because of the life of a man. Why have we been cheated, in that we are not permitted to offer, at its proper time, the oblation to the Lord among the sons of Israel?”


text:
And Moses responded to them: “Remain, so that I may consult the Lord, as to what he will rule about you.”


text:
“Say to the sons of Israel: The man who becomes unclean because of a life, or if he is on a distant journey within your nation, let him observe the Passover to the Lord.


text:
In the second month, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, they shall eat it with unleavened bread and wild lettuce.


text:
They shall not leave behind any of it until morning, and they shall not break a bone of it; they shall observe all the rituals of the Passover.


text:
But if any man was both clean, and not on a journey, and yet he did not observe the Passover, that soul shall be exterminated from among his people, because he did not offer the sacrifice to the Lord in its time. He shall bear his sin.


text:
Likewise, the sojourner and the newcomer, if they are among you, shall observe the Passover to the Lord according to its ceremonies and justifications. The same precept shall be with you, as much for the newcomer as for the native.”


text:
And so, on the day when the tabernacle was raised, a cloud covered it. But over the tabernacle, from evening until morning, there was, as it seemed, the appearance of fire.


text:
This was so continually: throughout the day a cloud covered it, and throughout the night, the appearance of fire.


text:
And when the cloud that was protecting the tabernacle had been taken up, then the sons of Israel advanced forward, and in the place where the cloud had remained standing, there they made camp.


text:
Upon the order of the Lord they advanced, and upon his order they fixed the tabernacle. All the days during which the cloud was standing over the tabernacle, they remained in the same place.


text:
And if it happened that it remained for a long time over it, the sons of Israel kept the night watches of the Lord, and they did not advance,


text:
during as many days as the cloud remained over the tabernacle. At the command of the Lord they raised their tents, and at his command they took them down.


text:
If the cloud remained from evening until morning, and immediately, at first light, it left the tabernacle, they set out. And if it withdrew after a day and a night, they dismantled their tents.


text:
Yet truly, whether it remained over the tabernacle for two days, or one month, or a longer time, the sons of Israel remained in the same place, and they did not set out. Then, as soon as it withdrew, they moved the camp.


text:
By the word of the Lord they fixed their tents, and by his word they advanced. And they kept the night watches of the Lord, according to his command by the hand of Moses.


text:
“Make for yourself two trumpets of ductile silver, with which you may be able to call together the multitude when the camp is to be moved.


text:
And when you sound the trumpets, all the multitude shall gather to you at the door of the tabernacle of the covenant.


text:
But if the sound of the trumpets is prolonged, but with interruptions, those who are toward the east side shall move the camp first.


text:
Then, at the second sounding of the trumpet with the same cadence, those who live toward the south shall take up their tents. And the remainder shall act in like manner, when the trumpets shall reverberate for a departure.


text:
But when the people are to be gathered together, the sound of the trumpets shall be simple, and the sounds shall not be separated.


text:
Now it is the sons of Aaron the priest who shall sound the trumpets. And this shall be an everlasting ordinance, in your generations.


text:
If you go forth to war from your land, against the enemies who set out against you, you shall sound the trumpets repeatedly, and there shall be a remembrance of you before the Lord your God, so that you may be rescued from the hands of your enemies.


text:
If at any time you will have a banquet, and on feast days, and on the first days of the months, you shall sound the trumpets over the holocausts and the peace-offering victims, so that they may be for you as a remembrance by your God. I am the Lord your God.”


text:
In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was lifted up from the tabernacle of the covenant.


text:
And the sons of Israel set out by their companies from the desert of Sinai, and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.


text:
And the tabernacle was taken down, because the sons of Gershon and Merari, who carry it, were departing.


text:
And the sons of Ruben also set out, by their companies and ranks, whose leader was Elizur the son of Shedeur.


text:
Then the Kohathites also set out, carrying the Sanctuary. The tabernacle was carried, all the while, until they arrived at the place for setting it up.


text:
The sons of Ephraim also moved their camp by their companies, and the leader of their army was Elishama the son of Ammihud.


text:
The last of all the camp to set out were the sons of Dan by their companies, and the leader of their army was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.


text:
And Moses said to Hobab the son of Raguel the Midianite, his kinsman: “We are setting out to the place which the Lord will give to us. Come with us, so that we may do good to you. For the Lord has promised good things to Israel.”


text:
And he answered him, “I will not go with you, but I will return to my own land, in which I was born.”


text:
And he said: “Do not choose to leave us. For you know in which places in the desert we ought to make camp, and so you shall be our guide.


text:
And if you come with us, whatever will be best among the riches which the Lord will deliver to us, we will give to you.”


text:
Therefore, they set out from the Mountain of the Lord on a journey of three days. And the ark of the covenant of the Lord preceded them, for three days, in order to provide a place for the camp.


text:
And when the ark was lifted up, Moses said, “Rise up, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee from your face.”


text:
Meanwhile, there arose a murmur among the people against the Lord, as if they were grief-stricken because of their labors. And when the Lord had heard it, he was angry. And when the fire of the Lord was enflamed against them, it devoured those who were at the extreme end of the camp.


text:
And he called the name of that place, ‘The Burning,’ because the fire of the Lord had burned against them.


text:
So then, the mix of common people, who had ascended with them, were enflamed with desire, and sitting and weeping, with the sons of Israel joining them, they said, “Who will give us flesh to eat?


text:
We remember the fish that we ate freely in Egypt; we call to mind the cucumbers, and melons, and leeks, and onions, and garlic.


text:
And the people wandered about, gathering it, and they crushed it with a millstone, or ground it with a mortar; then they boiled it in a pot, and made biscuits out of it, with a taste like bread made with oil.


text:
And so, Moses heard the people weeping by their families, each one at the door of his tent. And the fury of the Lord was greatly enflamed. And to Moses also the matter seemed intolerable.


text:
And so he said to the Lord: “Why have you afflicted your servant? Why do I not find favor before you? And why have you imposed the weight of this entire people upon me?


text:
Could I have conceived this entire multitude, or have given birth to them, so that you might say to me: Carry them in your bosom, as a nursemaid usually carries a little infant, and bring them into the land, about which you have sworn to their fathers?


text:
From where would I obtain the flesh to give to so great a multitude? They weep against me, saying, ‘Give us flesh, so that we may eat.’


text:
But if it seems to you otherwise, I beg you to put me to death, and so may I find grace in your eyes, lest I be afflicted with such evils.”


text:
And the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be elders, as well as teachers, of the people. And you shall lead them to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, and you shall cause them to stand there with you,


text:
so that I may descend and speak to you. And I will take from your spirit, and I will deliver it to them, so that, with you, they may sustain the burden of the people, and so that you will not be weighed down alone.


text:
You shall also say to the people: Be sanctified. Tomorrow you will eat flesh. For I have heard you say: ‘Who will give us flesh to eat? It was well with us in Egypt.’ So then, may the Lord give you flesh. And you will eat,


text:
but for up to a month of days, until it exits from your nostrils, and until it turns into nausea for you, because you have slipped away from the Lord, who is in your midst, and because you have wept before him, saying: ‘Why did we go forth out of Egypt?’ ”


text:
And Moses said: “There are six hundred thousand footmen of this people, and yet you say, ‘I will give them flesh to eat for a whole month.’


text:
Could a multitude of sheep and oxen be slain, so that there would be enough food? Or will the fishes of the sea be gathered together, in order to satisfy them?”


text:
And the Lord answered him: “Can the hand of the Lord be ineffective? Soon now, you shall see whether my word will be fulfilled in this work.”


text:
And so, Moses went and explained the words of the Lord to the people. Gathering together seventy men from the elders of Israel, he caused them to stand around the tabernacle.


text:
And the Lord descended in a cloud, and he spoke to him, taking from the Spirit which was in Moses, and giving to the seventy men. And when the Spirit had rested in them, they prophesied; nor did they cease afterwards.


text:
Now there had remained in the camp two of the men, of whom one was called Eldad, and the other Medad, upon whom the Spirit rested; for they also had been enrolled, but they did not go forth to the tabernacle.


text:
And when they were prophesying in the camp, a boy ran and reported to Moses, saying: “Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp.”


text:
Promptly, Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses and chosen from many, said: “My lord Moses, prohibit them.”


text:
But he said, “Why are you jealous on my behalf? Who decides that any of the people may prophesy and that God may give to them his Spirit?”


text:
Then a wind, going out from the Lord and moving forcefully across the sea, brought quails and cast them into the camp, across a distance of one day’s journey, in every part of the camp all around, and they flew in the air two cubits high above the ground.


text:
Therefore, the people, rising up, gathered quails all that day and night, and the next day; he who did least well gathered ten homers. And they dried them throughout the camp.


text:
The flesh was still between their teeth, neither had this kind of food ceased, and behold, the fury of the Lord was provoked against the people, and he struck them with an exceedingly great scourge.


text:
And that place was called, ‘The Graves of Lust.’ For there, they buried the people who had desired. Then, departing from the Graves of Lust, they arrived in Hazeroth, and they stayed there.


text:
and they said: “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has he not also spoken similarly to us?” And when the Lord had heard this,


text:
immediately he spoke to him, and to Aaron and Miriam, “Go out, you three only, to the tabernacle of the covenant.” And when they had gone out,


text:
the Lord descended in a column of cloud, and he stood at the entrance of the tabernacle, calling to Aaron and Miriam. And when they had advanced,


text:
he said to them: “Listen to my words. If there will be among you a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in a vision, or I will speak to him through a dream.


text:
For I speak with him mouth to mouth, and plainly. And not through enigmas and figures does he perceive the Lord. Therefore, why were you not afraid to disparage my servant Moses?”


text:
Likewise, the cloud which was over the tabernacle withdrew. And behold, Miriam appeared to be white with a leprosy, like snow. And when Aaron had looked upon her, and he had seen the spreading of the leprosy,


text:
he said to Moses: “I beg you, my lord, not to impose upon us this sin, which we have committed foolishly.


text:
Do not let this one be like one who is dead, or like an abortion that has been cast from the womb of her mother. Behold, half of her flesh is already consumed by leprosy.”


text:
And the Lord answered him: “If her father had spit on her face, should she not have been filled with shame for at least seven days? Let her be separated, outside the camp, for seven days, and after that, she will be called back.”


text:
And so Miriam was excluded from the camp for seven days. And the people did not move from that place, until Miriam was called back.


text:
“Send men, who may examine the land of Canaan, which I will give to the sons of Israel, one from the rulers of each tribe.”


text:
Moses did what the Lord had commanded, sending, from the desert of Paran, leading men, whose names are these:


text:
These are the names of the men, whom Moses sent to examine the land. And he called Hosea, the son of Nun, Joshua.


text:
And so, Moses sent them to examine the land of Canaan, and he said to them: “Ascend by the south side. And when you arrive at the mountains,


text:
consider the land, as to what kind it may be, and the people, who are its inhabitants, whether they may be strong or weak, whether they may be few in number or many,


text:
the soil, rich or barren, forested or without trees. Be strong, and bring us some of the fruits of the land.” Now it was the time when the first ripe grapes were ready to be eaten.


text:
And when they had ascended, they explored the land from the desert of Sin, all the way to Rehob, as one enters into Hamath.


text:
And they ascended by the south side. And they arrived at Hebron, where there were Ahiman and Shishai and Talmai, the sons of Anak. For Hebron was founded seven years before Tanis, the city of Egypt.


text:
And continuing on as far as the Torrent of the Cluster of Grapes, they cut off a vine with its grapes, which two men carried on a board. Likewise, they took from the pomegranates and the figs of that place,


text:
which was called Nehel Eshcol, that is, the Torrent of the Cluster of Grapes, because the sons of Israel had carried a cluster of grapes from there.


text:
And those exploring the land returned after forty days, having circulated through the entire region.


text:
And they went to Moses and Aaron, and to the entire assembly of the sons of Israel in the desert of Paran, which is in Kadesh. And speaking to them, and to the entire multitude, they showed them the fruits of the land.


text:
And they explained, saying: “We went into the land, to which you sent us, which, it is true, flows with milk and honey, as one can know by these fruits.


text:
But it has very strong occupants, and the cities are great and also walled. We saw the race of Anak there.


text:
Amalek lives in the south. The Hethite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite live in the mountains. And truly, the Canaanite stays near the sea and around the streams of the Jordan.”


text:
During these events, Caleb, to restrain the murmuring of the people who rose up against Moses, said, “Let us ascend and possess the land, for we will be able to obtain it.”


text:
Yet truly, the others, who had been with him, were saying, “By no means are we able to ascend to this people, because they are stronger than we are.”


text:
And before the sons of Israel they disparaged the land, which they had inspected, saying: “The land, which we viewed, devours its inhabitants. The people, upon whom we gazed, were of lofty stature.


text:
There, we saw some monsters among the sons of Anak, of the race of giants; by comparison with them, we seemed like locusts.”


text:
“If only we had died in Egypt,” and, “If only we would perish in this vast wilderness,” and, “May the Lord not lead us into this land, lest we fall by the sword, and our wives, as well as our children, be led away as captives. Is it not better to return to Egypt?”


text:
And when Moses and Aaron heard this, they fell prone on the ground in the sight of the multitude of the sons of Israel.


text:
Yet truly, Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who themselves had also viewed the land, tore their garments,


text:
and they said to the entire multitude of the sons of Israel: “The land that we circled through is very good.


text:
If the Lord will be gracious to us, he will lead us into it, and he will give us the land flowing with milk and honey.


text:
Do not choose to be rebellious against the Lord. And do not fear the people of this land, for, like bread, so are we able to devour them. All protection has withdrawn from them. The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid.”


text:
And when the entire multitude cried out, and they wanted to crush them with stones, the glory of the Lord appeared, over the roof of the covenant, to all the sons of Israel.


text:
And the Lord said to Moses: “How long will this people disparage me? How long will they refuse to believe me, despite all the signs that I have wrought before them?


text:
Therefore, I will strike them with a pestilence, and so I will consume them. But you I will make the ruler over a great nation, and one which is mightier than this one.”


text:
and the inhabitants of this land, who have heard that you, O Lord, are among this people, and that you are seen face to face, and that your cloud protects them, and that you go before them with a column of cloud by day, and a column of fire by night,


text:
‘He was not able to lead the people into the land about which he had sworn. Therefore, he slew them in the wilderness.’


text:
‘The Lord is patient and full of mercy, taking away iniquity and wickedness, and forsaking no one who is harmless. He visits the sins of the fathers upon the sons, to the third and fourth generation.’


text:
Forgive, I beg you, the sins of this people, according to the greatness of your mercy, just as you have been gracious to them in their journey from Egypt to this place.”


text:
And yet, all the men who have seen my majesty, and the signs that I have wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness, and who have tested me ten times already, and yet have not obeyed my voice,


text:
these shall not see the land, about which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any of those who detracted me gaze upon it.


text:
My servant Caleb, who, being full of another spirit, has followed me, I will lead into this land, through which he has wandered, and his offspring shall possess it.


text:
For the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys. Tomorrow, move the camp and return into the wilderness, by the way of the Red Sea.”


text:
“How long will this very wicked multitude murmur against me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel.


text:
In the wilderness, here shall your carcasses lie. All you who were numbered from twenty years and above, and who have murmured against me,


text:
you shall not enter into the land, over which I lifted up my hand to cause you to live there, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.


text:
But your little ones, about whom you said that they would be a prey to the enemies, I will lead them in, so that they may see the land that has displeased you.


text:
Your sons shall wander in the desert for forty years, and they shall bear your fornication, until the carcasses of their fathers are consumed in the desert.


text:
According to the number of the forty days, during which you examined the land, one year shall be charged for each day. And so, for forty years you shall take back your iniquities, and you shall know my retribution.


text:
For just as I have spoken, so shall I do, to this entire most wicked multitude, which has risen up together against me. In the wilderness, here shall it fade away and die.”


text:
Therefore, all the men, whom Moses had sent to contemplate the land, and who, having returned, had caused the entire multitude to murmur against him, disparaging the land as if it were evil,


text:
But only Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, out of all those who had journeyed to examine the land.


text:
And behold, rising up at first light, they climbed to the top of the mountain, and they said, “We are prepared to ascend to the place, about which the Lord has spoken, for we have sinned.”


text:
And Moses said to them: “Why do you transgress the word of the Lord, merely because it will not result in prosperity for you?


text:
The Amalekite and the Canaanite are before you, by whose sword you shall be ruined, for you were not willing to consent to the Lord, and so the Lord is not with you.”


text:
But they, having been darkened, ascended to the top of the mountain. But the ark of the testament of the Lord, and Moses, did not withdraw from the camp.


text:
And the Amalekites descended, along with those Canaanites who were living in the mountains. And so, striking and cutting them down, they pursued them all the way to Hormah.


text:
“Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: When you will have entered into the land of your habitation, which I will give you,


text:
and you make an offering to the Lord, as a holocaust or as a victim, paying your vows, or as a voluntary offering of gifts, or in your solemnities, burning a sweet odor to the Lord, whether from the oxen or from the sheep:


text:
whoever immolates the victim shall offer a sacrifice of fine wheat flour, the tenth part of an ephah, sprinkled with oil, which shall have the measure of the fourth part of a hin,


text:
and he shall give the same measure of wine, poured out as libations, whether as a holocaust or as a victim.


text:
With each lamb and each ram, there shall be a sacrifice of fine wheat flour, of two tenths, which shall be sprinkled with one third part of a hin of oil.


text:
And he shall offer the same measure, one third part of wine, for the libation, as a sweet odor to the Lord.


text:
Yet truly, when you will offer, from the oxen, a holocaust or a victim, in order to fulfill your vow or for peace-offering victims,


text:
you shall give, for each ox, three tenths of fine wheat flour, sprinkled with oil, which has the measure of one half of one hin,


text:
and the wine, poured out as libations, shall be of the same measure, as an oblation of most sweet odor to the Lord.


text:
and when you will eat from the bread of that region, you shall separate the first-fruits to the Lord


text:
and which he has commanded through him for you, from the day that he began to command and thereafter,


text:
and if the multitude will have forgotten to do it, then they shall offer a calf from the herd, a holocaust as a most sweet odor to the Lord, and its sacrifice and libations, just as the ceremonies ask, and a he-goat for sin.


text:
And the priest shall pray for the entire multitude of the sons of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, because they did not sin willfully. Nevertheless, they shall offer incense to the Lord for themselves, and for sin, as well as for their error.


text:
And it shall be forgiven all the people of the sons of Israel, as well as the newcomers who sojourn among them, for it is the culpability of all the people through neglect.


text:
But if one soul will have sinned by not knowing, he shall offer a one-year-old she-goat for his sin.


text:
And the priest shall pray for him, because he sinned unknowingly before the Lord. And he shall obtain pardon for him, and it will be forgiven him.


text:
Yet truly, the soul who commits any of these acts through arrogance, whether he is a citizen or a sojourner, because he has rebelled against the Lord, shall perish from among his people.


text:
For he has despised the word of the Lord, and he has nullified his precept. For this reason, he shall be destroyed, and he shall bear his iniquity.”


text:
And it happened that, when the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, and they had found a man collecting wood on the day of the Sabbath,


text:
And the Lord said to Moses, “Let that man be put to death; let the entire crowd crush him with stones, outside the camp.”


text:
And when they had led him out, they overwhelmed him with stones, and he died, just as the Lord had instructed.


text:
“Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall tell them to make for themselves hems at the corners of their cloaks, placing in them ribbons of hyacinth,


text:
so that, when they see these, they may remember all the commandments of the Lord, and they may not follow their own thoughts and eyes, fornicating in various ways,


text:
but instead, they, being more mindful of the precepts of the Lord, may do them and may be holy to their God.


text:
Then, behold, Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and also On the son of Peleth, of the sons of Ruben,


text:
rose up against Moses, with two hundred fifty others of the sons of Israel, leading men of the assembly, and who, at the time of a council, would be called by name.


text:
And when they had stood against Moses and Aaron, they said: “Let it be sufficient for you that the entire multitude is of holy ones, and that the Lord is among them. Why do you elevate yourselves above the people of the Lord?”


text:
And speaking to Korah, and to the entire multitude, he said: “In the morning, the Lord will cause it to be known who belongs to him, and which holy ones he will join to himself. And whomever he will choose, they shall be close to him.


text:
and drawing fire into it tomorrow, place incense upon it before the Lord. And whomever he will choose, the same shall be holy. You sons of Levi have been raised up greatly.”


text:
Is it a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from all the people, and has joined you to himself, so that you would serve him in the rituals of the tabernacle, and stand before gatherings of the people, and minister to him?


text:
Was the reason that he caused you and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, to approach him, so that you would even claim for yourselves the priesthood too,


text:
and so that your entire group would stand against the Lord? For what is Aaron that you should murmur against him?”


text:
Therefore, Moses sent to call for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, who responded: “We will not come.


text:
Is it a small matter to you, that you have led us away from a land that was flowing with milk and honey, so as to kill us in the desert, unless you could also be a ruler over us?


text:
You have led us, it is true, to a land that flows with streams of milk and honey, and you have given us possession of fields and vineyards. But will you also tear out our eyes? We will not come.”


text:
And Moses, being very angry, said to the Lord: “Do not look with favor on their sacrifices. You know that I have not accepted from them, at any time, so much as a young donkey, nor have I afflicted any of them.”


text:
And he said to Korah: “You and your congregation, stand alone before the Lord, and apart from Aaron, tomorrow.


text:
Let each one of you take censers, and place incense in them, offering to the Lord two hundred fifty censers. Let Aaron also hold his censer.”


text:
and, having crowded the entire multitude close to them at the door of the tabernacle, the glory of the Lord appeared to them all.


text:
But they fell prone on their faces, and they said, “O most strong One, the God of the spirits of all flesh, should your anger rage against all, for the sin of one?”


text:
and he said to the crowd, “Withdraw from the tabernacles of these impious men, and touch nothing which pertains to them, lest you become involved in their sins.”


text:
And when they had withdrawn from their tents all around, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their pavilions, with their wives and children, and with all their associates.


text:
And Moses said: “By this shall you know that the Lord has sent me to do all that you discern, and that I have not brought these things out of my own heart:


text:
If these men pass away by the common death of men, or if they will be visited by a scourge, of a kind by which others are often visited, then the Lord did not send me.


text:
But if the Lord accomplishes something new, so that the earth opens its mouth and swallows them whole, along with everything that belongs to them, and they descend alive into the underworld, then you shall know that they have blasphemed the Lord.”


text:
And they descended alive, the ground closing around them, into the underworld, and they perished from the midst of the mulititude.


text:
Yet truly, all of Israel, which was standing all around, took flight at the clamor of those who were perishing, saying, “Lest perhaps the earth may swallow us whole also.”


text:
Then, too, a fire, going forth from the Lord, put to death the two hundred fifty men who were offering the incense.


text:
“Instruct Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to take up the censers which lie in the burning, and to scatter the fire to one side and another, because they were sanctified


text:
in the deaths of these sinners. And let him form them into plates, and affix them to the altar, because incense had been offered in them to the Lord, and they were sanctified, and so that the sons of Israel may discern in them a sign and a memorial.”


text:
Therefore, Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, by which those whom the burning devoured had made an offering, and he formed them into plates, affixing them to the altar,


text:
so that the sons of Israel would have, thereafter, something to admonish them, lest any stranger, or anyone who is not of the offspring of Aaron, might approach to offer incense to the Lord, and lest he endure what happened to Korah, and to all his congregation, when the Lord spoke to Moses.


text:
Then, the following day, the entire multitude of the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying: “You have put to death the people of the Lord.”


text:
Moses and Aaron fled to the tabernacle of the covenant. But after they had entered it, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.


text:
“Withdraw from the midst of this multitude, and I will destroy them immediately.” And while they were lying on the ground,


text:
Moses said to Aaron: “Take the censer, and draw fire into it from the altar; place incense upon it, and continue on, quickly, to the people, to pray for them. For already wrath has gone forth from the Lord, and the scourge rages.”


text:
When Aaron had done this, and he ran into the midst of the multitude, which the burning fire was now destroying, and he offered the incense.


text:
But the number of those who were struck down was fourteen thousand men, and seven hundred, aside from those who had perished in the sedition of Korah.


text:
And Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, after the destruction quieted.


text:
“Speak to the sons of Israel, and receive from each of them a rod by their kinships, from all the leaders of the tribes, twelve rods, and write the name of each one on his rod.


text:
But the name of Aaron shall be for the tribe of Levi, and one rod separately shall contain all their families.


text:
And you shall place these in the tabernacle of the covenant before the testimony, where I will speak to you.


text:
Whomever of these I will choose, his rod will germinate, and so shall I restrain the complaints of the sons of Israel before me, by which they murmur against you.”


text:
And Moses spoke to the sons of Israel. And all the leaders gave him rods, one for each tribe. And there were twelve rods, aside from the rod of Aaron.


text:
returning on the following day, he found that the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, had germinated, and that the swelling buds had opened into flowers, which, spreading their petals, were formed into those of an almond tree.


text:
Therefore, Moses brought out all the rods, from the sight of the Lord, to all the sons of Israel. And they saw, and each one received their rods.


text:
And the Lord said to Moses: “Carry back the rod of Aaron into the tabernacle of the testimony, so that it may be kept there as a sign of the rebellion of the sons of Israel, and so that their complaints may be quieted before me, lest they die.”


text:
Whoever approaches to the tabernacle of the Lord dies. Will we all be wiped away, even to total annihilation?”


text:
And the Lord said to Aaron: “You, and your sons, and the house of your father with you, shall carry the iniquity of the Sanctuary. And you and your sons together shall bear the sins of your priesthood.


text:
But take to yourselves also your brothers from the tribe of Levi, and the scepter of your father, and may they be prepared, and may they minister to you. Then you and your sons shall minister in the tabernacle of the testimony.


text:
And the Levites shall stand watch by your precepts, and for all the works of the tabernacle; yet in such a manner that they shall not approach the vessels of the Sanctuary and of the altar, lest both they die, and you perish, at the same time.


text:
But they may be with you, and they may watch over the care of the tabernacle and all its ceremonies. A foreigner shall not be mixed with you.


text:
Watch over the care of the Sanctuary, and over the ministry of the altar, lest an indignation may rise over the sons of Israel.


text:
I have given your brothers, the Levites, to you from the midst of the sons of Israel, and I have delivered them as a gift to the Lord, in order to serve in the ministries of his tabernacle.


text:
But as for you and your sons: guard the priesthood. For all that pertains to the service of the altar and of what is beyond the veil shall be exercised by the priests. If any outsider will approach, he shall be killed.”


text:
And the Lord said to Aaron: “Behold, I have given you custody of my first-fruits. Everything that is sanctified by the sons of Israel I have delivered to you and your sons, for the office of the priesthood, by everlasting ordinances.


text:
Therefore, you shall receive these, from the things that are sanctified and offered to the Lord. Every offering, and sacrifice, and whatever is repaid to me, on behalf of sin and also for offenses, and which becomes the Holy of holies, shall be for you and for your sons.


text:
You shall eat it in the Sanctuary. Only the males shall eat from it, because it has been consecrated for you.


text:
But the first-fruits, which the sons of Israel shall vow and offer, I have given to you, and to your sons, as well as to your daughters, by a perpetual right. Whoever is clean in your house shall eat them.


text:
All the innermost of the oil, and of the wine, and of the grain, whatever first-fruits they offer to the Lord, I have given to you.


text:
All the first of the crops, which the soil produces and which are carried to the Lord, shall fall to your use. Whoever is clean in your house shall eat them.


text:
Whatever goes out first from the womb, of all flesh, which they offer to the Lord, whether from men or from cattle, shall be your right; yet only in so far as, for the firstborn of man, you shall accept a price. And every animal that is unclean you shall cause to be redeemed.


text:
And its redemption shall be, after one month, five shekels of silver, by the weight of the Sanctuary. A shekel has twenty obols.


text:
But the firstborn of a cow, or of a sheep, or of a goat, you shall not cause to be redeemed, because they have been sanctified to the Lord. Thus, their blood you shall pour out upon the altar, and their fat you shall burn as a most sweet odor to the Lord.


text:
Yet truly, the flesh shall fall to your use, just as the consecrated breast and the right shoulder shall be yours.


text:
All the first-fruits of the Sanctuary, which the sons of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and to your sons as well as to your daughters, as a perpetual right. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord, for you and for your sons.”


text:
And the Lord said to Aaron: “In their land, you shall possess nothing; neither shall you have a portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of the sons of Israel.


text:
But I have given, to the sons of Levi, all the tithes of Israel as a possession, for the ministry by which they serve me in the tabernacle of the covenant,


text:
Only the sons of Levi may serve me in the tabernacle and may carry the sins of the people. It shall be an everlasting ordinance in your generations. They shall possess nothing else;


text:
“Instruct the Levites, and also declare to them: When you will receive, from the sons of Israel, the tithes, which I have given to you, offer their first-fruits to the Lord, that is, the tenth part of a tenth,


text:
so that it may be accounted to you as an oblation of the first-fruits, as much from the threshing floors as from the oil and wine presses.


text:
And offer the first-fruits of everything, from which you receive tithes, to the Lord, and give them to Aaron the priest.


text:
Everything which you shall offer from the tithes, and which you shall separate as gifts to the Lord, shall be the finest and most select.


text:
And you shall say to them: ‘If you offer the noble and the better of the tithes, it shall be accounted to you as if you had given from the first-fruits of the threshing floor and of the oil and wine presses.’


text:
And you shall eat these in all your places, both you and your families, because it is your price for the ministry, by which you serve in the tabernacle of the testimony.


text:
And you shall not sin in this way: by reserving the excellent and fat things for yourselves, lest you pollute the oblations of the sons of Israel, and lest you die.”


text:
“This is the ritual that the Lord has appointed for a victim. Instruct the sons of Israel, so that they may bring to you a red cow of full maturity, in which there is no blemish, and which has not carried a yoke.


text:
And you shall deliver it to Eleazar the priest, who, having led it out beyond the camp, shall immolate it in the sight of all.


text:
And dipping his finger in its blood, he shall sprinkle it seven times, opposite the door of the tabernacle.


text:
And he shall burn it, while all are watching, delivering into the flame, not only its skin and flesh, but also the blood and dung.


text:
Likewise, cedar wood, and hyssop, and twice-dyed scarlet he shall cast into the flame, by which the cow is consumed.


text:
And then finally, having washed his garments and his body, he shall enter into the camp, and he shall be deeply stained until evening.


text:
Then he also who had burned it shall wash his garments and his body, and he shall be unclean until evening.


text:
Then a clean man shall gather the ashes of the cow, and he shall pour them out beyond the camp, in a very pure place, so that they may be preserved for the multitude of the sons of Israel, and for the water of aspersion, because the cow was burned for sin.


text:
And when he who had carried the ashes of the cow will have washed his garments, he shall be unclean until evening. The sons of Israel, and the newcomers who live among them, shall have this as a holy and perpetual right.


text:
shall be sprinkled from this water on the third and seventh days, and so shall he be cleansed. But if he was not sprinkled on the third day, he is not able to be cleansed on the seventh.


text:
Anyone who will have touched the dead body of a human life, and who has not been sprinkled with this mixture, pollutes the tabernacle of the Lord, and he shall perish out of Israel. For not having been sprinkled with the water of expiation, he shall be unclean, and his filth shall remain upon him.


text:
This is the law of a man who dies in a tent. All who enter into his tent, and all the vessels which are there, shall be polluted for seven days.


text:
If anyone in the field will have touched the corpse of a man, who was killed or who died on his own, or his bone, or his grave, he shall be unclean for seven days.


text:
And they shall take some of the ashes from the burning and the sin offering, and they shall pour living waters over them into a vessel.


text:
And into it a man who is clean shall dip hyssop, and he shall sprinkle from it the entire tent, and all its articles, and the men who were polluted by means of contact.


text:
And so, in this manner, what is clean shall purify what is unclean, on the third and seventh days. And have been expiated on the seventh day, he shall wash both himself and his garments, and he shall be unclean until evening.


text:
If anyone has not been expiated by this ritual, his soul shall perish from the midst of the Church. For he has polluted the Sanctuary of the Lord, and he has not been sprinkled with purifying waters.


text:
This precept shall be an everlasting ordinance. Likewise, the one who has sprinkled the waters shall wash his garments. All who will have touched the waters of expiation shall be unclean until evening.


text:
Whatever has been touched by something unclean will itself be made unclean. And the soul who touches any of these things shall become unclean until evening.”


text:
And the sons of Israel, and the entire multitude, went into the desert of Sin, in the first month. And the people stayed at Kadesh. And Miriam died there, and she was buried in the same place.


text:
And as it turned into sedition, they said: “If only we had perished among our brothers in the sight of the Lord.


text:
Why have you led away the Church of the Lord, into the wilderness, so that both we and our cattle would die?


text:
Why did you cause us to ascend from Egypt, and why have you led us into this most wretched place, which is not able to be sown, which does not produce figs, or vines, or pomegranates, and which, moreover, does not even have water to drink?”


text:
And Moses and Aaron, dismissing the multitude, entered the tabernacle of the covenant, and they fell prone on the ground, and they cried out to the Lord, and they said: “O Lord God, listen to the outcry of this people, and open for them, from your storehouse, a fountain of living water, so that, being satisfied, their murmuring may cease.” And the glory of the Lord appeared over them.


text:
“Take the rod, and gather the people, you and your brother Aaron, and speak to the rock before them, and it shall bestow waters. And when you have brought forth water from the rock, the entire multitude and their cattle shall drink.”


text:
And having gathered the multitude before the rock, he said to them: “Listen, you who are rebellious and unbelieving. Would we be able to cast out water from this rock?”


text:
And when Moses had lifted up his hand, striking the stone twice with the rod, very great waters went forth, so much so that the people and their cattle were able to drink.


text:
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe me, so as to sanctify me before the sons of Israel, you shall not lead this people into the land, which I will give to them.”


text:
This is the Water of Contradiction, where the sons of Israel were quarreling against the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.


text:
Meanwhile, Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. They said: “Your brother Israel says this: You know of all the hardships which have overtaken us,


text:
how our fathers descended into Egypt, and we lived there for a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted both us and our fathers,


text:
and how we cried out to the Lord, and he heeded us and sent an Angel, who led us away from Egypt. Behold, we are situated in the city of Kadesh, which is at the extremity of your borders.


text:
And we beg you to permit us to cross through your land. We will not go through the fields, nor through the vineyards; we will not drink the waters of your wells, but we will travel by the public ways, neither turning aside to the right, nor to the left, until we have passed your borders.”


text:
And the sons of Israel said: “We will travel by the well-trodden path. And if we or our cattle drink from your waters, we will give you what is just. There shall be no difficulty in the price, only let us cross through quickly.”


text:
But he answered, “You shall not cross.” And immediately he went out to meet them with a countless multitude and a strong hand;


text:
neither was he willing to agree to their petition to concede passage through his borders. For this reason, Israel diverted away from him.


text:
And when they had moved the camp from Kadesh, they arrived at mount Hor, which is at the borders of the land of Edom,


text:
“Let Aaron,” he said, “go to his people. For he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because he did not believe my mouth at the Waters of Contradiction.


text:
And when you have stripped the father of his vestments, you shall put them on Eleazar, his son. Aaron shall be gathered and shall die there.”


text:
Moses did just as the Lord had instructed. And they ascended mount Hor, in the sight of the entire multitude.


text:
And the entire multitude, seeing that Aaron lay dead, wept over him for thirty days, throughout all their families.


text:
And when king Arad the Canaanite, who was living toward the south, had heard this, namely, that Israel had arrived by the way of spies, he fought against them. And proving to be the victor, he led away prey from them.


text:
But Israel, obliging himself by a vow to the Lord, said: “If you deliver this people into my hand, I will wipe away their cities.”


text:
And the Lord heard the prayers of Israel, and he delivered the Canaanite, who they put to death, overthrowing his cities. And they called the name of that place Hormah, that is, Anathema.


text:
Then they set out from mount Hor, by the way that leads to the Red Sea, to circle around the land of Edom. And the people began to tire of their journey and hardships.


text:
And speaking against God and Moses, they said: “Why did you lead us away from Egypt, so as to die in the wilderness? Bread is lacking; there are no waters. Our soul is now nauseous over this very light food.”


text:
For this reason, the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, which wounded or killed many of them.


text:
And so they went to Moses, and they said: “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray, so that he may take away these serpents from us.” And Moses prayed for the people.


text:
And the Lord said to him: “Make a bronze serpent, and place it as a sign. Whoever, having been struck, gazes upon it, shall live.”


text:
Therefore, Moses made a bronze serpent, and he placed it as a sign. When those who had been struck gazed upon it, they were healed.


text:
Having departed from there, they pitched their tents at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness, which looks out toward Moab, opposite the eastern region.


text:
Having left that place behind, they then made camp opposite Arnon, which is in the desert, and which juts out at the borders of the Amorite. For certainly Arnon is at the limit of Moab, dividing the Moabites and the Amorites.


text:
About this place, it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord: “As he did at the Red Sea, so will he do at the Torrents of Arnon.”


text:
The stones of the torrents were bent, so that they might rest in Ar and lie back within the borders of the Moabites.


text:
Beyond that place appeared a well, about which the Lord said to Moses: “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”


text:
“The well, the leaders dug it, and the commanders of the multitude prepared it, at the direction of the lawgiver, and with their staffs.”


text:
from Bamoth, a valley in the region of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looks out opposite the desert.


text:
“I beg you to permit me to cross through your land. We will not turn aside into the fields or the vineyards. We will not drink waters from the wells. We will travel by the royal way, until we have passed your borders.”


text:
And he was not willing to allow Israel to cross through his borders. But instead, gathering an army, he went out to meet them in the desert, and he arrived at Jahaz and fought against them.


text:
And he was struck down by them with the edge of the sword, and they possessed his land from Arnon, even to Jabbok and the sons of Ammon. For the borders of the Ammonites were held by a strong fortress.


text:
Therefore, Israel took all his cities and lived in the cities of the Amorite, namely, in Heshbon and its villages.


text:
Heshbon was the city of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who fought against the king of Moab. And he took all the land, which had been under his sovereignty, as far as Arnon.


text:
About this, it is said in the proverb: “Enter into Heshbon. Let the city of Sihon be established and built.


text:
A fire has gone forth from Heshbon, a flame from the town of Sihon, and it has devoured Ar of the Moabites, and the inhabitants of the heights of Arnon.


text:
Woe to you, Moab! You are perishing, O people of Chemosh. He gave flight to his sons, and he gave the daughters into captivity, to the king of the Amorites, Sihon.


text:
Their yoke has been scattered from Heshbon even to Dibon. They have passed through, wearily, into Nophah, and as far as Medeba.”


text:
And they turned themselves and ascended, along the way of Bashan. And Og, the king of Bashan, met them with all his people, to fight at Edrei.


text:
And the Lord said to Moses: “Do not be afraid of him. For I have delivered him, and all his people, as well as his land, into your hand. And you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, the inhabitant of Heshbon.”


text:
Therefore, they struck him down also, with his sons, and all his people, even to utter destruction, and they possessed his land.


text:
said to those greater by birth of Midian: “So will this people wipe away all those who are dwelling within our borders, in the same way that the ox is accustomed to tear out grass, all the way to the roots.” At that time, he was king of Moab.


text:
Therefore, he sent messengers to Balaam, the son of Beor, a seer who lived above the river of the land of the sons of Ammon, to call him, and to say: “Behold, a people has gone forth from Egypt, which has covered the face of the earth. They are encamped opposite me.


text:
Therefore, come and curse this people, for they are stronger than I am. If only, in some way, I might be able to strike them and to drive them from my land. For I know that he whom you bless shall be blessed, and he whom you curse shall be cursed.”


text:
And the elders of Moab, and those greater by birth of Midian, continued on, holding the price of divination in their hands. And when they had come to Balaam, and had explained to him all the words of Balak,


text:
he responded, “Remain for this night, and I will answer with whatever the Lord will say to me.” And while they stayed with Balaam, God came and said to him,


text:
saying: ‘Behold, a people, which has gone forth from Egypt, has covered the face of the earth. Come and curse them, so that, in some way, I may be able to fight them and drive them away.’ ”


text:
And he, rising up in the morning, said to the leaders, “Go into your own land, for the Lord has prohibited me from going with you.”


text:
And when these had come to Balaam, they said: “So says Balak, the son of Zippor. Do not hesitate to come to me.


text:
For I am ready to honor you, and whatever you would want, I shall give to you. Come and curse this people.”


text:
Balaam responded: “Even if Balak were to give to me his own house, filled with silver and gold, I still would not be able to change the word of the Lord my God, neither to say more, nor to say less.


text:
Therefore, God came to Balaam in the night, and said to him: “If these men have arrived to call you, then rise up and go with them; yet only in so far as you shall do what I will command you.”


text:
And God was angry. And an Angel of the Lord stood in the way opposite Balaam, who was sitting on the donkey, and he had two servants with him.


text:
The donkey, discerning that the Angel was standing in the way with a drawn sword, turned herself from the road and went through a field. And when Balaam beat her and intended to return her to the path,


text:
And the donkey, seeing this, drew herself close to the wall and scraped the foot of the rider. So he beat her again.


text:
And, nevertheless, the Angel passing on to a narrow place, where one would not be able to deviate either to the right or to the left, stood to meet him.


text:
And when the donkey had seen the Angel standing there, she fell under the feet of the rider, who, being angry, struck her sides more vehemently with a club.


text:
And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said: “What have I done to you? Why do strike you me, behold now, for the third time?”


text:
Balaam responded, “Because you have deserved it, and you have mistreated me. If only I had a sword, so that I might pierce you.”


text:
The donkey said: “Am not I your animal, on which you have always been accustomed to sit, even until this present day? Tell me, when did I ever do the same thing to you.” But he said, “Never.”


text:
Immediately, the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel standing in the way with a drawn sword, and he reverenced him prone on the ground.


text:
And the Angel said to him: “Why did you beat your donkey three times? I have come to be an adversary to you, because your way is perverse and contrary to me.


text:
And unless the donkey had turned aside from the way, allowing a place for my opposition, I would have killed you, and she would have lived.”


text:
Balaam said: “I have sinned, not knowing that you stood against me. And now, if it displeases you for me to continue on, I will return.”


text:
The Angel said, “Go with them, but be careful not to speak anything other than what I shall instruct you.” And so, he went with the leaders.


text:
And when Balak had heard it, he went out to meet him in a town of the Moabites, which is situated at the furthest borders of Arnon.


text:
And he said to Balaam: “I sent messengers to call you. Why did you not come to me immediately? Was it because I am not able to pay the cost for your arrival?”


text:
He answered him: “Behold, here I am. Am I able to speak anything other than what God will put into my mouth?”


text:
Therefore, they continued on together, and they arrived at a city, which was at the furthest borders of his kingdom.


text:
And after Balak had killed oxen and sheep, he sent the gifts to Balaam, and to the leaders who were with him.


text:
Then, when morning arrived, he led him to the heights of Baal, and he gazed upon the most distant portions of the population.


text:
And Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rams.”


text:
And when he had acted according to the words of Balaam, they placed a calf and a ram together on each altar.


text:
And Balaam said to Balak: “Stand for a little while next to your holocaust, until I go, to see if perhaps the Lord will meet with me. And whatever he will command, I shall speak to you.”


text:
And after he had quickly departed, God met with him. And Balaam, speaking to him, said: “I have set up seven altars, and I have placed a calf and a ram on each.”


text:
And taking up his parable, he said: “Balak, king of the Moabites, has led me from Aram, from the mountains of the east. ‘Come forth,’ he said, ‘and curse Jacob. Hurry and condemn Israel.’


text:
How shall I curse him, whom God has not cursed? For what reason would I condemn him, whom the Lord does not condemn?


text:
I will look upon him from the tops of the stones, and I will consider him from the hills. This people shall dwell alone, and they shall not be counted among the nations.


text:
Who can number the dust that is Jacob, and who can know the number of the stock of Israel? May my soul die a just death, and may my end be like theirs.”


text:
And Balak said to Balaam: “What is this that you are doing? I called for you, in order to curse my enemies, and to the contrary, you bless them.”


text:
Therefore, Balak said: “Come with me to another place, from where you may see a portion of Israel, though you cannot see them all. Curse them from there.”


text:
And when he had led him to a lofty place, on the top of mount Pisgah, Balaam built seven altars, and placing upon each a calf and a ram,


text:
And when the Lord had met him, and had put the word in his mouth, he said, “Return to Balak, and you shall say this to him.”


text:
Returning, he found him standing next to his holocaust, and the leaders of the Moabites were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”


text:
God is not like a man, so that he would lie, nor is he like a son of man, so that he would be changed. Therefore, having spoken, will he not act? Has he ever spoken, and not fulfilled?


text:
There is no idol in Jacob; neither is there a false image to be seen in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the resound of royal victory is in him.


text:
There is no soothsaying in Jacob, nor any divination in Israel. In their times, it shall be told to Jacob and to Israel what God has wrought.


text:
Behold, the people will rise up like a lioness, and lie down like a lion. But they will not lie down until they devour the prey and drink the blood of the slain.”


text:
And Balak said to him: “Come and I will lead you to another place. If perhaps it may please God, then you may curse them from there.”


text:
Balaam said to him, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rams.”


text:
And when Balaam had seen that it was pleasing to the Lord that he should bless Israel, he by no means went out as he had gone before, to seek divination. But directing his face opposite the desert,


text:
and lifting up his eyes, he saw Israel dwelling in tents by their tribes. And with the Spirit of God rushing into him,


text:
the hearer of the sermon of God, he who has gazed upon a vision of the Almighty, he who falls down and so his eyes are opened, has declared:


text:
They are like forested valleys, like gardens irrigated next to rivers, like tabernacles which the Lord has fixed, like cedars close to waters.


text:
Water shall flow from his jar, and his offspring shall be amid many waters, because Agag, his king, shall be taken, and his kingdom shall be removed.


text:
Away from Egypt, God has led him, whose strength is like the rhinoceros. They shall devour the nations that are his enemies, and break their bones, and pierce them with arrows.


text:
Lying down, he has slept like a lion, and like a lioness, whom no one would dare to awaken. He who blesses you, shall himself also be blessed. He who curses you, shall be considered cursed.”


text:
And Balak, being angry against Balaam, clapped his hands together and said: “I called you to curse my enemies, and, to the contrary, you have blessed them three times.


text:
Return to your place. I had decided, indeed, to honor you greatly, but the Lord has deprived you of the designated honor.”


text:
Even if Balak would give me his house, filled with silver and gold, I still could not go away from the word of the Lord my God, so as to offer anything, either good or evil, from my own heart; but whatever the Lord will speak, this, too, I shall speak.


text:
Yet truly, as I continue on to my own people, I will give you counsel as to what this people shall do to your people in the end times.”


text:
Therefore, taking up his parable, he again spoke: “Balaam the son of Beor, the man whose eye has been obstructed,


text:
the hearer of the sermon of God, he who knows the doctrine of the Most High, and who sees the visions of the Almighty, who, falling down, has his eyes opened, has declared:


text:
I shall see him, but not presently. I shall gaze upon him, but not soon. A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a rod shall spring up from Israel. And he shall strike down the commanders of Moab, and he shall devastate all the sons of Seth.


text:
And he shall possess Idumea; the inheritance of Seir shall fall to their enemies. Yet truly, Israel shall act with strength.


text:
And when he saw Amalek, taking up his parable, he said: “Amalek, first among the Gentiles, whose very end shall be perdition.”


text:
Likewise, he saw the Kainites, and taking up his parable, he said: “Robust, indeed, is your habitation. But though you will set your nest in a rock,


text:
and you will be elect among the stock of Kain, how long will you be able to remain? For Assur shall take you captive.”


text:
And taking up his parable once more he said: “Alas! Who will be able to survive, when God will do these things?


text:
They shall arrive in Greek warships from Italy. They shall overcome the Assyrians, and they shall devastate the Hebrews, and yet, at the very end, even they themselves shall perish.”


text:
And Balaam rose up, and he returned to his place. Likewise, Balak went back, along the way by which he had arrived.


text:
Now Israel, at that time, dwelt in Shittim, and the people were fornicating with the daughters of Moab,


text:
said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people, and hang them on gallows against the sun, so that my fury may be averted from Israel.”


text:
And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Let each one kill his neighbors, who have been initiated into Baal of Peor.”


text:
And behold, one of the sons of Israel entered, in the sight of his brothers, to a prostitute of Midian, within view of Moses and of all the crowd of the sons of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle.


text:
And when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, had seen it, he rose up from the midst of the multitude, and, seizing a dagger,


text:
he entered after the Israelite man, into the brothel, and he pierced both of them at the same time, specifically, the man and the woman at the location of their genitals. And the scourge ceased from among the sons of Israel.


text:
“Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has averted my wrath from the sons of Israel. For he was moved against them by my zeal, so that I myself, in my zeal, might not wipe away the sons of Israel.


text:
And the covenant of the everlasting priesthood shall be as much for him as for his offspring. For he was zealous on behalf of his God, and he has made expiation for the wickedness of the sons of Israel.”


text:
Now the name of the Israelite man, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader from the kinship and tribe of Simeon.


text:
Moreover, the Midianite woman, who was put to death together with him, was called Cozbi the daughter of Zur, a most noble leader among the Midianites.


text:
for they, too, have behaved with hostility against you, and they have deceived you insidiously by means of the idol Peor, and by Cozbi, the daughter of a commander of Midian, their sister, who was struck down in the day of the scourge because of the sacrilege of Peor.”


text:
After the blood of the guilty was shed, the Lord said to Moses, and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest:


text:
“Number the entire sum of the sons of Israel, from twenty years and above, by their houses and kinships, all who are able to go forth to war.”


text:
And so, Moses and Eleazar the priest, who were in the plains of Moab, above the Jordan, opposite Jericho, spoke to those who were


text:
Ruben, the firstborn of Israel; his son, Hanoch, from whom is the family of the Hanochites; and Pallu, from whom is the family of the Palluites;


text:
and Hezron, from whom is the family of the Hezronites; and Carmi, from whom is the family of the Carmites.


text:
These are the families of the stock of Ruben, whose number was found to be forty-three thousand and seven hundred thirty.


text:
his sons, Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are Dathan and Abiram, the leaders of the people, who rose up against Moses and Aaron in the sedition at Korah, when they rebelled against the Lord.


text:
And the earth, opening its mouth, devoured Korah, with many others dying, when the fire burned two hundred fifty men. And a great miracle was wrought,


text:
The sons of Simeon, by their kinships: Nemuel, from him is the family of the Nemuelites; Jamin, from him is the family of the Jaminites; Jachin, from him is the family of the Jachinites;


text:
These are the families of the stock of Simeon, whose entire number was twenty-two thousand two hundred.


text:
The sons of Gad, by their kinships: Zephon, from him is the family of the Zephonites; Haggi, from him is the family of the Haggites; Shuni, from him is the family of the Shunites;


text:
And these were the sons of Judah, by their kinships: Shelah, from whom is the family of the Shelahites; Perez, from whom is the family of the Perezites; Zerah, from whom is the family of the Zerahites.


text:
Moreover, the sons of Phares were: Hezron, from whom is the family of the Hezronites; and Hamul, from whom is the family of the Hamulites.


text:
The sons of Issachar, by their kinships: Tola from whom is the family of the Tolaites; Puvah, from whom is the family of the Puvahites;


text:
Jashub, from whom is the family of the Jashubites; Shimron, from whom is the family of the Shimronites.


text:
The sons of Zebulon by their kinships: Sered, from whom is the family of the Seredites; Elon, from whom is the family of the Elonites; Jahleel, from whom is the family of the Jahleelites.


text:
From Manasseh was born Machir, from whom is the family of the Machirites. Machir conceived Gilead, from whom is the family of the Gileadites.


text:
Gilead had sons: Jezer, from whom is the family of the Jezerites; and Helek, from whom is the family of the Helekites;


text:
and Asriel, from whom is the family of the Asrielites; and Shechem, from whom is the family of the Shechemites;


text:
and Shemida, from whom is the family of the Shemidaites; and Hepher, from whom is the family of the Hepherites.


text:
Now Hepher was the father of Zelophehad, who had no sons, but only daughters, whose names are these: Mahlah, and Noa, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.


text:
Now the sons of Ephraim by their kinships were these: Shuthelah, from whom is the family of the Shuthelahites; Becher, from whom is the family of the Becherites; Tahan, from whom is the family of the Tahanites.


text:
These are the sons of Joseph by their families: the sons of Benjamin in their kinships: Bela, from whom is the family of the Belaites; Ashbel, from whom is the family of the Ashbelites; Ahiram, from whom is the family of the Ahiramites;


text:
Shupham, from whom is the family of the Shuphamites; Hupham, from whom is the family of the Huphamites.


text:
The sons of Bela: Arad and Naaman. From Arad, the family of the Aradites; from Naaman, the family of the Naamanites.


text:
The sons of Dan by their kinships: Shuham, from whom is the family of the Shuhamites. These are the kinships of Dan by their families.


text:
The sons of Asher by their kinships: Imnah, from whom is the family of the Imnahites; Ishvi, from whom is the family of the Ishvites; Beriah, from whom is the family of the Beriahites.


text:
The sons of Beriah: Heber, from whom is the family of the Heberites; and Malchiel, from whom is the family of the Malchielites.


text:
These are the kinships of the sons of Asher, and their number was fifty-three thousand four hundred.


text:
The sons of Naphtali by their kinships: Jahzeel, from whom is the family of the Jahzeelites; Guni, from whom is the family of the Gunites;


text:
Jezer, from whom is the family of the Jezerites; Shillem, from whom is the family of the Shillemites.


text:
These are the kinships of the sons of Naphtali by their families, whose number was forty-five thousand four hundred.


text:
This is the sum of the sons of Israel, who were counted: six hundred thousand and one thousand seven hundred thirty.


text:
To the greater number you shall give a greater portion, and to the lesser number, a lesser portion. To each one, just as they have now been counted, a possession shall be delivered.


text:
Likewise, this is the number of the sons of Levi by their families: Gershon, from whom is the family of the Gershonites; Kohath, from whom is the family of the Kohathites; Merari, from whom is the family of the Merarites.


text:
These are the families of Levi: The family of Libni, the family of Hebroni, the family of Mahli, the family of Mushi, the family of Korah. Yet truly, Kohath conceived Amram,


text:
who had a wife, Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to him in Egypt. She bore, to her husband Amram: sons, Aaron and Moses, as well as their sister, Miriam.


text:
And these were all who were numbered: twenty-three thousand of the male gender, from one month and above. For they were not counted among the sons of Israel, neither was a possession given to them with the others.


text:
This is the number of the sons of Israel, who were enrolled by Moses and by Eleazar the priest, in the plains of Moab, above the Jordan, opposite Jericho.


text:
For the Lord had foretold that all would die in the wilderness. And not one of them remained, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.


text:
Then there approached the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, who was the son of Joseph: and their names are Mahlah, and Noa, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.


text:
And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the people, at the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, and they said:


text:
“Our father died in the desert, and was not with the sedition, which was stirred up against the Lord under Korah, but he died in his own sin; he had no male sons. Why is his name taken away from his family, because he had no son? Give us a possession among the kinsmen of our father.”


text:
“The daughters of Zelophehad are asking for something just. So give them a possession among the kinsmen of their father, and let them succeed him in his inheritance.


text:
But if he has no paternal uncles, the inheritance shall be given to those who are closest to him. And this shall be, for the sons of Israel, consecrated as a perpetual law, just as the Lord has instructed Moses.”


text:
The Lord also said to Moses: “Ascend onto this mountain, Abarim, and contemplate from there the land, which I will give to the sons of Israel.


text:
For you offended me in the desert of Sin at the Contradiction of the multitude; neither were you willing to sanctify me in their sight over the waters. These are the Waters of Contradiction at Kadesh in the desert of Sin.”


text:
and who may be able to exit and enter before them, and who may lead them out or lead them in: lest the people of the Lord be like sheep without a shepherd.”


text:
And the Lord said to him: “Take Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom the Spirit is, and place your hand upon him.


text:
And you shall give him the precepts in the sight of all, and a portion of your glory, so that the entire congregation of the sons of Israel may listen to him.


text:
On his behalf, if anything is to be done, Eleazar the priest shall consult the Lord. He, and all the sons of Israel with him, and the rest of the multitude, shall go out and enter in at his word.”


text:
Moses did just as the Lord had instructed. And when he had brought Joshua, he set him before Eleazar the priest, and before the entire gathering of the people.


text:
“Instruct the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: Offer my oblation and bread, and the incense of most sweet odor, at their proper times.


text:
These are the sacrifices which you must offer: Two immaculate one-year-old lambs each day as a perpetual holocaust.


text:
and the tenth part of an ephah of fine wheat flour, which has been sprinkled with the purest oil, and which has the measure of the fourth part of a hin.


text:
It is the continual holocaust which you offered at mount Sinai as a most sweet odor of incense to the Lord.


text:
And you shall offer a libation of wine, of the fourth part of a hin for each lamb, in the Sanctuary of the Lord.


text:
And you shall offer the other lamb similarly, in the evening, according to all the rites of the morning sacrifice and its libations, as an oblation of most sweet odor to the Lord.


text:
Then, on the Sabbath day, you shall offer two immaculate one-year-old lambs, and two tenths of fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil, as sacrifice, as well as the libations


text:
Then, on the first day of the month, you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord: two calves from the herd, one ram, seven immaculate one-year-old lambs,


text:
and three tenths of fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil, as sacrifice, for each calf, and two tenths of fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil, for each ram,


text:
and one tenth of fine wheat flour with oil, as a sacrifice, for each lamb. It is a holocaust of most sweet odor and also an incense to the Lord.


text:
Now these shall be the libations of wine, which are to be poured out for each victim: one half portion of a hin for each calf, one third for a ram, and one fourth for a lamb. This shall be the holocaust for all the months, as they succeed one another in the turning of the year.


text:
Likewise, a he-goat shall be offered to the Lord for sin, with the perpetual holocaust and its libations.


text:
And the first day of these days shall be venerable and holy; you shall not do any servile work in it.


text:
And you shall offer the incense of a holocaust to the Lord, two calves from the herd, one ram, seven immaculate one-year-old lambs;


text:
and with each sacrifice, from fine wheat flour which has been sprinkled with oil, three tenths for each calf, and two tenths for each ram,


text:
You shall do this on each day of the seven days, as fuel for the fire, and as a most sweet odor to the Lord, which shall rise up from the holocaust and from each of the libations.


text:
Likewise, the seventh day shall be very honored and holy for you. Any servile work, you shall not do in it.


text:
And also the day of the first-fruits, after the weeks have been fulfilled, when you shall offer new fruits to the Lord, shall be venerable and holy. You shall not do any servile work in it.


text:
And you shall offer a holocaust as a most sweet odor to the Lord: two calves from the herd, one ram, and seven immaculate one-year-old lambs,


text:
and also, as their sacrifices, fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil, three tenths for each calf, two for each ram,


text:
“Now the first day of the seventh month also shall be venerable and holy to you. In it, you shall not do any servile work, because it is the day of the sounding of the trumpets.


text:
And you shall offer a holocaust, as a most sweet odor to the Lord: one calf from the herd, one ram, and seven immaculate one-year-old lambs;


text:
and, as their sacrifices, fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil: three tenths for each calf, two tenths for a ram,


text:
aside from the holocaust of the first day of the month with its sacrifices, and the perpetual holocaust with the usual libations. By these same ceremonies, you shall offer incense as a most sweet odor to the Lord.


text:
Likewise, the tenth day of this seventh month shall be for you holy and venerable, and you shall afflict your souls. You shall do no servile work in it.


text:
And you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord, as a most sweet odor: one calf from the herd, one ram, seven immaculate one-year-old lambs;


text:
and for their sacrifices, fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil: three tenths for each calf, two tenths for a ram,


text:
and a he-goat for sin, apart from those things which are usually offered for offenses as an expiation, and as a perpetual holocaust, with their sacrifice and libations.


text:
Yet truly, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, which shall be for you holy and venerable, you shall not do any servile work in it, but you shall celebrate a solemnity to the Lord for seven days.


text:
And you shall offer a holocaust, as a most sweet odor to the Lord: thirteen calves from the herd, two rams, fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs;


text:
and as their libations, fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil: three tenths for each calf, which is all together thirteen calves, and two tenths for each ram, that is, all together two rams,


text:
On the next day, you shall offer twelve calves from the herd, two rams, and fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs.


text:
And the sacrifices and libations for each of the calves and the rams and the lambs, you shall celebrate according to the rite,


text:
On the third day, you shall offer eleven calves, two rams, and fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs.


text:
On the fourth day, you shall offer ten calves, two rams, and fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs.


text:
And the sacrifices and the libations for each of the calves and the rams and the lambs, you shall celebrate according to the rite,


text:
On the fifth day, you shall offer nine calves, two rams, and fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs.


text:
On the sixth day, you shall offer eight calves, two rams, and fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs.


text:
On the seventh day, you shall offer seven calves, and two rams, and fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs.


text:
offering a holocaust as a most sweet odor to the Lord: one calf, one ram, and seven immaculate one-year-old lambs.


text:
These things you shall offer to the Lord in your solemnities, aside from the vowed and voluntary oblations, as a holocaust, as a sacrifice, as a libation, or as peace-offering victims.”


text:
And he said to the leaders of the tribes of the sons of Israel: “This is the word, which the Lord has instructed:


text:
If any man makes a vow to the Lord, or binds himself by an oath, he shall not make his word null and void, but all that he has promised, he shall fulfill.


text:
If a woman, who is in her father’s house, vows anything, or binds herself by an oath, and she is still in a state of childhood, if her father knew of the vow which she has promised or of the oath by which she has obligated her soul, and he kept silent, she shall be liable to the vow:


text:
But if her father, as soon as he had heard it, had contradicted it, both her vows and her oaths shall be nullified, neither shall she be held liable to the promise, because her father had contradicted it.


text:
If she has a husband, and she has vowed anything, then, once the word has gone out of her mouth, she will have obligated her soul by an oath.


text:
On the day that her husband will hear of it, and yet not contradict it, she shall be liable to the vow, and she shall repay whatever she has promised.


text:
But if, as soon as he hears it, he contradicts it, then he will have caused her promises, and the words by which she had bound her soul, to be null and void. The Lord will be favorable to her.


text:
if her husband heard it and remained silent, and he did not contradict the promise, she shall repay what she had promised.


text:
But if he promptly contradicts it, she shall not be held liable to the promise. For her husband has contradicted it. And the Lord will be favorable to her.


text:
If she has vowed or bound herself by oath, in order to afflict her soul by fasting, or by abstaining from other things, it shall be for the arbitration of her husband, as to whether or not she may do it.


text:
But if the husband, upon hearing it, remains silent, and he delays judgment until another day, whatever she had vowed or promised, she shall repay, because when he first heard it, he remained silent.


text:
These are the laws which the Lord has appointed to Moses, between a husband and a wife, between a father and a daughter, who is still in the state of childhood or who remains in her father’s house.


text:
“First, avenge the sons of Israel from the Midianites, and then you shall be gathered to your people.”


text:
And immediately Moses said: “Arm the men among you for a battle, so that they may be able to fulfill the retribution of the Lord on the Midianites.


text:
And Moses sent them with Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest; also, he delivered to him the holy vessels, and the trumpets to sound.


text:
And they put to death by the sword their kings: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five leaders of the nation, and also Balaam the son of Beor.


text:
And they seized their women and little ones, and all their cattle, and all their goods; whatever they were able to have, they despoiled.


text:
And they led these to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to all the multitude of the sons of Israel. But the remainder of the articles they carried to the camp on the plains of Moab, next to the Jordan, opposite Jericho.


text:
Then Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the assembly went out to meet them beyond the camp.


text:
And Moses, being angry with the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions, who had arrived from the battle,


text:
Are not these the ones who deceived the sons of Israel at the suggestion of Balaam, and who caused you betray the Lord by the sin of Peor, because of which the people also were struck down?


text:
Therefore, put to death all of them: whatever is of the male sex, even among the little ones, and cut the throats of those women who have known men by sexual relations.


text:
And remain beyond the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed a man, or who has touched one that was killed, shall be purified on the third day and on the seventh day.


text:
And all of the spoils, whether it is a garment, or a vessel, or another useful thing, made from the pelts or hair of goats, or from wood, shall be expiated.”


text:
Likewise, Eleazar the priest spoke in this manner to the men of the army who had fought: “This is the precept of the law, which the Lord has commanded Moses:


text:
and all that may be able to pass through fire, shall be purified by fire. But whatever is not able to sustain fire shall be sanctified with the waters of expiation.


text:
And you shall wash your garments on the seventh day, and, after having been purified, you shall enter the camp.”


text:
“Take the sum of those things which were captured, from man even to beast, you and Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the common people.


text:
And you shall divide the prey equally, among those who went out to war and fought, and among the remainder of the multitude.


text:
And you shall separate a portion for the Lord from the portion of those who fought and were in the battle: one soul out of five hundred, as much from humans, as from oxen and donkeys and sheep.


text:
Likewise, from the half of the portion belonging to the sons of Israel, you shall receive the fiftieth head of humans, and of oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, and of all living things, and you shall give these to the Levites who stand watch over the care of the tabernacle of the Lord.”


text:
And one half of the portion was given to those who had been in the battle: three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep.


text:
And Moses delivered the number of the first-fruits of the Lord to Eleazar the priest, just as had been commanded of him,


text:
from the one half portion belonging to the sons of Israel, which he had separated from the portion of those who had been in the battle.


text:
Yet truly, from the one half portion which fell to the remainder of the multitude, that is, from the three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,


text:
Moses took the fiftieth head, and gave it to the Levites who stand watch at the tabernacle of the Lord, just as the Lord had instructed.


text:
And when the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions had approached Moses, they said:


text:
“We, your servants, have taken a census of the number of the fighting men, whom we had under our hand, and indeed not one was lacking.


text:
For this reason, we offer as gifts to the Lord whatever gold each one was able to find amid the spoils, in anklets and arm bands, rings and bracelets, and little chains, so that you may intercede for us to the Lord.”


text:
And having been accepted, they took it into the tabernacle of the testimony, as a memorial of the sons of Israel before the Lord.


text:
Now the sons of Ruben and of Gad had many herds, and their substance in cattle was inestimable. And when they had seen that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for feeding animals,


text:
the land, which the Lord has struck in the sight of the sons of Israel, is a very fertile region for pasturing animals. And we, your servants, have very many cattle.


text:
And so we beseech you, if we have found favor before you, that you give it to us, your subjects, as a possession, and that you not cause us cross the Jordan.”


text:
Why do you subvert the minds of the sons of Israel, so that they might not dare to cross into the place which the Lord will give to them?


text:
And when they had gone all the way to the Valley of the Cluster of Grapes, having viewed the entire region, they subverted the hearts of the sons of Israel, so that they would not enter into the parts that the Lord gave to them.


text:
‘These men, who ascended out of Egypt, from twenty years and above, will not see the land, which I have promised under an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For they were not willing to follow me,


text:
except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; these have fulfilled my will.’


text:
And the Lord, being angry against Israel, led them in a course through the desert for forty years, until the entire generation, which had done evil in his sight, was consumed.


text:
And behold,” he said, “you have risen up in the place of your fathers, the offshoots and the nurslings of sinful men, in order to augment the fury of the Lord against Israel.


text:
But if you are not willing to follow him, he will leave the people behind in the wilderness, and you will have been the cause of all our deaths.”


text:
But approaching closer, they said: “We will manufacture sheep pens and cattle stalls, as well as fortified cities, for our little ones.


text:
But we ourselves will continue on, armed and girded for battle, before the sons of Israel, until we lead them to their places. Our little ones, and whatever we may be able to have, shall be in walled cities, because of the treachery of the inhabitants.


text:
Neither will we seek anything across the Jordan, because we already have our possession on its eastern side.”


text:
And Moses said to them: “If you accomplish what you have promised, you may go out, equipped for battle, before the Lord.


text:
and all the land is subjected to him. Then you will be guiltless with the Lord and with Israel, and you will obtain the regions which you desire before the Lord.


text:
But if you do not do what you have said, no one could doubt that you will have sinned against God. And know this: your sin shall overtake you.


text:
Therefore, build cities for your little ones, and pens and stables for your sheep and cattle; and fulfill what you have promised.”


text:
And the sons of Gad and of Ruben said to Moses: “We are your servants, we shall do what you, our ruler, orders.


text:
We will leave behind our little ones, and our wives, and the sheep and cattle, in the cities of Gilead.


text:
And we, your servants, all well-equipped, will go forth to battle, just as you, our ruler, has spoken.”


text:
Therefore, Moses instructed Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the princes of the families throughout the tribes of Israel, and he said to them:


text:
“If the sons of Gad and the sons of Ruben cross over the Jordan with you, all armed for war before the Lord, and if the land becomes subject to you, give them Gilead as a possession.


text:
But if they are not willing to cross with you, armed, into the land of Canaan, then let them receive places among you for their dwellings.”


text:
And the sons of Gad and the sons of Ruben responded: “Just as the Lord has spoken to his servants, so shall we do.


text:
We will go forth, armed, before the Lord into the land of Canaan; and we acknowledge that we have already received our possession across the Jordan.”


text:
And so, Moses gave to the sons of Gad and of Ruben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and their land with its surrounding cities.


text:
and Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names having been changed) and Sibmah, appointing names for the cities which they had built.


text:
Moreover, the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, continued on within Gilead, and they devastated it, putting to death its inhabitant, the Amorite.


text:
But Jair, the son of Manasseh, went out and occupied its villages, which he called Havoth Jair, that is, the Villages of Jair.


text:
Likewise, Nobah went forth and captured Kenath with its villages. And he called it by his own name, Nobah.


text:
These are the lodging places of the sons of Israel, who departed from Egypt by their companies under the hand of Moses and Aaron,


text:
which Moses wrote down according to the places of the encampments, which they changed upon the order of the Lord.


text:
Thus the sons of Israel set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month, on the day after the Passover, with an exalted hand, being seen by all the Egyptians.


text:
And these were burying their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down (for so, too, did he carry out retribution against their gods).


text:
Departing from there, they arrived opposite Pi-hahiroth, which looks out toward Baal-zephon, and they were encamped before Migdol.


text:
And setting out from Pi-hahiroth, they crossed through the middle of the Sea into the wilderness. And having walked for three days through the desert of Etham, they made camp at Marah.


text:
And setting out from Marah, they arrived at Elim, where there were twelve fountains of water and seventy palm trees. And they set up camp there.


text:
But departing from there also, they fixed their tents above the Red Sea. And setting out from the Red Sea,


text:
And departing from Alush, they fixed their tents at Rephidim, where the people lacked water to drink.


text:
And departing from Kadesh, they encamped at mount Hor, at the furthermost limits of the land of Edom.


text:
And Aaron the priest ascended onto mount Hor, by the order of the Lord. And there he died, in the fortieth year of the departure of the sons of Israel from Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month,


text:
And king Arad the Canaanite, who lived toward the south, heard that the sons of Israel had arrived in the land of Canaan.


text:
And setting out from the mountains of Abarim, they crossed over to the plains of Moab, above the Jordan, opposite Jericho.


text:
And they made camp there, from Beth-jeshimoth all the way to Abel-shittim, in the level places of the Moabites,


text:
“Instruct the sons of Israel, and say to them: When you will have crossed over the Jordan, entering into the land of Canaan,


text:
destroy all the inhabitants of that land. Break their monuments, and shatter their statues, and lay waste to every exalted thing,


text:
which you shall divide among you by lot. To the greater number you shall give more, and to the lesser number, less. To each one, just as the lot shall fall, so shall the inheritance be distributed. The possession shall be divided by the tribes and families.


text:
But if you are not willing to put to death the inhabitants of the land, those who remain shall be to you like spikes in your eyes and lances in your sides, and they shall be adversaries to you in the land of your habitation.


text:
“Instruct the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: When you will have entered into the land of Canaan, and it has fallen into your possession by lot, it shall be bound by these limits:


text:
The southern part shall begin from the wilderness of Sin, which is next to Edom, and it shall have the Sea of Salt as a limit to the east.


text:
It shall circle on the south side along the ascent of the Scorpion, by this way crossing into Senna, and passing through, from the south, as far as Kadesh-barnea, from which its confines shall go out to the town called Adar, and extend even to Azmon.


text:
And its limits shall go around from Azmon to the Torrent of Egypt, and shall end at the shore of the Great Sea.


text:
Furthermore, toward the northern region, its limits shall begin from the Great Sea, passing through even to the highest mountain.


text:
And its confines shall go all the way to Ziphron, and to the village of Enan. These shall be the limits on the northern side.


text:
From there, its limits shall be measured, facing the east side, from the village of Enan as far as Shepham.


text:
And from Shepham, the boundaries shall descend into Riblah, opposite the fountain of Daphnis. From there, the boundaries shall pass through, opposite the east, to the Sea of Chinnereth,


text:
and shall extend as far as the Jordan, and, at the furthest extent, shall be enclosed by the Sea of Salt. You shall have this land, with its borders all around.”


text:
And Moses instructed the sons of Israel, saying: “This shall be the land which you shall possess by lot, and which the Lord has ordered to be given to the nine tribes, and to the half tribe.


text:
For the tribe of the sons of Ruben, by their families, and the tribe of the sons of Gad, according to the number of their kinships, and also one half of the tribe of Manasseh,


text:
that is, two and a half tribes, have received their portion across the Jordan, opposite Jericho, toward the eastern side.”


text:
“These are the names of the men, who shall divide the land for you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun,


text:
And the Lord also spoke these things to Moses in the plains of Moab, above the Jordan, opposite Jericho:


text:
cities as dwelling places, with their surrounding suburbs, so that they may lodge in the towns, and so that the suburbs may be for cattle and beasts of burden.


text:
The suburbs shall extend from the outer walls of the cities, all around, for the space of one thousand steps.


text:
Facing the east, there shall be two thousand cubits, and facing the south, similarly, there shall be two thousand cubits. Toward the sea, also, which looks out toward the west, there shall be the same measure, and the northern region shall be bounded by equal limits. And the cities shall be in the center, and the suburbs shall be outside.


text:
Now, from the towns which you shall give to the Levites, six shall be separated for the assistance of fugitives, so that he who has shed blood may flee to them. And, aside from these, there shall be forty-two other towns,


text:
And concerning these cities, which shall be given from the possessions of the sons of Israel: from those who have more, more shall be taken, and from those who have less, less shall be taken. Each shall give towns to the Levites according to the measure of their inheritance.”


text:
“Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: When you will have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan,


text:
And when a fugitive is in these, the kinsman of the deceased shall not be able to kill him, until he stands in the sight of the multitude and his case is judged.


text:
as much for the sons of Israel as for newcomers and sojourners, so that anyone who has shed blood unwillingly may flee to these places.


text:
If anyone will have struck someone with iron, and he who was struck will have died, then he shall be guilty of homicide, and he himself shall die.


text:
If he will have thrown a stone, and he who has been struck lies dead, then he shall be punished similarly.


text:
If he who has been struck with wood passes away, he shall be avenged by the blood of the one who struck him.


text:
The close relative of the deceased shall put to death the murderer; as soon as he apprehends him, he shall put him to death.


text:
or, while being his enemy, strikes him with his hand, and so he has died, the attacker shall be guilty of murder. The kinsman of the deceased, as soon as he finds him, shall cut his throat.


text:
and this has been proven in the hearing of the people, and the questions have been aired, between the one who struck and the close relative,


text:
then the innocent one shall be freed from the hand of the revenger, and he shall be returned by this judgment into the city to which he had fled, and he shall stay there until the high priest, who has been anointed with the holy oil, dies.


text:
If the one who has killed has been found beyond the limits of the cities which have been assigned to the exiled,


text:
For the fugitive ought to have resided in the city, until the death of the high priest. Then, after he is dead, the one who has killed shall be returned to his own land.


text:
The punishment of a murderer shall be based upon testimony; but no one shall be condemned upon the testimony of only one person.


text:
Exiles and fugitives, prior to the death of the high priest, are by no means able to be returned to their own cities.


text:
Do not pollute the land of your habitation, so as to stain it with the blood of the innocent; neither is it able to be expiated in any way other than by the blood of him who has shed the blood of another.


text:
And so shall your possession be cleansed, while I myself am abiding with you. For I am the Lord, who lives among the sons of Israel.”


text:
Then the leaders of the families of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the stock of the sons of Joseph, approached and spoke to Moses before the leaders of Israel, and they said:


text:
“The Lord has instructed you, our ruler, so that you would divide the land by lot to the sons of Israel, and so that you would give to the daughters of Zelophehad, our brother, the possession owed to their father.


text:
But if men of another tribe receive them as wives, their possession will follow them, and having been transferred to another tribe, there will be a reduction in our inheritance.


text:
And so it may be that, when the Jubilee of remission, that is, the fiftieth year, has arrived, the distribution by lots shall be confounded, and the possession of the one shall be transferred to others.”


text:
Moses answered the sons of Israel, and, at the instruction of the Lord, he said: “The tribe of the sons of Joseph has spoken correctly.


text:
And so, this is the law which has been promulgated by the Lord about the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry whomever they may wish, but only among the men of their own tribe,


text:
lest the possession of the sons of Israel become commingled, from tribe to tribe. For all men shall take wives from their own tribe and kinship;


text:
and all women shall take husbands from their same tribe, so that the inheritance may remain within the families,


text:
and so that the tribes may not be mingled together, but may remain such as they were separated by the Lord.”


text:
And Mahlah, and Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noa were wed to the sons of their paternal uncle,


text:
from the family of Manasseh, who was a son of Joseph. And the possession which had been distributed to them remained in the tribe and family of their father.


text:
These are the commandments and judgments which the Lord ordered by the hand of Moses to the sons of Israel, in the plains of Moab, above the Jordan, opposite Jericho.


text:
These are the words which Moses spoke to all of Israel, across the Jordan, in the plain of the wilderness opposite the Red Sea, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth, where gold is very plentiful,


text:
In the fortieth year, on the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses told the sons of Israel all that the Lord had instructed him. And so he spoke to them,


text:
after he had struck down Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, who resided at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,


text:
Turn back and go to the mountain of the Amorites, and to the other places which are near it: the plains as well as the mountainous regions, and the low-lying places opposite the south and along the shore of the sea, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river Euphrates.’


text:
‘Lo,’ he said, ‘I have delivered it to you. Enter and possess that which the Lord swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give it to them, and to their offspring after them.’


text:
‘I alone am not able to sustain you. For the Lord, your God, has multiplied you, and you are today like the stars of heaven, very many.


text:
May the Lord, the God of your fathers, add to this number many thousands more, and may he bless you, just as he has said.


text:
Offer, from among you, wise and experienced men, those whose conversation has been proven within your tribes, so that I may appoint them as your rulers.’


text:
And so, I took from your tribes men, wise and noble, and I appointed them as rulers, as tribunes and centurions, and as leaders over fifty and over ten, who would teach you each thing.


text:
And I instructed them, saying: ‘Listen to them, and judge what is just, whether he is one of your citizens or a sojourner.


text:
There shall be no favoritism to any persons. So you shall listen to the little as well as to the great. And you shall not accept anyone’s reputation, for this is the judgment of God. But if anything seems difficult to you, then refer it to me, and I will hear it.’


text:
Then, setting out from Horeb, we crossed through a terrible and great wasteland, which you saw along the way of the mountain of the Amorite, just as the Lord our God had instructed us. And when we had arrived at Kadesh-barnea,


text:
I said to you: ‘You have arrived at the mountain of the Amorite, which the Lord our God will give to us.


text:
Gaze upon the land that the Lord your God gives to you. Ascend and possess it, just as the Lord our God has spoken to your fathers. Do not be afraid, and do not become terrified by anything.’


text:
And you all approached me and said: ‘Let us send men who may consider the land, and who may report as to the way by which we ought to ascend, and as to which cities we ought to travel.’


text:
These, when they had set out and had ascended the mountains, arrived as far as the valley of the cluster of grapes. And having considered the land,


text:
having taken from its fruits in order to show its fertility, they brought these to us, and they said: ‘The land that the Lord our God will give to us is good.’


text:
you murmured in your tents, and you said: ‘The Lord hates us, and therefore he has led us away from the land of Egypt, so that he might deliver us into the hand of the Amorite and destroy us.


text:
To where should we ascend? The messengers have terrified our heart by saying: “The multitude is very great, and taller than us. And the cities are great, and the walls extend even to the sky. We have seen the sons of the Anakim there.” ’


text:
The Lord God himself, who is your leader, will fight on your behalf, just as he did in Egypt in the sight of all.


text:
And in the wilderness (as you yourselves saw), the Lord your God carried you, like a man who is accustomed to carrying his little son, along all the way that you walked, until you arrived at this place.’


text:
who went before you on the way, and who marked out the place where you should pitch your tents, showing you the way by fire in the night, and by a pillar of cloud in the day.


text:
‘None of the men of this wicked generation will see the good land, which I have promised by oath to your fathers,


text:
except Caleb the son of Jephuneh. For he himself will see it, and I will give the land on which he has walked to him and to his sons, because he has followed the Lord.’


text:
Neither is his indignation with the people a wonder, since the Lord also became angry with me because of you, and so he said: ‘Neither will you enter into that place.


text:
But Joshua, the son of Nun, your minister, shall himself enter on your behalf. Exhort and strengthen this man, and he himself shall divide the land by lot to Israel.


text:
Your little ones, about whom you said that they would be led away as captives, and your sons, who to this day are ignorant of the difference between good and evil, they shall enter. And I will give the land to them, and they will possess it.


text:
And you responded to me: ‘We have sinned against the Lord. We will ascend and fight, just as the Lord our God has instructed.’ And having been equipped with weapons, when you were setting out for the mountain,


text:
the Lord said to me: ‘Say to them: Do not ascend and do not fight. For I am not with you. Otherwise, you may fall in the sight of your enemies.’


text:
I spoke, and you did not listen. But, opposing the order of the Lord, and swelling with pride, you ascended onto the mountain.


text:
And so, having gone forth, the Amorite, who was living in the mountains, came against you and pursued you, just as a swarm of bees would do. And he struck you down from Seir all the way to Hormah.


text:
And when you returned and were weeping in the sight of the Lord, he would not hear you, nor was he willing to agree to your voice.


text:
“And setting out from there, we arrived at the wilderness which leads to the Red Sea, just as the Lord had spoken to me. And we encompassed Mount Seir for a long time.


text:
And instruct the people, saying: You shall cross through the borders of your brothers, the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, and they will fear you.


text:
Therefore, take care diligently, lest you be moved against them. For I will not give to you from their land even as much as the step that one foot can tread upon, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.


text:
You shall buy food from them for money, and you shall eat. You shall draw water for money, and you shall drink.


text:
The Lord your God has blessed you in every work of your hands. The Lord your God, dwelling with you, knows your journey, how you crossed through this great wilderness over forty years, and how you have been lacking in nothing.’


text:
And when we had passed through our brothers, the sons of Esau, who were living at Seir by the way of the plain from Elath and from Eziongeber, we arrived at the way which leads to the desert of Moab.


text:
And the Lord said to me: ‘You should not fight against the Moabites, nor should you go to battle against them. For I will not give to you anything from their land, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.’


text:
The Emim were the first of its inhabitants, a people great and strong, and of such great height, like the race of the Anakim.


text:
They were considered to be like giants, and they were like the sons of the Anakim. And, indeed, the Moabites call them: the Emim.


text:
The Horites also formerly lived at Seir. When these had been driven out and destroyed, the sons of Esau lived there, just as Israel did in the land of his possession, which the Lord gave to him.


text:
Then, from the time that we advanced from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the torrent Zered, there were thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of the men who were fit for war had been consumed out of the camp, just as the Lord had sworn.


text:
And when you have arrived in the vicinity of the sons of Ammon, be careful that you do not fight against them, nor should you be moved to battle. For I will not give to you from the land of the sons of Ammon, because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession.’


text:
It was reputed to be a land of giants. And giants lived there in times past, those whom the Ammonites call the Zamzummim.


text:
They are a people, great and numerous, and of lofty stature, like the Anakim, whom the Lord wiped away before their face. And he caused them to live there in place of them,


text:
just as he had done for the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, wiping out the Horites and delivering their land to them, which they possess even to the present time.


text:
Likewise the Hevites, who were living in small villages as far as Gaza, were expelled by the Cappadocians, who went forth from Cappadocia, and they wiped them out and lived in their place.


text:
‘Rise up and cross the torrent Arnon! Behold, I have delivered Sihon, the king of Heshbon, the Amorite, into your hand, and so, begin to possess his land and to engage in battle against him.


text:
Today I will begin to send the terror and dread of you among the peoples who are living under all of heaven, so that, when they hear your name, they may be afraid, and may tremble in the manner of a woman giving birth, and may be gripped by anguish.’


text:
Therefore, I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, with peaceful words, saying:


text:
‘We will cross through your land. We will advance by the public way. We will not turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left.


text:
Sell us food for a price, so that we may eat. Provide us with water for money, and so we will drink. We only ask that you allow us to pass through,


text:
just as the sons of Esau have done, who live at Seir, and the Moabites, who abide in Ar, until we arrive at the Jordan, and we cross to the land which the Lord our God will give to us.’


text:
And Sihon, the king of Heshbon, was not willing to grant passage to us. For the Lord your God had hardened his spirit, and had fastened his heart, so that he would be delivered into your hands, just as you now see.


text:
And the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land to you. Begin to possess it.’


text:
And we seized all his cities at that time, putting to death their inhabitants: men as well as women and children. We left nothing of them,


text:
except the cattle, which went to the share of those who plundered them. And we seized the spoils of the cities,


text:
from Aroer, which is above the bank of the torrent Arnon, a town which is situated in a valley, all the way to Gilead. There was not a village or city which escaped from our hands. The Lord our God delivered everything to us,


text:
except the land of the sons of Ammon, which we did not approach, and all that is adjacent to the torrent Jabbok, and the cities in the mountains, and all the places which the Lord our God prohibited to us.”


text:
“And so, having turned back, we ascended by the way of Bashan. And Og, the king of Bashan, went forth with his people to meet us in warfare at Edrei.


text:
And the Lord said to me: ‘You should not fear him. For he has been delivered into your hand, with all his people as well as his land. And you shall do to him just as you have done to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’


text:
Therefore, the Lord our God delivered into our hands, now Og, the king of Bashan, and all his people. And we struck them down unto utter annihilation,


text:
laying waste to all his cities at one time. There was not a village which escaped from us: sixty cities, the entire region of Argob, the kingdom of Og, in Bashan.


text:
All the cities were fortified with very high walls, and with gates and bars, in addition to innumerable villages which had no walls.


text:
And we wiped them out, just as we had done to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, destroying every city, and its men, as well as women and children.


text:
And at that time, we took the land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites, who were across the Jordan: from the torrent Arnon as far as Mount Hermon,


text:
all the cities that are situated in the plain, and the entire land of Gilead and Bashan, all the way to Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.


text:
For only Og, the king of Bashan, was left behind out of the race of the giants. His bed of iron is on display, (it is in Rabbah, among the sons of Ammon) being nine cubits in length, and four in width, according to the measure of the cubit of a man’s hand.


text:
And we possessed the land, at that time, from Aroer, which is above the bank of the torrent Arnon, as far as the middle of Mount Gilead. And I gave its cities to Ruben and Gad.


text:
Then I delivered the remaining part of Gilead, and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, which is the entire region of Argob, to one half of the tribe of Manasseh. And all of Bashan is called the land of the giants.


text:
Jair, the son of Manasseh, possessed all the region of Argob, as far as the borders of Geshur and Maacath. And he called Bashan by his own name, Havvoth Jair, that is, the villages of Jair, even to the present day.


text:
And to the tribes of Ruben and Gad, I gave from the land of Gilead as far as the torrent Arnon, one half of the torrent and its confines, even to the torrent Jabbok, which is along the border of the sons of Ammon,


text:
and the plain of the wilderness, as well as the Jordan, and the borders of Chinnereth, all the way to the sea of the desert, which is very salty, to the base of Mount Pisgah toward the east.


text:
And I instructed you at that time, saying: ‘The Lord your God gives to you this land as an inheritance. Having armed yourselves, go before your brothers, the sons of Israel, all you strong men.


text:
Leave behind your wives and little ones, as well as the cattle. For I know that you have many cattle, and they should remain in the cities which I have delivered to you,


text:
until the Lord provides rest to your brothers, just as he has provided for you. And they, too, shall possess the land, which he will give to them beyond the Jordan. Then each one shall return to his possession, which I have allotted to you.’


text:
Likewise, I instructed Joshua at that time, saying: ‘Your eyes have seen what the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So also will he do to all the kingdoms through which you shall pass.


text:
‘Lord God, you have begun to reveal your greatness and your very strong hand to your servant. For there is no other god, either in heaven or on earth, who is able to accomplish your works, or to be compared to your strength.


text:
Therefore, I will cross over, and I will view this excellent land beyond the Jordan, and this singular mountain, and Lebanon.’


text:
And the Lord became angry with me because of you, and he would not heed me. But he said to me: ‘It is enough for you. You shall no longer speak to me at all about this matter.


text:
Ascend to the summit of Pisgah, and look around with your eyes to the west, and to the north, and to the south, and to the east, and behold it. For you shall not cross this Jordan.


text:
Instruct Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him. For he shall go before this people, and he shall distribute to them the land that you will see.’


text:
“And now, O Israel, listen to the precepts and judgments which I am teaching to you, so that, by doing these, you may live, and you may enter and possess the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, will give to you.


text:
You shall not add to the word which I speak to you, neither shall you take away from it. Preserve the commandments of the Lord your God which I am teaching to you.


text:
Your eyes have seen all that the Lord has done against Baal-peor, in what manner he has crushed all of his worshippers from among you.


text:
You know that I have taught you precepts as well as justices, just as the Lord my God has commanded me. And so shall you do in the land that you will possess.


text:
And you shall observe and fulfill these in practice. For this is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, so that, upon hearing all these precepts, they may say: ‘Lo, a wise and understanding people, a great nation.’


text:
Neither is there any other nation so great, which has its gods so near to them, as our God is present to all our petitions.


text:
For what other nation is there so renowned as to have ceremonies, and just judgments, and the entire law that I will set forth today before your eyes?


text:
And so, guard yourself and your soul carefully. You should not forget the words that your eyes have seen, and do not let them be cut away from your heart, throughout all the days of your life. You shall teach them to your sons and to your grandsons,


text:
from the day on which you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord spoke to me, saying: ‘Gather the people to me, so that they may listen to my words, and may learn to fear me, throughout all the time that they are alive on earth, and so that they may teach their children.’


text:
And you approached the base of the mountain, which was burning even toward heaven. And there was a darkness upon it, and a cloud, and a mist.


text:
And the Lord spoke to you from the midst of fire. You heard the voice of his words, but you did not see any form at all.


text:
And he revealed his covenant to you, which he instructed you to carry out, and the ten words which he wrote on two tablets of stone.


text:
And he commanded me, at that time, that I should teach you the ceremonies and judgments which you must carry out, in the land that you shall possess.


text:
And so, guard your souls carefully. You saw no likeness on the day that the Lord God spoke to you on Horeb from the midst of fire.


text:
Otherwise, perhaps being deceived, you might have made a graven image, or an image of male or female,


text:
Otherwise, perhaps lifting up your eyes to heaven, you might look upon the sun and the moon and all the stars of heaven, and being deceived by error, you might adore and worship these things, which the Lord your God created for the service of all the nations, which are under heaven.


text:
But the Lord has taken you up, and led you away from the iron furnaces of Egypt, in order to have a people of inheritance, just as it is to the present day.


text:
And the Lord became angry against me because of your words, and he swore that I would not cross over the Jordan, nor enter into the excellent land, which he will give to you.


text:
Behold, I shall die on this soil. I shall not cross over the Jordan. You shall cross it, and you shall possess the singular land.


text:
Be careful, lest you at sometime forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he has formed with you, and lest you make for yourselves a graven likeness of those things which the Lord has prohibited to be made.


text:
When you will have conceived sons and grandsons while abiding in the land, and if, having been deceived, you make for yourselves any likeness, accomplishing evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to wrath,


text:
I call heaven and earth as witnesses this day, that you shall quickly perish from the land, which, when you have crossed over the Jordan, you will possess. You will not live in it for a long time; instead, the Lord will destroy you.


text:
And he will scatter you among all the nations, and few of you will remain among those nations, to which the Lord will lead you.


text:
And there, you will serve gods which were fabricated by the hands of men: gods of wood and of stone, who neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.


text:
And when you will seek the Lord your God in that place, you shall find him, if only you seek him with all your heart, and in all the tribulation of your soul.


text:
After all these things which have been foretold have found you, in the end time, you shall return to the Lord your God, and you will hear his voice.


text:
For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not abandon you, nor will he entirely destroy you, nor will he forget the covenant, which he swore to your fathers.


text:
Inquire concerning the days of antiquity, which were before you, from the day when God created man upon the earth, from one end of heaven to another, if anything similar has ever occurred, or whether any such thing has ever been known,


text:
that a people would hear the voice of God, speaking from the midst of fire, just as you have heard it, and live,


text:
whether God has acted so as to enter and take for himself a nation from the midst of the nations, by means of tests, signs, and wonders, by means of fighting, and a strong hand, and an outstretched arm, and terrible visions, in accord with all the things which the Lord your God has accomplished for you in Egypt, in the sight of your eyes.


text:
He has caused you to hear his voice from heaven, so that he might teach you. And he showed you his exceedingly great fire on earth, and you heard his words from the midst of the fire.


text:
For he loved your fathers, and he chose their offspring after them. And he led you away from Egypt, advancing before you with his great power,


text:
so as to wipe away, upon your arrival, nations, very great and stronger than you, and so as to lead you in, and to present to you their land as a possession, just as you discern in the present day.


text:
Therefore, know on this day and consider in your heart, that the Lord himself is God in heaven above, and on earth below, and there is no other.


text:
Keep his precepts and commandments, which I am teaching to you, so that it may be well with you, and with your sons after you, and so that you may remain for a long time upon the land, which the Lord your God will give to you.”


text:
so that anyone might flee to these if he has killed his neighbor unwillingly, who was not his enemy a day or two earlier, and so that he would be able to escape to one of these cities:


text:
Bezer in the wilderness, which is situated in the plains of the tribe of Ruben; and Ramoth in Gilead, which is in the tribe of Gad; and Golan in Bashan, which is in the tribe of Manasseh.


text:
And these are the testimonies and ceremonies as well as judgments, which he spoke to the sons of Israel, when they departed from Egypt,


text:
across the Jordan, in the valley opposite the shrine of Peor, in the land of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses struck down. Accordingly, the sons of Israel, having departed from Egypt,


text:
possessed his land, and the land of Og, the king of Bashan, the land of the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun:


text:
from Aroer, which is situated above the bank of the torrent Arnon, as far as Mount Zion, which is also called Hermon,


text:
the entire plain across the Jordan, from its eastern region, as far as the sea of the wilderness, and even to the base of Mount Pisgah.


text:
And Moses summoned all of Israel, and he said to them: “Listen, O Israel, to the ceremonies and judgments, which I am speaking to your ears on this day. Learn them, and fulfill them in deed.


text:
I was the mediator, for I was in the middle between the Lord and you, at that time, to announce his words to you. For you were afraid of the fire, and so you did not ascend to the mountain. And he said:


text:
You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor the likeness of anything, which is in heaven above, or on earth below, or which abides in the waters under the earth.


text:
You shall not adore and you shall not worship these things. For I am the Lord your God, a jealous God, repaying the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation to those who hate me,


text:
You shall not use the name of the Lord your God in vain. For he will not go unpunished who takes up his name over an unimportant matter.


text:
Observe the day of the Sabbath, so that you may sanctify it, just as the Lord your God has instructed you.


text:
The seventh is the day of the Sabbath, that is, the rest of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work in it, nor shall your son, nor daughter, nor man servant, nor woman servant, nor ox, nor donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor the sojourner who is within your gates, so that your men and woman servants may rest, just as you do.


text:
Remember that you also were servants in Egypt, and the Lord your God led you away from that place with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Because of this, he has instructed you so that you would observe the Sabbath day.


text:
Honor your father and mother, just as the Lord your God has instructed you, so that you may live a long time, and so that it may be well with you in the land, which the Lord your God will give to you.


text:
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his house, nor his field, nor his man servant, nor his woman servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything out of all that is his.’


text:
The Lord spoke these words to the entire multitude of you on the mountain, from the midst of the fire and the cloud and the darkness, with a loud voice, adding nothing more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone, which he delivered to me.


text:
Then, after you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, and you saw the mountain burning, you approached me, all you leaders of the tribes and those greater by birth. And you said:


text:
‘Behold, the Lord our God has revealed to us his majesty and his greatness. We have heard his voice from the midst of fire, and we have proven today that, though God is speaking with man, man has lived.


text:
Therefore, why should we die, and why should this very great fire devour us? For if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, we will die.


text:
What is all flesh, that it would hear the voice of the living God, who speaks from the midst of fire, just as we have heard it, and be able to live?


text:
Instead, you should approach and listen to all the things that the Lord our God will say to you. And you will speak to us, and we will listen and do these things.’


text:
But when the Lord had heard this, he said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they spoke to you. All this, they have spoken well.


text:
Who will grant to them to have such a mind, so that they may fear me, and may keep all my commandments at all times, so that it may be well with them and with their sons forever?


text:
But as for you, stand here with me, and I will speak to you all my commandments and ceremonies, as well as judgments. These, you shall teach them, so that they may do them in the land, which I will give to them as a possession.


text:
And so, keep and do the things which the Lord God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left.


text:
For you shall walk in the way that the Lord your God has instructed, so that you may live, and it may be well with you, and your days may be extended in the land of your possession.’ ”


text:
“These are the precepts and ceremonies, as well as the judgments, which the Lord your God has commanded that I teach to you, which you shall do in the land to which you will travel in order to possess it.


text:
So may you fear the Lord your God, and keep all his commandments and precepts, which I am entrusting to you, and to your sons and grandsons, all the days of your life, so that your days may be prolonged.


text:
Listen and observe, O Israel, so that you may do just as the Lord has instructed you, and it may be well with you, and you may be multiplied all the more, for the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.


text:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.


text:
And you shall explain them to your sons. And you shall meditate upon them sitting in your house, and walking on a journey, when lying down and when rising up.


text:
And you shall bind them like a sign on your hand, and they shall be placed and shall move between your eyes.


text:
And when the Lord your God will have led you into the land, about which he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and when he will have given to you great and excellent cities, which you did not build;


text:
houses full of goods, which you did not amass; cisterns, which you did not dig; vineyards and olive groves, which you did not plant;


text:
take care diligently, lest you forget the Lord, who led you away from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude. You shall fear the Lord your God, and you shall serve him alone, and you shall swear by his name.


text:
For the Lord your God is a jealous God in your midst. Otherwise, at sometime, the fury of the Lord your God may be enraged against you, and he may take you away from the face of the earth.


text:
Keep the precepts of the Lord your God, as well as the testimonies and ceremonies, which he has instructed to you.


text:
And do what is pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord, so that it may be well with you, and so that, when you enter, you may possess the excellent land, about which the Lord swore to your fathers


text:
And when your son will ask you tomorrow, saying: ‘What do these testimonies and ceremonies and judgments mean, which the Lord our God has entrusted to us?’


text:
You shall say to him: ‘We were servants of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord led us away from Egypt with a strong hand.


text:
And he wrought signs and wonders, great and very grievous, in Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his house, in our sight.


text:
And he led us away from that place, so that he might lead us in and give us the land, about which he swore to our fathers.


text:
And the Lord instructed us that we should do all these ordinances, and that we should fear the Lord our God, so that it may be well with us all the days of our life, just as it is today.


text:
And he will be merciful to us, if we keep and perform all his precepts, in the sight of the Lord our God, just as he has commanded us.’ ”


text:
“When the Lord your God will have led you to the land, which you will enter so as to possess it, and when he will have destroyed many nations before you, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations much more numerous than you, and more robust than you,


text:
and when the Lord your God will have delivered them to you, you shall strike them down unto utter annihilation. You shall not enter into a pact with them, nor shall you show any pity to them.


text:
And you shall not associate with them in marriage. You shall not give your daughter to his son, nor accept his daughter for your son.


text:
For she will seduce your son, so that he will not follow me, and so that he will instead serve foreign gods. And the fury of the Lord will be enraged, and he will quickly destroy you.


text:
So instead, you shall do this to them: overturn their altars, and break their statues, and cut down their sacred groves, and burn up their graven images.


text:
For you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you so that you would be his particular people out of all the peoples who are upon the earth.


text:
It is not because you surpass all the nations in number that the Lord has joined with you and has chosen you, for you are the least numerous of any people.


text:
But it is because the Lord has loved you, and has kept his oath, which he swore to your fathers. And he has led you away with a strong hand, and he has redeemed you from the house of servitude, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.


text:
And you shall know that the Lord your God himself is a strong and faithful God, preserving his covenant and his mercy for those who love him and those who keep his precepts for a thousand generations,


text:
and promptly repaying those who hate him, so as to utterly ruin them, without further delay, quickly rendering to them what they deserve.


text:
Therefore, keep the precepts and ceremonies as well as the judgments, which I command to you this day, so that you may do them.


text:
If, after you have heard these judgments, you keep and do them, the Lord your God will also keep his covenant with you and the mercy that he swore to your fathers.


text:
And he will love you and multiply you. And he will bless the fruit of your womb, and the fruit of your land: your grain as well as your vintage, oil, and herds, and the flocks of your sheep, upon the land about which he swore to your fathers that he would give it to you.


text:
Blessed shall you be among all peoples. No one will be barren among you of either gender, as much among men as among your herds.


text:
The Lord will take all sickness away from you. And the very grievous infirmities of Egypt, which you have known, he will not bring upon you, but upon your enemies.


text:
You shall devour all the peoples, which the Lord your God will deliver to you. Your eye shall not spare them, neither shall you serve their gods, lest they be your ruin.


text:
If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are more than I am, so how will I be able to destroy them?’


text:
do not be apprehensive. Instead, recall what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the Egyptians:


text:
the very great plagues, which your eyes saw, and the signs and wonders, and the powerful hand and outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God led you away. So will he do to all the peoples, whom you dread.


text:
Moreover, the Lord your God will also send hornets among them, until he destroys and scatters all who have escaped from you, or who have been able to hide.


text:
He himself will consume these nations in your sight, a little at a time, by degrees. You will not be able to destroy them all at once. Otherwise, the wild beasts of the earth might increase against you.


text:
And so, the Lord your God will present them in your sight, and you shall slay them until they are thoroughly wiped away.


text:
And he shall deliver their kings into your hands, and you shall abolish their names from under heaven. No one will be able to withstand you, until you crush them.


text:
Their graven images, you shall burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or gold from which they have been made. And you shall not take for yourself anything from these, lest you offend, because this is an abomination to the Lord your God.


text:
Neither shall you carry anything of the idol into your house, lest you become accursed, just as it also is. You shall detest it like dung, and you shall abominate it like defilement and filth, because it is an accursed thing.”


text:
“All the commandments which I am entrusting to you this day, take care to observe them diligently, so that you may live and be multiplied, and so that, upon entering, you may possess the land, about which the Lord swore to your fathers.


text:
And you shall remember the entire journey along which the Lord your God led you, for forty years through the desert, to afflict you, and to test you, and to make known the things that were turning in your soul, whether or not you would keep his commandments.


text:
He afflicted you with need, and he gave you Manna as your food, which neither you nor your fathers knew, so as to reveal to you that it is not by bread alone that man lives, but by every word that goes forth from the mouth of God.


text:
Your garment, with which you were covered, has by no means decayed due to age, and your foot has not been worn down, even to this fortieth year,


text:
so that you would recognize in your heart that, just as a man educates his son, so has the Lord your God educated you.


text:
For the Lord your God will lead you into a good land: a land of brooks and waters and fountains, in which deep rivers burst forth from its plains and mountains,


text:
a land of crops, barley, and vineyards, in which fig and pomegranate and olive trees spring up, a land of oil and honey.


text:
In that place, without any need, you shall eat your bread and enjoy an abundance of all things: where the stones are like iron, and where ore for brass is dug out of its mountains.


text:
So then, when you have eaten and been satisfied, you should bless the Lord your God for the excellent land which he has given to you.


text:
Be observant and cautious, lest at sometime you may forget the Lord your God, and neglect his commandments, as well as the judgments and ceremonies, which I instruct to you this day.


text:
Otherwise, after you have eaten and been satisfied, and have built beautiful houses and have lived in them,


text:
and have obtained herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep, and a plentitude of gold and silver and all things,


text:
your heart might be lifted up, and you might not remember the Lord your God, who led you away from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude,


text:
and who was your leader in the great and terrible wilderness, in which there was the serpent with a burning breath, and the scorpion, and the snake of thirst, and no waters at all. He led streams out of the hardest rock,


text:
and he nourished you in the wilderness with Manna, which your fathers had not known. And after he had afflicted and tested you, in the very end, he took pity on you.


text:
Otherwise, you might say in your heart: ‘My own strength, and the power of my own hand, have brought forth all these things for me.’


text:
But remember the Lord your God, that he himself has provided you with strength, so that he may fulfill his covenant, about which he swore to your fathers, just as the present day reveals.


text:
But if you forget the Lord your God, so that you follow foreign gods, and serve and adore them: behold, I now foretell to you that you shall utterly perish.


text:
Just like the nations, which the Lord destroyed upon your arrival, so shall you also perish, if you have been disobedient to the voice of the Lord your God.”


text:
“Listen, O Israel: You shall cross over the Jordan today, in order to possess nations, very great and stronger than yourself, cities vast and walled even to the sky,


text:
a people great and lofty, the sons of the Anakim, whom you yourselves have seen and heard, against whom no one is able to stand.


text:
Therefore, you shall know today that the Lord your God himself will pass over before you, like a devouring and consuming fire, to crush and to wipe away and to utterly ruin them before your face, quickly, just as he has spoken to you.


text:
You should not say in your heart, when the Lord your God will have destroyed them in your sight: ‘It is because of my justice that the Lord led me in, so that I might possess this land, while these nations have been destroyed because of their impiety.’


text:
For it is not because of your justices or the uprightness of your heart that you will enter, so that you may possess their lands. Instead, it is because they have acted wickedly that they are destroyed upon your arrival, and so that the Lord may accomplish his word, which he promised under oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.


text:
Therefore, know that the Lord your God will not give you this excellent land as a possession due to your justices, for you are a very stiff-necked people.


text:
Remember, and never forget, how you provoked the Lord your God to anger in the wilderness. You have always contended against the Lord, from the day that you went forth from Egypt, even to this place.


text:
when I ascended onto the mountain, so that I might receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord formed with you. And I persevered on the mountain for forty days and nights, neither eating bread, nor drinking water.


text:
And the Lord gave me two tablets of stone, written with the finger of God and containing all the words that he spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of fire, while the people, being stirred up, were assembled together.


text:
And when forty days, and as many nights, had passed, the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant.


text:
And he said to me: ‘Rise up, and descend quickly from here. For your people, whom you led away from Egypt, have quickly abandoned the way that you have shown to them, and they have made a molten idol for themselves.’


text:
Depart from me, so that I may crush them, and abolish their name from under heaven, and appoint you over a nation, which will be greater and stronger than this one.’


text:
And as I was descending from the burning mountain, and I held the two tablets of the covenant with both hands,


text:
and I had seen that you had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made a molten calf for yourselves, and had quickly abandoned his way, which he had revealed to you,


text:
And I fell prostrate before the Lord, just as before, for forty days and nights, not eating bread, and not drinking water, because of all your sins, which you had committed against the Lord, and because you provoked him to anger.


text:
For I feared his indignation and wrath, which had been stirred up against you, so that he was willing to destroy you. And the Lord heeded me at this time also.


text:
Likewise, he became vehemently angry against Aaron, and he was willing to destroy him, and I prayed for him similarly.


text:
But as for your sin which you committed, that is, the calf, taking hold of it, I burned it with fire. And breaking it into pieces, and reducing it entirely to dust, I threw it into the torrent that descends from the mountain.


text:
And when he sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Ascend and possess the land, which I have given to you,’ even so, you spurned the command of the Lord your God, and you did not believe him, nor were you willing to listen to his voice.


text:
And so, I lay prostrate before the Lord for forty days and nights, as I humbly begged him, lest he destroy you, just as he had threatened to do.


text:
And praying, I said: ‘O Lord God, do not destroy your people and your inheritance, whom you have redeemed in your greatness, whom you have led away from Egypt with a strong hand.


text:
Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not look upon the stubbornness of this people, nor upon their wickedness and sinfulness.


text:
Otherwise, perhaps the inhabitants of the land, out of which you have led us, may say: “The Lord was not able to lead them into the land, which he promised to them. And he hated them; therefore, he led them out, so that he might put them to death in the wilderness.”


text:
These are your people and your inheritance, whom you have led out by your great strength, and with your outstretched arm.’ ”


text:
“At that time, the Lord said to me: ‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone, like those that were before, and ascend to me on the mountain. And you shall make an ark of wood.


text:
And I will write on the tablets the words which were on those that you broke before, and you shall place them in the ark.’


text:
And so, I made an ark of setim wood. And when I had hewn two tablets of stone like the former, I ascended onto the mountain, having them in my hands.


text:
And he wrote on the tablets, according to that which he had written before, the ten words, which the Lord spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of fire, when the people were assembled. And he gave them to me.


text:
And returning from the mountain, I descended and placed the tablets in the ark, which I had made, and they are still there even now, just as the Lord instructed me.


text:
Then the sons of Israel moved their camp, from Beeroth among the sons of Jaakan, into Moserah, where Aaron died and was buried, and where his son Eleazar was installed in the priesthood in his place.


text:
From there, they went into Gudgodah. From that place, they set out and camped at Jotbathah, in a land of waters and torrents.


text:
At that time, he separated the tribe of Levi, so that he would carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and stand before him in the ministry, and speak blessings in his name, even to the present day.


text:
As a result, Levi has no portion or possession with his brothers. For the Lord himself is his possession, just as the Lord your God promised him.


text:
Then I stood on the mountain, as before, for forty days and nights. And the Lord heeded me at this time also, and he was not willing to destroy you.


text:
And he said to me: ‘Go forth and walk before the people, so that they may enter and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers that I would deliver to them.’


text:
And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only that you fear the Lord your God, and walk in his ways, and love him, and serve the Lord your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul,


text:
and that you keep the commandments of the Lord, and his ceremonies, which I am instructing to you this day, so that it may be well with you.


text:
Lo, heaven belongs to the Lord your God, and the heaven of heaven, and the earth, and all the things that are within these.


text:
Now the Lord was closely joined to your fathers, and he loved them, and he chose their offspring after them, that is, you yourselves, out of all the nations, just as is being proven today.


text:
For the Lord your God himself is the God of gods, and the Lord of lords, a God great and powerful and terrible, who favors no person and accepts no bribe.


text:
He accomplishes judgment for the orphan and the widow. He loves the sojourner, and he gives him food as well as clothing.


text:
You shall fear the Lord your God, and him alone shall you serve. You shall cling to him, and you shall swear by his name.


text:
He is your praise and your God. He has done for you these great and terrible things, which your eyes have seen.


text:
As seventy souls, your fathers descended into Egypt. And now, behold, the Lord your God has multiplied you to be like the stars of heaven.”


text:
“And so, love the Lord your God, and observe his precepts and ceremonies, his judgments and commandments, at all times.


text:
Acknowledge, on this day, the things that your sons did not know. For they did not see the chastisements of the Lord your God, his great acts, and powerful hand, and outstretched arm,


text:
the signs and works that he did in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh, the king, and to his entire land,


text:
and to the entire army of the Egyptians, and to their horses and chariots: how the waters of the Red Sea covered them as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord wiped them away, even to the present day;


text:
and to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, who was the son of Reuben, those whom the earth, opening its mouth, engulfed with their households and tents, and with their entire substance which they had in the midst of Israel.


text:
so that you would keep all his commandments, which I entrust to you this day, and so that you would be able to enter and possess the land, toward which you are advancing,


text:
and so that you may live, for a long time, in the land which the Lord promised under oath to your fathers, and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey.


text:
For the land, which you shall enter and possess, is not like the land of Egypt, from which you departed, where, when seed has been sown, waters are brought in by irrigation, in the manner of gardens.


text:
And the Lord your God always visits it, and his eyes are upon it, from the beginning of the year, all the way to its end.


text:
So then, if you obey my commandments, which I am instructing to you this day, so that you love the Lord your God, and serve him with your whole heart and your whole soul,


text:
he will give to your land the early rain and the late rain, so that you may gather your grain, and your wine, and your oil,


text:
and your hay from the fields in order to feed your cattle, and so that you yourselves may eat and be satisfied.


text:
Be careful, lest perhaps your heart may be deceived, and you might withdraw from the Lord, and serve strange gods, and adore them.


text:
And the Lord, becoming angry, might close up heaven, so that the rain would not descend, nor would the earth produce her seedlings, and then you would quickly perish from the excellent land, which the Lord will give to you.


text:
Place these words of mine in your hearts and minds, and hang them as a sign on your hands, and arrange them between your eyes.


text:
Teach your sons to meditate on them, when you sit in your house, and when you walk along the way, and when you lie down or rise up.


text:
so that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your sons, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, that he would give it to them for as long as heaven is suspended above the earth.


text:
For if you keep the commandments which I am entrusting to you, and if you do them, so that you love the Lord your God, and walk in all his ways, clinging to him,


text:
the Lord will scatter all these nations before your face, and you shall possess them, though they are greater and stronger than you.


text:
Every place upon which your foot shall tread will be yours. From the desert, and from Lebanon, from the great river Euphrates, as far as the western sea, shall be your borders.


text:
No one will stand against you. The Lord your God will spread the terror and dread of you over all the land upon which you shall tread, just as he has spoken to you.


text:
It will be a blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am instructing to you this day.


text:
It will be a curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but instead you withdraw from the way, which I am revealing to you now, and you walk after foreign gods that you have not known.


text:
Yet truly, when the Lord your God will have led you into the land, to which you are traveling for a habitation, you shall place the blessing upon Mount Gerizim, the curse upon Mount Ebal,


text:
which are across the Jordan, behind the way which slopes toward the setting of the sun, in the land of the Canaanite, who lives in the plains opposite Gilgal, which is near the valley extending toward and entering a distant place.


text:
For you shall cross over the Jordan, so that you may possess the land which the Lord your God will give you, so that you may have it and possess it.


text:
Therefore, see to it that you fulfill the ceremonies and judgments, which I am placing in your sight this day.”


text:
“These are the precepts and judgments which you must do in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, will give to you, so that you may possess it during all the days that you shall walk upon the soil.


text:
Overturn all the places where the nations, which you will possess, worshipped their gods on lofty mountains, and on hills, and under every leafy tree.


text:
Scatter their altars and break their statues. Burn their sacred groves with fire and crush their idols. Abolish their names from those places.


text:
Instead, you shall approach the place which the Lord your God will choose among all your tribes, so that he may set his name there, and may dwell in that place.


text:
And you shall offer, in that place, your holocausts and victims, the tithes and first-fruits of your hands, and your vows and gifts, the firstborn of the cattle and of the sheep.


text:
And you shall eat it there, in the sight of the Lord your God. And you shall rejoice in all the things to which you shall set your hand: you and your household, which the Lord your God has blessed for you.


text:
You shall not do there the things that we are doing here today: each one doing what seems good to himself.


text:
For even until the present time, you did not arrive at the rest and the possession, which the Lord your God will give to you.


text:
You shall cross over the Jordan, and you shall live in the land which the Lord your God will give to you, so that you may have rest from all the surrounding enemies, and so that you may live without any fear,


text:
in the place which the Lord your God will choose, so that his name may be in it. To that place, you shall bring all the things that I instruct you: holocausts, and victims, and tithes, and the first-fruits of your hands, and whatever is best among the gifts that you shall vow to the Lord.


text:
In that place, you shall feast before the Lord your God: you, and your sons and daughters, your men and women servants, as well as the Levite who dwells in your cities. For he has no other portion or possession among you.


text:
Instead, you shall offer sacrifices in the place which the Lord will choose within one of your tribes, and you shall do whatsoever I instruct you.


text:
So, if you wish to eat, and if the eating of flesh pleases you, then kill and eat according to the blessing of the Lord your God, which he has given to you, in your cities: you may eat it whether it is unclean, that is, having blemish or defect, or whether it is clean, that is, whole and without blemish, of the kind which is permitted to be offered, such as the roe deer and the stag.


text:
You may not eat in your towns the tithes of your crops, and your wine and oil, the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, nor anything which you will vow, or which you will offer spontaneously, nor the first-fruits of your hands.


text:
But you shall eat these before the Lord your God, in the place which the Lord your God will choose: you, and your son, and your daughter, and your man servant and woman servant, and the Levite who dwells in your cities. And you shall rejoice and be refreshed in the sight of the Lord your God by all the things to which you will extend your hand.


text:
When the Lord your God will have enlarged your borders, just as he has spoken to you, and when you would eat the flesh that your soul desires,


text:
but if the place which the Lord your God will choose, so that his name may be there, is far away, you may kill, from your herds and your flocks which you will have, in the manner I have instructed to you, and you may eat in your towns, as it pleases you.


text:
Just as the roe deer and the stag may be eaten, so also may you eat these: you may eat both the clean and the unclean alike.


text:
Only beware of this: you may not eat the blood. For their blood is for the soul. And because of this, you must not eat the soul with the flesh.


text:
so that it may be well with you, and with your sons after you, when you will do what is pleasing in the sight of the Lord.


text:
But the things that you have sanctified and vowed to the Lord, you shall take up and bring to the place which the Lord will choose.


text:
And you shall offer your oblations of flesh and of blood upon the altar of the Lord your God. You shall poor out the blood of your victims upon the altar. And you yourself shall eat the flesh.


text:
Observe and heed all the things that I instruct to you, so that it may be well with you, and with your sons after you, continually, when you will do what is good and pleasing in the sight of the Lord your God.


text:
When the Lord your God will have abolished before your face the nations, which you shall enter so as to possess them, and when you will possess them and live in their land,


text:
be careful that you do not imitate them, after they have been overturned at your arrival, and that you do not seek their ceremonies, saying: ‘Just as these nations have worshipped their gods, so also will I worship.’


text:
You shall not act in like manner toward the Lord your God. For they have done to their gods all the abominations that the Lord spurns, offering their sons and daughters, and burning them with fire.


text:
What I command to you, this only shall you do, for the Lord. You may neither add nor subtract anything.”


text:
“If there will have arisen in your midst a prophet, or someone who claims that he had seen a dream, and if he will have predicted sign and portent,


text:
and if what he has spoken happens, and he says to you, ‘Let us go and follow strange gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’


text:
you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. For the Lord your God is testing you, so that it may become clear whether or not you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.


text:
Follow the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and listen to his voice. Him shall you serve, and to him shall you cling.


text:
But that prophet or forger of dreams shall be put to death. For he has spoken so as to turn you away from the Lord your God, who led you away from the land of Egypt and who redeemed you from the house of servitude, and so as to cause you to wander from the way that the Lord your God has entrusted to you. And so shall you remove the evil from your midst.


text:
If your brother, the son of your mother, or your own son or daughter, or your wife who is in your bosom, or your friend, whom you love like your own soul, were willing to persuade you secretly, saying: ‘Let us go, and serve foreign gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known,


text:
gods from any of the surrounding nations, whether these are near or far away, from the beginning even to the end of the earth,


text:
you should neither agree with him, nor listen to him. And your eye should not spare him so that you take pity on him and conceal him.


text:
Instead, you shall put him to death promptly. Let your hand be upon him first, and after that, let the hands of all the people be sent forth.


text:
He shall be killed by being overwhelmed with stones. For he was willing to draw you away from the Lord your God, who led you away from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude.


text:
So may all of Israel, upon hearing this, be afraid, so that nothing like this will ever be done again.


text:
If, in one of your cities which the Lord your God will give to you as a habitation, you hear someone say:


text:
‘The sons of Belial have departed from your midst, and they have persuaded the inhabitants of their city, and they have said: “Let us go, and serve strange gods,” ’ which you have not known:


text:
inquire carefully and diligently, seeking the truth of the matter. And if you find that what was said is certain, and that this abomination is a work which has been perpetrated,


text:
you shall promptly strike down the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword. And you shall destroy it, along with all the things that are in it, even the flocks.


text:
Then all the household goods which are there, you shall gather together in the midst of its streets, and you shall set fire to these, along with the city itself, so that you may consume everything for the Lord your God, and so that it may be an everlasting tomb. It shall no longer be built up.


text:
And there shall remain nothing of that anathema in your hand, so that the Lord may turn from the wrath of his fury, and may take pity on you, and may multiply you, just as he swore to your fathers,


text:
when you will heed the voice of the Lord your God, keeping all his precepts, which I am entrusting to you this day, so that you may do what is pleasing in the sight of the Lord your God.”


text:
“Be sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves, nor make yourselves bald, because of the dead.


text:
For you are a holy people, for the Lord your God. And he chose you, so that you may be a people particularly his, out of all the nations on earth.


text:
But those which chew over again, but do not have a divided hoof, you must not eat, such as the camel, the hare, and the hyrax. Since these chew the cud, but do not have a divided the hoof, they shall be unclean to you.


text:
The pig also, since it has a divided hoof, but does not chew over again, shall be unclean. Their flesh shall not be eaten, and you shall not touch their carcasses.


text:
These you shall eat out of all that dwells in the waters: whatever has fins and scales, you shall eat.


text:
But whatever has died of itself, you shall not eat from it. Give it to the sojourner, who is within your gates, so that he may eat, or sell it to him. For you are the holy people of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in the milk of his mother.


text:
And you shall eat these in the sight of the Lord your God, in the place which he will choose, so that his name may be invoked there: the tenth part of your grain and wine and oil, and the firstborn from the herds and your sheep. So may you learn to fear the Lord your God at all times.


text:
But when the way and the place which the Lord your God will have chosen is further away, and he will have blessed you, so that you are not able to carry all these things to it,


text:
you shall sell them all, so as to turn them into money, and you shall carry it in your hand, and you shall set out for the place which the Lord will choose.


text:
And you shall buy with the same money whatever pleases you, either from the herds or from the sheep, and also wine and liquor, and all that your soul desires. And you shall eat in the sight of the Lord your God, and you shall feast: you and your household.


text:
As for the Levite, who is within your gates, take care that you do not abandon him, for he has no other portion within your possession.


text:
In the third year, you shall separate another tenth part of all the things which spring forth for you at that time, and you shall store it within your gates.


text:
And the Levite, who has no other portion or possession with you, and the sojourner as well as the orphan and the widow who are within your gates, shall approach and eat and be satisfied, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the works of your hands which you shall do.”


text:
which shall be celebrated according to this order. Anyone to whom anything is owed, by his friend or neighbor or brother, will not be able to request its return, because it is the year of remission of the Lord.


text:
From the sojourner and the new arrival, you may require its return. From your fellow countryman and neighbor, you will not have the power to request its return.


text:
And there shall not be anyone indigent or begging among you, so that the Lord your God may bless you in the land which he will deliver to you as a possession.


text:
But only if you heed the voice of the Lord your God, and keep to all that he has ordered, that which I am entrusting to you this day, will he bless you, just as he has promised.


text:
You shall lend money to many nations, and you yourselves shall borrow in return from no one. You shall rule over very many nations, and no one shall rule over you.


text:
If one of your brothers, who dwells within the gates of your city, in the land which the Lord your God will give to you, falls into poverty, you shall not harden your heart, nor tighten your hand.


text:
Instead, you shall open your hand to the poor, and you shall lend to him whatever you perceive him to need.


text:
Take care, lest perhaps an impious thought might creep within you, and you might say in your heart: ‘The seventh year of remission approaches.’ And so you might turn your eyes away from your poor brother, unwilling to lend to him what he has asked. If so, then he may cry out against you to the Lord, and it will be a sin for you.


text:
Instead, you shall give to him. Neither shall you do anything craftily while assisting him in his needs, so that the Lord your God may bless you, at all times and in all things to which you will put your hand.


text:
The poor will not be absent from the land of your habitation. For this reason, I instruct you to open your hand to your indigent and poor brother, who lives among you in the land.


text:
When your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, has been sold to you, and has served you for six years, in the seventh year you shall set him free.


text:
Instead, you shall give to him, for his journey, from your flocks and threshing floor and winepress, with which the Lord your God has blessed you.


text:
Remember that you yourself also served in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God set you free. And therefore, I now command this of you.


text:
But if he will say, ‘I am not willing to depart,’ because he loves you and your household, and because he feels that it would be good for him to stay with you,


text:
then you shall take an awl and pierce his ear, at the door of your house. And he shall serve you even forever. You shall also act similarly toward your woman servant.


text:
You should not avert your eyes from them when you set them free, because he has served you for six years, in a manner deserving of the pay of a hired hand. So may the Lord your God bless you in all the works that you do.


text:
Of the firstborn, those born from your herds and sheep, you shall sanctify to the Lord your God whatever is of the male sex. You shall not put the firstborn of the oxen to work, nor shall you shear the firstborn of the sheep.


text:
In the sight of the Lord your God, you shall eat these, each year, in the place which the Lord will choose, you and your household.


text:
But if it has a blemish, or is lame, or is blind, or if it is in any part deformed or debilitated, it shall not be immolated to the Lord your God.


text:
Instead, you shall eat it within the gates of your city. The clean as well as the unclean alike shall feed on these, such as the roe deer and the stag.


text:
This alone shall you observe: that you do not eat their blood, but pour it upon the ground like water.”


text:
“Observe the month of new grain, at the beginning of springtime, so that you may accomplish the Passover to the Lord your God. For in this month, the Lord your God led you away from Egypt in the night.


text:
And you shall immolate the Passover to the Lord your God, from sheep and from oxen, in the place which the Lord your God will choose, so that his name may dwell there.


text:
You shall not eat it with leavened bread. For seven days you shall eat, without leaven, the bread of affliction. For you departed from Egypt in fear. So may you remember the day of your departure from Egypt, throughout all the days of your life.


text:
No leaven shall be present in all your confines for seven days. And by morning, there shall not remain any of the flesh which was immolated on the first day in the evening.


text:
You cannot immolate the Passover in any of your cities, which the Lord your God will give to you, that you wish,


text:
but only in the place which the Lord your God will choose, so that his name may dwell there. You shall immolate the Passover in the evening, upon the setting of the sun, which is the time when you departed from Egypt.


text:
And you shall cook and eat it in the place which the Lord your God will choose, and, rising up in the morning, you shall go into your tent.


text:
For six days, you shall eat unleavened bread. And on the seventh day, because it is the assembly of the Lord your God, you shall do no work.


text:
You shall number for yourself seven weeks from that day, the day on which you put the sickle to the grain field.


text:
And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, to the Lord your God, with a voluntary oblation from your hand, which you shall offer according to the blessing of the Lord your God.


text:
And you shall feast in the sight of the Lord your God: you, your son and your daughter, your man servant and your woman servant, and the Levite who is within your gates, and the new arrival as well as the orphan and the widow, who abide with you, in the place which the Lord your God will choose, so that his name may dwell there.


text:
And you shall recall that you were a servant in Egypt. And you shall preserve and carry out the things that have been instructed.


text:
Likewise, you shall celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days, when you will have gathered your fruits from the orchard and the winepress.


text:
And you shall feast at the time of your festival: you, your son and daughter, your man servant and woman servant, likewise the Levite and the new arrival, the orphan and the widow, who are within your gates.


text:
For seven days you shall celebrate feasts to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord will choose. And the Lord your God will bless you in all your crops, and in every work of your hands. And you shall be joyful.


text:
Three times a year, all your males shall appear in the sight the Lord your God in the place which he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles. No one shall appear before the Lord empty.


text:
But each one shall offer according to what he will have, according to the blessing of the Lord his God, which he will give to him.


text:
You shall appoint judges and magistrates at all your gates, which the Lord your God will give to you, throughout each of your tribes, so that they may judge the people with a just judgment,


text:
and not so as to show favoritism to either side. You shall not accept a person’s reputation, nor gifts. For gifts blind the eyes of the wise and alter the words of the just.


text:
You shall justly pursue what is just, so that you may live and possess the land, which the Lord your God will give to you.


text:
You shall not plant a sacred grove, nor shall you plant any tree near the altar of the Lord your God;


text:
“You shall not immolate to the Lord your God a sheep or an ox, in which there is a blemish or any defect at all; for this is an abomination to the Lord your God.


text:
When there will have been found among you, within one of your gates which the Lord your God will give to you, a man or a woman who is doing evil in the sight of the Lord your God, and who is transgressing his covenant,


text:
so as to go and serve foreign gods and adore them, such as the sun and the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not instructed,


text:
and when this will have been reported to you, and, upon hearing it, if you have inquired diligently and have found it to be true, that the abomination is being done in Israel:


text:
you shall lead forward the man or the woman who has perpetrated this most wicked thing to the gates of your city, and they shall be stoned to death.


text:
By the mouth of two or three witnesses, he who is to be put to death shall perish. Let no one be killed with only one person speaking testimony against him.


text:
First, the hands of the witnesses shall be upon him who will be put to death, and lastly, the hands of the remainder of the people shall be sent forth. So may you take away the evil from your midst.


text:
If you have perceived that there is among you a difficult and doubtful matter of judgment, between blood and blood, cause and cause, leprosy and leprosy, and if you will have seen that the words of the judges within your gates vary: rise up and ascend to the place which the Lord your God will choose.


text:
And you shall approach the priests of the Levitical stock, and the judge, who shall be among them at that time, and you shall inquire of them, and they will reveal to you the truth of the judgment.


text:
And you shall accept whatever they will say, those who preside in the place which the Lord will choose, and whatever they will teach you,


text:
in accord with his law, and you shall follow their sentence. Neither shall you turn aside to the right or to the left.


text:
But whoever will be arrogant, unwilling to obey the order of the priest who ministers at that time to the Lord your God, and the decree of the judge, that man shall die. And so shall you take away the evil from Israel.


text:
And when the people hear about this, they shall be afraid, so that no one, from that time on, will swell with pride.


text:
When you will have entered into the land which the Lord your God will give to you, and you possess it, and you live in it, and you say, ‘I will appoint a king over me, just as all the surrounding nations have done,’


text:
you shall appoint him whom the Lord your God will choose from among the number of your brothers. You cannot make a man of another people king, one who is not your brother.


text:
And when he will have been appointed king, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor lead the people back into Egypt, having been exalted by the number of his horsemen, especially since the Lord has instructed you never to return along the same way.


text:
He shall not have many wives, who might allure his mind, and he shall not have immense weights of silver and gold.


text:
Then, after he has been seated upon the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself the Deuteronomy of this law in a volume, using a copy from the priests of the Levitical tribe.


text:
And he shall have it with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, and to keep his words and ceremonies, which are instructed in the law.


text:
And so may his heart not become exalted with arrogance over his brothers, nor turn aside to the right or to the left, so that he and his sons may reign for a long time over Israel.”


text:
“The priests and the Levites, and all who are from the same tribe, shall have no portion or inheritance with the rest of Israel. For they shall eat the sacrifices of the Lord and his oblations.


text:
And they shall receive nothing else from the possession of their brothers. For the Lord himself is their inheritance, just as he said to them.


text:
This shall be the recompense for the priests from the people, and from those who offer victims, whether they will immolate an ox or a sheep. They shall give to the priest the shoulder and the breast,


text:
For the Lord your God himself has chosen him out of all your tribes, so that he may stand and minister to the name of the Lord, him and his sons, forever.


text:
If a Levite departs from one of the cities, throughout all of Israel, in which he lives, and if he wills and desires to go to the place which the Lord will choose,


text:
he shall minister in the name of the Lord his God, as do all his brothers, the Levites, who will be standing at that time in the sight of the Lord.


text:
He shall receive the same portion of food as the rest also receive, besides that which is due to him in his own city, by succession from his fathers.


text:
When you will have entered into the land which the Lord your God will give to you, be careful that you are not willing to imitate the abominations of those nations.


text:
Do not let there be found among you one who would purify his son or daughter by leading them through fire, nor one who consults seers, nor one who observes dreams or omens. Do not let there be found among you one who practices the occult,


text:
nor one who uses spells, nor one who consults demonic spirits, nor a diviner, nor one who seeks the truth from the dead.


text:
For the Lord abominates all these things. And, because of these wicked ways, he will destroy them at your arrival.


text:
These nations, whose land you shall possess, they listen to soothsayers and diviners. But you have been otherwise instructed by the Lord your God.


text:
The Lord your God will raise up for you a PROPHET from your nation and from your brothers, similar to me. You shall listen to him,


text:
just as you petitioned of the Lord your God at Horeb, when the assembly was gathered together, and you said: ‘Let me no longer hear the voice of the Lord my God, and let me no longer see this very great fire, lest I die.’


text:
I will raise up a prophet for them, from the midst of their brothers, similar to you. And I will place my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them all the things that I will instruct him.


text:
But against anyone who is not willing to listen to his words, which he will speak in my name, I will stand forth as the avenger.


text:
But if a prophet, having been corrupted by arrogance, chooses to speak, in my name, things which I did not instruct him to say, or to speak in the name of foreign gods, he shall be put to death.


text:
But if, in silent thought, you respond: “How will I be able to recognize a word which the Lord has not spoken?”


text:
you shall have this sign. If whatever that prophet predicts in the name of the Lord does not happen, then the Lord has not spoken it. Instead, the prophet has formed it through the swelling of his own mind. And for this reason, you shall not fear him.’ ”


text:
“When the Lord your God will have destroyed the nations, whose land he will deliver to you, and when you possess it and live in its cities and buildings,


text:
you shall separate for yourselves three cities in the midst of the land, which the Lord will give to you as a possession,


text:
paving the road carefully. And you shall divide the entire province of your land equally into three parts, so that he who is forced to flee because of manslaughter may have a place nearby to which he may be able to escape.


text:
This shall be the law of the killer who flees, whose life is to be saved. Whoever strikes down his neighbor unwillingly, and who has been proven to have had no hatred against him yesterday and the day before,


text:
such that he had gone with him into the forest simply to cut wood, and in cutting down the tree, the axe slipped from his hand, or the iron slipped from the handle, and it struck his friend and killed him: he shall flee to one of the cities stated above, and he shall live.


text:
Otherwise, perhaps the near relative of him whose blood was shed, impelled by his grief, might pursue and apprehend him, unless the way is too long, and he might strike down the life of him who is not guilty unto death, since he had demonstrated that he had no prior hatred against him who was slain.


text:
And when the Lord your God will have enlarged your borders, just as he swore to your fathers, and when he will have given to you all the land that he has promised to them,


text:
(but this is only so if you will keep his commandments and do the things which I instruct to you this day, so that you love the Lord your God, and walk in his ways at all times) you shall add for yourselves three other cities, and so you shall double the number of the three cities stated above.


text:
So may innocent blood not be shed in the midst of the land which the Lord your God will give you to possess, lest you be guilty of blood.


text:
But if anyone, having hatred for his neighbor, will have lain in ambush for his life, and, rising up, will have struck him, and he will have died, and if he will have fled to one of the cities stated above,


text:
the elders of his city shall send, and they shall take him from the place of refuge, and they shall deliver him into the hand of the relative of him whose blood was shed, and he shall die.


text:
You shall not take pity on him, and so shall you take away the blood of the innocent from Israel, so that it may be well with you.


text:
You shall not take up or move the landmark of your neighbor, which those before you have placed, in your possession that the Lord your God will give to you, in the land you will receive to possess.


text:
One witness shall not stand against another, no matter what the sin or outrage may be. For every word shall stand by the mouth of two or three witnesses.


text:
both of those whose case it is shall stand before the Lord in the sight of the priests and the judges who shall be in those days.


text:
And when, after a very diligent examination, they will have found that the false witness had told a lie against his brother,


text:
they shall render to him just as he intended to do to his brother. And so shall you take away the evil from your midst.


text:
Then the others, upon hearing this, will be afraid, and they will by no means dare to do such things.


text:
You shall not take pity on him. Instead, you shall require a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.”


text:
“If you go out to battle against your enemies, and you see horsemen and chariots, and that the multitude of your adversary’s army is greater than your own, you shall not fear them. For the Lord your God, who led you away from the land of Egypt, is with you.


text:
Then, as the battle now draws near, the priest shall stand before the front ranks, and he shall speak to the people in this manner:


text:
‘Listen, O Israel! Today you engage in a battle against your enemies. Do not let your heart be overwhelmed with fear. Do not be apprehensive. Do not yield. You should have no dread of them.


text:
For the Lord your God is in your midst, and he will contend against your enemies on your behalf, so that he may rescue you from peril.’


text:
Likewise, the officers shall proclaim, throughout every company, in the hearing of the soldiers: ‘What man is there who has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest perhaps he may die in the battle, and another man may dedicate it.


text:
What man is there who has planted a vineyard, and has not yet caused it to be common, so that all may eat from it? Let him go, and return to his house, lest perhaps he may die in the battle, and another man may carry out his office.


text:
What man is there, who has betrothed a wife, and has not taken her? Let him go, and return to his house, lest perhaps he may die in battle, and another man may take her.’


text:
After these things have been declared, they shall add the remainder, and shall say to the people: ‘What man is there who is overwhelmed by fear and is fainthearted? Let him go, and return to his house, lest he cause the hearts of his brothers to fear, just as he himself has been thoroughly stricken with fear.’


text:
And when the officers of the army have become silent, and have completed their speech, each one shall prepare his unit to wage war.


text:
If they receive it, and open the gates to you, then all the people who are in it shall be saved, and they shall serve you by paying tribute.


text:
But if they are not willing to enter into an agreement, and they begin to act against you in warfare, then you shall besiege it.


text:
And when the Lord your God will have delivered it into your hands, you shall strike down anyone who is in it, of the male gender, with the edge of the sword,


text:
but not the women and young children, nor the cattle and the other things that are within the city. And you shall divide all the plunder to the soldiers, and you shall eat the spoils from your enemies, which the Lord your God will give to you.


text:
So shall you do to all the cities which are at a great distance from you, those which are not among the cities that you shall receive as a possession.


text:
Instead, you shall put them to death with the edge of the sword, specifically: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite, the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the Lord your God has commanded you.


text:
Otherwise, they may teach you to do all the abominations which they have committed for their own gods. And then you would sin against the Lord your God.


text:
When you will have besieged a city for a long time, and you will have encircled it with fortifications, so that you may fight against it, you shall not cut down trees from which one is able to eat, neither shall you cause devastation with axes to the surrounding region. For it is a tree, and not a man. It is not able to increase the number of those who are fighting against you.


text:
But if there are any trees which are not fruitful, but are wild, and if these are fit for other uses, then cut them down, and make machines, until you have captured the city that is contending against you.”


text:
“When there will have been found in the land, which the Lord your God will give to you, the corpse of a man who has been killed, and it is not known who is guilty of the murder,


text:
your judges and those greater by birth shall go out and measure, from the place of the corpse, the distance to each of the surrounding cities.


text:
And in whichever one they perceive to be closer than the others, the elders shall take a calf from the herd, one which has not pulled with a yoke, nor tilled with a plow.


text:
And they shall lead it into a rough and stony valley, one which has never been tilled or sown. And in that place, they shall cut the neck of the calf.


text:
And the priests the sons of Levi shall approach, those whom the Lord your God has chosen to minister to him, and to bless in his name, and to decide every controversy by their word, and to judge which things are clean and which are unclean.


text:
And those greater by birth of that city, nearest to the one who was slain, shall go and shall wash their hands over the calf that was killed in the valley.


text:
Be merciful to your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O Lord, and do not charge them with innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel.’ And so the guilt of the blood will be taken away from them.


text:
Then you will be free from the blood that was shed against the innocent, when you will have done as the Lord has instructed you.


text:
If you have gone out to fight against your enemies, and the Lord your God has delivered them into your hand, and if, as you are leading away the captives,


text:
you see among the number of the captives a beautiful woman, and you love her, and you are willing to have her as a wife:


text:
and remove the garment in which she was captured. And she shall sit in your house and weep for her father and mother, for one month. And after that, you shall enter to her and sleep with her, and she shall be your wife.


text:
But if afterwards she does not sit well in your mind, you shall set her free. You cannot sell her for money, nor can you oppress her by force. For you have humiliated her.


text:
If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other hated, and they have produced children by him, and if the son of the hated wife is the firstborn,


text:
and if he wishes to divide his substance among his sons: he cannot make the son of the beloved wife the firstborn, and so prefer him before the son of the hated wife.


text:
Instead, he shall acknowledge the son of the hated wife as the firstborn, and he shall give to him a double portion of all that he has. For he is the first among his children, and the rights of the firstborn are owed to him.


text:
If a man produces a disobedient and reckless son, who will not listen to the orders of his father or mother, and, having been corrected, shows contempt for obedience:


text:
And they shall say to them: ‘This our son is reckless and disobedient. He shows contempt when listening to our admonitions. He occupies himself with carousing, and self-indulgence, and feasting.’


text:
Then the people of the city shall stone him to death. And he shall die, so that you may take away the evil from your midst. And so may all of Israel, upon hearing it, be very afraid.


text:
When a man will have sinned in a matter which is punished by death, and, having been judged unto death, he has been hanged on a gallows:


text:
his corpse shall not remain on the tree. Instead, he shall be buried on the same day. For he who hangs from a tree has been cursed by God, and you shall not defile your land, which the Lord your God will give to you as a possession.”


text:
“If you see your brother’s ox or sheep wander astray, you shall not pass by. Instead, you shall lead them back to your brother.


text:
But if your brother is not near, or you do not know him, you shall lead them to your house, and they shall be with you until your brother seeks them and receives them.


text:
You shall act in a similar manner with his donkey, and his clothing, and all the belongings of your brother that have been lost. If you find it, you shall not neglect it, as if it belonged to a stranger.


text:
If you see that your brother’s donkey or ox has fallen along the way, you shall not disregard it. Instead, you shall lift it up with him.


text:
A woman shall not be clothed with manly apparel, nor shall a man make use of feminine apparel. For whoever does these things is abominable with God.


text:
If, as you are walking along the way, you find a bird’s nest, in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is nurturing the young or the eggs, you shall not take her with her young.


text:
Instead, you shall permit her to go, retaining the young that you have caught, so that it may be well with you, and you may live for a long time.


text:
When you build a new house, you shall make a wall around the roof. Otherwise, someone may slip and fall down violently, and so blood would be shed at your house, and you would be guilty.


text:
You shall not sow your vineyard with another seed, lest both the seed that you have sown and what springs forth from the vineyard be sanctified together.


text:
and so he seeks opportunities to dismiss her, imputing a very wicked name to her by saying, ‘I received this woman as a wife, and upon entering to her, I found her not to be a virgin,’


text:
then her father and mother shall take her, and they shall bring with them the signs of her virginity, to the elders of the city who are at the gate.


text:
he accuses her with a very wicked name, by saying: “I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.” But behold, these are the signs of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the clothing before the elders of the city.


text:
Moreover, they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver, which he will give to the father of the girl, because he has committed slander, with a very wicked name, against a virgin of Israel. And he shall have her as a wife, and he cannot dismiss her throughout all the days of his life.


text:
then they shall throw her down, outside the doors of her father’s house, and the men of that city shall stone her to death, and she shall die. For she has acted wickedly in Israel, in that she fornicated in her father’s house. And so shall you take away the evil from your midst.


text:
If a man sleeps with the wife of another, then they shall both die, that is, the adulterer and the adulteress. And so shall you take away the evil from Israel.


text:
If a man has betrothed a girl who is a virgin, and if someone finds her in the city and he lies with her,


text:
then you shall lead them both out to the gate of that city, and they shall be stoned to death: the girl, because she did not cry out though she was in the city; the man, because he has humiliated the wife of his neighbor. And so shall you take away the evil from your midst.


text:
But if a man discovers, in the countryside, a girl who has been betrothed, and, apprehending her, he lies with her, then he alone shall die.


text:
The girl shall suffer nothing, nor is she guilty unto death. For just as a robber rises up against his brother and slays his life, so also did the girl suffer greatly.


text:
If a man find a girl who is a virgin, who does not have a betrothal, and, taking her, he lies with her, and the matter is brought to judgment,


text:
then he who slept with her shall give to the father of the girl fifty shekels of silver, and he shall have her as a wife, because he has humiliated her. He cannot dismiss her, throughout all the days of his life.


text:
“A eunuch, one whose testicles have been debilitated or cut off, or whose penis has been cut off, shall not enter into the church of the Lord.


text:
The offspring of a harlot, that is, one born of a prostitute, shall not enter into the church of the Lord, until the tenth generation.


text:
The Ammonite and the Moabite, even after the tenth generation, shall not enter into the church of the Lord forever,


text:
because they were not willing to meet you with bread and water along the way, when you had departed from Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam, the son of Beor, from Mesopotamia in Syria, in order to curse you.


text:
But the Lord your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, and he turned his cursing into your blessing, because he loves you.


text:
You shall not make peace with them, nor shall you seek their prosperity, throughout all the days of your life forever.


text:
You shall not abhor anyone from Idumea, for he is your brother, nor the Egyptian, for you were a new arrival in his land.


text:
When you have gone out to war against your enemies, you shall keep yourself from everything that is evil.


text:
If there is a man among you who has been defiled by a dream in the night, he shall depart from the camp.


text:
And he shall not return before the evening, after he has washed with water, and then, after the sun sets, he shall return to the camp.


text:
carrying a small shovel at your belt. And when you would sit down, you shall dig around, and then, with the soil that was dug up, you shall cover


text:
that from which you were relieved. For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, in order to rescue you, and to deliver your enemies to you. And so, let your camp be holy, and let nothing filthy appear within it, lest he abandon you.


text:
He shall live with you in a place that pleases him, and he shall rest in one of your cities. You shall not grieve him.


text:
There shall be no prostitutes among the daughters of Israel, nor anyone among the sons of Israel who visits a prostitute.


text:
You shall not offer money from a prostitute, nor the price of a dog, in the house of the Lord your God, no matter what you may have vowed. For both of these are an abomination with the Lord your God.


text:
but only to a foreigner. For you shall lend to your brother whatever he needs without interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your works in the land, which you shall enter so as to possess it.


text:
When you have made a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not be late in paying it. For the Lord your God demands it. And if you delay, it shall be imputed to you as a sin.


text:
But as soon as it has departed from your lips, you shall observe and do just as you have promised to the Lord your God and just as you have spoken by your own free will and with your own mouth.


text:
Upon entering your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you please. But you may not carry any out with you.


text:
If you enter into your friend’s grain field, you may break off the ears, and rub them in your hand, but you may not reap them with a sickle.”


text:
“If a man takes a wife, and he has her, and she does not find favor before his eyes because of some vileness, then he shall write a bill of divorce, and he shall give it to her hand, and he shall dismiss her from his house.


text:
and if he likewise hates her, and has given her a bill of divorce, and has dismissed her from his house, or if indeed he has died,


text:
then the former husband cannot take her back as a wife. For she has been polluted and has become abominable in the sight of the Lord. Otherwise, you may cause your land, which the Lord your God will deliver to you as a possession, to sin.


text:
When a man has recently taken a wife, he shall not go out to war, nor shall any public office be enjoined upon him. Instead, he shall be free at home without guilt, so that for one year he may rejoice with his wife.


text:
You shall not accept an upper or lower millstone as collateral. For then he will have placed his life with you.


text:
If a man has been caught soliciting his brother among the sons of Israel, and selling him in order to receive a price, then he shall be put to death. And so shall you take away the evil from your midst.


text:
Observe diligently, lest you incur the wound of leprosy. But you shall do whatever the priests of the Levitical stock shall teach you to do, according to what I have instructed them. And you shall fulfill it carefully.


text:
When you require from your neighbor anything that he owes to you, you shall not enter into his house in order to take away the collateral.


text:
Instead, you shall return it to him promptly, before the setting of the sun, so that, sleeping in his own garment, he may bless you, and you may have justice in the presence of the Lord your God.


text:
You shall not refuse the pay of the indigent and the poor, whether he is your brother, or he is a new arrival who dwells with you in the land and is within your gates.


text:
Instead, you shall pay him the price of his labor on the same day, before the setting of the sun. For he is poor, and with it he sustains his life. Otherwise, he may cry out against you to the Lord, and it would be charged to you as a sin.


text:
The fathers shall not be put to death on behalf of the sons, nor the sons on behalf of the fathers, but each one shall die for his own sin.


text:
You shall not pervert the judgment of the new arrival or the orphan, nor shall you take away the widow’s garment as collateral.


text:
Remember that you served in Egypt, and that the Lord your God rescued you from there. Therefore, I am instructing you to act in this way.


text:
When you have reaped the grain in your field, and, having forgotten, you leave behind a sheaf, you shall not return to take it away. Instead, you shall permit the new arrival, and the orphan, and the widow to take it away, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the works of your hands.


text:
If you have gathered the fruit of your olive trees, you shall not return in order to gather whatever may remain on the trees. Instead, you shall leave it behind for the new arrival, the orphan, and the widow.


text:
If you harvest the vintage of your vineyard, you shall not gather the remaining clusters. Instead, they shall fall to the use of the stranger, the orphan, and the widow.


text:
Remember that you also served in Egypt, and so, for this reason, I am instructing you to act in this way.”


text:
“If there is a case between persons, and they apply to the judges, they shall give the palm of justice to the one whom they perceive to be just, and they shall condemn of impiety the one who is impious.


text:
But if they see that the one who has sinned is worthy of stripes, they shall prostrate him and cause him to be beaten before them. According to the measure of the sin, so shall the measure of the stripes be.


text:
Even so, these shall not exceed the number of forty. Otherwise, your brother may depart, having been wounded shamefully before your eyes.


text:
When brothers are living together, and one of them dies without children, the wife of the deceased shall not marry another. Instead, his brother shall take her, and he shall raise up offspring for his brother.


text:
And the first son from her, he shall call by his brother’s name, so that his name will not be abolished from Israel.


text:
But if he is not willing to take his brother’s wife, who by law must go to him, the woman shall go to the gate of the city, and she shall call upon those greater by birth, and she shall say: ‘The brother of my husband is not willing to raise up his brother’s name in Israel; nor will he join with me.’


text:
And immediately, they shall summon him to be sent, and they shall question him. If he responds, ‘I am not willing to accept her as a wife,’


text:
then the woman shall approach him in the sight of the elders, and she shall remove his shoe from his foot, and she shall spit in his face, and she shall say: ‘So shall it be done to the man who was not willing to build up his brother’s house.’


text:
If two men have a conflict between themselves, and one begins to do violence to the other, and if the other’s wife, wanting to rescue her husband from the hand of the stronger one, extends her hand and grasps him by his private parts,


text:
You shall have a just and a true weight, and your measure shall be equal and true, so that you may live for a long time upon the land, which the Lord your God will give to you.


text:
how he met you and cut down the stragglers of the troops, who were sitting down, exhausted, when you were consumed by hunger and hardship, and how he did not fear God.


text:
Therefore, when the Lord your God will give you rest, and you will have subdued all the surrounding nations, in the land which he has promised to you, you shall delete his name from under heaven. Take care not to forget this.”


text:
“And when you will have entered into the land which the Lord your God will give to you to possess, and when you will have obtained it and are living within it:


text:
you shall take the first of all your crops, and place them in a basket, and you shall travel to the place which the Lord your God will choose, so that his name may be invoked there.


text:
And you shall approach the priest who will be in those days, and you shall say to him: ‘I profess this day, before the Lord your God, that I have entered into the land about which he swore to our fathers that he would give it to us.’


text:
And the priest, taking up the basket from your hand, shall place it before the altar of the Lord your God.


text:
And you shall say, in the sight of the Lord your God: ‘The Syrian pursued my father, who descended into Egypt, and he sojourned there in a very small number, and he increased into a great and strong nation and into an innumerable multitude.


text:
And we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers. He heard us, and he looked with favor upon our humiliation, and hardship, and distress.


text:
And he led us away from Egypt, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with a mighty terror, with signs and wonders.


text:
And because of this, I now offer the first fruits of the land which the Lord has given to me.’ And you shall leave them in the sight of the Lord your God, and you shall adore the Lord your God.


text:
And you shall feast on all the good things which the Lord your God will give to you and to your house: you, and the Levite, and the new arrival who is with you.


text:
When you will have completed the tithing of all your crops, in the third year of tithes, you shall give it to the Levite, and to the new arrival, and to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be satisfied.


text:
And you shall say, in the sight of the Lord your God: ‘I have taken what was sanctified from my house, and I have given it to the Levite, and to the new arrival, and to the orphan and the widow, just as you have commanded me. I have not transgressed your commandments, nor have I forgotten your precepts.


text:
I have not eaten from these things in my grief, nor have I separated them due to any kind of uncleanness, nor have I expended any of these things in funerals. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and I have done all things just as you have instructed me.


text:
Look with favor from your sanctuary and from your lofty habitation amid the heavens, and bless your people Israel and the land which you have given to us, just as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’


text:
Today the Lord your God has instructed you to carry out these commandments and judgments, and to keep and fulfill them, with all your heart and with all your soul.


text:
Today, you have chosen the Lord to be your God, so that you may walk in his ways, and keep his ceremonies and commandments and judgments, and obey his command.


text:
Today, the Lord has chosen you, so that you may be his particular people, just as he has spoken to you, and so that you may keep all his precepts,


text:
and so that he may cause you to be more exalted than all the nations which he has created, for the sake of his own praise and name and glory, in order that you may be a holy people for the Lord your God, just as he has spoken.”


text:
Then Moses and the elders of Israel instructed the people, saying: “Keep each commandment that I instruct to you this day.


text:
And when you have crossed over the Jordan, into the land which the Lord your God will give to you, you shall erect immense stones, and you shall coat them with plaster,


text:
so that you may be able to write upon them all the words of this law, when you have crossed the Jordan so as to enter into the land which the Lord your God will give to you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as he swore to your fathers.


text:
Therefore, when you have crossed over the Jordan, erect the stones, just as I instruct you to do this day, on Mount Ebal. And you shall coat them with plaster,


text:
and you shall build, in that place, an altar to the Lord your God out of stones which have not been touched by iron,


text:
out of stones which have not been hewn or polished. And you shall offer holocausts on it to the Lord your God.


text:
And you shall immolate peace victims. And you shall eat and feast in that place, in the sight of the Lord your God.


text:
And Moses and the priests of Levitical stock said to all of Israel: “Attend and listen, O Israel! Today you have become the people of the Lord your God.


text:
You shall listen to his voice, and you shall do the commandments and justices, which I am entrusting to you.”


text:
“These shall stand upon Mount Gerizim, as a blessing to the people, when you will have crossed the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.


text:
And in the opposite region, there shall stand upon Mount Ebal, as a curse: Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.


text:
Cursed be the man who makes a graven or molten idol, an abomination to the Lord, a work of the hands of its maker, and who puts it in a secret place. And all the people shall respond by saying: Amen.


text:
Cursed be he who subverts the judgment of the new arrival, the orphan, or the widow. And all the people shall say: Amen.


text:
Cursed be he who lies with his father’s wife, and so exposes the covering of his bed. And all the people shall say: Amen.


text:
Cursed be he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father, or of his mother. And all the people shall say: Amen.


text:
Cursed be he who accepts gifts in order to strike down the life of innocent blood. And all the people shall say: Amen.


text:
Cursed be he who does not remain in the words of this law, and does not carry them out in deed. And all the people shall say: Amen.”


text:
“So then, if you will listen to the voice of the Lord your God, so as to keep and do all of his commandments, which I instruct to you this day, the Lord your God will cause you to be more exalted than all the nations which exist upon the earth.


text:
And all these blessings shall come to you and take hold of you, but only if you listen to his precepts.


text:
Blessed shall be the fruit of your loins, and the fruit of your land, and the fruit of your cattle, the droves of your herds, and the folds of your sheep.


text:
The Lord will grant that your enemies, who rise up against you, will fall down in your sight. They will come against you by one way, and they will flee from your face by seven ways.


text:
The Lord will send forth a blessing upon your cellars, and upon all the works of your hands. And he will bless you in the land that you shall receive.


text:
The Lord will raise you up as a holy people for himself, just as he swore to you, if you will keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and walk in his ways.


text:
And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord has been invoked over you, and they shall fear you.


text:
The Lord will cause you be abundant in every good thing: in the fruit of your womb, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, which the Lord swore to your fathers that he would give to you.


text:
The Lord will open his excellent treasury, the heavens, so that it may distribute rain in due time. And he will bless all the works of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you yourself will borrow nothing from anyone.


text:
And the Lord will appoint you as the head, and not as the tail. And you shall be always above, and not beneath. But only if you will listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I entrust to you this day, and will keep and do them,


text:
and will not turn aside from them, neither to the right, nor to the left, nor follow strange gods, nor worship them.


text:
But if you are not willing to listen to the voice of the Lord your God, so as to keep and do all his commandments and ceremonies, which I instruct to you this day, all these curses shall come to you, and take hold of you.


text:
Cursed shall be the fruit of your loins, and the fruit of your land, the herds of your oxen, and the flocks of your sheep.


text:
The Lord will send famine and hunger upon you, and a rebuke upon all the works that you do, until he quickly crushes and perishes you, because of your very wicked innovations, by which you have forsaken me.


text:
May the Lord join a pestilence to you, until he consumes you from the land, which you shall enter so as to possess.


text:
May the Lord strike you with destitution, with fever and cold, with burning and heat, and with polluted air and rot, and may he pursue you until you perish.


text:
May the heavens which are above you be of brass, and may the ground upon which you tread be of iron.


text:
May the Lord give you dust instead of rain upon your land, and may ashes descend from heaven over you, until you have been wiped away.


text:
May the Lord hand you over to fall before your enemies. May you go forth against them by one way, and flee by seven ways, and may you be scattered across all the kingdoms of the earth.


text:
And may your carcass be food for all the flying things of the air and the wild beasts of the land, and may there be no one to drive them away.


text:
May the Lord strike you with the ulcer of Egypt, and may he strike the part of your body, through which the dung goes out, with disease as well as itch, so much so that you are unable to be cured.


text:
And may you grope at midday, just as a blind man is accustomed to grope in darkness, and may your paths not be straight. And at all times may you suffer slander and be oppressed with violence, and may you have no one who may free you.


text:
May you take a wife, though another sleeps with her. May you build a house, but not live within it. May you plant a vineyard, and not gather its vintage.


text:
May your ox be immolated before you, though you do not eat from it. May your donkey be seized in your sight, and not restored to you. May your sheep be given to your enemies, and may there be no one who may help you.


text:
May your sons and your daughters be handed over to another people, as your eyes watch and languish at the sight of them throughout the day, and may there be no strength in your hand.


text:
May a people you do not know eat the fruits of your land and of all your labors. And may you continually suffer from slander and oppression every day.


text:
May the Lord strike you with a very grievous ulcer in the knees and in the legs, and may you be unable to attain health, from the sole of the foot to the top of the head.


text:
May the Lord lead you and your king, whom you will have appointed over yourself, into a nation which you and your fathers have not known. And there you will serve foreign gods, of wood and of stone.


text:
And you will become nothing but a proverb and a fable to all the peoples to whom the Lord will lead you.


text:
You will sow much seed upon the ground, but you will harvest little. For the locusts will devour everything.


text:
You will dig and plant a vineyard, but you will not drink the wine, nor gather anything at all from it. For it will be devastated by worms.


text:
You will have olive trees in all your borders, but you will not be anointed with the oil. For the olives will fall off and perish.


text:
You will conceive sons and daughters, and you will not enjoy them. For they will be led into captivity.


text:
The new arrival who lives with you in the land will ascend over you, and be higher. But you will descend, and be lower.


text:
He will lend to you, and you will not lend to him. He will be as the head, and you will be as the tail.


text:
And all these curses shall come to you, and shall pursue you, and shall take hold of you, until you pass away, because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and you would not serve his commandments and ceremonies, which he has instructed to you.


text:
Because you did not serve the Lord your God, with gladness and a joyful heart, over the abundance of all things.


text:
You will serve your enemy, whom the Lord will send to you, in hunger and thirst and nakedness, and in destitution of all things. And he will place an iron yoke upon your neck, until he has crushed you.


text:
The Lord will lead over you a nation from far away, even from the furthest parts of the earth, like an eagle flying with great force, whose language you are not able to understand:


text:
And he will devour the fruit of your cattle, and the fruits of your land, until you have passed away, without leaving behind you wheat, or wine, or oil, or herds of oxen, or flocks of sheep: until he utterly destroys you.


text:
And he will crush you in all your cities. And your strong and lofty walls, in which you trusted, will be destroyed throughout all your land. You will be besieged within your gates throughout all your land, which the Lord your God will give to you.


text:
And you will eat the fruit of your womb, and the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, which the Lord your God will give to you, due to the anguish and devastation with which your enemy will oppress you.


text:
The man who is pampered and very self-indulgent among you will vie with his own brother, and with the wife who lies at his bosom,


text:
lest he give to them from the flesh of his sons, which he will eat. For he has nothing else due to the siege and the destitution, with which your enemies will devastate you within all your gates.


text:
The tender and pampered woman, who would not walk upon the soil, nor step firmly with her foot due to her very great softness and tenderness, will vie with her husband, who lies at her bosom, over the flesh of son and of daughter,


text:
and over the filth of the afterbirth, which goes forth from between her thighs, and over the children who are born in the same hour. For they will eat them secretly, due to the scarcity of all things during the siege and the devastation, with which your enemy will oppress you within your gates.


text:
If you will not keep and do all the words of this law, which have been written in this volume, and fear his glorious and terrible name, that is, the Lord your God,


text:
then the Lord will increase your plagues, and the plagues of your offspring, plagues great and long-lasting, infirmities very grievous and continuous.


text:
And he will turn back upon you all the afflictions of Egypt, which you fear, and these will cling to you.


text:
In addition, the Lord will lead over you all the diseases and plagues that are not written in the volume of this law, until he crushes you.


text:
And you will remain few in number, though you were before like the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God.


text:
And just as before, when the Lord rejoiced over you, doing good for you and multiplying you, so shall he rejoice, scattering and overturning you, so as to take you away from the land, which you shall enter in order to possess.


text:
The Lord will disperse you among all the peoples, from the heights of the earth to its furthest limits. And there you will serve foreign gods of wood and of stone, which you and your fathers did not know.


text:
Similarly, you will not have tranquility, even within those nations, nor will there be any rest for the steps of your feet. For the Lord will give to you in that place a fearful heart, and failing eyes, and a life consumed with grieving.


text:
And your life will be as if it were hanging before you. You will be afraid night and day, and you will not have confidence in your own life.


text:
In the morning you will say, ‘Who will grant evening to me?’ and at evening, ‘Who will grant morning to me?’ because of the dread of your heart, with which you will be terrified, and because of those things that you will see with your eyes.


text:
The Lord will lead you back into Egypt with a fleet of ships, along the way, about which he said to you that you would not see it again. In that place, you will be put up for sale as men and women servants to your enemies, but there will be no one willing to buy you.”


text:
These are the words of the covenant which the Lord instructed Moses to form with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, beside that covenant which he struck with them at Horeb.


text:
And Moses called all of Israel, and he said to them: “You have seen all the things that the Lord has done in your sight in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to his entire land:


text:
But the Lord has not given you an understanding heart, and seeing eyes, and ears that are able to hear, even to this present day.


text:
He led you for forty years through the desert. Your garments have not been worn out, nor have the shoes on your feet been consumed by age.


text:
You did not eat bread, nor did you drink wine or liquor, so that you would know that I am the Lord your God.


text:
And you arrived at this place. And Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, went out to meet us in battle. And we struck them down.


text:
And we took their land and delivered it as a possession to Ruben and to Gad, and to half of the tribe of Manasseh.


text:
Therefore, keep the words of this covenant, and fulfill them, so that you may understand all that you are doing.


text:
Today, you all stand in the sight of the Lord your God: your leaders, and tribes, and those greater by birth, and teachers, all the people of Israel,


text:
your children and wives, and the new arrival who dwells with you in the camp, aside from those who cut wood, and those who bring water,


text:
so that you may cross into the covenant of the Lord your God, and into the oath which the Lord your God strikes with you today.


text:
So shall he raise you up as a people to himself, and so shall he be your God, just as he has spoken to you, and just as he swore to your fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.


text:
For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we passed through the midst of nations. And when passing through them,


text:
you saw their abominations and filth, that is, their idols of wood and of stone, of silver and of gold, which they worshipped,


text:
so that there would not be among you man or woman, family or tribe, whose heart has been turned away this day from the Lord our God, so as to go and serve the gods of those nations. For then there would be among you a root springing forth gall and bitterness.


text:
And if he were to hear the words of this oath, he would bless himself in his own heart saying: ‘There will be peace for me, and I will walk in the depravity of my heart.’ And so, the one who is inebriated would consume the one who is thirsty.


text:
But the Lord would not ignore him. Instead, at that time, his fury and zealousness would be very greatly enflamed against that man, and all the curses which have been written in this volume would settle upon him. And the Lord would abolish his name from under heaven,


text:
and consume him unto perdition out of all the tribes of Israel, according to the curses which are contained in the book of this law and in the covenant.


text:
And the subsequent generation would speak out, along with the sons who will be born afterward. And the sojourners, who will arrive from far away, will see the plagues of that land and the infirmities with which the Lord will have afflicted it,


text:
having burned it with sulphur and molten salt, so that it can no longer be sown. And certainly no greenery would spring up, as in the example of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overturned with his wrath and fury.


text:
And so, all the nations would say: ‘Why has the Lord acted this way toward this land? What is this immense wrath of his fury?’


text:
And they will respond: ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, which he formed with their fathers, when he led them away from the land of Egypt.


text:
And they have served foreign gods, and adored them, though they did not know them, and though they had not been allotted to them.


text:
For this reason, the fury of the Lord was enraged against this land, so as to lead over it all the curses which have been written in this volume.


text:
And he has cast them out of their own land, with anger and fury, and with a very great indignation, and he has thrown them into a strange land, just as has been proven this day.’


text:
These hidden things of the Lord our God have been revealed to us and to our sons in perpetuity, so that we may accomplish all the words of this law.”


text:
“Now when all these things will have fallen over you, the blessing or the curse that I have set forth in your sight, and you will have been led to repentance in your heart among all the nations to which the Lord your God will have dispersed you,


text:
and when you will have returned to him, so as to obey his commandments, just as I have instructed you this day, with your sons, with your whole heart and with your whole soul,


text:
then the Lord your God will lead you away from your captivity, and he will take pity on you, and he will gather you again from all the nations to which he had dispersed you before.


text:
Even if you will have been scattered as far as the poles of the heavens, the Lord your God will retrieve you from there.


text:
And he will take you up and lead you into the land which your fathers had possessed, and you shall obtain it. And in blessing you, he will make you greater in number than your fathers ever were.


text:
The Lord your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your offspring, so that you may love the Lord your God with your entire heart and with your entire soul, so that you may be able to live.


text:
But you shall return, and you shall listen to the voice of the Lord your God. And you shall carry out all the commandments which I am entrusting to you this day.


text:
And the Lord your God will cause you to abound in all the works of your hands, in the progeny of your womb, and in the fruit of your cattle, in the fertility of your land, and with an abundance of all things. For the Lord will return, so that he may rejoice over you in all good things, just as he rejoiced in your fathers:


text:
but only if you will listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and keep his precepts and ceremonies, which have been written in this law, and only if you return to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.


text:
This commandment, which I entrust to you today, is not high above you, nor has it been placed far away.


text:
Nor is it in heaven, so that you would be able to say, ‘Which of us can ascend to heaven, so as to carry it back to us, and so that we may hear it and fulfill it in deed?’


text:
Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you would excuse yourself by saying, ‘Which of us is able to cross the sea, and to carry it back to us, so that we may be able to hear and to do what has been instructed?’


text:
Consider what I have set forth in your sight this day, life and good, or, on the opposite side, death and evil,


text:
so that you may love the Lord your God, and walk in his ways, and keep his commandments and ceremonies and judgments, and so that you may live, and he may multiply you and bless you in the land, which you shall enter in order to possess.


text:
But if your heart will have been turned aside, so that you are not willing to listen, and, having been deceived by error, you adore strange gods and serve them,


text:
then I predict to you this day that you will perish, and you will remain for only a short time in the land, for which you shall cross the Jordan, and which you shall enter in order to possess.


text:
I call heaven and earth as witnesses this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, so that both you and your offspring may live,


text:
and so that you may love the Lord your God, and obey his voice, and cling to him, (for he is your life and the length of your days) and so that you may live in the land, about which the Lord swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give it to them.”


text:
And he said to them: “Today, I am one hundred and twenty years old. I am no longer able to go out and return, especially since the Lord has also said to me, ‘You shall not cross this Jordan.’


text:
Therefore, the Lord your God will go across before you. He himself will abolish all these nations in your sight, and you shall possess them. And this man Joshua shall go across before you, just as the Lord has spoken.


text:
And the Lord will do to them just as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, and he will wipe them away.


text:
Therefore, when the Lord will have delivered these to you also, you shall act similarly toward them, just as I have instructed you.


text:
Act manfully and be strengthened. Do not be afraid, and do not dread at the sight of them. For the Lord your God himself is your commander, and he will neither dismiss nor abandon you.”


text:
And Moses called Joshua, and, before all of Israel, he said to him: ‘Be strong and valiant. For you shall lead this people into the land which the Lord swore that he would give to their fathers, and you shall divide it by lot.


text:
And the Lord, who is your commander, will himself be with you. He will neither renounce nor abandon you. Do not be afraid, and do not dread.”


text:
And so, Moses wrote this law, and he handed it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.


text:
And he instructed them, saying: “After seven years, in the year of remission, at the solemnity of the Feast of Tabernacles,


text:
when all of Israel has convened in order to appear in the sight of the Lord your God, in the place which the Lord will choose, you shall read the words of this law before all of Israel, in their hearing.


text:
And when the people have gathered together, men as well as women and little children, and the new arrivals who are within your gates, they shall listen so that they may learn, and may fear the Lord your God, and may keep and fulfill all the words of this law,


text:
and also so that their sons, who are now ignorant, may be able to listen, and may fear the Lord their God all the days that they live in the land to which you will travel, crossing the Jordan in order to obtain it.”


text:
And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, the days of your death draw near. Call Joshua, and stand in the tabernacle of the testimony, so that I may instruct him.” Therefore, Moses and Joshua went and stood in the tabernacle of the testimony.


text:
And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers, and this people will rise up and will fornicate after foreign gods, in the land which they will enter so that they may live in it. In that place, they will forsake me, and they will make void the covenant that I have formed with them.


text:
And my fury will be enraged against them in that day. And I will abandon them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured. Every evil and affliction will find them, so much so that they will say in that day: ‘Truly, it is because God is not with me that these evils have found me.’


text:
But I will hide myself, and I will conceal my face in that day, because of all the evils that they have done, because they have followed strange gods.


text:
And so, write this canticle now, and teach it to the sons of Israel, so that they may retain it in memory, and may chant it by mouth, and so that this verse may be a testimony to me among the sons of Israel.


text:
For I will lead them into the land, about which I swore to their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. And when they have eaten, and have been satiated and fattened, they will turn aside to foreign gods, and they will serve them. And they will disparage me, and they will nullify my covenant.


text:
And after many evils and afflictions have overwhelmed them, this canticle will answer them as a testimony; it shall never pass into oblivion, away from the mouths of their offspring. For I know their thoughts and what they are about to do today, even before I lead them into the land which I have promised to them.”


text:
And the Lord instructed Joshua, the son of Nun, and he said: “Be strong and valiant. For you shall lead the sons of Israel into the land which I have promised, and I will be with you.”


text:
“Take this book, and place it inside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, so that it may be there as a testimony against you.


text:
For I know your contentiousness and your very stiff neck. Even while I am still living and entering with you, you have always acted with contention against the Lord. How much more so when I will be dead?


text:
Gather to me all those greater by birth throughout your tribes, as well as your teachers, and I will speak these words in their hearing, and I will call heaven and earth as witnesses against them.


text:
For I know that, after my death, you will act with iniquity, and you will quickly depart from the way that I have instructed to you. And so, evils will meet you in the end time, when you will have done evil in the sight of the Lord so as to provoke him through the works of your hands.”


text:
Thus did Moses speak, in the hearing of the entire assembly of Israel, the words of this canticle, and he completed it to its very end.


text:
Let my doctrine accumulate like the rain. Let my eloquence form like the dew, like a mist upon the plants, and like water droplets upon the grass.


text:
The works of God are perfect, and all his ways are judgments. God is faithful and without any iniquity. He is just and upright.


text:
They have sinned against him, and in their filth they are not his sons. They are a depraved and perverse generation.


text:
How can this be the return you would offer to the Lord, O foolish and senseless people? Is he himself not your Father, who has possessed you, and made you, and created you?


text:
Remember the days of antiquity. Consider each generation. Question your father, and he will declare it to you. Question your elders, and they will tell it to you.


text:
When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he appointed the limits of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel.


text:
He discovered him in a desert land, in a place of horror and a vast wilderness. He led him around and taught him, and he guarded him like the pupil of his eye,


text:
just as an eagle encourages its young to fly, and, flying above them, stretches out its wings, and takes them up, and carries them on its shoulders.


text:
He stood him upon an exalted land, so that he might eat the fruits of the fields, so that he might eat honey from the rock, and oil from the hardest stone,


text:
butter from the herd, and milk from the sheep, with fat from the lambs, and with rams and goats from the sons of Bashan, with the kernel of the wheat, and so that he might drink the undiluted blood of the grape.


text:
The beloved grew fat, and he kicked. Having grown fat and thick and wide, he abandoned God, his Maker, and he withdrew from God, his Savior.


text:
They immolated to demons and not to God, to gods whom they did not know, who were new and recent arrivals, whom their fathers did not worship.


text:
And he said: ‘I will hide my face from them, and I will consider their very end. For this is a perverse generation, and they are unfaithful sons.


text:
They have provoked me with that which was not God, and they have angered me with their emptiness. And so, I will provoke them with that which is not a people, and I will anger them with a foolish nation.


text:
A fire has been kindled in my fury, and it will burn even to the deepest Hell, and it will devour the earth with its produce, and it will burn the foundations of the mountains.


text:
They will be consumed by famine, and birds with a very bitter bite will devour them. I will send forth the teeth of wild beasts among them, along with the fury of creatures that scurry across the ground, and of serpents.


text:
Outside, the sword will devastate them; and inside, there will be dread, as much for the young man as for the maiden, and as much for the newborn as for the old man.


text:
But because of the wrath of the enemies, I have delayed it. Otherwise, perhaps their enemies would be arrogant and would say: “Our exalted hand, and not the Lord, has done all these things.”


text:
How is it that one pursues a thousand, and two chases ten thousand? Is it not because their God has sold them, and because the Lord has enclosed them?


text:
Their vines are of the vines of Sodom, but from the suburbs of Gomorrah. Their grapes are the grapes of gall, and their grape clusters are most bitter.


text:
Vengeance is mine, and I will repay them in due time, so that their foot may slip and fall. The day of perdition is near, and the time rushes to appear.’


text:
The Lord will judge his people, and he will take pity on his servants. He will see that their hand has been weakened, and that those who have been enclosed have likewise failed, and that those who have been left behind have been consumed.


text:
They ate the fat of their victims, and they drank the wine of their libations. So let these rise up, and bring relief to you, and protect you in your distress.


text:
See that I am alone, and there is no other god beside me. I will kill, and I will cause to live. I will strike, and I will heal. And there is no one who is able to rescue from my hand.


text:
When I sharpen my sword like lightning, and my hand takes hold of judgment, then I will render vengeance to my enemies, and I will repay those who hate me.


text:
I will inebriate my arrows with blood, and my sword will devour flesh: from the blood of the slain and from the captive, from the exposed head of the enemies.’


text:
You nations, praise his people! For he will avenge the blood of his servants. And he will distribute vengeance to their enemies. And he will be merciful to the land of his people.”


text:
Therefore, Moses went and spoke all the words of this canticle to the ears of the people, both he and Joshua, the son of Nun.


text:
And he said to them: “Set your hearts upon all the words which I am testifying to you this day. So shall you command your sons, to keep, and to do, and to fulfill all the things that have been written in this law.


text:
For these things have not been entrusted to you to no purpose, but so that each one would live by them, and so that, in doing these, you may continue for a long time in the land, which you will enter upon crossing the Jordan in order to possess it.”


text:
“Ascend this mountain, Abarim, (that is, of crossings) onto Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and look upon the land of Canaan, which I will deliver to the sons of Israel to obtain it. And you shall die upon the mountain.


text:
After climbing it, you will be joined to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor, and was placed with his people.


text:
For you trespassed against me in the midst of the sons of Israel, at the Waters of Contradiction, in Kadesh, in the desert of Sin. And you did not sanctify me among the sons of Israel.


text:
You shall see the land opposite you, which I will give to the sons of Israel, but you shall not enter into it.”


text:
This is the blessing, with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the sons of Israel before his death.


text:
And he said: “The Lord went forth from Sinai, and he arose for us from Seir. He appeared from Mount Paran, and thousands of holy ones were with him. The fiery law was in his right hand.


text:
He loved the people; all the holy ones are in his hand. And those who approach his feet shall receive from his doctrine.


text:
The king shall have great righteousness, at the gathering of the princes of the people with the tribes of Israel.


text:
This is the blessing of Judah. “Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and lead him to his people. His hands shall fight for him, and he shall be his helper against his adversaries.”


text:
Likewise, to Levi he said: “Your perfection and your doctrine are for your holy man, whom you have proven by temptation, and whom you have judged at the Waters of Contradiction.


text:
He has said to his father and to his mother, ‘I do not know you,’ and to his brothers, ‘I will disregard you.’ And they have not known their own sons. Such as these have kept your word and have observed your covenant:


text:
your judgments, O Jacob, and your law, O Israel. They shall place incense before your fury and a holocaust upon your altar.


text:
O Lord, bless his strength, and receive the works of his hands. Strike the backs of his enemies, and do not let those who hate him rise up.”


text:
And to Benjamin he said: “The most beloved of the Lord will live confidently in him. He shall remain all day long, as if in a bridal chamber, and he shall rest amid her arms.”


text:
Likewise, to Joseph he said: “His land shall be from the blessing of the Lord, from the fruits of heaven, and from the dew, and from the abyss which lies below,


text:
and from the fruits of the earth with all its plenitude. May the blessing of him who appeared in the bush, settle upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of the Nazarite among his brothers.


text:
His excellence is like that of a first-born bull. His horns are like the horns of a rhinoceros; he shall brandish these against the Gentiles, even to the ends of the earth. These are the multitudes of Ephraim, and these the thousands of Manasseh.”


text:
They shall summon the peoples to the mountain. There, they shall immolate the victims of justice, who feed on the flood of the sea, as if on milk, and on the hidden treasures of the sands.”


text:
And to Gad he said: “Blessed is Gad in his breadth. He has rested like a lion, and he has seized the arm and the top of the head.


text:
And he has seen his own pre-eminence, which his teacher has stored up as his portion. He was with the princes of the people, and he accomplished the justices of the Lord, and his judgment with Israel.”


text:
And to Naphtali he said: “Naphtali shall enjoy abundance, and he shall be full of the blessings of the Lord. He shall possess the sea and the Meridian.”


text:
Likewise, to Asher he said: “Let Asher be blessed with sons. Let him be pleasing to his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil.


text:
His shoe shall be of iron and of brass. As were the days of your youth, so also shall be your old age.


text:
There is no other god like the God of the most righteous one. He who rides upon the heavens is your helper. His magnificence scatters the clouds.


text:
His habitation is above, and the everlasting arms are below. He shall cast out the enemy before your face, and he shall say: ‘Be utterly broken!’


text:
Israel shall live in confidence and alone, as the eye of Jacob in a land of grain and of wine; and the heavens shall be misty with dew.


text:
Blessed are you, O Israel. Who is like you, the people who are saved by the Lord? He is the shield of your assistance and the sword of your glory. Your enemies will refuse to acknowledge you, and so you shall tread upon their necks.”


text:
Therefore, Moses ascended from the plains of Moab onto Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, opposite Jericho. And the Lord revealed to him the entire land of Gilead, as far as Dan,


text:
and all of Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and the entire land of Judah, even to the furthest sea,


text:
and the southern region, and the breadth of the plain of Jericho, the city of palms, as far as Zoar.


text:
And the Lord said to him: “This is the land, about which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your offspring. You have seen it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over to it.”


text:
And he buried him in the valley of the land of Moab, opposite Peor. And no man knows where his sepulcher is, even to the present day.


text:
Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eye was not dimmed, nor were his teeth displaced.


text:
And the sons of Israel wept for him in the plains of Moab for thirty days. And then the days of their wailing, during which they mourned Moses, were completed.


text:
Truly, Joshua, the son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him. And the sons of Israel were obedient to him, and they did as the Lord instructed Moses.


text:
one with all the signs and wonders, which he sent through him, to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh, and all his servants, and his entire land,


text:
And after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it happened that the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, and he said to him:


text:
“Moses, my servant, has died. Rise up, and cross this Jordan, you and all the people with you, into the land which I will give to the sons of Israel.


text:
I will deliver to you every place that the step of your foot will tread upon, just as I said to Moses.


text:
From the desert and from Lebanon, even to the great river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, as far as the great sea opposite the setting of the sun, shall be your border.


text:
No one will be able to resist you during all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so will I be with you. I will not leave you, nor will I forsake you.


text:
Be strengthened and be steadfast. For you shall divide by lot, to this people, the land about which I swore to their fathers that I would deliver it to them.


text:
Therefore, be strengthened and be very steadfast, so that you may observe and accomplish the entire law, which Moses, my servant, instructed to you. You may not turn aside from it to the right, nor to the left. So may you understand all that you should do.


text:
The book of this law shall not depart from your mouth. Instead, you shall meditate upon it, day and night, so that you may observe and do all the things that are written in it. Then you shall direct your way and understand it.


text:
Behold, I am instructing you. Be strengthened, and be steadfast. Do not dread, and do not fear. For the Lord your God is with you in all things, wherever you may go.”


text:
And Joshua instructed the leaders of the people, saying: “Cross through the midst of the camp, and command the people, and say:


text:
‘Prepare your food supplies. For after the third day, you shall cross the Jordan, and you shall enter so as to possess the land, which the Lord your God will give to you.’ ”


text:
“Remember the words, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, instructed to you, saying: ‘The Lord your God has given you rest, and has given you all the land.’


text:
Your wives and sons, as well as the cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses delivered to you beyond the Jordan. But as for you, pass over with weapons, before your brothers, all you who are strong of hand, and fight on their behalf,


text:
until the Lord gives rest to your brothers, just as he has given to you, and until they also possess the land, which the Lord your God will give to them. And so shall you be returned to the land of your possession. And you shall live in the land, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave to you beyond the Jordan, opposite the rising of the sun.”


text:
And they responded to Joshua, and they said: “All that you have instructed to us, we shall do. And wherever you will send us, we shall go.


text:
Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so shall we obey you also. But may the Lord your God be with you, just as he was with Moses.


text:
Whoever will contradict your mouth, and whoever will not obey all of your words, which you will instruct to him, let him die. But may you be strengthened, and may you act manfully.”


text:
And so Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men from Shittim to explore in secret. And he said to them, “Go and consider the land and the city of Jericho.” And while traveling, they entered into the house of a harlot woman named Rahab, and they rested with her.


text:
And it was reported to the king of Jericho, and it was said: “Behold, men have entered to this place in the night, from the sons of Israel, so that they might explore the land.”


text:
And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying: “Bring out the men who came to you, and who entered into your house. For certainly they are spies, and they have arrived to consider the entire land.”


text:
And the woman, taking the men, hid them. And she said: “I admit that they came to me, but I did not know where they were from.


text:
And when the gate was closed, they went out together in the darkness. I do not know where they have gone. Pursue them quickly, and you will overtake them.”


text:
But she caused the men to ascend to the roof of her house, and she covered them with the stalks of flax that were there.


text:
But those who had been sent pursued after them along the way that leads to the ford of the Jordan. And as soon as they went out, the gate was closed.


text:
Those who were hiding had not yet fallen asleep, and behold, the woman went up to them, and she said:


text:
“I know that the Lord has given this land to you. For the terror of you has fallen upon us, and all the inhabitants of the land have languished.


text:
We have heard that the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea upon your arrival, when you were departing from Egypt, and we heard of the things that you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you put to death.


text:
And upon hearing these things, we were very afraid, and our heart languished. Neither did there remain in us any spirit at your arrival. For the Lord your God is the very God in heaven above and on earth below.


text:
Now, therefore, swear to me by the Lord that in the same way that I have acted with mercy toward you, so also shall you act toward the house of my father. And may you give me a true sign


text:
that you will save my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all that is theirs, and that you may rescue our souls from death.”


text:
They responded to her: “May our lives be yours unto death, if only you do not betray us. And when the Lord will have delivered the land to us, we will act toward you with mercy and truth.”


text:
And she said to them: “Climb up to the mountains; otherwise, they may meet you as they are returning. And lay hidden there for three days, until they return. And then you will go on your way.”


text:
if, when we enter into the land, this scarlet cord has been placed as a sign, and you have tied it at the window by which you let us down. And so, gather your father, and mother, and brothers, and all your family into your house.


text:
Whoever will have exited from the door of your house, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be uninvolved. But the blood of all who will be with you in the house shall fall back upon our own head, if anyone touches them.


text:
But if you will have betrayed us, so that you spread this word in their midst, we will be free from this oath, to which you have sworn us.”


text:
And she responded, “Just as you have spoken, so let it be done.” And sending them to travel on, she hung the scarlet cord at the window.


text:
And truly, walking on, they arrived at the mountains, and they stayed there for three days, until those who had been pursuing them returned. For having sought them along the entire way, they did not find them.


text:
And when they returned and entered the city, the explorers descended from the mountain. And crossing the Jordan, they went to Joshua, the son of Nun, and they reported to him all that had happened to them.


text:
And they said, “The Lord has delivered this entire land into our hands, and all its inhabitants have been struck down by fear.”


text:
And so, Joshua arose in the night, and he moved the camp. And they departed from Shittim, and they went to the Jordan: he, and all the sons of Israel, and they remained there for three days.


text:
and they began to proclaim: “When you will see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests of the stock of Levi carrying it, you also shall rise up and follow those who are going before you.


text:
And let there be, between you and the ark, the space of two thousand cubits, so that you may be able to see it from far away, and to know along which way you should advance. For you have not walked this way before. And be careful that you do not approach the ark.”


text:
And Joshua said to the people: “Be sanctified. For tomorrow the Lord will accomplish miracles among you.”


text:
And he said to the priests: “Take up the ark of the covenant, and go before the people.” And they fulfilled the orders, and they took it and walked before them.


text:
And the Lord said to Joshua: “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that, just as I was with Moses, so also am I with you.


text:
Now instruct the priests, who are carrying the ark of the covenant, and say to them, ‘When you will have entered into a part of the water of the Jordan, stand still in it.’ ”


text:
And Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Approach to here, and listen to the word of the Lord your God.”


text:
And again, he said: “By this shall you know that the Lord, the living God, is in your midst, and that he shall scatter in your sight, the Canaanite and the Hittite, the Hivite and the Perizzite, likewise the Girgashite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite.


text:
Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth shall go before you through the Jordan.


text:
And when the priests who are carrying the ark of the Lord, the God of the entire earth, will have placed the steps of their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the waters that are lower will run down and pass away, and those that are approaching above will stand together in a mass.”


text:
And the people departed from their tents, so that they might cross the Jordan. And the priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant were advancing before them.


text:
And as soon as they entered into the Jordan, and their feet were dipped in a portion of the water, (now the Jordan, since it was the time of the harvest, had filled the banks of its channel,)


text:
the descending waters stood still in one place, and, swelling up like a mountain, they were seen from far away, from the city that is called Adam, even as far as the place of Zarethan. But those that were lower ran down into the Sea of the Wilderness, (which is now called the Dead Sea,) until they entirely passed away.


text:
Then the people advanced opposite Jericho. And the priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord were standing, fully-dressed, upon dry soil in the midst of the Jordan, and all the people passed over, through the channel that was dried up.


text:
and instruct them so that they may take from the midst of the channel of the Jordan, where the feet of the priests stood still, twelve very hard stones, which you shall station in the place of the camp, where you will pitch your tents this night.”


text:
and he said to them: “Go before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and let each one carry from there one stone on your shoulders, according to the number of the sons of Israel,


text:
so that it may be a sign among you. And when your sons will ask you, tomorrow, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’


text:
you shall respond to them: ‘The waters of the Jordan failed before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, when the ark crossed over it. For this reason, these stones were placed as a monument for the sons of Israel, even forever.’ ”


text:
Therefore, the sons of Israel did as Joshua instructed them, carrying twelve stones from the midst of the channel of the Jordan, just as the Lord had ordered him, according to the number of the sons of Israel, as far as the place where they made camp, and there they stationed them.


text:
Similarly, Joshua positioned another twelve stones in the middle of the channel of the Jordan, where the priests stood who were carrying the ark of the covenant; and they are there, even to the present day.


text:
Now the priests who were carrying the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until everything was accomplished which the Lord had instructed Joshua to speak to the people and which Moses had said to him. And the people hurried, and they passed over.


text:
And when they had all crossed, the ark of the Lord also crossed, and the priests advanced before the people.


text:
Likewise, the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the one half tribe of Manasseh advanced with weapons before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had instructed them.


text:
And forty thousand fighters, by companies and divisions, advanced through the plains and fields of the city of Jericho.


text:
In that day, the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel, so that they would fear him, just as they had feared Moses while he lived.


text:
And when those who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord had ascended, and they began to step on dry soil, the waters returned to their channel, and they flowed as they usually did before.


text:
Now the people ascended from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal, opposite the eastern portion of the city of Jericho.


text:
Likewise, the twelve stones that they had taken up from the channel of the Jordan, Joshua stationed at Gilgal.


text:
And he said to the sons of Israel: “When your sons will question their fathers, tomorrow, and they will say to them, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’


text:
So may all the peoples of the earth learn of the very powerful hand of the Lord. So may you also fear the Lord your God for all time.”


text:
Therefore, after all the kings of the Amorites, who were living across the Jordan toward the western region, and all the kings of Canaan, who possessed the places beside the great sea, had heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel, until they crossed over it, their heart was broken, and there remained in them no spirit, out of fear at the entrance of the sons of Israel.


text:
So at that time, the Lord said to Joshua: “Make for yourself knives of stone, and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.”


text:
He did what the Lord had commanded, and he circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.


text:
Now this is the reason for the second circumcision: All the people who departed from Egypt of the male gender, all the men fit for war, died in the desert during the very long wandering way;


text:
throughout the forty years of the journey in the very broad wilderness, were uncircumcised, until the ones who had not listened to the voice of the Lord were consumed. For he had sworn to them before, that he would not reveal to them the land flowing with milk and honey.


text:
The sons of these ones succeeded to the place of their fathers, and they were circumcised by Joshua. For they were uncircumcised, just as they had been born, and no one had circumcised them along the way.


text:
Then, after they were all circumcised, they remained in the same place of the camp until they were healed.


text:
And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have taken away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And the name of that place was called Gilgal, even to the present day.


text:
And the sons of Israel stayed at Gilgal, and they kept the Passover, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, in the plains of Jericho.


text:
And on the following day, they ate unleavened bread from the grain of the land, and cooked grain, of the same year.


text:
And the manna ceased after they ate from the grain of the land. And the sons of Israel no longer made use of that food. Instead, they ate from the grain of the present year, from the land of Canaan.


text:
And when Joshua was in the field of the city of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and he saw a man standing opposite him, holding a drawn sword. And he went to him and said, “Are you one of ours, or one of our adversaries?”


text:
And he responded: “Not at all. Instead, I am a prince of the host of the Lord, and now I have arrived.”


text:
He said: “Remove your shoes from your feet. For the place on which you stand is holy.” And Joshua did just as he had been commanded.


text:
Now Jericho was closed as well as fortified, out of fear of the sons of Israel, and no one dared to depart or to enter.


text:
And the Lord said to Joshua: “Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and all the strong men.


text:
Then, on the seventh day, the priests shall take the seven trumpets, which are used on the jubilee, and they shall precede the ark of the covenant. And you shall circle the city seven times, and the priests shall sound the trumpets.


text:
And when the voice of the trumpet sounds longer and with interruptions, and it increases in your ears, then all the people shall cry out together with a very great shout, and the walls of the city shall fall to the foundation, and they shall enter it, each from a place opposite where they are standing.”


text:
Then Joshua, the son of Nun, called the priests, and he said to them, “Take the ark of the covenant, and let seven other priests take the seven trumpets of the jubilee, and advance before the ark of the Lord.”


text:
And when Joshua had finished his words, and the seven priests sounded the seven trumpets before the ark of the covenant of the Lord,


text:
and all the armed soldiers went ahead, the remainder of the common people followed the ark, and the sound of the trumpets grew louder everywhere.


text:
But Joshua had instructed the people, saying, “You shall not cry out, nor shall your voice be heard, and no word at all shall proceed from your mouth, until the day arrives on which I will say to you, ‘Cry out, and shout.’ ”


text:
Thus, the ark of the Lord circled the city once each day, and returning to the camp, it remained there.


text:
and seven of them took the seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee, and they preceded the ark of the Lord, walking and sounding the trumpets. And the armed men went before them, and the remainder of the common people followed the ark, and they were blaring the trumpets.


text:
And they circled the city on the second day, once, and they returned to the camp. They did so for six days.


text:
Then, on the seventh day, rising at first light, they circled the city, just as had been ordered, seven times.


text:
And at the seventh circling, when the priests sounded the trumpets, Joshua said to all of Israel: “Shout! For the Lord has delivered the city to you.


text:
And let this city be anathema, with all the things that are within it, before the Lord. May only Rahab the harlot live, with all who are with her in the house. For she hid the messengers whom we sent.


text:
But you must be careful that you do not touch any of those things, as you have been instructed, for then you would be guilty of transgression, and all the camp of Israel would be under sin and would be troubled.


text:
But whatever gold and silver there will be, and vessels of brass or of iron, let these be consecrated to the Lord and be stored in his treasuries.”


text:
Therefore, with all the people shouting, and the trumpets blaring, after the voice and the sound increased in the ears of the multitude, the walls promptly fell to ruin. And each one climbed up at the place which was opposite where he was. And they seized the city.


text:
And they put to death all who were in it, from man even to woman, from infant even to elder. Likewise, the oxen and sheep and donkeys, they struck down with the edge of the sword.


text:
But Joshua said to the two men who had been sent to explore, “Enter the house of the harlot woman, and bring her out, and all the things that are hers, just as you assured her by oath.”


text:
And the youths entered, and they led out Rahab, and her parents, also her brothers, and all her goods and kindred, and they caused them to dwell outside the camp.


text:
Then they set fire to the city and all the things that were within it, except the gold and silver, and the vessels of brass or of iron, which they consecrated into the treasury of the Lord.


text:
Yet truly, Joshua caused Rahab the harlot, and her father’s household, and all she had, to survive. And they lived in the midst of Israel, even to the present day. For she hid the messengers, whom he had sent to explore Jericho. At that time, Joshua made an invocation, saying:


text:
“Cursed before the Lord is the man who will raise up and rebuild the city of Jericho! With his firstborn, may he lay its foundation, and with the last of his children, may he set up its gates.”


text:
But the sons of Israel transgressed the commandment, and they usurped what was anathema. For Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took something from what was anathema. And the Lord became angry against the sons of Israel.


text:
And when Joshua sent men from Jericho against Ai, which is beside Bethaven, toward the eastern region of the town of Bethel, he said to them, “Go up and explore the land.” And they fulfilled his instruction, and they explored Ai.


text:
And returning, they said to him: “Let not the entire people go up. Instead, let two or three thousand men go out and destroy the city. Why should all the people be troubled without cause against enemies that are so very few?”


text:
and were struck down by the men of the city of Ai. And thirty-six men of them fell. And the adversaries pursued them from the gate, even as far as Shebarim. And they felled them as they were fleeing downward. And the heart of the people was struck with fear, and it melted like water.


text:
And truly, Joshua tore his garments, and he fell prone on the ground before the ark of the Lord, even until evening, both he and all the elders of Israel. And they cast dust upon their heads.


text:
And Joshua said: “Alas, O Lord God! Why would you want to lead this people over the river Jordan, so that you might deliver us into the hand of the Amorite and destroy us? I wish that we had remained beyond the Jordan, as when we began.


text:
The Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and coming together as one, they will surround us, and they will wipe our name from the earth. And what will you do concerning your great name?”


text:
Israel has sinned and transgressed my covenant. And they have taken from what is anathema. And they have stolen and lied, and they have hidden it among their goods.


text:
Israel is not able to stand before his enemies, and he will flee from them. For he has been defiled by what is anathema. I will be no longer be with you, until you destroy him who is guilty of this wickedness.


text:
Rise up. Sanctify the people. And you shall say to them: ‘Be sanctified tomorrow. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: That which is anathema is in your midst, O Israel! You are not able to stand before your enemies, until he who has been contaminated by this wickedness is taken away from you.’


text:
And you shall draw near in the morning, each one by your tribes. And whichever tribe will be found by lot shall come forward by its families, and the families by houses, and the house by the men.


text:
And whoever he may be that will be found guilty of this deed, he shall be burnt with fire with all his substance. For he transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and he committed a wicked act in Israel.”


text:
And so Joshua, rising in the morning, brought forth Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was found.


text:
And when its families had been presented, the family of Zerah was found. Likewise, bringing that one forward by the houses, he discovered Zabdi.


text:
And dividing his house by each man, he found Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah.


text:
And Joshua said to Achan: “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and confess, and reveal to me what you have done. You may not conceal it.”


text:
And Achan responded to Joshua, and he said to him: “Truly, I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and I have done one thing and another.


text:
For I saw among the spoils a very fine scarlet cloak, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a gold bar of fifty shekels. And coveting these, I took and hid them in the ground near the middle of my tent, and I covered the silver with the soil that I had dug.”


text:
Therefore, Joshua sent ministers, who, running to his tent, discovered everything hidden in the same place, together with the silver.


text:
And taking these from the tent, they brought them to Joshua, and to all the sons of Israel, and they cast them down before the Lord.


text:
And so Joshua took Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the cloak, and the gold bar, also his sons and daughters, the oxen and donkeys and sheep, and even the tent and all his goods, (and all of Israel went with him,) and he brought these to the valley of Achor.


text:
There, Joshua said: “Because you have troubled us, the Lord troubles you, on this day.” And all of Israel stoned him. And all the things that were his were consumed by fire.


text:
And they gathered upon him a great pile of stones, which remains even to the present day. And the fury of the Lord was averted from them. And the name of that place was called the Valley of Achor, even to this day.


text:
Then the Lord said to Joshua: “You should not fear, and you should not dread. Take with you the entire multitude of fighters, and rising up, ascend to the town of Ai. Behold, I have delivered into your hand its king and people, and the city and the land.


text:
And you shall do to the city of Ai, and to its king, just as you did to Jericho, and to its king. Yet truly, the spoils, and all the living things, you shall plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush against the city behind it.”


text:
And Joshua rose up, and the entire army of warriors with him, so that they might ascend against Ai. And he sent thirty thousand elect strong men in the night.


text:
And he instructed them, saying: “Set an ambush behind the city. You shall withdraw not far away, and let everyone be prepared.


text:
But I and the remainder of the multitude that is with me will approach from the opposite side of the city. And when they come out against us, we will flee and turn our backs, just as we did before,


text:
until, pursuing us, they are drawn away from the city. For they will think that we are fleeing as before.


text:
Then, while we are fleeing and they are pursuing, you shall rise up from the ambush, and you shall lay waste to the city. And the Lord your God will deliver it into your hands.


text:
And he sent them away, and they traveled to the place of the ambush, and they settled between Bethel and Ai, toward the western region of the city of Ai. But Joshua remained for that night in the midst of the people.


text:
And rising at first light, he reviewed his troops, and he went up, with the elders at the front of the army, surrounded by an auxiliary of fighters.


text:
And when they had arrived, and had ascended from the opposite side of the city, they stood toward the northern region of the city. And there was a valley in the middle, between them and the city.


text:
Now he had chosen five thousand men, and he had positioned them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, at the western part of the same city.


text:
Yet truly, all the remainder of the army was arranged in a line to the north, so that the very end of that multitude reached to the western region of the city. Then Joshua went out that night, and he stood in the middle of the valley.


text:
And when the king of Ai had seen this, he hurried in the morning, and he went out with the entire army of the city. And he arranged them in a line opposite the desert, not knowing that an ambush lay hidden behind his back.


text:
Yet truly, Joshua, and all of Israel, withdrew from the place, pretending to be afraid, and fleeing along the way of the wilderness.


text:
And they pursued them, shouting together and encouraging one another. And when they had withdrawn from the city,


text:
and indeed not one remained in the city of Ai and of Bethel who did not pursue after Israel, (leaving the towns open after they had rushed out,)


text:
the Lord said to Joshua: “Lift up the shield that is in your hand, toward the city of Ai. For I will deliver it to you.”


text:
And when he had lifted up the shield toward the city, the ambush, which lay hidden, rose up quickly. And advancing to the city, they seized it, and set it on fire.


text:
Now the men of the city who were pursuing Joshua, looking back and seeing the smoke of the city rising up even to heaven, were no longer able to flee in one direction or another, especially since those who had pretended to flee, and who were heading toward the wilderness, had turned back very strongly against those who were pursuing them.


text:
And Joshua, and all of Israel, seeing that the city had been captured, and that the smoke of the city was ascending, returned and struck down the men of Ai.


text:
Then too, those who had seized and set the city on fire, departing from the city toward their own men, began to strike the enemies in the middle. Therefore, since the adversaries were cut off from both sides, none of so great a multitude was saved.


text:
And so, after all were slain who had pursued Israel fleeing toward the wilderness, and after they fell by the sword in the same place, the sons of Israel returned and struck the city.


text:
Now there were twelve thousand persons who had fallen on the same day, from man even to woman, the entire city of Ai.


text:
Truly Joshua did not draw back his hand, which he had stretched out on high, keeping hold of the shield until all the inhabitants of Ai were put to death.


text:
Then the sons of Israel divided among themselves the cattle and the plunder of the city, just as the Lord had instructed Joshua.


text:
Also, he suspended the king on a gallows, until evening and the setting of the sun. And Joshua instructed, and they took down his dead body from the hanging tree. And they cast it at the very entrance of the city, gathering a great pile of stones upon it, which remains even to the present day.


text:
just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had instructed to the sons of Israel, and this was written in the book of the law of Moses: truly, an altar of uncut stones, which iron has not touched. And he offered holocausts upon it to the Lord, and he immolated victims as peace-offerings.


text:
And he wrote on the stones, the Deuteronomy of the law of Moses, which he had set in order before the sons of Israel.


text:
Then all the people, and those greater by birth, and the commanders and judges were standing on both sides of the ark, in the sight of the priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, with both the new arrival and the native born, one half part of them beside Mount Gerizim, and one half beside Mount Ebal, just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had instructed. And first, certainly, he blessed the people of Israel.


text:
After this, he read all the words of the blessing and the cursing, and all the things that were written in the book of the law.


text:
He left nothing untouched out of those things that Moses had ordered, and he repeated everything before the entire multitude of Israel, with the women and the little ones, and the new arrivals who were staying among them.


text:
And when these things were heard, all the kings across the Jordan, who lived among the mountains and plains, along the coastline and shores of the great sea, also those who were living near Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite,


text:
gathered themselves together, so that they might fight against Joshua and Israel, with one mind and with the same resolve.


text:
planning cleverly, took for themselves provisions, placing old sacks upon their donkeys, and wineskins that had torn and been sewed up,


text:
and having very old shoes, which had been sewn with patches indicating their age, and being clothed in old garments, having also loaves, which they carried as food for the journey, which were hard and broken into pieces.


text:
And they traveled to Joshua, who at that time was staying in the camp at Gilgal. And they said to him, and to all of Israel with him, “We have come from a far away land, desiring to make peace with you.” And the sons of Israel responded to them, and said,


text:
“Perhaps instead, you live in the land which ought to be ours by lot, and we would be unable to form a pact with you.”


text:
But they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them: “But who are you? And where are you from?”


text:
They responded: “Your servants have arrived, from a very far away land, in the name of the Lord, your God. For we have heard about the fame of his power, all the things that he has done in Egypt,


text:
and to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan: Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth.


text:
And our elders, and all the inhabitants of our land, have said to us: ‘Take in hand provisions for the very long journey, and meet with them, and say: We are your servants; form a pact with us.’


text:
Lo, the loaves were taken up warm when we departed from our houses, so that we might come to you. Now they have become dry and broken, due to age.


text:
These wineskins were new when we filled them, now they are torn and broken. The garments we are wearing, and the shoes we have on our feet, due to the great length of the distance, have become worn and are nearly consumed.”


text:
And so they accepted this, because of their provisions, and they did not consult the mouth of the Lord.


text:
And Joshua made peace with them, and entering into a pact, he promised that they would not be put to death. The leaders of the multitude also swore to them.


text:
Then, three days after the pact was formed, they heard that they lived in the vicinity, and that they would soon be among them.


text:
And so the sons of Israel moved the camp, and they arrived at their cities on the third day, those which are called: Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.


text:
And they did not strike them, because the leaders of the multitude had sworn to them in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. And so all of the common people murmured against the leaders.


text:
And they responded to them: “We have sworn to them in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, and for that reason, we are not able to touch them.


text:
But we shall do this to them: Certainly, let them be preserved so that they may live, lest the wrath of the Lord be stirred up against us, since we would have sworn falsely.


text:
But though they live, let them serve the entire multitude by cutting wood and carrying water.” And while they were discussing these things,


text:
Joshua called the Gibeonites, and he said to them: “Why would you be willing to deceive us by fraud, saying, ‘We live very far away from you,’ when you are in our midst?


text:
Therefore, you shall be under a curse, and your stock shall not cease to be cutters of wood and carriers of water, into the house of my God.”


text:
And they responded: “It was reported to us, your servants, that the Lord your God had promised his servant Moses that he would give you the entire land, and that he would destroy all its inhabitants. Therefore, we were very afraid, and we made a provision for our lives, compelled by the dread of you, and we undertook this counsel.


text:
Therefore, Joshua did just as he had said, and he freed them from the hand of the sons of Israel, so that they would not be killed.


text:
And he decreed on that day, that they would be in the ministry of all the people and of the altar of the Lord, cutting wood and carrying water, even until this present time, in the place which the Lord had chosen.


text:
When Adonizedek, the king of Jerusalem, had heard these things, specifically, that Joshua had seized Ai, and had overthrown it, (for just as he had done to Jericho and its king, so did he do to Ai and its king,) and that the Gibeonites had fled over to Israel, and were now their confederates,


text:
he was very afraid. For Gibeon was a great city, and was one of the royal cities, and was greater than the town of Ai, and all its warriors were very strong.


text:
Therefore, Adonizedek, the king of Jerusalem, sent to Hoham, the king of Hebron, and to Piram, the king of Jarmuth, and also to Japhia, the king of Lachish, and to Debir, the king of Eglon, saying:


text:
“Ascend to me, and bring troops, so that we may fight against Gibeon. For it has fled over to Joshua and the sons of Israel.”


text:
And so, having assembled, the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, together with their armies, went up and encamped around Gibeon, laying siege to it.


text:
But the inhabitants of the city of Gibeon, when it was besieged, sent to Joshua, who was then staying in the camp at Gilgal. And they said to him: “May you not draw back your hands from helping your servants. Come quickly, and free us, and bring troops. For all the kings of the Amorites, who live in the mountains, have gathered together against us.”


text:
And the Lord said to Joshua: “You should not fear them. For I have delivered them into your hands. None of them will be able to withstand you.”


text:
And the Lord set them in disarray before the face of Israel. And he crushed them in a great defeat at Gibeon, and he pursued them along the way of the ascent to Beth-horon, and he struck them down, even as far as Azekah and Makkedah.


text:
And while they were fleeing from the sons of Israel, and were on the descent of Beth-horon, the Lord cast great stones from heaven upon them, as far as Azekah. And many more were killed by the hailstones, than were struck down by the swords of the sons of Israel.


text:
Then Joshua spoke to the Lord, on the day that he handed over the Amorite in the sight of the sons of Israel, and he said before them: “O sun, you shall not move toward Gibeon! O moon, you shall not move toward the valley of Aijalon!”


text:
And the sun and the moon stood still, until the people had avenged themselves of their enemies. Has this not been written in the book of the just? And so the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and it did not hurry to its rest for the space of one day.


text:
Never before and never after was there so long a day, as when the Lord obeyed the voice of a man, and fought for Israel.


text:
And it was reported to Joshua that the five kings had been found hidden in a cave, near the city of Makkedah.


text:
And he instructed his companions and said: “Roll vast stones to the mouth of the cave, and station attentive men who will keep them closed.


text:
But as for you, do not stay here; instead, pursue the enemies, and cut down the lattermost of those who are fleeing. You shall not permit those whom the Lord God has delivered into your hands to enter into the protection of their cities.”


text:
Thus, the adversaries were struck down in a great defeat, and having been nearly consumed, even to utter annihilation, those who were able to escape from Israel entered into fortified cities.


text:
And the entire army returned to Joshua at Makkedah, where they were then encamped, in good health and in their full numbers. And no one dared to move his tongue against the sons of Israel.


text:
And Joshua instructed, saying, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forward to me the five kings, who are hidden within it.”


text:
And the ministers did just as they had been ordered. And they led out to him the five kings from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon.


text:
And when they had been led out to him, he called all the men of Israel, and he said to the leaders of the army who were with him, “Go, and place your feet upon the necks of these kings.” And when they had gone and had tread their feet upon the necks of those who were thrown down,


text:
he spoke to them again: “Do not be afraid, and do not dread. Be strengthened and be steadfast. For so will the Lord do to all your enemies, against whom you fight.”


text:
And Joshua struck them down and killed them, and he suspended them on five gallows. And they hung there until evening.


text:
And when the sun had set, he instructed his assistants that they should take them down from the gallows. And having been taken down, they cast them into the cave, where they had lain hidden, and they set vast stones at its mouth, which remain, even to the present.


text:
Also on the same day, Joshua seized Makkedah, and he struck it with the edge of the sword, and he put to death its king and all its inhabitants. He did not leave in it even the smallest remains. And he did to the king of Makkedah, just as he had done to the king of Jericho.


text:
And the Lord delivered it, with its king, into the hands of Israel. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, and all its inhabitants. They did not leave in it any remains. And they did to the king of Libnah, just as they had done to the king of Jericho.


text:
From Libnah, with all of Israel, he went on to Lachish. And taking positions around it with his army, he besieged it.


text:
And the Lord delivered Lachish into the hands of Israel, and he seized it on the following day, and he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every soul that was in it, just as he had done to Libnah.


text:
At that time, Horam, the king of Gezer, went up so that he might assist Lachish. And Joshua struck him with all his people, even unto utter annihilation.


text:
And he also defeated it on the same day. And he struck all the souls that were in it with the edge of the sword, in accord with all that he had done to Lachish.


text:
He seized it and struck it with the edge of the sword, likewise with its king, and all the towns of that region, and all the souls that were staying in it. He did not leave any remains in it. Just as he had done to Eglon, so also did he do to Hebron, consuming with the sword all that he found within it.


text:
he seized it and laid waste to it, likewise with its king. And all the surrounding towns, he struck with the edge of the sword. He did not leave in it any remains. Just as he had done to Hebron and Libnah, and to their kings, so did he do to Debir and to its king.


text:
And so Joshua struck the entire land, the mountains, and the south, and the plains, and the descending slopes, with their kings. He did not leave in it any remains, but he put to death all that was able to breathe, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had instructed him,


text:
And all their kings and their regions, he seized and destroyed with a single attack. For the Lord, the God of Israel, fought on his behalf.


text:
And when Jabin, the king of Hazor, had heard these things, he sent to Jobab, the king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,


text:
also to the kings of the north, who were living in the mountains, and in the plains opposite the southern region of Chinneroth, and also in the plains and the regions of Dor, beside the sea,


text:
also to the Canaanites, from east to west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, also to the Hivite who was living at the base of Hermon, in the land of Mizpah.


text:
And they all went forth with their troops, a people exceedingly numerous, like the sand that is on the shore of the sea. And their horses and chariots were an immense multitude.


text:
And the Lord said to Joshua: “You should not fear them. For tomorrow, at this same hour, I will deliver all these to be wounded in the sight of Israel. You will hamstring their horses, and you will burn their chariots with fire.”


text:
And Joshua, and the entire army with him, came against them suddenly, at the waters of Merom, and they rushed upon them.


text:
And the Lord delivered them into the hands of Israel. And they struck them, and they pursued them as far as the great Sidon, and the waters of Misrephoth, and the field of Mizpeh, which is toward the eastern region. He struck them all, so that nothing was left of them to remain.


text:
And he did just as the Lord had instructed him. He hamstrung their horses, and he burned their chariots with fire.


text:
And turning back, he immediately seized Hazor. And he struck down its king with the sword. For Hazor, from antiquity, held the first position among all these kingdoms.


text:
And he struck down all the souls that were staying there. He did not leave in it any remains, but he destroyed everything unto utter annihilation, and he destroyed the city itself with fire.


text:
And he seized, struck, and destroyed all the surrounding cities and their kings, just as Moses, the servant of God, had instructed him.


text:
And except for the cities that were on hills and in elevated places, the rest Israel burned. One only, highly-fortified Hazor, was consumed with fire.


text:
And the sons of Israel divided among themselves all the plunder of these cities, and the cattle, putting to death all persons.


text:
Just as the Lord had instructed his servant Moses, so did Moses instruct Joshua, and he fulfilled everything. He did not omit even one word out of all the commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.


text:
And so Joshua seized the entire land of the mountains, and of the south, and the land of Goshen, and the plains, and the western region, and the mountain of Israel, and its plains.


text:
As for the part of the mountain that ascends to Seir, as far as Baalgad, along the plain of Lebanon under mount Hermon, all their kings he seized, struck down, and killed.


text:
There was not a city that delivered itself to the sons of Israel, except the Hivites who were living at Gibeon. For he seized it all in warfare.


text:
For it was the sentence of the Lord that their hearts would be hardened, and that they would fight against Israel and fall, and that they did not deserve any clemency, and that they should perish, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.


text:
In that time, Joshua went and put to death the Anakim from the mountains, from Hebron and Debir and Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah and Israel. And he destroyed their cities.


text:
He did not leave any from the stock of the Anakim in the land of the sons of Israel, except the cities of Gaza, and Gath, and Ashdod, which alone were left behind.


text:
Thus, Joshua seized all the land, just as the Lord spoke to Moses, and he delivered it as a possession to the sons of Israel, according to their divisions and tribes. And the land rested from battles.


text:
These are the kings whom the sons of Israel struck down, and whose land they possessed beyond the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun, from the torrent Arnon as far as mount Hermon, with the entire eastern region that looks out toward the wilderness:


text:
Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, and who had dominion from Aroer, which is situated on the bank of the torrent Arnon, and the valley in the middle, and one half of Gilead, as far as the torrent Jabbok, which is the border of the sons of Ammon,


text:
and from the wilderness, as far as the sea of Chinneroth toward the east, and to the Sea of the Wilderness, which is the very salty sea, to the eastern region, along the way that leads to Beth-jeshimoth, and from the southern region that lies under the descending slope of Pisgah,


text:
to the border of Og, the king of Bashan; from the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived in Ashtaroth, and at Edrei, and who had dominion on mount Hermon, and at Salecah, and into all of Bashan, even to its limits;


text:
with Geshur and Maacati, and one half of Gilead, these were the borders of Sihon, the king of Heshbon.


text:
Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the sons of Israel struck them down. And Moses delivered their land into the possession of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the one half tribe of Manasseh.


text:
These are the kings of the land, whom Joshua and the sons of Israel struck down across the Jordan, toward the western region, from Baalgad in the field of Lebanon, as far as the mountain, part of which ascends to Seir. And Joshua delivered it as a possession to the tribes of Israel, to each one in their divisions,


text:
both in the mountains and in the plains and fields. In the descending slopes, and in the wilderness, and in the south, there too was the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite.


text:
Joshua was old and advanced in age, and the Lord said to him: “You have grown old, and are aged, and a very wide land remains, which has not yet been divided by lot,


text:
from the muddy river, which irrigates Egypt, as far as the border of Ekron toward the north, the land of Canaan, which is divided among the rulers of Philistia: the Gazites, and the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gathites, and the Ekronites;


text:
truly, to the south are the Hivites, all the land of Canaan, and Mearah of the Sidonians, as far as Aphek and the borders of the Amorite


text:
and his confines; also, the region of Lebanon toward the east, from Baalgad, under mount Hermon, until you enter into Hamath;


text:
all who live in the mountains from Lebanon, as far as the waters of Misrephoth, and all the Sidonians. I am the One who will wipe them out, before the face of the sons of Israel. Therefore, let their land become a part of the inheritance of Israel, just as I have instructed you.


text:
And now, divide the land as a possession to the nine tribes, and to the one half tribe of Manasseh.”


text:
With them, Reuben and Gad have possessed the land, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, delivered to them beyond the river Jordan, on the eastern side:


text:
from Aroer, which is situated on the bank of the torrent Arnon and in the midst of the valley, and all the plains of Medeba, as far as Dibon;


text:
and all the cities of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, even to the borders of the sons of Ammon;


text:
and Gilead, as well as the borders of Geshur and Maacati, and all of mount Hermon, and all of Bashan, as far as Salecah;


text:
the entire kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned at Ashtaroth and Edrei, (he was among the last of the Rephaim). And Moses struck and destroyed them.


text:
And the sons of Israel were not willing to destroy Geshur and Maacati, and so they have lived in the midst of Israel, even to the present day.


text:
But to the tribe of Levi, he did not give a possession. Instead, the sacrifices and victims of the Lord, the God of Israel, these are his inheritance, just as he spoke to him.


text:
And their border was from Aroer, which is situated on the bank of the torrent Arnon, and in the midst of the valley of the same torrent, with all the flatlands that lead to Medeba;


text:
and Heshbon, and all their villages, which are in the plains; also Dibon, and Bamothbaal, and the town of Baalmeon,


text:
and all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdoms of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who reigned at Heshbon, whom Moses struck down with the leaders of Midian: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the commanders of Sihon, inhabitants of the land.


text:
And the sons of Israel killed Balaam, the son of Beor, the seer, with the sword, along with the others who were slain.


text:
And the river Jordan was made the border of the sons of Reuben; this is the possession of the Reubenites, by their families, in cities and villages.


text:
And Moses gave to the tribe of Gad and his sons, by their families, a possession, of which this is the division:


text:
the border of Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and one half part of the land of the sons of Ammon, as far as Aroer, which is opposite Rabbah;


text:
and from Heshbon as far as Ramath, Mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim as far as the borders of Debir;


text:
also, in the valley Beth-haram and Beth-nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the remaining part of the kingdom of Sihon, the king of Heshbon; the limit of this also is the Jordan, as far as the furthest part of the sea of Chinnereth, beyond the Jordan on the eastern side.


text:
He also gave, to the one half tribe of Manasseh and to his sons, a possession according to their families,


text:
the beginning of which is this: from Mahanaim, all of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Og, the king of Bashan, and all the villages of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty towns;


text:
and one half part of Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, to the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, to one half part of the sons of Machir, according to their families.


text:
Moses divided this possession, in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan, opposite Jericho on the eastern side.


text:
But to the tribe of Levi he did not give a possession. For the Lord, the God of Israel, is himself their possession, just as he spoke to him.


text:
This is what the sons of Israel possessed in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar, the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the leaders of the families, by the tribes of Israel, gave to them,


text:
dividing all by lot, just as the Lord had instructed by the hand of Moses, to the nine tribes and to the one half tribe.


text:
For to the two and one half tribes, Moses had given a possession beyond the Jordan, aside from the Levites, who received no land among their brothers.


text:
For by succession, the sons of Joseph, in their place, were divided into two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. But the Levites did not receive another portion of land, except cities in which to live, and their suburbs, so as to feed their beasts of burden and cattle.


text:
And so, the sons of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb, the son of Jephone, the Kenizzite, spoke to him: “You know what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh-barnea, about me and you.


text:
I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea, so that I might consider the land. And I reported to him what seemed to me to be true.


text:
But my brothers, who had ascended with me, broke the heart of the people. And I nevertheless followed the Lord my God.


text:
And Moses swore, on that day, saying: ‘The land that your foot has tread upon shall be your possession, and that of your sons, unto eternity. For you have followed the Lord my God.’


text:
Therefore, the Lord has granted life to me, just as he promised, even to the present day. It has been forty-five years since the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel was wandering through the wilderness. Today, I am eighty-five years old,


text:
being just as strong as I was at that time, when I was sent to explore the land. The fortitude in me at that time continues even until today, as much to fight as to march.


text:
Therefore, grant to me this mountain, which the Lord has promised in your hearing also, on which are the Anakim, and cities, great and fortified. Perhaps it may be that the Lord will be with me, and I will be able to destroy them, just as he promised to me.”


text:
And from then on, Hebron was for Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, even to the present day. For he followed the Lord, the God of Israel.


text:
Previously, the name Hebron was called Kiriath-Arba. Adam, the greatest among the Anakim, was laid there. And the land ceased from battles.


text:
And so, the lot of the sons of Judah, by their families, was this: from the border of Edom, to the desert of Sin toward the south, and even to the furthest part of the southern region.


text:
Its beginning was from the summit of the very salty sea, and from its bay, which looks toward the south.


text:
And it extends toward the ascent of the Scorpion, and it passes on to Sinai. And it ascends into Kadesh-barnea, and it passes through to Hezron, ascending to Addar, and encompassing Karka.


text:
And from there, it passes on to Azmon, and reaches to the torrent of Egypt. And its boundary shall be the great sea; this shall be the limit of the southern region.


text:
Yet truly, toward the east, the beginning shall be the very salty sea, even to the limit of the Jordan, and that which looks toward the north, from the bay of the sea, even to the same river Jordan.


text:
And the border ascends into Beth-hoglah, and it crosses from the north into Beth-Arabah, ascending to the stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben.


text:
And it reaches as far as the borders of Debara, from the Valley of Achor, to the north, looking toward Gilgal, which is opposite the Ascent of Adummim, on the southern part of the torrent. And it crosses the waters that are called the Fountain of the Sun. And its exit shall be at the Fountain of Rogel.


text:
And it ascends by the steep valley of the son of Hinnom, from the side of the Jebusite, toward the south; this is Jerusalem. And from there, it raises itself to the top of the mountain, which is opposite Geennom to the west, at the top of the Valley of the Rephaim, to the north.


text:
And it passes through, from the top of the mountain, even to the fountain of the Water of Nephtoah. And it continues on, as far as the villages of mount Ephron. And it inclines toward Baalah, which is Kiriath-jearim, that is, the City of Forests.


text:
And it circles from Baalah, to the west, as far as mount Seir. And it passes by the side of mount Jearim, to the north, into Chesalon. And it descends into Beth-shemesh, and it passes through to Timnah.


text:
And it continues on, toward the north, to a region beside Ekron. And it inclines toward Shikkeron, and it crosses to mount Baalah. And it extends into Jabneel, and the last part closes at the west with the great sea.


text:
Yet truly, to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, he gave a portion in the midst of the sons of Judah, just as the Lord had instructed him: the City of Arba, the father of Anak, which is Hebron.


text:
And Caleb destroyed from it the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, of the stock of Anak.


text:
And ascending further from there, he came to the inhabitants of Debir, which before was called Kiriath-Sepher, that is, the City of Letters.


text:
And Caleb said, “Whoever will have struck down Kiriath-Sepher, and will have seized it, I will give to him Achsah, my daughter, as wife.”


text:
And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, seized it. And he gave him Achsah, his daughter, as wife.


text:
And as they were traveling together, she was urged by her husband that she ask her father for a field. And she sighed, as she was sitting on her donkey. And Caleb said to her, “What is it?”


text:
But she answered: “Give a blessing to me. You have given to me a southern and dry land; join to it also a watered land.” And so Caleb gave to her the watered land above and below it.


text:
And the cities, from the furthest parts of the sons of Judah, beside the borders of Edom to the south, were: Kabzeel and Eder and Jagur,


text:
Ashdod, with its towns and villages. Gaza, with its towns and villages, as far as the torrent of Egypt, with the great sea as its border.


text:
Kiriath-baal, which is Kiriath-jearim, the City of Forests, and Rabbah: two cities, and their villages.


text:
But the sons of Judah were not able to destroy the Jebusite inhabitants of Jerusalem. And so the Jebusite lived with the sons of Judah in Jerusalem, even to the present day.


text:
Similarly, the lot of the sons of Joseph fell from the Jordan, opposite Jericho and its waters, to the east, to the wilderness that ascends from Jericho to the mountain of Bethel.


text:
And it descends to the west, beside the border of Japhleti, as far as the borders of lower Beth-horon, and to Gezer. And the last parts of its regions are by the great sea.


text:
And the border of the sons of Ephraim was made by their families. And their possession toward the east was from Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon,


text:
and the confines extend to the sea. Yet truly, Michmethath looks toward the north, and it circles around the borders, toward the east, into Taanath-shiloh. And it continues on, from the east, to Janoah.


text:
And it descends from Janoah to Ataroth and Naarah. and it continues to Jericho, and it extends to the Jordan.


text:
From Tappuah, it passes on, opposite the sea, into the Valley of Reeds. And its exit is at the very salty sea. This is the possession of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim, by their families.


text:
And there were cities, with their villages, which were set aside for the sons of Ephraim, in the midst of the possession of the sons of Manasseh.


text:
And the sons of Ephraim did not put to death the Canaanite that was living at Gezer. And the Canaanite lived in the midst of Ephraim, even to this day, paying tribute.


text:
Now this lot fell to the tribe of Manasseh, since he is the firstborn of Joseph: to Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, who was a fighting man, and he had as a possession Gilead and Bashan;


text:
and to the rest of the sons of Manasseh, according to their families: to the sons of Abiezer, and to the sons of Helek, and to the sons of Asriel, and to the sons of Shechem, and to the sons of Hepher, and to the sons of Shemida. These are the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the males, by their families.


text:
Yet truly, Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters, whose names are these: Mahlah and Noah and Hoglah and Milcah and Tirzah.


text:
And they went before the sight of Eleazar, the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the leaders, saying: “The Lord instructed by the hand of Moses that a possession ought to be given to us, in the midst of our brothers.” And so, he gave to them, in accord with the order of the Lord, a possession in the midst of the brothers of their father.


text:
And by lot, there fell ten portions to Manasseh, aside from the land of Gilead and Bashan beyond the Jordan.


text:
And so the daughters of Manasseh possessed an inheritance in the midst of his sons. But the land of Gilead fell by lot to the sons of Manasseh that were left.


text:
And the border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which looks out toward Shechem. And it goes out, to the right, beside the inhabitants of the Fountain of Tappuah.


text:
For by lot, there also fell to Manasseh the land of Tappuah, which is beside the borders of Manasseh, and which belongs to the sons of Ephraim.


text:
And the border descends to the Valley of Reeds, to the south of the torrent of the cities of Ephraim, which are in the midst of the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh is to the north of the torrent, and its exit extends to the sea.


text:
So it is that the possession of Ephraim is in the south, and that of Manasseh is in the north, and both are enclosed by the sea, and they are joined together by the tribe of Asher to the north, and by the tribe of Issachar to the east.


text:
And the inheritance of Manasseh, in Issachar and in Asher, was Bethshean and its villages, and Ibleam with its villages, and the inhabitants of Dor, with their towns, likewise the inhabitants of Endor with their villages, and similarly the inhabitants of Taanach with their villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo with their villages, and one third part of the city of Naphath.


text:
The sons of Manasseh were not able to overthrow these cities, and so the Canaanite began to dwell in their land.


text:
But after the sons of Israel had grown strong, they subdued the Canaanites, and made them their tributaries, but they did not kill them.


text:
And the sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, and they said, “Why have you given to me as a possession one lot and one portion, while I am of such a great multitude, and the Lord has blessed me?”


text:
And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up into the forest, and cut out space for yourself in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the possession of mount Ephraim is too narrow for you.”


text:
And the sons of Joseph responded to him: “We are not able to ascend to the mountains, since the Canaanites, who live in the plains, in which are situated Bethshean, with its villages, and Jezreel, possessing the middle of the valley, use chariots of iron.”


text:
And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh: “You are a numerous people, and you have great strength. You shall not have only one lot.


text:
Instead, you shall cross to the mountain, and you shall cut down and clear out for yourselves space in which to live. And you shall be able to advance further, when you will have destroyed the Canaanite, who, as you say, has iron chariots and is very strong.”


text:
And all the sons of Israel gathered together at Shiloh, and there they stationed the Tabernacle of the Testimony. And the land was subjected to them.


text:
And Joshua said to them: “For how long will you draw back in idleness, and not enter to possess the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given to you?


text:
Select three men from each tribe, so that I may send them, and they may go forth and circle through the land, and may describe it according to the number of each multitude, and may bring back to me what they have written down.


text:
Divide the land for yourselves into seven parts. Let Judah be its bounds on the southern side, and the house of Joseph to the north.


text:
The land that is in the middle, between these, write it down in seven parts. And you shall come to me, so that I may cast lots for you about this, before the Lord your God.


text:
But there is no portion among you for the Levites. Instead, the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad and Reuben, and the one half tribe of Manasseh, have already received their possessions beyond the Jordan in the eastern region, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave to them.”


text:
And when the men had risen up, so that they might go out to describe the land, Joshua instructed them, saying, “Circle through the land, and describe it, and return to me, so that I may cast lots for you about this, before the Lord, in Shiloh.”


text:
And so they went out. And surveying it, they divided it into seven parts, writing it in a book. And they returned to Joshua, to the camp at Shiloh.


text:
And he cast lots before the Lord, at Shiloh, and he divided the land to the sons of Israel, in seven parts.


text:
And the first lot went to the sons of Benjamin, by their families, so that they would possess the land between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph.


text:
And their border toward the north was from the Jordan, continuing on, near the side of Jericho in the northern region, and from there, ascending toward the west to the mountains, and extending to the wilderness of Bethaven.


text:
And it continues to the south beside Luz, which is Bethel. And it descends into Ataroth-addar, at the mountain which is to the south of lower Beth-horon.


text:
And it turns aside, circling toward the sea, to the south of the mountain which looks out toward Beth-horon, toward the southwest. And its exits are toward Kiriath-baal, which is also called Kiriath-jearim, a city of the sons of Judah. This is their region, toward the sea, in the west.


text:
But to the south, the border goes on from the part of Kiriath-jearim toward the sea, and it continues as far as the Fountain of the waters of Nephtoah.


text:
And it descends to that part of the mountain which looks out toward the Valley of the sons of Hinnom. And it is opposite the northern region, in the furthest part of the Valley of the Rephaim. And it descends into Geennom, (that is, the Valley of Hinnom,) near the side of the Jebusite toward the south. And it extends to the Fountain of Rogel,


text:
And it passes through to the hills that are opposite the region of the Ascent of Adummim. And it descends to Abenboen, that is, so the stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben. And it continues on, at the northern side, to the plains. And it descends into the flatlands.


text:
And it advances before Beth-hoglah, to the north. And its exits are to the north, opposite the bay of the very salty sea, in the southern region at the end of the Jordan,


text:
which is its border to the east. This is the possession of the sons of Benjamin, with their borders all around, and by their families.


text:
and Zela, Haeleph, and Jebus, which is Jerusalem, Gibeah and Kiriath: fourteen cities, and their villages. This is the possession of the sons of Benjamin, according to their families.


text:
all villages around these cities, as far as Baalath-beer, the high place facing the southern region. This is the inheritance of the sons of Simeon, according to their families,


text:
within the possession and lot of the sons of Judah, which was greater. And for this reason, the sons of Simeon had a possession in the midst of their inheritance.


text:
And the third lot fell to the sons of Zebulun, by their families; and the limit of their possession was set as far as Sarid.


text:
And it ascends from the sea and from Mareal. And it passes on to Dabbesheth, as far as the torrent, which is opposite Jokneam.


text:
And it turns back from Sarid, to the east, to the end of Chisloth-tabor. And it goes out to Daberath, and it ascends opposite Japhia.


text:
And from there, it continues to the eastern region of Gathhepher and Ethkazin. And goes out to Rimmon, Amthar, and Neah.


text:
This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun, by their families, the cities and their villages.


text:
And its limit reaches to Tabor and Shahazumah and Beth-shemesh; and its exits shall be at the Jordan: sixteen cities, and their villages.


text:
and Allammelech, and Amad, and Mishal. And it extends even to Carmel by the sea, and Shihor, and Libnath.


text:
And it turns back toward the east at Bethdagon. And it continues on as far as Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtahel, toward the north, at Beth-emek and Neiel. And it goes out to the left of Cabul,


text:
And it turns back at Ramah, even to the very fortified city of Tyre, and even to Hosah. And its exits shall be at the sea, from the lot of Achzib;


text:
And its border begins from Heleph and Elon, into Zaanannim, and Adami, which is Nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum. And its exits are as far as the Jordan.


text:
And the border turns back to the west at Aznoth-tabor, and it goes out from there to Hukkok. And continues on to Zebulun, in the south, and to Asher, in the west, and to Judah, at the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun.


text:
This is the possession of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali, by their families, the cities and their villages.


text:
And the border of their possession was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh, that is, the City of the Sun,


text:
and there the last part is concluded. And the sons of Dan ascended and fought against Leshem, and they seized it. And they struck it with the mouth of the sword, and they possessed it, and they lived in it, calling it by the name of Leshem-Dan, according to the name of their father Dan.


text:
This is the possession of the tribe of the sons of Dan, by their families, the cities and their villages.


text:
And when he had completed dividing the land by lot to each one by their tribes, the sons of Israel gave a possession to Joshua, the son of Nun, in their midst,


text:
in accord with the precept of the Lord, the city he requested, Timnath-Serah, on mount Ephraim. And he built up the city, and he lived in it.


text:
These are the possessions which Eleazar, the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the leaders of the families and tribes of the sons of Israel divided by lot at Shiloh, before the Lord, at the door of the Tabernacle of the Testimony. And so did they divide the land.


text:
so that anyone who will have struck down a life unintentionally may flee to them. And so, he may be able to escape from the wrath of a close relative, who is an avenger of blood.


text:
And when he will have fled to one of these cities, he shall stand before the gate of the city, and he shall speak to the ancients of that city, the things that prove him innocent. And so shall they receive him, and give him a place in which to live.


text:
And if the avenger of blood will have pursued him, they shall not deliver him into his hands. For he struck down his neighbor unknowingly, one who was not proven to have been his enemy two or three days before.


text:
And he shall live in that city, until he stands before judgment in order to render the facts of his case, and until the death of the high priest, whoever it will be in that time. Then the one who killed a man may return, and he may enter his own city and house, from which he had fled.”


text:
And they decreed Kedesh in Galilee, at mount Naphtali, and Shechem, at mount Ephraim, and Kiriath-Arba, which is Hebron, at mount Judah.


text:
And beyond the Jordan, opposite the eastern side of Jericho, they appointed Bezer, which is situated on the plain of the wilderness of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan of the tribe of Manasseh.


text:
These cities were established for all the sons of Israel, and for the new arrivals who were living among them, so that whoever had struck down a life unintentionally might flee to these, and not die at the hand of a close relative who desires to vindicate the blood that was shed, until he should stand before the people, in order to present his case.


text:
And the leaders of the families of Levi approached Eleazar, the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the rulers of the extended families of each of the tribes of the sons of Israel.


text:
And they spoke to them at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, and they said, “The Lord instructed, by the hand of Moses, that cities should be given to us as habitations, with their suburbs to nourish our cattle.”


text:
And so the sons of Israel gave cities and their suburbs from their possessions, in accord with the order of the Lord.


text:
And the lot went out for the family of Kohath, of the sons of Aaron, the priest, from the tribes of Judah and Simeon and Benjamin: thirteen cities.


text:
And to the remainder of the sons of Kohath, that is, to the Levites who were left over, there went, from the tribes of Ephraim and Dan, and from the one half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.


text:
And next the lot went out to the sons of Gershon, so that they would receive, from the tribes of Issachar and Asher and Naphtali, and from the one half tribe of Manasseh at Bashan: the number of thirteen cities.


text:
And to the sons of Merari, by their families, from the tribes of Reuben and Gad and Zebulun, there went twelve cities.


text:
And so the sons of Israel gave cities and their suburbs to the Levites, just as the Lord instructed by the hand of Moses, distributing to each by lot.


text:
to the sons of Aaron, of the families of Kohath of the stock of Levi, (for the first lot went out for them,)


text:
the city of Arba, the father of Anak, which is called Hebron, on the mountain of Judah, and its surrounding suburbs.


text:
Yet truly, the fields and its villages he had given to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, as a possession.


text:
Therefore, he gave to the sons of Aaron the priest, Hebron as a city of refuge, as well as its suburbs, and Libnah, with its suburbs,


text:
and Ain, and Juttah, and Beth-shemesh, with their suburbs: nine cities from two tribes, just as has been said.


text:
Yet truly, the remainder of the families of the sons of Kohath, of the stock of Levi, were given this possession:


text:
from the tribe of Ephraim, Shechem, one of the cities of refuge, with its suburbs, on mount Ephraim, and Gezer,


text:
All the cities were ten, with their suburbs; these were given to the sons of Kohath, of the lesser degree.


text:
Likewise, to the sons of Gershon, of the stock of Levi, from the one half tribe of Manasseh, went Golan in Bashan, one of the cities of refuge, and Bosra, with their suburbs, two cities;


text:
likewise, from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee, one of the cities of refuge, and Hammoth-Dor, and Kartan, with their suburbs, three cities.


text:
Then, to the sons of Merari, Levites of the lesser degree, by their families, were given, from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam and Kartah,


text:
from the tribe of Reuben, beyond the Jordan, opposite Jericho, Bezer in the wilderness, one of the cities of refuge, Misor and Jazer, and Jethson and Mephaath, four cities with their suburbs;


text:
from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth of Gilead, one of the cities of refuge, and Mahanaim and Heshbon and Jazer, four cities with their suburbs.


text:
And so all the cities of the Levites, in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel, were forty-eight,


text:
And the Lord God gave to Israel all the land that he had sworn he would deliver to their fathers. And they possessed it, and they lived in it.


text:
And he gave them peace with all the surrounding nations. And none of their enemies dared to stand against them; instead, they were brought under their sovereignty.


text:
Indeed, not so much as one word that he had promised to provide for them was left empty; instead, everything was fulfilled.


text:
In the same time, Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the one half tribe of Manasseh.


text:
And he said to them: “You have done all that Moses, the servant of the Lord, instructed you. You have also obeyed me in all things.


text:
Neither have you forsaken your brothers during this long time, even to the present day, keeping the orders of the Lord your God.


text:
Therefore, since the Lord your God has given your brothers peace and quiet, just as he promised: return, and go into your tents and into the land of your possession, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, delivered to you beyond the Jordan.


text:
And may you continue to observe attentively, and to work to fulfill, the commandment and the law that Moses, the servant of the Lord, instructed to you, so that you may love the Lord your God, and walk in all his ways, and keep all his commandments, and cling to him, and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”


text:
Now to the one half tribe of Manasseh, Moses had given a possession in Bashan. And therefore, to the one half that was left over, Joshua gave a lot among the remainder of their brothers across the Jordan, in the western region. And when he had blessed them and dismissed them to their tents,


text:
he said to them: “Return to your settlements with much substance and wealth, with silver and gold, brass and iron, and a multitude of garments. Divide the spoils of your enemies with your brothers.”


text:
And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the one half tribe of Manasseh returned, and they went away from the sons of Israel at Shiloh, which is situated in Canaan, so that they might enter into Gilead, the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the order of the Lord, by the hand of Moses.


text:
And when they had arrived at the hills of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, they built an altar of immense magnitude beside the Jordan.


text:
And when the sons of Israel had heard of it, and certain messengers had reported to them that the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the one half tribe of Manasseh had built an altar in the land of Canaan, upon the hills of the Jordan, facing the sons of Israel,


text:
And in the interim, they sent to them, in the land of Gilead, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the priest,


text:
And they went to the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the one half tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them:


text:
“All the people of the Lord declare this: What is this transgression? Why have you forsaken the Lord, the God of Israel, by building a sacrilegious altar, and by withdrawing from the worship of him?


text:
Is it a small thing to you that you have sinned with Baal of Peor, and that the stain of that crime continues among us, even to the present day? And many of the people have fallen.


text:
But if you consider the land of your possession to be unclean, cross over to the land in which is the tabernacle of the Lord, and live among us. But do not withdraw from the Lord, and from our fellowship, by building an altar contrary to the altar of the Lord our God.


text:
Did not Achan, the son of Zerah, go against the commandment of the Lord, and so his wrath was laid over all the people of Israel? And he was only one man. If only he had perished in his wickedness alone!”


text:
And the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the one half tribe of Manasseh responded to the leaders of the delegation from Israel:


text:
“The Lord, the almighty God, the Lord, the almighty God, he knows, and also Israel will understand: If we have constructed this altar with intent of transgression, let him not preserve us, but instead punish us immediately.


text:
And if we have acted with a mind so that we might present upon it holocausts, and sacrifice, and victims of peace offerings, let him inquire and judge.


text:
Instead, we have acted with this greater thought and design, that we would say: Tomorrow your sons will say to our sons: ‘What is there between you and the Lord, the God of Israel?


text:
The Lord has stationed the river Jordan as the border between us and you, O sons of Reuben, O sons of Gad. And therefore, you have no part in the Lord.’ And by this occasion, your sons would turn away our sons from the fear of the Lord. And so we sought something better,


text:
but as a testimony between us and you, and between our descendents and your progeny, so that we may serve the Lord, and so that it may be our right to offer holocausts, and victims, and peace offerings, and so that tomorrow your sons may not say to our sons: ‘You have no part in the Lord.’


text:
And if they decide to say this, they shall respond to them: ‘Behold, the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for holocausts, and not for sacrifice, but instead as a testimony between us and you.’


text:
May this wickedness be far from us, such that we would withdraw from the Lord, and would forsake his paths, by constructing an altar to offer holocausts, and sacrifices, and victims, contrary to the altar of the Lord our God, which was built before his tabernacle.”


text:
And when Phinehas, the priest, and the leaders of the delegation who were with him, had heard this, they were pleased. And they accepted very willingly the words of the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the one half tribe of Manasseh.


text:
And Phinehas, the priest, the son of Eleazar, said to them: “Now we know that the Lord is with us. For you are a stranger to this transgression. And so you have freed the sons of Israel from the hand of the Lord.”


text:
And he returned with the leaders, from the sons of Reuben and of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, into the parts of Canaan, to the sons of Israel. And he reported to them.


text:
And the word pleased all who heard it. And the sons of Israel praised God, and they no longer said that they would go up against them, and fight, and destroy the land of their possession.


text:
And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar that they had built: Our testimony that the Lord himself is God.


text:
Now a long time passed, after the Lord had given peace to Israel by subjecting all the surrounding nations. And Joshua was now old and very advanced in age.


text:
Joshua called all of Israel, and those greater by birth, and the leaders and rulers and teachers, and he said to them: “I am elderly and advanced in age.


text:
And you yourselves discern all that the Lord your God has done with all the surrounding nations, in what manner he himself has fought for you.


text:
And now, since he has divided to you by lot all the land, from the eastern part of the Jordan even to the great sea, and yet many nations still remain,


text:
the Lord your God will destroy them, and he will take them away before your face, and you shall possess the land, just as he has promised you.


text:
Even so, be strengthened and be careful that you observe all the things that have been written in the book of the law of Moses, and that you do not turn aside from them, neither to the right, nor to the left.


text:
Otherwise, after you have entered to the Gentiles, who will be among you in the future, you might swear by the name of their gods, and serve them, and adore them.


text:
And then the Lord God will take away, in your sight, nations that are great and very robust, and no one will be able to withstand you.


text:
One of you shall pursue a thousand men of the enemies. For the Lord your God himself will fight on your behalf, just as he promised.


text:
But if you choose to cling to the errors of these nations that live among you, and to mix with them by marriage, and to join with them by friendship,


text:
even now, know this: that the Lord your God will not wipe them away before your face. Instead, they shall be a pit and a snare to you, and a stumbling block at your side, and stakes in your eyes, until he takes you away and scatters you from this excellent land, which he has delivered to you.


text:
Lo, today I am entering the way of the entire earth, and you shall know with all your mind that, out of all the words that the Lord has promised to fulfill for you, not one will pass by unfulfilled.


text:
Therefore, just as he has fulfilled in deed what he has promised, and all prosperous things have arrived, so will he bring upon you whatever evils were threatened, until he takes you away and scatters you from this excellent land, which he has delivered to you,


text:
when you will have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he has formed with you, and will have served strange gods, and will have adored them. And then the fury of the Lord will rise up quickly and speedily against you, and you will be taken away from this excellent land, which he has delivered to you.”


text:
And Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, and he called those greater by birth, and the leaders and judges and teachers. And they stood in the sight of the Lord.


text:
And he spoke to the people in this way: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Your fathers lived, in the beginning, across the river: Terah, the father of Abraham, and Nahor. And they served strange gods.


text:
Then I brought your father Abraham from the parts of Mesopotamia, and I led him into the land of Canaan. And I multiplied his offspring,


text:
and I gave to him Isaac. And to him, I gave again Jacob and Esau. And I gave mount Seir to Esau as a possession. Yet truly, Jacob and his sons descended into Egypt.


text:
And I led you and your fathers away from Egypt, and you arrived at the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen, as far as the Red Sea.


text:
Then the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. And he stationed a darkness between you and the Egyptians, and he led the sea over them, and he covered them. Your eyes saw all that I did in Egypt, and you lived in the wilderness for a long time.


text:
And I led you into the land of the Amorite, who was living beyond the Jordan. And when they fought against you, I delivered them into your hands, and you possessed their land, and you put them to death.


text:
Then Balak, the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel. And he sent and called for Balaam, the son of Beor, so that he might curse you.


text:
And I was not willing to listen to him, but on the contrary, I blessed you through him, and I freed you from his hand.


text:
And you crossed over the Jordan, and you arrived at Jericho. And the men of that city fought against you: the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. And I delivered them into your hands.


text:
And I sent wasps before you. And I drove them from their places, the two kings of the Amorites, but not by your sword, and not by your bow.


text:
And I gave you a land, in which you did not labor, and cities, which you did not build, so that you might live in them, and vineyards and olive groves, which you did not plant.’


text:
Now therefore, fear the Lord, and serve him with a perfect and very sincere heart. And take away the gods that your fathers served in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.


text:
But if it seems evil to you that you would serve the Lord, a choice is given to you. Choose today what pleases you, and whom you ought to serve above all else, either the gods that your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”


text:
And the people responded, and they said: “Far be it from us that we would forsake the Lord, and serve foreign gods.


text:
The Lord our God himself led us and our fathers away from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude. And he accomplished immense signs in our sight, and he preserved us along the entire way by which we journeyed, and among all the people through whom we passed.


text:
And he cast out all the nations, the Amorite, the inhabitant of the land that we entered. And so, we will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”


text:
And Joshua said to the people: “You will not be able to serve the Lord. For he is a holy and powerful God, and he is jealous, and he will not ignore your wickedness and sins.


text:
If you leave behind the Lord, and you serve foreign gods, he will turn himself, and he will afflict you, and he will overthrow you, after all the good that he has offered to you.”


text:
And the people said to Joshua, “By no means will it be as you are saying, but we will serve the Lord.”


text:
And Joshua said to the people, “You yourselves are witnesses, that you have chosen the Lord so that you may serve him.” And they answered, “We are witnesses.”


text:
“Now therefore,” he said, “take away strange gods from among yourselves, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”


text:
And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God, and we will be obedient to his precepts.”


text:
Therefore, on that day, Joshua struck a covenant, and he set before the people at Shechem the precepts and the judgments.


text:
He also wrote all these things in the volume of the law of the Lord. And he took a very great stone, and he stationed it under the oak that was in the Sanctuary of the Lord.


text:
And he said to all the people, “Lo, this stone shall be to you as a testimony, which has heard all the words of the Lord that he has spoken to you, lest perhaps, afterward, you might choose to deny it, and to lie to the Lord your God.”


text:
And after these things, Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old.


text:
And they buried him within the borders of his possession at Timnath-Serah, which is situated on mount Ephraim, before the northern side of mount Gaash.


text:
And Israel served the Lord during all the days of Joshua, and of the elders who lived for a long time after Joshua, and who had known all the works of the Lord that he had accomplished in Israel.


text:
And the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel had brought from Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in a portion of the field that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred young female sheep, and so it was in the possession of the sons of Joseph.


text:
Likewise, Eleazar, the son of Aaron, died. And they buried him at Gibeah, which belongs to Phinehas, his son, and which was given to him on mount Ephraim.


text:
After the death of Joshua, the sons of Israel consulted the Lord, saying, “Who will ascend before us, against the Canaanite, and who will be the commander of the war?”


text:
And Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Go up with me to my lot, and fight against the Canaanite, so that I also may go forth with you to your lot.” And Simeon went with him.


text:
And Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanite, as well as the Perizzite, into their hands. And they struck down ten thousand of the men at Bezek.


text:
And they found Adonibezek at Bezek, and they fought against him, and they struck down the Canaanite and the Perizzite.


text:
Then Adonibezek fled. And they pursued him and captured him, and they cut off the ends of his hands and feet.


text:
And Adonibezek said: “Seventy kings, with the ends of their hands and feet amputated, have been gathering the remnants of food under my table. Just as I have done, so has God repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.


text:
Then the sons of Judah, besieging Jerusalem, seized it. And they struck it with edge of the sword, delivering the entire city to be burned.


text:
And afterward, descending, they fought against the Canaanites who were living in the mountains, and in the south, and in the plains.


text:
And Judah, going forth against the Canaanites who were living at Hebron, (the name of which from antiquity was Kiriath-Arba) struck down Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.


text:
And continuing on from there, he went to the inhabitants of Debir, the old name of which was Kiriath-Sepher, that is, the City of Letters.


text:
And Caleb said, “Whoever will strike Kiriath-Sepher, and will lay waste to it, I will give to him my daughter Achsah as wife.”


text:
And when Othniel, the son of Kenaz, a younger brother of Caleb, had seized it, he gave his daughter Achsah to him in marriage.


text:
And as she was traveling on a journey, her husband admonished her, so that she would request a field from her father. And since she had sighed while sitting on her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What is it?”


text:
But she responded: “Give a blessing to me. For you have given me a dry land. Also give a watered land.” Therefore, Caleb gave to her the upper watered land and the lower watered land.


text:
Now the sons of the Kenite, the relative of Moses, ascended from the City of Palms, with the sons of Judah, into the wilderness of his lot, which is toward the south of Arad. And they lived with him.


text:
Then Judah went out with his brother Simeon, and together they struck the Canaanites who were living at Zephath, and they put them to death. And the name of the city was called Hormah, that is, Anathema.


text:
And the Lord was with Judah, and he possessed the mountains. But he was not able to wipe out the inhabitants of the valley. For they abounded with chariots armed with scythes.


text:
And just as Moses had said, they gave Hebron to Caleb, who destroyed out of it the three sons of Anak.


text:
But the sons of Benjamin did not wipe out the Jebusite inhabitants of Jerusalem. And the Jebusite has lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem, even to the present day.


text:
they saw a man departing from the city, and they said to him, “Reveal to us the entrance to the city, and we will act with mercy toward you.”


text:
And when he had revealed it to them, they struck the city with the edge of the sword. But that man, and all his relatives, they released.


text:
And having been sent away, he went out to the land of the Hittites, and he built a city there, and he called it Luz. And so it is called, even to the present day.


text:
Likewise, Manasseh did not destroy Bethshean and Taanach, with their villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor and Ibleam and Megiddo, with their villages. And the Canaanite began to live with them.


text:
Then, after Israel had grown strong, he made them tributaries, but he was not willing to destroy them.


text:
And now Ephraim did not put to death the Canaanite, who was living at Gezer; instead, he lived with him.


text:
Zebulun did not wipe out the inhabitants of Kitron and of Nahalal. Instead, the Canaanite lived in their midst and became their tributary.


text:
Likewise, Asher did not destroy the inhabitants of Acco and Sidon, Ahlab and Achzib, and Helbah, and Aphik, and Rehob.


