Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

1 (vii)Then Moshe summoned all Isra’el and said to them, “You saw everythingAdonaidid before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his servants and to all his land;

2 the great testings which you saw with your own eyes, and the signs and those great wonders.

3 Nevertheless, to this dayAdonaihas not given you a heart to understand, eyes to see or ears to hear!

4 I led you forty years in the desert. Neither the clothes on your body nor the shoes on your feet wore out.

5 You didn’t eat bread, and you didn’t drink wine or other intoxicating liquor; this was so that you would know that ‘I amAdonaiyour God.’(Maftir)

6 When you arrived at this place, Sichon the king of Heshbon and ‘Og the king of Bashan advanced against us in battle, and we defeated them,

7 took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Re’uveni, the Gadi and the M’nashi.

8 Therefore, observe the words of this covenant and obey them; so that you can make everything you do prosper.

Haftarah Ki Tavo: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 60:1–22

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Ki Tavo: Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:1–23; Luke 21:1–4; Acts 28:17–31; Romans 11:1–15

Parashah 51: Nitzavim (Standing) 29:9(10)–30:20

[In regular years read with Parashah 52, in leap years read separately]

9 “Today you are standing, all of you, beforeAdonaiyour God — your heads, your tribes, your leaders and your officers — all the men of Isra’el,

10 along with your little ones, your wives and your foreigners here with you in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water.

11 The purpose is that you should enter into the covenant ofAdonaiyour God and into his oath whichAdonaiyour God is making with you today,(LY: ii)

12 so that he can establish you today for himself as a people, and so that for you he will be God — as he said to you and as he swore to your ancestors, to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov.

13 “But I am not making this covenant and this oath only with you.

14 Rather, I am making it both with him who is standing here with us today beforeAdonaiour God and also with him who is not here with us today.(LY: iii)

15 For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we came directly through the nations you passed through;

16 and you saw their detestable things and their idols of wood, stone, silver and gold that they had with them.

17 So let there not be among you a man, woman, family or tribe whose heart turns away today fromAdonaiour God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Let there not be among you a root bearing such bitter poison and wormwood.

18 If there is such a person, when he hears the words of this curse, he will bless himself secretly, saying to himself, ‘I will be all right, even though I will stubbornly keep doing whatever I feel like doing; so that I, although “dry,” [sinful,] will be added to the “watered” [righteous].’

19 ButAdonaiwill not forgive him. Rather, the anger and jealousy ofAdonaiwill blaze up against that person. Every curse written in this book will be upon him.Adonaiwill blot out his name from under heaven.

20 Adonaiwill single him out from all the tribes of Isra’el to experience what is bad in all the curses of the covenant written in this book of theTorah.

21 “When the next generation, your children who will grow up after you, and the foreigner who arrives from a distant land, see the plagues of that land and the diseases with whichAdonaihas made it sick,

22 and that the whole land has become burning sulfur and salt, that it isn’t being sown or bearing crops or even producing grass — like the overthrow of S’dom, ‘Amora, Admah and Tzvoyim, whichAdonaioverthrew in his furious anger —

23 then all the nations will ask, ‘Why didAdonaido this to this land? What is the meaning of such frenzied, furious anger?’

24 People will answer, ‘It’s because they abandoned the covenant ofAdonai, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

25 They went and served other gods, prostrating themselves before them, gods they had not known and which he had not assigned them.

26 For this reason, the anger ofAdonaiblazed up against this land and brought upon it every curse written in this book;

27 andAdonai, in anger, fury and incensed with indignation, uprooted them from their land and threw them out into another land — as it is today.’

28 “Things which are hidden belong toAdonaiour God. But the things that have been revealed belong to us and our children forever, so that we can observe all the words of thisTorah.

1 (RY: ii, LY: iv)“When the time arrives that all these things have come upon you, both the blessing and the curse which I have presented to you; and you are there among the nations to whichAdonaiyour God has driven you; then, at last, you will start thinking about what has happened to you;

2 and you will return toAdonaiyour God and pay attention to what he has said, which will be exactly what I am ordering you to do today — you and your children, with all your heart and all your being.

3 At that point,Adonaiyour God will reverse your exile and show you mercy; he will return and gather you from all the peoples to whichAdonaiyour God scattered you.

4 If one of yours was scattered to the far end of the sky,Adonaiyour God will gather you even from there; he will go there and get you.

5 Adonaiyour God will bring you back into the land your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; he will make you prosper there, and you will become even more numerous than your ancestors.

6 ThenAdonaiyour God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your children, so that you will loveAdonaiyour God with all your heart and all your being, and thus you will live.(RY: iii, LY: v)

7 Adonaiyour God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hated and persecuted you;

8 but you will return and pay attention to whatAdonaisays and obey all hismitzvotwhich I am giving you today.

9 ThenAdonaiyour God will give you more than enough in everything you set out to do — the fruit of your body, the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your land will all do well; forAdonaiwill once again rejoice to see you do well, just as he rejoiced in your ancestors.

10 “However, all this will happen only if you pay attention to whatAdonaiyour God says, so that you obey hismitzvotand regulations which are written in this book of theTorah, if you turn toAdonaiyour God with all your heart and all your being.(LY: vi)

11 For thismitzvahwhich I am giving you today is not too hard for you, it is not beyond your reach.

12 It isn’t in the sky, so that you need to ask, ‘Who will go up into the sky for us, bring it to us and make us hear it, so that we can obey it?’

13 Likewise, it isn’t beyond the sea, so that you need to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea for us, bring it to us and make us hear it, so that we can obey it?’

14 On the contrary, the word is very close to you — in your mouth, even in your heart; therefore, you can do it!

(RY: iv, LY: vii)

15 “Look! I am presenting you today with, on the one hand, life and good; and on the other, death and evil —

16 in that I am ordering you today to loveAdonaiyour God, to follow his ways, and to obey hismitzvot, regulations and rulings ; for if you do, you will live and increase your numbers; andAdonaiyour God will bless you in the land you are entering in order to take possession of it.

17 But if your heart turns away, if you refuse to listen, if you are drawn away to prostrate yourselves before other gods and serve them;(LY: Maftir)

18 I am announcing to you today that you will certainly perish; you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Yarden to enter and possess.

19 “I call on heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have presented you with life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life, so that you will live, you and your descendants,

20 lovingAdonaiyour God, paying attention to what he says and clinging to him — for that is the purpose of your life! On this depends the length of time you will live in the landAdonaiswore he would give to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov.”

Haftarah Nitzavim: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 61:10–63:9

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Nitzavim: Romans 9:30–10:13; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 12:14 –15

Parashah 52: Vayelekh (He went) 31:1–30

[In regular years read with Parashah 51, in leap years read separately]

1 Moshe went and spoke the following words to all Isra’el:

2 “I am 120 years old today. I can’t get around any longer; moreover,Adonaihas said to me, ‘You will not cross this Yarden.’

3 Adonaiyour God — he will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations ahead of you, and you will dispossess them. Y’hoshua — he will cross over ahead of you, asAdonaihas said.(LY: ii)

4 Adonaiwill do to them what he did to Sichon and ‘Og, the kings of the Emori, and to their land — he destroyed them.

5 Adonaiwill defeat them ahead of you, and you are to do to them just as I have ordered you to do.

6 Be strong, be bold, don’t be afraid or frightened of them, forAdonaiyour God is going with you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

(RY: v, LY: iii)

7 Next Moshe summoned Y’hoshua and, in the sight of all Isra’el, said to him, “Be strong, be bold, for you are going with this people into the landAdonaiswore to their ancestors he would give them. You will be the one causing them to inherit it.

8 ButAdonai— it is he who will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you, so don’t be afraid or downhearted.”

9 Then Moshe wrote down thisTorahand gave it to thecohanim, the descendants of Levi who carried the ark with the covenant ofAdonai, and to all the leaders of Isra’el.(LY: iv)

10 Moshe gave them these orders: “At the end of every seven years, during the festival ofSukkotin the year ofsh’mittah,

11 when all Isra’el have come to appear in the presence ofAdonaiat the place he will choose, you are to read thisTorahbefore all Isra’el, so that they can hear it.

12 Assemble the people — the men, the women, the little ones and the foreigners you have in your towns — so that they can hear, learn, fearAdonaiyour God and take care to obey all the words of thisTorah;

13 and so that their children, who have not known, can hear and learn to fearAdonaiyour God, for as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Yarden to possess.”

(RY: vi, LY: v)

14 Adonaisaid to Moshe, “The time is coming for you to die. Summon Y’hoshua, and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, so that I can commission him.” Moshe and Y’hoshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting.

15 Adonaiappeared in the tent in a column of cloud; the column of cloud stood above the entrance to the tent.

16 Adonaisaid to Moshe, “You are about to sleep with your ancestors. But this people will get up and offer themselves as prostitutes to the foreign gods of the land where they are going. When they are with those gods, they will abandon me and break my covenant which I have made with them.

17 Then my anger will flare up, and I will abandon them and hide my face from them. They will be devoured, and many calamities and troubles will come upon them. Then they will ask, ‘Haven’t these calamities come upon us because our God isn’t here with us?’

18 But I will be hiding my face from them because of all the evil they will have done in turning to other gods.

19 “Therefore, write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the people of Isra’el. Have them learn it by heart, so that this song can be a witness for me against the people of Isra’el.(RY: vii, LY: vi)

20 For when I have brought them into the land I swore to their ancestors, flowing with milk and honey; and they have eaten their fill, grown fat and turned to other gods, serving them and despising me, and broken my covenant;

21 then, after many calamities and troubles have come upon them, this song will testify before them as a witness, because their descendants will still be reciting it and will not have forgotten it. For I know how they think even now, even before I have brought them into the land about which I swore.”

22 So Moshe wrote this song that same day and taught it to the people of Isra’el.

23 Adonaialso commissioned Y’hoshua the son of Nun with these words: “Be strong and full of courage; for you are to bring the people of Isra’el into the land about which I swore to them; and I will be with you.”

24 Moshe kept writing the words of thisTorahin a book until he was done. When he had finished,(LY: vii)

25 Moshe gave these orders to theL’vi’imwho carried the ark with the covenant ofAdonai:

26 “Take this book of theTorahand put it next to the ark with the covenant ofAdonaiyour God, so that it can be there to witness against you.

27 For I know how rebellious and stiffnecked you are! Here, even while I am still alive with you today, you have rebelled againstAdonai; so how much more will you do so after my death?(Maftir)

28 Assemble for me all the leaders of your tribes and your officials, so that I can say these things in their hearing, calling heaven and earth to witness against them —

29 because I know that after my death you will become very corrupt and turn aside from the way that I have ordered you, and that disaster will come upon you in theacharit-hayamim, because you will do whatAdonaisees as evil and provoke him by your deeds.”

30 Then Moshe spoke in the hearing of the whole assembly of Isra’el the words of this song, from beginning to end:

Haftarah Vayelekh: Hoshea (Hosea) 14:2(1)–10(9); Mikhah (Micah) 7:18–20; Yo’el (Joel) 2:15–27

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Vayelekh: Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 13:5–8

Parashah 53: Ha’azinu (Hear) 32:1–52

1 “Hear, oh heavens, as I speak!

Listen, earth, to the words from my mouth!

2 May my teaching fall like rain.

May my speech condense like dew,

like light rain on blades of grass,

or showers on growing plants.

3 “For I will proclaim the name ofAdonai.

Come, declare the greatness of our God!

4 The Rock! His work is perfect,

for all his ways are just.

A trustworthy God who does no wrong,

he is righteous and straight.

5 “He is not corrupt; the defect is in his children,

a crooked and perverted generation.

6 You foolish people, so lacking in wisdom,

is this how you repayAdonai?

He is your father, who made you his!

It was he who formed and prepared you!

(ii)

7 “Remember how the old days were;

think of the years through all the ages.

Ask your father — he will tell you;

your leaders too — they will inform you.

8 “When ‘Elyongave each nation its heritage,

when he divided the human race,

he assigned the boundaries of peoples

according to Isra’el’s population;

9 butAdonai’s share was his own people,

Ya‘akov his allotted heritage.

10 “He found his people in desert country,

in a howling, wasted wilderness.

He protected him and cared for him,

guarded him like the pupil of his eye,

11 like an eagle that stirs up her nest,

hovers over her young,

spreads out her wings, takes them

and carries them as she flies.

12 “Adonaialone led his people;

no alien god was with him.

(iii)

13 He made them ride on the heights of the earth.

They ate the produce of the fields.

He had them suck honey from the rocks

and olive oil from the crags,

14 curds from the cows and milk from the sheep,

with lamb fat, rams from Bashan and goats,

with the finest wheat flour;

and you drank sparkling wine from the blood of grapes.

15 “But Yeshurun grew fat and kicked

(you grew fat, thick, gross!).

He abandoned God his Maker;

he scorned the Rock, his salvation.

16 They roused him to jealousy with alien gods,

provoked him with abominations.

17 They sacrificed to demons, non-gods,

gods that they had never known,

new gods that had come up lately,

which your ancestors had not feared.

18 You ignored the Rock who fathered you,

you forgot God, who gave you birth.

(iv)

19 “Adonaisaw and was filled with scorn

at his sons’ and daughters’ provocation.

20 He said, ‘I will hide my face from them

and see what will become of them;

for they are a perverse generation,

untrustworthy children.

21 They aroused my jealousy with a non-god

and provoked me with their vanities;

I will arouse their jealousy with a non-people

and provoke them with a vile nation.

22 “‘For my anger has been fired up.

It burns to the depths of Sh’ol,

devouring the earth and its crops,

kindling the very roots of the hills.

23 I will heap disasters on them

and use up all my arrows against them.

24 “‘Fatigued by hunger, they will be

consumed by fever and bitter defeat;

I will send them the fangs of wild beasts,

and the poison of reptiles crawling in the dust.

25 Outside, the sword makes parents childless;

inside, there is panic,

as young men and girls alike are slain,

sucklings and graybeards together.

26 “‘I considered putting an end to them,

erasing their memory from the human race;

27 but I feared the insolence of their enemy,

feared that their foes would mistakenly think,

“We ourselves accomplished this;

Adonaihad nothing to do with it.”

28 “‘They are a nation without common sense,

utterly lacking in discernment.

(v)

29 If they were wise they could figure it out

and understand their destiny.

30 After all, how can one chase a thousand

and two put ten thousand to rout,

unless their Rock sells them to their enemies,

unlessAdonaihands them over?

31 For our enemies have no rock like our Rock —

even they can see that!

32 “‘Rather, their vine is from the vine of S’dom,

from the fields of ‘Amora —

their grapes are poisonous,

their clusters are bitter;

33 their wine is snake poison,

the cruel venom of vipers.

34 “‘Isn’t this hidden with me,

sealed in my storehouses?

35 Vengeance and payback are mine

for the time when their foot slips;

for the day of their calamity is coming soon,

their doom is rushing upon them.’

36 “Yes,Adonaiwill judge his people,

taking pity on his servants,

when he sees that their strength is gone,

that no one is left, slave or free.

37 Then he will ask, ‘Where are their gods,

the rock in whom they trusted?

38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices

and drank the wine of their drink offering?

Let him get up and help you,

let him protect you!

39 See now that I, yes, I, am he;

and there is no god beside me.

I put to death, and I make alive;

I wound, and I heal;

no one saves anyone from my hand!

(vi)

40 “‘For I lift up my hand to heaven and swear,

“As surely as I am alive forever,

41 if I sharpen my flashing sword

and set my hand to judgment,

I will render vengeance to my foes,

repay those who hate me.

42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

my sword will devour flesh —

the blood of the slain and the captives,

flesh from the wild-haired heads of the enemy.”’

43 “Sing out, you nations, about his people!

For he will avenge the blood of his servants.

He will render vengeance to his adversaries

and make atonement for the land of his people.”

(vii)

44 Moshe came and proclaimed all the words of this song in the hearing of the people and of Hoshea the son of Nun.

45 When he had finished speaking all these words to all Isra’el,

46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words of my testimony against you today, so that you can use them in charging your children to be careful to obey all the words of thisTorah.

47 For this is not a trivial matter for you; on the contrary, it is your life! Through it you will live long in the land you are crossing the Yarden to possess.”

(Maftir)

48 That same dayAdonaisaid to Moshe,

49 “Go up into the ‘Avarim Range, to Mount N’vo, in the land of Mo’av across from Yericho; and look out over the land of Kena‘an, which I am giving the people of Isra’el as a possession.

50 On the mountain you are ascending you will die and be gathered to your people, just as Aharon your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.

51 The reason for this is that both of you broke faith with me there among the people of Isra’el at the M’rivat-Kadesh Spring, in the Tzin Desert; you failed to demonstrate my holiness there among the people of Isra’el.

52 So you will see the land from a distance, but you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Isra’el.”

Haftarah Ha’azinu: Sh’mu’el Bet (2 Samuel) 22:1–51

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Ha’azinu: Romans 10:14 –21; 12:14–21; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 12:28–39

Parashah 54: V’Zot HaBrachah (This is the blessing) 33:1–34:12

1 This is the blessing that Moshe, the man of God, spoke over the people of Isra’el before his death:

2 “Adonaicame from Sinai;

from Se‘ir he dawned on his people,

shone forth from Mount Pa’ran;

and with him were myriads of holy ones;

at his right hand

was a fiery law for them.

3 He truly loves the peoples —

all his holy ones are in your hand;

sitting at your feet,

they receive your instruction,

4 theTorahMoshe commanded us

as an inheritance for the community of Ya‘akov.

5 Then a king arose in Yeshurun

when the leaders of the people were gathered,

all the tribes of Isra’el together.

6 “Let Re’uven live and not die out,

even though his numbers grow few.”

7 Of Y’hudah he said:

“Hear,Adonai, the cry of Y’hudah!

Bring him in to his people,

let his own hands defend him;

but you, help him against his enemies.”

(ii)

8 Of Levi he said:

“Let yourtumimandurim

be with your pious one,

whom you tested at Massah,

with whom you struggled at M’rivah Spring.

9 Of his father and mother he said, ‘I don’t know them’;

he didn’t acknowledge his brothers or children.

For he observed your word,

and he kept your covenant.

10 They will teach Ya‘akov your rulings,

Isra’el yourTorah.

They will set incense before you

and whole burnt offerings on your altar.

11 Adonai, bless his possessions,

accept the work he does;

but crush his enemies hip and thigh;

may those who hate him rise no more.”

12 Of Binyamin he said:

“Adonai’s beloved lives securely.

He protects him day after day.

He lives between his shoulders.”

(iii)

13 Of Yosef he said:

“MayAdonaibless his land

with the best from the sky, for the dew,

and for what comes from the deep beneath,

14 with the best of what the sun makes grow,

with the best of what comes up each month,

15 with the best from the mountains of old,

with the best from the eternal hills,

16 with the best from the earth and all that fills it,

and the favor of him who lived in the [burning] bush.

May blessing come on the head of Yosef,

on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

17 His firstborn bull — glory is his;

his horns are those of a wild ox;

With them he will gore the peoples,

all of them, to the ends of the earth.

These are the myriads of Efrayim;

these are the thousands of M’nasheh.”

(iv)

18 Of Z’vulun he said:

“Rejoice, Z’vulun, as you go forth,

and you, Yissakhar, in your tents.

19 They will summon peoples to the mountain

and there offer righteous sacrifices;

for they will draw from the abundance of the seas

and from the hidden treasures of the sand.”

20 Of Gad he said:

“Blessed is he who makes Gad so large;

he lies there like a lion,

tearing arm and scalp.

21 He chose the best for himself

when the princely portion was assigned.

When the leaders of the people came,

he carried outAdonai’s justice

and his rulings concerning Isra’el.”

(v)

22 Of Dan he said:

“Dan is a lion cub

leaping forth from Bashan.”

23 Of Naftali he said:

“You, Naftali, satisfied with favor

and full of blessing fromAdonai,

take possession of the sea and the south.”

24 Of Asher he said:

“May Asher be most blessed of sons,

may he be the favorite among his brothers

and bathe his feet in oil.

25 May your bolts be of iron and bronze

and your strength last as long as you live.

26 “Yeshurun, there is no one like God,

riding through the heavens to help you,

riding on the clouds in his majesty.

(vi)

27 The God of old is a dwelling-place,

with everlasting arms beneath.

He expelled the enemy before you

and he said, ‘Destroy!’

28 So Isra’el lives in security;

the fountain of Ya‘akov is alone

in a land of grain and new wine,

where the skies drip with dew.

29 Happy are you, Isra’el!

“Who is like you, a people saved byAdonai,

your defender helping you

and your sword of triumph?

Your enemies will cringe before you,

but you will trample down their high places.”

1 (vii)Moshe ascended from the plains of Mo’av to Mount N’vo, to the summit of Pisgah, across from Yericho. ThereAdonaishowed him all the land — Gil‘ad as far as Dan,

2 all Naftali, the land of Efrayim and M’nasheh, the land of Y’hudah all the way to the sea beyond,

3 the Negev, and the ‘Aravah, including the valley where Yericho, the City of Date-Palms, as far away as Tzo‘ar.

4 Adonaisaid to him, “This is the land concerning which I swore to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over there.”

5 So Moshe, the servant ofAdonai, died there in the land of Mo’av, asAdonaihad said.

6 He was buried in the valley across from Beit-P‘or in the land of Mo’av, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.

7 Moshe was 120 years old when he died, with eyes undimmed and vigor undiminished.

8 The people of Isra’el mourned Moshe on the plains of Mo’av for thirty days; after this, the days of crying and mourning for Moshe ended.

9 Y’hoshua the son of Nun was full of the Spirit of wisdom, for Moshe had laid his hands on him, and the people of Isra’el heeded him and did whatAdonaihad ordered Moshe.

10 Since that time there has not arisen in Isra’el a prophet like Moshe, whomAdonaiknew face to face.

11 What signs and wondersAdonaisent him to perform in the land of Egypt upon Pharaoh, all his servants and all his land!

12 What might was in his hand! What great terror he evoked before the eyes of all Isra’el!

Haftarah V’zot HaBrachah: Y’hoshua (Joshua) 1:1–18 (A); 1:1–9 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah V’zot HaBrachah: Mattityahu (Matthew) 17:1–9; Mark 9:2–10; Luke 9:28–36; Y’hudah (Jude) 3–4, 8–10

Hazak, hazak, v’nit’chazek!

Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!