Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

1 Isra’el stayed at Sheetim, and there the people began whoring with the women of Mo’av.

2 These women invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, where the people ate and bowed down to their gods.

3 With Isra’el thus joined to Ba‘al-P‘or, the anger ofAdonaiblazed up against Isra’el.

4 Adonaisaid to Moshe, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them facing the sun beforeAdonai, so that the raging fury ofAdonaiwill turn away from Isra’el.”

5 Moshe said to the judges of Isra’el, “Each of you is to put to death those in his tribe who have joined themselves to Ba‘al-P‘or.”

6 Just then, in the sight of Moshe and the whole community of Isra’el, as they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting, a man from Isra’el came by, bringing to his family a woman from Midyan.(Maftir)

7 When Pinchas the son of El‘azar, the son of Aharon thecohen, saw it, he got up from the middle of the crowd, took a spear in his hand,

8 and pursued the man from Isra’el right into the inner part of the tent, where he thrust his spear through both of them — the man from Isra’el and the woman through her stomach. Thus was the plague among the people of Isra’el stopped;

9 nevertheless, 24,000 died in the plague.

Haftarah Balak: Mikhah (Micah) 5:6(7)– 6:8

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Balak: 2 Kefa (2 Peter) 2:1–22; Y’hudah (Jude) 11; Revelation 2:14–15

Parashah 41: Pinchas (Phinehas) 25:10 –30:1(29:40)

10 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

11 “Pinchas the son of El‘azar, the son of Aharon thecohen, has deflected my anger from the people of Isra’el by being as zealous as I am, so that I didn’t destroy them in my own zeal.

12 Therefore say, ‘I am giving him my covenant ofshalom,

13 making a covenant with him and his descendants after him that the office ofcohenwill be theirs forever.’ This is because he was zealous on behalf of his God and made atonement for the people of Isra’el.”

14 The name of the man from Isra’el who was killed, put to death with the woman from Midyan, was Zimri the son of Salu, leader of one of the clans from the tribe of Shim‘on.

15 The name of the woman from Midyan who was killed was Kozbi the daughter of Tzur, and he was head of the people in one of the clans of Midyan.

16 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

17 “Treat the Midyanim as enemies and attack them;

18 because they are treating you as enemies by the trickery they used to deceive you in the P‘or incident and in the affair of their sister Kozbi, the daughter of the leader from Midyan, the woman who was killed on the day of the plague in the P‘or incident.”

19 After the plague,

1 Adonaisaid to Moshe and El‘azar, the son of Aharon thecohen,

2 “Take a census of the entire assembly of the people of Isra’el twenty years old and over, by their ancestral clans, all who are subject to military service in Isra’el.”

3 Moshe and El‘azar thecohenspoke with them on the plains of Mo’av by the Yarden across from Yericho, explaining,

4 “Those twenty years old and over who came out of the land of Egypt, asAdonaiordered Moshe and the people of Isra’el.”

(ii)

5 [The census results begin with] Re’uven, the firstborn of Isra’el. The descendants of Re’uven were: of Hanokh, the family of the Hanokhi; of Pallu, the family of the Pallu’i;

6 of Hetzron, the family of the Hetzroni; and of Karmi the family of the Karmi.

7 These were the the families of the Re’uveni; of them were counted 43,730.

8 The sons of Pallu: Eli’av;

9 and the sons of Eli’av: N’mu’el, Datan and Aviram. These are the same Datan and Aviram, men of reputation in the community, who rebelled against Moshe and Aharon in Korach’s group, when they rebelled againstAdonai;

10 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korach when that group died, and the fire consumed 250 men, and they became a warning sign.

11 (However, the sons of Korach did not die.)

12 The descendants of Shim‘on, by their families, were: of N’mu’el, the family of the N’mu’eli; of Yamin, the family of the Yamini; of Yakhin, the family of the Yakhini;

13 of Zerach, the family of the Zarchi; and of Sha’ul, the family of the Sha’uli.

14 These were the families of the Shim‘oni, 22,200.

15 The descendants of Gad, by their families, were: of Tz’fon, the family of the Tz’foni; of Haggi, the family of the Haggi; of Shuni, the family of the Shuni;

16 of Ozni, the family of the Ozni; of ‘Eri, the family of the ‘Eri;

17 of Arod, the family of the Arodi; and of Ar’eli, the family of the Ar’eli.

18 These were the families of the sons of Gad, according to those counted of them, 40,500.

19 The sons of Y’hudah: First ‘Er and Onan, but ‘Er and Onan died in the land of Kena‘an.

20 The sons of Y’hudah who had descendants were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelani; of Peretz, the family of the Partzi; and of Zerach, the family of the Zarchi.

21 The sons of Peretz were: of Hetzron, the family of the Hetzroni; and of Hamul, the family of the Hamuli.

22 These were the families of Y’hudah, according to those counted of them, 76,500.

23 The descendants of Yissakhar, by their families, were: of Tola, the family of the Tola‘i; of Puvah, the family of the Puni;

24 of Yashuv, the family of the Yashuvi; and of Shimron, the family of the Shimroni.

25 These were the families of Yissakhar, according to those counted of them, 64,300.

26 The descendants of Z’vulun, by their families, were: of Sered, the family of the Sardi; of Elon, the family of the Eloni; and of Yachle’el, the family of the Yachle’eli.

27 These were the families of the Z’vuloni, according to those counted of them, 60,500.

28 The sons of Yosef, by their families, were M’nasheh and Efrayim.

29 The descendants of M’nasheh were: of Makhir, the family of the Makhiri. Makhir was the father of Gil‘ad; of Gil‘ad, the family of the Gil‘adi.

30 These are the descendants of Gil‘ad: of I‘ezer, the family of the I‘ezri; of Helek, the family of the Helki;

31 of Asri’el, the family of the Asri’eli; of Sh’khem, the family of the Shikhmi;

32 of Sh’mida, the family of the Sh’mida‘i; and of Hefer, the family of the Hefri.

33 Tz’lof’chad the son of Hefer had no sons but daughters; the names of the daughters of Tz’lof’chad were Machlah, No‘ah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirtzah.

34 These were the families of M’nasheh; of them were counted 52,700.

35 These are the descendants of Efrayim, by their families: of Shutelach, the family of the Shutalchi; of Bekher, the family of the Bakhri; and of Tachan, the family of the Tachani.

36 These are the descendants of Shutelach: of ‘Eran, the family of the ‘Erani.

37 These were the families of the descendants of Efrayim, according to those of them that were counted, 32,500. These were the descendants of Yosef, by their families.

38 The descendants of Binyamin, by their families were: of Bela, the family of the Bal‘i; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbeli; of Achiram, the family of the Achirami;

39 of Sh’fufam, the family of the Shufami; and of Hufam, the family of the Hufami.

40 The sons of Bela were Ard and Na‘aman; [of Ard,] the family of the Ardi; and of Na‘aman, the family of the Na‘ami.

41 These were the descendants of Binyamin, by their families; of them were counted 45,600.

42 The descendants of Dan, by their families, were: of Shucham, the family of the Shuchami. These are the families of Dan, by their families.

43 All the families of the Shuchami, according to those of them that were counted, were 64,400.

44 The descendants of Asher, by their families: of Yimnah, the family of the Yimnah; of Yishvi, the family of the Yishvi; and of B’ri‘ah, the family of the B’ri‘i.

45 Of the descendants of B’ri‘ah: of Hever, the family of the Hevri; and of Malki’el, the family of the Malki’eli.

46 The name of Asher’s daughter was Serach.

47 These were the families of the descendants of Asher, according to those of them that were counted, 53,400.

48 The descendants of Naftali, by their families: of Yachtze’el, the families of the Yachtze’eli; of Guni, the family of the Guni;

49 of Yetzer, the family of the Yitzri; and of Shillem, the family of the Shillemi.

50 These are the families of Naftali according to their families; those of them that were counted were 45,400.

51 Thus those who were counted of the people of Isra’el numbered 601,730.

(iii)

52 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

53 “The land is to be parceled out among these as a possession to be inherited, according to the number of names.

54 To those families with more persons you are to give a greater inheritance, and to those with fewer you are to give a smaller inheritance — each family’s inheritance is to be given according to the number counted in it.

55 However, the land is to be awarded by lot. They will inherit according to the names of the tribes of their ancestors,

56 but the inheritance is to be parceled out by lot between the families with more and those with fewer.”

57 Those counted among the Levi, by their families, were: of Gershon, the family of the Gershuni, of K’hat, the family of the K’hati; and of M’rari, the family of the M’rari.

58 These are the families of Levi: the family of the Livni, the family of the Hevroni, the family of the Machli, the family of the Mushi and the family of the Korchi. K’hat was the father of ‘Amram.

59 The name of ‘Amram’s wife was Yokheved the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to ‘Amram Aharon, Moshe and their sister Miryam.

60 To Aharon were born Nadav, Avihu, El‘azar and Itamar;

61 but Nadav and Avihu died when they offered unauthorized fire beforeAdonai.

62 Those males one month old or more counted of the Levi were 23,000. These were not included in the census of the people of Isra’el, because no land for inheritance was given to them among the people of Isra’el.

63 These are the ones counted by Moshe and El‘azar thecohen, who took a census of the people of Isra’el in the plains of Mo’av by the Yarden across from Yericho.

64 But there was not a man among them who had also been included in the census of Moshe and Aharon thecohenwhen they enumerated the people of Isra’el in the Sinai Desert;

65 becauseAdonaihad said of them, “They will surely die in the desert.” So there was not left even one of them, except Kalev the son of Y’funeh and Y’hoshua the son of Nun.

1 Then the daughters of Tz’lof’chad the son of Hefer, the son of Gil‘ad, the son of Machir, the son of M’nasheh, of the families of M’nasheh, the son of Yosef, approached. These were the names of his daughters: Machlah, No‘ah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirtzah.

2 They stood in front of Moshe, El‘azar thecohen, the leaders and the whole community at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said,

3 “Our father died in the desert. He wasn’t part of the group who assembled themselves to rebel againstAdonaiin Korach’s group, but he died in his own sin, and he had no sons.

4 Why should the name of our father be eliminated from his family just because he didn’t have a son? Give us property to possess along with the brothers of our father.”

5 Moshe brought their cause beforeAdonai.

(iv)

6 Adonaianswered Moshe,

7 “The daughters of Tz’lof’chad are right in what they say. You must give them property to be inherited along with that of their father’s brothers; have what their father would have inherited pass to them.

8 Moreover, say to the people of Isra’el, ‘If a man dies and does not have a son, you are to have his inheritance pass to his daughter.

9 If he doesn’t have a daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers.

10 If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers.

11 If his father doesn’t have brothers, give his inheritance to the closest relative in his family, and he will possess it. This will be the standard for judgment to be used by the people of Isra’el, asAdonaiordered Moshe.’”

12 Adonaisaid to Moshe, “Climb this mountain in the ‘Avarim Range, and look out at the land which I have given the people of Isra’el.

13 After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, just as Aharon your brother was gathered;

14 because in the Tzin Desert, when the community was disputing with me, you rebelled against my order to uphold my holiness by means of the water, with them looking on.” (This was M’rivat-Kadesh Spring, in the Tzin Desert.)

15 Moshe said toAdonai,

16 “LetAdonai, God of the spirits of all human beings, appoint a man to be over the community,

17 to go out and come in ahead of them, to lead them out and bring them in, so thatAdonai’s community will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

18 Adonaisaid to Moshe, “Take Y’hoshua the son of Nun, a spiritual man, and lay your hand on him.

19 Put him in front of El‘azar thecohenand the whole community, and commission him in their sight.

20 Delegate to him some of your authority, so that the entire community of Isra’el will obey him.

21 He is to present himself to El‘azar thecohen, who is to find out by means of theurimwhatAdonai’s will is for Y’hoshua’s decisions. Then, at his word they will go out, and at his word they will come in, both he and all the people of Isra’el with him, the whole community.”

22 Moshe did asAdonaihad ordered him. He took Y’hoshua, put him before El‘azar thecohenand the whole community,

23 laid his hands on him, and commissioned him, asAdonaihad said through Moshe.

1 (v)Adonaisaid to Moshe,

2 “Give an order to the people of Isra’el. Tell them, ‘You are to take care to offer me at the proper time the food presented to me as offerings made by fire, providing a fragrant aroma for me.’

3 Tell them, ‘This is the offering made by fire that you are to bring toAdonai: male lambs in their first year and without defect, two daily as a regular burnt offering.

4 Offer the one lamb in the morning and the other lamb at dusk,

5 along with two quarts of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with one quart of oil from pressed olives.

6 It is the regular burnt offering, the same as was offered on Mount Sinai to give a fragrant aroma, an offering made by fire forAdonai.

7 Its drink offering is to be one-quarterhinfor one lamb; in the Holy Place you are to pour out a drink offering of intoxicating liquor toAdonai.

8 The other lamb you are to present at dusk; present it with the same kind of grain offering and drink offering as in the morning; it is an offering made by fire, with a fragrant aroma forAdonai.

9 “‘OnShabbatoffer two male lambs in their first year and without defect, with one gallon of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with olive oil, and its drink offering.

10 This is the burnt offering for everyShabbat, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

11 “‘At eachRosh-Hodeshof yours, you are to present a burnt offering toAdonaiconsisting of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs in their first year and without defect;

12 with six quarts of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for the one ram;

13 and two quarts of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each lamb. This will be the burnt offering giving a fragrant aroma, an offering made by fire forAdonai.

14 Their drink offerings will be two quarts of wine for a bull, one-and-one-third quarts for the ram, and one quart for each lamb. This is the burnt offering for everyRosh-Hodeshthroughout the months of the year.

15 Also a male goat is to be offered as a sin offering toAdonai, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

(vi)

16 “‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, isAdonai’sPesach.

17 On the fifteenth day of the month is to be a feast.Matzahis to be eaten for seven days.

18 The first day is to be a holy convocation: do not do any kind of ordinary work;

19 but present an offering made by fire, a burnt offering, toAdonai,consisting of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs in their first year (they are to be without defect for you)

20 with their grain offering, fine flour mixed with olive oil. Offer six quarts for a bull, four quarts for the ram,

21 and two quarts for each of the seven lambs;

22 also a male goat as a sin offering, to make atonement for you.

23 You are to offer these in addition to the morning burnt offering, which is the regular burnt offering.

24 In this fashion you are to offer daily, for seven days, the food of the offering made by fire, making a fragrant aroma forAdonai; it is to be offered in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

25 On the seventh day you are to have a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work.

26 “‘On the day of the firstfruits, when you bring a new grain offering toAdonaiin your feast ofShavu‘ot, you are to have a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work;

27 but present a burnt offering as a fragrant aroma forAdonai, consisting of two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs in their first year,

28 and their grain offering — fine flour mixed with olive oil, six quarts for each bull, four quarts for the one ram,

29 and two quarts for each of the seven lambs —

30 plus a male goat to make atonement for you.

31 You are to offer these in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering (they are to be without defect for you), with their drink offerings.

1 “‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work; it is a day of blowing theshofarfor you.

2 Prepare a burnt offering to make a fragrant aroma forAdonai— one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs in their first year and without defect —

3 with their grain offering, consisting of fine flour mixed with olive oil — six quarts for the bull, four quarts for the ram,

4 and two quarts for each of the seven lambs —

5 also one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.

6 This is to be in addition to the burnt offering forRosh-Hodeshwith its grain offering, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to the rule for them; this will be a fragrant aroma, an offering made by fire toAdonai.

7 “‘On the tenth day of this seventh month you are to have a holy convocation. You are to deny yourselves, and you are not to do any kind of work;

8 but you are to present a burnt offering toAdonaito make a fragrant aroma: one young bull, one ram, and seven male lambs in their first year (they are to be without defect for you),

9 with their grain offering, fine flour mixed with olive oil, six quarts for the bull, four quarts for the one ram,

10 and two quarts for each of the seven lambs;

11 also one male goat as a sin offering; in addition to the sin offering for atonement and the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

(vii)

12 “‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you are to have a holy convocation. You are not to do any kind of ordinary work, and you are to observe a feast toAdonaiseven days.

13 You are to present a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, bringing a fragrant aroma toAdonai. It is to consist of thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs in their first year (they are to be without defect),

14 with their grain offering — fine flour mixed with olive oil, six quarts for each of the thirteen bulls, four quarts for each of the two rams,

15 and two quarts for each of the fourteen lambs;

16 also one male goat as a sin offering; in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.

17 “‘On the second day you are to present twelve young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs in their first year, without defect;

18 with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams and lambs, according to their number, in keeping with the rule;

19 also one male goat as a sin offering; in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain offering and their drink offerings.

20 “‘On the third day eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs in their first year, without defect;

21 with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams and lambs, according to their number, in keeping with the rule;

22 also one male goat as a sin offering; in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.

23 “‘On the fourth day ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs in their first year, without defect;

24 with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams and lambs, according to their number, in keeping with the rule;

25 also one male goat as a sin offering; in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.

26 “‘On the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs in their first year, without defect;

27 with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams and lambs, according to their number, in keeping with the rule;

28 also one male goat as a sin offering; in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.

29 “‘On the sixth day eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs in their first year, without defect;

30 with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams and lambs, according to their number, in keeping with the rule;

31 also one male goat as a sin offering; in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.

32 “‘On the seventh day seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs in their first year, without defect;

33 with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams and lambs, according to their number, in keeping with the rule;

34 also one male goat as a sin offering; in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offerings.

(Maftir)

35 “‘On the eighth day you are to have a festive assembly: you are not to do any kind of ordinary work;

36 but you are to present a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, giving a fragrant aroma toAdonai— one bull, one ram, seven male lambs in their first year, without defect;

37 with the grain and drink offerings for the bull, the ram and the lambs, according to their number, in keeping with the rule;

38 also one male goat as a sin offering; in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.

39 “‘You are to offer these toAdonaiat your designated times in addition to your vows and voluntary offerings — whether these are your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings or peace offerings.’”

1 Moshe told the people of Isra’el everything, just asAdonaihad ordered Moshe.

Haftarah Pinchas: M’lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 18:46–19:21

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Pinchas: Mattityahu (Matthew) 26:1–30; Mark 14:1–26; Luke 22:1–20; Yochanan (John) 2:13–22; 7:1–13, 37–39; 11:55–12:1; 13:1; 18:28, 39; 19:14; Acts 2:1–21; 12:3–4; 20:5–6, 16; 27:9–11; 1 Corinthians 5:6 – 8; 16:8; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 11:28

Parashah 42: Mattot (Tribes) 30:2(1) –32:42

[In regular years read with Parashah 43, in leap years read separately]

2 Then Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Isra’el. He said, “Here is whatAdonaihas ordered:

3 when a man makes a vow toAdonaior formally obligates himself by swearing an oath, he is not to break his word but is to do everything he said he would do.

4 “When a woman makes a vow toAdonai, formally obligating herself, while she is a minor living in her father’s house;

5 then, if her father has heard what she vowed or obligated herself to do and holds his peace, then all her vows remain binding — every obligation she has bound herself to will stand.

6 But if on the day her father hears it, he expresses his disapproval, then none of her vows or obligations she has bound herself to will stand; andAdonaiwill forgive her, because her father expressed his disapproval.

7 “If, having made vows or rashly committed herself to an obligation, she gets married;

8 and her husband hears but holds his peace with her on the day he learns of it, then her vows and obligations she has bound herself to will stand.

9 But if her husband expresses his disapproval on the day he hears it, he will void the vow which is on her and the obligation to which she has bound herself; andAdonaiwill forgive her.

10 “The vow of a widow, however, or of a divorcee, including everything to which she has obligated herself, will stand against her.

11 “If a woman vowed in her husband’s house or obligated herself with an oath;

12 and her husband heard it but held his peace with her and did not express disapproval, then all her vows and obligations will stand.

13 But if her husband makes them null and void on the day he hears them, then whatever she said, vows or binding obligation, will not stand; her husband has voided them; andAdonaiwill forgive her.

14 Her husband may let every vow and every binding obligation stand, or he may void it.

15 But if her husband entirely holds his peace with her day after day, then he confirms all her vows and obligations; he must let them stand, because he held his peace with her on the day he heard them.

16 If he makes them null and void after he has heard them, then he will bear the consequent guilt.”

17 These are the laws whichAdonaiordered Moshe between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter, if she is a minor living in her father’s house.

1 (LY: ii)Adonaisaid to Moshe,

2 “On behalf of the people of Isra’el, take vengeance on the Midyanim. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”

3 Moshe said to the people, “Equip men from among yourselves for war. They are to go and fight Midyan, in order to carry outAdonai’s vengeance on Midyan.

4 You are to send to the war a thousand men from every one of Isra’el’s tribes.”

5 So out of the thousands of people in Isra’el, a thousand armed men from each tribe, 12,000 altogether, were mustered for war.

6 Moshe sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war; he sent them and Pinchas the son of El‘azar thecohento the war, with the holy utensils and the trumpets for sounding the alarm in his care.

7 They fought against Midyan, asAdonaihad ordered Moshe, and killed every male.

8 They killed the kings of Midyan along with the others who were slain — Evi, Rekem, Tzur, Hur and Reva, the five kings of Midyan. They also killed Bil‘am the son of B‘or with the sword.

9 The people of Isra’el took captive the women of Midyan and their little ones, and they took as booty all their cattle, flocks and other goods.

10 They set fire to all their cities in the areas where they lived and all their camps.

11 They took all the booty, all the people and animals they had captured,

12 and brought the captives, booty and spoil to Moshe, El‘azar thecohenand the community of Isra’el in the camp on the plains of Mo’av by the Yarden across from Yericho.

(RY: ii, LY: iii)

13 Moshe, El‘azar thecohenand all the community leaders went to meet them outside the camp.

14 But Moshe was angry with the army officers, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds coming in from the battlefield.

15 Moshe asked them, “You let the women live?

16 Why, these are the ones who — because of Bil‘am’s advice — caused the people of Isra’el to rebel, breaking faith withAdonaiin the P‘or incident, so that the plague broke out amongAdonai’s community!

17 Now kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has ever slept with a man.

18 But the young girls who have never slept with a man, keep alive for yourselves.

19 Pitch your tents outside the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed a person or touched the corpse of someone slain, purify yourselves on the third and seventh days, you and your captives.

20 Also purify every garment, whether of skin or goat’s hair, and everything made of wood.”

21 El‘azar thecohensaid to the soldiers who had gone to the front, “This is the regulation from theTorahwhichAdonaihas ordered Moshe.

22 Even though gold, silver, brass, iron, tin and lead

23 can all withstand fire, so that you are indeed to purify everything made of these materials by having them pass through fire; nevertheless they must also be purified with the water for purification. Everything that can’t withstand fire you are to have go through the water.

24 On the seventh day you are to wash your clothes, and you will be clean; after that you may enter the camp.”

(LY: iv)

25 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

26 “Take all the booty, both people and animals, you, El‘azar thecohenand the leaders of clans in the community;

27 and divide the booty into two parts: half for the experienced soldiers who went out to battle, and half for the rest of the community.

28 From the portion of the soldiers who went out to battle, levy a tax forAdonaiconsisting of one-five-hundredth of the persons, cattle, donkeys and sheep;

29 take it from their half and give it to El‘azar thecohenas a portion set apart forAdonai.

30 From the half that goes to the people of Isra’el, you are to take one-fiftieth of the persons, and of the cattle, donkeys and sheep, that is, of all the livestock; and give them to theL’vi’imtaking care of the tabernacle ofAdonai.”

31 Moshe and El‘azar thecohendid asAdonaihad ordered Moshe.

32 The booty, over and above the portion which the soldiers took, came to 675,000 sheep,

33 72,000 cattle,

34 61,000 donkeys,

35 and 32,000 persons in all, consisting of the women who had never slept with a man.

36 The half which was the portion of the soldiers who went out to fight, numbered 337,500 sheep,

37 of whichAdonai’s tribute was 675;

38 36,000 cattle, of whichAdonai’s tribute was seventy-two;

39 30,500 donkeys, of whichAdonai’s tribute was sixty-one;

40 and 16,000 persons, of whomAdonai’s tribute was thirty-two persons.

41 Moshe gave the tribute set apart forAdonaito El‘azar thecohen, asAdonaihad ordered Moshe.

(LY: v)

42 From the half that went to people of Isra’el, which Moshe separated from that of the men who had gone to fight —

43 now the community’s half consisted of 337,500 sheep,

44 36,000 cattle,

45 30,500 donkeys

46 and 16,000 persons —

47 from the people of Isra’el’s half, Moshe took one-fiftieth of the persons and animals and gave them to theL’vi’imtaking care of the tabernacle ofAdonai, asAdonaihad ordered Moshe.

48 The officers in charge of the thousands who fought, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moshe

49 and said to him, “Your servants have counted all the soldiers under our command, and not one of us is missing.

50 We have brought an offering forAdonai, what every man has obtained in the way of gold jewelry — armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and belts — to make atonement for ourselves beforeAdonai.”

51 Moshe and El‘azar thecohenaccepted their gold, all the jewelry.

52 All the gold in this gift which the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds set apart forAdonaiweighed 420 pounds.

53 For the soldiers had taken booty, every man for himself.

54 Moshe and El‘azar thecohentook the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a reminder for the people of Isra’el beforeAdonai.

1 (RY: iii; LY: vi)The descendants of Re’uven and the descendants of Gad had vast quantities of livestock. When they saw that the land of Ya‘zer and the land of Gil‘ad were good for livestock,

2 the descendants of Gad and of Re’uven came and spoke to Moshe, El‘azar thecohenand the community leaders. They said,

3 “‘Atarot, Divon, Ya‘zer, Nimrah, Heshbon, El‘aleh, S’vam, N’vo and Be‘on,

4 the country thatAdonaiconquered before the community of Isra’el, is livestock country; and your servants have livestock.

5 If you regard us favorably,” they went on, “let this land be given to your servants as their possession; and don’t have us cross the Yarden.”

6 Moshe answered the descendants of Gad and of Re’uven: “Are your brothers to go to war while you stay here?

7 Besides, why are you trying to discourage the people of Isra’el from crossing into the landAdonaigave them?

8 This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to see the land.

9 For when they went up to the Eshkol Valley and saw the land, they disheartened the people of Isra’el, so that they wouldn’t enter the landAdonaihad given them.

10 Adonai’s anger blazed up on that day; and he swore,

11 ‘None of the people aged twenty or more who came out of Egypt will see the land I swore to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov; because they haven’t followed me unreservedly —

12 except Kalev the son of Y’funeh the K’nizi and Y’hoshua the son of Nun, because they have followedAdonaiunreservedly.’

13 ThusAdonai’s anger blazed against Isra’el, so that he made them wander here and there in the desert forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight ofAdonaihad died out.

14 Now you, another brood of sinners, have arisen in your fathers’ place to increase still more the fierce anger ofAdonaitoward Isra’el!

15 For if you turn away from him, he will leave them in the desert again, and thus you will cause the destruction of all these people!”

16 But they came up to him and said, “Here we will build enclosures for our livestock and cities for our little ones,

17 but we ourselves will be armed and ready for action to march at the head of the people of Isra’el, until we have brought them to their place. Our little ones will stay in the fortified cities here because of the people now living in the land.

18 However, we will not return to our own homes until every man in Isra’el has taken possession of his land for inheritance.

19 We will not have an inheritance with them on the other side of the Yarden, westward; because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of the Yarden, eastward.”

(RY: iv, LY: vii)

20 Moshe said to them, “If you will do this — if you will arm yourselves to go beforeAdonaito the war,

21 and if every one of your soldiers will cross the Yarden beforeAdonai, until he has driven out his enemies ahead of him,

22 and if the land has been conquered beforeAdonai, and only after that do you return — then you will be clear beforeAdonaiand before Isra’el, and this land here will be yours to possess beforeAdonai.

23 But if you will not do this, then you have sinned againstAdonai, and you must understand that your sin will find you out.

24 Build cities for your little ones and enclosures for your sheep; then do what you said you would do.”

25 The descendants of Gad and the descendants of Re’uven said to Moshe, “Your servants will do as my lord orders.

26 Our little ones, wives, flocks and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gil‘ad;

27 but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, beforeAdonaito do battle, as my lord says.”

28 So Moshe gave orders concerning them to El‘azar thecohen, Y’hoshua the son of Nun and the clan leaders of the tribes of the people of Isra’el.

29 Moshe said to them, “If the descendants of Gad and of Re’uven cross over the Yarden with you, every man armed for battle, beforeAdonai; and if the land is conquered before you, then you are to give them the land of Gil‘ad as theirs to possess.

30 But if they do not cross with you armed, they are to possess land along with you in Kena‘an.”

31 The descendants of Gad and of Re’uven answered, “We will do asAdonaihas said to your servants.

32 We will cross over into the land of Kena‘an armed beforeAdonai, and the land we will possess for inheritance will be on this side of the Yarden.”

33 So Moshe gave the descendants of Gad and of Re’uven, and also to the half-tribe of M’nasheh the son of Yosef, the kingdom of Sichon king of the Emori and the kingdom of ‘Og king of Bashan — the country and its cities within its borders, along with their surrounding towns.

34 The descendants of Gad built Divon, ‘Atarot, ‘Aro‘er,

35 ‘Atrot-Shofan, Ya‘zer, Yogbehah,

36 Beit-Nimrah and Beit-Haran — fortified cities; and also enclosures for sheep.

37 The descendants of Re’uven built Heshbon, El‘aleh, Kiryatayim,

38 N’vo, Ba‘al-M‘on (these names have been changed) and Sivmah; they renamed the cities they built.

(LY: Maftir)

39 The descendants of Machir the son of M’nasheh went to Gil‘ad and conquered it, dispossessing the Emori who were there.

40 Moshe gave Gil‘ad to Machir the son of M’nasheh, and he lived in it.

41 Ya’ir the son of M’nasheh went and captured its villages and called them Havot-Ya’ir [villages of Ya’ir].

42 Novach went and captured K’nat with its villages and named it Novach after himself.

Haftarah Mattot: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 1:1–2:3

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Mattot: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:33–37

Parashah 43: Masa‘ei (Stages) 33:1–36:13

[In regular years read with Parashah 42, in leap years read separately]

1 These are the stages in the journey of the people of Isra’el as they left the land of Egypt divided into groups under the leadership of Moshe and Aharon.

2 Moshe recorded each of the stages of their journey by order ofAdonai; here are the starting-points of each stage:

3 They began their journey from Ram’ses in the first month. On the fifteenth day of the first month, the morning after thePesach, the people of Isra’el left proudly in view of all the Egyptians;

4 while the Egyptians were burying those among them whomAdonaihad killed, all their firstborn;Adonaihad also executed judgment on their gods.

5 The people of Isra’el moved on from Ram’ses and camped at Sukkot.

6 They moved on from Sukkot and camped at Etam, by the edge of the desert.

7 They moved on from Etam and turned back to Pi-Hachirot, in front of Ba‘al-Tz’fon, and camped before Migdol.

8 They moved on from P’nei-Hachirot, passed through the sea to the desert, continued three days’ journey into the Etam Desert and camped at Marah.

9 They moved on from Marah and came to Eilim; in Eilim were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, so they camped there.

10 They moved on from Eilim and camped by the Sea of Suf.

(LY: ii)

11 They moved on from the Sea of Suf and camped in the Seen Desert.

12 They moved on from the Seen Desert and camped at Dofkah.

13 They moved on from Dofkah and camped at Alush.

14 They moved on from Alush and camped at Refidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

15 They moved on from Refidim and camped in the Sinai Desert.

16 They moved on from the Sinai Desert and camped at Kivrot-HaTa’avah.

17 They moved on from Kivrot-HaTa’avah and camped in Hatzerot.

18 They moved on from Hatzerot and camped at Ritmah.

19 They moved on from Ritmah and camped at Rimmon-Peretz.

20 They moved on from Rimmon-Peretz and camped at Livnah.

21 They moved on from Livnah and camped at Rissah.

22 They moved on from Rissah and camped at K’helah.

23 They moved on from K’helah and camped at Mount Shefer.

24 They moved on from Mount Shefer and camped at Haradah.

25 They moved on from Haradah and camped at Mak’helot.

26 They moved on from Mak’helot and camped at Tachat.

27 They moved on from Tachat and camped at Terach.

28 They moved on from Terach and camped at Mitkah.

29 They moved on from Mitkah and camped at HaShmonah.

30 They moved on from HaShmonah and camped at Moserot.

31 They moved on from Moserot and camped at B’nei-Ya‘akan.

32 They moved on from B’nei-Ya‘akan and camped at Hor-HaGidgad.

33 They moved on from Hor-HaGidgad and camped at Yotvatah.

34 They moved on from Yotvatah and camped at Avronah.

35 They moved on from Avronah and camped at ‘Etzyon-Gever.

36 They moved on from ‘Etzyon-Gever and camped in the Tzin Desert, that is, Kadesh.

37 They moved on from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the border of the land of Edom.

38 AtAdonai’s order Aharon thecohenwent up on Mount Hor, and he died there on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the people of Isra’el had left the land of Egypt.

39 Aharon was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

40 The Kena‘ani king of ‘Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Kena‘an, had heard that the people of Isra’el were coming;

41 so they moved on from Mount Hor and camped at Tzalmonah.

42 They moved on from Tzalmonah and camped at Punon.

43 They moved on from Punon and camped at Ovot.

44 They moved on from Ovot and camped ‘Iyei-Ha‘Avarim, at the border of Mo’av.

45 They moved on from ‘Iyim and camped at Divon-Gad.

46 They moved on from Divon-Gad and camped at ‘Almon-Divlatayim.

47 They moved on from Almon-Divlatayim and camped in the ‘Avarim Range, in front of N’vo.

48 They moved on from the ‘Avarim Range and camped in the plains of Mo’av by the Yarden, across from Yericho.

49 Their camp by the Yarden extended from Beit-HaYeshimot all the way to Avel-HaSheetim in the plains of Mo’av.

(RY: v; LY: iii)

50 Adonaispoke to Moshe in the plains of Mo’av by the Yarden, across from Yericho. He said

51 to tell the people of Isra’el, “When you cross the Yarden into the land of Kena‘an,

52 you are to expel all the people living in the land from in front of you. Destroy all their stone figures, destroy all their metal statues and demolish all their high places.

53 Drive out the inhabitants of the land, and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess.

54 You will inherit the land by lot according to your families. You are to give more land to the larger families and less to the smaller ones. Wherever the lot falls to any particular person, that will be his property. You will inherit according to the tribes of your ancestors.

55 But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants of the land from in front of you, then those you allow to remain will become like thorns in your eyes and stings in your sides — they will harass you in the land where you are living.

56 And in this event, I will do to you what I intended to do to them.”

1 Adonaitold Moshe

2 to give this order to the people of Isra’el: “When you enter the land of Kena‘an, it will become your land to pass on as an inheritance, the land of Kena‘an as defined by these borders.

3 “Your southern portion will extend from the Tzin Desert close to the border of Edom. The eastern terminus of your southern border is at the end of the Dead Sea.

4 From there your border turns, goes south of the ‘Akrabbim Ascent and passes on to Tzin. From there it goes south of Kadesh-Barnea, on to Hatzar-Adar, and on to ‘Atzmon.

5 Then the border turns and goes from ‘Atzmon to theVadiof Egypt and along it to the Sea.

6 “Your western border will be the Great Sea.

7 “Your northern border will be as follows: from the Great Sea mark a line to Mount Hor,

8 and from Mount Hor mark a line to the entrance of Hamat. The border goes out to Tz’dad.

9 Then the border goes to Zifron and finally to Hatzar-‘Einan; this is your northern border.

10 “For the eastern border mark your line from Hatzar-‘Enan to Sh’fam.

11 Then the border goes down from Sh’fam to Rivlah, on the east side of ‘Ayin, then down until it hits the slope east of Lake Kinneret.

12 From there it goes down the Yarden River till it flows into the Dead Sea. These will be the borders of your land.”

13 Moshe gave this order to the people of Isra’el: “This is the land in which you will receive inheritances by lot, whichAdonaihas ordered to give to the nine tribes and the half-tribe.

14 The tribe of the descendants of Re’uven have already received their land for inheritance according to their clans, and so have the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh.

15 These two-and-a-half tribes have received their inheritance on this side of the Yarden, across from Yericho and eastward, toward the sunrise.”

(RY: vi; LY: iv)

16 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

17 “These are the names of the men who will take possession of the land for you: El‘azar thecohenand Y’hoshua the son of Nun.

18 Also appoint one leader from each tribe to take possession of the land.

19 The names of these men are:

from the tribe of Y’hudah, Kalev the son of Y’funeh;

20 from the tribe of the descendants of Shim‘on, Sh’mu’el the son of ‘Ammihud;

21 from the tribe of Binyamin, Elidad the son of Kislon;

22 from the tribe of the descendants of Dan, a leader, Buki the son of Yogli;

23 from the descendants of Yosef:

from the tribe of the descendants of M’nasheh, a leader, Hani’el the son of Efod;

24 from the tribe of the descendants of Efrayim, a leader, K’mu’el the son of Shiftan;

25 from the tribe of the descendants of Z’vulun, a leader, Elitzafan the son of Parnakh;

26 from the tribe of the descendants of Yissakhar, a leader, Palti’el the son of ‘Azan;

27 from the tribe of the descendants of Asher, a leader, Achihud the son of Shlomi;

28 from the tribe of the descendants of Naftali, a leader, P’dah’el the son of ‘Ammihud.”

29 These are the ones whomAdonaiordered to divide the inheritance among the people of Isra’el in the land of Kena‘an.