(from One New Man Bible translated by William Morford)
Matot
Vows
30:2. And Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD* has commanded.
30:3. “If a man makes a vow to the LORD*, or swears an oath to bind himself with a bond, he will not break his word, he will do according to all that proceeds from his mouth. (Matt. 5:33, Jcb. 5:12) 4. If a woman also makes a vow to the LORD* and binds herself by a bond, being in her father’s house in her youth, 5. and her father hears her vow and her bond with which she has bound herself and her father will hold his peace at her, then all her vows will stand and every bond with which she has bound herself will stand. 6. But if her father disallows her in the day that he hears, not any of her vows or of her bonds with which she has bound herself will stand, and the LORD* will forgive her, because her father disallowed her. 7. And if she had a husband when she vowed or uttered anything out of her lips, with which she bound her soul, 8. and her husband heard it and held his peace at her in the day that he heard, then her vows will stand and her bonds with which she bound herself will stand. 9. But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard, then he will make void her vow which she vowed and that which she uttered with her lips, with which she bound herself, and the LORD* will forgive her. 10. But every vow of a widow and of her that is divorced with which they have bound themselves, will stand against her. 11. And if she vowed in her husband’s house or bound herself by a bond with an oath 12. and her husband heard and held his peace at her and did not disallow her, then all her vows will stand and every bond with which she bound herself will stand. 13. But if her husband has utterly made them void on the day he heard, whatever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning the bond of herself will not stand, her husband has made them void and the LORD* will forgive her. 14. Her husband may establish every vow and every binding oath to afflict the soul, or her husband may make it void. 15. But if her husband altogether holds his peace at her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her bonds, which are upon her; he confirms them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard. 16. But if he will make them void after he has heard them, then he will bear her iniquity.”
30:17. These are the statutes, which the LORD* commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being in her youth in her father’s house.
War against Midian
31.1. And the LORD* spoke to Moses, saying, 2. “Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward you will be gathered to your people.”
31:3. And Moses spoke to the people saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war and let them go against the Midianites, to execute the LORD’s* vengeance on Midian. 4. A thousand from every tribe, throughout all the tribes of Israel, you will send to the war.”
31:5. So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from a tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from a tribe, those and Phineas the son of Elazar the priest to the war with the holy vessels and the trumpets to blow in his hand. 7. And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD* commanded Moses, and they slew all the males. 8. And they slew the kings of Midian, besides the rest of them that were slain; Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: they also slew Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.
31:9. And the sons of Israel took all the women of Midian and their little ones captives, and took the spoil of all their cattle and all their flocks, and all their goods. 10. And all their cities in which they dwelled and all their villages they burned with fire. 11. And they took all the spoil and all the prey, of mankind and of beasts. 12. And they brought the captives, the prey, and the spoil to Moses and Elazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan near Jericho.
31:13. And Moses, Elazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation went forth to meet them outside the camp. 14. And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds that came from the battle. 15. And Moses said to them, “Have you saved all the women alive? 16. Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD* in the matter of Peor and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD*. (Jude 11) 17. Now therefore kill every male among the little ones and kill every woman that has known a man by lying with him. 18. But all the female children who have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. 19. And stay outside the camp seven days. Whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day. 20. And purify all your clothes and all that is made of skins, all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.”
31:21. And Elazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, “This is the ordinance of the instruction which the LORD* commanded Moses, 22. only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23. everything that can stand the fire, you will make go through the fire and it will be clean, nevertheless it will be purified with the water of sprinkling. And all that cannot stand the fire you will make go through the water. 24. And you will wash your clothes on the seventh day and you will be clean, and afterward you will come into the camp.”
31:25. And the LORD* spoke to Moses saying, 26. “Count the prey that was taken, of mankind and of beast, you, Elazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation, 27. and divide the prey into two parts, between those who took the war against them, who went out to battle, and between the whole congregation,
28. and levy a tribute to the LORD* from the men of war who went out to battle one individual of five hundred, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the sheep: 29. take from their half and give it to Elazar the priest for a heave offering of the LORD*. 30. And of the children of Israel’s half, you will take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts and give them to the Levites, who keep the charge of the Tabernacle of the LORD*.”
31:31. And Moses and Elazar the priest did as the LORD* commanded Moses. 32. And the booty, the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep, 33. and seventy-two thousand cattle, 34. sixty-one thousand donkeys, 35. and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known a man by lying with him. 36. And the half, which was the portion of those that went out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 37. and the LORD’s* tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five. 38. And there were thirty-six thousand cattle, of which the LORD’s* tribute was seventy-two. 39. And there were thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, of which the LORD’s* tribute was sixty-one. 40. And there were sixteen thousand people, of which the LORD’s* tribute was thirty-two people. 41. And Moses gave the tribute, the LORD’s* heave offering, to Elazar the priest, as the LORD* commanded Moses. 42. And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided from the men who fought, 43. (Now the congregation’s half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 44. thirty-six thousand cattle, 45. thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, 46. and sixteen thousand people) 47. Even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, of mankind and of beast and gave them to the Levites who kept the charge of the Tabernacle of the LORD*, as the LORD* commanded Moses.
31:48. And the officers that were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds came near to Moses, 49. and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken the count of the men of war that are under our charge and there lacks not one man of us. 50. We have therefore brought an offering for the LORD*, what every man has gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, bracelets, rings, earrings, and belts to make atonement for our lives before the LORD*.”
31:51. And Moses and Elazar the priest took the gold from them, even all wrought jewels. 52. And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD*, of the captains of thousands and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels. 53. (For the men of war had taken spoil, each man for himself.) 54. And Moses and Elazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the Tent of Meeting, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD*.
East of the Jordan
32.1. Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead that, behold, the place was a place for cattle. 2. The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Elazar the priest, and to the princes of the congregation saying, 3. “Atarot, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4. even the country which the LORD* struck before the congregation of Israel is a land for cattle, and your servants have cattle. 5. Therefore, they said, if we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession, and do not bring us over the Jordan.”
32:6. And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, “Will your brothers go to war and will you sit here? 7. And why do you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD* has given them 8. like your fathers did, when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. 9. For when they went up to the valley of Eshkol and saw the land they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel that they should not go into the land which the LORD* had given them. 10. And the LORD’s* anger was kindled the same time, and He swore saying, 11. ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward will see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob because they have not wholly followed Me, 12. except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD*.’ 13. And the LORD’s* anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years until the entire generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD* was consumed. 14. And, behold, you are raised up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD* toward Israel. 15. For if you turn away from after Him, He will yet again leave them in the wilderness and you will destroy all these people.”
32:16. And they came near to him and said, “We will build sheep folds here for our cattle and cities for our little ones, 17. but we ourselves will go ready, armed before the children of Israel until we have brought them to their place, and our little ones will dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18. We will not return to our houses until every man of the children of Israel has inherited his inheritance. 19. For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan forward, westward, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of the Jordan eastward.”
32:20. And Moses said to them, “If you will do this thing, if you go before armed for war, 21. and every armed man of you will cross over the Jordan before the LORD*, until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, 22. and the land is subdued before the LORD*: then afterward you will return and be guiltless before the LORD* and before Israel, then this land will be your possession before the LORD*. 23. But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD*, and be sure your sin will find you out. 24. Build cities for yourselves, your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do that which has proceeded out of your mouth.”
32:25. And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses saying, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26. Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle will be there in the cities of Gilead. 27. But your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the LORD* to battle, as my lord says.”
32:28. So, concerning them Moses commanded Elazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel 29. and Moses said to them, “If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will cross with you over the Jordan, every man armed for battle before the LORD*, and the land will be subdued before you, then you will give them the land of Gilead for a possession, 30. but if they will not cross over with you armed, they will have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.”
32:31. And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered saying, “As the LORD* has said to your servants, so we will do. 32. We will cross over armed before the LORD* into the land of Canaan, so the possession of our inheritance on this side of the Jordan will be ours.”
32:33. And Moses gave to them, to the children of Gad, to the children of Reuben, 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, the land with the cities of it in the borders, the cities of the surrounding country. 34. And the children of Gad built Dibon, Atarot, Aroer, 35. Atrot-Shofan, Jazer, Jagbeha, 36. Beit Nimrah, and Beit Haran, fenced cities and folds for sheep.
32:37. And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriataim, 38. Nebo, Baal Meon, (their names being changed) and Shibmah, and gave other names to the cities which they built. 39. And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, took it, and dispossessed the Amorite that were in it. 40. And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh and he lived there. 41. And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its small towns and called them Havot Jair. 42. And Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
Next week’s Torah readings: D’varim