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30 1-2 Now Moses summoned the leaders of the tribes and told them, “The Lord has commanded that when anyone makes a promise to the Lord, either to do something or to quit doing something, that vow must not be broken: the person making the vow must do exactly as he has promised.
3 “If a woman promises the Lord to do or not do something, and she is still a girl at home in her father’s home, 4 and her father hears that she has made a vow with penalties, but says nothing, then her vow shall stand. 5 But if her father refuses to let her make the vow, or feels that the penalties she has agreed to are too harsh, then her promise will automatically become invalid. Her father must state his disagreement on the first day he hears about it; and then Jehovah will forgive her because her father would not let her do it.
6 “If she takes a vow or makes a foolish pledge, and later marries, 7 and her husband learns of her vow and says nothing on the day he hears of it, her vow shall stand. 8 But if her husband refuses to accept her vow or foolish pledge, his disagreement makes it void, and Jehovah will forgive her.
9 “But if the woman is a widow or is divorced, she must fulfill her vow.
10 “If she is married and living in her husband’s home when she makes the vow, 11 and her husband hears of it and does nothing, the vow shall stand; 12 but if he refuses to allow it on the first day he hears of it, her vow is void and Jehovah will forgive her. 13 So her husband may either confirm or nullify her vow, 14 but if he says nothing for a day, then he has already agreed to it. 15 If he waits more than a day and then refuses to permit the vow, whatever penalties to which she agreed shall come upon him—he shall be responsible.”
16 These, then, are the commandments the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife and between a father and his daughter who is living at home.
31 1-2 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take vengeance on the Midianites for leading you into idolatry, and then you must die.”
3 Moses said to the people, “Some of you must take arms to wage Jehovah’s war against Midian. 4-5 Conscript 1,000 men from each tribe.” So this was done; and out of the many thousands of Israel, 12,000 armed men were sent to battle by Moses. 6 Phinehas (son of Eleazar the priest) led them into battle, accompanied by the Ark,[a] with trumpets blaring. 7 And every man of Midian was killed. 8 Among those killed were all five of the Midianite kings—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. Balaam, the son of Beor, was also killed.
9-11 Then the Israeli army took as captives all the women and children, and seized the cattle and flocks and a lot of miscellaneous booty. All of the cities, towns, and villages of Midian were then burned. 12 The captives and other war loot were brought to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the rest of the people of Israel who were camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 13 Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the people went out to meet the victorious army, 14 but Moses was very angry with the army officers and battalion leaders.
15 “Why have you let all the women live?” he demanded. 16 “These are the very ones who followed Balaam’s advice and caused the people of Israel to worship idols on Mount Peor, and they are the cause of the plague that destroyed us. 17 Now kill all the boys and all the women who have had sexual intercourse. 18 Only the little girls may live; you may keep them for yourselves. 19 Now stay outside of the camp for seven days, all of you who have killed anyone or touched a dead body. Then purify yourselves and your captives on the third and seventh days. 20 Remember also to purify all your garments and everything made of leather, goat’s hair, or wood.”
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men who were in the battle, “This is the commandment Jehovah has given Moses: 22 ‘Anything that will stand heat—such as gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead— 23 shall be passed through fire in order to be made ceremonially pure; it must then be further purified with the purification water. But anything that won’t stand heat shall be purified by the water alone.’ 24 On the seventh day you must wash your clothes and be purified, and then you may come back into the camp.”
25 And the Lord said to Moses, 26 “You and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the tribes are to make a list of all the loot, including the people and animals; 27 then divide it into two parts. Half of it is for the men who were in the battle, and the other half is to be given to the people of Israel. 28 But first, the Lord gets a share of all the captives, oxen, donkeys, and flocks kept by the army. His share is one out of every five hundred. 29 Give this share to Eleazar the priest to be presented to the Lord by the gesture of waving before the altar. 30 Also levy a 2 percent tribute of all the captives, flocks, and cattle that are given to the people of Israel. Present this to the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle, for it is the Lord’s portion.”
31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded. 32-35 The total booty (besides the jewelry, clothing, etc., which the soldiers kept for themselves) was 675,000 sheep; 72,000 oxen; 61,000 donkeys; and 32,000 young girls.
36-40 So the half given to the army totaled: 337,500 sheep (of which 675 were given to the Lord); 36,000 oxen (of which 72 were given to the Lord); 30,500 donkeys (of which 61 were given to the Lord); 16,000 girls (of whom 32 went to the Levites[b]).
41 All of the Lord’s portion was given to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord had directed Moses.
42-46 The half of the booty assigned to the people of Israel—Moses had separated it from the half belonging to the warriors—amounted to: 337,500 sheep, 36,000 oxen, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 girls.
47 In accordance with the Lord’s directions, Moses gave 2 percent of these to the Levites.
48-49 Then the officers and battalion leaders came to Moses and said, “We have accounted for all the men who went out to battle, and not one of us is missing! 50 So we have brought a special thank offering to the Lord from our loot—gold jewelry, bracelets, anklets, rings, earrings, and necklaces. This is to make atonement for our souls before the Lord.”
51-52 Moses and Eleazar the priest received this special offering from the captains and battalion leaders and company commanders, and found its total value to be more than $300,000. 53 (The soldiers had also kept personal loot for themselves.) 54 The offering was taken into the Tabernacle and kept there before the Lord as a memorial of the people of Israel.
4 1-2 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan River, being urged by the Spirit out into the barren wastelands of Judea, where Satan tempted him for forty days. He ate nothing all that time and was very hungry.
3 Satan said, “If you are God’s Son, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4 But Jesus replied, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘Other things in life are much more important than bread!’”[a]
5 Then Satan took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time; 6-7 and the devil told him, “I will give you all these splendid kingdoms and their glory—for they are mine to give to anyone I wish—if you will only get down on your knees and worship me.”
8 Jesus replied, “We must worship God, and him alone. So it is written in the Scriptures.”
9-11 Then Satan took him to Jerusalem to a high roof of the Temple and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say that God will send his angels to guard you and to keep you from crashing to the pavement below!”
12 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to a foolish test.’”
13 When the devil had ended all the temptations, he left Jesus for a while and went away.
14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, full of the Holy Spirit’s power. Soon he became well known throughout all that region 15 for his sermons in the synagogues; everyone praised him.
16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on Saturday, and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The book of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him, and he opened it to the place where it says:
18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, and that God is ready to give blessings to all who come to him.”[b]
20 He closed the book and handed it back to the attendant and sat down, while everyone in the synagogue gazed at him intently. 21 Then he added, “These Scriptures came true today!”
22 All who were there spoke well of him and were amazed by the beautiful words that fell from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23 Then he said, “Probably you will quote me that proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Why don’t you do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum?’ 24 But I solemnly declare to you that no prophet is accepted in his own hometown! 25-26 For example, remember how Elijah the prophet used a miracle to help the widow of Zarephath—a foreigner from the land of Sidon. There were many Jewish widows needing help in those days of famine, for there had been no rain for three and a half years, and hunger stalked the land; yet Elijah was not sent to them. 27 Or think of the prophet Elisha, who healed Naaman, a Syrian, rather than the many Jewish lepers needing help.”
28 These remarks stung them to fury; 29 and jumping up, they mobbed him and took him to the edge of the hill on which the city was built, to push him over the cliff. 30 But he walked away through the crowd and left them.
63 A psalm of David when he was hiding in the wilderness of Judea.
O God, my God! How I search for you! How I thirst for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. How I long to find you! 2 How I wish I could go into your sanctuary to see your strength and glory, 3 for your love and kindness are better to me than life itself. How I praise you! 4 I will bless you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. 5 At last I shall be fully satisfied; I will praise you with great joy.
6 I lie awake at night thinking of you— 7 of how much you have helped me—and how I rejoice through the night beneath the protecting shadow of your wings. 8 I follow close behind you, protected by your strong right arm. 9 But those plotting to destroy me shall go down to the depths of hell. 10 They are doomed to die by the sword, to become the food of jackals. 11 But I[a] will rejoice in God. All who trust in him exult, while liars shall be silenced.
20 The Lord hates the stubborn but delights in those who are good.
21 You can be very sure the evil man will not go unpunished forever. And you can also be very sure God will rescue the children of the godly.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.