Bible in 90 Days

²⁰ Moses said to them, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves for battle for Adonai, ²¹ and if all of you cross the Jordan until Adonai has driven His enemies from before Him ²² and the land is subdued before Adonai—then afterward you may return and be free before Adonai and Israel. Then this territory will be your possession before Adonai.

²³ “But if you don’t do this, behold, you sin against Adonai! Be assured! Your sin will find you out! ²⁴ Build for yourselves cities for your children and pens for your flocks. Then do what has come out of your mouth.”

²⁵ The sons of Gad and Reuben said to Moses saying, “Your servants will do just as my lord is commanding. ²⁶ Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all of our herds will remain here in the cities of Gilead. ²⁷ But your servants, every one armed for battle, will cross over for the war before Adonai, just as my lord says.”

²⁸ Moses then gave orders about them to Eleazar the kohen, Joshua son of Nun, and to the chiefs of the fathers of the tribes of Bnei-Yisrael. ²⁹ Moses said to them, “If the sons of Gad and Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, everyone armed for battle before Adonai, when the land is subdued before you, then give them the territory of Gilead as a possession. ³⁰ However, if they do not cross over fully armed, they are to possess the land of Canaan with you.”

³¹ The sons of Gad and Reuben answered saying, “What Adonai has said to your servants, so we will do. ³² We will cross fully armed before Adonai into Canaan, but our inheritance will be on this side of the Jordan.”

³³ Moses then gave to them—the sons of Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, son of Joseph—the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan—the land with its cities and the territory around the cities. ³⁴ The sons of Gad built up Dibon, Ataroth and Aroer, ³⁵ as well as Atroh-shophan, Jazer and Jogbehah, ³⁶ Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran as fortified cities, as well as sheep pens.

³⁷ The sons of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, ³⁸ Nebo, Baal Meon, (cities whose names were changed) and Sibmah. They gave other names to the rebuilt cities.

³⁹ The sons of Machir son of Manasseh went up to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there. ⁴⁰ So Moses gave Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and he lived there. ⁴¹ Jair, a son of Manasseh, went and captured their settlements and named them Jair’s Villages.

⁴² Nobah went and conquered Kenath and its settlements and named them Nobah after his own name.

Parashat Masei

Israel’s Journeys Reviewed

33 These are the journeys of Bnei-Yisrael when they came out of Egypt by their divisions under the hand of Moses and Aaron. ² Moses recorded the stages of their journeys at Adonai’s command. These then are their journeys by stages.

³ Bnei-Yisrael set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, the first day after Passover. They went out with a high hand in the sight of all Egypt. ^{[a] 4} Now the Egyptians were burying those whom Adonai had struck down among them. Adonai had brought judgments on all their first-born and their gods.

⁵ Bnei-Yisrael left Rameses and encamped at Succoth. ⁶ They departed from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. ⁷ They left from Etham and turned back toward Pi-Hahiroth, east of Baal-Zephon, and camped before Migdol. ⁸ They left from before Pi-Hahiroth and passed through the sea into the wilderness. They traveled three days journey into the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. ⁹ They departed from Marah and went to Elim. There were twelve water springs and 70 palm trees in Elim, so they camped there. ¹⁰ They left Elim and camped by the Sea of Reeds.

¹¹ They set out from the Sea of Reeds and camped in the wilderness of Sin. ¹² They left from the wilderness of Sin and camped in Dophkah. ¹³ They then left Dophkah and camped at Alush. ¹⁴ They left from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

¹⁵ They set out from Rephidim and encamped in the Sinai wilderness. ¹⁶ They departed from the Sinai wilderness and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah. ¹⁷ They left from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. ¹⁸ Departing Hazeroth, they camped at Rithmah. ¹⁹ Leaving Rithmah, they camped at Rimmon-perez. ²⁰ They left from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah. ²¹ They departed Libnah and camped at Rissah. ²² They left Rissah and camped at Kehelah. ²³ They left Kehelah and camped at Mount Shepher. ²⁴ They departed Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. ²⁵ They departed from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. ²⁶ They left Makheloth and camped in Tahath.

²⁷ They left from Tahath and camped in Terah. ²⁸ They left Terah and camped in Mithkah. ²⁹ They departed Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. ³⁰ They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

³¹ They left Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan. ³² Departing Bene-jaakan, they camped at Hor-haggidgad. ³³ Leaving Hor-haggidgad, they camped at Jotbah. ³⁴ They left Jotbah and camped at Abronah. ³⁵ They departed from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber. ³⁶ They left Ezion-geber and encamped at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.

³⁷ Leaving Kadesh, they camped at Mount Hor on the border of the land of Edom. ³⁸ Aaron the kohen went up Mount Hor at Adonai’s command and died there, in the fortieth year since the departure of Bnei-Yisrael from the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. ³⁹ Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰ The Canaanite king of Arad, who was living in the Negev in the territory of Canaan, heard of the coming of Bnei-Yisrael. ⁴¹ They departed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. ⁴² They left Zalmonah and encamped at Punon. ⁴³ Departing Punon, they camped at Oboth. ⁴⁴ Leaving Oboth, they camped at Ije-abarim on the border of Moab. ⁴⁵ They moved on from Ijim and camped at Dibon-gad. ⁴⁶ They moved on from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim. ⁴⁷ They departed from Almon-diblathaim and camped at the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.

⁴⁸ They moved on from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan, across from Jericho. ⁴⁹ They camped along the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth to Abel-shittim.

⁵⁰ Adonai spoke to Moses along the Jordan in the plains of Moab across from Jericho saying, ⁵¹ “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and say to them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ⁵² You must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. You must destroy all their idols and cast images, and demolish their high places. ⁵³ You will take possession of the land, so you will settle in it, because I have given it to you to possess.

⁵⁴ “You are to divide the land by lot according to your families. To the large, make their inheritance larger, and to the small, make their inheritance smaller. Whatever comes out of the lot will be theirs. You are to distribute the inheritance according to your ancestral tribes.

⁵⁵ “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, whoever you allow to remain will become to you barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land in which you will be living. ⁵⁶ Then what I had intended to do to them, I will do to you.”

Borders of Israel

34 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ² “Command Bnei-Yisrael and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan, these are the boundaries of the land being allotted to you as an inheritance. ³ Your southern side will run from the wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom to the southern end of the Dead Sea on the east. ⁴ Your border will cross south of the Scorpion Pass and continue to Zin and south of Kadesh-barnea, then go on to Hazar-addar and on to Azmon. ⁵ Then the border will turn from Azmon to the Wadi of Egypt and end at the sea.

⁶ “Your western boundary will be the coast of the Great Sea. This will be your western border.

⁷ “Your northern boundary will be by running a line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor, ⁸ then from Mount Hor to Levo-Hamath^[b], then the boundary will go to Zedad. ⁹ The border will continue on to Ziphron, ending at Hazar-Enan. This will be your northern border.

¹⁰ “For your eastern border, run a line from Hazar-Enan to Shepham. ¹¹ From Shepham, the boundary will descend to Riblah on the east side of Ain, continuing along the eastern slopes of Kinneret^[c]. ¹² From there the border will go down along the Jordan, ending at the Dead Sea. This will be your territory with its surrounding borders.”

¹³ Moses commanded Bnei-Yisrael, saying, “This is the land which Adonai has commanded that you are to assign by lot to the nine and a half tribes. ¹⁴ For the tribe of the sons of Reuben by their ancestral houses, the tribe of the sons of Gad by their ancestral houses, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance. ¹⁵ These two and a half tribes have received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan at Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

¹⁶ Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ¹⁷ “These are the names of the men who will allot the land to you: Eleazar the kohen and Joshua son of Nun. ¹⁸ Also you are to select one prince from each tribe to allot the land. ¹⁹ These are their names: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh. ²⁰ From the tribe of the sons of Simeon, Shemuel son of Ammihud. ²¹ From the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Chislon. ²² From the tribe of the sons of Dan, the prince is Bukki son of Jogli. ²³ From the sons of Joseph, from the tribe of the sons of Manasseh, the prince is to be Hanniel son of Ephod. ²⁴ The prince from the tribe of the sons of Ephraim is to be Kemuel son of Shiphtan.

²⁵ “The prince from the tribe of the sons of Zebulun is Elizaphan son of Parnach. ²⁶ The prince from the tribe of the sons of Issachar is Paltiel son of Azzan. ²⁷ The prince from the tribe of the sons of Asher is Ahihud son of Shelomi. ²⁸ The prince from the tribe of the sons of Naphtali is Pedahel son of Ammihud.” ²⁹ These were those Adonai commanded to apportion to Bnei-Yisrael the land of Canaan.

Cities for the Levites

35 Adonai spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho saying, ² “Command Bnei-Yisrael to give to the Levites from the inheritance of their possessions cities in which to live. They are also to give the Levites pasturelands around the cities. ³ Thus they will have cities to live in and pastures for their cattle, flocks and all their livestock. ⁴ The pastures you give the Levites will extend out from the walls around the cities for 1,000 cubits. ⁵ You are to measure outside the cities 2,000 cubits on the east side, 2,000 cubits on the south side, on the west side 2,000 cubits, and on the north side 2,000 cubits. These are to be pasturelands for the cities.

⁶ “Six of the cities you give the Levites are to be cities of refuge, to which anyone who kills anyone may flee. Besides these, you are to give the Levites 42 more cities. ⁷ In all, you are to give the Levites 48 cities with their pastures. ⁸ The cities that you are to give to the Levites from the possession of Bnei-Yisrael should be proportionate to the inheritance of each tribe—give many from the one who has many and few from the one who has few.”

⁹ Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael saying: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ¹¹ You are to select cities which will be cities of refuge, to which one might flee if he has killed someone by accident. ¹² They are to be cities for refuge from the avenger, so the manslayer may not die before standing trial before the assembly. ¹³ The six cities you designate are to be your cities of refuge. ¹⁴ Designate three cities on this side of the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan as cities of refuge.

¹⁵ “These six cities of refuge are to be for Bnei-Yisrael as well as for the outsider and the visitor in their midst, for anyone killing a person by accident. ¹⁶ Now if the manslayer strikes someone with an iron object so that he dies, he is a murderer and the murderer must die. ¹⁷ If anyone has a stone in his hand that could be deadly and strikes anyone with it so that he dies, he is a murderer and the murderer must die. ¹⁸ Or if someone has a wooden object that could kill and strikes anyone so that he dies, he is a murderer and the murderer must be put to death. ¹⁹ The blood avenger himself may put the murderer to death. When he finds him, he is to kill him.

²⁰ “If anyone pushes someone maliciously, or throws anything at him with deadly intent, ²¹ or with hostility hits him with his fist so that he dies, the one hitting him is a murderer. The blood avenger may put the murderer to death when he finds him. ²² But if he pushes him suddenly or throws an object at him with no intent, ²³ or without seeing him should drop a stone on him resulting in his death, but he was not his enemy and intended him no harm, ²⁴ the assembly must judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood according to these regulations. ²⁵ The assembly must protect the manslayer from the avenger of blood. The assembly should send him back to the city of refuge to which he had fled and he is to remain there until the death of the kohen gadol who was anointed with the holy oil.

²⁶ “But if the manslayer should go outside the city limit of his city of refuge to which he had fled, ²⁷ and should the blood avenger find him outside the city limits of the refuge city, the blood avenger may put him to death without being guilty of his blood. ²⁸ The manslayer must stay within the limits of his city of refuge until the kohen gadol dies, and after the death of the kohen gadol, the manslayer may return to his property.

²⁹ “These are to be statutes of justice for your generations in all your dwelling places. ³⁰ Everyone killing anyone shall be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of more than one witness. No one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

³¹ “You are not to accept ransom for the life of a murderer. He deserves to die and he is to die. ³² Do not receive a ransom for one who has fled to his city of refuge, allowing him to return to his land before the kohen gadol’s death. ³³ You are not to pollute the land in which you are. Blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for land polluted by bloodshed except by the blood of the one who sheds it. ³⁴ You are not to defile the land where you live, where I dwell, for I dwell among Bnei-Yisrael.”

Further Ruling About Daughters’ Inheritance

36 The heads of the ancestral family of the children of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, from the sons of Joseph, came and spoke before Moses and before the princes of the chiefs of the fathers of Bnei-Yisrael. ² They said, “My lord, Adonai commanded to give the land by lot as an inheritance to Bnei-Yisrael. My lord was also commanded by Adonai to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.

³ “If they become wives of men from other tribes of Israel, their inheritance will be taken from our ancestral inheritance and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So it will be deducted from the allotment of our inheritance. ⁴ When the Jubilee year comes, their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry and deducted from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.”

⁵ Then Moses commanded Bnei-Yisrael at the mouth of Adonai, “What the tribe of the descendants of Joseph is saying is correct. ⁶ This is the word that Adonai commands for the daughters of Zelophehad saying: They may become wives to whomever they please, as long as they marry within the family of the tribe of their father. ⁷ So no inheritance may be passed from tribe to tribe among Bnei-Yisrael—each one of Bnei-Yisrael will each keep the inheritance of the tribe of his ancestors. ⁸ Every daughter receiving an inheritance in one of the tribes of Bnei-Yisrael should marry within the family of her father’s tribe, so that Bnei-Yisrael will each possess the inheritance of his fathers. ⁹ No inheritance may pass from tribe to another tribe, for each tribe of Bnei-Yisrael is to keep its inheritance.”

¹⁰ So Zelophehad’s daughters did just as Adonai commanded Moses. ¹¹ Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah—married sons of their uncles. ¹² They married within the families of the sons of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained within the tribe of their ancestral family.

¹³ These are the mitzvot and judgments that Adonai gave by Moses’s hand to Bnei-Yisrael, on the plains of Moab at Jericho along the Jordan.

Parashat D’varim

Devarim: The Words that Moses Spoke

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan—in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Di-Zahab. ² It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.

³ Now Moses spoke to Bnei-Yisrael, according to all Adonai had commanded him for them—in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, ⁴ after he had struck down Sihon king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon, and Og king of the Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei.

⁵ Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this Torah saying, ⁶ “Adonai our God spoke to us at Horeb saying: ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. ⁷ Turn, journey on, and enter the hill country of the Amorites and all their neighbors, in the Arabah, the hill country, the lowland, the Negev, and by the seashore—the land of the Canaanites and the Lebanon as far as the great river, the Euphrates. ⁸ See, I have set the land before you. Enter and possess the land that Adonai swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob—to give to them and to their descendants after them.’^[d]

Bad Report and Poor Response

⁹ “I spoke to you at that time saying: ‘I am not able to bear the burden of you by myself. ¹⁰ Adonai your God has multiplied you—and here you are today, like the stars of the heavens in number.

¹¹ “‘May Adonai, God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times as many as you are, and may He bless you just as He has promised you! ¹² How can I bear your load and burden and bickering by myself? ¹³ Choose for yourselves wise and discerning men, well known to your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’

¹⁴ “You answered me and said: ‘The thing you have said to do is good.’ ¹⁵ So I took the heads of your tribes, men who were wise and well known, and appointed them as heads over you—leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, leaders of tens, and officials for your tribes.

¹⁶ “I commanded your judges at that time saying: ‘Hear cases between your brothers, and judge fairly^[e] between a man and his brother or the outsider with him. ¹⁷ You must not show partiality in judgment^[f]—you must hear the small and the great alike. Fear no man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me and I will hear it.’

¹⁸ “I commanded you at that time everything you should do.

¹⁹ “Then we journeyed from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness that you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Adonai our God commanded us. Then we came to Kadesh-barnea. ²⁰ I said to you: ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which Adonai our God is giving to us. ²¹ See, Adonai your God has set the land before you—go up, take possession, as Adonai God of your fathers has promised you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.’

²² “Then all of you came near to me and said: ‘Let’s send men ahead of us to explore the land for us and bring us back word about the way we should go up and the cities we will enter.’

²³ “The idea seemed good to me, so I took twelve men from among you—one man for each tribe. ²⁴ They turned and went up into the hill country, and they came to the Wadi Eshcol and spied it out. ²⁵ They took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us. They also brought back word to us and said, ‘Good is the land that Adonai our God is giving to us.’

²⁶ “Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of Adonai your God. ²⁷ In your tents you grumbled and said: ‘Because Adonai hates us, He has brought us out from the land of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites, to destroy us! ²⁸ Where are we going? Our brothers have discouraged our hearts saying, “The people are greater and taller than we are! The cities are great and fortified up to the heavens! Besides, we have even seen the children of Anakim there!”’

²⁹ “Then I said to you, ‘Don’t tremble or be afraid of them. ³⁰ Adonai your God, who goes before you, He Himself will fight for you—just as He did for you in Egypt before your own eyes, ³¹ and in the wilderness, where you saw how Adonai your God carried you as a man carries his son, everywhere you went until you came to this place.’ ³² Yet for all this you did not trust in Adonai your God— ³³ the One who goes before you on the way to scout out a place for you to camp and to show you the way you should go, in fire by night and in the cloud by day.

³⁴ “When Adonai heard the tone^[g] of your words, He was angry and swore an oath saying, ³⁵ ‘Not one of these men of this evil generation will see the good land that I swore to give your fathers— ³⁶ except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He will see it—yet to him and his children I will give the land that he has walked on, because he has followed Adonai wholeheartedly.’

³⁷ “Adonai was even angry with me on your account, saying, ‘You will not enter there, either. ³⁸ Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, will enter there—encourage him, for he will enable Israel to inherit it.

³⁹ “‘Moreover, your little ones—whom you said would become plunder, and your children who today have no knowledge of good or evil—they will enter there. To them I will give it and they will possess it. ⁴⁰ But as for you, turn around and journey into the wilderness by way of the Sea of Reeds^[h].’

⁴¹ “Then you answered and said to me, ‘We have sinned against Adonai. We will go up and fight, just as Adonai our God commanded us.’ So each of you strapped on his weapons of war, figuring it was easy to go up to the hill country.

⁴² “But Adonai said to me, ‘Tell them, “Do not go up and fight—for I am not with you, and you will be defeated by your enemies.”’

⁴³ “So I told you, but you would not listen—you rebelled against the command of Adonai and presumptuously went up into the hill country. ⁴⁴ The Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you, and they chased you as bees do and scattered you from Seir to Hormah. ⁴⁵ Then you returned and wept before Adonai, but Adonai did not listen to your voice or pay attention to you.

⁴⁶ “So you stayed in Kadesh many days—like the days you had spent before.

Moses Recalls Wilderness Journey

2 “Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness by the way to the Sea of Reeds, just as Adonai told me. We went around the hill country of Seir for many days.

² “Adonai spoke to me saying, ³ ‘You have gone around this hill country long enough—turn to the north. ⁴ Command the people saying, “You are about to cross into the territory of your relatives, the sons of Esau, who dwell in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful. ⁵ Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land—not even a footprint—because I have given the hill country of Seir to Esau as a possession. ⁶ You are to buy food from them for money so that you may eat, and you are also to buy water from them for money so that you may drink. ⁷ For Adonai your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand—He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These 40 years Adonai your God has been with you—you have lacked nothing.”’

⁸ “So we went on past our relatives the sons of Esau who dwell in Seir, away from the way of the Arabah from Elath and Ezion-geber. We turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

⁹ “Adonai said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab or engage them in battle. For I will not give you any of his land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession. ¹⁰ (The Emim used to live there—a great and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim. ¹¹ These people also are considered Rephaim, like the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim. ¹² Now the Horites used to live in Seir, but the sons of Esau drove them out and destroyed them from before themselves and settled in their place—just as Israel did to the land of its possession that Adonai gave to them.) ¹³ Now rise up, and cross over the Wadi Zered.’ So we went over the Wadi Zered.

¹⁴ “The time that we traveled from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the Wadi Zered was 38 years—until all the generation of the men of war from within the camp came to an end, as Adonai had sworn to them. ¹⁵ Indeed, the hand of Adonai was against them, to destroy them from within the camp until they came to their end.^[i]

¹⁶ “Now when all the men of war had finished dying from among the people, ¹⁷ Adonai spoke to me saying, ¹⁸ ‘Today you are about to cross the border of Moab at Ar. ¹⁹ When you come opposite the sons of Ammon, do not harass or provoke them—for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon for a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession. ²⁰ (That also is considered a land of Rephaim. Rephaim used to live there, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim— ²¹ a great and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim. But Adonai destroyed them from before them, and the Ammonites dispossessed them and settled in their place. ²² It was just as Adonai did for the sons of Esau, who dwell in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites before them. They drove them out and settled in their place even to this day. ²³ As for the Avvim who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim who came from Crete destroyed them and settled in their place.)

Defeat of Sihon and Og

²⁴ “‘Rise up, journey on, and cross over the Wadi Arnon. See, I have handed over Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land—begin to possess it! Engage him in battle! ²⁵ This very day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the peoples everywhere under heaven. When they hear the report about you, they will tremble and twist in anguish because of you.’

²⁶ “So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of shalom saying, ²⁷ ‘Let me pass through your land—I will go only by way of the road. I will not turn to the right or to the left. ²⁸ You will sell me food for money so that I may eat and give me water for money so that I may drink. Just let me pass through on foot— ²⁹ as the sons of Esau dwelling in Seir and the Moabites in Ar did for me—until I cross over the Jordan into the land that Adonai our God is giving to us.’ ³⁰ But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, because Adonai your God stiffened his spirit and hardened his heart, in order to hand him over to you this very day.^[j]

³¹ “Adonai said to me, ‘See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you—begin to take possession in order to take hold of his land.’

³² “Then Sihon came out against us—he and all his people—to battle at Jahaz. ³³ Adonai our God gave him over to us, and we struck him down along with his sons and all his people. ³⁴ We captured all his cities at that time, and utterly put under a ban of judgment every city—men, women and children. We left no survivor. ³⁵ We took only the livestock as plunder for ourselves, as the spoils of the cities we captured. ³⁶ From Aroer which is on the edge of the Wadi Arnon and the city by the wadi, all the way up to the Gilead, there was not a town too high for us. Adonai our God gave everything over to us. ³⁷ Only you did not come near the land of the sons of Ammon—all along the Wadi Jabbok and the cities of the hill country and wherever Adonai our God had commanded.

3 “Next we turned and went up the way to the Bashan. King Og of the Bashan came out against us—he and all his people—for battle at Edrei. ² But Adonai said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have handed him over and all his people and his land. You will do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.’

³ “So Adonai our God also handed over King Og of the Bashan and all his people, and we struck him down until no survivor was left. ⁴ We captured all his cities at that time—there was not a town that we did not take from them—sixty cities, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in the Bashan. ⁵ All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates and bars, in addition to a great many unwalled towns. ⁶ We utterly destroyed them, just as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every city—men, women and children. ⁷ But all the livestock and the spoils of the cities we took as plunder for ourselves.

⁸ “So at that time we took from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites the land across the Jordan, from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon. ⁹ (Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir.) ¹⁰ We took all the cities of the plain and all the Gilead and all the Bashan, as far as Salcah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in the Bashan. ¹¹ (For only King Og of the Bashan survived from the remnant of the Rephaim. In fact, his bed was made of iron—is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits was its length and four cubits its width, according to the cubit of a man.)

Possession East of Jordan

¹² “This land we took in possession at that time—from Aroer by the Wadi Arnon and half the hill country of the Gilead and its cities—I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites. ¹³ The rest of the Gilead and all of the Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh—all the region of the Argob. (All the Bashan is called the land of Rephaim. ¹⁴ Jair son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites. He called them—the Bashan—after his own name, Havvoth-jair’s Villages, as it is the case to this day.)

¹⁵ “To Machir I gave the Gilead. ¹⁶ To the Reubenite and Gadites I gave from the Gilead as far as the Wadi Arnon—the middle of the wadi as the border—and as far as Jabbok, the wadi that is the border of the sons of Ammon, ¹⁷ and the Arabah, with the Jordan as the border from Kinneret as far as the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah eastward.

¹⁸ “I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘Adonai your God has given you this land to possess it. Ready for battle, you will cross over ahead of your brothers Bnei-Yisrael—all the men of valor. ¹⁹ Only your wives and your little ones and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) may stay in your cities that I have given you, ²⁰ until Adonai gives rest to your brothers as He has for you, and they also possess the land that Adonai your God is giving them across the Jordan. Then you may return, each man to his possession that I have given you.’

²¹ “I commanded Joshua at that time saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that Adonai your God has done to these two kings. Adonai will do the same to all the kingdoms you are about to cross into. ²² You must not fear them, for it is Adonai your God who fights for you.’

Parashat Va’etchanan

Moses Pleads to Enter

²³ “I pleaded with Adonai at that time, saying, ²⁴ ‘O Lord Adonai, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand—for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do deeds and mighty acts like Yours? ²⁵ Please! Let me cross over and see the good land across the Jordan—that good hill country and the Lebanon.’

²⁶ “But Adonai was angry with me because of you, so He would not listen to me. ‘Enough!’ Adonai said to me, ‘Do not speak to Me anymore about this matter. ²⁷ Go up to the top of Pisgah, look around to the west and the north and the south and the east, and see with your eyes—for you will not cross over this Jordan. ²⁸ But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will cross over before this people, and he will enable them to inherit the land that you will see.’ ²⁹ So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

Bnei-Yisrael Must Listen and Obey

4 “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to do, so that you may live and go in and possess the land that Adonai the God of your fathers is giving you. ² You must not add to the word that I am commanding you or take away from it—in order to keep the mitzvot of Adonai your God that I am commanding you. ³ Your eyes have seen what Adonai did at Baal Peor, for Adonai your God has destroyed from among you everyone who followed Baal Peor. ⁴ But you who held tight to Adonai your God are alive today—all of you.

⁵ “See, just as Adonai my God commanded me, I have taught you statutes and ordinances to do in the land that you are about to enter to possess. ⁶ You must keep and do them, for it is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples, who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ ⁷ For what great nation is there that has gods so near to them, as Adonai our God is whenever we call on Him? ⁸ What great nation is there that has statutes and ordinances that are righteous—like all of this Torah that I am setting before you today?

⁹ “Only be watchful and watch over your soul closely, so you do not forget the things your eyes have seen and they slip from your heart all the days of your life. You are to make them known to your children and your children’s children. ¹⁰ The day that you stood before Adonai your God in Horeb, Adonai said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me and I will make them hear My words, so that they learn to fear Me all the days that they live on the earth, and so that they teach their children.’

Words from the Fiery Mountain

¹¹ “You came near and stood at the bottom of the mountain while the mountain was blazing with fire up to the heart of the heavens—darkness, cloud, and fog. ¹² Adonai spoke to you from the midst of the fire. The sound of words you heard, but a form you did not see—only a voice. ^{[k] 13} He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to do—the Ten Words—and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. ^{[l] 14} Adonai commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, so that you might do them in the land you are crossing over to possess.

¹⁵ “So be very watchful over your souls since you saw no form on the day that Adonai spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire, ¹⁶ so that you do not act corruptly and make for yourselves a graven image in the likeness of any figure—the form of a male or female, ¹⁷ the form of any animal that is on the earth, the form of any winged bird that flies in the sky, ¹⁸ the form of anything that creeps on the ground, the form of any fish that is in the water under the earth— ¹⁹ and so that you do not lift up your eyes toward the heavens and see the sun and the moon and the stars—all the heavenly host—and are drawn away and bow down and worship them. Adonai your God has allotted them to all the peoples under all the heavens. ²⁰ But you, Adonai has taken, and He brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt to be a people for His own inheritance, as you are this day.

²¹ “Furthermore Adonai was angry with me because of your words, and He swore that I would not cross over the Jordan or enter the good land that Adonai your God is giving you for an inheritance. ²² For I must die in this land; I am not crossing over the Jordan. But you will cross over and take possession of that good land. ²³ Watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the covenant of Adonai your God, which He cut with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything that Adonai your God has forbidden you. ²⁴ For Adonai your God is a consuming fire^[m]—a jealous God.

²⁵ “When you father children and children’s children and have been in the land a long time, and you act corruptly and make a graven image in the form of anything and do evil in the sight of Adonai your God, provoking Him to anger, ²⁶ I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that you will certainly be carried off quickly from the land you are crossing over the Jordan to possess. You will not prolong your days on it, for you will certainly be destroyed. ²⁷ Adonai will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where Adonai will drive you. ²⁸ There you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which do not see or hear or eat or smell. ²⁹ But from there you will seek Adonai your God and you will find Him, when you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

³⁰ “When you are in distress and all these things have come on you, in the latter days you will return to Adonai your God and listen to His voice. ³¹ For Adonai your God is a merciful God. He will not abandon you or destroy you, or forget the covenant with your fathers that He swore to them.

³² “Indeed, ask now about the former days that were before you, from the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of the sky to the other. Has there ever been such a great thing as this, or has anything like it been heard? ³³ Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard—and lived? ³⁴ Or has any god ever tried to come to take for himself a nation from within a nation—by trials, by signs and wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors—like all that Adonai your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? ³⁵ You were shown, so that you might know that Adonai is God—there is no other besides Him. ^{[n] 36} From the heavens He made you hear His voice to instruct you,^[o] and on earth He caused you to see His great fire—you heard His words from the midst of the fire. ³⁷ Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them. Then He brought you out from Egypt with His presence, by His great power— ³⁸ to drive out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.

³⁹ “So you will know today and take to heart that Adonai, He is God, in the heavens above and on the earth below—there is no other. ⁴⁰ You must keep His statutes and His mitzvot, which I am commanding you today, so that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and so that you may prolong your days in the land that Adonai your God is giving you for all time.”

⁴¹ Then Moses set apart three cities beyond the Jordan, toward the east. ⁴² There the manslayer might flee, who kills his neighbor unintentionally and did not hate him previously. He may flee to one of these cities and live: ⁴³ Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramot in the Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in the Bashan for the Manassites.

⁴⁴ This is the Torah, which Moses set before Bnei-Yisrael. ⁴⁵ These are the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances, which Moses spoke to Bnei-Yisrael when they came out from Egypt— ⁴⁶ beyond the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and Bnei-Yisrael struck down when they came out from Egypt. ⁴⁷ They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of the Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan toward the east— ⁴⁸ from Aroer, which is on the edge of the wadi Arnon, as far as Mount Sion (that is, Hermon), ⁴⁹ and all the Arabah beyond the Jordan eastward, as far as the sea of the Arabah^[p], under the slopes of Pisgah.

The Ten Words

5 Moses called to all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances that I am speaking in your hearing today, learn them and make sure to do them. ² Adonai our God cut a covenant with us in Horeb. ³ Not with our fathers has Adonai cut this covenant but with us—all of us alive here today. ⁴ Adonai spoke with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. ⁵ (I was standing between Adonai and you at that time, to tell you the word of Adonai, because you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain.)

‘He said:

⁶ ‘I am Adonai your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

⁷ ‘You shall not have other gods beside Me.

⁸ ‘Do not make for yourself a graven image—no image of what is in the heavens above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. ⁹ Do not bow down to them or worship them. For I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, ¹⁰ but showing lovingkindness to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My mitzvot.

¹¹ ‘You must not take the Name of Adonai your God in vain, for Adonai will not leave unpunished anyone who takes His Name in vain.

¹² ‘Observe Yom Shabbat to keep it holy, as Adonai your God commanded you. ¹³ Six days you are to labor and do all your work, ¹⁴ but the seventh day is a Shabbat to Adonai your God. In it you are not to do any work—not you or your son or your daughter, or your slave or your maid, or your ox, your donkey or any of your livestock or the outsider within your gates, so that your slave and your maid may rest as you do. ¹⁵ You must remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Adonai your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore Adonai your God commanded you to keep Yom Shabbat.

¹⁶ ‘Honor your father and your mother just as Adonai your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and it may go well with you in the land Adonai your God is giving you.^[q]

¹⁷ ‘Do not murder.

‘Do not commit adultery.

‘Do not steal.

‘Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.^[r][s]

¹⁸ ‘Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’

¹⁹ “These words Adonai spoke to all your assembly on the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud and the fog, with a great voice. He added no more. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.

Live and Prolong Your Days

²⁰ “As soon as you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was blazing with fire, you came near to me—all the heads of your tribes and your elders. ²¹ Then you said, ‘Adonai our God has just shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. This day we have seen that God speaks with man, and yet he keeps on living. ²² Now then, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us! If we hear the voice of Adonai our God any more, then we will die. ²³ For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? ²⁴ You go near and hear all that Adonai our God says. Then you tell us all what Adonai our God tells you, and we will hear it and do it.’

²⁵ “Adonai heard the tone of your words when you spoke to me, and Adonai said to me, ‘I have heard the tone of the words that this people has spoken to you—they have done well in all they have spoken. ²⁶ If only there were such a heart in them to fear Me and keep all My mitzvot always, so that it might go well with them and with their children forever! ²⁷ Go say to them, “Return to your tents.” ²⁸ But as for you, stand here by Me, and I will tell you the whole commandment—both the statutes and the ordinances that you are to teach them. And they will do them in the land I am giving them to possess.’

²⁹ “So you must take care to do as Adonai your God has commanded you—do not turn aside to the right or to the left. ³⁰ You are to walk in all the way that Adonai your God has commanded you, so that you may live and it may be well with you and you may prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

6 “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and ordinances that Adonai your God commanded to teach you to do in the land you are crossing over to possess— ² so that you might fear Adonai your God, to keep all His statutes and mitzvot that I am commanding you and your son and your son’s son all the days of your life, and so that you may prolong your days. ³ Hear, therefore, O Israel, and take care to do this, so that it may go well with you and you may increase mightily, as Adonai the God of your fathers has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Shema Israel, ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI Echad

⁴ “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one^[t]. ⁵ Love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ^{[u] 6} These words, which I am commanding you today, are to be on your heart. ⁷ You are to teach them diligently to your children, and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. ⁸ Bind them as a sign on your hand, they are to be as frontlets^[v] between your eyes, ⁹ and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

When You Prosper, Do Not Forget

¹⁰ “Now when Adonai your God brings you into the land that He swore to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—to give you great and good cities that you did not build, ¹¹ and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns dug that you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant, and you eat and are full, ¹² then watch yourself so that you do not forget Adonai, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ¹³ You must fear Adonai your God and serve Him,^[w] and swear by His Name. ¹⁴ You must not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; ¹⁵ for Adonai your God in the midst of you is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of Adonai your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you from the face of the earth.

¹⁶ “You are not to test Adonai your God, as you tested Him at Massah. ^{[x] 17} Diligently keep the mitzvot of Adonai your God, and His testimonies and His statutes that He has commanded you. ¹⁸ You are to do what is right and good in the sight of Adonai, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and possess the good land that Adonai swore to your fathers— ¹⁹ to drive out all your enemies from before you, as Adonai has spoken.

When Your Son Asks

²⁰ “When your son asks you in time to come, saying ‘What are the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances that Adonai our God commanded you?’ ²¹ then you are to tell your son, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Adonai brought us out from Egypt with a mighty hand. ²² Before our eyes Adonai showed signs and wonders, great and terrible—on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his house. ²³ Then He brought us out from there so that He might bring us in, to give us the land that He swore to our fathers. ²⁴ Adonai commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Adonai our God—for our good always, to keep us alive, as is the case this day. ²⁵ It will be righteousness^[y] to us, if we take care to do all this commandment before Adonai our God, just as He has commanded us.’

No Mixing With Idolaters

7 “When Adonai your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out many nations before you—the Hittite and the Girgashite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you— ² and Adonai your God gives them over to you and you strike them down, then you are to utterly destroy them. You are to make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. ³ You are not to intermarry with them—you are not to give your daughter to his son, or take his daughter for your son. ⁴ For he will turn your son away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of Adonai will be kindled against you, and He will swiftly destroy you. ⁵ Instead, you are to deal with them like this: tear down their altars, smash their pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their carved images with fire. ⁶ For you are a holy people to Adonai your God—from all the peoples on the face of the earth, Adonai your God has chosen you to be His treasured people.^[z]

⁷ “It is not because you are more numerous than all the peoples that Adonai set His love on you and chose you—for you are the least of all peoples. ⁸ Rather, because of His love for you and His keeping the oath He swore to your fathers, Adonai brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

⁹ “Know therefore that Adonai your God, He is God—the faithful God who keeps covenant kindness for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His mitzvot, ^{[aa] 10} but repays those who hate Him to their face, to annihilate them. He will not hesitate with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. ¹¹ Therefore you are to keep the commandment—both the statutes and the ordinances—that I am commanding you today, to do them.

Parashat Ekev

Adonai Desires to Bless

¹² “Then it will happen, as a result of your listening to these ordinances, when you keep and do them, that Adonai your God will keep with you the covenant kindness that He swore to your fathers. ¹³ He will love you, bless you and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your soil, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you. ¹⁴ From all peoples, you will be blessed—there will not be male or female barren among you or your livestock. ¹⁵ Adonai will remove all sickness from you, and He will not inflict on you any of the terrible diseases of Egypt that you knew, but will inflict them on all who hate you.

¹⁶ “You will devour all the peoples Adonai your God gives over to you. Your eye is not to pity them. You are not to serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you. ¹⁷ Suppose you say in your heart, ‘These nations are more numerous than I—how can I drive them out?’ ¹⁸ You are not to be afraid of them. You are to be sure to remember what Adonai your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: ¹⁹ the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs and wonders, and the mighty hand and outstretched arm^[ab] by which Adonai your God brought you out. So will Adonai your God do to all the peoples you fear.

²⁰ “Moreover, Adonai your God will send the hornet against them, until the survivors and those in hiding perish before you. ²¹ You should not be terrified of them, since Adonai your God is in your midst—a great and awesome God. ²² Adonai your God will drive away those nations before you little by little—you will not be able to put an end to them all at once, or else the beasts of the field will multiply on you. ²³ But Adonai your God will give them over to you, and He will throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed. ²⁴ He will hand over their kings to you, and you will blot out their name from under the heavens. No man will stand up to you, until you have destroyed them all.

²⁵ “The carved images of their gods you are to burn with fire. You are not to covet the silver or gold on them or take it for yourself—or you could be snared by it, for it is an abomination to Adonai your God. ²⁶ You are not to bring an abomination into your house—for you, like it, will be a banned thing. You must utterly detest and utterly abhor it, for it is set apart for destruction.