Feb 4 - Numbers 19-21
Numbers
1And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying2"This is the ritual that the Lord has appointed for a victim. Instruct the sons of Israel, so that they may bring to you a red cow of full maturity, in which there is no blemish, and which has not carried a yoke3And you shall deliver it to Eleazar the priest, who, having led it out beyond the camp, shall immolate it in the sight of all4And dipping his finger in its blood, he shall sprinkle it seven times, opposite the door of the tabernacle5And he shall burn it, while all are watching, delivering into the flame, not only its skin and flesh, but also the blood and dung6Likewise, cedar wood, and hyssop, and twice-dyed scarlet he shall cast into the flame, by which the cow is consumed7And then finally, having washed his garments and his body, he shall enter into the camp, and he shall be deeply stained until evening8Then he also who had burned it shall wash his garments and his body, and he shall be unclean until evening9Then a clean man shall gather the ashes of the cow, and he shall pour them out beyond the camp, in a very pure place, so that they may be preserved for the multitude of the sons of Israel, and for the water of aspersion, because the cow was burned for sin10And when he who had carried the ashes of the cow will have washed his garments, he shall be unclean until evening. The sons of Israel, and the newcomers who live among them, shall have this as a holy and perpetual right11Whoever touches the corpse of a man, and is, because of this, unclean for seven days12shall be sprinkled from this water on the third and seventh days, and so shall he be cleansed. But if he was not sprinkled on the third day, he is not able to be cleansed on the seventh13Anyone who will have touched the dead body of a human life, and who has not been sprinkled with this mixture, pollutes the tabernacle of the Lord, and he shall perish out of Israel. For not having been sprinkled with the water of expiation, he shall be unclean, and his filth shall remain upon him14This is the law of a man who dies in a tent. All who enter into his tent, and all the vessels which are there, shall be polluted for seven days15The vessel that has no cover or binding over it shall be unclean16If anyone in the field will have touched the corpse of a man, who was killed or who died on his own, or his bone, or his grave, he shall be unclean for seven days17And they shall take some of the ashes from the burning and the sin offering, and they shall pour living waters over them into a vessel18And into it a man who is clean shall dip hyssop, and he shall sprinkle from it the entire tent, and all its articles, and the men who were polluted by means of contact19And so, in this manner, what is clean shall purify what is unclean, on the third and seventh days. And having been expiated on the seventh day, he shall wash both himself and his garments, and he shall be unclean until evening20If anyone has not been expiated by this ritual, his soul shall perish from the midst of the Church. For he has polluted the Sanctuary of the Lord, and he has not been sprinkled with purifying waters21This precept shall be an everlasting ordinance. Likewise, the one who has sprinkled the waters shall wash his garments. All who will have touched the waters of expiation shall be unclean until evening22Whatever has been touched by something unclean will itself be made unclean. And the soul who touches any of these things shall become unclean until evening.
1And the sons of Israel, and the entire multitude, went into the desert of Sin, in the first month. And the people stayed at Kadesh. And Miriam died there, and she was buried in the same place2And when the people were in need of water, they came together against Moses and Aaron3And as it turned into sedition, they said: "If only we had perished among our brothers in the sight of the Lord4Why have you led away the Church of the Lord, into the wilderness, so that both we and our cattle would die5Why did you cause us to ascend from Egypt, and why have you led us into this most wretched place, which is not able to be sown, which does not produce figs, or vines, or pomegranates, and which, moreover, does not even have water to drink?6And Moses and Aaron, dismissing the multitude, entered the tabernacle of the covenant, and they fell prone on the ground, and they cried out to the Lord, and they said: "O Lord God, listen to the outcry of this people, and open for them, from your storehouse, a fountain of living water, so that, being satisfied, their murmuring may cease." And the glory of the Lord appeared over them7And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:8"Take the rod, and gather the people, you and your brother Aaron, and speak to the rock before them, and it shall bestow waters. And when you have brought forth water from the rock, the entire multitude and their cattle shall drink.9Therefore, Moses took the rod, which was in the sight of the Lord, just as he had instructed him10And having gathered the multitude before the rock, he said to them: "Listen, you who are rebellious and unbelieving. Would we be able to cast out water from this rock?11And when Moses had lifted up his hand, striking the stone twice with the rod, very great waters went forth, so much so that the people and their cattle were able to drink12And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe me, so as to sanctify me before the sons of Israel, you shall not lead this people into the land, which I will give to them.13This is the Water of Contradiction, where the sons of Israel were quarreling against the Lord, and he was sanctified in them14Meanwhile, Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. They said: "Your brother Israel says this: You know of all the hardships which have overtaken us15how our fathers descended into Egypt, and we lived there for a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted both us and our fathers16and how we cried out to the Lord, and he heeded us and sent an Angel, who led us away from Egypt. Behold, we are situated in the city of Kadesh, which is at the extremity of your borders17And we beg you to permit us to cross through your land. We will not go through the fields, nor through the vineyards; we will not drink the waters of your wells, but we will travel by the public ways, neither turning aside to the right, nor to the left, until we have passed your borders.18Edom responded to them: "You shall not cross through me, otherwise, I will meet you armed.19And the sons of Israel said: "We will travel by the well-trodden path. And if we or our cattle drink from your waters, we will give you what is just. There shall be no difficulty in the price, only let us cross through quickly.20But he answered, "You shall not cross." And immediately he went out to meet them with a countless multitude and a strong hand21neither was he willing to agree to their petition to concede passage through his borders. For this reason, Israel diverted away from him22And when they had moved the camp from Kadesh, they arrived at mount Hor, which is at the borders of the land of Edom23where the Lord spoke to Moses24"Let Aaron," he said, "go to his people. For he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because he did not believe my mouth at the Waters of Contradiction25Take Aaron, and his son with him, and lead them on to mount Hor26And when you have stripped the father of his vestments, you shall put them on Eleazar, his son. Aaron shall be gathered and shall die there.27Moses did just as the Lord had instructed. And they ascended mount Hor, in the sight of the entire multitude28And when he had despoiled Aaron of his vestments, he clothed his son Eleazar with them. And when Aaron had died at the top of the mountain, Moses came down with Eleazar.29And the entire multitude, seeing that Aaron lay dead, wept over him for thirty days, throughout all their families
1And when king Arad the Canaanite, who was living toward the south, had heard this, namely, that Israel had arrived by the way of spies, he fought against them. And proving to be the victor, he led away prey from them2But Israel, obliging himself by a vow to the Lord, said: "If you deliver this people into my hand, I will wipe away their cities.3And the Lord heard the prayers of Israel, and he delivered the Canaanite, whom they put to death, overthrowing his cities. And they called the name of that place Hormah, that is, Anathema4Then they set out from mount Hor, by the way that leads to the Red Sea, to circle around the land of Edom. And the people began to tire of their journey and hardships5And speaking against God and Moses, they said: "Why did you lead us away from Egypt, so as to die in the wilderness? Bread is lacking; there are no waters. Our soul is now nauseous over this very light food.6For this reason, the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, which wounded or killed many of them7And so they went to Moses, and they said: "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray, so that he may take away these serpents from us." And Moses prayed for the people8And the Lord said to him: "Make a bronze serpent, and place it as a sign. Whoever, having been struck, gazes upon it, shall live.9Therefore, Moses made a bronze serpent, and he placed it as a sign. When those who had been struck gazed upon it, they were healed10And the sons of Israel, setting out, made camp at Oboth11Having departed from there, they pitched their tents at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness, which looks out toward Moab, opposite the eastern region12And moving from there, they arrived at the Torrent of Zared13Having left that place behind, they then made camp opposite Arnon, which is in the desert, and which juts out at the borders of the Amorite. For certainly Arnon is at the limit of Moab, dividing the Moabites and the Amorites14About this place, it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord: "As he did at the Red Sea, so will he do at the Torrents of Arnon.15The stones of the torrents were bent, so that they might rest in Ar and lie back within the borders of the Moabites16Beyond that place appeared a well, about which the Lord said to Moses: "Gather the people together, and I will give them water.17Then Israel sang this verse: "Let the well rise up." They sang18"The well, the leaders dug it, and the commanders of the multitude prepared it, at the direction of the lawgiver, and with their staffs.19They went from the wilderness to Mattanah, from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth20from Bamoth, a valley in the region of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looks out opposite the desert21Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, saying22"I beg you to permit me to cross through your land. We will not turn aside into the fields or the vineyards. We will not drink waters from the wells. We will travel by the royal way, until we have passed your borders.23And he was not willing to allow Israel to cross through his borders. But instead, gathering an army, he went out to meet them in the desert, and he arrived at Jahaz and fought against them24And he was struck down by them with the edge of the sword, and they possessed his land from Arnon, even to Jabbok and the sons of Ammon. For the borders of the Ammonites were held by a strong fortress25Therefore, Israel took all his cities and lived in the cities of the Amorite, namely, in Heshbon and its villages26Heshbon was the city of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who fought against the king of Moab. And he took all the land, which had been under his sovereignty, as far as Arnon27About this, it is said in the proverb: "Enter into Heshbon. Let the city of Sihon be established and built28A fire has gone forth from Heshbon, a flame from the town of Sihon, and it has devoured Ar of the Moabites, and the inhabitants of the heights of Arnon29Woe to you, Moab! You are perishing, O people of Chemosh. He gave flight to his sons, and he gave the daughters into captivity, to the king of the Amorites, Sihon30Their yoke has been scattered from Heshbon even to Dibon. They have passed through, wearily, into Nophah, and as far as Medeba.31And so Israel lived in the land of the Amorite32And Moses sent some to explore Jazer. These captured its villages and possessed its inhabitants33And they turned themselves and ascended, along the way of Bashan. And Og, the king of Bashan, met them with all his people, to fight at Edrei34And the Lord said to Moses: "Do not be afraid of him. For I have delivered him, and all his people, as well as his land, into your hand. And you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, the inhabitant of Heshbon.35Therefore, they struck him down also, with his sons, and all his people, even to utter destruction, and they possessed his land