ARKCODEX
Numbers
Ch. 33
The Journey from Egypt to Moab
1The following account gives the names of the places where the Israelites set up camp after they left Egypt in their tribes under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.
2At the command of the Lord, Moses wrote down the name of the place each time they set up camp.
3The people of Israel left Egypt on the fifteenth day of the first month of the year, the day after the first Passover. Under the Lord's protection they left the city of Rameses in full view of the Egyptians,
4who were burying the first-born sons that the Lord had killed. By doing this, the Lord showed that he was more powerful than the gods of Egypt.
5The people of Israel left Rameses and set up camp at Sukkoth.
6Their next camp was at Etham on the edge of the desert.
7From there they turned back to Pi Hahiroth, east of Baal Zephon, and camped near Migdol.
8They left Pi Hahiroth and passed through the Red Sea into the desert of Shur; after a three days' march they camped at Marah.
9From there they went to Elim, where they camped, because there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees there.
10They left Elim and camped near the Gulf of Suez.
11Their next camp was in the desert of Sin.
12Then they camped at Dophkah,
13and after that at Alush.
14Next was Rephidim, where there was no water for them to drink.
15-37From Rephidim to Mount Hor they set up camp at the following places: the Sinai Desert, Kibroth Hattaavah (or “Graves of Craving”), Hazeroth, Rithmah, Rimmon Perez, Libnah, Rissah, Kehelathah, Mount Shepher, Haradah, Makheloth, Tahath, Terah, Mithkah, Hashmonah, Moseroth, Bene Jaakan, Hor Haggidgad, Jotbathah, Abronah, Eziongeber, the wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh), and Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom.
38-39At the command of the Lord, Aaron the priest climbed Mount Hor. At the age of 123 he died there on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the Israelites had left Egypt.
40The king of Arad in southern Canaan heard that the Israelites were coming.
41-49From Mount Hor to the plains of Moab the Israelites set up camp at the following places: Zalmonah, Punon, Oboth, the ruins of Abarim in the territory of Moab, Dibon Gad, Almon Diblathaim, the Abarim Mountains near Mount Nebo, and in the plains of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho, between Beth Jeshimoth and Acacia Valley.
Instructions before Crossing the Jordan
50There in the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho the Lord gave Moses
51the following instructions for Israel: “When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
52you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land. Destroy all their stone and metal idols and all their places of worship.
53Occupy the land and settle in it, because I am giving it to you.
54Divide the land among the various tribes and clans by drawing lots, giving a large piece of property to a large clan and a small one to a small clan.
55But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those that are left will be as troublesome as splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will fight against you.
56If you do not drive them out, I will destroy you, as I planned to destroy them.”
Deuteronomy
Ch. 32
1“Earth and sky, hear my words, listen closely to what I say.
2My teaching will fall like drops of rain and form on the earth like dew. My words will fall like showers on young plants, like gentle rain on tender grass.
3I will praise the name of the Lord, and his people will tell of his greatness.
4“The Lord is your mighty defender, perfect and just in all his ways; Your God is faithful and true; he does what is right and fair.
5But you are unfaithful, unworthy to be his people, a sinful and deceitful nation.
6Is this the way you should treat the Lord, you foolish, senseless people? He is your father, your Creator, he made you into a nation.
7“Think of the past, of the time long ago; ask your parents to tell you what happened, ask the old people to tell of the past.
8The Most High assigned nations their lands; he determined where peoples should live. He assigned to each nation a heavenly being,
9but Jacob's descendants he chose for himself.
10“He found them wandering through the desert, a desolate, wind-swept wilderness. He protected them and cared for them, as he would protect himself.
11Like an eagle teaching its young to fly, catching them safely on its spreading wings, the Lord kept Israel from falling.
12The Lord alone led his people without the help of a foreign god.
13“He let them rule the highlands, and they ate what grew in the fields. They found wild honey among the rocks; their olive trees flourished in stony ground.
14Their cows and goats gave plenty of milk; they had the best sheep, goats, and cattle, the finest wheat, and the choicest wine.
15“The Lord's people grew rich, but rebellious; they were fat and stuffed with food. They abandoned God their Creator and rejected their mighty savior.
16Their idolatry made the Lord jealous; the evil they did made him angry.
17They sacrificed to gods that are not real, new gods their ancestors had never known, gods that Israel had never obeyed.
18They forgot their God, their mighty savior, the one who had given them life.
19“When the Lord saw this, he was angry and rejected his sons and daughters.
20‘I will no longer help them,’ he said; ‘then I will see what happens to them, those stubborn, unfaithful people.
21With their idols they have made me angry, jealous with their so-called gods, gods that are really not gods. So I will use a so-called nation to make them angry; I will make them jealous with a nation of fools.
22My anger will flame up like fire and burn everything on earth. It will reach to the world below and consume the roots of the mountains.
23“‘I will bring on them endless disasters and use all my arrows against them.
24They will die from hunger and fever; they will die from terrible diseases. I will send wild animals to attack them, and poisonous snakes to bite them.
25War will bring death in the streets; terrors will strike in the homes. Young men and young women will die; neither babies nor old people will be spared.
26I would have destroyed them completely, so that no one would remember them.
27But I could not let their enemies boast that they had defeated my people, when it was I myself who had crushed them.’
28“Israel is a nation without sense; they have no wisdom at all.
29They fail to see why they were defeated; they cannot understand what happened.
30Why were a thousand defeated by one, and ten thousand by only two? The Lord, their God, had abandoned them; their mighty God had given them up.
31Their enemies know that their own gods are weak, not mighty like Israel's God.
32Their enemies, corrupt as Sodom and Gomorrah, are like vines that bear bitter and poisonous grapes,
33like wine made from the venom of snakes.
34“The Lord remembers what their enemies have done; he waits for the right time to punish them.
35The Lord will take revenge and punish them; the time will come when they will fall; the day of their doom is near.
36The Lord will rescue his people when he sees that their strength is gone. He will have mercy on those who serve him, when he sees how helpless they are.
37Then the Lord will ask his people, ‘Where are those mighty gods you trusted?
38You fed them the fat of your sacrifices and offered them wine to drink. Let them come and help you now; let them run to your rescue.
39“‘I, and I alone, am God; no other god is real. I kill and I give life, I wound and I heal, and no one can oppose what I do.
40As surely as I am the living God, I raise my hand and I vow
41that I will sharpen my flashing sword and see that justice is done. I will take revenge on my enemies and punish those who hate me.
42My arrows will drip with their blood, and my sword will kill all who oppose me. I will spare no one who fights against me; even the wounded and prisoners will die.’
43“Nations, you must praise the Lord's people— he punishes all who kill them. He takes revenge on his enemies and forgives the sins of his people.”
44Moses and Joshua son of Nun recited this song, so that the people of Israel could hear it.
Moses' Final Instructions
45When Moses had finished giving God's teachings to the people,
46he said, “Be sure to obey all these commands that I have given you today. Repeat them to your children, so that they may faithfully obey all of God's teachings.
47These teachings are not empty words; they are your very life. Obey them and you will live long in that land across the Jordan that you are about to occupy.”
48That same day the Lord said to Moses,
49“Go to the Abarim Mountains in the land of Moab opposite the city of Jericho; climb Mount Nebo and look at the land of Canaan that I am about to give the people of Israel.
50You will die on that mountain as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor,
51because both of you were unfaithful to me in the presence of the people of Israel. When you were at the waters of Meribah, near the town of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, you dishonored me in the presence of the people.
52You will look at the land from a distance, but you will not enter the land that I am giving the people of Israel.”
Psalms
Ch. 118
A Prayer of Thanks for Victory
1Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good, and his love is eternal.
2Let the people of Israel say, “His love is eternal.”
3Let the priests of God say, “His love is eternal.”
4Let all who worship him say, “His love is eternal.”
5In my distress I called to the Lord; he answered me and set me free.
6The Lord is with me, I will not be afraid; what can anyone do to me?
7It is the Lord who helps me, and I will see my enemies defeated.
8It is better to trust in the Lord than to depend on people.
9It is better to trust in the Lord than to depend on human leaders.
10Many enemies were around me; but I destroyed them by the power of the Lord!
11They were around me on every side; but I destroyed them by the power of the Lord!
12They swarmed around me like bees, but they burned out as quickly as a brush fire; by the power of the Lord I destroyed them.
13I was fiercely attacked and was being defeated, but the Lord helped me.
14The Lord makes me powerful and strong; he has saved me.
15Listen to the glad shouts of victory in the tents of God's people: “The Lord's mighty power has done it!
16His power has brought us victory— his mighty power in battle!”
17I will not die; instead, I will live and proclaim what the Lord has done.
18He has punished me severely, but he has not let me die.
19Open to me the gates of the Temple; I will go in and give thanks to the Lord!
20This is the gate of the Lord; only the righteous can come in.
21I praise you, Lord, because you heard me, because you have given me victory.
22The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all.
23This was done by the Lord; what a wonderful sight it is!
24This is the day of the Lord's victory; let us be happy, let us celebrate!
25Save us, Lord, save us! Give us success, O Lord!
26May God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord! From the Temple of the Lord we bless you.
27The Lord is God; he has been good to us. With branches in your hands, start the festival and march around the altar.
28You are my God, and I give you thanks; I will proclaim your greatness.
29Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good, and his love is eternal.