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Weekly Scripture Reading
Torah: Numbers 29-31
Prophets: Isaiah 56-58
Historical Writings: 1 Samuel 12-13
New Testament: Acts 24-25
Wisdom Writings: Job 30
Non-Canonical: 2 Baruk 13-15
The following translation is from The Scriptures | ISR98
Numbers 29-31
29 | 1 ‘And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you have a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work, it is a day of blowing the trumpets for you.
2 ‘And you shall prepare a burnt offering as a sweet fragrance to יהוה: one young bull, one ram, seven lambs a year old, perfect ones,
3 and their grain offering: fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ĕphah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram,
4 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs,
5 and one male goat as a sin offering, to make atonement for you,
6 besides the burnt offering with its grain offering for the New Moon, the continual burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their right-ruling, as a sweet fragrance, an offering made by fire to יהוה.
7 ‘And on the tenth day of this seventh month you have a set-apart gathering, and you shall afflict your beings, you do no work.
8 ‘And you shall bring near a burnt offering to יהוה, a sweet fragrance: one young bull, one ram, seven lambs a year old, perfect ones they are for you,
9 and their grain offering: fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ĕphah for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram,
10 one-tenth for each of the seven lambs,
11 one male goat as a sin offering, besides the sin offering for atonement, the continual burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
12 ‘And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month you have a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work. And you shall observe a festival to יהוה seven days,
13 and you shall bring near a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a sweet fragrance to יהוה: thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs a year old, perfect ones they are,
14 and their grain offering: fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ĕphah for each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for each of the two rams,
15 and one-tenth for each of the fourteen lambs,
16 and one male goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
17 ‘Then on the second day: twelve young bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs a year old, perfect ones,
18 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the right-ruling,
19 and one male goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
20‘ And on the third day eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs a year old, perfect ones,
21 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the right-ruling,
22 and one goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
23 ‘Then on the fourth day: ten bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs a year old, perfect ones,
24 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the right-ruling,
25 and one male goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
26 ‘Then on the fifth day: nine bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs a year old, perfect ones,
27 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the right-ruling,
28 and one goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
29 ‘Then on the sixth day: eight bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs a year old, perfect ones,
30 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the right-ruling,
31 and one goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
32 ‘Then on the seventh day: seven bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs a year old, perfect ones,
33 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the right-ruling,
34 and one goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
35 ‘On the eighth day you have an assembly, you do no servile work,
36 and you shall bring near a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a sweet fragrance to יהוה: one bull, one ram, seven lambs a year old, perfect ones,
37 their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the right-ruling,
38 and one goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
39 ‘These you prepare to יהוה at your appointed times, besides your vowed offerings and your voluntary offerings, as your burnt offerings and your grain offerings, as your drink offerings and your peace offerings.’ ”
40 And Mosheh spoke to the children of Yisra’ĕl according to all יהוה had commanded Mosheh.
30 | 1 And Mosheh spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, “This is the word which יהוה has commanded:
2 “When a man vows a vow to יהוה, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he does not break his word, he does according to all that comes out of his mouth.
3 “Or if a woman vows a vow to יהוה, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father’s house in her youth,
4 and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father has kept silent towards her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself stands.
5 “But if her father forbids her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself stand. And יהוה pardons her, because her father has forbidden her.
6 “But if she at all belongs to a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself,
7 and her husband hears it, and he has kept silent towards her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself do stand.
8 “But if her husband forbids her on the day that he hears it, then he has nullified her vow which she vowed, and the rash utterance of her lips by which she bound herself, and יהוה pardons her.
9 “But any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, stands against her.
10 “And if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath,
11 and her husband heard it, and has kept silent towards her and did not forbid her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself stands.
12 “But if her husband clearly nullified them on the day he heard them, then whatever came from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it does not stand – her husband has nullified them, and יהוה pardons her.
13 “Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her being, let her husband confirm it, or let her husband nullify it.
14 “But if her husband is altogether silent at her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her – he confirms them, because he kept silent towards her on the day that he heard.
15 “But if he nullifies them after he has heard, then he shall bear her crookedness.”
16 These are the laws which יהוה commanded Mosheh, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter in her youth in her father’s house.
31 | 1 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
2 “Take vengeance for the children of Yisra’ĕl on the Miḏyanites. After that you are to be gathered to your people.”
3 And Mosheh spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for the campaign, and let them go against the Miḏyanites to take vengeance for יהוה on Miḏyan.
4 “Send a thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Yisra’ĕl for the campaign.”
5 So there were supplied from the tribes of Yisra’ĕl one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed ones for the campaign.
6 And Mosheh sent them on the campaign, one thousand from each tribe, them and Pineḥas son of El‛azar the priest on the campaign, with the set-apart utensils and the trumpets for sounding in his hand.
7 And they fought against the Miḏyanites, as יהוה commanded Mosheh, and slew all the males.
8 And they slew the sovereigns of Miḏyan with the rest of those who were pierced: Ewi, and Reqem, and Tsur, and Ḥur, and Reḇa, the five sovereigns of Miḏyan. And they slew Bil‛am son of Be‛or with the sword.
9 And the sons of Yisra’ĕl took all the women of Miḏyan captive, with their little ones, and took as spoil all their livestock, and all their possessions.
10 And they burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their settlements.
11 And they took all the spoil and all the booty, both of man and beast.
12 And they brought the captives, and the booty, and the spoil to Mosheh, and to El‛azar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl, to the camp in the desert plains of Mo’aḇ by the Yardĕn of Yeriḥo.
13 And Mosheh, and El‛azar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp.
14 But Mosheh was wroth with the officers of the army, with the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, who had come from the campaign.
15 And Mosheh said to them, “Have you kept all the women alive?
16 “Look, they are the ones who caused the children of Yisra’ĕl, through the word of Bil‛am, to trespass against יהוה in the matter of Pe‛or, and there was a plague among the congregation of יהוה.
17 “And now, slay every male among the little ones. And every woman who has known a man by lying with a man you shall slay.
18 “But keep alive for yourselves all the female children who have not known a man by lying with a man.
19 “And you, camp outside the camp seven days. Whoever has slain any being, and whoever has touched any slain, cleanse yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.
20 “And cleanse every garment, and every object of leather and all the work of goats’ hair, and every object of wood.”
21 And El‛azar the priest said to the men of the campaign who went to the battle, “This is the law of the Torah which יהוה commanded Mosheh:
22 “Only the gold, and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23 every object that passes through fire, you put through the fire, and it shall be clean; only, let it be cleansed with the water for uncleanness. And whatever does not pass through fire you pass through water.
24 “And you shall wash your garments on the seventh day and be clean, and afterwards come into the camp.”
25 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
26 “Count up the plunder that was taken, of man and of beast, you and El‛azar the priest and the heads of the fathers of the congregation.
27 “And you shall divide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the battle, who went out on the campaign, and all the congregation.
28 “And set aside a levy for יהוה on the men of battle who went out on the campaign: one out of every five hundred, of man, and of the cattle, and of the donkeys, and of the sheep.
29 “Take it from their half, and give it to El‛azar the priest as a contribution to יהוה.
30 “And from the children of Yisra’ĕl’s half you shall take one of every fifty, of man, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the sheep, of all the livestock, and give them to the Lĕwites guarding the duty of the Dwelling Place of יהוה.”
31 And Mosheh and El‛azar the priest did as יהוה commanded Mosheh.
32 And the booty remaining from the plunder, which the people of the campaign had taken, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep,
33 and seventy-two thousand cattle,
34 and sixty-one thousand donkeys,
35 and thirty-two thousand human beings in all, of women who had not known a man by lying with a man.
36 And the half, the portion for those who went out on the campaign, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
37 and the levy unto יהוה of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five.
38 And the cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the levy unto יהוה was seventy-two.
39 And the donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the levy unto יהוה was sixty-one.
40 And the human beings were sixteen thousand, of which the levy unto יהוה was thirty-two beings.
41 So Mosheh gave the levy which was the contribution unto יהוה to El‛azar the priest, as יהוה commanded Mosheh.
42 And from the children of Yisra’ĕl’s half, which Mosheh divided from the men who campaigned:
43 now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
44 and thirty-six thousand cattle,
45 and thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,
46 and sixteen thousand human beings.
47 Then Mosheh took from the children of Yisra’ĕl’s half: one out of every fifty, drawn from man and beast, and gave them to the Lĕwites, who guarded the duty of the Dwelling Place of יהוה, as יהוה commanded Mosheh.
48 And the officers who were over thousands of the campaign, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, came near to Mosheh,
49 and they said to Mosheh, “Your servants have taken a count of the fighting men under our command, and not a man of us is missing.
50 “So we have brought an offering for יהוה, what every man found of ornaments of gold: armlets and bracelets and signet rings and earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before יהוה.”
51 And Mosheh and El‛azar the priest received the gold from them, all the fashioned ornaments.
52 And all the gold of the offering that they presented to יהוה, from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty sheqels.
53 The men of the campaign had taken spoil, every man for himself.
54 And Mosheh and El‛azar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Meeting as a remembrance for the children of Yisra’ĕl before יהוה.
Isaiah 56-58
56 | 1 Thus said יהוה, “Guard right-ruling, and do righteousness, for near is My deliverance to come, and My righteousness to be revealed.
2 “Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it, guarding the Sabbath lest he profane it, and guarding his hand from doing any evil.
3 “And let not the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to יהוה speak, saying, ‘יהוה has certainly separated me from His people,’ nor let the eunuch say, ‘Look I am a dry tree.’ ”
4 For thus said יהוה, “To the eunuchs who guard My Sabbaths, and have chosen what pleases Me, and hold fast to My covenant:
5 to them I shall give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters – I give them an everlasting name that is not cut off.
6 “Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to יהוה, to serve Him, and to love the Name of יהוה, to be His servants, all who guard the Sabbath, and not profane it, and hold fast to My covenant –
7 them I shall bring to My set-apart mountain, and let them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their slaughterings are accepted on My altar, for My house is called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
8 The Master יהוה, who gathers the outcasts of Yisra’ĕl, declares, “I gather still others to him besides those who are gathered to him.”
9 All you beasts of the field, come to devour, all you beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are blind, all of them, they have not known. All of them are dumb dogs, unable to bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 And the dogs have a strong appetite, they never have enough. And they are shepherds! They have not known understanding. All of them look to their own way, every one for his own gain, from his own end, saying,
12 “Come, let me bring wine and fill ourselves with strong drink. And tomorrow shall be as today, even much greater.”
57 | 1 The righteous one has perished, and no one takes it to heart. And kind men are taken away, while no one understands that the righteous one is taken away from the presence of evil,
2 he enters into peace. They who walk in integrity rest on their beds.
3 “But come here, you sons of the sorceress, you offspring of the adulterer and the whore!
4 Against whom are you sporting? Against whom do you make a wide mouth and stick out the tongue? Are you not children of transgression, offspring of falsehood,
5 being inflamed with mighty ones under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
6 “Among the smooth stones of the stream is your portion; they, they, are your lot! Also to them you have poured a drink offering, you have offered a grain offering. Am I comforted in these?
7 “On a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed. There, too, you went up to make an offering.
8 “Also behind the doors and their posts you have set up your remembrance. For you have departed from Me, and have gone up to them. You have made your bed wide and made a covenant with them. You have loved their bed, where you saw their hand.
9 “And you went to the sovereign with ointment, and increased your perfumes. And you sent your messengers far off, and lowered yourself even to the grave.
10 “You have wearied yourselves with your many wanderings, yet you did not say, ‘I give up!’ You have found the life of your hand, therefore you were not grieved.
11 “And of whom have you been afraid, or feared, that you have lied and not remembered Me, nor taken it to your heart? Have I not been silent, even from of old, and you have not feared Me?
12 “Let Me declare your righteousness and your works, for they do not profit you.
13 “When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you. But the wind shall bear them all away, a breath take them. But he who takes refuge in Me shall inherit the land, and possess My set-apart mountain.”
14 And one shall say, “Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way, take the stumbling-block out of the way of My people.”
15 For thus declares the high and exalted One who dwells forever, whose Name is set-apart, “I dwell in the high and set-apart place, with him who has a bruised and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of bruised ones.
16 “For I would not strive forever, nor am I wroth forever, for the spirit would grow faint before Me, even the beings I have made.
17 “For the crookedness of his unfair gain I was wroth and I smote him. I hid Myself and was wroth, and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.
18 “I have seen his ways, but now I heal him, and I lead him, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners,
19 creating the fruit of the lips: peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,” said יהוה, “and I shall heal him.”
20 But the wrong are like the troubled sea, for it is unable to rest, and its waters cast up mud and dirt.
21 “There is no peace,” said my Elohim, “for the wrong.”
58 | 1 “Cry aloud, do not spare. Lift up your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression, and the house of Ya‛aqoḇ their sins.
2 “Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and did not forsake the right-ruling of their Elohim. They ask of Me rulings of righteousness, they delight in drawing near to Elohim.
3 They say, ‘Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our beings, and You took no note?’ “Look, in the day of your fasting you find pleasure, and drive on all your labourers.
4 “Look, you fast for strife and contention, and to strike with the fist of wrongness. You do not fast as you do this day, to make your voice heard on high.
5 “Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his being? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to יהוה?
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loosen the tight cords of wrongness, to undo the bands of the yoke, to exempt the oppressed, and to break off every yoke?
7 “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, and cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 “Then your light would break forth like the morning, your healing spring forth speedily. And your righteousness shall go before you, the esteem of יהוה would be your rear guard.
9 “Then, when you call, יהוה would answer; when you cry, He would say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and the speaking of unrighteousness,
10 if you extend your being to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted being, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness be as noon.
11 “Then יהוה would guide you continually, and satisfy your being in drought, and strengthen your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 “And those from among you shall build the old waste places. You shall raise up the foundations of many generations. And you would be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
13 “If you do turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My set-apart day, and shall call the Sabbath ‘a delight,’ the set-apart day of יהוה ‘esteemed,’ and shall esteem it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words,
14 then you shall delight yourself in יהוה. And I shall cause you to ride on the heights of the earth, and feed you with the inheritance of Ya‛aqoḇ your father. For the mouth of יהוה has spoken!”
1 Samuel 12-13
12 | 1 And Shemu’ĕl said to all Yisra’ĕl, “Look, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have set a sovereign over you.
2 “And now, look, the sovereign is walking before you. And I am old and grey, and look, my sons are with you. And I have walked before you from my youth to this day.
3 “Look, here I am. Witness against me before יהוה and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I oppressed? Whom have I abused, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? – then I restore it to you.”
4 And they said, “You have not oppressed us or abused us, nor have you taken any bribe from anyone’s hand.”
5 So he said to them, “יהוה is witness against you, and His anointed is witness today, that you have found naught in my hand.” And they answered, “He is witness.”
6 And Shemu’ĕl said to the people, “It is יהוה who appointed Mosheh and Aharon, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Mitsrayim.
7 “And now, stand still, so that I judge you before יהוה concerning all the righteous acts of יהוה which He did to you and your fathers:
8 “When Ya‛aqoḇ had come to Mitsrayim, and your fathers cried out to יהוה, then יהוה sent Mosheh and Aharon, who brought your fathers out of Mitsrayim and made them dwell in this place.
9 “But they forgot יהוה their Elohim, so He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Ḥatsor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the sovereign of Mo’aḇ. And they fought against them.
10 “And they cried out to יהוה, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken יהוה and served the Ba‛als and the Ashtaroth. And now, deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we serve You.’
11 “And יהוה sent Yerubba‛al, and Beḏan, and Yiphtaḥ, and Shemu’ĕl, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies round about, and you dwelt in safety.
12 “And when you saw that Naḥash sovereign of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but let a sovereign reign over us,’ when יהוה your Elohim was your sovereign.
13 “And now, here is the sovereign whom you have chosen and whom you have asked. And see, יהוה has set a sovereign over you.
14 “If you fear יהוה, and shall serve Him and obey His voice, and not rebel against the command of יהוה, then both you and the sovereign who reigns over you shall follow יהוה your Elohim.
15 “But if you do not obey the voice of יהוה, and shall rebel against the command of יהוה, then the hand of יהוה shall be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16 “And now, stand and see this great matter which יהוה does before your eyes:
17 “Is today not the wheat harvest? Let me call to יהוה, so that He sends thunder and rain – know then and see that your evil is great, which you have done in the eyes of יהוה, in asking for yourselves a sovereign.”
18 And Shemu’ĕl called to יהוה, and יהוה sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people greatly feared יהוה and Shemu’ĕl.
19 And all the people said to Shemu’ĕl, “Pray for your servants to יהוה your Elohim, that we do not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil of asking for ourselves a sovereign.”
20 And Shemu’ĕl said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this evil. Only, do not turn aside from following יהוה. And you shall serve יהוה with all your heart,
21 and do not turn aside after worthless matters which do not profit or deliver, for they are worthless.
22 “For יהוה would not cast away His people, for His great Name’s sake, seeing it has pleased יהוה to make you His people.
23 “Also, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against יהוה in ceasing to pray for you, but I shall teach you the good and straight way.
24 “Only fear יהוה, and you shall serve Him in truth with all your heart, for consider what marvels He has done for you.
25 “But if you persist in doing evil, both you and your sovereign are consumed.”
13 | 1 Sha’ul was… years old when he began to reign. And when he had reigned two years over Yisra’ĕl,
2 Sha’ul chose for himself three thousand men of Yisra’ĕl. And two thousand were with Sha’ul in Miḵmash and in the mountains of Bĕyth Ěl, and a thousand were with Yonathan in Giḇ‛ah of Binyamin. And the rest of the people he sent away, each to his tent.
3 And Yonathan smote the watch-post of the Philistines that was in Geḇa, and the Philistines heard of it. And Sha’ul blew the ram’s horn throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Heḇrews hear!”
4 And all Yisra’ĕl heard the news that Sha’ul had smitten a watch-post of the Philistines, and also that Yisra’ĕl had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were summoned to Sha’ul at Gilgal.
5 And the Philistines gathered to fight Yisra’ĕl, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as numerous as the sand on the seashore. And they came up and encamped in Miḵmash, east of Bĕyth Awen.
6 And the men of Yisra’ĕl saw that they were in trouble, for the people were distressed, and the people hid in caves, and in thorny bushes, and in rocks, and in holes, and in pits.
7 And some Heḇrews passed over the Yardĕn to the land of Gaḏ and Gil‛aḏ. But Sha’ul was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him, trembling.
8 And he waited for seven days, according to the appointment with Shemu’ĕl. But Shemu’ĕl did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him.
9 And Sha’ul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering.
10 And it came to be, as he had finished offering the burnt offering, look, Shemu’ĕl came. And Sha’ul went out to meet him, to bless him.
11 Then Shemu’ĕl said, “What have you done?” And Sha’ul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered at Miḵmash,
12 so I said, ‘The Philistines are going to come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not appeased the face of יהוה.’ So I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”
13 And Shemu’ĕl said to Sha’ul, “You have been foolish. You have not guarded the command of יהוה your Elohim, which He commanded you. For now יהוה would have established your reign over Yisra’ĕl forever.
14 “But now, your reign is not going to stand. יהוה shall seek for Himself a man after His own heart, and יהוה shall command him to be leader over His people, because you have not guarded what יהוה commanded you.”
15 And Shemu’ĕl arose and went up from Gilgal to Giḇ‛ah of Binyamin. And Sha’ul mustered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men.
16 And Sha’ul, and Yonathan his son, and the people who were present with them remained in Giḇ‛ah of Binyamin, while the Philistines camped at Miḵmash.
17 And from the camp of the Philistines raiders went out in three companies. The one company turned to the way that leads to Ophrah, to the land of Shu‛al,
18 and another company turned toward the way of Bĕyth Ḥoron, and another company turned toward the way of the border that overlooks the Valley of Tseḇo‛im toward the wilderness.
19 Now no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Yisra’ĕl, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Heḇrews make swords or spears.”
20 And all Yisra’ĕl went down to the Philistines, each one to sharpen his ploughshare, and his mattock, and his axe, and his sickle.
21 And the charge was a pim for the ploughshares, and the mattocks, and the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads.
22 And it came to be, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Sha’ul and Yonathan. But they were found with Sha’ul and Yonathan his son.
23 And the outpost of the Philistines went out to the pass of Miḵmash.
Acts 24-25
24 | 1 And after five days the high priest Ḥananyah came down, with the elders, and a certain speaker – Tertullus. And they brought charges against Sha’ul before the governor.
2 And when he was called upon, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, “Having obtained great peace through you, and reforms being brought to this nation by your forethought,
3 we accept it always and in all places, most excellent Felix, with all thanks.
4 “But in order not to hinder you any further, I beg you to hear us briefly in your gentleness.
5 “For having found this man a plague, who stirs up dissension among all the Yehuḏim throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Natsarenes,
6 who also tried to profane the Set-apart Place, and whom we seized, and wished to judge him according to our law,
7 but the commander Lysias came along and with much violence took him out of our hands,
8 commanding his accusers to come to you. And by examining him yourself you shall be able to know all these matters of which we accuse him.”
9 And the Yehuḏim also agreed, maintaining that these matters were so.
10 And when the governor had motioned him to speak, Sha’ul answered, “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge of this nation, I gladly defend myself,
11 seeing you are able to know that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to Yerushalayim to worship.
12 “And they neither found me in the Set-apart Place disputing with anyone nor stirring up the crowd, either in the congregations or in the city.
13 “Nor are they able to prove the charges of which they now accuse me.
14 “And this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the Elohim of my fathers, believing all that has been written in the Torah and in the Prophets,
15 having an expectation in Elohim, which they themselves also wait for, that there is to be a resurrection of the dead, both of the righteous and the unrighteous.
16 “And in this I exercise myself to have a clear conscience toward Elohim and men always.
17 “And after many years I came to bring kind deeds to my nation and offerings,
18 at which time certain Yehuḏim from Asia found me cleansed in the Set-apart Place, neither with a crowd nor with disturbance,
19 who ought to be present before you to bring charges if they have any matter against me.
20 “Or else let these themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council,
21 other than for this one declaration which I cried out, standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you today.’ ”
22 And having heard this, having known more exactly about the Way, Felix put them off, saying, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I shall decide your case.”
23 And he ordered the captain to keep Sha’ul and to have ease, and not to forbid any of his friends to attend to him.
24 And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a female Yehuḏite, he sent for Sha’ul and heard him concerning the belief in Messiah.
25 And as he reasoned about righteousness, and self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, “For the present, go. And when I find time I shall send for you.”
26 At the same time too he was anticipating that silver would be given him by Sha’ul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.
27 But after two years had passed Porcius Festus succeeded Felix. And wishing to do the Yehuḏim a favour, Felix left Sha’ul bound.
25 | 1 Festus therefore, having come to the province, three days later went up from Caesarea to Yerushalayim.
2 And the high priest and the chief men of the Yehuḏim informed him against Sha’ul, and they begged him,
3 asking a favour against him, that he would send him to Yerushalayim – making a plot along the way to kill him.
4 Then, indeed, Festus answered that Sha’ul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was about to set out shortly.
5 “Therefore,” he said, “let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man, to see if there is any fault in him.”
6 And having spent more than ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea. And on the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Sha’ul to be brought.
7 And when he had come, the Yehuḏim who had come down from Yerushalayim stood about, bringing many and heavy charges against Sha’ul, which they were unable to prove,
8 while Sha’ul said in his own defence, “Neither against the Torah of the Yehuḏim, nor against the Set-apart Place, nor against Caesar did I commit any sin.”
9 But Festus, wishing to do the Yehuḏim a favour, answering Sha’ul, said, “Do you wish to go up to Yerushalayim and be judged before me there concerning these matters?”
10 And Sha’ul said, “I am standing at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I should be judged. To the Yehuḏim I have done no wrong, as you know well enough.
11 “For if indeed I do wrong, or have committed whatever deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is none at all in these matters of which these men accuse me, no one is able to give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.”
12 Then Festus, having talked with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!”
13 And certain days having passed, Sovereign Agrippa and Bernike came to Caesarea to greet Festus.
14 And when they had spent many days there, Festus laid Sha’ul’s case before the sovereign, saying, “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner,
15 about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Yehuḏim informed me, when I was in Yerushalayim, asking for a judgment against him.
16 “To them I answered, ‘It is not the Roman practice to give up any man to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face, and has a chance to answer for himself concerning the charge against him.’
17 “They, therefore, having come together, without any delay, I sat on the judgment seat the next day and commanded the man to be brought in.
18 “When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge against him such as I expected,
19 but had some questions against him about their own worship and about a certain יהושע, who had died, whom Sha’ul was claiming to be alive.
20 “And being uncertain how to investigate these matters, I asked whether he wished to go to Yerushalayim and there be judged concerning these matters.
21 “But when Sha’ul appealed to be kept for the decision of Augustus, I ordered him to be kept until I send him to Caesar.”
22 And Agrippa said to Festus, “I was wishing also to hear the man myself.” And he said, “Tomorrow, you shall hear him.”
23 Therefore, on the next day, Agrippa and Bernike having come with great show, and having entered the place of hearing with the commanders and the eminent men of the city, Sha’ul was brought in at the order of Festus.
24 And Festus said, “Sovereign Agrippa and all the men present here with us, you see this one about whom all the community of the Yehuḏim pleaded with me, both at Yerushalayim and here, shouting that he ought not to be living any longer.
25 “But I, having found that he had committed none at all deserving death, and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him.
26 “I have no definite matter to write to my master concerning him. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and most of all before you, Sovereign Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place I might have somewhat to write.
27 “For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to signify the charges against him.”
Job 30
30 | 1 “But now they laugh at me, those younger than I, whose fathers I would have refused to put with my sheep dogs.
2 Of what use to me is the strength of their hands, since their manhood power has perished?
3 They are dried up from lack and hunger, they flee to a parched land, formerly a waste and ruin.
4 They pluck salt herbs by the bushes, and broom tree roots for their food.
5 They were driven out from among men, they shouted at them as at a thief,
6 to dwell in the gullies of wadis, holes of the ground and clefts.
7 Among the bushes they cry out, under the nettles they huddled together –
8 sons of fools, even sons without a name, they have been whipped out of the land.
9 And now I have become their song, and I am a byword to them.
10 They have loathed me, they have kept far from me, and did not refrain from spitting in my face.
11 Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me, they have thrown off restraint in my presence.
12 At my right hand a brood rises; they pushed away my feet, and they raise up against me their destructive ways.
13 They have broken up my path, they gain by my ruin; no one restrains them.
14 They come as through a wide breach; rushing on me under the ruins.
15 Destructions are turned upon me; they pursue my life as the wind, and my welfare has passed like a cloud.
16 And now my life pours itself out; days of affliction seize me.
17 My bones have been pierced in me at night, and my gnawings never lie down.
18 By great exertion is my garment changed – it girds me as the collar of my coat,
19 throwing me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, but You only look at me.
21 You have become cruel to me; with the power of Your hand You oppose me.
22 You lift me up to the wind, making me to ride it; and You melt me in a storm.
23 For I have known that You bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.
24 Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, or in calamity cry out for help?
25 Did I not weep for him who was in trouble? Was my being not grieved for the poor?
26 When I looked for good, then evil came to me. And when I waited for light, darkness came.
27 My inward parts boiled and did not rest; days of affliction went before me.
28 I went about blackened, but not by the sun; I stood up in the assembly, I cried for help.
29 I became a brother of jackals, and a companion of ostriches.
30 My skin became black upon me, and my bones burned with heat.
31 So my lyre becomes mourning, and my flute the sound of weeping.
2 Baruk 13-15
(CEPHER TRANSLATION)
13 | 1 AND it came to pass after these things, that I, Baruk, was standing upon Mount Tsiyon, and lo! a voice came from the height and said unto me:
2 Stand upon your feet, Baruk, and hear the Word of EL ELOHIYM.
3 Because you have been astonished at what has befallen Tsiyon, you shall therefore be assuredly preserved to the consummation of the times, that you may be for a testimony.
4 So that, if ever those prosperous cities say: Why has EL ELOHIYM brought upon us this retribution?’
5 Say unto them, you and those like you who shall have seen this evil: This is the evil and retribution which is coming upon you and upon your people in its destined time that the nations may be throughly smitten.
6 And then they shall be in anguish.
7 And if they say at that time: For how long?
8 You will say to them: Ye who have drunk the strained wine, drink ye also of its dregs, the judgment of the Lofty One, who has no respect of persons.
9 On this account he had aforetime no mercy on his own sons, but afflicted them as his enemies, because they sinned.
10 Then therefore were they chastened that they might be sanctified.
11 But now, ye peoples and nations, ye are guilty because ye have always trodden down the earth, and used the creation unrighteously.
12 For I have always benefited you. And ye have always been ungrateful for the beneficence.
14 | 1 AND I answered and said: Lo! you have shown me the method of the times, and that which shall alter these things, and you have said unto me, that the retribution, which has been spoken of by you, shall come upon the nations.
2 And now I know that those who have sinned are many, and they have lived in prosperity, and departed from the world, but that few nations will be left in those times, to whom those words shall be said which you did say:
3 For what advantage is there in this, or what evil, worse than what we have seen befall us, are we to expect to see?
4 But again I will speak in your presence: What have they profited who had knowledge before you, and have not walked in vanity as the rest of the nations, and have not said to the dead:
5 Give us life, but always feared you, and have not left your ways?
6 And lo! they have been carried off, nor on their account have you had mercy on Tsiyon.
7 And if others did evil, it was due to Tsiyon, that on account of the works of those who wrought good works she should be forgiven, and should not be overwhelmed on account of the works of those who wrought unrighteousness.
8 But who, O YAHUAH, my ADONAI, will comprehend your judgment? Or who will search out the profoundness of your way?
9 Or who will think out the weight of your path? Or who will be able to think out your incomprehensible counsel? Or who of those that are born has ever found the beginning or end of your wisdom?
10 For we have all been made like a breath.
11 For as the breath ascends involuntarily, and again dies, so it is with the nature of men, who depart not according to their own will, and know not what will befall them in the end.
12 For the righteous justly hope for the end, and without fear depart from this habitation, because they have with you a store of works preserved in treasuries.
13 On this account also these without fear leave this world, and trusting with joy they hope to receive the world which you have promised them.
14 But as for us, woe to us, who also are now shamefully intreated, and at that time look forward only to evils.
15 But you know accurately what you have done by means of your servants; for we are not able to understand that which is good as you are our Creator.
16 But again I will speak in your presence, O YAHUAH, my ADONAI.
17 When of old there was no world with its inhabitants, you did devise and speak with a word, and forthwith the works of creation stood before you.
18 And you did say that you would make for your world man as the administrator of your works, that it might be known that he was by no means made on account of the world, but the world on account of him.
19 And now I see that as for the world which was made on account of us, lo! it abides, but we, on account of whom it was made, depart.
15 | 1 AND YAHUAH answered and said unto me: You are rightly astonished regarding the departure of man,
2 But you have not judged well regarding the evils which befall those who sin.
3 And as regards what you have said: That the righteous are carried off and the impious are prospered.
4 And as regards what you have said: Man knows not your judgment, on this account hear, and I will speak to you, and hearken, and I will cause you to hear my words.
5 Man would not rightly have understood my judgment, unless he had accepted the Torah, and I had instructed him in understanding.
6 But now, because he transgressed wittingly, yea, just on this ground that he know thereof, he shall be tormented.
7 And as regards what you did say touching the righteous, that on account of them has this world come. So, also again shall that which is to come, come on their account.
8 For this world is to them a strife and a labour with much trouble; and that accordingly which is to come, a crown with great glory.
Thank you for joining us as we read through the entire WORD of GOD! As for me and My House, we will serve the LORD.
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