1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all of Israel, across the Jordan, in the plain of the wilderness opposite the Red Sea, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth, where gold is very plentiful,
2 eleven days from Horeb, by way of Mount Seir as far as Kadesh-barnea.
3 In the fortieth year, on the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses told the sons of Israel all that the Lord had instructed him. And so he spoke to them,
4 after he had struck down Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, who resided at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,
5 across the Jordan in the land of Moab. And so, Moses began to explain the law, and to say:
6 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying: ‘You have remained long enough on this mountain.
7 Turn back and go to the mountain of the Amorites, and to the other places which are near it: the plains as well as the mountainous regions, and the low-lying places opposite the south and along the shore of the sea, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river Euphrates.’
8 ‘Lo,’ he said, ‘I have delivered it to you. Enter and possess that which the Lord swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give it to them, and to their offspring after them.’
9 And I said to you, at that time:
10 ‘I alone am not able to sustain you. For the Lord, your God, has multiplied you, and you are today like the stars of heaven, very many.
11 May the Lord, the God of your fathers, add to this number many thousands more, and may he bless you, just as he has said.
12 Alone, I do not have the strength to endure your arbitrations and judgments and disputes.
13 Offer, from among you, wise and experienced men, those whose conversation has been proven within your tribes, so that I may appoint them as your rulers.’
14 Then you responded to me: ‘What you intend to do is a good thing.’
15 And so, I took from your tribes men, wise and noble, and I appointed them as rulers, as tribunes and centurions, and as leaders over fifty and over ten, who would teach you each thing.
16 And I instructed them, saying: ‘Listen to them, and judge what is just, whether he is one of your citizens or a sojourner.
17 There shall be no favoritism to any persons. So you shall listen to the little as well as to the great. And you shall not accept anyone’s reputation, for this is the judgment of God. But if anything seems difficult to you, then refer it to me, and I will hear it.’
18 And I instructed you in all that you were obliged to do.
19 Then, setting out from Horeb, we crossed through a terrible and great wasteland, which you saw along the way of the mountain of the Amorite, just as the Lord our God had instructed us. And when we had arrived at Kadesh-barnea,
20 I said to you: ‘You have arrived at the mountain of the Amorite, which the Lord our God will give to us.
21 Gaze upon the land that the Lord your God gives to you. Ascend and possess it, just as the Lord our God has spoken to your fathers. Do not be afraid, and do not become terrified by anything.’
22 And you all approached me and said: ‘Let us send men who may consider the land, and who may report as to the way by which we ought to ascend, and as to which cities we ought to travel.’
23 And since the word was pleasing to me, I sent from among you twelve men, one from each tribe.
24 These, when they had set out and had ascended the mountains, arrived as far as the valley of the cluster of grapes. And having considered the land,
25 having taken from its fruits in order to show its fertility, they brought these to us, and they said: ‘The land that the Lord our God will give to us is good.’
26 Yet you were not willing to go there. Instead, being incredulous to the word of the Lord our God,
27 you murmured in your tents, and you said: ‘The Lord hates us, and therefore he has led us away from the land of Egypt, so that he might deliver us into the hand of the Amorite and destroy us.
28 To where should we ascend? The messengers have terrified our heart by saying: “The multitude is very great, and taller than us. And the cities are great, and the walls extend even to the sky. We have seen the sons of the Anakim there.” ‘
29 And I said to you: ‘Do not be apprehensive, nor should you fear them.
30 The Lord God himself, who is your leader, will fight on your behalf, just as he did in Egypt in the sight of all.
31 And in the wilderness (as you yourselves saw), the Lord your God carried you, like a man who is accustomed to carrying his little son, along all the way that you walked, until you arrived at this place.’
32 And yet, despite all of this, you did not believe the Lord your God,
33 who went before you on the way, and who marked out the place where you should pitch your tents, showing you the way by fire in the night, and by a pillar of cloud in the day.
34 And when the Lord had heard the voice of your words, becoming angry, he swore and said:
35 ‘None of the men of this wicked generation will see the good land, which I have promised by oath to your fathers,
36 except Caleb the son of Jephuneh. For he himself will see it, and I will give the land on which he has walked to him and to his sons, because he has followed the Lord.’
37 Neither is his indignation with the people a wonder, since the Lord also became angry with me because of you, and so he said: ‘Neither will you enter into that place.
38 But Joshua, the son of Nun, your minister, shall himself enter on your behalf. Exhort and strengthen this man, and he himself shall divide the land by lot to Israel.
39 Your little ones, about whom you said that they would be led away as captives, and your sons, who to this day are ignorant of the difference between good and evil, they shall enter. And I will give the land to them, and they will possess it.
40 But as for you, turn back and go out to the wilderness, by way of the Red Sea.’
41 And you responded to me: ‘We have sinned against the Lord. We will ascend and fight, just as the Lord our God has instructed.’ And having been equipped with weapons, when you were setting out for the mountain,
42 the Lord said to me: ‘Say to them: Do not ascend and do not fight. For I am not with you. Otherwise, you may fall in the sight of your enemies.’
43 I spoke, and you did not listen. But, opposing the order of the Lord, and swelling with pride, you ascended onto the mountain.
44 And so, having gone forth, the Amorite, who was living in the mountains, came against you and pursued you, just as a swarm of bees would do. And he struck you down from Seir all the way to Hormah.
45 And when you returned and were weeping in the sight of the Lord, he would not hear you, nor was he willing to agree to your voice.
46 Therefore, you camped at Kadesh-barnea for a long time.”
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1 In that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.
2 Thus says the Lord: “The people who had remained after the sword, found grace in the desert. Israel will go to his rest.”
3 The Lord appeared to me from a distance: “And I have loved you in perpetual charity. Therefore, showing pity, I have drawn you.
4 And I will build you up again. And you shall be built up, O virgin of Israel. Still shall you be adorned with your timbrels, and still shall you go forth to the singing of those who play.
5 Still shall you plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. The planters will plant, and they will not gather the vintage until the time arrives.
6 For there will be a day on which the guardians on mount Ephraim will cry out: ‘Arise! And let us ascend on Zion to the Lord our God!’ “
7 For thus says the Lord: “Exult in the joy of Jacob, and neigh before the head of the Gentiles. Shout, and sing, and say: ‘O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel!’
8 Behold, I will lead them from the land of the north, and I will gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, she who is with child, together with she who is giving birth: a great assembly returning to this place.
9 They will approach with weeping. And I will lead them back with mercy. And I will lead them through the torrents of water, by an upright way, and they will not stumble in it. For I have become Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”
10 Listen to the word of the Lord, O Gentiles, and announce it amid the islands that are far away, and say: “Whoever has scattered Israel will gather him, and he will guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.”
11 For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and he has freed him from the hand of one more powerful.
12 And they will arrive and give praise on Mount Zion. And they will flow together, to the good things of the Lord, over grain, and wine, and oil, and the offspring of cattle and herds. And their soul will be like an irrigated garden, and they will no longer be hungry.
13 Then the virgin will rejoice with singing, the young and the old together, and I will turn their mourning into gladness, and I will console them and gladden them after their sorrow.
14 And I will inebriate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people will be filled with my good things, says the Lord.”
15 Thus says the Lord: “A voice has been heard on high: of lamentation, mourning, and weeping; of Rachel crying for her sons and refusing to be consoled over them, because they are not.”
16 Thus says the Lord: “Let your voice cease from crying and your eyes from tears. For there is a reward for your work, says the Lord. And they will return from the land of the enemy.
17 And there is hope for your very end, says the Lord. And the sons will return to their own borders.
18 Listening, I heard Ephraim going into captivity: ‘You have chastised me, and I was instructed, like a young untamed bull. Convert me, and I shall be converted. For you are the Lord my God.
1 Unto the end, for the sons of Core, for the hidden.
2 Our God is our refuge and strength: a helper in troubles, which have found us exceedingly.
3 Therefore we will not fear, when the earth shall be troubled; and the mountains shall be removed into the heart of the sea.
4 Their waters roared and were troubled: the mountains were troubled with his strength.
46 Now an idea entered into them, as to which of them was greater.
47 But Jesus, perceiving the thoughts of their hearts, took a child and stood him beside him.
48 And he said to them: “Whoever will receive this child in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives him who sent me. For whoever is the lesser among you all, the same is greater.”
49 And responding, John said: “Teacher, we saw a certain one casting out demons in your name. And we prohibited him, for he does not follow with us.”
50 And Jesus said to him: “Do not prohibit him. For whoever is not against you, is for you.”
51 Now it happened that, while the days of his dissipation were being completed, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.
52 And he sent messengers before his face. And going on, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for him.
53 And they would not receive him, because his face was going toward Jerusalem.
54 And when his disciples, James and John, had seen this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call for fire to descend from heaven and consume them?”
55 And turning, he rebuked them, saying: “Do you not know of whose spirit you are?
56 The Son of man came, not to destroy lives, but to save them.” And they went into another town.
57 And it happened that, as they were walking along the way, someone said to him, “I will follow you, wherever you will go.”
58 Jesus said to him: “Foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests. But the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.”
59 Then he said to another, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”
60 And Jesus said to him: “Let the dead bury their dead. But you go and announce the kingdom of God.”
61 And another said: “I will follow you, Lord. But permit me first to explain this to those of my house.”
62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow, and then looks back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
