1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the second year after they departed from the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying:
2 Let the sons of Israel observe the Passover at its proper time,
3 on the fourteenth day of this month, in the evening, according to all of its ceremonies and justifications.”
4 And Moses instructed the sons of Israel, so that they would observe the Passover.
5 And they observed it at its proper time: on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, at mount Sinai. The sons of Israel acted according to all the things that the Lord had commanded Moses.
6 But behold, certain ones, who were not able to observe the Passover on that day, being unclean because of the life of a man, approaching Moses and Aaron,
7 said to them: “We are unclean because of the life of a man. Why have we been cheated, in that we are not permitted to offer, at its proper time, the oblation to the Lord among the sons of Israel?”
8 And Moses responded to them: “Remain, so that I may consult the Lord, as to what he will rule about you.”
9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
10 Say to the sons of Israel: The man who becomes unclean because of a life, or if he is on a distant journey within your nation, let him observe the Passover to the Lord.
11 In the second month, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, they shall eat it with unleavened bread and wild lettuce.
12 They shall not leave behind any of it until morning, and they shall not break a bone of it; they shall observe all the rituals of the Passover.
13 But if any man was both clean, and not on a journey, and yet he did not observe the Passover, that soul shall be exterminated from among his people, because he did not offer the sacrifice to the Lord in its time. He shall bear his sin.
14 Likewise, the sojourner and the newcomer, if they are among you, shall observe the Passover to the Lord according to its ceremonies and justifications. The same precept shall be with you, as much for the newcomer as for the native.”
15 And so, on the day when the tabernacle was raised, a cloud covered it. But over the tabernacle, from evening until morning, there was, as it seemed, the appearance of fire.
16 This was so continually: throughout the day a cloud covered it, and throughout the night, the appearance of fire.
17 And when the cloud that was protecting the tabernacle had been taken up, then the sons of Israel advanced forward, and in the place where the cloud had remained standing, there they made camp.
18 Upon the order of the Lord they advanced, and upon his order they fixed the tabernacle. All the days during which the cloud was standing over the tabernacle, they remained in the same place.
19 And if it happened that it remained for a long time over it, the sons of Israel kept the night watches of the Lord, and they did not advance,
20 during as many days as the cloud remained over the tabernacle. At the command of the Lord they raised their tents, and at his command they took them down.
21 If the cloud remained from evening until morning, and immediately, at first light, it left the tabernacle, they set out. And if it withdrew after a day and a night, they dismantled their tents.
22 Yet truly, whether it remained over the tabernacle for two days, or one month, or a longer time, the sons of Israel remained in the same place, and they did not set out. Then, as soon as it withdrew, they moved the camp.
23 By the word of the Lord they fixed their tents, and by his word they advanced. And they kept the night watches of the Lord, according to his command by the hand of Moses.
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 Make for yourself two trumpets of ductile silver, with which you may be able to call together the multitude when the camp is to be moved.
3 And when you sound the trumpets, all the multitude shall gather to you at the door of the tabernacle of the covenant.
4 If you sound it only once, the leaders and the heads of the multitude of Israel shall come to you.
5 But if the sound of the trumpets is prolonged, but with interruptions, those who are toward the east side shall move the camp first.
6 Then, at the second sounding of the trumpet with the same cadence, those who live toward the south shall take up their tents. And the remainder shall act in like manner, when the trumpets shall reverberate for a departure.
7 But when the people are to be gathered together, the sound of the trumpets shall be simple, and the sounds shall not be separated.
8 Now it is the sons of Aaron the priest who shall sound the trumpets. And this shall be an everlasting ordinance, in your generations.
9 If you go forth to war from your land, against the enemies who set out against you, you shall sound the trumpets repeatedly, and there shall be a remembrance of you before the Lord your God, so that you may be rescued from the hands of your enemies.
10 If at any time you will have a banquet, and on feast days, and on the first days of the months, you shall sound the trumpets over the holocausts and the peace-offering victims, so that they may be for you as a remembrance by your God. I am the Lord your God.”
11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was lifted up from the tabernacle of the covenant.
12 And the sons of Israel set out by their companies from the desert of Sinai, and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.
13 And the first to move their camp, according to the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses,
14 were the sons of Judah by their companies, whose leader was Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
15 In the tribe of the sons of Issachar, the leader was Nathanael the son of Zuar.
16 In the tribe of Zebulon, the leader was Eliab the son of Helon.
17 And the tabernacle was taken down, because the sons of Gershon and Merari, who carry it, were departing.
18 And the sons of Ruben also set out, by their companies and ranks, whose leader was Elizur the son of Shedeur.
19 And in the tribe of Simeon, the leader was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
20 And in the tribe of Gad, the leader was Eliasaph the son of Reuel.
21 Then the Kohathites also set out, carrying the Sanctuary. The tabernacle was carried, all the while, until they arrived at the place for setting it up.
22 The sons of Ephraim also moved their camp by their companies, and the leader of their army was Elishama the son of Ammihud.
23 And in the tribe of the sons of Manasseh, the leader was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
24 And in the tribe of Benjamin, the leader was Abidan the son of Gideoni.
25 The last of all the camp to set out were the sons of Dan by their companies, and the leader of their army was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
26 And in the tribe of the sons of Asher, the leader was Pagiel the son of Ochran.
27 And in the tribe of the sons of Naphtali, the leader was Ahira the son of Enan.
28 These were the camps and departures of the sons of Israel by their companies, when they went forth.
29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Raguel the Midianite, his kinsman: “We are setting out to the place which the Lord will give to us. Come with us, so that we may do good to you. For the Lord has promised good things to Israel.”
30 And he answered him, “I will not go with you, but I will return to my own land, in which I was born.”
31 And he said: “Do not choose to leave us. For you know in which places in the desert we ought to make camp, and so you shall be our guide.
32 And if you come with us, whatever will be best among the riches which the Lord will deliver to us, we will give to you.”
33 Therefore, they set out from the Mountain of the Lord on a journey of three days. And the ark of the covenant of the Lord preceded them, for three days, in order to provide a place for the camp.
34 Likewise, the cloud of the Lord was over them, throughout the day, while they proceeded.
35 And when the ark was lifted up, Moses said, “Rise up, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee from your face.”
36 And when it was set down, he said: “Return, O Lord, to the multitude of the army of Israel.”
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1 And the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my soul would not be toward this people. Cast them away from my face, and let them depart!
2 And if they say to you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: Those who go to death, shall go to death. And those who go to the sword, shall go to the sword, and those go to famine, shall go to famine, and those who go to captivity, shall go to captivity.
3 And I will visit against them in four ways, says the Lord: by the sword, to kill; and by dogs, to tear apart; and by the birds of the air and by the beasts of the earth, to devour and to scatter.
4 And I will give them over to the fervor of all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, because of all that he did in Jerusalem.
5 For who will take pity on you, O Jerusalem? Or who will feel sorrow for you? Or who will go to prayer for the sake of your peace?
6 You have abandoned me, says the Lord. You have gone backwards. And so, I will extend my hand over you, and I will destroy you. I have labored to plead with you.
7 And I will scatter them with a winnowing fan at the gates of the land. I have killed and dispersed my people, and yet they have not turned back from their ways.
8 Their widows have been multiplied by me, more so than the sand of the sea. I have led them against the mother of a youth like an attacker at midday. I have sent a terror suddenly against the cities.
9 She who gave birth to seven has become weak. Her life has faded away. Her sun has set while it was still daytime. She has been confounded and shamed. And the remainder of them I will give over to the sword in the sight of their enemies, says the Lord.”
10 O my mother, woe to me! Why did you conceive me, a man of strife, a man of discord to all the earth? I have not lent money at interest, nor has anyone lent money at interest to me. Yet everyone is cursing me.
11 The Lord says: “Certainly, it will be well with your remnant. Certainly, I will run to meet you, in the time of affliction and in the time of tribulation, against the enemy.
12 But how can iron be joined with the iron from the north or with brass?
13 Your riches and your treasures I will give over to be freely despoiled, because of all your sins, even throughout all your borders.
14 And I will lead in your enemies from a land that you do not know. For a fire has been kindled in my fury; it will burn upon you.”
15 You know me, O Lord. Remember me, and visit me, and watch over me, because of those who persecute me. In your patience, do not choose to let me endure. You know I have suffered reproach because of you.
16 I discovered your words and I consumed them. And your word became to me as the gladness and joy of my heart. For your name has been invoked over me, O Lord, the God of hosts.
17 I did not sit in the company of mockers, nor did I glorify myself before the presence of your hand. I sat alone, because you filled me with threats.
18 Why has my sorrow become never-ending, and why has my wound become so dire that it refuses to be cured? It has become for me like the deception of untrustworthy waters.”
19 Because of this, thus says the Lord: “If you will be converted, I will convert you. And you will stand before my face. And you will separate what is precious from what is vile. You will be my mouthpiece. They will be converted to you, but you will not be converted to them.
20 And I will present you to this people as a strong wall of brass. And they will fight against you, and they will not prevail. For I am with you, so as to save you and to rescue you, says the Lord.
21 And I will free you from hand of those who are most wicked, and I will redeem you from the hand of the powerful.”
36 And I passed by, and lo, he was not: and I sought him and his place was not found.
37 Keep innocence, and behold justice: for there are remnants for the peaceable man.
38 But the unjust shall be destroyed together: the remnants of the wicked shall perish.
39 But the salvation of the just is from the Lord, and he is their protector in the time of trouble.
40 And the Lord will help them and deliver them: and he will rescue them from the wicked, and save them, because they have hoped in him.
40 And she entered into the house of Zechariah, and she greeted Elizabeth.
41 And it happened that, as Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
43 And how does this concern me, so that the mother of my Lord would come to me?
44 For behold, as the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
45 And blessed are you who believed, for the things that were spoken to you by the Lord shall be accomplished.”
46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord.
47 And my spirit leaps for joy in God my Saviour.
48 For he has looked with favor on the humility of his handmaid. For behold, from this time, all generations shall call me blessed.
49 For he who is great has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is from generation to generations for those who fear him.
51 He has accomplished powerful deeds with his arm. He has scattered the arrogant in the intentions of their heart.
52 He has deposed the powerful from their seat, and he has exalted the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has taken up his servant Israel, mindful of his mercy,
55 just as he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
56 Then Mary stayed with her for about three months. And she returned to her own house.
57 Now the time for Elizabeth to give birth arrived, and she brought forth a son.
58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy with her, and so they congratulated her.
59 And it happened that, on the eighth day, they arrived to circumcise the boy, and they called him by his father’s name, Zechariah.
60 And in response, his mother said: “Not so. Instead, he shall be called John.”
