Boundaries, Submission, and God's Refuge

1. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2. “Command the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you come into the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to its borders), 3. then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Salt Sea eastward. 4. Your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass along to Zin; and it shall pass southward of Kadesh Barnea; and it shall go from there to Hazar Addar, and pass along to Azmon. 5. The border shall turn about from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and it shall end at the sea. 6. “‘For the western border, you shall have the great sea and its border. This shall be your west border. 7. “‘This shall be your north border: from the great sea you shall mark out for yourselves Mount Hor. 8. From Mount Hor you shall mark out to the entrance of Hamath; and the border shall pass by Zedad. 9. Then the border shall go to Ziphron, and it shall end at Hazar Enan. This shall be your north border. 10. “‘You shall mark out your east border from Hazar Enan to Shepham. 11. The border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain. The border shall go down, and shall reach to the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward. 12. The border shall go down to the Jordan, and end at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to its borders around it.’” 13. Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, “This is the land which you shall inherit by lot, which Yahweh has commanded to give to the nine tribes, and to the half-tribe; 14. for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their fathers’ houses, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to their fathers’ houses, have received, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received, their inheritance. 15. The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.” 16. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 17. “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. 18. You shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land for inheritance. 19. These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 20. Of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. 21. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. 22. Of the tribe of the children of Dan a prince, Bukki the son of Jogli. 23. Of the children of Joseph: of the tribe of the children of Manasseh a prince, Hanniel the son of Ephod. 24. Of the tribe of the children of Ephraim a prince, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. 25. Of the tribe of the children of Zebulun a prince, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. 26. Of the tribe of the children of Issachar a prince, Paltiel the son of Azzan. 27. Of the tribe of the children of Asher a prince, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. 28. Of the tribe of the children of Naphtali a prince, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” 29. These are they whom Yahweh commanded to divide the inheritance to the children of Israel in the land of Canaan. 1. Yahweh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, 2. “Command the children of Israel to give to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in. You shall give suburbs for the cities around them to the Levites. 3. They shall have the cities to dwell in. Their suburbs shall be for their livestock, and for their possessions, and for all their animals. 4. “The suburbs of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward one thousand cubits around it. 5. You shall measure outside of the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall be the suburbs of their cities. 6. “The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the man slayer to flee to. Besides them you shall give forty-two cities. 7. All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities together with their suburbs. 8. Concerning the cities which you shall give of the possession of the children of Israel, from the many you shall take many; and from the few you shall take few. Everyone according to his inheritance which he inherits shall give some of his cities to the Levites.” 9. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 10. “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11. then you shall appoint for yourselves cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the man slayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there. 12. The cities shall be to you for refuge from the avenger, that the man slayer not die, until he stands before the congregation for judgment. 13. The cities which you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge. 14. You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and you shall give three cities in the land of Canaan. They shall be cities of refuge. 15. For the children of Israel, and for the stranger and for the foreigner living among them, shall these six cities be for refuge; that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there. 16. “‘But if he struck him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. 17. If he struck him with a stone in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. 18. Or if he struck him with a weapon of wood in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. 19. The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death. When he meets him, he shall put him to death. 20. If he shoved him out of hatred, or hurled at him, lying in wait, so that he died, 21. or in hostility struck him with his hand, so that he died, he who struck him shall surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meets him. 22. “‘But if he shoved him suddenly without hostility, or hurled on him anything without lying in wait, 23. or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, and cast it on him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm; 24. then the congregation shall judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. 25. The congregation shall deliver the man slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, where he had fled. He shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil. 26. “‘But if the man slayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge, where he flees, 27. and the avenger of blood finds him outside of the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the man slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood, 28. because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the man slayer shall return into the land of his possession. 29. “‘These things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 30. “‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify against any person that he die. 31. “‘Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death. 32. “‘You shall take no ransom for him who is fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. 33. “‘So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it. 34. You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, in the middle of which I dwell; for I, Yahweh, dwell in the middle of the children of Israel.’” 1. The heads of the fathers’ households of the family of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses, and before the princes, the heads of the fathers’ households of the children of Israel. 2. They said, “Yahweh commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel. My lord was commanded by Yahweh to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. 3. If they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong. So will it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. 4. When the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong. So their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.” 5. Moses commanded the children of Israel according to Yahweh’s word, saying, “The tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks right. 6. This is the thing which Yahweh does command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them be married to whom they think best; only they shall marry into the family of the tribe of their father. 7. So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel move from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall all keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8. Every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may each possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9. So shall no inheritance move from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall each keep his own inheritance.’” 10. The daughters of Zelophehad did as Yahweh commanded Moses: 11. for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to their father’s brothers’ sons. 12. They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph. Their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father. 13. These are the commandments and the ordinances which Yahweh commanded by Moses to the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

1. Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. 2. Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment. 3. For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same, 4. for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil. 5. Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6. For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God’s service, attending continually on this very thing. 7. Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. 8. Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10. Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law. 11. Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed. 12. The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light. 13. Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy. 14. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts. 1. Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions. 2. One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3. Don’t let him who eats despise him who doesn’t eat. Don’t let him who doesn’t eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. 4. Who are you who judge another’s servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand. 5. One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. 6. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. He who doesn’t eat, to the Lord he doesn’t eat, and gives God thanks. 7. For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself. 8. For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9. For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11. For it is written, “‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘to me every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess to God.’” 12. So then each one of us will give account of himself to God. 13. Therefore let’s not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother’s way, or an occasion for falling. 14. I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15. Yet if because of food your brother is grieved, you walk no longer in love. Don’t destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 16. Then don’t let your good be slandered, 17. for God’s Kingdom is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19. So then, let us follow after things which make for peace, and things by which we may build one another up. 20. Don’t overthrow God’s work for food’s sake. All things indeed are clean, however it is evil for that man who creates a stumbling block by eating. 21. It is good to not eat meat, drink wine, nor do anything by which your brother stumbles, is offended, or is made weak. 22. Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who doesn’t judge himself in that which he approves. 23. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it isn’t of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin. 24. Now to him who is able to establish you according to my Good News and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret through long ages, 25. but now is revealed, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known for obedience of faith to all the nations; 26. to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2. Therefore we won’t be afraid, though the earth changes, though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas; 3. though its waters roar and are troubled, though the mountains tremble with their swelling. Selah. 4. There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad, the holy place of the tents of the Most High. 5. God is within her. She shall not be moved. God will help her at dawn. 6. The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved. He lifted his voice, and the earth melted. 7. Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. 8. Come, see Yahweh’s works, what desolations he has made in the earth. 9. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots in the fire. 10. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.” 11. Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.