32 (RY: iii; LY: vi) The descendants of Re’uven and the descendants of Gad had vast quantities of livestock. When they saw that the land of Ya‘zer and the land of Gil‘ad were good for livestock, ² the descendants of Gad and of Re’uven came and spoke to Moshe, El‘azar the cohen and the community leaders. They said, ³ “‘Atarot, Divon, Ya‘zer, Nimrah, Heshbon, El‘aleh, S’vam, N’vo and Be‘on, ⁴ the country that Adonai conquered before the community of Isra’el, is livestock country; and your servants have livestock. ⁵ If you regard us favorably,” they went on, “let this land be given to your servants as their possession; and don’t have us cross the Yarden.”

⁶ Moshe answered the descendants of Gad and of Re’uven: “Are your brothers to go to war while you stay here? ⁷ Besides, why are you trying to discourage the people of Isra’el from crossing into the land Adonai gave them? ⁸ This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to see the land. ⁹ For when they went up to the Eshkol Valley and saw the land, they disheartened the people of Isra’el, so that they wouldn’t enter the land Adonai had given them. ¹⁰ Adonai’s anger blazed up on that day; and he swore, ¹¹ ‘None of the people aged twenty or more who came out of Egypt will see the land I swore to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov; because they haven’t followed me unreservedly — ¹² except Kalev the son of Y’funeh the K’nizi and Y’hoshua the son of Nun, because they have followed Adonai unreservedly.’ ¹³ Thus Adonai’s anger blazed against Isra’el, so that he made them wander here and there in the desert forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of Adonai had died out. ¹⁴ Now you, another brood of sinners, have arisen in your fathers’ place to increase still more the fierce anger of Adonai toward Isra’el! ¹⁵ For if you turn away from him, he will leave them in the desert again, and thus you will cause the destruction of all these people!”

¹⁶ But they came up to him and said, “Here we will build enclosures for our livestock and cities for our little ones, ¹⁷ but we ourselves will be armed and ready for action to march at the head of the people of Isra’el, until we have brought them to their place. Our little ones will stay in the fortified cities here because of the people now living in the land. ¹⁸ However, we will not return to our own homes until every man in Isra’el has taken possession of his land for inheritance. ¹⁹ We will not have an inheritance with them on the other side of the Yarden, westward; because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of the Yarden, eastward.”

(RY: iv, LY: vii) ²⁰ Moshe said to them, “If you will do this — if you will arm yourselves to go before Adonai to the war, ²¹ and if every one of your soldiers will cross the Yarden before Adonai, until he has driven out his enemies ahead of him, ²² and if the land has been conquered before Adonai, and only after that do you return — then you will be clear before Adonai and before Isra’el, and this land here will be yours to possess before Adonai. ²³ But if you will not do this, then you have sinned against Adonai, and you must understand that your sin will find you out. ²⁴ Build cities for your little ones and enclosures for your sheep; then do what you said you would do.”

²⁵ The descendants of Gad and the descendants of Re’uven said to Moshe, “Your servants will do as my lord orders. ²⁶ Our little ones, wives, flocks and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gil‘ad; ²⁷ but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before Adonai to do battle, as my lord says.”

²⁸ So Moshe gave orders concerning them to El‘azar the cohen, Y’hoshua the son of Nun and the clan leaders of the tribes of the people of Isra’el. ²⁹ Moshe said to them, “If the descendants of Gad and of Re’uven cross over the Yarden with you, every man armed for battle, before Adonai; and if the land is conquered before you, then you are to give them the land of Gil‘ad as theirs to possess. ³⁰ But if they do not cross with you armed, they are to possess land along with you in Kena‘an.”

³¹ The descendants of Gad and of Re’uven answered, “We will do as Adonai has said to your servants. ³² We will cross over into the land of Kena‘an armed before Adonai, and the land we will possess for inheritance will be on this side of the Yarden.”

³³ So Moshe gave the descendants of Gad and of Re’uven, and also to the half-tribe of M’nasheh the son of Yosef, the kingdom of Sichon king of the Emori and the kingdom of ‘Og king of Bashan — the country and its cities within its borders, along with their surrounding towns.

³⁴ The descendants of Gad built Divon, ‘Atarot, ‘Aro‘er, ³⁵ ‘Atrot-Shofan, Ya‘zer, Yogbehah, ³⁶ Beit-Nimrah and Beit-Haran — fortified cities; and also enclosures for sheep.

³⁷ The descendants of Re’uven built Heshbon, El‘aleh, Kiryatayim, ³⁸ N’vo, Ba‘al-M‘on (these names have been changed) and Sivmah; they renamed the cities they built.

(LY: Maftir) ³⁹ The descendants of Machir the son of M’nasheh went to Gil‘ad and conquered it, dispossessing the Emori who were there. ⁴⁰ Moshe gave Gil‘ad to Machir the son of M’nasheh, and he lived in it. ⁴¹ Ya’ir the son of M’nasheh went and captured its villages and called them Havot-Ya’ir [villages of Ya’ir]. ⁴² Novach went and captured K’nat with its villages and named it Novach after himself.

Haftarah Mattot: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 1:1–2:3

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Mattot: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:33–37

Parashah 43: Masa‘ei (Stages) 33:1–36:13

[In regular years read with Parashah 42, in leap years read separately]

33 These are the stages in the journey of the people of Isra’el as they left the land of Egypt divided into groups under the leadership of Moshe and Aharon. ² Moshe recorded each of the stages of their journey by order of Adonai ; here are the starting-points of each stage:

³ They began their journey from Ram’ses in the first month. On the fifteenth day of the first month, the morning after the Pesach, the people of Isra’el left proudly in view of all the Egyptians; ⁴ while the Egyptians were burying those among them whom Adonai had killed, all their firstborn; Adonai had also executed judgment on their gods. ⁵ The people of Isra’el moved on from Ram’ses and camped at Sukkot.

⁶ They moved on from Sukkot and camped at Etam, by the edge of the desert. ⁷ They moved on from Etam and turned back to Pi-Hachirot, in front of Ba‘al-Tz’fon, and camped before Migdol. ⁸ They moved on from P’nei-Hachirot, passed through the sea to the desert, continued three days’ journey into the Etam Desert and camped at Marah. ⁹ They moved on from Marah and came to Eilim; in Eilim were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, so they camped there. ¹⁰ They moved on from Eilim and camped by the Sea of Suf.

(LY: ii) ¹¹ They moved on from the Sea of Suf and camped in the Seen Desert. ¹² They moved on from the Seen Desert and camped at Dofkah. ¹³ They moved on from Dofkah and camped at Alush. ¹⁴ They moved on from Alush and camped at Refidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. ¹⁵ They moved on from Refidim and camped in the Sinai Desert. ¹⁶ They moved on from the Sinai Desert and camped at Kivrot-HaTa’avah. ¹⁷ They moved on from Kivrot-HaTa’avah and camped in Hatzerot. ¹⁸ They moved on from Hatzerot and camped at Ritmah. ¹⁹ They moved on from Ritmah and camped at Rimmon-Peretz. ²⁰ They moved on from Rimmon-Peretz and camped at Livnah. ²¹ They moved on from Livnah and camped at Rissah. ²² They moved on from Rissah and camped at K’helah. ²³ They moved on from K’helah and camped at Mount Shefer. ²⁴ They moved on from Mount Shefer and camped at Haradah. ²⁵ They moved on from Haradah and camped at Mak’helot. ²⁶ They moved on from Mak’helot and camped at Tachat. ²⁷ They moved on from Tachat and camped at Terach. ²⁸ They moved on from Terach and camped at Mitkah. ²⁹ They moved on from Mitkah and camped at HaShmonah. ³⁰ They moved on from HaShmonah and camped at Moserot. ³¹ They moved on from Moserot and camped at B’nei-Ya‘akan. ³² They moved on from B’nei-Ya‘akan and camped at Hor-HaGidgad. ³³ They moved on from Hor-HaGidgad and camped at Yotvatah. ³⁴ They moved on from Yotvatah and camped at Avronah. ³⁵ They moved on from Avronah and camped at ‘Etzyon-Gever. ³⁶ They moved on from ‘Etzyon-Gever and camped in the Tzin Desert, that is, Kadesh.

³⁷ They moved on from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the border of the land of Edom. ³⁸ At Adonai’s order Aharon the cohen went up on Mount Hor, and he died there on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the people of Isra’el had left the land of Egypt. ³⁹ Aharon was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor. ⁴⁰ The Kena‘ani king of ‘Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Kena‘an, had heard that the people of Isra’el were coming; ⁴¹ so they moved on from Mount Hor and camped at Tzalmonah.

⁴² They moved on from Tzalmonah and camped at Punon. ⁴³ They moved on from Punon and camped at Ovot. ⁴⁴ They moved on from Ovot and camped ‘Iyei-Ha‘Avarim, at the border of Mo’av. ⁴⁵ They moved on from ‘Iyim and camped at Divon-Gad. ⁴⁶ They moved on from Divon-Gad and camped at ‘Almon-Divlatayim. ⁴⁷ They moved on from Almon-Divlatayim and camped in the ‘Avarim Range, in front of N’vo. ⁴⁸ They moved on from the ‘Avarim Range and camped in the plains of Mo’av by the Yarden, across from Yericho. ⁴⁹ Their camp by the Yarden extended from Beit-HaYeshimot all the way to Avel-HaSheetim in the plains of Mo’av.

(RY: v; LY: iii) ⁵⁰ Adonai spoke to Moshe in the plains of Mo’av by the Yarden, across from Yericho. He said ⁵¹ to tell the people of Isra’el, “When you cross the Yarden into the land of Kena‘an, ⁵² you are to expel all the people living in the land from in front of you. Destroy all their stone figures, destroy all their metal statues and demolish all their high places. ⁵³ Drive out the inhabitants of the land, and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess. ⁵⁴ You will inherit the land by lot according to your families. You are to give more land to the larger families and less to the smaller ones. Wherever the lot falls to any particular person, that will be his property. You will inherit according to the tribes of your ancestors. ⁵⁵ But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants of the land from in front of you, then those you allow to remain will become like thorns in your eyes and stings in your sides — they will harass you in the land where you are living. ⁵⁶ And in this event, I will do to you what I intended to do to them.”

10 Then Yeshua left that place and went into the regions of Y’hudah and the territory beyond the Yarden. Again crowds gathered around him; and again, as usual, he taught them. ² Some P’rushim came up and tried to trap him by asking him, “Does the Torah permit a man to divorce his wife?” ³ He replied, “What did Moshe command you?” ⁴ They said, “Moshe allowed a man to hand his wife a get and divorce her.”^{[a] 5} But Yeshua said to them, “He wrote this commandment for you because of your hardheartedness. ⁶ However, at the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.^{[b] 7} For this reason, a man should leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, ⁸ and the two are to become one flesh.^[c] Thus they are no longer two, but one. ⁹ So then, no one should break apart what God has joined together.” ¹⁰ When they were indoors once more, the talmidim asked him about this. ¹¹ He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against his wife; ¹² and if a wife divorces her husband and marries another man, she too commits adultery.”

¹³ People were bringing children to him so that he might touch them, but the talmidim rebuked those people. ¹⁴ However, when Yeshua saw it, he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me, don’t stop them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Yes! I tell you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it!” ¹⁶ And he took them in his arms, laid his hands on them, and made a b’rakhah over them.

¹⁷ As he was starting on his way, a man ran up, kneeled down in front of him and asked, “Good rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?” ¹⁸ Yeshua said to him, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good except God! ¹⁹ You know the mitzvot — ‘Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t give false testimony, don’t defraud, honor your father and mother, . . .’”^{[d] 20} “Rabbi,” he said, “I have kept all these since I was a boy.” ²¹ Yeshua, looking at him, felt love for him and said to him, “You’re missing one thing. Go, sell whatever you own, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!” ²² Shocked by this word, he went away sad; because he was a wealthy man.

²³ Yeshua looked around and said to his talmidim, “How hard it is going to be for people with wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!” ²⁴ The talmidim were astounded at these words; but Yeshua said to them again, “My friends, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! ²⁵ It’s easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” ²⁶ They were utterly amazed and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Yeshua looked at them and said, “Humanly, it is impossible, but not with God; with God, everything is possible.” ²⁸ Kefa began saying to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹ Yeshua said, “Yes! I tell you that there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundred times over, now, in the ‘olam hazeh, homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and lands — with persecutions! — and in the ‘olam haba, eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first!”

³² They were on the road going up to Yerushalayim. Yeshua was walking ahead of them, and they were amazed — and those following were afraid. So again taking the Twelve along with him, he began telling them what was about to happen to him. ³³ “We are now going up to Yerushalayim, where the Son of Man will be handed over to the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers. They will sentence him to death and turn him over to the Goyim, ³⁴ who will jeer at him, spit on him, beat him and kill him; but after three days, he will rise.”^[e]

³⁵ Ya‘akov and Yochanan, the sons of Zavdai, came up to him and said, “Rabbi, we would like you to do us a favor.” ³⁶ He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³⁷ They replied, “When you are in your glory, let us sit with you, one on your right and the other on your left.” ³⁸ But Yeshua answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking! Can you drink the cup that I am drinking? or be immersed with the immersion that I must undergo?” ³⁹ They said to him, “We can.” Yeshua replied, “The cup that I am drinking, you will drink; and the immersion I am being immersed with, you will undergo. ⁴⁰ But to sit on my right and on my left is not mine to give. Rather, it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹ When the other ten heard about this, they became outraged at Ya‘akov and Yochanan. ⁴² But Yeshua called them to him and said to them, “You know that among the Goyim, those who are supposed to rule them become tyrants, and their superiors become dictators. ⁴³ But among you, it must not be like that! On the contrary, whoever among you wants to be a leader must be your servant; ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first among you must become everyone’s slave! ⁴⁵ For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve — and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

⁴⁶ They came to Yericho; and as Yeshua was leaving Yericho with his talmidim and a great crowd, a blind beggar, Bar-Timai (son of Timai), was sitting by the side of the road. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Yeshua from Natzeret, he started shouting, “Yeshua! Son of David! Have pity on me!” ⁴⁸ Many people scolded him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David! Have pity on me!” ⁴⁹ Yeshua stopped and said, “Call him over!” They called to the blind man, “Courage! Get up! He’s calling for you!” ⁵⁰ Throwing down his blanket, he jumped up and came over to Yeshua. ⁵¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” asked Yeshua. The blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me be able to see again.” ⁵² Yeshua said to him, “Go! Your trust has healed you.” Instantly he received his sight and followed him on the road.