Psalm 39^[a]

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

Jesus’ mother and brothers

¹⁹ Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. ²⁰ Someone told him, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.’

²¹ He replied, ‘My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.’

Jesus calms the storm

²² One day Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side of the lake.’ So they got into a boat and set out. ²³ As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

²⁴ The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we’re going to drown!’

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ²⁵ ‘Where is your faith?’ he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.’

Jesus restores a demon-possessed man

²⁶ They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,^[a] which is across the lake from Galilee. ²⁷ When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!’ ²⁹ For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

³⁰ Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’

‘Legion,’ he replied, because many demons had gone into him. ³¹ And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

³² A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. ³³ When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, ³⁵ and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ³⁶ Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. ³⁷ Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

³⁸ The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ ‘Return home and tell how much God has done for you.’ So the man went away and told all over the town how much Jesus had done for him.

The Festival of Tabernacles

¹² ‘“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, hold a sacred assembly and do not do any ordinary work. Celebrate a festival to the Lord for seven days. ¹³ Present as an aroma pleasing to the Lord a food offering consisting of a burnt offering of thirteen young bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect. ¹⁴ With each of the thirteen bulls offer a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil; with each of the two rams, one-fifth; ¹⁵ and with each of the fourteen lambs, one-tenth. ¹⁶ Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

¹⁷ ‘“On the second day offer twelve young bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect. ¹⁸ With the bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified. ¹⁹ Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

²⁰ ‘“On the third day offer eleven bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect. ²¹ With the bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified. ²² Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

²³ ‘“On the fourth day offer ten bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect. ²⁴ With the bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified. ²⁵ Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

²⁶ ‘“On the fifth day offer nine bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect. ²⁷ With the bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified. ²⁸ Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

²⁹ ‘“On the sixth day offer eight bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect. ³⁰ With the bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified. ³¹ Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

³² ‘“On the seventh day offer seven bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect. ³³ With the bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified. ³⁴ Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

³⁵ ‘“On the eighth day hold a closing special assembly and do not do any of your ordinary work. ³⁶ Present as an aroma pleasing to the Lord a food offering consisting of a burnt offering of one bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect. ³⁷ With the bull, the ram and the lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified. ³⁸ Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

³⁹ ‘“In addition to what you vow and your freewill offerings, offer these to the Lord at your appointed festivals: your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings and fellowship offerings.”’

⁴⁰ Moses told the Israelites all that the Lord commanded him.^[a]

Vows

30 ^[b]Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel: ‘This is what the Lord commands: ² when a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.

³ ‘When a young woman still living in her father’s household makes a vow to the Lord or binds herself by a pledge ⁴ and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her vows and every pledge by which she bound herself will stand. ⁵ But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she bound herself will stand; the Lord will release her because her father has forbidden her.

⁶ ‘If she marries after she makes a vow or after her lips utter a rash promise by which she binds herself ⁷ and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows or the pledges by which she bound herself will stand. ⁸ But if her husband forbids her when he hears about it, he nullifies the vow that binds her or the rash promise by which she binds herself, and the Lord will release her.

⁹ ‘Any vow or obligation taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding on her.

¹⁰ ‘If a woman living with her husband makes a vow or binds herself by a pledge under oath ¹¹ and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her and does not forbid her, then all her vows or the pledges by which she bound herself will stand. ¹² But if her husband nullifies them when he hears about them, then none of the vows or pledges that came from her lips will stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the Lord will release her. ¹³ Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself.^{[c] 14} But if her husband says nothing to her about it from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or the pledges binding on her. He confirms them by saying nothing to her when he hears about them. ¹⁵ If, however, he nullifies them some time after he hears about them, then he must bear the consequences of her wrongdoing.’

¹⁶ These are the regulations the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and his young daughter still living at home.

Vengeance on the Midianites

31 The Lord said to Moses, ² ‘Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.’

³ So Moses said to the people, ‘Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites so that they may carry out the Lord’s vengeance on them. ⁴ Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel.’ ⁵ So twelve thousand men armed for battle, a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel. ⁶ Moses sent them into battle, a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary and the trumpets for signalling.

⁷ They fought against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every man. ⁸ Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba – the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. ⁹ The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder. ¹⁰ They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps. ¹¹ They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals, ¹² and brought the captives, spoils and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

¹³ Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴ Moses was angry with the officers of the army – the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds – who returned from the battle.

¹⁵ ‘Have you allowed all the women to live?’ he asked them. ¹⁶ ‘They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident, so that a plague struck the Lord’s people. ¹⁷ Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, ¹⁸ but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

¹⁹ ‘Anyone who has killed someone or touched someone who was killed must stay outside the camp seven days. On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves and your captives. ²⁰ Purify every garment as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood.’

²¹ Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, ‘This is what is required by the law that the Lord gave Moses: ²² gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, lead ²³ and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water. ²⁴ On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean. Then you may come into the camp.’