1 Then the heads of the family groups of the Gileadites, the descendant of Machir, the descendant of Manasseh, who were from the Josephite families, approached and spoke before Moses and the leaders who were the heads of the Israelite families. 2 They said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites; and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 Now if they should be married to one of the men from another Israelite tribe, their inheritance would be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. As a result, it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance. 4 And when the Jubilee of the Israelites is to take place, their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.”
5 Then Moses gave a ruling to the Israelites by the word of the Lord: “What the tribe of the Josephites is saying is right. 6 This is what the Lord has commanded for Zelophehad’s daughters: ‘Let them marry whomever they think best, only they must marry within the family of their father’s tribe. 7 In this way the inheritance of the Israelites will not be transferred from tribe to tribe. But every one of the Israelites must retain the ancestral heritage. 8 And every daughter who possesses an inheritance from any of the tribes of the Israelites must become the wife of a man from any family in her father’s tribe, so that every Israelite may retain the inheritance of his fathers. 9 No inheritance may pass from tribe to tribe. But every one of the tribes of the Israelites must retain its inheritance.’”
10 As the Lord had commanded Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad did. 11 For the daughters of Zelophehad—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah—were married to the sons of their uncles. 12 They were married into the families of the Manassehites, the descendants of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s family.
13 These are the commandments and the decisions that the Lord commanded the Israelites through the authority of Moses, in the rift valley plains by Moab along the Jordan River opposite Jericho.
1 O Shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep.
You who sit enthroned above the cherubim, reveal your splendor.
2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal your power.
Come and deliver us.
3 O God, restore us.
Smile on us. Then we will be delivered.
4 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,
how long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you?
5 You have given them tears as food;
you have made them drink tears by the measure.
6 You have made our neighbors dislike us,
and our enemies insult us.
7 O God of Heaven’s Armies, restore us.
Smile on us. Then we will be delivered.
8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;
it took root,
and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars by its branches.
11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,
and its shoots the Euphrates River.
12 Why did you break down its walls,
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit?
13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it;
the insects of the field feed on it.
14 O God of Heaven’s Armies, come back.
Look down from heaven and take notice.
Take care of this vine,
15 the root your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow.
16 It is burned and cut down.
May those who did this die because you are displeased with them.
17 May you give support to the one you have chosen,
to the one whom you raised up for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you.
19 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, restore us.
Smile on us. Then we will be delivered.
1 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards is doomed,
the withering flower, its beautiful splendor,
situated at the head of a rich valley,
the crown of those overcome with wine.
2 Look, the Lord sends a strong, powerful one.
With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm,
with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm,
he will knock that crown to the ground with his hand.
3 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards
will be trampled underfoot.
4 The withering flower, its beautiful splendor,
situated at the head of a rich valley,
will be like an early fig before harvest—
as soon as someone notices it,
he grabs it and swallows it.
5 At that time the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will become a beautiful crown
and a splendid diadem for the remnant of his people.
6 He will give discernment to the one who makes judicial decisions,
and strength to those who defend the city from attackers.
7 Even these men stagger because of wine;
they stumble around because of beer—
priests and prophets stagger because of beer,
they are confused because of wine,
they stumble around because of beer;
they stagger while seeing prophetic visions,
they totter while making legal decisions.
8 Indeed, all the tables
are covered with vomit,
with filth, leaving no clean place.
9 Who is the Lord trying to teach?
To whom is he explaining a message?
To those just weaned from milk!
To those just taken from their mother’s breast!
10 Indeed, they will hear meaningless gibberish,
senseless babbling,
a syllable here, a syllable there.
11 For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue
he will speak to these people.
12 In the past he said to them,
“This is where security can be found.
Provide security for the one who is exhausted.
This is where rest can be found.”
But they refused to listen.
13 So the Lord’s message to them will sound like
meaningless gibberish,
senseless babbling,
a syllable here, a syllable there.
As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk,
and be injured, ensnared, and captured.
14 Therefore, listen to the Lord’s message,
you who mock,
you rulers of these people
who reside in Jerusalem.
15 For you say,
“We have made a treaty with death,
with Sheol we have made an agreement.
When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by
it will not reach us.
For we have made a lie our refuge,
we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.”
16 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord, says:
“Look, I am laying a stone in Zion,
an approved stone,
set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation.
The one who maintains his faith will not panic.
17 I will make justice the measuring line,
fairness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge,
the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.
18 Your treaty with death will be dissolved;
your agreement with Sheol will not last.
When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by,
you will be overrun by it.
19 Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you;
indeed, every morning it will sweep by,
it will come through during the day and the night.”
When this announcement is understood,
it will cause nothing but terror.
20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself.
21 For the Lord will rise up, as he did at Mount Perazim;
he will rouse himself, as he did in the Valley of Gibeon,
to accomplish his work,
his peculiar work,
to perform his task,
his strange task.
22 So now, do not mock,
or your chains will become heavier!
For I have heard a message about decreed destruction,
from the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies against the entire land.
23 Pay attention and listen to my message.
Be attentive and listen to what I have to say!
24 Does a farmer just keep on plowing at planting time?
Does he keep breaking up and harrowing his ground?
25 Once he has leveled its surface,
does he not scatter the seed of the caraway plant,
sow the seed of the cumin plant,
and plant the wheat, barley, and grain in their designated places?
26 His God instructs him;
he teaches him the principles of agriculture.
27 Certainly caraway seed is not threshed with a sledge,
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin seed.
Certainly caraway seed is beaten with a stick,
and cumin seed with a flail.
28 Grain is crushed,
though one certainly does not thresh it forever.
The wheel of one’s wagon rolls over it,
but his horses do not crush it.
29 This also comes from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
who gives supernatural guidance and imparts great wisdom.
1 From the elder, to an elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth (and not I alone, but also all those who know the truth), 2 because of the truth that resides in us and will be with us forever. 3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4 I rejoiced greatly because I have found some of your children living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded us.
5 But now I ask you, lady (not as if I were writing a new commandment to you, but the one we have had from the beginning), that we love one another. 6 (Now this is love: that we walk according to his commandments.) This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning; thus you should walk in it. 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, people who do not confess Jesus as Christ coming in the flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist! 8 Watch out, so that you do not lose the things we have worked for, but receive a full reward.
9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not remain in the teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who remains in this teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not give him any greeting, 11 because the person who gives him a greeting shares in his evil deeds.
12 Though I have many other things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink, but I hope to come visit you and speak face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
13 The children of your elect sister greet you.
