NUMBERS 2

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Arrangement of the Camp  2:1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. 3 Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being Nahshon the son of Amminadab, 4 his company as listed being 74,600. 5 Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, the chief of the people of Issachar being Nethanel the son of Zuar, 6 his company as listed being 54,400. 7 Then the tribe of Zebulun, the chief of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helon, 8 his company as listed being 57,400. 9 All those listed of the camp of Judah, by their companies, were 186,400. They shall set out first on the march.
    10 “On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the chief of the people of Reuben being Elizur the son of Shedeur, 11 his company as listed being 46,500. 12 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the chief of the people of Simeon being Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, 13 his company as listed being 59,300. 14 Then the tribe of Gad, the chief of the people of Gad being Eliasaph the son of Reuel, 15 his company as listed being 45,650. 16 All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. They shall set out second.
    17 “Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.
    18 “On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies, the chief of the people of Ephraim being Elishama the son of Ammihud, 19 his company as listed being 40,500. 20 And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the chief of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, 21 his company as listed being 32,200. 22 Then the tribe of Benjamin, the chief of the people of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni, 23 his company as listed being 35,400. 24 All those listed of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, were 108,100. They shall set out third on the march.
    25 “On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the chief of the people of Dan being Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, 26 his company as listed being 62,700. 27 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the chief of the people of Asher being Pagiel the son of Ochran, 28 his company as listed being 41,500. 29 Then the tribe of Naphtali, the chief of the people of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan, 30 his company as listed being 53,400. 31 All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. They shall set out last, standard by standard.”
    32 These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers’ houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were 603,550. 33 But the Levites were not listed among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.
    34 Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers’ house.

PSALM 50

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God Himself Is JudgeA Psalm of Asaph.
50:1

The Mighty One, God the Lord,

speaks and summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God shines forth.
3

Our God comes; he does not keep silence;

before him is a devouring fire,

around him a mighty tempest. 4

He calls to the heavens above

and to the earth, that he may judge his people: 5

“Gather to me my faithful ones,

who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” 6

The heavens declare his righteousness,

for God himself is judge! Selah
7

“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;

O Israel, I will testify against you.

I am God, your God. 8

Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;

your burnt offerings are continually before me. 9

I will not accept a bull from your house

or goats from your folds. 10

For every beast of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills. 11

I know all the birds of the hills,

and all that moves in the field is mine.
12

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for the world and its fullness are mine. 13

Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats? 14

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,

and perform your vows to the Most High, 15

and call upon me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
16

But to the wicked God says:

“What right have you to recite my statutes

or take my covenant on your lips? 17

For you hate discipline,

and you cast my words behind you. 18

If you see a thief, you are pleased with him,

and you keep company with adulterers.
19

“You give your mouth free rein for evil,

and your tongue frames deceit. 20

You sit and speak against your brother;

you slander your own mother’s son. 21

These things you have done, and I have been silent;

you thought that I was one like yourself.

But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
22

“Mark this, then, you who forget God,

lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver! 23

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;

to one who orders his way rightly

I will show the salvation of God!”

PSALM 51

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Create in Me a Clean Heart, O GodTo the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
51:1

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions. 2

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin!
3

For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me. 4

Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you may be justified in your words

and blameless in your judgment. 5

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8

Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9

Hide your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities. 10

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me. 11

Cast me not away from your presence,

and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will return to you. 14

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,

O God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise. 16

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18

Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;

build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19

then will you delight in right sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

PROVERBS 1

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The Beginning of Knowledge  1:1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2

To know wisdom and instruction,

to understand words of insight, 3

to receive instruction in wise dealing,

in righteousness, justice, and equity; 4

to give prudence to the simple,

knowledge and discretion to the youth— 5

Let the wise hear and increase in learning,

and the one who understands obtain guidance, 6

to understand a proverb and a saying,

the words of the wise and their riddles.
7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction. The Enticement of Sinners8

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching, 9

for they are a graceful garland for your head

and pendants for your neck. 10

My son, if sinners entice you,

do not consent. 11

If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;

let us ambush the innocent without reason; 12

like Sheol let us swallow them alive,

and whole, like those who go down to the pit; 13

we shall find all precious goods,

we shall fill our houses with plunder; 14

throw in your lot among us;

we will all have one purse”— 15

my son, do not walk in the way with them;

hold back your foot from their paths, 16

for their feet run to evil,

and they make haste to shed blood. 17

For in vain is a net spread

in the sight of any bird, 18

but these men lie in wait for their own blood;

they set an ambush for their own lives. 19

Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;

it takes away the life of its possessors. The Call of Wisdom20

Wisdom cries aloud in the street,

in the markets she raises her voice; 21

at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: 22

“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools hate knowledge? 23

If you turn at my reproof,

behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;

I will make my words known to you. 24

Because I have called and you refused to listen,

have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, 25

because you have ignored all my counsel

and would have none of my reproof, 26

I also will laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when terror strikes you, 27

when terror strikes you like a storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you. 28

Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but will not find me. 29

Because they hated knowledge

and did not choose the fear of the Lord, 30

would have none of my counsel

and despised all my reproof, 31

therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,

and have their fill of their own devices. 32

For the simple are killed by their turning away,

and the complacency of fools destroys them; 33

but whoever listens to me will dwell secure

and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”