Matthew 19:1-15; Numbers 9; Numbers 10; Ecclesiastes 7

Matthew 19:1-15

1 When Jesus had finished this instruction, He departed from Galilee and went to the region of Judea across the Jordan.

2 Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.

3 Some Pharisees approached Him to test Him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any grounds?"

4 "Haven't you read," He replied, "that He who created them in the beginning made them male and female ,

5 and He also said: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh ?

6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate."

7 "Why then," they asked Him, "did Moses command [us] to give divorce papers and to send her away?"

8 He told them, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts. But it was not like that from the beginning.

9 And I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery."

10 His disciples said to Him, "If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it's better not to marry!"

11 But He told them, "Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those it has been given to.

12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb, there are eunuchs who were made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way because of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can."

13 Then children were brought to Him so He might put His hands on them and pray. But the disciples rebuked them.

14 Then Jesus said, "Leave the children alone, and don't try to keep them from coming to Me, because the kingdom of heaven is made up of people like this."

15 After putting His hands on them, He went on from there.

Numbers 9

1 In the first month of the second year after their departure from the land of Egypt, the Lord told Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai:

2 "The Israelites are to observe the Passover at its appointed time.

3 You must observe it at its appointed time on the fourteenth day of this month at twilight; you are to observe it according to all its statutes and ordinances."

4 So Moses told the Israelites to observe the Passover,

5 and they observed it in the first month on the fourteenth day at twilight in the Wilderness of Sinai. The Israelites did everything as the Lord had commanded Moses.

6 But there were [some] men who were unclean because of a human corpse, so they could not observe the Passover on that day. These men came before Moses and Aaron the same day

7 and said to him, "We are unclean because of a human corpse. Why should we be excluded from presenting the Lord's offering at its appointed time with the [other] Israelites?"

8 Moses replied to them, "Wait here until I hear what the Lord commands for you."

9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses:

10 "Tell the Israelites: When any one of you or your descendants is unclean because of a corpse or is on a distant journey, he may still observe the Passover to the Lord.

11 Such people are to observe it in the second month, on the fourteenth day at twilight. They are to eat the animal with unleavened bread and bitter herbs;

12 they may not leave any of it until morning or break any of its bones. They must observe the Passover according to all its statutes.

13 "But the man who is ceremonially clean, is not on a journey, and yet fails to observe the Passover is to be cut off from his people, because he did not present the Lord's offering at its appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin.

14 "If a foreigner resides with you and wants to observe the Passover to the Lord, he is to do so according to the Passover statute and its ordinances. You are to apply the same statute to both the foreign resident and the native of the land."

15 On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and it appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning.

16 It remained that way continuously: the cloud would cover it, appearing like fire at night.

17 Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped.

18 At the Lord's command the Israelites set out, and at the Lord's command they camped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they camped.

19 Even when the cloud stayed over the tabernacle many days, the Israelites carried out the Lord's requirement and did not set out.

20 Sometimes the cloud remained over the tabernacle for [only] a few days. They would camp at the Lord's command and set out at the Lord's command.

21 Sometimes the cloud remained [only] from evening until morning; when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out. Or if it remained a day and a night, they moved out when the cloud lifted.

22 Whether it was two days, a month, or longer, the Israelites camped and did not set out as long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle. But when it was lifted, they set out.

23 They camped at the Lord's command, and they set out at the Lord's command. They carried out the Lord's requirement according to His command through Moses.

Numbers 10

1 The Lord spoke to Moses:

2 "Make two trumpets of hammered silver to summon the community and have the camps set out.

3 When both are sounded in long blasts, the entire community is to gather before you at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

4 However, if one is sounded, only the leaders, the heads of Israel's clans, are to gather before you.

5 "When you sound short blasts, the camps pitched on the east are to set out.

6 When you sound short blasts a second time, the camps pitched on the south are to set out. Short blasts are to be sounded for them to set out.

7 When calling the assembly together, you are to sound long blasts, not short ones.

8 The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to sound the trumpets. Your use of these is a permanent statute throughout your generations.

9 "When you enter into battle in your land against an adversary who is attacking you, sound short blasts on the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God and be delivered from your enemies.

10 You are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and your fellowship sacrifices and on your joyous occasions, your appointed festivals, and the beginning of each of your months. They will serve as a reminder for you before your God: I am the Lord your God."

11 During the second year, in the second month on the twentieth [day] of the month, the cloud was lifted up above the tabernacle of the testimony.

12 The Israelites traveled on from the Wilderness of Sinai, moving from one place to the next until the cloud stopped in the Wilderness of Paran.

13 They set out for the first time according to the Lord's command through Moses.

14 The military divisions of the camp of Judah with their banner set out first, and Nahshon son of Amminadab was over Judah's divisions.

15 Nethanel son of Zuar was over the division of the Issachar tribe,

16 and Eliab son of Helon was over the division of the Zebulun tribe.

17 The tabernacle was then taken down, and the Gershonites and the Merarites set out, transporting the tabernacle.

18 The military divisions of the camp of Reuben with their banner set out, and Elizur son of Shedeur was over Reuben's division.

19 Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was over the division of Simeon's tribe,

20 and Eliasaph son of Deuel was over the division of the tribe of Gad.

21 The Kohathites then set out, transporting the holy objects; the tabernacle was to be set up before their arrival.

22 Next the military divisions of the camp of Ephraim with their banner set out, and Elishama son of Ammihud was over Ephraim's division.

23 Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of Manasseh,

24 and Abidan son of Gideoni was over the division of the tribe of Benjamin.

25 The military divisions of the camp of Dan with their banner set out, serving as rear guard for all the camps, and Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was over Dan's division.

26 Pagiel son of Ochran was over the division of the tribe of Asher,

27 and Ahira son of Enan was over the division of the tribe of Naphtali.

28 This was the order of march for the Israelites by their military divisions as they set out.

29 Moses said to Hobab, son of Moses' father-in-law Reuel the Midianite: "We're setting out for the place the Lord promised: 'I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel."

30 But he replied to him, "I don't want to go. Instead, I will go to my own land and my relatives."

31 "Please don't leave us," Moses said, "since you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you can serve as our eyes.

32 If you come with us, whatever good the Lord does for us we will do for you."

33 They set out from the mountain of the Lord on a three-day journey to seek a resting place for them, with the ark of the Lord's covenant traveling ahead of them for the three days.

34 Meanwhile, the cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.

35 Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say: Arise, Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered, and those who hate You flee from Your presence.

36 When it came to rest, he would say: Return, Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel.

Ecclesiastes 7

1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of one's death than the day of one's birth.

2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, since that is the end of all mankind, and the living should take it to heart.

3 Grief is better than laughter, for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad.

4 The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.

5 It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person than to listen to the song of fools.

6 For like the crackling of [burning] thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

7 Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe destroys the mind.

8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning; a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit.

9 Don't let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools.

10 Don't say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For it is not wise of you to ask this.

11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, and an advantage to those who see the sun.

12 For wisdom is protection as money is protection, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

13 Consider the work of God; for who can straighten out what He has made crooked?

14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: without question, God has made the one as well as the other, so that man cannot discover anything that will come after him.

15 In my futile life I have seen everything: there is a righteous man who perishes in spite of his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in spite of his evil.

16 Don't be excessively righteous, and don't be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?

17 Don't be excessively wicked, and don't be foolish. Why should you die before your time?

18 It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.

19 Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers of a city.

20 There is certainly no righteous man on the earth who does good and never sins.

21 Don't pay attention to everything people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you;

22 for you know that many times you yourself have cursed others.

23 I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, "I will be wise," but it was beyond me.

24 What exists is beyond [reach] and very deep. Who can discover it?

25 I turned my thoughts to know, explore, and seek wisdom and an explanation [for things], and to know that wickedness is stupidity and folly is madness.

26 And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, her heart a net, and her hands chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her.

27 "Look," says the Teacher, "this I have discovered, by adding one thing to another to find out the explanation,

28 which my soul continually searches for but does not find: among a thousand [people] I have found one [true] man, but among all these I have not found a true woman.

29 Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, but they pursued many schemes."