Matthew 25:1-30; Numbers 30; Numbers 31; Job 1

Matthew 25:1-30

1 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom.

2 Five of them were foolish and five were sensible.

3 When the foolish took their lamps, they didn't take oil with them.

4 But the sensible ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps.

5 Since the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6 "In the middle of the night there was a shout: 'Here's the groom! Come out to meet him.'

7 "Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.

8 But the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, 'Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.'

9 "The sensible ones answered, 'No, there won't be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell, and buy oil for yourselves.'

10 "When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived. Then those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.

11 "Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, 'Master, master, open up for us!'

12 "But he replied, 'I assure you: I do not know you!'

13 "Therefore be alert, because you don't know either the day or the hour.

14 "For it is just like a man going on a journey. He called his own slaves and turned over his possessions to them.

15 To one he gave five talents; to another, two; and to another, one-to each according to his own ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately

16 the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more.

17 In the same way the man with two earned two more.

18 But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money.

19 "After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.

20 The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, 'Master, you gave me five talents. Look, I've earned five more talents.'

21 "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master's joy!'

22 "Then the man with two talents also approached. He said, 'Master, you gave me two talents. Look, I've earned two more talents.'

23 "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master's joy!'

24 "Then the man who had received one talent also approached and said, 'Master, I know you. You're a difficult man, reaping where you haven't sown and gathering where you haven't scattered seed.

25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. Look, you have what is yours.'

26 "But his master replied to him, 'You evil, lazy slave! If you knew that I reap where I haven't sown and gather where I haven't scattered,

27 then you should have deposited my money with the bankers. And when I returned I would have received my money back with interest.

28 " 'So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has 10 talents.

29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

30 And throw this good-for-nothing slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Numbers 30

1 Moses told the leaders of the Israelite tribes, "This is what the Lord has commanded:

2 When a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to put himself under an obligation, he must not break his word; he must do whatever he has promised.

3 "When a woman in her father's house during her youth makes a vow to the Lord or puts [herself] under an obligation,

4 and her father hears about her vow or the obligation she put herself under, and he says nothing to her, all her vows and every obligation she put herself under are binding.

5 But if her father prohibits her on the day he hears [about it], none of her vows and none of the obligations she put herself under are binding. The Lord will absolve her because her father has prohibited her.

6 "If a woman marries while her vows or the rash commitment she herself made are binding,

7 and her husband hears [about it] and says nothing to her when he finds out, her vows are binding, and the obligations she put herself under are binding.

8 But if her husband prohibits her when he hears [about it], he will cancel her vow that is binding or the rash commitment she herself made, and the Lord will forgive her.

9 "Every vow a widow or divorcée puts herself under is binding on her.

10 "If a woman in her husband's house has made a vow or put herself under an obligation with an oath,

11 and her husband hears [about it], says nothing to her, and does not prohibit her, all her vows are binding, and every obligation she put herself under is binding.

12 But if her husband cancels them on the day he hears [about it], nothing that came from her lips, whether her vows or her obligation, is binding. Her husband has canceled them, and the Lord will absolve her.

13 Her husband may confirm or cancel any vow or any sworn obligation to deny herself.

14 If her husband says nothing at all to her from day to day, he confirms all her vows and obligations, which are binding. He has confirmed them because he said nothing to her when he heard [about them].

15 But if he cancels them after he hears [about them], he will be responsible for her commitment."

16 These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses concerning [the relationship] between a man and his wife, or between a father and his daughter in his house during her youth.

Numbers 31

1 The Lord spoke to Moses,

2 "Execute vengeance for the Israelites against the Midianites. After that, you will be gathered to your people."

3 So Moses spoke to the people, "Equip some of your men for war. They will go against Midian to inflict the Lord's vengeance on them.

4 Send 1,000 men to war from each Israelite tribe."

5 So 1,000 were recruited from each Israelite tribe out of the thousands in Israel-12,000 equipped for war.

6 Moses sent 1,000 from each tribe to war. They went with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, in whose care were the holy objects and signal trumpets.

7 They waged war against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male.

8 Along with the others slain by them, they killed the Midianite kings-Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

9 The Israelites took the Midianite women and their children captive, and they plundered all their cattle, flocks, and property.

10 Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites lived, as well as all their encampments,

11 and took away all the spoils of war and the captives, both human and animal.

12 They brought the prisoners, animals, and spoils of war to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the Israelite community at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan [across from] Jericho.

13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp.

14 But Moses became furious with the officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, who were returning from the military campaign.

15 "Have you let every female live?" he asked them.

16 "Yet they are the ones who, at Balaam's advice, incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness against the Lord in the Peor incident, so that the plague came against the Lord's community.

17 So now, kill all the male children and kill every woman who has had sexual relations with a man,

18 but keep alive for yourselves all the young females who have not had sexual relations.

19 "You are to remain outside the camp for seven days. All of you and your prisoners who have killed a person or touched the dead are to purify yourselves on the third day and the seventh day.

20 Also purify everything: garments, leather goods, things made of goat hair, and every article of wood."

21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone to battle, "This is the legal statute the Lord commanded Moses:

22 Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead-

23 everything that can withstand fire-put through fire, and it will be clean. It must still be purified with the purification water. Anything that cannot withstand fire, put through the water.

24 On the seventh day wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter the camp."

25 The Lord told Moses,

26 "You, Eleazar the priest, and the family leaders of the community are to take a count of what was captured, human and animal.

27 Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to war and the entire community.

28 Set aside a tribute for the Lord from what belongs to the fighting men who went out to war: one out of [every] 500 humans, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.

29 Take [the tribute] from their half and give [it] to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the Lord.

30 From the Israelites' half, take one out of every 50 from the people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats, all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who perform the duties of the Lord's tabernacle."

31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

32 The captives remaining from the plunder the army had taken totaled: 675,000 sheep and goats,

33 72,000 cattle,

34 61,000 donkeys,

35 and 32,000 people, all the females who had not had sexual relations with a man.

36 The half portion for those who went out to war numbered: 337,500 sheep and goats,

37 and the tribute to the Lord was 675 from the sheep and goats;

38 from the 36,000 cattle, the tribute to the Lord was 72;

39 from the 30,500 donkeys, the tribute to the Lord was 61;

40 and from the 16,000 people, the tribute to the Lord was 32 people.

41 Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as a contribution for the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

42 From the Israelites' half, which Moses separated from the men who fought,

43 the community's half was: 337,500 sheep and goats,

44 36,000 cattle,

45 30,500 donkeys,

46 and 16,000 people.

47 Moses took one out of [every] 50, selected from the people and the livestock from the Israelites' half. He gave them to the Levites who perform the duties of the Lord's tabernacle, as the Lord had commanded him.

48 The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, approached Moses

49 and told him, "Your servants have taken a census of the fighting men under our command, and not one of us is missing.

50 So we have presented to the Lord an offering of the gold articles each man found-armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces-to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord."

51 Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them all the articles made out of gold.

52 All the gold of the contribution they offered to the Lord, from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, was 420 pounds.

53 Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself.

54 Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord.

Job 1

1 There was a man in the country of Uz named Job. He was a man of perfect integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil.

2 He had seven sons and three daughters.

3 His estate included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.

4 His sons used to have banquets, each at his house in turn. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

5 Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send [for his children] and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought: Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts. This was Job's regular practice.

6 One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

7 The Lord asked Satan, "Where have you come from?" "From roaming through the earth," Satan answered Him, "and walking around on it."

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil."

9 Satan answered the Lord, "Does Job fear God for nothing?

10 Haven't You placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions are spread out in the land.

11 But stretch out Your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse You to Your face."

12 "Very well," the Lord told Satan, "everything he owns is in your power. However, you must not lay a hand on Job [himself]." So Satan went out from the Lord's presence.

13 One day when Job's sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house,

14 a messenger came to Job and reported: "While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby,

15 the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!"

16 He was still speaking when another [messenger] came and reported: "A lightning storm struck from heaven. It burned up the sheep and the servants, and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!"

17 That messenger was still speaking when [yet] another came and reported: "The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!"

18 He was still speaking when another [messenger] came and reported: "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house.

19 Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!"

20 Then Job stood up, tore his robe and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,

21 saying: Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of the Lord.

22 Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.