Read Parshat Matot in English

And Moses spoke unto the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying: This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded.

When a man voweth a vow unto the Lord, or sweareth an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

Also when a woman voweth a vow unto the Lord, and bindeth herself by a bond, being in her father's house, in her youth,

and her father heareth her vow, or her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father holdeth his peace at her, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.

But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth, none of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand; and the Lord will forgive her, because her father disallowed her.

And if she be married to a husband, while her vows are upon her, or the clear utterance of her lips, wherewith she hath bound her soul;

and her husband hear it, whatsoever day it be that he heareth it, and hold his peace at her; then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.

But if her husband disallow her in the day that he heareth it, then he shall make void her vow which is upon her, and the clear utterance of her lips, wherewith she hath bound her soul; and the Lord will forgive her.

But the vow of a widow, or of her that is divorced, even every thing wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand against her.

And if a woman vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath,

and her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.

But if her husband make them null and void in the day that he heareth them, then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips, whether it were her vows, or the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the Lord will forgive her.

Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may let it stand, or her husband may make it void.

But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day, then he causeth all her vows to stand, or all her bonds, which are upon her; he hath let them stand, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.

But if he shall make them null and void after that he hath heard them, then he shall bear her iniquity.

These are the statutes, which the Lord commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter, being in her youth, in her father's house.

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying:

'Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites; afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.’’

And Moses spoke unto the people, saying: “Arm ye men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian.

Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.’’

So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

And Moses sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.

And they warred against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew every male.

And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian; Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

And the children of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took for a prey.

And all their cities in the places wherein they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burnt with fire.

And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of man and of beast.

And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp, unto the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho. {S}

And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.

And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war.

And Moses said unto them: “Have ye saved all the women alive?

Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to revolt so as to break faith with the Lord in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of the Lord.

Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

But all the women children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

And encamp ye without the camp seven days; whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, ye and your captives.

And as to every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood, ye shall purify.’’ {S}

And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war that went to the battle: “This is the statute of the law which the Lord hath commanded Moses:

Howbeit the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of sprinkling; and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make to go through the water.

And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye may come into the camp.’’ {S}

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying:

'Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the congregation;

and divide the prey into two parts: between the men skilled in war, that went out to battle, and all the congregation;

and levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the flocks;

take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, as a portion set apart for the Lord.

And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, even of all the cattle, and give them unto the Levites, that keep the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.’’

And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,

and threescore and twelve thousand beeves,

and threescore and one thousand asses,

and thirty and two thousand persons in all, of the women that had not known man by lying with him.

And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep.

And the Lord’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.

And the beeves were thirty and six thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was threescore and twelve.

And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred, of which the Lord’s tribute was threescore and one.

And the persons were sixteen thousand, of whom the Lord’s tribute was thirty and two persons.

And Moses gave the tribute, which was set apart for the Lord, unto Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.

And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided off from the men that warred--

now the congregation's half was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,

and thirty and six thousand beeves,

and thirty thousand and five hundred asses,

and sixteen thousand persons--

even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, that kept the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses.

And the officers that were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses;

and they said unto Moses: “Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war that are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.

And we have brought the Lord’s offering, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, armlets, and bracelets, signet-rings, ear-rings, and girdles, to make atonement for our souls before the Lord.’’

And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.

And all the gold of the gift that they set apart for the Lord, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. --

For the men of war had taken booty, every man for himself. --

And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.

Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle; and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle,

the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying:

'Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,

the land which the Lord smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle.’’ {S}

And they said: “If we have found favour in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession; bring us not over the Jordan.’’

And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to the war, and shall ye sit here?

And wherefore will ye turn away the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord hath given them?

Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.

For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they turned away the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the Lord had given them.

And the Lord’s anger was kindled in that day, and He swore, saying:

Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed Me;

save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; because they have wholly followed the Lord.

And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander to and fro in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed.

And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, a brood of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel.

For if ye turn away from after Him, He will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and so ye will destroy all this people.’’ {S}

And they came near unto him, and said: “We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones;

but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place; and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.

For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan, and forward, because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side of the Jordan eastward.’’

And Moses said unto them: “If ye will do this thing: if ye will arm yourselves to go before the Lord to the war,

and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until He hath driven out His enemies from before Him,

and the land be subdued before the Lord, and ye return afterward; then ye shall be clear before the Lord, and before Israel, and this land shall be unto you for a possession before the Lord.

But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord; and know ye your sin which will find you.

Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.’’

And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke unto Moses, saying: “Thy servants will do as my Lord commandeth.

Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead;

but thy servants will pass over, every man that is armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my Lord saith.’’

So Moses gave charge concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel.

And Moses said unto them: “If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every man that is armed to battle, before the Lord, and the land shall be subdued before you, then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession;

but if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.’’

And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying: “As the Lord hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.

We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.’’

And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, according to the cities thereof with their borders, even the cities of the land round about.

And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer;

and Atroth-shophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah;

and Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran; fortified cities, and folds for sheep.

And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim;

and Nebo, and Baal-meon--their names being changed--and Sibmah; and gave their names unto the cities which they builded.

And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites that were therein.

And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.

And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the villages thereof, and called them Havvoth-jair.

And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.