So Moses spoke to the people: “Arm men from among you for the war, to attack the Midianites and to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian.

“These are the names of the men who are to allocate the land to you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun.

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.

No inheritance may pass from tribe to tribe. But every one of the tribes of the Israelites must retain its inheritance.”

I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens and judge fairly, whether between one citizen and another or a citizen and a resident foreigner.

He will hand over their kings to you and you will erase their very names from memory. Nobody will be able to resist you until you destroy them.

some evil people have departed from among you to entice the inhabitants of their cities, saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods” (whom you have not known before).

I will personally hold responsible anyone who then pays no attention to the words that prophet speaks in my name.

However, suppose a person hates someone else and stalks him, attacks him, kills him, and then flees to one of these cities.

then both parties to the controversy must stand before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judges who will be in office in those days.

Suppose a man has two wives, one whom he loves more than the other, and they both bear him sons, with the firstborn being the child of the less loved wife.

If a person has a stubborn, rebellious son who pays no attention to his father or mother, and they discipline him to no avail,

Then all the men of his city must stone him to death. In this way you will purge out wickedness from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid.

If a man is found kidnapping a person from among his fellow Israelites, and regards him as mere property and sells him, that kidnapper must die. In this way you will purge evil from among you.

Fathers must not be put to death for what their children do, nor children for what their fathers do; each must be put to death for his own sin.

‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or metal image – something abhorrent to the Lord, the work of the craftsman – and sets it up in a secret place.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

You will be engaged to a woman and another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not even begin to use it.

The man among you who is by nature tender and sensitive will turn against his brother, his beloved wife, and his remaining children.

You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God – the heads of your tribes, your elders, your officials, every Israelite man,

The sword will make people childless outside, and terror will do so inside; they will destroy both the young man and the virgin, the infant and the gray-haired man.