Numbers 33-35. Chapter 33 is a summary of where the Israelites traveled. The next chapter looks forward, defining the boundaries of the land of Canaan, and defining a member of each tribe who would divide the apportioned tribal land among the members of each tribe. Chapter 35 defines the founding/appointment of cities for the Levites to live in among the holdings of the other tribes; and of cities of refuge, to which a person could flee if they were accused of a murder, and they would be guaranteed safety until the time of a trial. This prevented the practice of vendettas, of private citizens taking the law into their own hands. The important idea that nobody should be put to death except on the evidence of TWO witnesses is also reiterated here.
Psalm 51 The best-known psalm of penitence. Also the source of the beginning of the daily office of Morning Prayer in the Anglican tradition: "O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise." (50:15)
Romans 12 Paul has finished his meditation on the place of the Jews and Gentiles in God's plan; so now he addresses everybody, both Jews and Gentiles. He often moves in his letters from teaching about the meaning of God's acts to instructions about how followers of Christ are to live in light of those acts. You can get a hint that you are there when you come to a "Therefore" in Paul's writing. In 12:1 we read: "I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters…" This is that hinge-point for the Letter to the Romans. J.B. Phillips, the great English biblical scholar and translator famously translates 12:2 with the words: "Do not let the world squeeze you into its mold…" which is really brilliant and spot on. The NRSV goes rather with the contrast between "con-form" and "trans-form," which is also memorable and an accurate reflection of the Greek text. Paul concludes that we are to behave in ways that enable us to "overcome evil with good."
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