Numbers 2 (CSB) · OmniBible

1Chapter

The Census of Israel

¹The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai, on the first day of the second month of the second year after Israel’s departure from the land of Egypt: ²“Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of every male one by one. ³You and Aaron are to register those who are twenty years old or more by their military divisions—everyone who can serve in Israel’s army. ⁴A man from each tribe is to be with you, each one the head of his ancestral family. ⁵These are the names of the men who are to assist you: Elizur son of Shedeur from Reuben;
⁶Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai from Simeon;
⁷Nahshon son of Amminadab from Judah;
⁸Nethanel son of Zuar from Issachar;
⁹Eliab son of Helon from Zebulun;
¹⁰from the sons of Joseph: Elishama son of Ammihud from Ephraim, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur from Manasseh;
¹¹Abidan son of Gideoni from Benjamin;
¹²Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai from Dan;
¹³Pagiel son of Ochran from Asher;
¹⁴Eliasaph son of Deuel from Gad;
¹⁵Ahira son of Enan from Naphtali.
¹⁶These are the men called from the community; they are leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of Israel’s clans.”
¹⁷So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, ¹⁸and they assembled the whole community on the first day of the second month. They recorded their ancestry by their clans and their ancestral families, counting one by one the names of those twenty years old or more, ¹⁹just as the Lord commanded Moses. He registered them in the Wilderness of Sinai:
²⁰The descendants of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ²¹those registered for the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.
²²The descendants of Simeon: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, those registered counting one by one the names of every male twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ²³those registered for the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.
²⁴The descendants of Gad: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ²⁵those registered for the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.
²⁶The descendants of Judah: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ²⁷those registered for the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.
²⁸The descendants of Issachar: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ²⁹those registered for the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.
³⁰The descendants of Zebulun: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ³¹those registered for the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.
³²The descendants of Joseph: The descendants of Ephraim: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ³³those registered for the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500.
³⁴The descendants of Manasseh: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ³⁵those registered for the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.
³⁶The descendants of Benjamin: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ³⁷those registered for the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.
³⁸The descendants of Dan: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ³⁹those registered for the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.
⁴⁰The descendants of Asher: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ⁴¹those registered for the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.
⁴²The descendants of Naphtali: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ⁴³those registered for the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.
⁴⁴These are the men Moses and Aaron registered, with the assistance of the twelve leaders of Israel; each represented his ancestral family. ⁴⁵So all the Israelites twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in Israel’s army, were registered by their ancestral families. ⁴⁶All those registered numbered 603,550.

Duties of the Levites

⁴⁷But the Levites were not registered with them by their ancestral tribe. ⁴⁸For the Lord had told Moses, ⁴⁹“Do not register or take a census of the tribe of Levi with the other Israelites. ⁵⁰Appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They are to transport the tabernacle and all its articles, take care of it, and camp around it. ⁵¹Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to stop at a campsite, the Levites are to set it up. Any unauthorized person who comes near it is to be put to death.
⁵²“The Israelites are to camp by their military divisions, each man with his encampment and under his banner. ⁵³The Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the Israelite community.” ⁵⁴The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

2Chapter

Organization of the Camps

¹The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ²“The Israelites are to camp under their respective banners beside the flags of their ancestral families. They are to camp around the tent of meeting at a distance from it:
³Judah’s military divisions will camp on the east side toward the sunrise under their banner. The leader of the descendants of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab. ⁴His military division numbers 74,600. ⁵The tribe of Issachar will camp next to it. The leader of the Issacharites is Nethanel son of Zuar. ⁶His military division numbers 54,400. ⁷The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the Zebulunites is Eliab son of Helon. ⁸His military division numbers 57,400. ⁹The total number in their military divisions who belong to Judah’s encampment is 186,400; they will move out first.
¹⁰Reuben’s military divisions will camp on the south side under their banner. The leader of the Reubenites is Elizur son of Shedeur. ¹¹His military division numbers 46,500. ¹²The tribe of Simeon will camp next to it. The leader of the Simeonites is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. ¹³His military division numbers 59,300. ¹⁴The tribe of Gad will be next. The leader of the Gadites is Eliasaph son of Deuel. ¹⁵His military division numbers 45,650. ¹⁶The total number in their military divisions who belong to Reuben’s encampment is 151,450; they will move out second.
¹⁷The tent of meeting is to move out with the Levites’ camp, which is in the middle of the camps. They are to move out just as they camp, each in his place, with their banners.
¹⁸Ephraim’s military divisions will camp on the west side under their banner. The leader of the Ephraimites is Elishama son of Ammihud. ¹⁹His military division numbers 40,500. ²⁰The tribe of Manasseh will be next to it. The leader of the Manassites is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. ²¹His military division numbers 32,200. ²²The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the Benjaminites is Abidan son of Gideoni. ²³His military division numbers 35,400. ²⁴The total in their military divisions who belong to Ephraim’s encampment number 108,100; they will move out third.
²⁵Dan’s military divisions will camp on the north side under their banner. The leader of the Danites is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶His military division numbers 62,700. ²⁷The tribe of Asher will camp next to it. The leader of the Asherites is Pagiel son of Ochran. ²⁸His military division numbers 41,500. ²⁹The tribe of Naphtali will be next. The leader of the Naphtalites is Ahira son of Enan. ³⁰His military division numbers 53,400. ³¹The total number who belong to Dan’s encampment is 157,600; they are to move out last, with their banners.”
³²These are the Israelites registered by their ancestral families. The total number in the camps by their military divisions is 603,550. ³³But the Levites were not registered among the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
³⁴The Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; they camped by their banners in this way and moved out the same way, each man by his clan and by his ancestral family.

3Chapter

Aaron’s Sons and the Levites

¹These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. ²These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. ⁴But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they presented unauthorized fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.
⁵The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶“Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him. ⁷They are to perform duties for him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁸They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁹Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him from the Israelites. ¹⁰You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”
¹¹The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹²“See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to me, ¹³because every firstborn belongs to me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to myself, both man and animal. They are mine; I am the Lord.”

The Levitical Census

¹⁴The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: ¹⁵“Register the Levites by their ancestral families and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.” ¹⁶So Moses registered them in obedience to the Lord as he had been commanded:
¹⁷These were Levi’s sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸These were the names of Gershon’s sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹Kohath’s sons by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰Merari’s sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral families.
²¹The Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan came from Gershon; these were the Gershonite clans. ²²Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 7,500. ²³The Gershonite clans camped behind the tabernacle on the west side, ²⁴and the leader of the Gershonite families was Eliasaph son of Lael. ²⁵The Gershonites’ duties at the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, ²⁶the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the tent ropes—all the work relating to these.
²⁷The Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan came from Kohath; these were the Kohathites. ²⁸Counting every male one month old or more, there were 8,600 responsible for the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle, ³⁰and the leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. ³¹Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen —and all the work relating to them. ³²The chief of the Levite leaders was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest; he had oversight of those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.
³³The Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan came from Merari; these were the Merarite clans. ³⁴Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 6,200. ³⁵The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they camped on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶The assigned duties of Merari’s descendants involved the tabernacle’s supports, crossbars, pillars, bases, all its equipment, and all the work related to these, ³⁷in addition to the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.
³⁸Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites, camped in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise. Any unauthorized person who came near it was to be put to death.
³⁹The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron registered by their clans at the Lord’s command was 22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

⁴⁰The Lord told Moses, “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites one month old or more, and list their names. ⁴¹You are to take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites’ cattle.” ⁴²So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273.
⁴⁴The Lord spoke to Moses again: ⁴⁵“Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to me; I am the Lord. ⁴⁶As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, ⁴⁷collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel—twenty gerahs to the shekel. ⁴⁸Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.”
⁴⁹So Moses collected the redemption amount from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰He collected the silver from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 shekels measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. ⁵¹He gave the redemption silver to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

4Chapter

Duties of the Kohathites

¹The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ²“Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families, ³men from thirty years old to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to do work at the tent of meeting.
⁴“The service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting concerns the most holy objects. ⁵Whenever the camp is about to move on, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the screening curtain, and cover the ark of the testimony with it. ⁶They are to place over this a covering made of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth on top, and insert its poles.
⁷“They are to spread a blue cloth over the table of the Presence and place the plates and cups on it, as well as the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to be on it. ⁸They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with a covering made of fine leather, and insert the poles in the table.
⁹“They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, with its lamps, snuffers, and firepans, as well as its jars of oil by which they service it. ¹⁰Then they are to place it with all its utensils inside a covering made of fine leather and put them on the carrying frame.
¹¹“They are to spread a blue cloth over the gold altar, cover it with a covering made of fine leather, and insert its poles. ¹²They are to take all the serving utensils they use in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering made of fine leather, and put them on a carrying frame.
¹³“They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it, ¹⁴and place all the equipment on it that they use in serving: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and basins—all the equipment of the altar. They are to spread a covering made of fine leather over it and insert its poles.
¹⁵“Aaron and his sons are to finish covering the holy objects and all their equipment whenever the camp is to move on. The Kohathites will come and carry them, but they are not to touch the holy objects or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the tent of meeting.
¹⁶“Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has oversight of the lamp oil, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, the holy objects and their utensils.”
¹⁷Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ¹⁸“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites. ¹⁹Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty. ²⁰The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects as they are covered or they will die.”

Duties of the Gershonites

²¹The Lord spoke to Moses: ²²“Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral families and their clans. ²³Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting. ²⁴This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties: ²⁵They are to transport the tabernacle curtains, the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering made of fine leather on top of it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, ²⁶the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. They will carry out everything that needs to be done with these items.
²⁷“All the service of the Gershonites, all their transportation duties and all their other work, is to be done at the command of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry. ²⁸This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting, and their duties will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

Duties of the Merarites

²⁹“As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans and their ancestral families. ³⁰Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting. ³¹This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, pillars, and bases, ³²the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and all the work related to them. You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry. ³³This is the service of the Merarite clans regarding all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”

Census of the Levites

³⁴So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families, ³⁵men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. ³⁶The men registered by their clans numbered 2,750. ³⁷These were the registered men of the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.
³⁸The Gershonites were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, ³⁹men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. ⁴⁰The men registered by their clans and their ancestral families numbered 2,630. ⁴¹These were the registered men of the Gershonite clans. At the Lord’s command Moses and Aaron registered everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting.
⁴²The men of the Merarite clans were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, ⁴³those from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. ⁴⁴The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200. ⁴⁵These were the registered men of the Merarite clans; Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.
⁴⁶Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral families, ⁴⁷from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it. ⁴⁸Their registered men numbered 8,580. ⁴⁹At the Lord’s command they were registered under the direction of Moses, each one according to his work and transportation duty, and his assignment was as the Lord commanded Moses.

5Chapter

Isolation of the Unclean

¹The Lord instructed Moses, ²“Command the Israelites to send away anyone from the camp who is afflicted with a skin disease, anyone who has a discharge, or anyone who is defiled because of a corpse. ³Send away both male or female; send them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps where I dwell among them.” ⁴The Israelites did this, sending them outside the camp. The Israelites did as the Lord instructed Moses.

Compensation for Wrongdoing

⁵The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶“Tell the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any sin against another, that person acts unfaithfully toward the Lord and is guilty. ⁷The person is to confess the sin he has committed. He is to pay full compensation, add a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the individual he has wronged. ⁸But if that individual has no relative to receive compensation, the compensation goes to the Lord for the priest, along with the atonement ram by which the priest will make atonement for the guilty person. ⁹Every holy contribution the Israelites present to the priest will be his. ¹⁰Each one’s holy contribution is his to give; what each one gives to the priest will be his.”

The Jealousy Ritual

¹¹The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: If any man’s wife goes astray, is unfaithful to him, ¹³and sleeps with another, but it is concealed from her husband, and she is undetected, even though she has defiled herself, since there is no witness against her, and she wasn’t caught in the act; ¹⁴and if a feeling of jealousy comes over the husband and he becomes jealous because of his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he becomes jealous of her though she has not defiled herself— ¹⁵then the man is to bring his wife to the priest. He is also to bring an offering for her of two quarts of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering for remembrance to draw attention to guilt.
¹⁶“The priest is to bring her forward and have her stand before the Lord. ¹⁷Then the priest is to take holy water in a clay bowl, take some of the dust from the tabernacle floor, and put it in the water. ¹⁸After the priest has the woman stand before the Lord, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering for remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹The priest will require the woman to take an oath and will say to her, ‘If no man has slept with you, if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, be unaffected by this bitter water that brings a curse. ²⁰But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has slept with you’— ²¹at this point the priest will make the woman take the oath with the sworn curse, and he is to say to her—‘May the Lord make you into an object of your people’s cursing and swearing when he makes your womb shrivel and your belly swell. ²²May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach, causing your belly to swell and your womb to shrivel.’ “And the woman will reply, ‘Amen, Amen.’
²³“Then the priest is to write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. ²⁴He will require the woman to drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her to cause bitter suffering. ²⁵The priest is to take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman, present the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar. ²⁶The priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar. Afterward, he will require the woman to drink the water.
²⁷“When he makes her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her to cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, and her womb will shrivel. She will become a curse among her people. ²⁸But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she will be unaffected and will be able to conceive children.
²⁹“This is the law regarding jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, ³⁰or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he becomes jealous of his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest will carry out all these instructions for her. ³¹The husband will be free of guilt, but that woman will bear her iniquity.”

6Chapter

The Nazirite Vow

¹The Lord instructed Moses, ²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow, to consecrate himself to the Lord, ³he is to abstain from wine and beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during the period of his consecration.
⁵“You must not cut his hair throughout the time of his vow of consecration. He may be holy until the time is completed during which he consecrates himself to the Lord; he is to let the hair of his head grow long. ⁶He must not go near a dead body during the time he consecrates himself to the Lord. ⁷He is not to defile himself for his father or mother, or his brother or sister, when they die, while the mark of consecration to his God is on his head. ⁸He is holy to the Lord during the time of consecration.
⁹“If someone suddenly dies near him, defiling his consecrated head, he must shave his head on the day of his purification; he is to shave it on the seventh day. ¹⁰On the eighth day he is to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹¹The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement on behalf of the Nazirite, since he incurred guilt because of the corpse. On that day he is to consecrate his head again. ¹²He is to rededicate his time of consecration to the Lord and to bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. But do not count the initial period of consecration because it became defiled.
¹³“This is the law of the Nazirite: On the day his time of consecration is completed, he is to be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹⁴He is to present an offering to the Lord of one unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, one unblemished year-old female lamb as a sin offering, one unblemished ram as a fellowship offering, ¹⁵along with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and a basket of unleavened cakes made from fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil.
¹⁶“The priest is to present these before the Lord and sacrifice the Nazirite’s sin offering and burnt offering. ¹⁷He will also offer the ram as a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread. Then the priest will offer the accompanying grain offering and drink offering.
¹⁸“The Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the tent of meeting, take the hair from his head, and put it on the fire under the fellowship sacrifice. ¹⁹The priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them into the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head. ²⁰The priest is to present them as a presentation offering before the Lord. It is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.
²¹“These are the instructions about the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord for his consecration, in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes in keeping with the instructions for his consecration.”

The Priestly Blessing

²²The Lord spoke to Moses: ²³“Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. You should say to them,
²⁴“May the Lord bless you and protect you; ²⁵may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; ²⁶may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”’
²⁷In this way they will pronounce my name over the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

7Chapter

Offerings from the Leaders

¹On the day Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings, along with the altar and all its utensils. After he anointed and consecrated these things, ²the leaders of Israel, the heads of their ancestral families, presented an offering. They were the tribal leaders who supervised the registration. ³They brought as their offering before the Lord six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart from every two leaders and an ox from each one, and presented them in front of the tabernacle.
⁴The Lord said to Moses, ⁵“Accept these from them to be used in the work of the tent of meeting, and give this offering to the Levites, to each division according to their service.”
⁶So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷He gave the Gershonites two carts and four oxen corresponding to their service, ⁸and gave the Merarites four carts and eight oxen corresponding to their service, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. ⁹But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since their responsibility was service related to the holy objects carried on their shoulders.
¹⁰The leaders also presented the dedication gift for the altar when it was anointed. The leaders presented their offerings in front of the altar. ¹¹The Lord told Moses, “Each day have one leader present his offering for the dedication of the altar.”
¹²The one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab from the tribe of Judah. ¹³His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ¹⁴one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ¹⁵one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ¹⁶one male goat for a sin offering; ¹⁷and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.
¹⁸On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar, leader of Issachar, presented an offering. ¹⁹As his offering, he presented one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁰one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ²¹one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²²one male goat for a sin offering; ²³and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Nethanel son of Zuar.
²⁴On the third day Eliab son of Helon, leader of the Zebulunites, presented an offering. ²⁵His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁶one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ²⁷one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²⁸one male goat for a sin offering; ²⁹and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Eliab son of Helon.
³⁰On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur, leader of the Reubenites, presented an offering. ³¹His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³²one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ³³one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ³⁴one male goat for a sin offering; ³⁵and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Elizur son of Shedeur.
³⁶On the fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, leader of the Simeonites, presented an offering. ³⁷His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³⁸one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ³⁹one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁰one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴¹and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.
⁴²On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel, leader of the Gadites, presented an offering. ⁴³His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁴⁴one gold bowl weighing four ounces full of incense; ⁴⁵one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁶one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴⁷and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Eliasaph son of Deuel.
⁴⁸On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud, leader of the Ephraimites, presented an offering. ⁴⁹His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁰one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁵¹one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵²one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵³and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud.
⁵⁴On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, leader of the Manassites, presented an offering. ⁵⁵His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁶one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁵⁷one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵⁸one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵⁹and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.
⁶⁰On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni, leader of the Benjaminites, presented an offering. ⁶¹His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶²one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁶³one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁶⁴one male goat for a sin offering; ⁶⁵and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Abidan son of Gideoni.
⁶⁶On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, leader of the Danites, presented an offering. ⁶⁷His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶⁸one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁶⁹one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁰one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷¹and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.
⁷²On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ochran, leader of the Asherites, presented an offering. ⁷³His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁷⁴one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁷⁵one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁶one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷⁷and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Pagiel son of Ochran.
⁷⁸On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan, leader of the Naphtalites, presented an offering. ⁷⁹His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁸⁰one gold bowl weighing four ounces, full of incense; ⁸¹one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁸²one male goat for a sin offering; ⁸³and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old, for the fellowship sacrifice. This was the offering of Ahira son of Enan.
⁸⁴This was the dedication gift from the leaders of Israel for the altar when it was anointed: twelve silver dishes, twelve silver basins, and twelve gold bowls. ⁸⁵Each silver dish weighed 3¼ pounds, and each basin 1¾ pounds. The total weight of the silver articles was 60 pounds measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. ⁸⁶The twelve gold bowls full of incense each weighed four ounces measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. The total weight of the gold bowls was 3 pounds. ⁸⁷All the livestock for the burnt offering totaled twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve male lambs a year old, with their grain offerings, and twelve male goats for the sin offering. ⁸⁸All the livestock for the fellowship sacrifice totaled twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty male goats, and sixty male lambs a year old. This was the dedication gift for the altar after it was anointed.
⁸⁹When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. He spoke to him that way.

8Chapter

The Lighting in the Tabernacle

¹The Lord spoke to Moses: ²“Speak to Aaron and tell him: When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps are to give light in front of the lampstand.” ³So Aaron did this; he set up its lamps to give light in front of the lampstand just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴This is the way the lampstand was made: it was a hammered work of gold, hammered from its base to its flower petals. The lampstand was made according to the pattern the Lord had shown Moses.

Consecration of the Levites

⁵The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶“Take the Levites from among the Israelites and ceremonially cleanse them. ⁷Do this to them for their purification: Sprinkle them with the purification water. Have them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
⁸“They are to take a young bull and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering. ⁹Bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the entire Israelite community. ¹⁰Then present the Levites before the Lord, and have the Israelites lay their hands on them. ¹¹Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a presentation offering from the Israelites, so that they may perform the Lord’s work. ¹²Next the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls. Sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.
¹³“You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and you are to present them before the Lord as a presentation offering. ¹⁴In this way you are to separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites so that the Levites will belong to me. ¹⁵After that the Levites may come to serve at the tent of meeting, once you have ceremonially cleansed them and presented them as a presentation offering. ¹⁶For they have been exclusively assigned to me from the Israelites. I have taken them for myself in place of all who come first from the womb, every Israelite firstborn. ¹⁷For every firstborn among the Israelites is mine, both man and animal. I consecrated them to myself on the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt. ¹⁸But I have taken the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites. ¹⁹From the Israelites, I have given the Levites exclusively to Aaron and his sons to perform the work for the Israelites at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.”
²⁰Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community did this to the Levites. The Israelites did everything to them the Lord commanded Moses regarding the Levites. ²¹The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes; then Aaron presented them before the Lord as a presentation offering. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them ceremonially. ²²After that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. So they did to them as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites.
²³The Lord spoke to Moses: ²⁴“In regard to the Levites: From twenty-five years old or more, a man enters the service in the work at the tent of meeting. ²⁵But at fifty years old he is to retire from his service in the work and no longer serve. ²⁶He may assist his brothers to fulfill responsibilities at the tent of meeting, but he must not do the work. This is how you are to deal with the Levites regarding their duties.”

9Chapter

The Second Passover

¹In 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. ³You 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.” ⁴So Moses told the Israelites to observe the Passover, ⁵and 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.
⁶But 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 ⁷and 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?”
⁸Moses replied to them, “Wait here until I hear what the Lord commands for you.”
⁹Then 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. ¹¹Such 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; ¹²they 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 an alien resides with you and wants to observe the Passover to the Lord, he is to do it according to the Passover statute and its ordinances. You are to apply the same statute to both the resident alien and the native of the land.”

Guidance by the Cloud

¹⁵On 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. ¹⁶It remained that way continuously: the cloud would cover it, appearing like fire at night. ¹⁷Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped. ¹⁸At 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.
¹⁹Even when the cloud stayed over the tabernacle many days, the Israelites carried out the Lord’s requirement and did not set out. ²⁰Sometimes 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. ²¹Sometimes 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. ²²Whether 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. ²³They 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.

10Chapter

Two Silver Trumpets

¹The Lord spoke to Moses: ²“Make two trumpets of hammered silver to summon the community and have the camps set out. ³When both are sounded in long blasts, the entire community is to gather before you at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁴However, 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. ⁶When 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. ⁷When calling the assembly together, you are to sound long blasts, not short ones. ⁸The 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 saved from your enemies. ¹⁰You 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.”

From Sinai to Paran

¹¹During 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. ¹²The Israelites traveled on from the Wilderness of Sinai, moving from one place to the next until the cloud stopped in the Wilderness of Paran. ¹³They set out for the first time according to the Lord’s command through Moses.
¹⁴The military divisions of the camp of Judah’s descendants with their banner set out first, and Nahshon son of Amminadab was over their divisions. ¹⁵Nethanel son of Zuar was over the division of the tribe of Issachar’s descendants, ¹⁶and Eliab son of Helon was over the division of the tribe of Zebulun’s descendants. ¹⁷The tabernacle was then taken down, and the Gershonites and the Merarites set out, transporting the tabernacle.
¹⁸The military divisions of the camp of Reuben with their banner set out, and Elizur son of Shedeur was over their divisions. ¹⁹Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was over the division of the tribe of Simeon’s descendants, ²⁰and Eliasaph son of Deuel was over the division of the tribe of Gad’s descendants. ²¹The Kohathites then set out, transporting the holy objects; the tabernacle was to be set up before their arrival.
²²Next the military divisions of the camp of Ephraim’s descendants with their banner set out, and Elishama son of Ammihud was over their divisions. ²³Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of Manasseh’s descendants, ²⁴and Abidan son of Gideoni was over the division of the tribe of Benjamin’s descendants.
²⁵The military divisions of the camp of Dan’s descendants with their banner set out, serving as rear guard for all the camps, and Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was over their divisions. ²⁶Pagiel son of Ochran was over the division of the tribe of Asher’s descendants, ²⁷and Ahira son of Enan was over the division of the tribe of Naphtali’s descendants. ²⁸This was the order of march for the Israelites by their military divisions as they set out.
²⁹Moses said to Hobab, descendant of Reuel the Midianite and Moses’s relative by marriage, “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.”
³⁰But 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. ³²If you come with us, whatever good the Lord does for us we will do for you.”
³³They set out from the mountain of the Lord on a three-day journey with the ark of the Lord’s covenant traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them. ³⁴Meanwhile, the cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.
³⁵Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say: Arise, Lord! Let your enemies be scattered, and those who hate you flee from your presence.
³⁶When it came to rest, he would say: Return, Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel.

11Chapter

Complaints about Hardship

¹Now the people began complaining openly before the Lord about hardship. When the Lord heard, his anger burned, and fire from the Lord blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. ²Then the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. ³So that place was named Taberah, because the Lord’s fire had blazed among them.

Complaints about Food

⁴The riffraff among them had a strong craving for other food. The Israelites wept again and said, “Who will feed us meat? ⁵We remember the free fish we ate in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. ⁶But now our appetite is gone; there’s nothing to look at but this manna!”
⁷The manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of bdellium. ⁸The people walked around and gathered it. They ground it on a pair of grinding stones or crushed it in a mortar, then boiled it in a cooking pot and shaped it into cakes. It tasted like a pastry cooked with the finest oil. ⁹When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.
¹⁰Moses heard the people, family after family, weeping at the entrance of their tents. The Lord was very angry; Moses was also provoked. ¹¹So Moses asked the Lord, “Why have you brought such trouble on your servant? Why are you angry with me, and why do you burden me with all these people? ¹²Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth so you should tell me, ‘Carry them at your breast, as a nursing mother carries a baby,’ to the land that you swore to give their ancestors? ¹³Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they are weeping to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ ¹⁴I can’t carry all these people by myself. They are too much for me. ¹⁵If you are going to treat me like this, please kill me right now if I have found favor with you, and don’t let me see my misery anymore.”

Seventy Elders Anointed

¹⁶The Lord answered Moses, “Bring me seventy men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. ¹⁷Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.
¹⁸“Tell the people: Consecrate yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you wept in the Lord’s hearing, ‘Who will feed us meat? We were better off in Egypt.’ The Lord will give you meat and you will eat. ¹⁹You will eat, not for one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, ²⁰but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you—because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and wept before him, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”
²¹But Moses replied, “I’m in the middle of a people with six hundred thousand foot soldiers, yet you say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’ ²²If flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?”
²³The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm weak? Now you will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you.”
²⁴Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought seventy men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. ²⁵Then the Lord descended in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit who was on Moses and placed the Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they never did it again. ²⁶Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad; the Spirit rested on them—they were among those listed, but had not gone out to the tent—and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
²⁸Joshua son of Nun, assistant to Moses since his youth, responded, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
²⁹But Moses asked him, “Are you jealous on my account? If only all the Lord’s people were prophets and the Lord would place his Spirit on them!” ³⁰Then Moses returned to the camp along with the elders of Israel.

Quail in the Camp

³¹A wind sent by the Lord came up and blew quail in from the sea; it dropped them all around the camp. They were flying three feet off the ground for about a day’s journey in every direction. ³²The people were up all that day and night and all the next day gathering the quail—the one who took the least gathered sixty bushels —and they spread them out all around the camp.
³³While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the Lord’s anger burned against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very severe plague. ³⁴So they named that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved the meat.
³⁵From Kibroth-hattaavah the people moved on to Hazeroth and remained there.

12Chapter

Miriam and Aaron Rebel

¹Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because of the Cushite woman he married (for he had married a Cushite woman). ²They said, “Does the Lord speak only through Moses? Does he not also speak through us?” And the Lord heard it. ³Moses was a very humble man, more so than anyone on the face of the earth.
⁴Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them went out. ⁵Then the Lord descended in a pillar of cloud, stood at the entrance to the tent, and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them came forward, ⁶he said: “Listen to what I say: If there is a prophet among you from the Lord, I make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. ⁷Not so with my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my household. ⁸I speak with him directly, openly, and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. So why were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” ⁹The Lord’s anger burned against them, and he left.
¹⁰As the cloud moved away from the tent, Miriam’s skin suddenly became diseased, resembling snow. When Aaron turned toward her, he saw that she was diseased ¹¹and said to Moses, “My lord, please don’t hold against us this sin we have so foolishly committed. ¹²Please don’t let her be like a dead baby whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.”
¹³Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “God, please heal her!”
¹⁴The Lord answered Moses, “If her father had merely spit in her face, wouldn’t she remain in disgrace for seven days? Let her be confined outside the camp for seven days; after that she may be brought back in.” ¹⁵So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was brought back in. ¹⁶After that, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

13Chapter

Scouting Out Canaan

¹The Lord spoke to Moses: ²“Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.” ³Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the Lord’s command. All the men were leaders in Israel. ⁴These were their names: Shammua son of Zaccur from the tribe of Reuben;
⁵Shaphat son of Hori from the tribe of Simeon;
⁶Caleb son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;
⁷Igal son of Joseph from the tribe of Issachar;
⁸Hoshea son of Nun from the tribe of Ephraim;
⁹Palti son of Raphu from the tribe of Benjamin;
¹⁰Gaddiel son of Sodi from the tribe of Zebulun;
¹¹Gaddi son of Susi from the tribe of Manasseh (from the tribe of Joseph);
¹²Ammiel son of Gemalli from the tribe of Dan;
¹³Sethur son of Michael from the tribe of Asher;
¹⁴Nahbi son of Vophsi from the tribe of Naphtali;
¹⁵Geuel son of Machi from the tribe of Gad.
¹⁶These were the names of the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and Moses renamed Hoshea son of Nun, Joshua.
¹⁷When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country. ¹⁸See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹Is the land they live in good or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications? ²⁰Is the land fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.
²¹So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob near the entrance to Hamath. ²²They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. ²³When they came to Eshcol Valley, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴That place was called Eshcol Valley because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there. ²⁵At the end of forty days they returned from scouting out the land.

Report about Canaan

²⁶The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷They reported to Moses, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. ²⁸However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak there. ²⁹The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev; the Hethites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
³⁰Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”
³¹But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are!” ³²So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. ³³We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”

14Chapter

Israel’s Refusal to Enter Canaan

¹Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. ²All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! ³Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”
⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community. ⁶Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes ⁷and said to the entire Israelite community, “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. ⁸If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. ⁹Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”
¹⁰While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.

God’s Judgment of Israel’s Rebellion

¹¹The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people despise me? How long will they not trust in me despite all the signs I have performed among them? ¹²I will strike them with a plague and destroy them. Then I will make you into a greater and mightier nation than they are.”
¹³But Moses replied to the Lord, “The Egyptians will hear about it, for by your strength you brought up this people from them. ¹⁴They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among these people, how you, Lord, are seen face to face, how your cloud stands over them, and how you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵If you kill this people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will declare, ¹⁶‘Since the Lord wasn’t able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them, he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’
¹⁷“So now, may my Lord’s power be magnified just as you have spoken: ¹⁸The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in faithful love, forgiving iniquity and rebellion. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generation. ¹⁹Please pardon the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of your faithful love, just as you have forgiven them from Egypt until now.”
²⁰The Lord responded, “I have pardoned them as you requested. ²¹Yet as I live and as the whole earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, ²²none of the men who have seen my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested me these ten times and did not obey me, ²³will ever see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have despised me will see it. ²⁴But since my servant Caleb has a different spirit and has remained loyal to me, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it. ²⁵Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the lowlands, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”
²⁶Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ²⁷“How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about me? I have heard the Israelites’ complaints that they make against me. ²⁸Tell them: As I live—this is the Lord’s declaration—I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. ²⁹Your corpses will fall in this wilderness—all of you who were registered in the census, the entire number of you twenty years old or more —because you have complained about me. ³⁰I swear that none of you will enter the land I promised to settle you in, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. ³¹I will bring your children whom you said would become plunder into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it. ³²But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. ³³Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years and bear the penalty for your acts of unfaithfulness until all your corpses lie scattered in the wilderness. ³⁴You will bear the consequences of your iniquities forty years based on the number of the forty days that you scouted the land, a year for each day. You will know my displeasure. ³⁵I, the Lord, have spoken. I swear that I will do this to the entire evil community that has conspired against me. They will come to an end in the wilderness, and there they will die.”
³⁶So the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and who returned and incited the entire community to complain about him by spreading a negative report about the land— ³⁷those men who spread the negative report about the land were struck down by the Lord. ³⁸Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive of those men who went to scout out the land.

Israel Routed

³⁹When Moses reported these words to all the Israelites, the people were overcome with grief. ⁴⁰They got up early the next morning and went up the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Let’s go to the place the Lord promised, for we were wrong.”
⁴¹But Moses responded, “Why are you going against the Lord’s command? It won’t succeed. ⁴²Don’t go, because the Lord is not among you and you will be defeated by your enemies. ⁴³The Amalekites and Canaanites are right in front of you, and you will fall by the sword. The Lord won’t be with you, since you have turned from following him.”
⁴⁴But they dared to go up the ridge of the hill country, even though the ark of the Lord’s covenant and Moses did not leave the camp. ⁴⁵Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them as far as Hormah.

15Chapter

Laws about Offerings

¹The Lord instructed Moses, ²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you to settle in, ³and you make a food offering to the Lord from the herd or flock—either a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow, or as a freewill offering, or at your appointed festivals—to produce a pleasing aroma for the Lord, ⁴the one presenting his offering to the Lord is also to present a grain offering of two quarts of fine flour mixed with a quart of oil. ⁵Prepare a quart of wine as a drink offering with the burnt offering or sacrifice of each lamb.
⁶“If you prepare a grain offering with a ram, it is to be four quarts of fine flour mixed with a third of a gallon of oil. ⁷Also present a third of a gallon of wine for a drink offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
⁸“If you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow, or as a fellowship offering to the Lord, ⁹a grain offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with two quarts of oil is to be presented with the bull. ¹⁰Also present two quarts of wine as a drink offering. It is a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹¹This is to be done for each ox, ram, lamb, or goat. ¹²This is how you are to prepare each of them, no matter how many.
¹³“Every Israelite is to prepare these things in this way when he presents a food offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁴When an alien resides with you or someone else is among you and wants to prepare a food offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, he is to do exactly as you do throughout your generations. ¹⁵The assembly is to have the same statute for both you and the resident alien as a permanent statute throughout your generations. You and the alien will be alike before the Lord. ¹⁶The same law and the same ordinance will apply to both you and the alien who resides with you.”
¹⁷The Lord instructed Moses, ¹⁸“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: After you enter the land where I am bringing you, ¹⁹you are to offer a contribution to the Lord when you eat from the food of the land. ²⁰You are to offer a loaf from your first batch of dough as a contribution; offer it just like a contribution from the threshing floor. ²¹Throughout your generations, you are to give the Lord a contribution from the first batch of your dough.
²²“When you sin unintentionally and do not obey all these commands that the Lord spoke to Moses — ²³all that the Lord has commanded you through Moses, from the day the Lord issued the commands and onward throughout your generations— ²⁴and if it was done unintentionally without the community’s awareness, the entire community is to prepare one young bull for a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, with its grain offering and drink offering according to the regulation, and one male goat as a sin offering. ²⁵The priest will then make atonement for the entire Israelite community so that they may be forgiven, for the sin was unintentional. They are to bring their offering, a food offering to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord for their unintentional sin. ²⁶The entire Israelite community and the alien who resides among them will be forgiven, since it happened to all the people unintentionally.
²⁷“If one person sins unintentionally, he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering. ²⁸The priest will then make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the person who acts in error sinning unintentionally, and when he makes atonement for him, he will be forgiven. ²⁹You are to have the same law for the person who acts in error, whether he is an Israelite or an alien who resides among you.
³⁰“But the person who acts defiantly, whether native or resident alien, blasphemes the Lord. That person is to be cut off from his people. ³¹He will certainly be cut off, because he has despised the Lord’s word and broken his command; his guilt remains on him.”

Sabbath Violation

³²While the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. ³³Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses, Aaron, and the entire community. ³⁴They placed him in custody because it had not been decided what should be done to him. ³⁵Then the Lord told Moses, “The man is to be put to death. The entire community is to stone him outside the camp.” ³⁶So the entire community brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Tassels for Remembrance

³⁷The Lord said to Moses, ³⁸“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout their generations they are to make tassels for the corners of their garments, and put a blue cord on the tassel at each corner. ³⁹These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the Lord’s commands and obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own heart and your own eyes. ⁴⁰This way you will remember and obey all my commands and be holy to your God. ⁴¹I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.”

16Chapter

Korah Incites Rebellion

¹Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took ²two hundred fifty prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses. ³They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have gone too far! Everyone in the entire community is holy, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”
⁴When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. ⁵Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will reveal who belongs to him, who is set apart, and the one he will let come near him. He will let the one he chooses come near him. ⁶Korah, you and all your followers are to do this: take firepans, and tomorrow ⁷place fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord. Then the man the Lord chooses will be the one who is set apart. It is you Levites who have gone too far!”
⁸Moses also told Korah, “Now listen, Levites! ⁹Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelite community to bring you near to himself, to perform the work at the Lord’s tabernacle, and to stand before the community to minister to them? ¹⁰He has brought you near, and all your fellow Levites who are with you, but you are pursuing the priesthood as well. ¹¹Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the Lord! As for Aaron, who is he that you should complain about him?”
¹²Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come! ¹³Is it not enough that you brought us up from a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Do you also have to appoint yourself as ruler over us? ¹⁴Furthermore, you didn’t bring us to a land flowing with milk and honey or give us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come!”
¹⁵Then Moses became angry and said to the Lord, “Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.” ¹⁶So Moses told Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you, they, and Aaron. ¹⁷Each of you is to take his firepan, place incense on it, and present his firepan before the Lord—250 firepans. You and Aaron are each to present your firepan also.”
¹⁸Each man took his firepan, placed fire in it, put incense on it, and stood at the entrance to the tent of meeting along with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹After Korah assembled the whole community against them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community. ²⁰The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, ²¹“Separate yourselves from this community so I may consume them instantly.”
²²But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “God, God who gives breath to all, when one man sins, will you vent your wrath on the whole community?”
²³The Lord replied to Moses, ²⁴“Tell the community: Get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
²⁵Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶He warned the community, “Get away now from the tents of these wicked men. Don’t touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” ²⁷So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents with their wives, children, and infants.
²⁸Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord sent me to do all these things and that it was not of my own will: ²⁹If these men die naturally as all people would, and suffer the fate of all, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰But if the Lord brings about something unprecedented, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them along with all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have despised the Lord.”
³¹Just as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open. ³²The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah’s people, and all their possessions. ³³They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. ³⁴At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too!” ³⁵Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were presenting the incense.
³⁶Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ³⁷“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the firepans from the burning debris, because they are holy, and scatter the fire far away. ³⁸As for the firepans of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, make them into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, for they presented them before the Lord, and the firepans are holy. They will be a sign to the Israelites.”
³⁹So the priest Eleazar took the bronze firepans that those who were burned had presented, and they were hammered into plating for the altar, ⁴⁰just as the Lord commanded him through Moses. It was to be a reminder for the Israelites that no unauthorized person outside the lineage of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the Lord and become like Korah and his followers.
⁴¹The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!” ⁴²When the community assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the Lord’s glory appeared.
⁴³Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴and the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵“Get away from this community so that I may consume them instantly.” But they fell facedown.
⁴⁶Then Moses told Aaron, “Take your firepan, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the community and make atonement for them, because wrath has come from the Lord; the plague has begun.” ⁴⁷So Aaron took his firepan as Moses had ordered, ran into the middle of the assembly, and saw that the plague had begun among the people. After he added incense, he made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was halted. ⁴⁹But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who died because of the Korah incident. ⁵⁰Aaron then returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, since the plague had been halted.

17Chapter

Aaron’s Staff Chosen

¹The Lord instructed Moses, ²“Speak to the Israelites and take one staff from them for each ancestral tribe, twelve staffs from all the leaders of their tribes. Write each man’s name on his staff. ³Write Aaron’s name on Levi’s staff, because there is to be one staff for the head of each tribe. ⁴Then place them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony where I meet with you. ⁵The staff of the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of the Israelites’ complaints that they have been making about you.”
⁶So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff, one for each of the leaders of their tribes, twelve staffs in all. Aaron’s staff was among them. ⁷Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony.
⁸The next day Moses entered the tent of the testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted, formed buds, blossomed, and produced almonds! ⁹Moses then brought out all the staffs from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They saw them, and each man took his own staff. ¹⁰The Lord told Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the testimony to be kept as a sign for the rebels, so that you may put an end to their complaints before me, or else they will die.” ¹¹So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.
¹²Then the Israelites declared to Moses, “Look, we’re perishing! We’re lost; we’re all lost! ¹³Anyone who comes near the Lord’s tabernacle will die. Will we all perish?”

18Chapter

Provision for the Priesthood

¹The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and your ancestral family will be responsible for iniquity against the sanctuary. You and your sons will be responsible for iniquity involving your priesthood. ²But also bring your relatives with you from the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, so they may join you and assist you and your sons in front of the tent of the testimony. ³They are to perform duties for you and for the whole tent. They must not come near the sanctuary equipment or the altar; otherwise, both they and you will die. ⁴They are to join you and guard the tent of meeting, doing all the work at the tent, but no unauthorized person may come near you.
⁵“You are to guard the sanctuary and the altar so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again. ⁶Look, I have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift for you, assigned by the Lord to work at the tent of meeting. ⁷But you and your sons will carry out your priestly responsibilities for everything concerning the altar and for what is inside the curtain, and you will do that work. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but an unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary will be put to death.”

Support for the Priests and Levites

⁸Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Look, I have put you in charge of the contributions brought to me. As for all the holy offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute. ⁹A portion of the holiest offerings kept from the fire will be yours; every one of their offerings that they give me, whether the grain offering, sin offering, or guilt offering will be most holy for you and your sons. ¹⁰You are to eat it as a most holy offering. Every male may eat it; it is to be holy to you.
¹¹“The contribution of their gifts also belongs to you. I have given all the Israelites’ presentation offerings to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your house may eat it. ¹²I am giving you all the best of the fresh oil, new wine, and grain, which the Israelites give to the Lord as their firstfruits. ¹³The firstfruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, belong to you. Every clean person in your house may eat them.
¹⁴“Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the Lord belongs to you. ¹⁵The firstborn of every living thing, human or animal, presented to the Lord belongs to you. But you must certainly redeem a human firstborn, and redeem the firstborn of an unclean animal. ¹⁶You will pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your assessment: five shekels of silver by the standard sanctuary shekel, which is twenty gerahs.
¹⁷“However, you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to splatter their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a food offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁸But their meat belongs to you. It belongs to you like the breast of the presentation offering and the right thigh.
¹⁹“I give to you and to your sons and daughters all the holy contributions that the Israelites present to the Lord as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the Lord for you as well as your offspring.”
²⁰The Lord told Aaron, “You will not have an inheritance in their land; there will be no portion among them for you. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.
²¹“Look, I have given the Levites every tenth in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the work of the tent of meeting. ²²The Israelites must never again come near the tent of meeting, or they will incur guilt and die. ²³The Levites will do the work of the tent of meeting, and they will bear the consequences of their iniquity. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations. ²⁴For I have given them the tenth that the Israelites present to the Lord as a contribution for their inheritance. That is why I told them that they would not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.”
²⁵The Lord instructed Moses, ²⁶“Speak to the Levites and tell them: When you receive from the Israelites the tenth that I have given you as your inheritance, you are to present part of it as an offering to the Lord—a tenth of the tenth. ²⁷Your offering will be credited to you as if it were your grain from the threshing floor or the full harvest from the winepress. ²⁸You are to present an offering to the Lord from every tenth you receive from the Israelites. Give some of it to the priest Aaron as an offering to the Lord. ²⁹You must present the entire offering due the Lord from all your gifts. The best part of the tenth is to be consecrated.
³⁰“Tell them further: Once you have presented the best part of the tenth, and it is credited to you Levites as the produce of the threshing floor or the winepress, ³¹then you and your household may eat it anywhere. It is your wage in return for your work at the tent of meeting. ³²You will not incur guilt because of it once you have presented the best part of it, but you must not defile the Israelites’ holy offerings, so that you will not die.”

19Chapter

Purification Ritual

¹The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, ²“This is the legal statute that the Lord has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red cow that has no defect and has never been yoked. ³Give it to the priest Eleazar, and he will have it brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. ⁴The priest Eleazar is to take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. ⁵The cow is to be burned in his sight. Its hide, flesh, and blood are to be burned along with its waste. ⁶The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson yarn, and throw them onto the fire where the cow is burning. ⁷Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening. ⁸The one who burned the cow must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he will remain unclean until evening.
⁹“A man who is clean is to gather up the cow’s ashes and deposit them outside the camp in a ceremonially clean place. The ashes will be kept by the Israelite community for preparing the water to remove impurity; it is a sin offering. ¹⁰Then the one who gathers up the cow’s ashes must wash his clothes, and he will remain unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the alien who resides among them.
¹¹“The person who touches any human corpse will be unclean for seven days. ¹²He is to purify himself with the water on the third day and the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. ¹³Anyone who touches a body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person will be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean because the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.
¹⁴“This is the law when a person dies in a tent: everyone who enters the tent and everyone who is already in the tent will be unclean for seven days, ¹⁵and any open container without a lid tied on it is unclean. ¹⁶Anyone in the open field who touches a person who has been killed by the sword or has died, or who even touches a human bone, or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. ¹⁷For the purification of the unclean person, they are to take some of the ashes of the burnt sin offering, put them in a jar, and add fresh water to them. ¹⁸A person who is clean is to take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, a corpse, or a person who had been killed.
¹⁹“The one who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being purified must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he will be clean by evening. ²⁰But a person who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person will be cut off from the assembly because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. ²¹This is a permanent statute for them. The person who sprinkles the water for impurity is to wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water for impurity will be unclean until evening. ²²Anything the unclean person touches will become unclean, and anyone who touches it will be unclean until evening.”

20Chapter

Water from the Rock

¹The entire Israelite community entered the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and they settled in Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there.
²There was no water for the community, so they assembled against Moses and Aaron. ³The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord. ⁴Why have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? ⁵Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It’s not a place of grain, figs, vines, and pomegranates, and there is no water to drink!”
⁶Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting. They fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. ⁷The Lord spoke to Moses, ⁸“Take the staff and assemble the community. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will yield its water. You will bring out water for them from the rock and provide drink for the community and their livestock.”
⁹So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence just as he had commanded him. ¹⁰Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels! Must we bring water out of this rock for you?” ¹¹Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that abundant water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
¹²But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me to demonstrate my holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them.” ¹³These are the Waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord, and he demonstrated his holiness to them.

Edom Denies Passage

¹⁴Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says, ‘You know all the hardships that have overtaken us. ¹⁵Our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt many years, but the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly. ¹⁶When we cried out to the Lord, he heard our plea, and sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt. Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the border of your territory. ¹⁷Please let us travel through your land. We won’t travel through any field or vineyard, or drink any well water. We will travel the King’s Highway; we won’t turn to the right or the left until we have traveled through your territory.’”
¹⁸But Edom answered him, “You will not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.”
¹⁹“We will go on the main road,” the Israelites replied to them, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay its price. There will be no problem; only let us travel through on foot.”
²⁰Yet Edom insisted, “You may not travel through.” And they came out to confront them with a large force of heavily-armed people. ²¹Edom refused to allow Israel to travel through their territory, and Israel turned away from them.

Aaron’s Death

²²After they set out from Kadesh, the entire Israelite community came to Mount Hor. ²³The Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor on the border of the land of Edom, ²⁴“Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will not enter the land I have given the Israelites, because you both rebelled against my command at the Waters of Meribah. ²⁵Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up Mount Hor. ²⁶Remove Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will be gathered to his people and die there.”
²⁷So Moses did as the Lord commanded, and they climbed Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. ²⁸After Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹When the whole community saw that Aaron had passed away, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days.

21Chapter

Canaanite King Defeated

¹When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming on the Atharim road, he fought against Israel and captured some prisoners. ²Then Israel made a vow to the Lord, “If you will hand this people over to us, we will completely destroy their cities.” ³The Lord listened to Israel’s request and handed the Canaanites over to them, and Israel completely destroyed them and their cities. So they named the place Hormah.

The Bronze Snake

⁴Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became impatient because of the journey. ⁵The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!” ⁶Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died.
⁷The people then came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” And Moses interceded for the people.
⁸Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.” ⁹So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.

Journey around Moab

¹⁰The Israelites set out and camped at Oboth. ¹¹They set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim in the wilderness that borders Moab on the east. ¹²From there they went and camped at Zered Valley. ¹³They set out from there and camped on the other side of the Arnon River, in the wilderness that extends from the Amorite border, because the Arnon was the Moabite border between Moab and the Amorites. ¹⁴Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Lord’s Wars: Waheb in Suphah and the ravines of the Arnon, ¹⁵even the slopes of the ravines that extend to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.
¹⁶From there they went to Beer, the well the Lord told Moses about, “Gather the people so I may give them water.” ¹⁷Then Israel sang this song: Spring up, well—sing to it! ¹⁸The princes dug the well; the nobles of the people hollowed it out with a scepter and with their staffs. They went from the wilderness to Mattanah, ¹⁹from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰from Bamoth to the valley in the territory of Moab near the Pisgah highlands that overlook the wasteland.

Amorite Kings Defeated

²¹Israel sent messengers to say to King Sihon of the Amorites, ²²“Let us travel through your land. We won’t go into the fields or vineyards. We won’t drink any well water. We will travel the King’s Highway until we have traveled through your territory.” ²³But Sihon would not let Israel travel through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel. ²⁴Israel struck him with the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, but only up to the Ammonite border, because it was fortified.
²⁵Israel took all the cities and lived in all these Amorite cities, including Heshbon and all its surrounding villages. ²⁶Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken control of all his land as far as the Arnon. ²⁷Therefore the poets say: Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; let the city of Sihon be restored. ²⁸For fire came out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the citizens of Arnon’s heights. ²⁹Woe to you, Moab! You have been destroyed, people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon the Amorite king. ³⁰We threw them down; Heshbon has been destroyed as far as Dibon. We caused desolation as far as Nophah, which reaches as far as Medeba.
³¹So Israel lived in the Amorites’ land. ³²After Moses sent spies to Jazer, Israel captured its surrounding villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.
³³Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan, and King Og of Bashan came out against them with his whole army to do battle at Edrei. ³⁴But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you along with his whole army and his land. Do to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.” ³⁵So they struck him, his sons, and his whole army until no one was left, and they took possession of his land.

22Chapter

Balak Hires Balaam

¹The Israelites traveled on and camped in the plains of Moab near the Jordan across from Jericho. ²Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³Moab was terrified of the people because they were numerous, and Moab dreaded the Israelites. ⁴So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will devour everything around us like an ox eats up the green plants in the field.” Since Balak son of Zippor was Moab’s king at that time, ⁵he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. Balak said to him, “Look, a people has come out of Egypt; they cover the surface of the land and are living right across from me. ⁶Please come and put a curse on these people for me because they are more powerful than I am. I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed.”
⁷The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak’s words to him. ⁸He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will give you the answer the Lord tells me.” So the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam.
⁹Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”
¹⁰Balaam replied to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent this message to me: ¹¹‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the surface of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. I may be able to fight against them and drive them away.’”
¹²Then God said to Balaam, “You are not to go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.”
¹³So Balaam got up the next morning and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your land, because the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”
¹⁴The officials of Moab arose, returned to Balak, and reported, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
¹⁵Balak sent officials again who were more numerous and higher in rank than the others. ¹⁶They came to Balaam and said to him, “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: ‘Let nothing keep you from coming to me, ¹⁷for I will greatly honor you and do whatever you ask me. So please come and put a curse on these people for me!’”
¹⁸But Balaam responded to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the command of the Lord my God to do anything small or great. ¹⁹Please stay here overnight as the others did, so that I may find out what else the Lord has to tell me.”
²⁰God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.” ²¹When he got up in the morning, Balaam saddled his donkey and went with the officials of Moab.

Balaam’s Donkey and the Angel

²²But God was incensed that Balaam was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand on the path to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing on the path with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the path and went into the field. So Balaam hit her to return her to the path. ²⁴Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow passage between the vineyards, with a stone wall on either side. ²⁵The donkey saw the angel of the Lord and pressed herself against the wall, squeezing Balaam’s foot against it. So he hit her once again. ²⁶The angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left. ²⁷When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. So he became furious and beat the donkey with his stick.
²⁸Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”
²⁹Balaam answered the donkey, “You made me look like a fool. If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you now!”
³⁰But the donkey said, “Am I not the donkey you’ve ridden all your life until today? Have I ever treated you this way before?” “No,” he replied.
³¹Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the path with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam knelt low and bowed in worship on his face. ³²The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you, because I consider what you are doing to be evil. ³³The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, I would have killed you by now and let her live.”
³⁴Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the path to confront me. And now, if it is evil in your sight, I will go back.”
³⁵Then the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you are to say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.
³⁶When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite city on the Arnon border at the edge of his territory. ³⁷Balak asked Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?”
³⁸Balaam said to him, “Look, I have come to you, but can I say anything I want? I must speak only the message God puts in my mouth.” ³⁹So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰Balak sacrificed cattle, sheep, and goats and sent for Balaam and the officials who were with him.
⁴¹In the morning, Balak took Balaam and brought him to Bamoth-baal. From there he saw the outskirts of the people’s camp.

23Chapter

Balaam’s Oracles

¹Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” ²So Balak did as Balaam directed, and they offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ³Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone. Maybe the Lord will meet with me. I will tell you whatever he reveals to me.” So he went to a barren hill.
⁴God met with him and Balaam said to him, “I have arranged seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.” ⁵Then the Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.”
⁶So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with all the officials of Moab.

Balaam’s First Oracle

⁷Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak brought me from Aram; the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains: “Come, put a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel!” ⁸How can I curse someone God has not cursed? How can I denounce someone the Lord has not denounced? ⁹I see them from the top of rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. There is a people living alone; it does not consider itself among the nations. ¹⁰Who has counted the dust of Jacob or numbered even one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright; let the end of my life be like theirs.
¹¹“What have you done to me?” Balak asked Balaam. “I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!”
¹²He answered, “Shouldn’t I say exactly what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

Balaam’s Second Oracle

¹³Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp; you won’t see all of them. From there, put a curse on them for me.” ¹⁴So Balak took him to Lookout Field on top of Pisgah, built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
¹⁵Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I seek the Lord over there.”
¹⁶The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth. Then he said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.”
¹⁷So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the officials of Moab. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”
¹⁸Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak, get up and listen; son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say! ¹⁹God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill? ²⁰I have indeed received a command to bless; since he has blessed, I cannot change it. ²¹He considers no disaster for Jacob; he sees no trouble for Israel. The Lord their God is with them, and there is rejoicing over the King among them. ²²God brought them out of Egypt; he is like the horns of a wild ox for them. ²³There is no magic curse against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said about Jacob and Israel, “What great things God has done!” ²⁴A people rise up like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion. They will not lie down until they devour the prey and drink the blood of the slain.
²⁵Then Balak told Balaam, “Don’t curse them and don’t bless them!”
²⁶But Balaam answered him, “Didn’t I tell you: Whatever the Lord says, I must do?”

Balaam’s Third Oracle

²⁷Again Balak said to Balaam, “Please come. I will take you to another place. Maybe it will be agreeable to God that you can put a curse on them for me there.” ²⁸So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland.
²⁹Balaam told Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” ³⁰So Balak did as Balaam said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

24Chapter

¹Since Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go to seek omens as on previous occasions, but turned toward the wilderness. ²When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him, ³and he proclaimed his poem: The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eyes are opened, ⁴the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered: ⁵How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel. ⁶They stretch out like river valleys, like gardens beside a stream, like aloes the Lord has planted, like cedars beside the water. ⁷Water will flow from his buckets, and his seed will be by abundant water. His king will be greater than Agag, and his kingdom will be exalted. ⁸God brought him out of Egypt; he is like the horns of a wild ox for them. He will feed on enemy nations and gnaw their bones; he will strike them with his arrows. ⁹He crouches, he lies down like a lion or a lioness—who dares to rouse him? Those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed.
¹⁰Then Balak became furious with Balaam, struck his hands together, and said to him, “I summoned you to put a curse on my enemies, but instead, you have blessed them these three times. ¹¹Now go to your home! I said I would reward you richly, but look, the Lord has denied you a reward.”
¹²Balaam answered Balak, “Didn’t I previously tell the messengers you sent me: ¹³If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the Lord’s command, to do anything good or bad of my own will? I will say whatever the Lord says. ¹⁴Now I am going back to my people, but first, let me warn you what these people will do to your people in the future.”

Balaam’s Fourth Oracle

¹⁵Then he proclaimed his poem: The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eyes are opened; ¹⁶the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God and has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered: ¹⁷I see him, but not now; I perceive him, but not near. A star will come from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will smash the forehead of Moab and strike down all the Shethites. ¹⁸Edom will become a possession; Seir will become a possession of its enemies, but Israel will be triumphant. ¹⁹One who comes from Jacob will rule; he will destroy the city’s survivors.
²⁰Then Balaam saw Amalek and proclaimed his poem: Amalek was first among the nations, but his future is destruction.
²¹Next he saw the Kenites and proclaimed his poem: Your dwelling place is enduring; your nest is set in the cliffs. ²²Kain will be destroyed when Asshur takes you captive.
²³Once more he proclaimed his poem: Ah, who can live when God does this? ²⁴Ships will come from the coast of Kittim; they will carry out raids against Asshur and Eber, but they too will come to destruction.
²⁵Balaam then arose and went back to his homeland, and Balak also went his way.

25Chapter

Israel Worships Baal

¹While Israel was staying in the Acacia Grove, the people began to prostitute themselves with the women of Moab. ²The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods. ³So Israel aligned itself with Baal of Peor, and the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. ⁴The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord so that his burning anger may turn away from Israel.”
⁵So Moses told Israel’s judges, “Kill each of the men who aligned themselves with Baal of Peor.”

Phinehas Intervenes

⁶An Israelite man came bringing a Midianite woman to his relatives in the sight of Moses and the whole Israelite community while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁷When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand, ⁸followed the Israelite man into the tent, and drove it through both the Israelite man and the woman—through her belly. Then the plague on the Israelites was stopped, ⁹but those who died in the plague numbered twenty-four thousand.
¹⁰The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹¹“Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites because he was zealous among them with my zeal, so that I did not destroy the Israelites in my zeal. ¹²Therefore declare: I grant him my covenant of peace. ¹³It will be a covenant of perpetual priesthood for him and his future descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”
¹⁴The name of the slain Israelite man, who was struck dead with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. ¹⁵The name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal head of a family in Midian.

Vengeance against the Midianites

¹⁶The Lord told Moses, ¹⁷“Attack the Midianites and strike them dead. ¹⁸For they attacked you with the treachery that they used against you in the Peor incident. They did the same in the case involving their sister Cozbi, daughter of the Midianite leader who was killed the day the plague came at Peor.”

26Chapter

The Second Census

¹After the plague, the Lord said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, ²“Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their ancestral families of those twenty years old or more who can serve in Israel’s army.”
³So Moses and the priest Eleazar said to them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, ⁴“Take a census of those twenty years old or more, as the Lord had commanded Moses and the Israelites who came out of the land of Egypt.” ⁵Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. Reuben’s descendants: the Hanochite clan from Hanoch; the Palluite clan from Pallu;
⁶the Hezronite clan from Hezron; the Carmite clan from Carmi.
⁷These were the Reubenite clans, and their registered men numbered 43,730.
⁸The son of Pallu was Eliab.
⁹The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. (It was Dathan and Abiram, chosen by the community, who fought against Moses and Aaron; they and Korah’s followers fought against the Lord. ¹⁰The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them with Korah, when his followers died and the fire consumed 250 men. They serve as a warning sign. ¹¹The sons of Korah, however, did not die.)
¹²Simeon’s descendants by their clans: the Nemuelite clan from Nemuel; the Jaminite clan from Jamin; the Jachinite clan from Jachin;
¹³the Zerahite clan from Zerah; the Shaulite clan from Shaul.
¹⁴These were the Simeonite clans, numbering 22,200 men.
¹⁵Gad’s descendants by their clans: the Zephonite clan from Zephon; the Haggite clan from Haggi; the Shunite clan from Shuni;
¹⁶the Oznite clan from Ozni; the Erite clan from Eri;
¹⁷the Arodite clan from Arod; the Arelite clan from Areli.
¹⁸These were the Gadite clans numbered by their registered men: 40,500.
¹⁹Judah’s sons included Er and Onan, but they died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰Judah’s descendants by their clans: the Shelanite clan from Shelah; the Perezite clan from Perez; the Zerahite clan from Zerah.
²¹The descendants of Perez: the Hezronite clan from Hezron; the Hamulite clan from Hamul.
²²These were Judah’s clans numbered by their registered men: 76,500.
²³Issachar’s descendants by their clans: the Tolaite clan from Tola; the Punite clan from Puvah;
²⁴the Jashubite clan from Jashub; the Shimronite clan from Shimron.
²⁵These were Issachar’s clans numbered by their registered men: 64,300.
²⁶Zebulun’s descendants by their clans: the Seredite clan from Sered; the Elonite clan from Elon; the Jahleelite clan from Jahleel.
²⁷These were the Zebulunite clans numbered by their registered men: 60,500.
²⁸Joseph’s descendants by their clans from Manasseh and Ephraim:
²⁹Manasseh’s descendants: the Machirite clan from Machir. Machir fathered Gilead; the Gileadite clan from Gilead.
³⁰These were Gilead’s descendants: the Iezerite clan from Iezer; the Helekite clan from Helek;
³¹the Asrielite clan from Asriel; the Shechemite clan from Shechem;
³²the Shemidaite clan from Shemida; the Hepherite clan from Hepher;
³³Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons—only daughters. The names of Zelophehad’s daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
³⁴These were Manasseh’s clans, numbered by their registered men: 52,700.
³⁵These were Ephraim’s descendants by their clans: the Shuthelahite clan from Shuthelah; the Becherite clan from Becher; the Tahanite clan from Tahan.
³⁶These were Shuthelah’s descendants: the Eranite clan from Eran.
³⁷These were the Ephraimite clans numbered by their registered men: 32,500. These were Joseph’s descendants by their clans.
³⁸Benjamin’s descendants by their clans: the Belaite clan from Bela; the Ashbelite clan from Ashbel; the Ahiramite clan from Ahiram;
³⁹the Shuphamite clan from Shupham; the Huphamite clan from Hupham.
⁴⁰Bela’s descendants from Ard and Naaman: the Ardite clan from Ard; the Naamite clan from Naaman.
⁴¹These were the Benjaminite clans numbered by their registered men: 45,600.
⁴²These were Dan’s descendants by their clans: the Shuhamite clan from Shuham. These were the clans of Dan by their clans.
⁴³All the Shuhamite clans numbered by their registered men: 64,400.
⁴⁴Asher’s descendants by their clans: the Imnite clan from Imnah; the Ishvite clan from Ishvi; the Beriite clan from Beriah.
⁴⁵From Beriah’s descendants: the Heberite clan from Heber; the Malchielite clan from Malchiel.
⁴⁶And the name of Asher’s daughter was Serah.
⁴⁷These were the Asherite clans numbered by their registered men: 53,400.
⁴⁸Naphtali’s descendants by their clans: the Jahzeelite clan from Jahzeel; the Gunite clan from Guni;
⁴⁹the Jezerite clan from Jezer; the Shillemite clan from Shillem.
⁵⁰These were the Naphtali clans numbered by their registered men: 45,400.
⁵¹These registered Israelite men numbered 601,730.
⁵²The Lord spoke to Moses, ⁵³“The land is to be divided among them as an inheritance based on the number of names. ⁵⁴Increase the inheritance for a large tribe and decrease it for a small one. Each is to be given its inheritance according to those who were registered in it. ⁵⁵The land is to be divided by lot; they will receive an inheritance according to the names of their ancestral tribes. ⁵⁶Each inheritance will be divided by lot among the larger and smaller tribes.” ⁵⁷These were the Levites registered by their clans: the Gershonite clan from Gershon; the Kohathite clan from Kohath; the Merarite clan from Merari.
⁵⁸These were the Levite family groups: the Libnite clan, the Hebronite clan, the Mahlite clan, the Mushite clan, and the Korahite clan. Kohath was the ancestor of Amram. ⁵⁹The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, born to Levi in Egypt. She bore to Amram: Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam. ⁶⁰Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar were born to Aaron, ⁶¹but Nadab and Abihu died when they presented unauthorized fire before the Lord. ⁶²Those registered were 23,000, every male one month old or more; they were not registered among the other Israelites, because no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites.
⁶³These were the ones registered by Moses and the priest Eleazar when they registered the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. ⁶⁴But among them there was not one of those who had been registered by Moses and the priest Aaron when they registered the Israelites in the Wilderness of Sinai. ⁶⁵For the Lord had said to them that they would all die in the wilderness. None of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

27Chapter

A Case of Daughters’ Inheritance

¹The daughters of Zelophehad approached; Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh from the clans of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ²They stood before Moses, the priest Eleazar, the leaders, and the entire community at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, ³“Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among Korah’s followers, who gathered together against the Lord. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons. ⁴Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan? Since he had no son, give us property among our father’s brothers.”
⁵Moses brought their case before the Lord, ⁶and the Lord answered him, ⁷“What Zelophehad’s daughters say is correct. You are to give them hereditary property among their father’s brothers and transfer their father’s inheritance to them. ⁸Tell the Israelites: When a man dies without having a son, transfer his inheritance to his daughter. ⁹If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ¹¹If his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative of his clan, and he will take possession of it. This is to be a statutory ordinance for the Israelites as the Lord commanded Moses.”

Joshua Commissioned to Succeed Moses

¹²Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range and see the land that I have given the Israelites. ¹³After you have seen it, you will also be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was. ¹⁴When the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against my command to demonstrate my holiness in their sight at the waters.” Those were the Waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.
¹⁵So Moses appealed to the Lord, ¹⁶“May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all, appoint a man over the community ¹⁷who will go out before them and come back in before them, and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without a shepherd.”
¹⁸The Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. ¹⁹Have him stand before the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and commission him in their sight. ²⁰Confer some of your authority on him so that the entire Israelite community will obey him. ²¹He will stand before the priest Eleazar who will consult the Lord for him with the decision of the Urim. He and all the Israelites with him, even the entire community, will go out and come back in at his command.”
²²Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua, had him stand before the priest Eleazar and the entire community, ²³laid his hands on him, and commissioned him, as the Lord had spoken through Moses.

28Chapter

Prescribed Offerings

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, ²“Command the Israelites and say to them: Be sure to present to me at its appointed time my offering and my food as my food offering, a pleasing aroma to me. ³And say to them: This is the food offering you are to present to the Lord:

Daily Offerings

³“Each day present two unblemished year-old male lambs as a regular burnt offering. ⁴Offer one lamb in the morning and the other lamb at twilight, ⁵along with two quarts of fine flour for a grain offering mixed with a quart of olive oil from crushed olives. ⁶It is a regular burnt offering established at Mount Sinai for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. ⁷The drink offering is to be a quart with each lamb. Pour out the offering of beer to the Lord in the sanctuary area. ⁸Offer the second lamb at twilight, along with the same kind of grain offering and drink offering as in the morning. It is a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Sabbath Offerings

⁹“On the Sabbath day present two unblemished year-old male lambs, four quarts of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering. ¹⁰It is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

Monthly Offerings

¹¹“At the beginning of each of your months present a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs a year old—all unblemished— ¹²with six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each bull, four quarts of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for the ram, ¹³and two quarts of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each lamb. It is a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. ¹⁴Their drink offerings are to be two quarts of wine with each bull, one and a third quarts with the ram, and one quart with each male lamb. This is the monthly burnt offering for all the months of the year. ¹⁵And one male goat is to be offered as a sin offering to the Lord, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its drink offering.

Offerings for Passover

¹⁶“The Passover to the Lord comes in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month. ¹⁷On the fifteenth day of this month there will be a festival; unleavened bread is to be eaten for seven days. ¹⁸On the first day there is to be a sacred assembly; you are not to do any daily work. ¹⁹Present a food offering, a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old. Your animals are to be unblemished. ²⁰The grain offering with them is to be of fine flour mixed with oil; offer six quarts with each bull and four quarts with the ram. ²¹Offer two quarts with each of the seven lambs ²²and one male goat for a sin offering to make atonement for yourselves. ²³Offer these with the morning burnt offering that is part of the regular burnt offering. ²⁴You are to offer the same food each day for seven days as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It is to be offered with its drink offering and the regular burnt offering. ²⁵On the seventh day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any daily work.

Offerings for the Festival of Weeks

²⁶“On the day of firstfruits, you are to hold a sacred assembly when you present an offering of new grain to the Lord at your Festival of Weeks; you are not to do any daily work. ²⁷Present a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, ²⁸with their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ²⁹and two quarts with each of the seven lambs, ³⁰and one male goat to make atonement for yourselves. ³¹Offer them with their drink offerings in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering. Your animals are to be unblemished.

29Chapter

Festival of Trumpets Offerings

¹“You are to hold a sacred assembly in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, and you are not to do any daily work. This will be a day of trumpet blasts for you. ²Offer a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old—all unblemished— ³with their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, six quarts with the bull, four quarts with the ram, ⁴and two quarts with each of the seven male lambs. ⁵Also offer one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for yourselves. ⁶These are in addition to the monthly and regular burnt offerings with their prescribed grain offerings and drink offerings. They are a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord.

Offerings for the Day of Atonement

⁷“You are to hold a sacred assembly on the tenth day of this seventh month and practice self-denial; do not do any work. ⁸Present a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma: one young bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old. All your animals are to be unblemished. ⁹Their grain offering is to be of fine flour mixed with oil, six quarts with the bull, four quarts with the ram, ¹⁰and two quarts with each of the seven lambs. ¹¹Offer one male goat for a sin offering. The regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offerings are in addition to the sin offering of atonement.

Offerings for the Festival of Shelters

¹²“You are to hold a sacred assembly on the fifteenth day of the seventh month; you do not do any daily work. You are to celebrate a seven-day festival for the Lord. ¹³Present a burnt offering, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord: thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old. They are to be unblemished. ¹⁴Their grain offering is to be of fine flour mixed with oil, six quarts with each of the thirteen bulls, four quarts with each of the two rams, ¹⁵and two quarts with each of the fourteen lambs. ¹⁶Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
¹⁷“On the second day present twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old—all unblemished— ¹⁸with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number. ¹⁹Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink and their drink offerings.
²⁰“On the third day present eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old—all unblemished— ²¹with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number. ²²Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
²³“On the fourth day present ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old—all unblemished— ²⁴with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number. ²⁵Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
²⁶“On the fifth day present nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old—all unblemished— ²⁷with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number. ²⁸Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
²⁹“On the sixth day present eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old—all unblemished— ³⁰with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number. ³¹Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
³²“On the seventh day present seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old—all unblemished— ³³with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number. ³⁴Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
³⁵“On the eighth day you are to hold a solemn assembly; you are not to do any daily work. ³⁶Present a burnt offering, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old—all unblemished— ³⁷with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number. ³⁸Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
³⁹“Offer these to the Lord at your appointed times in addition to your vow and freewill offerings, whether burnt, grain, drink, or fellowship offerings.” ⁴⁰So Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him.

30Chapter

Regulations about Vows

¹Moses told the leaders of the Israelite tribes, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ²When 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, ⁴and 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. ⁵But 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 release her because her father has prohibited her.
⁶“If a woman marries while her vows or the rash commitment she herself made are binding, ⁷and 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. ⁸But 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 release her.
⁹“Every vow a widow or divorced woman 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, ¹¹and 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. ¹²But 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 release her. ¹³Her husband may confirm or cancel any vow or any sworn obligation to deny herself. ¹⁴If 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. ¹⁵But if he cancels them after he hears about them, he will be responsible for her commitment.”
¹⁶These 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.

31Chapter

War with Midian

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, ²“Execute vengeance for the Israelites against the Midianites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”
³So 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. ⁴Send one thousand men to war from each Israelite tribe.” ⁵So one thousand were recruited from each Israelite tribe out of the thousands in Israel—twelve thousand equipped for war. ⁶Moses sent one thousand from each tribe to war. They went with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, in whose care were the holy objects and signal trumpets.
⁷They waged war against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male. ⁸Along 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. ⁹The Israelites took the Midianite women and their dependents captive, and they plundered all their cattle, flocks, and property. ¹⁰Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites lived, as well as all their encampments, ¹¹and took away all the spoils of war and the captives, both people and animals. ¹²They brought the prisoners, animals, and spoils of war to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the Israelite community at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
¹³Moses, the priest Eleazar, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴But 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. ¹⁷So now, kill every male among the dependents and kill every woman who has gone to bed with a man, ¹⁸but keep alive for yourselves all the young females who have not gone to bed with a man.
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. ²⁰Also purify everything: garments, leather goods, things made of goat hair, and every article of wood.”
²¹Then the priest Eleazar said to the soldiers who had gone to battle, “This is the legal statute the Lord commanded Moses: ²²The gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead— ²³everything that can withstand fire—you are to pass through fire, and it will be clean. It must still be purified with the purification water. Anything that cannot withstand fire, pass through the water. ²⁴On the seventh day wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter the camp.”
²⁵The Lord told Moses, ²⁶“You, the priest Eleazar, and the family heads of the community are to take a count of what was captured, people and animals. ²⁷Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to war and the entire community. ²⁸Set aside a tribute for the Lord from what belongs to the fighting men who went out to war: one out of every five hundred people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. ²⁹Take the tribute from their half and give it to the priest Eleazar as a contribution to the Lord. ³⁰From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every fifty 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.”
³¹So Moses and the priest Eleazar did as the Lord commanded Moses. ³²The captives remaining from the plunder the army had taken totaled: 675,000 sheep and goats,
³³72,000 cattle,
³⁴61,000 donkeys,
³⁵and 32,000 people, all the females who had not gone to bed with a man.
³⁶The half portion for those who went out to war numbered: 337,500 sheep and goats,
³⁷and the tribute to the Lord was 675 from the sheep and goats;
³⁸from the 36,000 cattle, the tribute to the Lord was 72;
³⁹from the 30,500 donkeys, the tribute to the Lord was 61;
⁴⁰and from the 16,000 people, the tribute to the Lord was 32 people.
⁴¹Moses gave the tribute to the priest Eleazar as a contribution for the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
⁴²From the Israelites’ half, which Moses separated from the men who fought, ⁴³the community’s half was: 337,500 sheep and goats,
⁴⁴36,000 cattle,
⁴⁵30,500 donkeys,
⁴⁶and 16,000 people.
⁴⁷Moses took one out of every fifty, selected from the people and the livestock of the Israelites’ half. He gave them to the Levites who perform the duties of the Lord’s tabernacle, as the Lord had commanded him.
⁴⁸The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, approached Moses ⁴⁹and told him, “Your servants have taken a census of the fighting men under our command, and not one of us is missing. ⁵⁰So 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.”
⁵¹Moses and the priest Eleazar received from them all the articles made out of gold. ⁵²All the gold of the contribution they offered to the Lord, from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, was 420 pounds. ⁵³Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself. ⁵⁴Moses and the priest Eleazar 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.

32Chapter

Transjordan Settlements

¹The Reubenites and Gadites had a very large number of livestock. When they surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, they saw that the region was a good one for livestock. ²So the Gadites and Reubenites came to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the leaders of the community and said, ³“The territory of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, ⁴which the Lord struck down before the community of Israel, is good land for livestock, and your servants own livestock.” ⁵They said, “If we have found favor with you, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Don’t make us cross the Jordan.”
⁶But Moses asked the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your brothers go to war while you stay here? ⁷Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing into the land the Lord has given them? ⁸That’s what your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. ⁹After they went up as far as Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them. ¹⁰So the Lord’s anger burned that day, and he swore an oath: ¹¹‘Because they did not remain loyal to me, none of the men twenty years old or more who came up from Egypt will see the land I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — ¹²none except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, because they did remain loyal to the Lord.’ ¹³The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years until the whole generation that had done what was evil in the Lord’s sight was gone. ¹⁴And here you, a brood of sinners, stand in your ancestors’ place adding even more to the Lord’s burning anger against Israel. ¹⁵If you turn back from following him, he will once again leave this people in the wilderness, and you will destroy all of them.”
¹⁶Then they approached him and said, “We want to build sheep pens here for our livestock and cities for our dependents. ¹⁷But we will arm ourselves and be ready to go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them into their place. Meanwhile, our dependents will remain in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁸We will not return to our homes until each of the Israelites has taken possession of his inheritance. ¹⁹Yet we will not have an inheritance with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance will be across the Jordan to the east.”
²⁰Moses replied to them, “If you do this—if you arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, ²¹and every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the Lord until he has driven his enemies from his presence, ²²and the land is subdued before the Lord—afterward you may return and be free from obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the Lord. ²³But if you don’t do this, you will certainly sin against the Lord; be sure your sin will catch up with you. ²⁴Build cities for your dependents and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”
²⁵The Gadites and Reubenites answered Moses, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands. ²⁶Our dependents, wives, livestock, and all our animals will remain here in the cities of Gilead, ²⁷but your servants are equipped for war before the Lord and will go across to the battle as my lord orders.”
²⁸So Moses gave orders about them to the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes. ²⁹Moses told them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, every man in battle formation before the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, you are to give them the land of Gilead as a possession. ³⁰But if they don’t go across with you in battle formation, they must accept land in Canaan with you.”
³¹The Gadites and Reubenites replied, “What the Lord has spoken to your servants is what we will do. ³²We will cross over in battle formation before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but we will keep our hereditary possession across the Jordan.”
³³So Moses gave them—the Gadites, Reubenites, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—the kingdom of King Sihon of the Amorites and the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, the land including its cities with the territories surrounding them. ³⁴The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, ³⁵Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, ³⁶Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified cities, and built sheep pens. ³⁷The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, ³⁸as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.
³⁹The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there. ⁴⁰So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir son of Manasseh, and they settled in it. ⁴¹Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages, which he renamed Jair’s Villages. ⁴²Nobah went and captured Kenath with its surrounding villages and called it Nobah after his own name.

33Chapter

Wilderness Travels Reviewed

¹These were the stages of the Israelites’ journey when they went out of the land of Egypt by their military divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. ²At the Lord’s command, Moses wrote down the starting points for the stages of their journey; these are the stages listed by their starting points:
³They traveled from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month. On the day after the Passover the Israelites went out defiantly in the sight of all the Egyptians. ⁴Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying every firstborn male the Lord had struck down among them, for the Lord had executed judgment against their gods. ⁵The Israelites traveled from Rameses and camped at Succoth.
⁶They traveled from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.
⁷They traveled from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol.
⁸They traveled from Pi-hahiroth and crossed through the middle of the sea into the wilderness. They took a three-day journey into the Wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.
⁹They traveled from Marah and came to Elim. There were twelve springs and seventy date palms at Elim, so they camped there.
¹⁰They traveled from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.
¹¹They traveled from the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin.
¹²They traveled from the Wilderness of Sin and camped in Dophkah.
¹³They traveled from Dophkah and camped at Alush.
¹⁴They traveled from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
¹⁵They traveled from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai.
¹⁶They traveled from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.
¹⁷They traveled from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.
¹⁸They traveled from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.
¹⁹They traveled from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.
²⁰They traveled from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.
²¹They traveled from Libnah and camped at Rissah.
²²They traveled from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.
²³They traveled from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.
²⁴They traveled from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.
²⁵They traveled from Haradah and camped at Makheloth.
²⁶They traveled from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.
²⁷They traveled from Tahath and camped at Terah.
²⁸They traveled from Terah and camped at Mithkah.
²⁹They traveled from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.
³⁰They traveled from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.
³¹They traveled from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.
³²They traveled from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.
³³They traveled from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.
³⁴They traveled from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.
³⁵They traveled from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.
³⁶They traveled from Ezion-geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh).
³⁷They traveled from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor on the edge of the land of Edom. ³⁸At the Lord’s command, the priest Aaron climbed Mount Hor and died there on the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year after the Israelites went out of the land of Egypt. ³⁹Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor. ⁴⁰At that time the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard the Israelites were coming.
⁴¹They traveled from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.
⁴²They traveled from Zalmonah and camped at Punon.
⁴³They traveled from Punon and camped at Oboth.
⁴⁴They traveled from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab.
⁴⁵They traveled from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad.
⁴⁶They traveled from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim.
⁴⁷They traveled from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the Abarim range facing Nebo.
⁴⁸They traveled from the Abarim range and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. ⁴⁹They camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth to the Acacia Meadow on the plains of Moab.

Instructions for Occupying Canaan

⁵⁰The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, ⁵¹“Tell the Israelites: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ⁵²you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, destroy all their stone images and cast images, and demolish all their high places. ⁵³You are to take possession of the land and settle in it because I have given you the land to possess. ⁵⁴You are to receive the land as an inheritance by lot according to your clans. Increase the inheritance for a large clan and decrease it for a small one. Whatever place the lot indicates for someone will be his. You will receive an inheritance according to your ancestral tribes. ⁵⁵But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs for your eyes and thorns for your sides; they will harass you in the land where you will live. ⁵⁶And what I had planned to do to them, I will do to you.”

34Chapter

Boundaries of the Promised Land

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, ²“Command the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan, it will be allotted to you as an inheritance with these borders:
³Your southern side will be from the Wilderness of Zin along the boundary of Edom. Your southern border on the east will begin at the east end of the Dead Sea. ⁴Your border will turn south of the Scorpions’ Ascent, proceed to Zin, and end south of Kadesh-barnea. It will go to Hazar-addar and proceed to Azmon. ⁵The border will turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, where it will end at the Mediterranean Sea.
⁶Your western border will be the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea; this will be your western border.
⁷This will be your northern border: From the Mediterranean Sea draw a line to Mount Hor; ⁸from Mount Hor draw a line to the entrance of Hamath, and the border will reach Zedad. ⁹Then the border will go to Ziphron and end at Hazar-enan. This will be your northern border.
¹⁰For your eastern border, draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham. ¹¹The border will go down from Shepham to Riblah east of Ain. It will continue down and reach the eastern slope of the Sea of Chinnereth. ¹²Then the border will go down to the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea. This will be your land defined by its borders on all sides.”
¹³So Moses commanded the Israelites, “This is the land you are to receive by lot as an inheritance, which the Lord commanded to be given to the nine and a half tribes. ¹⁴For the tribe of Reuben’s descendants and the tribe of Gad’s descendants have received their inheritance according to their ancestral families, and half the tribe of Manasseh has received its inheritance. ¹⁵The two and a half tribes have received their inheritance across the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

Leaders for Distributing the Land

¹⁶The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹⁷“These are the names of the men who are to distribute the land as an inheritance for you: the priest Eleazar and Joshua son of Nun. ¹⁸Take one leader from each tribe to distribute the land. ¹⁹These are the names of the men: Caleb son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;
²⁰Shemuel son of Ammihud from the tribe of Simeon’s descendants;
²¹Elidad son of Chislon from the tribe of Benjamin;
²²Bukki son of Jogli, a leader from the tribe of Dan’s descendants;
²³from the sons of Joseph: Hanniel son of Ephod, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh’s descendants,
²⁴Kemuel son of Shiphtan, a leader from the tribe of Ephraim’s descendants;
²⁵Eli-zaphan son of Parnach, a leader from the tribe of Zebulun’s descendants;
²⁶Paltiel son of Azzan, a leader from the tribe of Issachar’s descendants;
²⁷Ahihud son of Shelomi, a leader from the tribe of Asher’s descendants;
²⁸Pedahel son of Ammihud, a leader from the tribe of Naphtali’s descendants.”
²⁹These are the ones the Lord commanded to distribute the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.

35Chapter

Cities for the Levites

¹The Lord again spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho: ²“Command the Israelites to give cities out of their hereditary property for the Levites to live in and pastureland around the cities. ³The cities will be for them to live in, and their pasturelands will be for their herds, flocks, and all their other animals. ⁴The pasturelands of the cities you are to give the Levites will extend from the city wall five hundred yards on every side. ⁵Measure a thousand yards outside the city for the east side, a thousand yards for the south side, a thousand yards for the west side, and a thousand yards for the north side, with the city in the center. This will belong to them as pasturelands for the cities.
⁶“The cities you give the Levites will include six cities of refuge, which you will provide so that the one who kills someone may flee there; in addition to these, give forty-two other cities. ⁷The total number of cities you give the Levites will be forty-eight, along with their pasturelands. ⁸Of the cities that you give from the Israelites’ territory, you should take more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one. Each tribe is to give some of its cities to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance it receives.”

Cities of Refuge

⁹The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ¹¹designate cities to serve as cities of refuge for you, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there. ¹²You will have the cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the one who kills someone will not die until he stands trial before the assembly. ¹³The cities you select will be your six cities of refuge. ¹⁴Select three cities across the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan to be cities of refuge. ¹⁵These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the alien or temporary resident among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.
¹⁶“If anyone strikes a person with an iron object and death results, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. ¹⁷If anyone has in his hand a stone capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death. ¹⁸If anyone has in his hand a wooden object capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death. ¹⁹The avenger of blood himself is to kill the murderer; when he finds him, he is to kill him. ²⁰Likewise, if anyone in hatred pushes a person or throws an object at him with malicious intent and he dies, ²¹or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood is to kill the murderer when he finds him.
²²“But if anyone suddenly pushes a person without hostility or throws any object at him without malicious intent ²³or without looking drops a stone that could kill a person and he dies, but he was not his enemy and didn’t intend to harm him, ²⁴the assembly is to judge between the person who kills someone and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. ²⁵The assembly is to protect the one who kills someone from the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge he fled to, and he must live there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
²⁶“If the one who kills someone ever goes outside the border of the city of refuge he fled to, ²⁷and the avenger of blood finds him outside the border of his city of refuge and kills him, the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed, ²⁸for the one who killed a person was supposed to live in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may the one who has killed a person return to the land he possesses. ²⁹These instructions will be a statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations wherever you live.
³⁰“If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death based on the word of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of one witness. ³¹You are not to accept a ransom for the life of someone who is guilty of murder; he must be put to death. ³²Neither should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to his city of refuge, allowing him to return and live in the land before the death of the high priest.
³³“Do not defile the land where you live, for bloodshed defiles the land, and there can be no atonement for the land because of the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the person who shed it. ³⁴Do not make the land unclean where you live and where I dwell; for I, the Lord, reside among the Israelites.”

36Chapter

The Inheritance of Zelophehad’s Daughters

¹The family heads from the clan of the descendants of Gilead—the son of Machir, son of Manasseh —who were from the clans of the sons of Joseph, approached and addressed Moses and the leaders who were heads of the Israelite families. ²They said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites. My lord was further commanded by the Lord to give our brother Zelophehad’s inheritance to his daughters. ³If they marry any of the men from the other Israelite tribes, their inheritance will be taken away from our fathers’ inheritance and added to that of the tribe into which they marry. Therefore, part of our allotted inheritance would be taken away. ⁴When the Jubilee comes for the Israelites, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.”
⁵So Moses commanded the Israelites at the word of the Lord, “What the tribe of Joseph’s descendants says is right. ⁶This is what the Lord has commanded concerning Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they like provided they marry within a clan of their ancestral tribe. ⁷No inheritance belonging to the Israelites is to transfer from tribe to tribe, because each of the Israelites is to retain the inheritance of his ancestral tribe. ⁸Any daughter who possesses an inheritance from an Israelite tribe must marry someone from the clan of her ancestral tribe, so that each of the Israelites will possess the inheritance of his fathers. ⁹No inheritance is to transfer from one tribe to another, because each of the Israelite tribes is to retain its inheritance.”
¹⁰The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses. ¹¹Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, married cousins on their father’s side. ¹²They married men from the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained within the tribe of their father’s clan.
¹³These are the commands and ordinances the Lord commanded the Israelites through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

Study

Chapter 2

CSB

The subject of chap. 2 is the symmetrical organization of the tribes around the tabernacle. The priests and the three Levite clans formed the first circle of encampment around the rectangular sanctuary, and then three Israelite tribes were positioned on each of the four sides. This arrangement served several purposes. The priests were positioned at the entrance to the tabernacle, where they would receive people bringing sacrifices and special offerings. The priests and Levites together made up the first ring of protection for the sacred place against potential violation or contamination. This arrangement was a pattern for assigning property to the Levites on the immediate perimeter of certain key cities throughout the promised land (35:1-8). The symmetrical array of tribes also presents a unified picture of the Israelite people in this holy setting of the Sinai wilderness, a key theme of chaps. 1–10. Beyond the twelve-tribe encampment was the area to which the unclean, such as those with various diseases and impurities, were relegated. While not totally excluded from the community, they were placed outside the boundaries of the ritually pure encampment.

ESV

Israel in Camp and on the March. This chapter prescribes how the camp was to be arranged and the order in which the tribes were to march. At the center of the camp was the tabernacle. (Rameses II, in his campaigns in Syria [1275–1270 B.C.], employed a similar strategic layout. The pharaoh, who claimed to be divine, had his large tent pitched in the center of his military encampment.) Surrounding the tabernacle are the Levites: their arrangement is more closely described in ch. 3. They guarded the sanctuary from intrusions by unauthorized laypeople. Beyond the Levites the lay tribes are encamped. The 12 tribes were divided into four groups of three. In premier position, east of the tabernacle camp, were Judah with Issachar and Zebulun (2:2–9). Next in rank came the tribes camping to the south of the tabernacle, Reuben with Gad and Simeon (vv. 10–16). After them on the west came Ephraim with Benjamin and Manasseh (vv. 18–24). Finally, on the northern side of the tabernacle camp were Dan with Asher and Naphtali (vv. 25–34). The same sequence was to be maintained on the march. The Judah group headed the march, followed by the Reuben group. Then followed the Levites carrying the tabernacle. After them came the Ephraim group of tribes, and the Dan group brought up the rear (v. 31). See diagram.

ESV

It is not known what Israel’s tribal banners and standards looked like, though other ancient armies had them as well. Facing (lit., “opposite”) could also be translated “at a distance from.” A gap had to be kept between the lay tribes and the tabernacle.

ESV

Reuel is elsewhere called Deuel (1:14). The letters D (ד) and R (ר) are easily confused in Hebrew script.