Division: Books of the Law

Verse 14: from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;

Verse 15: from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.”

Verse 13: from Asher, Pagiel son of Ocran;

Verse 1: The Census The Lord spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said:

Verse 2: “Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one.

Verse 3: You and Aaron are to number by their divisions all the men in Israel twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army.

Verse 4: One man from each tribe, each the head of his family, is to help you.

Verse 5: These are the names of the men who are to assist you: from Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;

Verse 6: from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;

Verse 7: from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;

Verse 8: from Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;

Verse 9: from Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;

Verse 10: from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;

Verse 11: from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;

Verse 12: from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;

Verse 16: These were the men appointed from the community, the leaders of their ancestral tribes. They were the heads of the clans of Israel.

Verse 17: Moses and Aaron took these men whose names had been given,

Verse 18: and they called the whole community together on the first day of the second month. The people indicated their ancestry by their clans and families, and the men twenty years old or more were listed by name, one by one,

Verse 19: as the Lord commanded Moses. And so he counted them in the Desert of Sinai:

Verse 20: From the descendants of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families.

Verse 21: The number from the tribe of Reuben was 46,500.

Verse 22: From the descendants of Simeon: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were counted and listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families.

Verse 23: The number from the tribe of Simeon was 59,300.

Verse 24: From the descendants of Gad: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.

Verse 25: The number from the tribe of Gad was 45,650.

Verse 26: From the descendants of Judah: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.

Verse 27: The number from the tribe of Judah was 74,600.

Verse 28: From the descendants of Issachar: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.

Verse 29: The number from the tribe of Issachar was 54,400.

Verse 30: From the descendants of Zebulun: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.

Verse 31: The number from the tribe of Zebulun was 57,400.

Verse 32: From the sons of Joseph: From the descendants of Ephraim: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.

Verse 33: The number from the tribe of Ephraim was 40,500.

Verse 34: From the descendants of Manasseh: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.

Verse 35: The number from the tribe of Manasseh was 32,200.

Verse 36: From the descendants of Benjamin: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.

Verse 37: The number from the tribe of Benjamin was 35,400.

Verse 38: From the descendants of Dan: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.

Verse 39: The number from the tribe of Dan was 62,700.

Verse 40: From the descendants of Asher: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.

Verse 41: The number from the tribe of Asher was 41,500.

Verse 42: From the descendants of Naphtali: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.

Verse 43: The number from the tribe of Naphtali was 53,400.

Verse 44: These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family.

Verse 45: All the Israelites twenty years old or more who were able to serve in Israel’s army were counted according to their families.

Verse 46: The total number was 603,550.

Verse 47: The families of the tribe of Levi, however, were not counted along with the others.

Verse 48: The Lord had said to Moses:

Verse 49: “You must not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the census of the other Israelites.

Verse 50: Instead, appoint the Levites to be in charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony—over all its furnishings and everything belonging to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they are to take care of it and encamp around it.

Verse 51: Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall do it. Anyone else who goes near it shall be put to death.

Verse 52: The Israelites are to set up their tents by divisions, each man in his own camp under his own standard.

Verse 53: The Levites, however, are to set up their tents around the tabernacle of the Testimony so that wrath will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are to be responsible for the care of the tabernacle of the Testimony.”

Verse 54: The Israelites did all this just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Verse 1: The Arrangement of the Tribal Camps The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:

Verse 2: “The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family.”

Verse 3: On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab.

Verse 4: His division numbers 74,600.

Verse 5: The tribe of Issachar will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar.

Verse 6: His division numbers 54,400.

Verse 7: The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the people of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon.

Verse 8: His division numbers 57,400.

Verse 9: All the men assigned to the camp of Judah, according to their divisions, number 186,400. They will set out first.

Verse 10: On the south will be the divisions of the camp of Reuben under their standard. The leader of the people of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur.

Verse 11: His division numbers 46,500.

Verse 12: The tribe of Simeon will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.

Verse 13: His division numbers 59,300.

Verse 14: The tribe of Gad will be next. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel.

Verse 15: His division numbers 45,650.

Verse 16: All the men assigned to the camp of Reuben, according to their divisions, number 151,450. They will set out second.

Verse 17: Then the Tent of Meeting and the camp of the Levites will set out in the middle of the camps. They will set out in the same order as they encamp, each in his own place under his standard.

Verse 18: On the west will be the divisions of the camp of Ephraim under their standard. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud.

Verse 19: His division numbers 40,500.

Verse 20: The tribe of Manasseh will be next to them. The leader of the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.

Verse 21: His division numbers 32,200.

Verse 22: The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the people of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni.

Verse 23: His division numbers 35,400.

Verse 24: All the men assigned to the camp of Ephraim, according to their divisions, number 108,100. They will set out third.

Verse 25: On the north will be the divisions of the camp of Dan, under their standard. The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.

Verse 26: His division numbers 62,700.

Verse 27: The tribe of Asher will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Asher is Pagiel son of Ocran.

Verse 28: His division numbers 41,500.

Verse 29: The tribe of Naphtali will be next. The leader of the people of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan.

Verse 30: His division numbers 53,400.

Verse 31: All the men assigned to the camp of Dan number 157,600. They will set out last, under their standards.

Verse 32: These are the Israelites, counted according to their families. All those in the camps, by their divisions, number 603,550.

Verse 33: The Levites, however, were not counted along with the other Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Verse 34: So the Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way they encamped under their standards, and that is the way they set out, each with his clan and family.

Verse 1: The Levites This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord talked with Moses on Mount Sinai.

Verse 2: The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

Verse 3: Those were the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests.

Verse 4: Nadab and Abihu, however, fell dead before the Lord when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons; so only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.

Verse 5: The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 6: “Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him.

Verse 7: They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the Tent of Meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle.

Verse 8: They are to take care of all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle.

Verse 9: Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him.

Verse 10: Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary must be put to death.”

Verse 11: The Lord also said to Moses,

Verse 12: “I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine,

Verse 13: for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether man or animal. They are to be mine. I am the Lord.”

Verse 14: The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai,

Verse 15: “Count the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old or more.”

Verse 16: So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.

Verse 17: These were the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

Verse 18: These were the names of the Gershonite clans: Libni and Shimei.

Verse 19: The Kohathite clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

Verse 20: The Merarite clans: Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans, according to their families.

Verse 21: To Gershon belonged the clans of the Libnites and Shimeites; these were the Gershonite clans.

Verse 22: The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 7,500.

Verse 23: The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle.

Verse 24: The leader of the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael.

Verse 25: At the Tent of Meeting the Gershonites were responsible for the care of the tabernacle and tent, its coverings, the curtain at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,

Verse 26: the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, and the ropes—and everything related to their use.

Verse 27: To Kohath belonged the clans of the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites and Uzzielites; these were the Kohathite clans.

Verse 28: The number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600. The Kohathites were responsible for the care of the sanctuary.

Verse 29: The Kohathite clans were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle.

Verse 30: The leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.

Verse 31: They were responsible for the care of the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used in ministering, the curtain, and everything related to their use.

Verse 32: The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsible for the care of the sanctuary.

Verse 33: To Merari belonged the clans of the Mahlites and the Mushites; these were the Merarite clans.

Verse 34: The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 6,200.

Verse 35: The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.

Verse 36: The Merarites were appointed to take care of the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and everything related to their use,

Verse 37: as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs and ropes.

Verse 38: Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, in front of the Tent of Meeting. They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.

Verse 39: The total number of Levites counted at the Lord’s command by Moses and Aaron according to their clans, including every male a month old or more, was 22,000.

Verse 40: The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn Israelite males who are a month old or more and make a list of their names.

Verse 41: Take the Levites for me in place of all the firstborn of the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites. I am the Lord.”

Verse 42: So Moses counted all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him.

Verse 43: The total number of firstborn males a month old or more, listed by name, was 22,273.

Verse 44: The Lord also said to Moses,

Verse 45: “Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites are to be mine. I am the Lord.

Verse 46: To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites,

Verse 47: collect five shekels for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.

Verse 48: Give the money for the redemption of the additional Israelites to Aaron and his sons.”

Verse 49: So Moses collected the redemption money from those who exceeded the number redeemed by the Levites.

Verse 50: From the firstborn of the Israelites he collected silver weighing 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.

Verse 51: Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.

Verse 48: numbered 8,580.

Verse 1: The Kohathites The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:

Verse 2: “Take a census of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families.

Verse 3: Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work in the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 4: “This is the work of the Kohathites in the Tent of Meeting: the care of the most holy things.

Verse 5: When the camp is to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.

Verse 6: Then they are to cover this with hides of sea cows, spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in place.

Verse 7: “Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for drink offerings; the bread that is continually there is to remain on it.

Verse 8: Over these they are to spread a scarlet cloth, cover that with hides of sea cows and put its poles in place.

Verse 9: “They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand that is for light, together with its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays, and all its jars for the oil used to supply it.

Verse 10: Then they are to wrap it and all its accessories in a covering of hides of sea cows and put it on a carrying frame.

Verse 11: “Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth and cover that with hides of sea cows and put its poles in place.

Verse 12: “They are to take all the articles used for ministering in the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with hides of sea cows and put them on a carrying frame.

Verse 13: “They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar and spread a purple cloth over it.

Verse 14: Then they are to place on it all the utensils used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans, meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Over it they are to spread a covering of hides of sea cows and put its poles in place.

Verse 15: “After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites are to come to do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 16: “Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, is to have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He is to be in charge of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including its holy furnishings and articles.”

Verse 17: The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

Verse 18: “See that the Kohathite tribal clans are not cut off from the Levites.

Verse 19: So that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work and what he is to carry.

Verse 20: But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die.”

Verse 21: The Gershonites The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 22: “Take a census also of the Gershonites by their families and clans.

Verse 23: Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 24: “This is the service of the Gershonite clans as they work and carry burdens:

Verse 25: They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, its covering and the outer covering of hides of sea cows, the curtains for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,

Verse 26: the curtains of the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, the curtain for the entrance, the ropes and all the equipment used in its service. The Gershonites are to do all that needs to be done with these things.

Verse 27: All their service, whether carrying or doing other work, is to be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You shall assign to them as their responsibility all they are to carry.

Verse 28: This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the Tent of Meeting. Their duties are to be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.

Verse 29: The Merarites “Count the Merarites by their clans and families.

Verse 30: Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 31: This is their duty as they perform service at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts and bases,

Verse 32: as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes, all their equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the specific things he is to carry.

Verse 33: This is the service of the Merarite clans as they work at the Tent of Meeting under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.”

Verse 34: The Numbering of the Levite Clans Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the Kohathites by their clans and families.

Verse 35: All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work in the Tent of Meeting,

Verse 36: counted by clans, were 2,750.

Verse 37: This was the total of all those in the Kohathite clans who served in the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord’s command through Moses.

Verse 38: The Gershonites were counted by their clans and families.

Verse 39: All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting,

Verse 40: counted by their clans and families, were 2,630.

Verse 41: This was the total of those in the Gershonite clans who served at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord’s command.

Verse 42: The Merarites were counted by their clans and families.

Verse 43: All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting,

Verse 44: counted by their clans, were 3,200.

Verse 45: This was the total of those in the Merarite clans. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord’s command through Moses.

Verse 46: So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans and families.

Verse 47: All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to do the work of serving and carrying the Tent of Meeting

Verse 49: At the Lord’s command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry. Thus they were counted, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Verse 1: The Purity of the Camp The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 2: “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has an infectious skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body.

Verse 3: Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.”

Verse 4: The Israelites did this; they sent them outside the camp. They did just as the Lord had instructed Moses.

Verse 5: Restitution for Wrongs The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 6: “Say to the Israelites: ‘When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the Lord, that person is guilty

Verse 7: and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it and give it all to the person he has wronged.

Verse 8: But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the Lord and must be given to the priest, along with the ram with which atonement is made for him.

Verse 9: All the sacred contributions the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him.

Verse 10: Each man’s sacred gifts are his own, but what he gives to the priest will belong to the priest.’”

Verse 11: The Test for an Unfaithful Wife Then the Lord said to Moses,

Verse 12: “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him

Verse 13: by sleeping with another man, and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act),

Verse 14: and if feelings of jealousy come over her husband and he suspects his wife and she is impure—or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure—

Verse 15: then he is to take his wife to the priest. He must also take an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour on her behalf. He must not pour oil on it or put incense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a reminder offering to draw attention to guilt.

Verse 16: “‘The priest shall bring her and have her stand before the Lord.

Verse 17: Then he shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water.

Verse 18: After the priest has had the woman stand before the Lord, he shall loosen her hair and place in her hands the reminder offering, the grain offering for jealousy, while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse.

Verse 19: Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, “If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you.

Verse 20: But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and you have defiled yourself by sleeping with a man other than your husband”—

Verse 21: here the priest is to put the woman under this curse of the oath—“may the Lord cause your people to curse and denounce you when he causes your thigh to waste away and your abdomen to swell.

Verse 22: May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells and your thigh wastes away.” “‘Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.”

Verse 23: “‘The priest is to write these curses on a scroll and then wash them off into the bitter water.

Verse 24: He shall have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water will enter her and cause bitter suffering.

Verse 25: The priest is to take from her hands the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the Lord and bring it to the altar.

Verse 26: The priest is then to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial offering and burn it on the altar; after that, he is to have the woman drink the water.

Verse 27: If she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then when she is made to drink the water that brings a curse, it will go into her and cause bitter suffering; her abdomen will swell and her thigh waste away, and she will become accursed among her people.

Verse 28: If, however, the woman has not defiled herself and is free from impurity, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children.

Verse 29: “‘This, then, is the law of jealousy when a woman goes astray and defiles herself while married to her husband,

Verse 30: or when feelings of jealousy come over a man because he suspects his wife. The priest is to have her stand before the Lord and is to apply this entire law to her.

Verse 31: The husband will be innocent of any wrongdoing, but the woman will bear the consequences of her sin.’”

Verse 1: The Nazirite The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 2: “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the Lord as a Nazirite,

Verse 3: he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.

Verse 4: As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.

Verse 5: “‘During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the Lord is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long.

Verse 6: Throughout the period of his separation to the Lord he must not go near a dead body.

Verse 7: Even if his own father or mother or brother or sister dies, he must not make himself ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of his separation to God is on his head.

Verse 8: Throughout the period of his separation he is consecrated to the Lord.

Verse 9: “‘If someone dies suddenly in his presence, thus defiling the hair he has dedicated, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing—the seventh day.

Verse 10: Then on the eighth day he must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 11: The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him because he sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day he is to consecrate his head.

Verse 12: He must dedicate himself to the Lord for the period of his separation and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The previous days do not count, because he became defiled during his separation.

Verse 13: “‘Now this is the law for the Nazirite when the period of his separation is over. He is to be brought to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 14: There he is to present his offerings to the Lord: a year-old male lamb without defect for a burnt offering, a year-old ewe lamb without defect for a sin offering, a ram without defect for a fellowship offering,

Verse 15: together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and a basket of bread made without yeast—cakes made of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil.

Verse 16: “‘The priest is to present them before the Lord and make the sin offering and the burnt offering.

Verse 17: He is to present the basket of unleavened bread and is to sacrifice the ram as a fellowship offering to the Lord, together with its grain offering and drink offering.

Verse 18: “‘Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite must shave off the hair that he dedicated. He is to take the hair and put it in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the fellowship offering.

Verse 19: “‘After the Nazirite has shaved off the hair of his dedication, the priest is to place in his hands a boiled shoulder of the ram, and a cake and a wafer from the basket, both made without yeast.

Verse 20: The priest shall then wave them before the Lord as a wave offering; they are holy and belong to the priest, together with the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.

Verse 21: “‘This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord in accordance with his separation, in addition to whatever else he can afford. He must fulfill the vow he has made, according to the law of the Nazirite.’”

Verse 22: The Priestly Blessing The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 23: “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

Verse 24: “‘“The Lord bless you and keep you;

Verse 25: the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;

Verse 26: the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’

Verse 27: “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Verse 1: Offerings at the Dedication of the Tabernacle When Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings. He also anointed and consecrated the altar and all its utensils.

Verse 2: Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of families who were the tribal leaders in charge of those who were counted, made offerings.

Verse 3: They brought as their gifts before the Lord six covered carts and twelve oxen—an ox from each leader and a cart from every two. These they presented before the tabernacle.

Verse 4: The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 5: “Accept these from them, that they may be used in the work at the Tent of Meeting. Give them to the Levites as each man’s work requires.”

Verse 6: So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites.

Verse 7: He gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites, as their work required,

Verse 8: and he gave four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites, as their work required. They were all under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.

Verse 9: But Moses did not give any to the Kohathites, because they were to carry on their shoulders the holy things, for which they were responsible.

Verse 10: When the altar was anointed, the leaders brought their offerings for its dedication and presented them before the altar.

Verse 11: For the Lord had said to Moses, “Each day one leader is to bring his offering for the dedication of the altar.”

Verse 12: The one who brought his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah.

Verse 13: His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

Verse 14: one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

Verse 15: one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;

Verse 16: one male goat for a sin offering;

Verse 17: and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.

Verse 18: On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar, the leader of Issachar, brought his offering.

Verse 19: The offering he brought was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

Verse 20: one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

Verse 21: one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;

Verse 22: one male goat for a sin offering;

Verse 23: and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Nethanel son of Zuar.

Verse 24: On the third day, Eliab son of Helon, the leader of the people of Zebulun, brought his offering.

Verse 25: His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

Verse 26: one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

Verse 27: one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;

Verse 28: one male goat for a sin offering;

Verse 29: and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Eliab son of Helon.

Verse 30: On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur, the leader of the people of Reuben, brought his offering.

Verse 31: His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

Verse 32: one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

Verse 33: one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;

Verse 34: one male goat for a sin offering;

Verse 35: and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Elizur son of Shedeur.

Verse 36: On the fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, the leader of the people of Simeon, brought his offering.

Verse 37: His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

Verse 38: one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

Verse 39: one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;

Verse 40: one male goat for a sin offering;

Verse 41: and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.

Verse 42: On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel, the leader of the people of Gad, brought his offering.

Verse 43: His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

Verse 44: one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

Verse 45: one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;

Verse 46: one male goat for a sin offering;

Verse 47: and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Eliasaph son of Deuel.

Verse 48: On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud, the leader of the people of Ephraim, brought his offering.

Verse 49: His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

Verse 50: one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

Verse 51: one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;

Verse 52: one male goat for a sin offering;

Verse 53: and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud.

Verse 54: On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, the leader of the people of Manasseh, brought his offering.

Verse 55: His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

Verse 56: one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

Verse 57: one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;

Verse 58: one male goat for a sin offering;

Verse 59: and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.

Verse 60: On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni, the leader of the people of Benjamin, brought his offering.

Verse 61: His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

Verse 62: one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

Verse 63: one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;

Verse 64: one male goat for a sin offering;

Verse 65: and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Abidan son of Gideoni.

Verse 66: On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, the leader of the people of Dan, brought his offering.

Verse 67: His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

Verse 68: one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

Verse 69: one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;

Verse 70: one male goat for a sin offering;

Verse 71: and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.

Verse 72: On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ocran, the leader of the people of Asher, brought his offering.

Verse 73: His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

Verse 74: one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

Verse 75: one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;

Verse 76: one male goat for a sin offering;

Verse 77: and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Pagiel son of Ocran.

Verse 78: On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan, the leader of the people of Naphtali, brought his offering.

Verse 79: His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

Verse 80: one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

Verse 81: one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;

Verse 82: one male goat for a sin offering;

Verse 83: and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Ahira son of Enan.

Verse 84: These were the offerings of the Israelite leaders for the dedication of the altar when it was anointed: twelve silver plates, twelve silver sprinkling bowls and twelve gold dishes.

Verse 85: Each silver plate weighed a hundred and thirty shekels, and each sprinkling bowl seventy shekels. Altogether, the silver dishes weighed two thousand four hundred shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.

Verse 86: The twelve gold dishes filled with incense weighed ten shekels each, according to the sanctuary shekel. Altogether, the gold dishes weighed a hundred and twenty shekels.

Verse 87: The total number of animals for the burnt offering came to twelve young bulls, twelve rams and twelve male lambs a year old, together with their grain offering. Twelve male goats were used for the sin offering.

Verse 88: The total number of animals for the sacrifice of the fellowship offering came to twenty-four oxen, sixty rams, sixty male goats and sixty male lambs a year old. These were the offerings for the dedication of the altar after it was anointed.

Verse 89: When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony. And he spoke with him.

Verse 1: Setting Up the Lamps The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 2: “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you set up the seven lamps, they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.’”

Verse 3: Aaron did so; he set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Verse 4: This is how the lampstand was made: It was made of hammered gold—from its base to its blossoms. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern the Lord had shown Moses.

Verse 5: The Setting Apart of the Levites The Lord said to Moses:

Verse 6: “Take the Levites from among the other Israelites and make them ceremonially clean.

Verse 7: To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing on them; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.

Verse 8: Have them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil; then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.

Verse 9: Bring the Levites to the front of the Tent of Meeting and assemble the whole Israelite community.

Verse 10: You are to bring the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them.

Verse 11: Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the work of the Lord.

Verse 12: “After the Levites lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, use the one for a sin offering to the Lord and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites.

Verse 13: Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering to the Lord.

Verse 14: In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.

Verse 15: “After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering, they are to come to do their work at the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 16: They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn, the first male offspring from every Israelite woman.

Verse 17: Every firstborn male in Israel, whether man or animal, is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself.

Verse 18: And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel.

Verse 19: Of all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons to do the work at the Tent of Meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to make atonement for them so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary.”

Verse 20: Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Verse 21: The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord and made atonement for them to purify them.

Verse 22: After that, the Levites came to do their work at the Tent of Meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Verse 23: The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 24: “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the Tent of Meeting,

Verse 25: but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer.

Verse 26: They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites.”

Verse 1: The Passover The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they came out of Egypt. He said,

Verse 2: “Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover at the appointed time.

Verse 3: Celebrate it at the appointed time, at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month, in accordance with all its rules and regulations.”

Verse 4: So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover,

Verse 5: and they did so in the Desert of Sinai at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Verse 6: But some of them could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean on account of a dead body. So they came to Moses and Aaron that same day

Verse 7: and said to Moses, “We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the Lord’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?”

Verse 8: Moses answered them, “Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you.”

Verse 9: Then the Lord said to Moses,

Verse 10: “Tell the Israelites: ‘When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they may still celebrate the Lord’s Passover.

Verse 11: They are to celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

Verse 12: They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations.

Verse 13: But if a man who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people because he did not present the Lord’s offering at the appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin.

Verse 14: “‘An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must do so in accordance with its rules and regulations. You must have the same regulations for the alien and the native-born.’”

Verse 15: The Cloud Above the Tabernacle On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.

Verse 16: That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.

Verse 17: Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.

Verse 18: At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.

Verse 19: When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out.

Verse 20: Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out.

Verse 21: Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out.

Verse 22: Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.

Verse 23: At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses.

Verse 1: The Silver Trumpets The Lord said to Moses:

Verse 2: “Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for having the camps set out.

Verse 3: When both are sounded, the whole community is to assemble before you at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 4: If only one is sounded, the leaders—the heads of the clans of Israel—are to assemble before you.

Verse 5: When a trumpet blast is sounded, the tribes camping on the east are to set out.

Verse 6: At the sounding of a second blast, the camps on the south are to set out. The blast will be the signal for setting out.

Verse 7: To gather the assembly, blow the trumpets, but not with the same signal.

Verse 8: “The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to blow the trumpets. This is to be a lasting ordinance for you and the generations to come.

Verse 9: When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies.

Verse 10: Also at your times of rejoicing—your appointed feasts and New Moon festivals—you are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, and they will be a memorial for you before your God. I am the Lord your God.”

Verse 11: The Israelites Leave Sinai On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle of the Testimony.

Verse 12: Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran.

Verse 13: They set out, this first time, at the Lord’s command through Moses.

Verse 14: The divisions of the camp of Judah went first, under their standard. Nahshon son of Amminadab was in command.

Verse 15: Nethanel son of Zuar was over the division of the tribe of Issachar,

Verse 16: and Eliab son of Helon was over the division of the tribe of Zebulun.

Verse 17: Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and Merarites, who carried it, set out.

Verse 18: The divisions of the camp of Reuben went next, under their standard. Elizur son of Shedeur was in command.

Verse 19: Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was over the division of the tribe of Simeon,

Verse 20: and Eliasaph son of Deuel was over the division of the tribe of Gad.

Verse 21: Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things. The tabernacle was to be set up before they arrived.

Verse 22: The divisions of the camp of Ephraim went next, under their standard. Elishama son of Ammihud was in command.

Verse 23: Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of Manasseh,

Verse 24: and Abidan son of Gideoni was over the division of the tribe of Benjamin.

Verse 25: Finally, as the rear guard for all the units, the divisions of the camp of Dan set out, under their standard. Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was in command.

Verse 26: Pagiel son of Ocran was over the division of the tribe of Asher,

Verse 27: and Ahira son of Enan was over the division of the tribe of Naphtali.

Verse 28: This was the order of march for the Israelite divisions as they set out.

Verse 29: Now Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place about which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel.”

Verse 30: He answered, “No, I will not go; I am going back to my own land and my own people.”

Verse 31: But Moses said, “Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the desert, and you can be our eyes.

Verse 32: If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the Lord gives us.”

Verse 33: So they set out from the mountain of the Lord and traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them during those three days to find them a place to rest.

Verse 34: The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.

Verse 35: Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Rise up, O Lord! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you.”

Verse 36: Whenever it came to rest, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel.”

Verse 7: The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin.

Verse 1: Fire From the Lord Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.

Verse 2: When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down.

Verse 3: So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the Lord had burned among them.

Verse 4: Quail From the Lord The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat!

Verse 5: We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.

Verse 6: But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”

Verse 8: The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a handmill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into cakes. And it tasted like something made with olive oil.

Verse 9: When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.

Verse 10: Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled.

Verse 11: He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?

Verse 12: Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers?

Verse 13: Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’

Verse 14: I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.

Verse 15: If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”

Verse 16: The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you.

Verse 17: I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.

Verse 18: “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it.

Verse 19: You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days,

Verse 20: but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”

Verse 21: But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’

Verse 22: Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”

Verse 23: The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”

Verse 24: So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the Tent.

Verse 25: Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again.

Verse 26: However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp.

Verse 27: A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

Verse 28: Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”

Verse 29: But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”

Verse 30: Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

Verse 31: Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea. It brought them down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as far as a day’s walk in any direction.

Verse 32: All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers. Then they spread them out all around the camp.

Verse 33: But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.

Verse 34: Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.

Verse 35: From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and stayed there.

Verse 1: Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.

Verse 2: “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.

Verse 3: (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

Verse 4: At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them came out.

Verse 5: Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward,

Verse 6: he said, “Listen to my words: “When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams.

Verse 7: But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house.

Verse 8: With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

Verse 9: The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.

Verse 10: When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam—leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy;

Verse 11: and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed.

Verse 12: Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”

Verse 13: So Moses cried out to the Lord, “O God, please heal her!”

Verse 14: The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.”

Verse 15: So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.

Verse 16: After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.

Verse 1: Exploring Canaan The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 2: “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”

Verse 3: So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.

Verse 4: These are their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;

Verse 5: from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;

Verse 6: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;

Verse 7: from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;

Verse 8: from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;

Verse 9: from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;

Verse 10: from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;

Verse 11: from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;

Verse 12: from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;

Verse 13: from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;

Verse 14: from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;

Verse 15: from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.

Verse 16: These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)

Verse 17: When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country.

Verse 18: See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many.

Verse 19: What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified?

Verse 20: How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)

Verse 21: So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath.

Verse 22: They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

Verse 23: When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs.

Verse 24: That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there.

Verse 25: At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.

Verse 26: Report on the Exploration They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.

Verse 27: They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.

Verse 28: But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.

Verse 29: The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”

Verse 30: Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

Verse 31: But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”

Verse 32: And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.

Verse 33: We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

Verse 1: The People Rebel That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.

Verse 2: All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!

Verse 3: Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

Verse 4: And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

Verse 5: Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there.

Verse 6: Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes

Verse 7: and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.

Verse 8: If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.

Verse 9: Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

Verse 10: But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites.

Verse 11: The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?

Verse 12: I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”

Verse 13: Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them.

Verse 14: And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, O Lord, are with these people and that you, O Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

Verse 15: If you put these people to death all at one time, the nations who have heard this report about you will say,

Verse 16: ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.’

Verse 17: “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared:

Verse 18: ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.’

Verse 19: In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”

Verse 20: The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked.

Verse 21: Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth,

Verse 22: not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times—

Verse 23: not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.

Verse 24: But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

Verse 25: Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.”

Verse 26: The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:

Verse 27: “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.

Verse 28: So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say:

Verse 29: In this desert your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.

Verse 30: Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

Verse 31: As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.

Verse 32: But you—your bodies will fall in this desert.

Verse 33: Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert.

Verse 34: For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’

Verse 35: I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die.”

Verse 36: So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it—

Verse 37: these men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord.

Verse 38: Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.

Verse 39: When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly.

Verse 40: Early the next morning they went up toward the high hill country. “We have sinned,” they said. “We will go up to the place the Lord promised.”

Verse 41: But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed!

Verse 42: Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies,

Verse 43: for the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.”

Verse 44: Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp.

Verse 45: Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.

Verse 1: Supplementary Offerings The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 2: “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘After you enter the land I am giving you as a home

Verse 3: and you present to the Lord offerings made by fire, from the herd or the flock, as an aroma pleasing to the Lord—whether burnt offerings or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings or festival offerings—

Verse 4: then the one who brings his offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil.

Verse 5: With each lamb for the burnt offering or the sacrifice, prepare a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering.

Verse 6: “‘With a ram prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil,

Verse 7: and a third of a hin of wine as a drink offering. Offer it as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

Verse 8: “‘When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, for a special vow or a fellowship offering to the Lord,

Verse 9: bring with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil.

Verse 10: Also bring half a hin of wine as a drink offering. It will be an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

Verse 11: Each bull or ram, each lamb or young goat, is to be prepared in this manner.

Verse 12: Do this for each one, for as many as you prepare.

Verse 13: “‘Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when he brings an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

Verse 14: For the generations to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living among you presents an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the Lord, he must do exactly as you do.

Verse 15: The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the Lord:

Verse 16: The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.’”

Verse 17: The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 18: “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you

Verse 19: and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to the Lord.

Verse 20: Present a cake from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor.

Verse 21: Throughout the generations to come you are to give this offering to the Lord from the first of your ground meal.

Verse 22: Offerings for Unintentional Sins “‘Now if you unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands the Lord gave Moses—

Verse 23: any of the Lord’s commands to you through him, from the day the Lord gave them and continuing through the generations to come—

Verse 24: and if this is done unintentionally without the community being aware of it, then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord, along with its prescribed grain offering and drink offering, and a male goat for a sin offering.

Verse 25: The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven, for it was not intentional and they have brought to the Lord for their wrong an offering made by fire and a sin offering.

Verse 26: The whole Israelite community and the aliens living among them will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong.

Verse 27: “‘But if just one person sins unintentionally, he must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering.

Verse 28: The priest is to make atonement before the Lord for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven.

Verse 29: One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether he is a native-born Israelite or an alien.

Verse 30: “‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people.

Verse 31: Because he has despised the Lord’s word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.’”

Verse 32: The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.

Verse 33: Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly,

Verse 34: and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him.

Verse 35: Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.”

Verse 36: So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Verse 37: Tassels on Garments The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 38: “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel.

Verse 39: You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes.

Verse 40: Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God.

Verse 41: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.’”

Verse 1: Korah, Dathan and Abiram Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent

Verse 2: and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.

Verse 3: They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”

Verse 4: When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.

Verse 5: Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him.

Verse 6: You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers

Verse 7: and tomorrow put fire and incense in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!”

Verse 8: Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites!

Verse 9: Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?

Verse 10: He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.

Verse 11: It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?”

Verse 12: Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come!

Verse 13: Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert? And now you also want to lord it over us?

Verse 14: Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”

Verse 15: Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”

Verse 16: Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.

Verse 17: Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the Lord. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.”

Verse 18: So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 19: When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire assembly.

Verse 20: The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

Verse 21: “Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”

Verse 22: But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, “O God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?”

Verse 23: Then the Lord said to Moses,

Verse 24: “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

Verse 25: Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

Verse 26: He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”

Verse 27: So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.

Verse 28: Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea:

Verse 29: If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the Lord has not sent me.

Verse 30: But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.”

Verse 31: As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart

Verse 32: and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah’s men and all their possessions.

Verse 33: They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.

Verse 34: At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

Verse 35: And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.

Verse 36: The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 37: “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to take the censers out of the smoldering remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy—

Verse 38: the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.”

Verse 39: So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,

Verse 40: as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the Lord, or he would become like Korah and his followers.

Verse 41: The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.

Verse 42: But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the Tent of Meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared.

Verse 43: Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting,

Verse 44: and the Lord said to Moses,

Verse 45: “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell facedown.

Verse 46: Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with fire from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started.”

Verse 47: So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them.

Verse 48: He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.

Verse 49: But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.

Verse 50: Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, for the plague had stopped.

Verse 1: The Budding of Aaron’s Staff The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 2: “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff.

Verse 3: On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe.

Verse 4: Place them in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you.

Verse 5: The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.”

Verse 6: So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron’s staff was among them.

Verse 7: Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the Tent of the Testimony.

Verse 8: The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.

Verse 9: Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his own staff.

Verse 10: The Lord said to Moses, “Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.”

Verse 11: Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.

Verse 12: The Israelites said to Moses, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost!

Verse 13: Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?”

Verse 1: Duties of Priests and Levites The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons and your father’s family are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the sanctuary, and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the priesthood.

Verse 2: Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister before the Tent of the Testimony.

Verse 3: They are to be responsible to you and are to perform all the duties of the Tent, but they must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar, or both they and you will die.

Verse 4: They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the Tent of Meeting—all the work at the Tent—and no one else may come near where you are.

Verse 5: “You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar, so that wrath will not fall on the Israelites again.

Verse 6: I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord to do the work at the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 7: But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”

Verse 8: Offerings for Priests and Levites Then the Lord said to Aaron, “I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion and regular share.

Verse 9: You are to have the part of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain or sin or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons.

Verse 10: Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it. You must regard it as holy.

Verse 11: “This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.

Verse 12: “I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the Lord as the firstfruits of their harvest.

Verse 13: All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to the Lord will be yours. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.

Verse 14: “Everything in Israel that is devoted to the Lord is yours.

Verse 15: The first offspring of every womb, both man and animal, that is offered to the Lord is yours. But you must redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.

Verse 16: When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.

Verse 17: “But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep or a goat; they are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

Verse 18: Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh are yours.

Verse 19: Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the Lord I give to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord for both you and your offspring.”

Verse 20: The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.

Verse 21: “I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 22: From now on the Israelites must not go near the Tent of Meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die.

Verse 23: It is the Levites who are to do the work at the Tent of Meeting and bear the responsibility for offenses against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites.

Verse 24: Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord. That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’”

Verse 25: The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 26: “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering.

Verse 27: Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress.

Verse 28: In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest.

Verse 29: You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’

Verse 30: “Say to the Levites: ‘When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress.

Verse 31: You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 32: By presenting the best part of it you will not be guilty in this matter; then you will not defile the holy offerings of the Israelites, and you will not die.’”

Verse 15: and every open container without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.

Verse 1: The Water of Cleansing The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:

Verse 2: “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke.

Verse 3: Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.

Verse 4: Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 5: While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and offal.

Verse 6: The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer.

Verse 7: After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening.

Verse 8: The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.

Verse 9: “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They shall be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin.

Verse 10: The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening. This will be a lasting ordinance both for the Israelites and for the aliens living among them.

Verse 11: “Whoever touches the dead body of anyone will be unclean for seven days.

Verse 12: He must purify himself with the water on the third day and on 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.

Verse 13: Whoever touches the dead body of anyone and fails to purify himself defiles the Lord’s tabernacle. That person must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean; his uncleanness remains on him.

Verse 14: “This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days,

Verse 16: “Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

Verse 17: “For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them.

Verse 18: Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or someone who has been killed or someone who has died a natural death.

Verse 19: The man who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify him. The person being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and that evening he will be clean.

Verse 20: But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he must be cut off from the community, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on him, and he is unclean.

Verse 21: This is a lasting ordinance for them. “The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening.

Verse 22: Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”

Verse 1: Water From the Rock In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

Verse 2: Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron.

Verse 3: They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord!

Verse 4: Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here?

Verse 5: Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

Verse 6: Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

Verse 7: The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 8: “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

Verse 9: So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him.

Verse 10: He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”

Verse 11: Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

Verse 12: But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

Verse 13: These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he showed himself holy among them.

Verse 14: Edom Denies Israel Passage Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: “This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships that have come upon us.

Verse 15: Our forefathers went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers,

Verse 16: but when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. “Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.

Verse 17: Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king’s highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”

Verse 18: But Edom answered: “You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.”

Verse 19: The Israelites replied: “We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot—nothing else.”

Verse 20: Again they answered: “You may not pass through.” Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army.

Verse 21: Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned away from them.

Verse 22: The Death of Aaron The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.

Verse 23: At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

Verse 24: “Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah.

Verse 25: Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor.

Verse 26: Remove Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will die there.”

Verse 27: Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community.

Verse 28: Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain,

Verse 29: and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days.

Verse 1: Arad Destroyed When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them.

Verse 2: Then Israel made this vow to the Lord: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities.”

Verse 3: The Lord listened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.

Verse 4: The Bronze Snake They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way;

Verse 5: they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

Verse 6: Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.

Verse 7: The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

Verse 8: The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”

Verse 9: So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

Verse 10: The Journey to Moab The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth.

Verse 11: Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the desert that faces Moab toward the sunrise.

Verse 12: From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley.

Verse 13: They set out from there and camped alongside the Arnon, which is in the desert extending into Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.

Verse 14: That is why the Book of the Wars of the Lord says: “. . . Waheb in Suphah and the ravines, the Arnon

Verse 15: and the slopes of the ravines that lead to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.”

Verse 16: From there they continued on to Beer, the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together and I will give them water.”

Verse 17: Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well! Sing about it,

Verse 18: about the well that the princes dug, that the nobles of the people sank— the nobles with scepters and staffs.” Then they went from the desert to Mattanah,

Verse 19: from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth,

Verse 20: and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.

Verse 21: Defeat of Sihon and Og Israel sent messengers to say to Sihon king of the Amorites:

Verse 22: “Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king’s highway until we have passed through your territory.”

Verse 23: But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. He mustered his entire army and marched out into the desert against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought with Israel.

Verse 24: Israel, however, put him to the sword and took over his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, but only as far as the Ammonites, because their border was fortified.

Verse 25: Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its surrounding settlements.

Verse 26: Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.

Verse 27: That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt; let Sihon’s city be restored.

Verse 28: “Fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the citizens of Arnon’s heights.

Verse 29: Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He has given up his sons as fugitives and his daughters as captives to Sihon king of the Amorites.

Verse 30: “But we have overthrown them; Heshbon is destroyed all the way to Dibon. We have demolished them as far as Nophah, which extends to Medeba.”

Verse 31: So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.

Verse 32: After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there.

Verse 33: Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei.

Verse 34: The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”

Verse 35: So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors. And they took possession of his land.

Verse 1: Balak Summons Balaam Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho.

Verse 2: Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites,

Verse 3: and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites.

Verse 4: The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time,

Verse 5: sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the River, in his native land. Balak said: “A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.

Verse 6: Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed.”

Verse 7: The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.

Verse 8: “Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them, “and I will bring you back the answer the Lord gives me.” So the Moabite princes stayed with him.

Verse 9: God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”

Verse 10: Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message:

Verse 11: ‘A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.’”

Verse 12: But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”

Verse 13: The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak’s princes, “Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

Verse 14: So the Moabite princes returned to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

Verse 15: Then Balak sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first.

Verse 16: They came to Balaam and said: “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me,

Verse 17: because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.”

Verse 18: But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God.

Verse 19: Now stay here tonight as the others did, and I will find out what else the Lord will tell me.”

Verse 20: That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”

Verse 21: Balaam’s Donkey Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

Verse 22: But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

Verse 23: When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.

Verse 24: Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides.

Verse 25: When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat her again.

Verse 26: Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.

Verse 27: When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff.

Verse 28: Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

Verse 29: Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

Verse 30: The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said.

Verse 31: Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

Verse 32: The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.

Verse 33: The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her.”

Verse 34: Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”

Verse 35: The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

Verse 36: When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory.

Verse 37: Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?”

Verse 38: “Well, I have come to you now,” Balaam replied. “But can I say just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.”

Verse 39: Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth.

Verse 40: Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the princes who were with him.

Verse 41: The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he saw part of the people.

Verse 2: Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Verse 1: Balaam’s First Oracle Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”

Verse 3: Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.” Then he went off to a barren height.

Verse 4: God met with him, and Balaam said, “I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”

Verse 5: The Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this message.”

Verse 6: So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the princes of Moab.

Verse 7: Then Balaam uttered his oracle: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’

Verse 8: How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?

Verse 9: From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations.

Verse 10: Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs!”

Verse 11: Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!”

Verse 12: He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

Verse 13: Balaam’s Second Oracle Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will see only a part but not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.”

Verse 14: So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Verse 15: Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there.”

Verse 16: The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this message.”

Verse 17: So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the princes of Moab. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”

Verse 18: Then he uttered his oracle: “Arise, Balak, and listen; hear me, son of Zippor.

Verse 19: God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

Verse 20: I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.

Verse 21: “No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them.

Verse 22: God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox.

Verse 23: There is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!’

Verse 24: The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till he devours his prey and drinks the blood of his victims.”

Verse 25: Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”

Verse 26: Balaam answered, “Did I not tell you I must do whatever the Lord says?”

Verse 27: Balaam’s Third Oracle Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there.”

Verse 28: And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland.

Verse 29: Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”

Verse 30: Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Verse 1: Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face toward the desert.

Verse 2: When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him

Verse 3: and he uttered his oracle: “The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,

Verse 4: the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

Verse 5: “How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!

Verse 6: “Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters.

Verse 7: Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water. “Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted.

Verse 8: “God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. They devour hostile nations and break their bones in pieces; with their arrows they pierce them.

Verse 9: Like a lion they crouch and lie down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse them? “May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!”

Verse 10: Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times.

Verse 11: Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded.”

Verse 12: Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell the messengers you sent me,

Verse 13: ‘Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord—and I must say only what the Lord says’?

Verse 14: Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come.”

Verse 15: Balaam’s Fourth Oracle Then he uttered his oracle: “The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,

Verse 16: the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

Verse 17: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.

Verse 18: Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow strong.

Verse 19: A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city.”

Verse 20: Balaam’s Final Oracles Then Balaam saw Amalek and uttered his oracle: “Amalek was first among the nations, but he will come to ruin at last.”

Verse 21: Then he saw the Kenites and uttered his oracle: “Your dwelling place is secure, your nest is set in a rock;

Verse 22: yet you Kenites will be destroyed when Asshur takes you captive.”

Verse 23: Then he uttered his oracle: “Ah, who can live when God does this?

Verse 24: Ships will come from the shores of Kittim; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will come to ruin.”

Verse 25: Then Balaam got up and returned home and Balak went his own way.

Verse 1: Moab Seduces Israel While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women,

Verse 2: who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods.

Verse 3: So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them.

Verse 4: The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the Lord’s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”

Verse 5: So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor.”

Verse 6: Then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Verse 7: When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand

Verse 8: and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and into the woman’s body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped;

Verse 9: but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.

Verse 10: The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 11: “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them.

Verse 12: Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him.

Verse 13: He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”

Verse 14: The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.

Verse 15: And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Cozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.

Verse 16: The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 17: “Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them,

Verse 18: because they treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the affair of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of Peor.”

Verse 11: The line of Korah, however, did not die out.

Verse 1: The Second Census After the plague the Lord said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest,

Verse 2: “Take a census of the whole Israelite community by families—all those twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army of Israel.”

Verse 3: So on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them and said,

Verse 4: “Take a census of the men twenty years old or more, as the Lord commanded Moses.” These were the Israelites who came out of Egypt:

Verse 5: The descendants of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel, were: through Hanoch, the Hanochite clan; through Pallu, the Palluite clan;

Verse 6: through Hezron, the Hezronite clan; through Carmi, the Carmite clan.

Verse 7: These were the clans of Reuben; those numbered were 43,730.

Verse 8: The son of Pallu was Eliab,

Verse 9: and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. The same Dathan and Abiram were the community officials who rebelled against Moses and Aaron and were among Korah’s followers when they rebelled against the Lord.

Verse 10: The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire devoured the 250 men. And they served as a warning sign.

Verse 12: The descendants of Simeon by their clans were: through Nemuel, the Nemuelite clan; through Jamin, the Jaminite clan; through Jakin, the Jakinite clan;

Verse 13: through Zerah, the Zerahite clan; through Shaul, the Shaulite clan.

Verse 14: These were the clans of Simeon; there were 22,200 men.

Verse 15: The descendants of Gad by their clans were: through Zephon, the Zephonite clan; through Haggi, the Haggite clan; through Shuni, the Shunite clan;

Verse 16: through Ozni, the Oznite clan; through Eri, the Erite clan;

Verse 17: through Arodi, the Arodite clan; through Areli, the Arelite clan.

Verse 18: These were the clans of Gad; those numbered were 40,500.

Verse 19: Er and Onan were sons of Judah, but they died in Canaan.

Verse 20: The descendants of Judah by their clans were: through Shelah, the Shelanite clan; through Perez, the Perezite clan; through Zerah, the Zerahite clan.

Verse 21: The descendants of Perez were: through Hezron, the Hezronite clan; through Hamul, the Hamulite clan.

Verse 22: These were the clans of Judah; those numbered were 76,500.

Verse 23: The descendants of Issachar by their clans were: through Tola, the Tolaite clan; through Puah, the Puite clan;

Verse 24: through Jashub, the Jashubite clan; through Shimron, the Shimronite clan.

Verse 25: These were the clans of Issachar; those numbered were 64,300.

Verse 26: The descendants of Zebulun by their clans were: through Sered, the Seredite clan; through Elon, the Elonite clan; through Jahleel, the Jahleelite clan.

Verse 27: These were the clans of Zebulun; those numbered were 60,500.

Verse 28: The descendants of Joseph by their clans through Manasseh and Ephraim were:

Verse 29: The descendants of Manasseh: through Makir, the Makirite clan (Makir was the father of Gilead); through Gilead, the Gileadite clan.

Verse 30: These were the descendants of Gilead: through Iezer, the Iezerite clan; through Helek, the Helekite clan;

Verse 31: through Asriel, the Asrielite clan; through Shechem, the Shechemite clan;

Verse 32: through Shemida, the Shemidaite clan; through Hepher, the Hepherite clan.

Verse 33: (Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons; he had only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.)

Verse 34: These were the clans of Manasseh; those numbered were 52,700.

Verse 35: These were the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: through Shuthelah, the Shuthelahite clan; through Beker, the Bekerite clan; through Tahan, the Tahanite clan.

Verse 36: These were the descendants of Shuthelah: through Eran, the Eranite clan.

Verse 37: These were the clans of Ephraim; those numbered were 32,500. These were the descendants of Joseph by their clans.

Verse 38: The descendants of Benjamin by their clans were: through Bela, the Belaite clan; through Ashbel, the Ashbelite clan; through Ahiram, the Ahiramite clan;

Verse 39: through Shupham, the Shuphamite clan; through Hupham, the Huphamite clan.

Verse 40: The descendants of Bela through Ard and Naaman were: through Ard, the Ardite clan; through Naaman, the Naamite clan.

Verse 41: These were the clans of Benjamin; those numbered were 45,600.

Verse 42: These were the descendants of Dan by their clans: through Shuham, the Shuhamite clan. These were the clans of Dan:

Verse 43: All of them were Shuhamite clans; and those numbered were 64,400.

Verse 44: The descendants of Asher by their clans were: through Imnah, the Imnite clan; through Ishvi, the Ishvite clan; through Beriah, the Beriite clan;

Verse 45: and through the descendants of Beriah: through Heber, the Heberite clan; through Malkiel, the Malkielite clan.

Verse 46: (Asher had a daughter named Serah.)

Verse 47: These were the clans of Asher; those numbered were 53,400.

Verse 48: The descendants of Naphtali by their clans were: through Jahzeel, the Jahzeelite clan; through Guni, the Gunite clan;

Verse 49: through Jezer, the Jezerite clan; through Shillem, the Shillemite clan.

Verse 50: These were the clans of Naphtali; those numbered were 45,400.

Verse 51: The total number of the men of Israel was 601,730.

Verse 52: The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 53: “The land is to be allotted to them as an inheritance based on the number of names.

Verse 54: To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one; each is to receive its inheritance according to the number of those listed.

Verse 55: Be sure that the land is distributed by lot. What each group inherits will be according to the names for its ancestral tribe.

Verse 56: Each inheritance is to be distributed by lot among the larger and smaller groups.”

Verse 57: These were the Levites who were counted by their clans: through Gershon, the Gershonite clan; through Kohath, the Kohathite clan; through Merari, the Merarite clan.

Verse 58: These also were Levite clans: the Libnite clan, the Hebronite clan, the Mahlite clan, the Mushite clan, the Korahite clan. (Kohath was the forefather of Amram;

Verse 59: the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, who was born to the Levites in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron, Moses and their sister Miriam.

Verse 60: Aaron was the father of Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

Verse 61: But Nadab and Abihu died when they made an offering before the Lord with unauthorized fire.)

Verse 62: All the male Levites a month old or more numbered 23,000. They were not counted along with the other Israelites because they received no inheritance among them.

Verse 63: These are the ones counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

Verse 64: Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai.

Verse 65: For the Lord had told those Israelites they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

Verse 1: Zelophehad’s Daughters The daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. They approached

Verse 2: the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly, and said,

Verse 3: “Our father died in the desert. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the Lord, but he died for his own sin and left no sons.

Verse 4: Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”

Verse 5: So Moses brought their case before the Lord

Verse 6: and the Lord said to him,

Verse 7: “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and turn their father’s inheritance over to them.

Verse 8: “Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, turn his inheritance over to his daughter.

Verse 9: If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers.

Verse 10: If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers.

Verse 11: If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to be a legal requirement for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

Verse 12: Joshua to Succeed Moses Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain in the Abarim range and see the land I have given the Israelites.

Verse 13: After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was,

Verse 14: for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes.” (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)

Verse 15: Moses said to the Lord,

Verse 16: “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community

Verse 17: to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

Verse 18: So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand on him.

Verse 19: Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence.

Verse 20: Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him.

Verse 21: He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.”

Verse 22: Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly.

Verse 23: Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.

Verse 1: Daily Offerings The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 2: “Give this command to the Israelites and say to them: ‘See that you present to me at the appointed time the food for my offerings made by fire, as an aroma pleasing to me.’

Verse 3: Say to them: ‘This is the offering made by fire that you are to present to the Lord: two lambs a year old without defect, as a regular burnt offering each day.

Verse 4: Prepare one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight,

Verse 5: together with a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives.

Verse 6: This is the regular burnt offering instituted at Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire.

Verse 7: The accompanying drink offering is to be a quarter of a hin of fermented drink with each lamb. Pour out the drink offering to the Lord at the sanctuary.

Verse 8: Prepare the second lamb at twilight, along with the same kind of grain offering and drink offering that you prepare in the morning. This is an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

Verse 9: Sabbath Offerings “‘On the Sabbath day, make an offering of two lambs a year old without defect, together with its drink offering and a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil.

Verse 10: This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

Verse 11: Monthly Offerings “‘On the first of every month, present to the Lord a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Verse 12: With each bull there is to be a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil;

Verse 13: and with each lamb, a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil. This is for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire.

Verse 14: With each bull there is to be a drink offering of half a hin of wine; with the ram, a third of a hin; and with each lamb, a quarter of a hin. This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon during the year.

Verse 15: Besides the regular burnt offering with its drink offering, one male goat is to be presented to the Lord as a sin offering.

Verse 16: The Passover “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month the Lord’s Passover is to be held.

Verse 17: On the fifteenth day of this month there is to be a festival; for seven days eat bread made without yeast.

Verse 18: On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.

Verse 19: Present to the Lord an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Verse 20: With each bull prepare a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths;

Verse 21: and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth.

Verse 22: Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.

Verse 23: Prepare these in addition to the regular morning burnt offering.

Verse 24: In this way prepare the food for the offering made by fire every day for seven days as an aroma pleasing to the Lord; it is to be prepared in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

Verse 25: On the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.

Verse 26: Feast of Weeks “‘On the day of firstfruits, when you present to the Lord an offering of new grain during the Feast of Weeks, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.

Verse 27: Present a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

Verse 28: With each bull there is to be a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths;

Verse 29: and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth.

Verse 30: Include one male goat to make atonement for you.

Verse 31: Prepare these together with their drink offerings, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering. Be sure the animals are without defect.

Verse 18: With the bulls, rams and lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

Verse 1: Feast of Trumpets “‘On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets.

Verse 2: As an aroma pleasing to the Lord, prepare a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Verse 3: With the bull prepare a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths;

Verse 4: and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth.

Verse 5: Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.

Verse 6: These are in addition to the monthly and daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and drink offerings as specified. They are offerings made to the Lord by fire—a pleasing aroma.

Verse 7: Day of Atonement “‘On the tenth day of this seventh month hold a sacred assembly. You must deny yourselves and do no work.

Verse 8: Present as an aroma pleasing to the Lord a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Verse 9: With the bull prepare a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths;

Verse 10: and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth.

Verse 11: Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering for atonement and the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

Verse 12: Feast of Tabernacles “‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. Celebrate a festival to the Lord for seven days.

Verse 13: Present an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the Lord, a burnt offering of thirteen young bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Verse 14: With each of the thirteen bulls prepare a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with each of the two rams, two-tenths;

Verse 15: and with each of the fourteen lambs, one-tenth.

Verse 16: Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

Verse 17: “‘On the second day prepare twelve young bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Verse 19: Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

Verse 20: “‘On the third day prepare eleven bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Verse 21: With the bulls, rams and lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

Verse 22: Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

Verse 23: “‘On the fourth day prepare ten bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Verse 24: With the bulls, rams and lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

Verse 25: Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

Verse 26: “‘On the fifth day prepare nine bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Verse 27: With the bulls, rams and lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

Verse 28: Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

Verse 29: “‘On the sixth day prepare eight bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Verse 30: With the bulls, rams and lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

Verse 31: Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

Verse 32: “‘On the seventh day prepare seven bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Verse 33: With the bulls, rams and lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

Verse 34: Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

Verse 35: “‘On the eighth day hold an assembly and do no regular work.

Verse 36: Present an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the Lord, a burnt offering of one bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Verse 37: With the bull, the ram and the lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

Verse 38: Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

Verse 39: “‘In addition to what you vow and your freewill offerings, prepare these for the Lord at your appointed feasts: your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings and fellowship offerings.’”

Verse 40: Moses told the Israelites all that the Lord commanded him.

Verse 1: Vows Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel: “This is what the Lord commands:

Verse 2: When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.

Verse 3: “When a young woman still living in her father’s house makes a vow to the Lord or obligates herself by a pledge

Verse 4: and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her vows and every pledge by which she obligated herself will stand.

Verse 5: But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand; the Lord will release her because her father has forbidden her.

Verse 6: “If she marries after she makes a vow or after her lips utter a rash promise by which she obligates herself

Verse 7: and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand.

Verse 8: But if her husband forbids her when he hears about it, he nullifies the vow that obligates her or the rash promise by which she obligates herself, and the Lord will release her.

Verse 9: “Any vow or obligation taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding on her.

Verse 10: “If a woman living with her husband makes a vow or obligates herself by a pledge under oath

Verse 11: and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her and does not forbid her, then all her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand.

Verse 12: But if her husband nullifies them when he hears about them, then none of the vows or pledges that came from her lips will stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the Lord will release her.

Verse 13: Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself.

Verse 14: But if her husband says nothing to her about it from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or the pledges binding on her. He confirms them by saying nothing to her when he hears about them.

Verse 15: If, however, he nullifies them some time after he hears about them, then he is responsible for her guilt.”

Verse 16: These are the regulations the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and his young daughter still living in his house.

Verse 1: Vengeance on the Midianites The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 2: “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”

Verse 3: So Moses said to the people, “Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites and to carry out the Lord’s vengeance on them.

Verse 4: Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel.”

Verse 5: So twelve thousand men armed for battle, a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel.

Verse 6: Moses sent them into battle, a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling.

Verse 7: They fought against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every man.

Verse 8: Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

Verse 9: The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder.

Verse 10: They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps.

Verse 11: They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals,

Verse 12: and brought the captives, spoils and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.

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

Verse 14: Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle.

Verse 15: “Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them.

Verse 16: “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the Lord in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the Lord’s people.

Verse 17: Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,

Verse 18: but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

Verse 19: “All of you who have killed anyone or touched anyone who was killed must stay outside the camp seven days. On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves and your captives.

Verse 20: Purify every garment as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood.”

Verse 21: Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is the requirement of the law that the Lord gave Moses:

Verse 22: Gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, lead

Verse 23: and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water.

Verse 24: On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean. Then you may come into the camp.”

Verse 25: Dividing the Spoils The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 26: “You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads of the community are to count all the people and animals that were captured.

Verse 27: Divide the spoils between the soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community.

Verse 28: From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the Lord one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep or goats.

Verse 29: Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s part.

Verse 30: From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.”

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

Verse 32: The plunder remaining from the spoils that the soldiers took was 675,000 sheep,

Verse 33: 72,000 cattle,

Verse 34: 61,000 donkeys

Verse 35: and 32,000 women who had never slept with a man.

Verse 36: The half share of those who fought in the battle was: 337,500 sheep,

Verse 37: of which the tribute for the Lord was 675;

Verse 38: 36,000 cattle, of which the tribute for the Lord was 72;

Verse 39: 30,500 donkeys, of which the tribute for the Lord was 61;

Verse 40: 16,000 people, of which the tribute for the Lord was 32.

Verse 41: Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s part, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Verse 42: The half belonging to the Israelites, which Moses set apart from that of the fighting men—

Verse 43: the community’s half—was 337,500 sheep,

Verse 44: 36,000 cattle,

Verse 45: 30,500 donkeys

Verse 46: and 16,000 people.

Verse 47: From the Israelites’ half, Moses selected one out of every fifty persons and animals, as the Lord commanded him, and gave them to the Levites, who were responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.

Verse 48: Then the officers who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—went to Moses

Verse 49: and said to him, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing.

Verse 50: So we have brought as an offering to the Lord the gold articles each of us acquired—armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.”

Verse 51: Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted from them the gold—all the crafted articles.

Verse 52: All the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds that Moses and Eleazar presented as a gift to the Lord weighed 16,750 shekels.

Verse 53: Each soldier had taken plunder for himself.

Verse 54: Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds and brought it into the Tent of Meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord.

Verse 37: And the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh and Kiriathaim,

Verse 1: The Transjordan Tribes The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock.

Verse 2: So they came to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community, and said,

Verse 3: “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon—

Verse 4: the land the Lord subdued before the people of Israel—are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock.

Verse 5: If we have found favor in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.”

Verse 6: Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here?

Verse 7: Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the land the Lord has given them?

Verse 8: This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land.

Verse 9: After they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them.

Verse 10: The Lord’s anger was aroused that day and he swore this oath:

Verse 11: ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—

Verse 12: not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.’

Verse 13: The Lord’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the desert forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.

Verse 14: “And here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of your fathers and making the Lord even more angry with Israel.

Verse 15: If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in the desert, and you will be the cause of their destruction.”

Verse 16: Then they came up to him and said, “We would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children.

Verse 17: But we are ready to arm ourselves and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. Meanwhile our women and children will live in fortified cities, for protection from the inhabitants of the land.

Verse 18: We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has received his inheritance.

Verse 19: We will not receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan.”

Verse 20: Then Moses said to them, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for battle,

Verse 21: and if all of you will go armed over the Jordan before the Lord until he has driven his enemies out before him—

Verse 22: then when the land is subdued before the Lord, you may return and be free from your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the Lord.

Verse 23: “But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.

Verse 24: Build cities for your women and children, and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”

Verse 25: The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, “We your servants will do as our lord commands.

Verse 26: Our children and wives, our flocks and herds will remain here in the cities of Gilead.

Verse 27: But your servants, every man armed for battle, will cross over to fight before the Lord, just as our lord says.”

Verse 28: Then Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and to the family heads of the Israelite tribes.

Verse 29: He said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites, every man armed for battle, cross over the Jordan with you before the Lord, then when the land is subdued before you, give them the land of Gilead as their possession.

Verse 30: But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must accept their possession with you in Canaan.”

Verse 31: The Gadites and Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the Lord has said.

Verse 32: We will cross over before the Lord into Canaan armed, but the property we inherit will be on this side of the Jordan.”

Verse 33: Then Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan—the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.

Verse 34: The Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,

Verse 35: Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,

Verse 36: Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and built pens for their flocks.

Verse 38: as well as Nebo and Baal Meon (these names were changed) and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.

Verse 39: The descendants of Makir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it and drove out the Amorites who were there.

Verse 40: So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, the descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there.

Verse 41: Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, captured their settlements and called them Havvoth Jair.

Verse 42: And Nobah captured Kenath and its surrounding settlements and called it Nobah after himself.

Verse 1: Stages in Israel’s Journey Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.

Verse 2: At the Lord’s command Moses recorded the stages in their journey. This is their journey by stages:

Verse 3: The Israelites set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover. They marched out boldly in full view of all the Egyptians,

Verse 4: who were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them; for the Lord had brought judgment on their gods.

Verse 5: The Israelites left Rameses and camped at Succoth.

Verse 6: They left Succoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the desert.

Verse 7: They left Etham, turned back to Pi Hahiroth, to the east of Baal Zephon, and camped near Migdol.

Verse 8: They left Pi Hahiroth and passed through the sea into the desert, and when they had traveled for three days in the Desert of Etham, they camped at Marah.

Verse 9: They left Marah and went to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.

Verse 10: They left Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

Verse 11: They left the Red Sea and camped in the Desert of Sin.

Verse 12: They left the Desert of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

Verse 13: They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.

Verse 14: They left Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

Verse 15: They left Rephidim and camped in the Desert of Sinai.

Verse 16: They left the Desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.

Verse 17: They left Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.

Verse 18: They left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

Verse 19: They left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez.

Verse 20: They left Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah.

Verse 21: They left Libnah and camped at Rissah.

Verse 22: They left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

Verse 23: They left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

Verse 24: They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

Verse 25: They left Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

Verse 26: They left Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

Verse 27: They left Tahath and camped at Terah.

Verse 28: They left Terah and camped at Mithcah.

Verse 29: They left Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah.

Verse 30: They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

Verse 31: They left Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan.

Verse 32: They left Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad.

Verse 33: They left Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.

Verse 34: They left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

Verse 35: They left Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber.

Verse 36: They left Ezion Geber and camped at Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.

Verse 37: They left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the border of Edom.

Verse 38: At the Lord’s command Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor, where he died on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt.

Verse 39: Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

Verse 40: The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.

Verse 41: They left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

Verse 42: They left Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

Verse 43: They left Punon and camped at Oboth.

Verse 44: They left Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, on the border of Moab.

Verse 45: They left Iyim and camped at Dibon Gad.

Verse 46: They left Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.

Verse 47: They left Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, near Nebo.

Verse 48: They left the mountains of Abarim and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

Verse 49: There on the plains of Moab they camped along the Jordan from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim.

Verse 50: On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho the Lord said to Moses,

Verse 51: “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,

Verse 52: drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places.

Verse 53: Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.

Verse 54: Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes.

Verse 55: “‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.

Verse 56: And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.’”

Verse 1: Boundaries of Canaan The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 2: “Command the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance will have these boundaries:

Verse 3: “‘Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern boundary will start from the end of the Salt Sea,

Verse 4: cross south of Scorpion Pass, continue on to Zin and go south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon,

Verse 5: where it will turn, join the Wadi of Egypt and end at the Sea.

Verse 6: “‘Your western boundary will be the coast of the Great Sea. This will be your boundary on the west.

Verse 7: “‘For your northern boundary, run a line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor

Verse 8: and from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath. Then the boundary will go to Zedad,

Verse 9: continue to Ziphron and end at Hazar Enan. This will be your boundary on the north.

Verse 10: “‘For your eastern boundary, run a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham.

Verse 11: The boundary will go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Kinnereth.

Verse 12: Then the boundary will go down along the Jordan and end at the Salt Sea. “‘This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.’”

Verse 13: Moses commanded the Israelites: “Assign this land by lot as an inheritance. The Lord has ordered that it be given to the nine and a half tribes,

Verse 14: because the families of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance.

Verse 15: These two and a half tribes have received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

Verse 16: The Lord said to Moses,

Verse 17: “These are the names of the men who are to assign the land for you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun.

Verse 18: And appoint one leader from each tribe to help assign the land.

Verse 19: These are their names: Caleb son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah;

Verse 20: Shemuel son of Ammihud, from the tribe of Simeon;

Verse 21: Elidad son of Kislon, from the tribe of Benjamin;

Verse 22: Bukki son of Jogli, the leader from the tribe of Dan;

Verse 23: Hanniel son of Ephod, the leader from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph;

Verse 24: Kemuel son of Shiphtan, the leader from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph;

Verse 25: Elizaphan son of Parnach, the leader from the tribe of Zebulun;

Verse 26: Paltiel son of Azzan, the leader from the tribe of Issachar;

Verse 27: Ahihud son of Shelomi, the leader from the tribe of Asher;

Verse 28: Pedahel son of Ammihud, the leader from the tribe of Naphtali.”

Verse 29: These are the men the Lord commanded to assign the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.

Verse 1: Towns for the Levites On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, the Lord said to Moses,

Verse 2: “Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns.

Verse 3: Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for their cattle, flocks and all their other livestock.

Verse 4: “The pasturelands around the towns that you give the Levites will extend out fifteen hundred feet from the town wall.

Verse 5: Outside the town, measure three thousand feet on the east side, three thousand on the south side, three thousand on the west and three thousand on the north, with the town in the center. They will have this area as pastureland for the towns.

Verse 6: Cities of Refuge “Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee. In addition, give them forty-two other towns.

Verse 7: In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns, together with their pasturelands.

Verse 8: The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few.”

Verse 9: Then the Lord said to Moses:

Verse 10: “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,

Verse 11: select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee.

Verse 12: They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that a person accused of murder may not die before he stands trial before the assembly.

Verse 13: These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge.

Verse 14: Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge.

Verse 15: These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites, aliens and any other people living among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.

Verse 16: “‘If a man strikes someone with an iron object so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.

Verse 17: Or if anyone has a stone in his hand that could kill, and he strikes someone so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.

Verse 18: Or if anyone has a wooden object in his hand that could kill, and he hits someone so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.

Verse 19: The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.

Verse 20: If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at him intentionally so that he dies

Verse 21: or if in hostility he hits him with his fist so that he dies, that person shall be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

Verse 22: “‘But if without hostility someone suddenly shoves another or throws something at him unintentionally

Verse 23: or, without seeing him, drops a stone on him that could kill him, and he dies, then since he was not his enemy and he did not intend to harm him,

Verse 24: the assembly must judge between him and the avenger of blood according to these regulations.

Verse 25: The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send him back to the city of refuge to which he fled. He must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

Verse 26: “‘But if the accused ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he has fled

Verse 27: and the avenger of blood finds him outside the city, the avenger of blood may kill the accused without being guilty of murder.

Verse 28: The accused must stay in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may he return to his own property.

Verse 29: “‘These are to be legal requirements for you throughout the generations to come, wherever you live.

Verse 30: “‘Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

Verse 31: “‘Do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. He must surely be put to death.

Verse 32: “‘Do not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a city of refuge and so allow him to go back and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.

Verse 33: “‘Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.

Verse 34: Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.’”

Verse 1: Inheritance of Zelophehad’s Daughters The family heads of the clan of Gilead son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, who were from the clans of the descendants of Joseph, came and spoke before Moses and the leaders, the heads of the Israelite families.

Verse 2: They said, “When the Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance to the Israelites by lot, he ordered you to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.

Verse 3: Now suppose they marry men from other Israelite tribes; then their inheritance will be taken from our ancestral inheritance and added to that of the tribe they marry into. And so part of the inheritance allotted to us will be taken away.

Verse 4: When the Year of Jubilee for the Israelites comes, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their property will be taken from the tribal inheritance of our forefathers.”

Verse 5: Then at the Lord’s command Moses gave this order to the Israelites: “What the tribe of the descendants of Joseph is saying is right.

Verse 6: This is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they please as long as they marry within the tribal clan of their father.

Verse 7: No inheritance in Israel is to pass from tribe to tribe, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal land inherited from his forefathers.

Verse 8: Every daughter who inherits land in any Israelite tribe must marry someone in her father’s tribal clan, so that every Israelite will possess the inheritance of his fathers.

Verse 9: No inheritance may pass from tribe to tribe, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits.”

Verse 10: So Zelophehad’s daughters did as the Lord commanded Moses.

Verse 11: Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah—married their cousins on their father’s side.

Verse 12: They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in their father’s clan and tribe.

Verse 13: These are the commands and regulations the Lord gave through Moses to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.