The Sabbatical Year and Year of Jubilee

25 The Lord then spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I am going to give you, then the land shall have a Sabbath to the Lord. ³ For ^(A)six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its produce, ⁴ but during ^(B)the seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath rest, a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. ⁵ You shall not reap your harvest’s ^[a]aftergrowth, and you shall not gather your grapes of untrimmed vines; the land shall have a sabbatical year. ^6 (C)All of you shall have the Sabbath produce of the land as food; for yourself, your male and female slaves, and your hired worker and your foreign resident, those who live as strangers among you. ⁷ Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its produce to eat.

⁸ ‘You are also to count off seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven Sabbaths of years, that is, forty-nine years. ⁹ You shall then sound a ram’s horn ^[b]abroad on ^(D)the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. ¹⁰ So you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and ^(E)proclaim ^[c]a release throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, ^[d]and ^(F)each of you shall return to his own property, ^[e]and each of you shall return to his family. ¹¹ You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor harvest its aftergrowth, nor gather grapes from its untrimmed vines. ¹² For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its produce from the field.

¹³ ‘^(G)On this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his own property. ¹⁴ Furthermore, if you make a sale to your friend, or buy from your friend’s hand, ^(H)you shall not ^[f]wrong one another. ¹⁵ Corresponding to the number of years after the jubilee, you shall buy from your ^[g]friend; he is to sell to you according to the number of years of crops. ^16 (I)In proportion to ^[h]a greater number of years you shall increase its price, and in proportion to ^[i]fewer years you shall decrease its price, because it is the number of crops that he is selling to you. ¹⁷ So ^(J)you shall not ^[j]wrong one another, but you shall ^[k]fear your God; for I am the Lord your God.

¹⁸ ‘You shall therefore ^[l]follow My statutes and keep My judgments so as to carry them out, so that ^(K)you may live securely on the land. ¹⁹ Then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it. ²⁰ But if you say, “^(L)What are we going to eat in the seventh year if we do not sow nor gather in our produce?” ²¹ then ^(M)I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the produce for three years. ²² When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat ^(N)old things from the produce, eating the old until the ninth year when its produce comes in.

The Law of Redemption

²³ ‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, because ^(O)the land is Mine; for ^(P)you are only strangers and residents with Me. ²⁴ So for every ^[m]piece of your property, you are to provide for the redemption of the land.

²⁵ ‘^(Q)If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor that he sells part of his property, then his closest ^[n]redeemer is to come and buy back what his relative has sold. ²⁶ Or in case someone has no redeemer, but ^[o]recovers to find sufficient means for its redemption, ^27 (R)then he shall calculate the years since its sale and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and so return to his property. ²⁸ But if ^[p]he has not found sufficient means to get it back for himself, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of its purchaser until the year of jubilee; but at the jubilee it shall ^[q]revert, so that ^(S)he may return to his property.

²⁹ ‘Likewise, if a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, then his redemption right remains valid until a full year after its sale; his right of redemption lasts a full year. ³⁰ But if it is not bought back for him within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently to its purchaser throughout his generations; it does not ^[r]revert in the jubilee. ³¹ The houses of the villages, however, which have no surrounding wall, shall be regarded ^[s]as open fields; they have redemption rights and ^[t]revert in the jubilee. ³² As for the ^(T)cities of the Levites, the Levites have a permanent right of redemption for the houses of the cities which are their possession. ³³ What, therefore, ^[u]belongs to the Levites may be redeemed, and a house sale ^[v]in the city of this possession ^[w]reverts in the jubilee, because the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the sons of Israel. ^34 (U)But pasture fields of their cities shall not be sold, for that is their permanent possession.

Of Poor Countrymen

³⁵ ‘^(V)Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his ^[x]means among you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a resident, so that he may live with you. ^36 (W)Do not take ^[y]any kind of interest from him, but ^[z]fear your God, so that your countryman may live with you. ³⁷ You shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food ^[aa]for profit. ^38 (X)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and ^(Y)to be your God.

³⁹ ‘Now ^(Z)if a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave’s service. ⁴⁰ He shall be with you as a hired worker, ^(AA)as if he were a foreign resident; he shall serve with you up to the year of jubilee. ⁴¹ He shall then leave you, he and his sons with him, and shall go back to his family, so that he may return to the property of his forefathers. ⁴² For they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt; they are not to be sold in a slave sale. ^43 (AB)You shall not rule over him with ^[ab]severity, but are to revere your God. ⁴⁴ As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you. ⁴⁵ You may also acquire them from the sons of the foreign residents who reside among you, and from their families who are with you, whom they will have produced in your land; they also may become your possession. ⁴⁶ You may also pass them on as an inheritance to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. ^(AC)But in respect to your countrymen, the sons of Israel, you shall not rule with ^[ac]severity over one another.

Of Redeeming a Person Who Is Poor

⁴⁷ ‘Now if the ^[ad]means of a stranger or of a foreign resident with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes poor in relation to him and sells himself to a stranger who is residing with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family, ⁴⁸ then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him, ⁴⁹ or his uncle, or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or ^[ae](AD)if he prospers, he may redeem himself. ⁵⁰ He then, with his purchaser, shall calculate from the year when he sold himself to him up to the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall correspond to the number of years calculated. It is like the days of a hired worker that he will be with him. ⁵¹ If there are still many years remaining, ^(AE)he shall refund part of his purchase price in proportion to them for his own redemption; ⁵² but if few years remain until the year of jubilee, he shall so calculate with him. In proportion to his years he is to refund the amount for his redemption. ⁵³ He shall be with him like a worker hired year by year; ^(AF)he shall not rule over him with ^[af]severity in your sight. ⁵⁴ Even if he is not redeemed by ^[ag]these means, ^(AG)he shall still leave in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him. ⁵⁵ For the sons of Israel are My servants; they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

Blessings of Obedience

26 ‘You shall not make for yourselves ^(AH)idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves ^(AI)a carved image or ^(AJ)a memorial stone, nor shall you place a ^(AK)figured stone in your land to bow down ^[ah]to it; for I am the Lord your God. ^2 (AL)You shall keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the Lord. ^3 (AM)If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, ⁴ then ^(AN)I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. ^5 (AO)Indeed, your threshing season will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. So you will eat your ^[ai]food to the full and ^(AP)live securely in your land. ^6 (AQ)I shall also grant peace in the land, so that ^(AR)you may lie down, with no one to make you afraid. ^(AS)I shall also eliminate harmful animals from the land, and ^(AT)no sword will pass through your land. ⁷ Instead, you will chase your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword; ^8 (AU)five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand; and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. ⁹ So I will turn toward you and ^(AV)make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will ^(AW)confirm My covenant with you. ¹⁰ And ^(AX)you will eat the old supply, and clear out the old because of the new. ^11 (AY)Moreover, I will make My ^[aj]dwelling among you, and My soul will not ^[ak]reject you. ^12 (AZ)I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. ^13 (BA)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and ^(BB)I broke your yoke and made you walk erect.

Penalties of Disobedience

¹⁴ ‘^(BC)But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, ¹⁵ if, instead, you ^(BD)reject My statutes, and if your soul loathes My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, but rather to ^(BE)break My covenant, ¹⁶ I, in turn, will do this to you: I will ^[al]summon a ^(BF)sudden terror against you, consumption and fever that will make the eyes fail and the ^(BG)soul languish; also, ^(BH)you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it. ¹⁷ And I will set My face against you so that you will be defeated before your enemies; and ^(BI)those who hate you will rule over you, and ^(BJ)you will flee when no one is pursuing you. ¹⁸ If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you ^(BK)seven times more for your sins. ¹⁹ I will also ^(BL)break down your pride of power; and I will make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze. ^20 (BM)Your strength will be consumed uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.

²¹ ‘Yet if you ^[am](BN)show hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you ^(BO)seven times according to your sins. ^22 (BP)I will also let loose among you the animals of the field, which will deprive you of your children and eliminate your cattle, and reduce your number so that ^(BQ)your roads become deserted.

²³ ‘^(BR)And if by these things you do not learn your lesson regarding Me, but you show hostility toward Me, ²⁴ then I in turn will ^(BS)show hostility toward you; and I, even I, will strike you ^(BT)seven times for your sins. ²⁵ I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute ^(BU)vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send a ^(BV)plague among you, so that you will be handed over to the enemy. ^26 (BW)When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread ^[an]in rationed amounts, so that you will ^(BX)eat and not be satisfied.

²⁷ ‘Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me, ²⁸ then ^(BY)I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I for My part will punish you seven times for your sins. ²⁹ Further, ^(BZ)you will eat the flesh of your sons, and you will eat the flesh of your daughters. ³⁰ I then ^(CA)will destroy your high places, and cut down your ^(CB)incense altars, and ^[ao]pile your ^[ap]remains on the ^[aq]remains of your idols, for My soul will loathe you. ³¹ I will turn your cities into ^(CC)ruins as well and make your ^(CD)sanctuaries desolate, and I will not ^(CE)smell your soothing aromas. ³² And I will make ^(CF)the land desolate ^(CG)so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled at it. ³³ You, however, I ^(CH)will scatter among the nations, and I will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become ruins.

³⁴ ‘^(CI)Then the land will restore its Sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and restore its Sabbaths. ³⁵ All the days of its desolation it will have the rest which it did not have on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it. ³⁶ As for those among you who are left, I will also bring ^(CJ)despair into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a scattered leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee ^[ar]as though from the sword, and they will fall. ^37 (CK)They will then stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand before your enemies. ³⁸ Instead, ^(CL)you will perish among the nations, and your enemies’ land will consume you. ^39 (CM)So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their wrongdoing in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the wrongdoing of their forefathers they will rot away with them.

⁴⁰ ‘But ^(CN)if they confess their wrongdoing and the wrongdoing of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me— ⁴¹ I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—^(CO)or if their uncircumcised heart is humbled so that ^(CP)they then make amends for their wrongdoing, ⁴² then I will remember ^(CQ)My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also ^(CR)My covenant with Isaac, and ^(CS)My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. ^43 (CT)For the land will be abandoned by them, and will restore its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their wrongdoing, ^[as]because they rejected My ordinances and their ^(CU)soul loathed My statutes. ⁴⁴ Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so ^(CV)loathe them as ^(CW)to destroy them, ^(CX)breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. ⁴⁵ But I will remember for them the ^(CY)covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, so that ^(CZ)I might be their God. I am the Lord.’”

^46 (DA)These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the sons of Israel ^[at]through Moses on Mount Sinai.

Rules concerning Assessments

27 Again, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘^(DB)When someone makes an explicit vow, he shall be valued according to your assessment of persons belonging to the Lord. ³ If your assessment is of a male from twenty years even to sixty years old, then your assessment shall be fifty shekels of silver, by ^(DC)the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁴ Or if ^[au]the person is a female, then your assessment shall be thirty shekels. ⁵ And if the person is from five years even to twenty years old, then your assessment for a male shall be twenty shekels, and for a female, ten shekels. ⁶ But if the person is from a month even up to five years old, then your assessment shall be ^(DD)five shekels of silver for a male, and for a female your assessment shall be three shekels of silver. ⁷ If the person is from sixty years old and upward, if a male, then your assessment shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female, ten shekels. ⁸ But if he is poorer than your assessment, then he shall be presented before the priest, and the priest shall assess him; ^(DE)according to ^[av]the means of the one who vowed, the priest shall assess him.

⁹ ‘Now if it is an animal of the kind that ^[aw]one can present as an offering to the Lord, any such animal that one gives to the Lord shall be holy. ^10 (DF)He shall not replace it nor exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; yet if he does exchange animal for animal, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. ¹¹ If, however, it is any unclean animal of the kind which ^[ax]one does not present as an offering to the Lord, then he shall place the animal before the priest. ¹² And the priest shall assess it ^[ay]as either good or bad; as you, the priest, assess it, so shall it be. ¹³ But if he should ever want to redeem it, then he shall add a fifth of it to your assessment.

¹⁴ ‘Now if someone consecrates his house as holy to the Lord, then the priest shall assess it ^[az]as either good or bad; as the priest assesses it, so shall it stand. ¹⁵ Yet if the one who consecrates it should want to redeem his house, then he shall add a fifth of your assessment price to it, so that it may be his.

¹⁶ ‘Again, if someone consecrates to the Lord part of the field of his own property, then your assessment shall be ^[ba]proportionate to the seed needed for it: a ^[bb]homer of barley seed at fifty shekels of silver. ¹⁷ If he consecrates his field as of the year of jubilee, according to your assessment it shall stand. ¹⁸ If he consecrates his field after the jubilee, however, then the priest shall calculate the price for ^[bc]him ^[bd]proportionate to the years that are left until the year of jubilee; and it shall be deducted from your assessment. ¹⁹ If the one who consecrates it should ever want to redeem the field, then he shall add a fifth of your assessment price to it, so that it may belong to him. ²⁰ Yet if he does not redeem the field, ^[be]but has sold the field to another person, it may no longer be redeemed; ²¹ and when it ^[bf]reverts in the jubilee, the field shall be holy to the Lord, like a field banned from secular use; ^(DG)it shall be for the priest as his property. ²² Or if he consecrates to the Lord a field which he has bought, which is not a part of the field of his own property, ²³ then the priest shall calculate for ^[bg]him the amount of your assessment up to the year of jubilee; and he shall on that day give your assessment as holy to the Lord. ²⁴ In the year of jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom he bought it, to whom the possession of the land belongs. ²⁵ Every assessment of yours, moreover, shall be by ^(DH)the shekel of the sanctuary. The shekel shall be twenty gerahs.

²⁶ ‘^(DI)However, a firstborn among animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the Lord, no one may consecrate; whether ox or sheep, it is the Lord’s. ²⁷ But if it is among the unclean animals, then he shall ^[bh]redeem it according to your assessment and add to it a fifth of it; and if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your assessment.

²⁸ ‘Nevertheless, ^(DJ)[bi]anything which someone sets apart to the Lord for ^[bj]destruction out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the field of his own property, shall not be sold nor redeemed. Anything set apart for destruction is most holy to the Lord. ²⁹ No ^[bk]one who may have been ^[bl]set apart among mankind shall be ransomed; he must be put to death.

³⁰ ‘Now ^(DK)all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord. ³¹ If, therefore, someone should ever want to redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it a fifth of it. ³² For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever ^(DL)passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord. ^33 (DM)He is not to be concerned whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; yet if he does exchange it, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. It shall not be redeemed.’”

^34 (DN)These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the sons of Israel on Mount Sinai.

The Census of Israel’s Warriors

1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on ^(A)the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ² “^(B)Take a ^[a]census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head ³ from ^(C)twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall ^[b]count them by their armies. ⁴ With you, moreover, there shall be a man of each tribe, ^(D)each one head of his father’s household. ⁵ These then are the names of the men who shall stand with you: ^(E)of the tribe of Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; ⁶ of the tribe of Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; ⁷ of the tribe of Judah, ^(F)Nahshon the son of Amminadab; ⁸ of Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; ⁹ of Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; ¹⁰ of the sons of Joseph: of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; of Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; ¹¹ of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; ¹² of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; ¹³ of Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; ¹⁴ of Gad, Eliasaph the son of ^(G)Deuel; ¹⁵ of Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan. ¹⁶ These are the men who were ^(H)called from the congregation, the leaders of their fathers’ tribes; they were the ^(I)heads of ^[c]divisions of Israel.”

¹⁷ So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, ¹⁸ and they assembled all the congregation on the ^(J)first day of the second month. Then they registered by ^(K)ancestry in their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, head by head, ¹⁹ just as ^(L)the Lord had commanded Moses. So he counted them in the wilderness of Sinai.

^20 (M)Now the sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ²¹ their numbered men of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.

^22 (N)Of the sons of Simeon, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, their numbered men, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, ^(O)whoever was able to go to war, ²³ their numbered men of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

^24 (P)Of the sons of Gad, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ²⁵ their numbered men of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.

^26 (Q)Of the sons of Judah, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ²⁷ their numbered men of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.

^28 (R)Of the sons of Issachar, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ²⁹ their numbered men of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.

^30 (S)Of the sons of Zebulun, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ³¹ their numbered men of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.

^32 (T)Of the sons of Joseph, namely, of the sons of Ephraim, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ³³ their numbered men of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.

^34 (U)Of the sons of Manasseh, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ³⁵ their numbered men of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.

^36 (V)Of the sons of Benjamin, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ³⁷ their numbered men of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.

^38 (W)Of the sons of Dan, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ³⁹ their numbered men of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.

^40 (X)Of the sons of Asher, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ⁴¹ their numbered men of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.

^42 (Y)Of the sons of Naphtali, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ⁴³ their numbered men of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.

⁴⁴ These are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron counted, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each of whom was of his father’s household. ⁴⁵ So all the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war in Israel, ⁴⁶ all the numbered men were ^(Z)603,550.

Levites Exempted

^47 (AA)The Levites, however, were not counted among them by their fathers’ tribe. ⁴⁸ For the Lord had spoken to Moses, saying, ⁴⁹ “Only the tribe of Levi ^(AB)you shall not count, nor shall you take their ^[d]census among the sons of Israel. ⁵⁰ And you shall ^(AC)appoint the Levites over the ^[e]tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over everything that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the ^[f]tabernacle. ^51 (AD)So when the tabernacle is to move on, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up. But ^(AE)the ^[g]layman who comes near it shall be put to death. ^52 (AF)So the sons of Israel shall camp, each man by his own camp, and each man by his own ^[h]flag, according to their armies. ^53 (AG)But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be ^(AH)no divine wrath against the congregation of the sons of Israel. ^(AI)So the Levites shall be responsible for service to the tabernacle of the testimony.” ⁵⁴ And the sons of Israel did so; in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so they did.

Arrangement of the Camps

2 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ² “^(AJ)The sons of Israel shall camp, each by his own ^[i]flag, with the banners of their fathers’ households; they shall camp around the tent of meeting ^[j]at a distance. ³ Now those who camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the flag of the camp of Judah, by their armies; and the leader of the sons of Judah: ^(AK)Nahshon the son of Amminadab, ⁴ and his army, their ^[k]numbered men: 74,600. ⁵ Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar; and the leader of the sons of Issachar: ^(AL)Nethanel the son of Zuar, ⁶ and his army, their numbered men: 54,400. ⁷ Then follows the tribe of Zebulun; and the leader of the sons of Zebulun: ^(AM)Eliab the son of Helon, ⁸ and his army, his numbered men: 57,400. ⁹ The total of the numbered men of the camp of Judah: 186,400, by their armies. ^(AN)They shall set out first.

¹⁰ “On the south side shall be the flag of the camp of Reuben by their armies; and the leader of the sons of Reuben: ^(AO)Elizur the son of Shedeur, ¹¹ and his army, their numbered men: 46,500. ¹² And those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon; and the leader of the sons of Simeon: ^(AP)Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, ¹³ and his army, their numbered men: 59,300. ¹⁴ Then follows the tribe of Gad; and the leader of the sons of Gad: ^(AQ)Eliasaph the son of ^[l]Deuel, ¹⁵ and his army, their numbered men: 45,650. ¹⁶ The total of the numbered men of the camp of Reuben: 151,450 by their armies. And ^(AR)they shall set out second.

¹⁷ “^(AS)Then the tent of meeting shall set out with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; just as they camp, so they shall set out, every man in his place by their flags.

¹⁸ “On the west side shall be the flag of the camp of ^(AT)Ephraim by their armies; and the leader of the sons of Ephraim: ^(AU)Elishama the son of Ammihud, ¹⁹ and his army, their numbered men: 40,500. ²⁰ Next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh; and the leader of the sons of Manasseh: ^(AV)Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, ²¹ and his army, their numbered men, 32,200. ²² Then follows the tribe of ^(AW)Benjamin; and the leader of the sons of Benjamin: ^(AX)Abidan the son of Gideoni, ²³ and his army, their numbered men, 35,400. ²⁴ The total of the numbered men of the camp of Ephraim: 108,100, by their armies. And ^(AY)they shall set out third.

²⁵ “On the north side shall be the flag of the camp of Dan by their armies; and the leader of the sons of Dan: ^(AZ)Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, ²⁶ and his army, their numbered men: 62,700. ²⁷ Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher; and the leader of the sons of Asher: ^(BA)Pagiel the son of Ochran, ²⁸ and his army, their numbered men: 41,500. ²⁹ Then follows the tribe of ^(BB)Naphtali; and the leader of the sons of Naphtali: ^(BC)Ahira the son of Enan, ³⁰ and his army, their numbered men: 53,400. ³¹ The total of the numbered men of the camp of Dan was 157,600. ^(BD)They shall set out last by their flags.”

³² These are the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households; the total of the numbered men of the camps by their armies, ^(BE)603,550. ^33 (BF)The Levites, however, were not counted among the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁴ So the sons of Israel did all this; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they camped by their flags, and so they set out, everyone by his family according to his father’s household.

Levite Priesthood Established

3 ^(BG)Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. ^2 (BH)These then are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the ^(BI)anointed priests, whom he ^[m]ordained to serve as priests. ^4 (BJ)But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered ^[n]strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests ^[o]in the lifetime of their father Aaron.

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “^(BK)Bring the tribe of Levi forward and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. ⁷ They shall perform the duties for ^[p]him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, to do the ^(BL)service of the tabernacle. ⁸ They shall also take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. ⁹ So you shall ^(BM)assign the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are exclusively assigned to him from the sons of Israel. ¹⁰ So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that ^(BN)they may ^[q]keep their priesthood, but ^(BO)the ^[r]layman who comes near shall be put to death.”

¹¹ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Now, behold, I ^(BP)have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every ^(BQ)firstborn, the firstborn of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. ¹³ For ^(BR)all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I fatally struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from the human firstborn to animals. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses ^(BS)in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, ¹⁵ “^[s](BT)Count the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall count.” ¹⁶ So Moses counted them according to the ^[t]word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded. ^17 (BU)These, then, are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸ And these are the names of the ^(BV)sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei; ¹⁹ and the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel; ²⁰ and the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households.

²¹ Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites. ²² Their numbered men, in the counting of every male from a month old and upward, their numbered men were 7,500. ²³ The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the ^[u]tabernacle westward, ²⁴ and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites: Eliasaph the son of Lael.

Duties of the Levites

²⁵ Now ^(BW)the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle and ^(BX)the tent, its covering, and ^(BY)the curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ²⁶ and ^(BZ)the curtains of the courtyard, ^(CA)the curtain for the entrance of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its ropes, according to all the service ^[v]concerning them.

²⁷ Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. ²⁸ In the counting of every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, performing the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹ The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, ³⁰ and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Kohathite families: ^[w]Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ³¹ Now ^(CB)their duties included ^(CC)the ark, ^(CD)the table, ^(CE)the lampstand, ^(CF)the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, the ^[x]curtain, and all the service ^[y]concerning them; ³² and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the head of the leaders of Levi, and he had the supervision of those who performed the duties of the sanctuary.

³³ Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. ³⁴ Their numbered men in the counting of every male from a month old and upward: 6,200. ³⁵ And the leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to ^(CG)camp on the northward side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ Now the appointment of duties of the sons of Merari included the framework of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its bases, all its equipment, and all the service concerning them, ³⁷ and the pillars around the courtyard with their bases, their pegs, and their ropes.

³⁸ Now those who were to ^(CH)camp in front of the tabernacle eastward, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for the obligation of the sons of Israel; but ^(CI)the ^[z]layman coming near was to be put to death. ³⁹ All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the ^[aa]command of the Lord by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were ^(CJ)twenty-two thousand.

Firstborn Redeemed

⁴⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “^(CK)Count every firstborn male of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward, and ^[ab]make a list of their names. ⁴¹ And you ^(CL)shall take the Levites for Me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the cattle of the sons of Israel.” ⁴² So Moses counted all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded him; ⁴³ and all the firstborn males, by the number of names from a month old and upward for their numbered men, were ^(CM)22,273.

⁴⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “^(CN)Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am the Lord. ^46 (CO)And as ^[ac]a redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess of the number of the Levites, ⁴⁷ you shall take ^(CP)five shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in ^(CQ)terms of the shekel of the sanctuary (^(CR)the shekel is twenty ^[ad]gerahs), ⁴⁸ and you shall give the money, the redemption price of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons.” ⁴⁹ So Moses took the redemption money from those who were in excess of the number of those redeemed by the Levites; ⁵⁰ from the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, 1,365. ⁵¹ Then Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, at the ^[ae]command of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Duties of the Kohathites

4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ² “Take a ^[af]census of the ^[ag]descendants of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ households, ³ from ^(CS)thirty years old and upward, even to fifty years old, everyone who can enter the service of ministry to do work in the tent of meeting. ⁴ This is the work of the ^[ah]descendants of Kohath in the tent of meeting, concerning the most holy things.

⁵ “When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down ^(CT)the veil of the curtain, and cover the ^(CU)ark of the testimony with it; ⁶ and they shall place a ^(CV)covering of ^[ai]fine leather on it, and spread over it a cloth of pure ^[aj]violet, and insert its carrying poles. ⁷ Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall also spread a cloth of violet and put on it the dishes, the pans, the sacrificial bowls, and the jugs for the drink offering; and ^(CW)the continual bread shall be on it. ⁸ And they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet material, and cover the same with a covering of fine leather, and they shall insert its carrying poles. ⁹ Then they shall take a violet cloth and cover the ^(CX)lampstand for the light, ^(CY)along with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all its oil containers, by which they attend to it; ¹⁰ and they shall put it and all its utensils in a covering of fine leather, and put it on the carrying ^[ak]bars. ¹¹ Over the golden altar they shall spread a violet cloth, and cover it with a covering of fine leather, and they shall insert its carrying poles; ¹² and they shall take all the utensils of service, with which they serve in the sanctuary, and put them in a violet cloth and cover them with a covering of fine leather, and put them on the carrying ^[al]bars. ¹³ Then they shall clean away the ^[am]ashes from the ^(CZ)altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ They shall also put on it all its utensils by which they serve in connection with it: the firepans, the forks, shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread a cover of fine leather over it and insert its carrying poles. ¹⁵ When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them by the poles, so that they will not touch the holy objects ^(DA)and die. These are the ^[an]things in the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

¹⁶ “Now the responsibility of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is ^(DB)the oil for the light, the ^(DC)fragrant incense, ^(DD)the continual grain offering, and ^(DE)the anointing oil—the responsibility of all the ^[ao]tabernacle and everything that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ¹⁸ “Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be eliminated from among the Levites. ¹⁹ Rather, do this for them so that they will live and ^(DF)not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his work and to his load; ²⁰ but ^(DG)they shall not come in to see the holy objects even for a moment, or they will die.”

Duties of the Gershonites

²¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²² “Take a ^[ap]census of the sons of Gershon ^[aq]also, by their fathers’ households, by their families; ²³ from ^(DH)thirty years old and upward to fifty years old you shall ^[ar]count them: all who can enter to perform service, to do the work in the tent of meeting. ²⁴ This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in carrying: ²⁵ they shall carry ^(DI)the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and ^(DJ)the covering of fine leather that is on top of it, and the curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ²⁶ and ^(DK)the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance of the gate of the courtyard that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their ropes and all the equipment for their service; and everything that is to be done ^[as]by them, ^[at]they shall perform. ²⁷ All the service of the sons of the Gershonites, that is, all their loads and all their work, shall be performed at the ^[au]command of Aaron and his sons; and you shall assign to them as a duty all their loads. ²⁸ This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting; and their duties shall be ^[av]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

Duties of the Merarites

²⁹ “As for the sons of Merari, you shall count them by their families, by their fathers’ households; ³⁰ from ^(DL)thirty years old and upward, even to fifty years old, you shall count them, everyone who can enter the service to do the work of the tent of meeting. ³¹ Now this is the duty of their loads, for all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, and its bases, ³² and the pillars around the courtyard and their bases, their pegs, and their ropes, with all their equipment and with all their service; and you shall assign by names of the men the items ^[aw]that each is to carry. ³³ This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the tent of meeting, ^[ax]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

³⁴ So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation counted the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by their fathers’ households, ³⁵ from ^(DM)thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter the service for work in the tent of meeting. ³⁶ Their numbered men by their families were 2,750. ³⁷ These were the numbered men of the Kohathite families, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the ^[ay]commandment of the Lord ^[az]through Moses.

³⁸ And the numbered men of the sons of Gershon by their families and by their fathers’ households, ³⁹ from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter the service for work in the tent of meeting— ⁴⁰ their numbered men by their families, by their fathers’ households, were 2,630. ⁴¹ These were the numbered men of the families of the sons of Gershon, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the ^[ba]commandment of the Lord.

⁴² And the numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari by their families, by their fathers’ households, ⁴³ from ^(DN)thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter the service for work in the tent of meeting— ⁴⁴ their numbered men by their families were 3,200. ⁴⁵ These were the numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the ^[bb]commandment of the Lord ^[bc]through Moses.

⁴⁶ All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel counted, by their families and by their fathers’ households, ⁴⁷ from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter to do the work of service and the work of carrying in the tent of meeting— ⁴⁸ their numbered men were ^(DO)8,580. ⁴⁹ According to the ^[bd]commandment of the Lord ^[be]through Moses, they ^(DP)were counted, everyone by his serving or carrying; so these were his numbered men, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

On Defilement

5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the sons of Israel that they ^(DQ)send away from the camp everyone with leprosy, everyone having a ^(DR)discharge, and everyone who is ^(DS)unclean because of contact with a dead person. ³ You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they do not defile their camp where I dwell ^(DT)in their midst.” ⁴ And the sons of Israel did so and sent them outside the camp; just as the Lord had spoken to Moses, that is what the sons of Israel did.

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Speak to the sons of Israel: ‘^(DU)When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against the Lord, and that person is guilty, ⁷ then ^[bf]he shall ^(DV)confess ^[bg]his sin which ^[bh]he has committed, and he ^(DW)shall make restitution in full for his wrong and add to it a fifth of it, and give it to him whom he has wronged. ⁸ But if the person has no ^[bi]redeemer to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution which is made for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, besides the ram of atonement, by which atonement is made for him. ^9 (DX)Also every ^[bj]contribution pertaining to all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the priest, shall be his. ¹⁰ So every person’s holy gifts shall be his; whatever anyone gives to the priest, it ^(DY)becomes his.’”

The Adultery Test

¹¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘If any man’s wife ^(DZ)goes astray and is unfaithful to him, ¹³ and a man has ^(EA)sexual relations with her and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she remains undiscovered, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act, ^14 [bk]if ^[bl]an attitude of ^(EB)jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has defiled herself, or if ^[bm]an attitude of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself, ¹⁵ the man shall then bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring as ^[bn]an offering for her a tenth of an ^[bo]ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of reminder, ^(EC)a reminder of wrongdoing.

¹⁶ ‘Then the priest shall bring her forward and have her stand before the Lord, ¹⁷ and the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware container; and ^[bp]he shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it in the water. ¹⁸ The priest shall then have the woman stand before the Lord and let down the hair of the woman’s head, and place the grain offering of reminder ^[bq]in her hands, that is, the grain offering of jealousy; and in the hand of the priest is to be the water of bitterness that brings a curse. ¹⁹ And the priest shall have her take an oath and shall say to the woman, “If no man has had sexual relations with you and if you have not ^(ED)gone astray into uncleanness, as you are under the authority of your husband, be ^[br]immune to this water of bitterness that brings a curse; ²⁰ if, however, you have ^(EE)gone astray, though under the authority of your husband, and if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has had sexual intercourse with you” ²¹ (then the priest shall have the woman ^(EF)swear with the oath of the curse, and the priest shall say to the woman), “may the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people by the Lord’s making your thigh ^[bs]shriveled and your ^[bt]belly swollen; ²² and this water that brings a curse shall go into your ^[bu]stomach, to make your belly swell up and your thigh ^[bv]shrivel.” And the woman ^(EG)shall say, “Amen, Amen.”

²³ ‘The priest shall then write these curses on a scroll, and he shall ^[bw]wash them off into the water of bitterness. ²⁴ Then he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings a curse, so that the water which brings a curse will go into her ^[bx]and cause bitterness. ²⁵ And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, and he shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar; ²⁶ and ^(EH)the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as its reminder offering and offer it up in smoke on the altar, and afterward he shall make the woman drink the water. ²⁷ When he has made her drink the water, then it will come about, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, that the water which brings a curse will go into her ^[by]and cause bitterness, and her belly will swell up and her thigh will ^[bz]shrivel, and the woman will become ^(EI)a curse among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be ^[ca]immune and conceive ^[cb]children.

²⁹ ‘This is the law of jealousy: when a wife, who is under the authority of her husband, ^(EJ)goes astray and defiles herself, ³⁰ or when ^[cc]an attitude of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife, he shall then have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest shall apply all of this law to her. ³¹ The man, moreover, will be free of ^[cd]guilt, but that woman shall ^(EK)bear the consequences of her ^[ce]guilt.’”

Law of the Nazirites

6 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes ^[cf]a special vow, namely, the vow of ^(EL)a ^[cg]Nazirite, to live as a Nazirite for the Lord, ³ he shall ^(EM)abstain from wine and ^[ch]strong drink; he shall ^[ci]consume no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. ⁴ All the days of his consecration he shall not eat anything that is produced from the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin.

⁵ ‘All the days of his vow of consecration ^(EN)no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days are fulfilled which he lives as a Nazirite for the Lord; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long.

⁶ ‘^(EO)All the days of his life as a Nazirite for the Lord he shall not come up to a dead person. ⁷ He ^(EP)shall not make himself unclean for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for his sister, when they die, because his consecration to God is ^[cj]on his head. ⁸ All the days of his consecration he is holy to the Lord.

⁹ ‘But if someone dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head of hair, then ^(EQ)he shall shave his head on the day when he becomes clean; ^(ER)he shall shave it on the seventh day. ¹⁰ Then on the eighth day he shall bring ^(ES)two turtledoves or two young doves to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting. ¹¹ And the priest shall offer ^(ET)one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him ^[ck]regarding his sin because of the dead person. And on that same day he shall consecrate his head, ¹² and shall live his days of consecration as a Nazirite for the Lord, and shall bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering; but the preceding days will ^[cl]not count, because his consecration was defiled.

¹³ ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite ^(EU)when the days of his consecration are fulfilled: he shall bring ^[cm]his offering to the entrance of the tent of meeting. ¹⁴ And he shall present his offering to the Lord: one male lamb a year old without defect as a burnt offering, one ^(EV)ewe lamb a year old without defect as a sin offering, one ram without defect as a peace offering, ¹⁵ and a basket of ^(EW)unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers spread with oil, along with ^(EX)their grain offering and their drink offering. ¹⁶ Then the priest shall present them before the Lord and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering. ¹⁷ He shall also offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall also offer its grain offering and its drink offering. ^18 (EY)The Nazirite shall then shave his consecrated head of hair at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and take the consecrated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings. ^19 (EZ)And the priest shall take the ram’s shoulder when it has been boiled, and one unleavened loaf from the basket and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the ^[cn]hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated hair. ²⁰ Then the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. It is holy for the priest, together with the breast offered as a wave offering, and the thigh offered as ^[co]a contribution; and ^(FA)afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.’

²¹ “This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord according to his consecration, in addition to what else ^[cp]he can afford; corresponding to his vow which he makes, so he shall do according to the law of his consecration.”

Aaron’s Benediction

²² Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘In this way ^(FB)you shall bless the sons of Israel. You are to say to them:

²⁷ So they shall ^[cr](FI)invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and then I will bless them.”

Offerings of the Leaders

7 Now on ^(FJ)the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle, he ^(FK)anointed it and consecrated it with all its furnishings, and the altar and all its utensils; he anointed them and consecrated them also. ² Then ^(FL)the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers’ households, ^(FM)made an offering (they were the leaders of the tribes; they were the ^[cs]supervisors over the ^[ct]numbered men). ³ When they brought their offering before the Lord, six ^(FN)covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart for every two of the leaders and an ox for each one, then they presented them in front of the tabernacle. ⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵ “Accept these things from them, that they may be ^[cu]used in the service of the tent of meeting, and you shall give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” ⁶ So Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ Two carts and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to ^(FO)their service, ⁸ and four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to ^(FP)their service, ^[cv]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. ⁹ But he did not give any to the sons of Kohath, because theirs was ^(FQ)the service of the holy objects, which they carried on the shoulder.

¹⁰ And the leaders offered the dedication offering ^[cw]for the altar ^[cx]when ^(FR)it was anointed, so the leaders offered their offering before the altar. ¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “They shall present their offering, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar.”

¹² Now the one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah; ¹³ and his offering was one silver ^[cy](FS)dish whose weight was 130 shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels ^(FT)in ^[cz]sanctuary shekels, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ¹⁴ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ¹⁵ one ^[da]bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ^16 (FU)one male goat as a sin offering; ¹⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of ^(FV)Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

¹⁸ On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, leader of Issachar, presented an offering; ¹⁹ he presented as his offering one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels in sanctuary shekels, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ²⁰ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ²¹ one bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ²² one male goat as a sin offering; ²³ and for the sacrifice of ^(FW)peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar.

²⁴ On the third day it was Eliab the son of Helon, leader of the sons of Zebulun; ²⁵ his offering was also one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels in sanctuary shekels, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ²⁶ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ²⁷ one bull, one ram, and one ^(FX)male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ²⁸ one male goat as a sin offering; ²⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon.

³⁰ On the fourth day it was Elizur the son of Shedeur, leader of the sons of Reuben; ³¹ his offering was also one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels in sanctuary shekels, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ³² one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ³³ one bull, one ram, and one ^(FY)male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ³⁴ one male goat as a sin offering; ³⁵ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur.

³⁶ On the fifth day it was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, leader of the sons of Simeon; ³⁷ his offering was also one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels in sanctuary shekels, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ³⁸ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ³⁹ one bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁴¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

⁴² On the sixth day it was ^(FZ)Eliasaph the son of Deuel, leader of the sons of Gad; ⁴³ his offering was also one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels in sanctuary shekels, both of them full of ^(GA)fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁴⁴ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ^45 (GB)one bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

⁴⁸ On the seventh day it was ^(GC)Elishama the son of Ammihud, leader of the sons of Ephraim; ⁴⁹ his offering was also one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels in sanctuary shekels, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁵⁰ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of ^(GD)incense; ^51 (GE)one bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁵² one male goat as a sin offering; ⁵³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.

⁵⁴ On the eighth day it was ^(GF)Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, leader of the sons of Manasseh; ⁵⁵ his offering was also one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels in sanctuary shekels, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁵⁶ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of ^(GG)incense; ⁵⁷ one bull, one ram, and one ^(GH)male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and for the ^(GI)sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

⁶⁰ On the ninth day it was ^(GJ)Abidan the son of Gideoni, leader of the sons of Benjamin; ⁶¹ his offering was also one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels in sanctuary shekels, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁶² one gold pan of ten shekels, full of ^(GK)incense; ⁶³ one bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one male goat as a ^(GL)sin offering; ⁶⁵ and for the sacrifice of ^(GM)peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.

⁶⁶ On the tenth day it was ^(GN)Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, leader of the sons of Dan; ⁶⁷ his offering was also one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels in sanctuary ^(GO)shekels, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁶⁸ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of ^(GP)incense; ⁶⁹ one bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁷¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

⁷² On the eleventh day it was ^(GQ)Pagiel the son of Ochran, leader of the sons of Asher; ⁷³ his offering was also one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels in sanctuary shekels, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁷⁴ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of ^(GR)incense; ⁷⁵ one bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ochran.

⁷⁸ On the twelfth day it was ^(GS)Ahira the son of Enan, leader of the sons of Naphtali; ⁷⁹ his offering was also one ^(GT)silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels in sanctuary shekels, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁸⁰ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁸¹ one bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁸² one male goat as a sin offering; ⁸³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan.

⁸⁴ This was ^(GU)the dedication offering ^[db]for the altar from the leaders of Israel ^[dc]when ^(GV)it was anointed: twelve silver dishes, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold pans, ⁸⁵ each silver dish weighing 130 shekels and each bowl seventy; all the silver of the utensils totaled 2,400 in sanctuary shekels; ⁸⁶ the twelve gold pans full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece in sanctuary ^(GW)shekels, all the gold of the pans totaled 120 shekels. ⁸⁷ All the oxen for the burnt offering totaled twelve bulls, all the rams, twelve, the male lambs one year old with their grain offering, twelve, and the male goats as a sin offering, twelve; ⁸⁸ and all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace offerings totaled twenty-four bulls, all the rams, sixty, the male goats, sixty, and the male lambs one year old, sixty. ^(GX)This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed.

⁸⁹ Now when ^(GY)Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above ^(GZ)the ^[dd]atoning cover that was on the ark of the testimony, from ^(HA)between the two ^[de]cherubim; so He spoke to him.

The Seven Lamps

8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you ^[df]mount the lamps, the seven lamps will ^(HB)provide light in the front of the lampstand.’” ³ Therefore Aaron did so; he ^[dg]mounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ^4 (HC)Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flower ornamentation it was hammered work; ^(HD)according to the ^[dh]pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Cleansing the Levites

⁵ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and ^(HE)cleanse them. ⁷ This is what you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle ^[di]purifying ^(HF)water on them, and have them ^[dj](HG)use a razor over their whole ^[dk]body, and they shall ^(HH)wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. ⁸ Then have them take a ^[dl]bull with ^(HI)its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and you shall take a second ^[dm]bull as a sin offering. ⁹ So ^(HJ)you shall present the Levites in front of the tent of meeting. ^(HK)You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰ and present the Levites before the Lord; and the sons of Israel ^(HL)shall lay their hands on the Levites. ¹¹ Aaron then shall ^[dn]present the Levites before the Lord as a ^(HM)wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may ^[do]qualify to perform the service of the Lord. ¹² Now ^(HN)the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls; then you are to offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³ And you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons so as to present them as a wave offering to the Lord.

¹⁴ “So you shall single out the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and ^(HO)the Levites shall be Mine. ¹⁵ Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the tent of meeting. But you shall cleanse them and ^(HP)present them as a wave offering; ¹⁶ for they are ^(HQ)exclusively given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself ^(HR)instead of the firstborn of every womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. ¹⁷ For ^(HS)every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the people and among the animals; on the day that I fatally struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for Myself. ¹⁸ But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel. ¹⁹ And ^(HT)I have given the Levites as ^[dp]a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no ^(HU)affliction among the sons of Israel due to ^[dq]their approaching the sanctuary.”

²⁰ So this is what Moses, Aaron, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel did to the Levites; according to everything that the Lord had commanded Moses regarding the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. ^21 (HV)The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; just as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

Retirement for the Levites

²³ Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “This is what applies to the Levites: from ^(HW)twenty-five years old and upward ^[dr]they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. ²⁵ But at the age of fifty years they shall ^[ds]retire from service in the work and not work anymore. ²⁶ They may, however, ^[dt]assist their brothers in the tent of meeting, ^(HX)to fulfill an obligation, but they themselves shall do no work. In this way you shall deal with the Levites in their obligations.”

The Passover

9 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in ^(HY)the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ² “Now the sons of Israel are to ^[du]celebrate the Passover at ^(HZ)its appointed time. ³ On the fourteenth day of this month, ^[dv]at twilight, you shall celebrate it at its appointed time; you shall celebrate it in accordance with all its statutes and all its ordinances.” ⁴ So Moses ^[dw]told the sons of Israel to celebrate the Passover.