The Sons of Aaron^(A)

3 Now these are the ^(B)records^[a] of Aaron and Moses when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. ² And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the ^(C)firstborn, and ^(D)Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of the sons of Aaron, ^(E)the anointed priests, ^[b]whom he consecrated to minister as priests. ^4 (F)Nadab and Abihu had died before the Lord when they offered profane fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the presence of Aaron their father.

The Levites Serve in the Tabernacle

⁵ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ^6 (G)“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. ⁷ And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do ^(H)the work of the tabernacle. ⁸ Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. ⁹ And ^(I)you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to ^[c]him from among the children of Israel. ¹⁰ So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, ^(J)and they shall attend to their priesthood; ^(K)but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

¹¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹² “Now behold, ^(L)I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be ^(M)Mine, ¹³ because ^(N)all the firstborn are Mine. ^(O)On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.”

Census of the Levites Commanded^(P)

¹⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying: ¹⁵ “Number the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families; you shall number ^(Q)every male from a month old and above.”

¹⁶ So Moses numbered them according to the ^[d]word of the Lord, as he was commanded. ^17 (R)These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸ And these are the names of the sons of ^(S)Gershon by their families: ^(T)Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹ And the sons of ^(U)Kohath by their families: ^(V)Amram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ^20 (W)And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers’ houses.

²¹ From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimites; these were the families of the Gershonites. ²² Those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above—of those who were numbered there were seven thousand five hundred. ^23 (X)The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward. ²⁴ And the leader of the father’s house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. ^25 (Y)The duties of the children of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting included ^(Z)the tabernacle, ^(AA)the tent with ^(AB)its covering, ^(AC)the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, ^26 (AD)the screen for the door of the court, ^(AE)the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and the altar, and ^(AF)their cords, according to all the work relating to them.

^27 (AG)From Kohath came 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 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and above, there were eight thousand ^[e]six hundred ^[f]keeping charge of the sanctuary. ^29 (AH)The families of the children of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. ³⁰ And the leader of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of ^(AI)Uzziel. ^31 (AJ)Their duty included ^(AK)the ark, ^(AL)the table, ^(AM)the lampstand, ^(AN)the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, ^(AO)the screen, and all the work relating to them.

³² And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites, with oversight of those who kept charge of the sanctuary.

³³ From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. ³⁴ And those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above, were six thousand two hundred. ³⁵ The leader of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. ^(AP)These were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ And ^(AQ)the appointed duty of the children of Merari included the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all the work relating to them, ³⁷ and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords.

^38 (AR)Moreover those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tabernacle of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, ^(AS)keeping charge of the sanctuary, ^(AT)to meet the needs of the children of Israel; but ^(AU)the outsider who came near was to be put to death. ^39 (AV)All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, by their families, all the males from a month old and above, were twenty-two thousand.

Levites Dedicated Instead of the Firstborn

⁴⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses: ^(AW)“Number^[g] all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and above, and take the number of their names. ^41 (AX)And you shall take the Levites for Me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the children of Israel.” ⁴² So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the children of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³ And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names from a month old and above, of those who were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

⁴⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ^45 (AY)“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites shall be Mine: I am the Lord. ⁴⁶ And for ^(AZ)the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, ^(BA)who are more than the number of the Levites, ⁴⁷ you shall take ^(BB)five shekels for each one ^(BC)individually; you shall take them in the currency of the shekel of the sanctuary, ^(BD)the shekel of twenty gerahs. ⁴⁸ And you shall give the money, with which the excess number of them is redeemed, to Aaron and his sons.”

⁴⁹ So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those who were redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰ From the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, ^(BE)one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁵¹ And Moses ^(BF)gave their redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Duties of the Sons of Kohath

4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: ² “Take a census of the sons of ^(BG)Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house, ^3 (BH)from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.

^4 (BI)“This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to ^(BJ)the most holy things: ⁵ When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down ^(BK)the covering veil and cover the ^(BL)ark of the Testimony with it. ⁶ Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of ^(BM)blue; and they shall insert ^(BN)its poles.

⁷ “On the ^(BO)table of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the ^[h]pitchers for pouring; and the ^(BP)showbread^[i] shall be on it. ⁸ They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. ⁹ And they shall take a blue cloth and cover the ^(BQ)lampstand of the light, ^(BR)with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it. ¹⁰ Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins, and put it on a carrying beam.

¹¹ “Over ^(BS)the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. ¹² Then they shall take all the ^(BT)utensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a carrying beam. ¹³ Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ They shall put on it all its implements with which they minister there—the firepans, the forks, the shovels, the ^[j]basins, and all the utensils of the altar—and they shall spread on it a covering of badger skins, and insert its poles. ¹⁵ And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then ^(BU)the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; ^(BV)but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.

“^(BW)These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.

¹⁶ “The appointed duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is ^(BX)the oil for the light, the ^(BY)sweet incense, ^(BZ)the daily grain offering, the ^(CA)anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: ¹⁸ “Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; ¹⁹ but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach ^(CB)the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and ^[k]appoint each of them to his service and his task. ^20 (CC)But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die.”

Duties of the Sons of Gershon

²¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²² “Also take a census of the sons of ^(CD)Gershon, by their fathers’ house, by their families. ^23 (CE)From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall number them, all who enter to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting. ²⁴ This is the ^(CF)service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and carrying: ^25 (CG)They shall carry the ^(CH)curtains of the tabernacle and the tabernacle of meeting with its covering, the covering of ^(CI)badger skins that is on it, the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, ²⁶ the screen for the door of the gate of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and altar, and their cords, all the furnishings for their service and all that is made for these things: so shall they serve.

²⁷ “Aaron and his sons shall ^[l]assign all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, all their tasks and all their service. And you shall ^[m]appoint to them all their tasks as their duty. ²⁸ This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting. And their duties shall be ^(CJ)under the ^[n]authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

Duties of the Sons of Merari

²⁹ “As for the sons of ^(CK)Merari, you shall number them by their families and by their fathers’ house. ^30 (CL)From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the service to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. ³¹ And ^(CM)this is ^(CN)what they must carry as all their service for the tabernacle of meeting: ^(CO)the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, ³² and the pillars around the court with their sockets, pegs, and cords, with all their furnishings and all their service; and you shall ^(CP)assign to each man by name the items he must carry. ³³ This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, as all their service for the tabernacle of meeting, under the ^[o]authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

Census of the Levites

^34 (CQ)And Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by their fathers’ house, ³⁵ from thirty ^(CR)years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting; ³⁶ and those who were numbered by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty. ³⁷ These were the ones who were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who might serve in the tabernacle of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

³⁸ And those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families and by their fathers’ house, ³⁹ from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting— ⁴⁰ those who were numbered by their families, by their fathers’ house, were two thousand six hundred and thirty. ^41 (CS)These are the ones who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all who might serve in the tabernacle of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord.

⁴² Those of the families of the sons of Merari who were numbered, by their families, by their fathers’ ^[p]house, ⁴³ from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting— ⁴⁴ those who were numbered by their families were three thousand two hundred. ⁴⁵ These are the ones who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered ^(CT)according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

⁴⁶ All who were ^(CU)numbered of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families and by their fathers’ houses, ^47 (CV)from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who came to do the work of service and the work of bearing burdens in the tabernacle of meeting— ⁴⁸ those who were numbered were eight thousand five hundred and eighty.

⁴⁹ According to the commandment of the Lord they were numbered by the hand of Moses, ^(CW)each according to his service and according to his task; thus were they numbered by him, ^(CX)as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Law of the Nazirite

6 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman ^[a]consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, ^(A)to separate himself to the Lord, ^3 (B)he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴ All the days of his ^[b]separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.

⁵ ‘All the days of the vow of his separation no ^(C)razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. ⁶ All the days that he separates himself to the Lord ^(D)he shall not go near a dead body. ^7 (E)He shall not ^[c]make himself unclean even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. ^8 (F)All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the Lord.

⁹ ‘And if anyone dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall ^(G)shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. ¹⁰ Then ^(H)on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting; ¹¹ and the priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned in regard to the corpse; and he shall sanctify his head that same day. ¹² He shall consecrate to the Lord the days of his separation, and bring a male lamb in its first year ^(I)as a trespass offering; but the former days shall be ^[d]lost, because his separation was defiled.

¹³ ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite: ^(J)When the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall be brought to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ¹⁴ And he shall present his offering to the Lord: one male lamb in its first year without blemish as a burnt offering, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish ^(K)as a sin offering, one ram without blemish ^(L)as a peace offering, ¹⁵ a basket of unleavened bread, ^(M)cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, unleavened wafers ^(N)anointed with oil, and their grain offering with their ^(O)drink offerings.

¹⁶ ‘Then the priest shall bring them before the Lord and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering; ¹⁷ and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall also offer its grain offering and its drink offering. ^18 (P)Then the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offering.

¹⁹ ‘And the priest shall take the ^(Q)boiled shoulder of the ram, one ^(R)unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and ^(S)put them upon the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated hair, ²⁰ and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord; ^(T)they are holy for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.’

²¹ “This is the law of the Nazirite who vows to the Lord the offering for his separation, and besides that, whatever else his hand is able to provide; according to the vow which he takes, so he must do according to the law of his separation.”

The Priestly Blessing

²² And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²³ “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them:

^27 (AA)“So they shall ^[f]put My name on the children of Israel, and ^(AB)I will bless them.”

The People Complain

11 Now ^(A)when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; ^(B)for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the ^(C)fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. ² Then the people ^(D)cried out to Moses, and when Moses ^(E)prayed to the Lord, the fire was ^[a]quenched. ³ So he called the name of the place ^[b]Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them.

⁴ Now the ^(F)mixed multitude who were among them ^[c]yielded to ^(G)intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: ^(H)“Who will give us meat to eat? ^5 (I)We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; ⁶ but now ^(J)our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”

⁷ Now ^(K)the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. ⁸ The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and ^(L)its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. ⁹ And ^(M)when the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it.

¹⁰ Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and ^(N)the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased. ^11 (O)So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the ^[d]burden of all these people on me? ¹² Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, ^(P)‘Carry them in your bosom, as a ^(Q)guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You ^(R)swore^[e] to their fathers? ^13 (S)Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ ^14 (T)I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and ^(U)do not let me see my wretchedness!”

The Seventy Elders

¹⁶ So the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to Me ^(V)seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and ^(W)officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. ¹⁷ Then I will come down and talk with you there. ^(X)I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone. ¹⁸ Then you shall say to the people, ^[f]‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept ^(Y)in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. ¹⁹ You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, ^20 (Z)but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have ^(AA)despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, ^(AB)“Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?” ’ ”

²¹ And Moses said, ^(AC)“The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.’ ^22 (AD)Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?”

²³ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(AE)“Has^[g] the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether ^(AF)what I say will happen to you or not.”

²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he ^(AG)gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. ²⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, ^(AH)when the Spirit rested upon them, that ^(AI)they prophesied, ^[h]although they never did so again.

²⁶ But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who ^(AJ)had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

²⁸ So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, ^(AK)forbid them!”

²⁹ Then Moses said to him, “Are you ^[i]zealous for my sake? ^(AL)Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” ³⁰ And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

The Lord Sends Quail

³¹ Now a ^(AM)wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground. ³² And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten ^(AN)homers); and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. ³³ But while the ^(AO)meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. ³⁴ So he called the name of that place ^[j]Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving.

^35 (AP)From Kibroth Hattaavah the people moved to Hazeroth, and camped at Hazeroth.

Dissension of Aaron and Miriam

12 Then ^(AQ)Miriam and Aaron ^[k]spoke ^(AR)against Moses because of the ^[l]Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for ^(AS)he had married an Ethiopian woman. ² So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through ^(AT)Moses? ^(AU)Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord ^(AV)heard it. ³ (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)

^4 (AW)Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. ^5 (AX)Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. ⁶ Then He said,

⁹ So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. ¹⁰ And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, ^(BH)suddenly Miriam became ^(BI)leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper. ¹¹ So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please ^(BJ)do not lay ^[o]this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. ¹² Please ^(BK)do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!”

¹³ So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Please ^(BL)heal her, O God, I pray!”

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but ^(BM)spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be ^(BN)shut^[p] out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again.” ^15 (BO)So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. ¹⁶ And afterward the people moved from ^(BP)Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

Spies Sent into Canaan^(BQ)

13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^2 (BR)“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

³ So Moses sent them ^(BS)from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. ⁴ Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; ⁵ from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; ^6 (BT)from the tribe of Judah, ^(BU)Caleb the son of Jephunneh; ⁷ from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; ⁸ from the tribe of Ephraim, ^[q]Hoshea the son of Nun; ⁹ from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; ¹⁰ from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; ¹¹ from the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; ¹² from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; ¹³ from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; ¹⁴ from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; ¹⁵ from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

¹⁶ These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to ^[r]spy out the land. And Moses called ^(BV)Hoshea^[s] the son of Nun, Joshua.

¹⁷ Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to ^(BW)the mountains, ¹⁸ and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; ¹⁹ whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; ²⁰ whether the land is ^[t]rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. ^(BX)Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

²¹ So they went up and spied out the land ^(BY)from the Wilderness of Zin as far as ^(BZ)Rehob, near the entrance of ^(CA)Hamath. ²² And they went up through the South and came to ^(CB)Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of ^(CC)Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ^23 (CD)Then they came to the ^[u]Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ The place was called the Valley of ^[v]Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. ²⁵ And they returned from spying out the land after forty days.

²⁶ Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at ^(CE)Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly ^[w]flows with ^(CF)milk and honey, ^(CG)and this is its fruit. ²⁸ Nevertheless the ^(CH)people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of ^(CI)Anak there. ^29 (CJ)The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”

³⁰ Then ^(CK)Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

^31 (CL)But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” ³² And they ^(CM)gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and ^(CN)all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. ³³ There we saw the ^[x]giants (^(CO)the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were ^(CP)like^[y] grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were ^(CQ)in their sight.”

Israel Refuses to Enter Canaan

14 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people ^(CR)wept that night. ^2 (CS)And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! ³ Why has the Lord brought us to this land to ^[z]fall by the sword, that our wives and ^(CT)children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, ^(CU)“Let us select a leader and ^(CV)return to Egypt.”

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron ^[aa]fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

⁶ But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ⁷ and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: ^(CW)“The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ⁸ If the Lord ^(CX)delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ^(CY)‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ ⁹ Only ^(CZ)do not rebel against the Lord, ^(DA)nor fear the people of the land, for ^(DB)they^[ab] are our bread; their protection has departed from them, ^(DC)and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”

^10 (DD)And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now ^(DE)the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.

Moses Intercedes for the People

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses: “How long will these people ^(DF)reject^[ac] Me? And how long will they not ^(DG)believe Me, with all the ^[ad]signs which I have performed among them? ¹² I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will ^(DH)make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

¹³ And ^(DI)Moses said to the Lord: ^(DJ)“Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them, ¹⁴ and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have ^(DK)heard that You, Lord, are among these people; that You, Lord, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying, ¹⁶ ‘Because the Lord was not ^(DL)able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, ^18 (DM)‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, ^(DN)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’ ^19 (DO)Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, ^(DP)according to the greatness of Your mercy, just ^(DQ)as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

²⁰ Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, ^(DR)according to your word; ²¹ but truly, as I live, ^(DS)all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord— ^22 (DT)because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now ^(DU)these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, ²³ they certainly shall not ^(DV)see the land of which I ^[ae]swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. ²⁴ But My servant ^(DW)Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and ^(DX)has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. ²⁵ Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and ^(DY)move out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.”

Death Sentence on the Rebels

²⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ^27 (DZ)“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? ^(EA)I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. ²⁸ Say to them, ^(EB)‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: ²⁹ The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, ^(EC)all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. ^30 (ED)Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I ^[af]swore I would make you dwell in. ^31 (EE)But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall ^[ag]know the land which ^(EF)you have despised. ³² But as for you, ^(EG)your^[ah] carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. ³³ And your sons shall ^(EH)be ^[ai]shepherds in the wilderness ^(EI)forty years, and ^(EJ)bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. ^34 (EK)According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, ^(EL)forty days, for each day you shall bear your ^[aj]guilt one year, namely forty years, ^(EM)and you shall know My ^[ak]rejection. ^35 (EN)I the Lord have spoken this. I will surely do so to all ^(EO)this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’ ”

³⁶ Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land, ³⁷ those very men who brought the evil report about the land, ^(EP)died by the plague before the Lord. ^38 (EQ)But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.

A Futile Invasion Attempt^(ER)

³⁹ Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, ^(ES)and the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, ^(ET)“Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!”

⁴¹ And Moses said, “Now why do you ^[al]transgress the command of the Lord? For this will not succeed. ^42 (EU)Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. ⁴³ For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; ^(EV)because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.”

^44 (EW)But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as ^(EX)Hormah.