Numbers 11-25

Legacy Standard Bible

The People Complain

11 Now the people became like ^(A)those who complain of calamity ^(B)in the ears of Yahweh. And Yahweh heard it and His anger was kindled, and the fire of Yahweh burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. ^2 (C)The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to Yahweh, and the fire ^[a]died out. ³ So the name of that place was called ^[b](D)Taberah because the fire of Yahweh burned among them.

⁴ And the ^(E)rabble who were among them ^[c]had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “^(F)Who will give us ^[d]meat to eat? ^5 (G)We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, ⁶ but now ^(H)our ^[e]appetite is dried up. There is nothing at all ^[f]to look at except this manna.”

^7 (I)Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of ^(J)bdellium. ⁸ The people would go about and gather it and grind it ^[g]between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of ^[h]cakes baked with oil. ^9 (K)And when the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall ^[i]with it.

Moses Complains

¹⁰ Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of Yahweh was kindled greatly, and it was evil in the sight of Moses. ^11 (L)So Moses said to Yahweh, “Why have You ^[j]allowed this evil toward Your slave? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me? ¹² Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who gave birth to them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a ^[k](M)nurse carries a nursing baby, to the land which ^(N)You swore to their fathers’? ¹³ Where am I to get meat to give to ^(O)all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!’ ^14 (P)I alone am not able to carry all this people because it is too heavy for me. ^15 (Q)So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”

The Spirit Rests upon the Elders

¹⁶ Yahweh therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me ^(R)seventy men from the elders of Israel, ^(S)whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers, and take them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. ^17 (T)Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of ^(U)the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone. ¹⁸ And say to the people, ‘^(V)Set yourselves apart as holy for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept ^(W)in the ears of Yahweh, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For it was good for us in Egypt.” Therefore Yahweh 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 [l]but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because ^(X)you have rejected Yahweh who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever go out from Egypt?”’” ²¹ But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.’ ²² Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?” ²³ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Is ^(Y)Yahweh’s ^[m]power limited? Now you shall see whether ^(Z)My word will happen for you or not.”

²⁴ So Moses went out and ^(AA)told the people the words of Yahweh. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. ^25 (AB)Then Yahweh came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.

²⁶ But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the ^[n]other Medad. And ^(AC)the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” ²⁸ Then ^(AD)Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “^(AE)Moses, my lord, restrain them.” ²⁹ But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? ^(AF)Would that all the people of Yahweh were prophets, that Yahweh would put His Spirit upon them!” ³⁰ Then Moses ^[o]returned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel.

The Quail and the Plague

^31 (AG)Now there went forth a wind from Yahweh, and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp and ^[p]about two ^[q]cubits over the surface of the ground. ³² And the people ^[r]spent all day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ^[s]ten ^(AH)homers), and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. ^33 (AI)While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of Yahweh was kindled against the people, and Yahweh struck the people with a very severe plague. ³⁴ So the name of that place was called ^[t](AJ)Kibroth-hattaavah because there they buried the people who had been greedy. ³⁵ From Kibroth-hattaavah ^(AK)the people set out for Hazeroth, and they ^[u]remained at Hazeroth.

Miriam and Aaron Speak Against Moses

12 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had taken as a wife (for he had taken a ^(AL)Cushite woman); ^2 (AM)and they said, “Has Yahweh indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And Yahweh heard it. ³ (Now the man Moses was ^(AN)very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) ⁴ Suddenly Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out. ^5 (AO)Then Yahweh came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called ^[v]Aaron and Miriam. And then both came forward, ⁶ and He said,

⁹ So the anger of Yahweh burned against them, and ^(AV)He went away. ¹⁰ But the cloud withdrew from over the tent, and behold, ^(AW)Miriam was leprous, as ^(AX)white as snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. ¹¹ Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I beg you, ^(AY)do not place this sin on us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. ¹² Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother’s womb!” ¹³ And Moses cried out to Yahweh, saying, “O God, ^(AZ)heal her, I pray!” ¹⁴ But Yahweh said to Moses, “If her father had but ^(BA)spit in her face, would she not bear her dishonor for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days ^(BB)outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again.” ¹⁵ So ^(BC)Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not set out until Miriam was received again.

¹⁶ Afterward, however, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

The Spies Sent into Canaan

13 Then ^(BD)Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, ² “^(BE)Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.” ³ So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the ^[w]command of Yahweh, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel. ⁴ These then were their names:

¹⁶ These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called ^(BH)Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

¹⁷ So Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up ^[x]there into ^(BI)the ^[y]Negev; then go up into the hill country. ¹⁸ And see what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many. ¹⁹ And how is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are they ^[z]like open camps or with fortifications? ^20 (BJ)And how is the land, is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not? ^[aa]Make an ^(BK)effort then to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

²¹ So they went up and spied out the land from ^(BL)the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, ^[ab](BM)at Lebo-hamath. ²² And they had gone up into ^(BN)the Negev and ^[ac]came to Hebron where ^(BO)Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the ^[ad]descendants of ^(BP)Anak were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before ^(BQ)Zoan in Egypt.)

²³ Then they came to the ^[ae]valley of ^[af](BR)Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men with some of the pomegranates and the figs. ²⁴ That place was called the valley of ^[ag]Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there.

The Spies Recount What They Saw

²⁵ Then they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, ²⁶ and went and came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel ^[ah]in the wilderness of Paran, at ^(BS)Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ Thus they recounted to him and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and ^(BT)it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and ^(BU)this is its fruit. ²⁸ Nevertheless, ^(BV)the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw ^(BW)the ^[ai]descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ Amalek is living in the land of ^(BX)the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and ^(BY)the Amorites are living in the hill country, and ^(BZ)the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”

³⁰ Then Caleb quieted the people ^[aj]before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we are surely able to overcome it.” ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “^(CA)We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” ³² So they gave out to the sons of Israel ^(CB)a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land, which we have passed through to spy out on, is ^(CC)a land that devours its ^[ak]inhabitants; and ^(CD)all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. ³³ There also we saw the ^(CE)Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and ^(CF)we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation ^[al]lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept ^[am]that night. ² And all the sons of Israel ^(CG)grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “^(CH)Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! ³ And why is Yahweh bringing us into this land, ^(CI)to fall by the sword? ^(CJ)Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, “^(CK)Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”

^5 (CL)Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. ⁶ And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ⁷ and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “^(CM)The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ^8 (CN)If Yahweh is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—^(CO)a land which flows with milk and honey. ⁹ But as for you, only ^(CP)do not rebel against Yahweh; and do not ^(CQ)fear the people of the land, for they are our ^[an]bread. Their ^[ao]protection has been removed from them, and Yahweh is with us; do not fear them.” ^10 (CR)But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then ^(CS)the glory of Yahweh appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

Moses Prays for the People

^11 (CT)Yahweh said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will ^(CU)they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have done in their midst? ¹² I will strike them with ^[ap](CV)pestilence and dispossess them, and I ^(CW)will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

^13 (CX)But Moses said to Yahweh, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your power You brought up this people from their midst, ¹⁴ and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O Yahweh, are in the midst of this people, for ^(CY)You, O Yahweh, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over 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 put this people to death as one man, ^(CZ)then the nations who have heard of Your fame will ^[aq]say, ¹⁶ ‘Because Yahweh ^(DA)was not able to bring this people into the land which He swore to them, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ So now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have ^[ar]declared, ¹⁸ ‘^(DB)Yahweh is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but ^(DC)He will by no means clear the guilty, ^(DD)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children ^[as]to the third and the fourth generations.’ ^19 (DE)Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

Evil Complainers

²⁰ So Yahweh said, “^(DF)I have pardoned them according to your word; ²¹ but indeed, ^(DG)as I live, ^[at](DH)all the earth will be filled with the glory of Yahweh. ²² Surely ^(DI)all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I have done in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet ^(DJ)have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, ^23 (DK)shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. ²⁴ But My servant Caleb, ^(DL)because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, ^[au](DM)I will bring into the land ^[av]which he entered, and his seed shall take possession of it. ^25 (DN)Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the ^[aw]Red Sea.”

²⁶ Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²⁷ “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are ^(DO)grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are ^[ax]making against Me. ²⁸ Say to them, ‘^(DP)As I live,’ declares Yahweh, ‘just as ^(DQ)you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you; ^29 (DR)your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all ^(DS)your ^[ay]numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. ³⁰ Surely you shall not come into the land in which I ^[az]swore to make you dwell, ^(DT)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. ^31 (DU)Your little ones, however, who you said would become plunder—I will bring them in, so that they will know the land which you have rejected. ^32 (DV)But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. ³³ And your sons shall be shepherds for ^(DW)forty years in the wilderness, and they will ^[ba]suffer for your ^[bb]unfaithfulness, until your corpses come to an end in the wilderness. ³⁴ According to the ^(DX)number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your ^[bc]guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. ^35 (DY)I, Yahweh, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall come to an end, and there they will die.’”

^36 (DZ)As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, ³⁷ even ^(EA)those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a ^(EB)plague before Yahweh. ³⁸ But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

Israel Struck Down

³⁹ Then Moses spoke ^(EC)these words to all the sons of Israel, and ^(ED)the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ^[bd]ridge of the hill country, saying, “^(EE)Here we are; we will go up to the place which Yahweh has promised because we have indeed sinned.” ⁴¹ But Moses said, “^(EF)Why then do you trespass against the ^[be]command of Yahweh, when it will not succeed? ^42 (EG)Do not go up, for Yahweh is not among you, so that you are not ^[bf]defeated before your enemies. ⁴³ For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following Yahweh. And Yahweh will not be with you.” ⁴⁴ But they went up heedlessly to the ^[bg]ridge of the hill country; neither ^(EH)the ark of the covenant of Yahweh nor Moses moved from the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as ^(EI)Hormah.

Offerings When Entering Canaan

15 Now Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² “^(EJ)Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land of your places of habitation, which I am going to give you, ³ then make ^(EK)an offering by fire to Yahweh, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to ^[bh](EL)fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your ^(EM)appointed times, to make a ^(EN)soothing aroma to Yahweh, from the herd or from the flock. ^4 (EO)And the one who brings his offering near shall bring near to Yahweh a grain offering of one-tenth of an ^[bi]ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a ^[bj]hin of oil, ⁵ and you shall prepare wine for the drink offering, one-fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for ^(EP)each lamb. ⁶ Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil; ⁷ and for the drink offering you shall bring near one-third of a hin of wine as a soothing aroma to Yahweh. ⁸ And when you prepare ^(EQ)a bull from the herd as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to ^[bk]fulfill a special vow, or for peace offerings to Yahweh, ⁹ then you shall bring near with the bull from the herd a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-half a hin of oil; ¹⁰ and you shall bring near as the drink offering one-half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to Yahweh.

¹¹ ‘Thus it shall be done for each ox, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats. ¹² According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do for everyone according to their number. ¹³ All who are native shall do these things in this manner, in bringing near an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to Yahweh.

Statute for the Sojourner

¹⁴ And if a sojourner sojourns with you, or one who may be among you throughout your generations, and he ^[bl]offers an offering by fire as a soothing aroma to Yahweh, just as you do so he shall do. ¹⁵ As for the assembly, there shall be ^(ER)one statute for you and for the sojourner who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the sojourner be before Yahweh. ¹⁶ There shall be ^(ES)one law and one judgment for you and for the sojourner who sojourns with you.’”

¹⁷ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where I am going to bring you, ¹⁹ then it shall be, that when you eat of the ^[bm](ET)food of the land, you shall ^[bn]raise up ^[bo]a contribution offering to Yahweh. ^20 (EU)Of the first of your ^[bp]dough you shall ^[bq]raise up a cake as a ^[br]contribution offering; as ^(EV)the ^[bs]contribution offering of the threshing floor, so you shall raise it up. ²¹ From the first of your ^[bt]dough you shall give to Yahweh a ^[bu]contribution offering throughout your generations.

²² ‘But when you ^(EW)unintentionally fail and do not observe all these commandments, which Yahweh has spoken to Moses, ²³ even all that Yahweh has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day when Yahweh commanded and onward throughout your generations, ²⁴ then it will be, if it is done ^(EX)unintentionally, hidden from the sight of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one bull from the herd for a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to Yahweh, ^(EY)with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the legal judgment, and one male goat for a sin offering. ²⁵ Then ^(EZ)the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they will be pardoned; for it was an error, and they have brought their offering, an offering by fire to Yahweh, and their sin offering before Yahweh, for their error. ²⁶ So all the congregation of the sons of Israel will be pardoned, with the sojourner who sojourns among them, for it happened to all the people through ^(FA)error.

²⁷ ‘Also if one person sins ^(FB)unintentionally, then he shall bring near a one year old female goat for a sin offering. ^28 (FC)And the priest shall make atonement before Yahweh for the person who goes astray when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him ^[bv]that he may be pardoned. ²⁹ You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the sojourner who sojourns among them. ³⁰ But the person who does anything with a ^(FD)high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, that one is blaspheming Yahweh; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. ³¹ Because he has ^(FE)despised the word of Yahweh and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; ^(FF)his ^[bw]guilt will be on him.’”

A Sabbath-breaker Put to Death

³² Now the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, and they found a man ^(FG)gathering wood on the sabbath day. ³³ And those who found him gathering wood brought him near to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation; ³⁴ and they put him in ^[bx]custody ^(FH)because it had not been ^[by]declared what should be done to him. ³⁵ Then Yahweh said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death; ^(FI)all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” ³⁶ So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him ^[bz]to death with stones, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

³⁷ Yahweh also spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁸ “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves ^(FJ)tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. ³⁹ And it shall be a tassel for you ^[ca]to look at and ^(FK)remember all the commandments of Yahweh, so as to do them and not ^[cb]follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, ⁴⁰ so that you may remember to do all My commandments and ^(FL)be holy to your God. ⁴¹ I am Yahweh your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am Yahweh your God.”

Korah Rises Up Against Moses

16 Now ^(FM)Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with ^(FN)Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took others, ² and they rose up before Moses, ^[cc]together with some of the sons of Israel, 250 leaders of the congregation, ^[cd](FO)those called upon by the assembly, men of renown. ³ Then they assembled together ^(FP)against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “^[ce](FQ)You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and ^(FR)Yahweh is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of Yahweh?”

⁴ And Moses heard this and ^(FS)fell on his face; ⁵ and he spoke to Korah and all his congregation, saying, “Tomorrow morning Yahweh will show who is His, and ^(FT)who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even ^(FU)the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. ⁶ Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all ^[cf]your congregation, ⁷ and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of Yahweh tomorrow; and the man whom Yahweh chooses shall be the one who is holy. ^[cg](FV)You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”

⁸ Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi, ^9 (FW)is it ^[ch]not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, ^(FX)to bring you near to Himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of Yahweh, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; ¹⁰ and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you ^(FY)seeking for the priesthood also? ¹¹ Therefore you and all your congregation are gathered together ^(FZ)against Yahweh; but as for Aaron, ^[ci]who is he that ^(GA)you grumble against him?”

¹² Then Moses sent ^[cj]a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. ¹³ Is it ^[ck]not enough that you have brought us up out of a ^(GB)land flowing with milk and honey ^(GC)to put us to death in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? ¹⁴ Indeed, you have not brought us ^(GD)into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of ^(GE)fields and vineyards. Would you ^[cl](GF)put out the eyes of ^[cm]these men? We will not come up!”

¹⁵ Then Moses became very angry and said to Yahweh, “^(GG)Do not regard their offering! ^(GH)I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” ¹⁶ And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your congregation be present before Yahweh tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron. ¹⁷ And each of you take his firepan and put incense on ^[cn]it, and each of you bring his censer near before Yahweh, 250 firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.” ¹⁸ So they each took his own censer and put fire on ^[co]it, and laid incense on ^[cp]it; and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And ^(GI)the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²¹ “^(GJ)Separate yourselves from among this congregation, ^(GK)that I may consume them instantly.” ²² But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, ^(GL)God of the spirits of all flesh, ^(GM)when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

²³ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘^(GN)Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

²⁵ Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, ²⁶ and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “^(GO)Turn aside now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, ^(GP)lest you be swept away in all their sin.” ²⁷ So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; but Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and ^(GQ)their sons and their little ones. ²⁸ And Moses said, “By this you shall know that ^(GR)Yahweh has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not from my heart. ²⁹ If these men die ^[cq]the death of all men or ^[cr]if they suffer the ^(GS)fate of all men, then Yahweh has not sent me. ³⁰ But ^(GT)if Yahweh creates an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they ^(GU)go down to Sheol alive, then you will know that these men have spurned Yahweh.”

³¹ And it happened that as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; ³² and ^(GV)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and ^(GW)all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. ³³ So they and all that belonged to them went down to Sheol alive; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. ³⁴ Then all Israel who were around them fled at their ^[cs]outcry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” ^35 (GX)Fire also came forth from Yahweh and consumed the ^(GY)250 men who were bringing near the incense.

^36 [ct]Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷ “Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the ^[cu]blaze, and you scatter ^[cv]the burning coals abroad; for they are holy. ³⁸ As for the censers of these ^[cw]men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, make them into hammered sheets for a plating of the altar, since they brought them near before Yahweh, and they are holy; and ^(GZ)they shall be for a sign to the sons of Israel.” ³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had brought near, and they hammered them out as a plating for the altar, ⁴⁰ as a ^[cx]memorial to the sons of Israel that ^(HA)no ^[cy]outsider who is not of the seed of Aaron should come near ^(HB)to burn incense before Yahweh; so that he will not become like Korah and his congregation—just as Yahweh had spoken to him by the hand of Moses.

Grumbling and Plague

⁴¹ But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel ^(HC)grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the people of Yahweh.” ⁴² It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and ^(HD)the glory of Yahweh appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴ and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “^[cz](HE)Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. ⁴⁶ And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and ^(HF)make atonement for them, for ^(HG)wrath has gone forth from Yahweh, the plague has begun!” ⁴⁷ Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. ^(HH)So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ And he took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. ^49 (HI)But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who ^(HJ)died on account of Korah. ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.

Aaron’s Rod Buds

17 ^[da]Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, and get from them a rod for each father’s household: twelve rods from all their leaders according to their fathers’ households. You shall write each name on his rod, ³ and write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi; for there is one rod for the head of each of their fathers’ households. ⁴ You shall then deposit them in the tent of meeting in front of ^(HK)the testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵ And it will come about that the rod of ^(HL)the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I will rid Myself of the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.” ⁶ Moses therefore spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ households, twelve rods, with the rod of Aaron among their rods. ⁷ So Moses deposited the rods before Yahweh in ^(HM)the tent of the testimony.

⁸ Now it happened on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, ^(HN)the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced flowers, and it bore ripe almonds. ⁹ Moses then brought out all the rods from the presence of Yahweh to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod. ¹⁰ But Yahweh said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron ^(HO)before the testimony ^[db]to be kept as a sign against the ^[dc](HP)rebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die.” ¹¹ Thus Moses did; just as Yahweh had commanded him, so he did.

¹² Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “^(HQ)Behold, we are breathing our last breath, we are perishing, we are all perishing! ^13 (HR)Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of Yahweh, must die. Are we to breathe our utter last?”

Responsibilities of the Levites

18 So Yahweh said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s household with you shall ^(HS)bear the guilt ^[dd]in connection with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the guilt ^[de]in connection with your priesthood. ² But bring near with you also your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be ^(HT)joined with you and minister to you, while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. ³ And they shall thus keep your responsibility and the responsibility of all the tent, but ^(HU)they shall not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary and ^(HV)the altar, so that neither they nor you will die. ⁴ And they shall be joined with you and keep the responsibility of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; but ^[df]an outsider may not come near you. ⁵ So you shall keep the ^(HW)responsibility of the sanctuary and the responsibility of the altar, ^(HX)so that there will no longer be wrath on the sons of Israel. ⁶ And behold, I Myself ^(HY)have taken your brothers the Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are ^(HZ)a gift to you, given to Yahweh, to perform the service for the tent of meeting. ⁷ But you and your sons with you shall ^(IA)keep your priesthood in everything that concerns the altar and inside the veil, and you are to perform service. I am giving you the priesthood as ^(IB)a ^[dg]bestowed service, but ^(IC)the ^[dh]outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

The Priests’ Portion

⁸ Then Yahweh spoke to Aaron, “Now behold, I Myself have given you the responsibility of My ^[di](ID)contributions, even all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual statute. ⁹ This shall be yours from the most holy gifts reserved from the fire; every offering of theirs, even ^(IE)every grain offering and every ^(IF)sin offering and every guilt offering, which they shall render to Me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons. ¹⁰ As the most holy gifts you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you. ¹¹ This also is yours, ^(IG)the contribution from their gift, even all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have ^(IH)given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual statute. Everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. ^12 (II)All the ^[dj]best of the fresh oil and all the ^[dk]best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to Yahweh, I give them to you. ^13 (IJ)The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to Yahweh, shall be yours; everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. ^14 (IK)Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. ^15 [dl](IL)Every first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they bring near to Yahweh, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. ¹⁶ Now as to their redemption price, from a month old you shall redeem them, by your valuation, five ^[dm]shekels in silver, according to the ^[dn]shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. ¹⁷ But ^(IM)the firstborn of an ox or the firstborn of a sheep or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. ^(IN)You shall splash their blood on the altar and shall offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire, for a soothing aroma to Yahweh. ¹⁸ And their ^[do]meat shall be yours; it shall be yours like the ^(IO)breast of a wave offering and like the right thigh. ^19 (IP)All the contributions of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel raise up to Yahweh, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a perpetual statute. It is ^(IQ)an everlasting covenant of salt before Yahweh to you and your seed with you.” ²⁰ Then Yahweh said to Aaron, “^(IR)You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; ^(IS)I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel.

²¹ “Now to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the ^(IT)tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting. ^22 (IU)And the sons of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting again, or they will bear sin and die. ²³ Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall ^(IV)bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel ^(IW)they shall have no inheritance. ²⁴ For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they raise up as a contribution offering to Yahweh, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, ‘^(IX)They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel.’”

²⁵ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ “Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, ‘When you take from the sons of Israel ^(IY)the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall raise up a contribution offering from it to Yahweh, a ^(IZ)tithe of the tithe. ²⁷ And your contribution offering shall be reckoned to you as the grain from the threshing floor or the full produce from the wine vat. ²⁸ So you shall also raise up a contribution offering to Yahweh from all your tithes, which you receive from the sons of Israel; and from it you shall give the contribution offering of Yahweh to Aaron the priest. ²⁹ Out of all your gifts you shall raise up every contribution offering due to Yahweh, from all the ^[dp]best of them, ^[dq]the sacred part from them.’ ³⁰ And you shall say to them, ‘When you have raised up from it the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the product of the threshing floor and as the product of the wine vat. ³¹ And you may eat it anywhere, you and your households, for it is your compensation in return for your service in the tent of meeting. ³² And you will bear no sin by reason of it when you have raised up the ^[dr]best of it. But you shall not ^(JA)profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, so that you will not die.’”

Statute of the Red Heifer

19 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “This is the statute of the law which Yahweh has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they take to you a ^(JB)red heifer without blemish, in which is no defect and ^(JC)on which a yoke has never ^[ds]been placed. ³ And you shall give it to ^(JD)Eleazar the priest, and it shall ^(JE)be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. ⁴ Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and ^(JF)sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. ⁵ Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; ^(JG)its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. ⁶ And the priest shall take ^(JH)cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet material and cast it into the midst of the ^[dt]burning heifer. ⁷ The priest ^(JI)shall then wash his clothes and bathe his ^[du]body in water and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening. ⁸ The one who burns it shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his ^[dv]body in water and shall be unclean until evening. ⁹ Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and ^[dw]the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as ^(JJ)water to remove impurity; it is ^[dx]purification from sin. ¹⁰ And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer ^(JK)shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; and it shall be a perpetual statute to the sons of Israel and to the sojourner who sojourns among them.

¹¹ ‘^(JL)The one who touches the corpse of any ^[dy]person shall be unclean for seven days. ¹² That one shall ^(JM)purify himself from uncleanness with ^[dz]the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. ^13 (JN)Anyone who touches a corpse, the ^[ea]body of a man who has died, and does not purify himself, ^[eb](JO)makes the ^[ec]tabernacle of Yahweh unclean; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Because the water for impurity was not ^[ed](JP)splashed on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴ ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean for seven days. ¹⁵ And every open vessel, which has no covering ^[ee]tied down on it, shall be unclean. ^16 (JQ)Also, anyone who in the open field touches one who has been slain with a sword or who has died naturally, or a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean for seven days. ¹⁷ Then for the unclean person they shall take some of the ^[ef]ashes of the ^[eg]burnt ^[eh](JR)purification from sin and ^[ei]flowing water shall be ^[ej]added to them in a vessel. ¹⁸ And a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there and on the one who touched the bone or the one slain or the one dying naturally or the grave. ¹⁹ Then the clean person ^(JS)shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him from uncleanness, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and shall be clean by evening.

²⁰ ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself from uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly because he has ^[ek](JT)made the sanctuary of Yahweh unclean; the water for impurity has not been ^[el]splashed on him; he is unclean. ²¹ So it shall be a perpetual statute for them. And he ^(JU)who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening. ^22 (JV)Furthermore, anything that the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’”

No Water for the Congregation

20 Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the ^(JW)wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there.

^2 (JX)Now there was no water for the congregation, ^(JY)and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. ^3 (JZ)The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “^(KA)If only we had breathed our last ^(KB)when our brothers breathed their last before Yahweh! ^4 (KC)Why then have you brought the assembly of Yahweh into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die ^[em]here? ⁵ And why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this evil place? ^(KD)It is not a place of ^[en]grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.” ⁶ Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and ^(KE)fell on their faces. Then the glory of Yahweh appeared to them; ⁷ and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ⁸ “Take ^(KF)the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”

Moses Strikes the Rock

⁹ So Moses took the rod ^(KG)from before Yahweh, just as He had commanded him; ¹⁰ and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “^(KH)Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised high his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and ^(KI)water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. ¹² But Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “^(KJ)Because you did not believe Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” ¹³ Those were the waters of ^[eo](KK)Meribah ^[ep]because the sons of Israel contended with Yahweh, and He proved Himself holy among them.

Edom Refuses Passage

¹⁴ From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to ^(KL)the king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You ^(KM)know all the hardship that has befallen us, ¹⁵ that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly. ¹⁶ So ^(KN)we cried out to Yahweh, and He heard our voice and sent ^(KO)an angel and brought us out from Egypt; now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please ^(KP)let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s highway; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we pass through your territory.’”

^18 (KQ)Edom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through ^[eq]us, lest I come out to meet you with the sword.” ¹⁹ Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if I and ^(KR)my livestock do drink any of your water, ^(KS)then I will ^[er]pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, ^[es]nothing else.” ²⁰ But he said, “^(KT)You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out to meet him with a heavy ^[et]force and with a strong hand. ^21 (KU)Thus Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; ^(KV)so Israel turned away from him.

²² Then they set out from ^(KW)Kadesh, and the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.

The Death of Aaron

²³ And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron at ^(KX)Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, ²⁴ “Aaron will be ^(KY)gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel because ^(KZ)you rebelled against My ^[eu]command at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵ Take Aaron and his son ^(LA)Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor; ²⁶ and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be ^(LB)gathered to his people and will die there.” ²⁷ So Moses did just as Yahweh had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. ²⁸ And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and ^(LC)put them on his son Eleazar, and ^(LD)Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹ So all the congregation saw that Aaron breathed his last, and all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty ^(LE)days.

Destruction of Canaanite Cities

21 Then the Canaanite, the king of ^(LF)Arad, who lived in the ^[ev]Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of ^[ew]Atharim, and he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. ² So ^(LG)Israel made a vow to Yahweh and said, “If You will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.” ³ Then Yahweh heard the voice of Israel and gave the Canaanites over; so they devoted them and their cities to destruction. Thus the name of the place was called ^[ex](LH)Hormah.

⁴ Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way to the ^[ey]Red Sea, to ^(LI)go around the land of Edom; and the ^[ez]people became impatient on the way. ⁵ And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “^(LJ)Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no ^[fa]food and no water, and ^[fb](LK)we loathe this miserable food.”

The Bronze Serpent

^6 (LL)So Yahweh sent fiery serpents among the people, and ^(LM)they bit the people so that ^(LN)many people of Israel died. ^7 (LO)Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned because we have spoken against Yahweh and against you; ^(LP)pray to Yahweh, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses prayed for the people. ⁸ Then Yahweh said to Moses, “^[fc]Make a ^(LQ)fiery serpent and set it on a standard; and it will be that everyone who is bitten and looks at it, will live.” ⁹ And Moses made a ^(LR)bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it happened, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

^10 (LS)Then the sons of Israel set out and camped in Oboth. ¹¹ They then set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness which is opposite Moab, east toward the sunrise. ^12 (LT)From there they set out and camped in ^[fd]Wadi Zered. ¹³ From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that comes out of the border of the Amorites, ^(LU)for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. ¹⁴ Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of Yahweh,

^16 (LW)And from there they continued to ^[fe]Beer, that is the well where Yahweh said to Moses, “Assemble the people, that I may give them water.”

^17 (LX)Then Israel sang this song:

And from the wilderness they continued to Mattanah, ¹⁹ and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰ and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the land of Moab, at the top of Pisgah which overlooks the ^[ff]wasteland.

Sihon and Og Struck Down

^21 (LY)Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, ²² “^(LZ)Let me pass through your land. We will not turn off into field or vineyard; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the king’s highway until we have passed through your border.” ^23 (MA)But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border. So Sihon gathered all his people and went out to meet Israel in the wilderness and came to ^(MB)Jahaz and fought against Israel. ²⁴ Then ^(MC)Israel ^[fg]struck him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the sons of Ammon; for the ^(MD)border of the sons of Ammon was ^[fh]Jazer. ²⁵ And Israel took all these cities, and ^(ME)Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all her ^[fi]towns. ²⁶ For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites. Now it was he who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. ²⁷ Therefore those who use proverbs say,

³¹ Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. ³² And Moses sent to spy out ^(MN)Jazer, and they captured its towns and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.

^33 (MO)Then they turned and went up by the way of Bashan, and Og the king of Bashan went out to meet them, he and all his people for battle at ^(MP)Edrei. ³⁴ But Yahweh said to Moses, “^(MQ)Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” ³⁵ So ^(MR)they struck down him and his sons and all his people, until ^[fl]there was no survivor remaining for him; and they possessed his land.

Balak Sends for Balaam

22 ^(MS)Then the sons of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho.

² And ^(MT)Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ^3 (MU)So Moab was in great fear because of the people, for they were numerous; and Moab was in dread of the sons of Israel. ⁴ Then Moab said to the elders of ^(MV)Midian, “Now this assembly will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. ⁵ So he sent messengers to ^(MW)Balaam the son of Beor, at ^(MX)Pethor, which is near the ^[fm]River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are settled opposite me. ^6 (MY)So now, please come, ^(MZ)curse this people for me since they are too ^[fn]mighty for me; perhaps I may be able to strike them down and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

⁷ So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went away with the fees for ^(NA)divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam and spoke Balak’s words to him. ⁸ And he said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you as Yahweh may speak to me.” And the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam. ⁹ Then ^(NB)God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰ And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent word to me, ¹¹ ‘Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt, and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” ¹² And God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; ^(NC)you shall not curse the people, for they ^(ND)are blessed.” ¹³ So Balaam arose in the morning and said to Balak’s leaders, “Go back to your land, for Yahweh has refused to allow me to go with you.” ¹⁴ And the leaders of Moab arose and came to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to go with us.”

¹⁵ Then Balak again sent leaders, more numerous and more ^[fo]honorable than ^[fp]the former. ¹⁶ And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, ‘Let nothing, I beg you, withhold you from coming to me; ¹⁷ for I will indeed honor you richly, and I will do whatever you say to me. ^(NE)Please come then, curse this people for me.’” ¹⁸ And Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “^(NF)Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, to trespass the ^[fq]command of Yahweh my God. ¹⁹ So now, please, you also stay here tonight, and I will know what else Yahweh will speak to me.” ²⁰ And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them; but ^(NG)only the word which I speak to you shall you do.”

^21 (NH)So Balaam arose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab.

Balaam’s Donkey and the Angel

²² But God was angry because he was going, ^(NI)so the angel of Yahweh took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two young men were with him. ²³ Then the donkey saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, and the donkey turned off from the way and went into the field; so Balaam struck the donkey to turn it back into the way. ²⁴ Then the angel of Yahweh stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. ²⁵ And the donkey saw the angel of Yahweh, and it pressed itself to the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck it again. ²⁶ And the angel of Yahweh passed on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right hand or the left. ²⁷ Then the donkey saw the angel of Yahweh and lay down under Balaam; so ^(NJ)Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his stick. ²⁸ And ^(NK)Yahweh opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” ²⁹ Then Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, ^(NL)I would have killed you by now.” ³⁰ And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?” And he said, “No.”

³¹ Then Yahweh opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw ^(NM)the angel of Yahweh standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed his head down ^[fr]and prostrated himself to the ground. ³² And the angel of Yahweh said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary because your way was ^[fs](NN)contrary to me. ³³ And the donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If it had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let it live.” ³⁴ And Balaam said to the angel of Yahweh, “^(NO)I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. So now, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” ³⁵ But the angel of Yahweh said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but ^(NP)you shall speak only the word which I ^[ft]tell you.” So Balaam went along with the leaders of Balak.

³⁶ Then Balak heard that Balaam was coming and went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the Arnon border, ^[fu]at the end of the border. ³⁷ Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not urgently send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I indeed unable to honor you?” ³⁸ So Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come now to you! ^(NQ)Am I able to speak anything at all? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I shall speak.” ³⁹ And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰ And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent some to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.

⁴¹ Then it happened in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to ^[fv](NR)the high places of Baal, and he saw from there the ^(NS)end of the camp of the people.

Yahweh Speaks Through Balaam

23 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” ² So Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. ³ Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a bare hill.

⁴ Now God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.” ⁵ Then Yahweh ^(NT)put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus.” ⁶ So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab. ⁷ Then he took up his ^[fw]discourse and said,

¹¹ Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? ^(OB)I took you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have blessed them repeatedly!” ¹² And he replied, “Must I not be careful to speak ^(OC)what Yahweh puts in my mouth?”

Balaam’s Discourse

¹³ Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from where you may see them, but you will only see the end of them and will not see all of them; and curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴ So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ¹⁵ And he said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet Yahweh over there.” ¹⁶ Then Yahweh met Balaam and ^(OD)put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” ¹⁷ So he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh spoken?” ¹⁸ Then he took up his ^[fy]discourse and said,

²⁵ Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!” ²⁶ But Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘^(OQ)Whatever Yahweh speaks, that I must do’?”

²⁷ Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be right in the eyes of God that you curse them for me from there.” ²⁸ So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor which overlooks the ^[ga]wasteland. ²⁹ And Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” ³⁰ And Balak did just as Balaam had said and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.

Spirit of God Comes upon Balaam

24 And Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of Yahweh to bless Israel, so he did not go as at other times to ^[gb]encounter ^(OR)omens, but he set his face toward the ^(OS)wilderness. ² And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and ^(OT)the Spirit of God came upon him. ³ Then he took up his ^[gc]discourse and said,

¹⁰ Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his ^[gk]hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have blessed them repeatedly these three times! ¹¹ So now, ^[gl]flee to your place. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, Yahweh has held you back from honor.” ¹² And Balaam said to Balak, “^(PG)Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, ¹³ ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything to trespass the ^[gm]command of Yahweh, either good or bad, ^(PH)of my own ^[gn]accord. ^(PI)What Yahweh speaks, that I will speak’? ¹⁴ So now, behold, ^(PJ)I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the last days.”

Oracle of Balaam

¹⁵ Then he took up his discourse and said,

²⁰ Then he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,

²¹ Then he looked at the ^(PQ)Kenite and took up his discourse and said,

²³ Then he took up his discourse and said,

²⁵ Then Balaam arose and went and returned to ^(PV)his place, and Balak also went his way.

Israel Sacrifices to Baal

25 And Israel remained at ^(PW)Shittim, and the people began ^(PX)to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. ² Indeed ^(PY)they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³ So ^(PZ)Israel joined themselves to ^[gw]Baal of Peor, and the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel. ⁴ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all who are the heads of the people and execute them ^[gx]in broad daylight before Yahweh, ^(QA)so that the burning anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.” ⁵ So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you ^(QB)kill his men who have joined themselves to ^[gy]Baal of Peor.”

⁶ Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought near to his brothers a ^(QC)Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ^(QD)while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ^7 (QE)And Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, so he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, ⁸ and he went after the man of Israel into the ^[gz]tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the ^[ha]body. ^(QF)Then the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. ^9 (QG)So those who died by the plague were 24,000.

The Jealousy of Phinehas

¹⁰ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ “^(QH)Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the sons of Israel ^(QI)in My jealousy. ¹² Therefore say, ‘^(QJ)Behold, I give him My ^(QK)covenant of peace; ¹³ and it shall be for him and his seed after him, a covenant of a ^(QL)perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and ^(QM)made atonement for the sons of Israel.’”

¹⁴ Now the name of the ^[hb]slain man of Israel who was ^[hc]slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites. ¹⁵ And the name of the Midianite woman, who was struck down, was ^(QN)Cozbi the daughter of ^(QO)Zur, ^[hd]who was head of the people of a father’s household in Midian.

¹⁶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “^(QP)Be hostile to the Midianites and strike them, ¹⁸ for they have been hostile to you with their deceptive tricks, with which they have deceived you in the affair of Peor and in the affair of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was slain on the day of the plague because of Peor.”