Numbers 27
New Living Translation
The Daughters of Zelophehad
27 One day a petition was presented by the daughters of Zelophehad—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. Their father, Zelophehad, was a descendant of Hepher son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph. 2 These women stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the tribal leaders, and the entire community at the entrance of the Tabernacle.[a] 3 “Our father died in the wilderness,” they said. “He was not among Korah’s followers, who rebelled against the Lord; he died because of his own sin. But he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father disappear from his clan just because he had no sons? Give us property along with the rest of our relatives.”
5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord. 6 And the Lord replied to Moses, 7 “The claim of the daughters of Zelophehad is legitimate. You must give them a grant of land along with their father’s relatives. Assign them the property that would have been given to their father.
8 “And give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If a man dies and has no son, then give his inheritance to his daughters. 9 And if he has no daughter either, transfer his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 But if his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan. This is a legal requirement for the people of Israel, just as the Lord commanded Moses.”
Joshua Chosen to Lead Israel
12 One day the Lord said to Moses, “Climb one of the mountains east of the river,[b] and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron, 14 for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters.” (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh[c] in the wilderness of Zin.)
15 Then Moses said to the Lord, 16 “O Lord, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. 17 Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18 The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. 19 Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people. 20 Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him. 21 When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.”
22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. 23 Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
Numbers 27
New King James Version
Inheritance Laws
27 Then came the daughters of (A)Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: 3 “Our father (B)died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the Lord, (C)in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be (D)removed[a] from among his family because he had no son? (E)Give us a [b]possession among our father’s brothers.”
5 So Moses (F)brought their case before the Lord.
6 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; (G)you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. 8 And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.’ ” And it shall be to the children of Israel (H)a statute of judgment, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
Joshua the Next Leader of Israel(I)
12 Now the Lord said to Moses: (J)“Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. 13 And when you have seen it, you also (K)shall [c]be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. 14 For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you (L)rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the (M)waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)
15 Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: 16 “Let the Lord, (N)the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17 (O)who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be (P)like sheep which have no shepherd.”
18 And the Lord said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man (Q)in whom is the Spirit, and (R)lay your hand on him; 19 set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and (S)inaugurate[d] him in their sight. 20 And (T)you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel (U)may be obedient. 21 (V)He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the Lord for him (W)by the judgment of the Urim. (X)At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congregation.”
22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. 23 And he laid his hands on him (Y)and [e]inaugurated him, just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 27:4 withdrawn
- Numbers 27:4 inheritance
- Numbers 27:13 Die and join your ancestors
- Numbers 27:19 commission
- Numbers 27:23 commissioned
Numbers 27
Living Bible
27 1-2 One day the daughters of Zelophehad came to the entrance of the Tabernacle to give a petition to Moses, Eleazar the priest, the tribal leaders, and others who were there. The names of these women were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They were members of the half-tribe of Manasseh (a son of Joseph). Their ancestor was Machir, son of Manasseh. Manasseh’s son Gilead was their great-grandfather, his son Hepher was their grandfather, and his son Zelophehad was their father.
3-4 “Our father died in the wilderness,” they said, “and he was not one of those who perished in Korah’s revolt against the Lord—it was a natural death, but he had no sons. Why should the name of our father disappear just because he had no son? We feel that we should be given property along with our father’s brothers.”
5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord.
6-7 And the Lord replied to Moses, “The daughters of Zelophehad are correct. Give them land along with their uncles; give them the property that would have been given to their father if he had lived. 8 Moreover, this is a general law among you, that if a man dies and has no sons, then his inheritance shall be passed on to his daughters. 9 And if he has no daughter, it shall belong to his brothers. 10 And if he has no brother, then it shall go to his uncles. 11 But if he has no uncles, then it shall go to the nearest relative.”
12 One day the Lord said to Moses, “Go up into Mount Abarim and look across the river to the land I have given to the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you shall die as Aaron your brother did, 14 for you rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you did not glorify me[a] before them by following my instructions to order water to come out of the rock.” He was referring to the incident at the waters of Meribah (“Place of Strife”) in Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin.
15 Then Moses said to the Lord, 16 “O Jehovah, the God of the spirits of all mankind, before I am taken away[b] please appoint a new leader for the people, 17 a man who will lead them into battle and care for them, so that the people of the Lord will not be as sheep without a shepherd.”
18 The Lord replied, “Go and get Joshua (son of Nun), who has the Spirit in him, 19 and take him to Eleazar the priest, and as all the people watch, charge him with the responsibility of leading the people. 20 Publicly give him your authority so that all the people of Israel will obey him. 21 He shall be the one to consult with Eleazar the priest in order to get directions from the Lord. The Lord will speak to Eleazar through the use of the Urim, and Eleazar will pass on these instructions to Joshua and the people. In this way the Lord will continue to give them guidance.”
22 So Moses did as Jehovah commanded and took Joshua to Eleazar the priest. As the people watched, 23 Moses laid his hands upon him and dedicated him to his responsibilities, as the Lord had commanded.
Footnotes
- Numbers 27:14 you did not glorify me, implied.
- Numbers 27:16 before I am taken away, implied.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.