Moses Dies on Mount Nebo

34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab ^(A)to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, ² all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the ^[a]Western Sea, ³ the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, ^(B)the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. ⁴ Then the Lord said to him, ^(C)“This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ ^(D)I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.”

^5 (E)So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. ⁶ And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but ^(F)no one knows his grave to this day. ^7 (G)Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. ^(H)His ^[b]eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor ^[c]diminished. ⁸ And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab ^(I)thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.

⁹ Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the ^(J)spirit of wisdom, for ^(K)Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁰ But since then there ^(L)has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, ^(M)whom the Lord knew face to face, ¹¹ in all ^(N)the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, ¹² and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

Balaam Foretells the Happiness of Israel

24 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at ^(A)other times, to seek to use ^[a]sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. ² And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel ^(B)encamped according to their tribes; and ^(C)the Spirit of God came upon him.

^3 (D)Then he took up his oracle and said:

¹⁰ Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he ^(Q)struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, ^(R)“I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! ¹¹ Now therefore, flee to your place. ^(S)I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.”

¹² So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, ¹³ ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’? ¹⁴ And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, ^(T)I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the ^(U)latter days.”

Balaam’s Fourth Prophecy

¹⁵ So he took up his oracle and said:

²⁰ Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said:

²¹ Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said:

²³ Then he took up his oracle and said:

²⁵ So Balaam rose and departed and ^(AC)returned to his place; Balak also went his way.

The First Census of Israel^(A)

1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses ^(B)in the Wilderness of Sinai, ^(C)in the tabernacle of meeting, on the ^(D)first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: ^2 (E)“Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male ^(F)individually, ³ from ^(G)twenty years old and above—all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies. ⁴ And with you there shall be a man from every tribe, each one the head of his father’s house.

⁵ “These are the names of the men who shall stand with you: from Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; ⁶ from Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; ⁷ from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; ⁸ from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; ⁹ from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; ¹⁰ from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; ¹¹ from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; ¹² from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; ¹³ from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ocran; ¹⁴ from Gad, Eliasaph the son of ^(H)Deuel;^{[a] 15} from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.” ^16 (I)These were ^(J)chosen^[b] from the congregation, leaders of their fathers’ tribes, ^(K)heads of the divisions in Israel.

¹⁷ Then Moses and Aaron took these men who had been ^[c]mentioned ^(L)by name, ¹⁸ and they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they recited their ^(M)ancestry by families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, each one individually. ¹⁹ As the Lord commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.

²⁰ Now the ^(N)children of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ²¹ those who were numbered of the tribe of Reuben were forty-six thousand five hundred.

²² From the ^(O)children of Simeon, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, of those who were numbered, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ²³ those who were numbered of the tribe of Simeon were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

²⁴ From the ^(P)children of Gad, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ²⁵ those who were numbered of the tribe of Gad were forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.

²⁶ From the ^(Q)children of Judah, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ²⁷ those who were numbered of the tribe of Judah were ^(R)seventy-four thousand six hundred.

²⁸ From the ^(S)children of Issachar, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ²⁹ those who were numbered of the tribe of Issachar were fifty-four thousand four hundred.

³⁰ From the ^(T)children of Zebulun, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ³¹ those who were numbered of the tribe of Zebulun were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

³² From the sons of Joseph, the ^(U)children of Ephraim, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ³³ those who were numbered of the tribe of Ephraim were forty thousand five hundred.

³⁴ From the ^(V)children of Manasseh, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ³⁵ those who were numbered of the tribe of Manasseh were thirty-two thousand two hundred.

³⁶ From the ^(W)children of Benjamin, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ³⁷ those who were numbered of the tribe of Benjamin were thirty-five thousand four hundred.

³⁸ From the ^(X)children of Dan, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ³⁹ those who were numbered of the tribe of Dan were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

⁴⁰ From the ^(Y)children of Asher, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ⁴¹ those who were numbered of the tribe of Asher were forty-one thousand five hundred.

⁴² From the children of Naphtali, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: ⁴³ those who were numbered of the tribe of Naphtali were fifty-three thousand four hundred.

^44 (Z)These are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each one representing his father’s house. ⁴⁵ So all who were numbered of the children of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war in Israel— ⁴⁶ all who were numbered were ^(AA)six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.

⁴⁷ But ^(AB)the Levites were not numbered among them by their fathers’ tribe; ⁴⁸ for the Lord had spoken to Moses, saying: ^49 (AC)“Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel; ^50 (AD)but you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, over all its furnishings, and over all things that belong to it; they shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they shall attend to it ^(AE)and camp around the tabernacle. ^51 (AF)And when the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it ^(AG)up. ^(AH)The outsider who comes near shall be put to death. ⁵² The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, ^(AI)everyone by his own camp, everyone by his own standard, according to their armies; ^53 (AJ)but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no ^(AK)wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel; and the Levites shall ^(AL)keep^[d] charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony.”

⁵⁴ Thus the children of Israel did; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they did.

The Tribes and Leaders by Armies

2 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: ^2 (AM)“Everyone of the children of Israel shall camp by his own ^[e]standard, beside the emblems of his father’s house; they shall camp ^(AN)some distance from the tabernacle of meeting. ³ On the ^(AO)east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies; and ^(AP)Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be the leader of the children of Judah.” ⁴ And his army was numbered at seventy-four thousand six hundred.

⁵ “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, and Nethanel the son of Zuar shall be the leader of the children of Issachar.” ⁶ And his army was numbered at fifty-four thousand four hundred.

⁷ “Then comes the tribe of Zebulun, and Eliab the son of Helon shall be the leader of the children of Zebulun.” ⁸ And his army was numbered at fifty-seven thousand four hundred. ⁹ “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Judah, one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred—^(AQ)these shall ^[f]break camp first.

¹⁰ “On the ^(AR)south side shall be the standard of the forces with Reuben according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.” ¹¹ And his army was numbered at forty-six thousand five hundred.

¹² “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, and the leader of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.” ¹³ And his army was numbered at fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

¹⁴ “Then comes the tribe of Gad, and the leader of the children of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of ^[g]Reuel.” ¹⁵ And his army was numbered at forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. ¹⁶ “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Reuben, one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty—^(AS)they shall ^[h]be the second to break camp.

^17 (AT)“And the tabernacle of meeting shall move out with the ^[i]camp of the Levites ^(AU)in the middle of the ^[j]camps; as they camp, so they shall move out, everyone in his place, by their ^[k]standards.

¹⁸ “On the west side shall be the standard of the forces with Ephraim according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.” ¹⁹ And his army was numbered at forty thousand five hundred.

²⁰ “Next to him comes the tribe of Manasseh, and the leader of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.” ²¹ And his army was numbered at thirty-two thousand two hundred.

²² “Then comes the tribe of Benjamin, and the leader of the children of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.” ²³ And his army was numbered at thirty-five thousand four hundred. ²⁴ “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Ephraim, one hundred and eight thousand one hundred—^(AV)they shall ^[l]be the third to break camp.

²⁵ “The ^[m]standard of the forces with Dan shall be on the north side according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.” ²⁶ And his army was numbered at sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

²⁷ “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, and the leader of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.” ²⁸ And his army was numbered at forty-one thousand five hundred.

²⁹ “Then comes the tribe of Naphtali, and the leader of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan.” ³⁰ And his army was numbered at fifty-three thousand four hundred. ³¹ “All who were numbered of the forces with Dan, one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred—^(AW)they shall ^[n]break camp last, with their ^[o]standards.”

³² These are the ones who were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers’ houses. ^(AX)All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. ³³ But ^(AY)the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁴ Thus the children of Israel ^(AZ)did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses; ^(BA)so they camped by their ^[p]standards and so they broke camp, each one by his family, according to their fathers’ houses.

The Sons of Aaron^(BB)

3 Now these are the ^(BC)records^[q] 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 ^(BD)firstborn, and ^(BE)Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of the sons of Aaron, ^(BF)the anointed priests, ^[r]whom he consecrated to minister as priests. ^4 (BG)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 (BH)“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 ^(BI)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 ^(BJ)you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to ^[s]him from among the children of Israel. ¹⁰ So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, ^(BK)and they shall attend to their priesthood; ^(BL)but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

¹¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹² “Now behold, ^(BM)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 ^(BN)Mine, ¹³ because ^(BO)all the firstborn are Mine. ^(BP)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^(BQ)

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 ^(BR)every male from a month old and above.”

¹⁶ So Moses numbered them according to the ^[t]word of the Lord, as he was commanded. ^17 (BS)These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸ And these are the names of the sons of ^(BT)Gershon by their families: ^(BU)Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹ And the sons of ^(BV)Kohath by their families: ^(BW)Amram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ^20 (BX)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 (BY)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 (BZ)The duties of the children of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting included ^(CA)the tabernacle, ^(CB)the tent with ^(CC)its covering, ^(CD)the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, ^26 (CE)the screen for the door of the court, ^(CF)the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and the altar, and ^(CG)their cords, according to all the work relating to them.

^27 (CH)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 ^[u]six hundred ^[v]keeping charge of the sanctuary. ^29 (CI)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 ^(CJ)Uzziel. ^31 (CK)Their duty included ^(CL)the ark, ^(CM)the table, ^(CN)the lampstand, ^(CO)the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, ^(CP)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. ^(CQ)These were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ And ^(CR)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 (CS)Moreover those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tabernacle of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, ^(CT)keeping charge of the sanctuary, ^(CU)to meet the needs of the children of Israel; but ^(CV)the outsider who came near was to be put to death. ^39 (CW)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: ^(CX)“Number^[w] all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and above, and take the number of their names. ^41 (CY)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 (CZ)“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 ^(DA)the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, ^(DB)who are more than the number of the Levites, ⁴⁷ you shall take ^(DC)five shekels for each one ^(DD)individually; you shall take them in the currency of the shekel of the sanctuary, ^(DE)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, ^(DF)one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁵¹ And Moses ^(DG)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 ^(DH)Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house, ^3 (DI)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 (DJ)“This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to ^(DK)the most holy things: ⁵ When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down ^(DL)the covering veil and cover the ^(DM)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 ^(DN)blue; and they shall insert ^(DO)its poles.

⁷ “On the ^(DP)table of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the ^[x]pitchers for pouring; and the ^(DQ)showbread^[y] 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 ^(DR)lampstand of the light, ^(DS)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 ^(DT)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 ^(DU)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 ^[z]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 ^(DV)the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; ^(DW)but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.

“^(DX)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 ^(DY)the oil for the light, the ^(DZ)sweet incense, ^(EA)the daily grain offering, the ^(EB)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 ^(EC)the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and ^[aa]appoint each of them to his service and his task. ^20 (ED)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 ^(EE)Gershon, by their fathers’ house, by their families. ^23 (EF)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 ^(EG)service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and carrying: ^25 (EH)They shall carry the ^(EI)curtains of the tabernacle and the tabernacle of meeting with its covering, the covering of ^(EJ)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 ^[ab]assign all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, all their tasks and all their service. And you shall ^[ac]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 ^(EK)under the ^[ad]authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

Duties of the Sons of Merari

²⁹ “As for the sons of ^(EL)Merari, you shall number them by their families and by their fathers’ house. ^30 (EM)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 ^(EN)this is ^(EO)what they must carry as all their service for the tabernacle of meeting: ^(EP)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 ^(EQ)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 ^[ae]authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

Census of the Levites

^34 (ER)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 ^(ES)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 (ET)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’ ^[af]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 ^(EU)according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

⁴⁶ All who were ^(EV)numbered of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families and by their fathers’ houses, ^47 (EW)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, ^(EX)each according to his service and according to his task; thus were they numbered by him, ^(EY)as the Lord commanded Moses.

Ceremonially Unclean Persons Isolated^(EZ)

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every ^(FA)leper, everyone who has a ^(FB)discharge, and whoever becomes ^(FC)defiled ^[ag]by a corpse. ³ You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps ^(FD)in the midst of which I dwell.” ⁴ And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.

Confession and Restitution^(FE)

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Speak to the children of Israel: ^(FF)‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the Lord, and that person is guilty, ^7 (FG)then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass ^(FH)in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. ⁸ But if the man has no ^[ah]relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to ^(FI)the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him. ⁹ Every ^(FJ)offering^[ai] of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be ^(FK)his. ¹⁰ And every man’s ^[aj]holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be ^(FL)his.’ ”

Concerning Unfaithful Wives

¹¹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him, ¹³ and a man ^(FM)lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and there was no witness against her, nor was she ^(FN)caught— ¹⁴ if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes ^(FO)jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself— ¹⁵ then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall ^(FP)bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for ^(FQ)bringing iniquity to remembrance.

¹⁶ ‘And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the Lord. ¹⁷ The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. ¹⁸ Then the priest shall stand the woman before the ^(FR)Lord, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹ And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has lain with you”— ²¹ then the priest shall ^(FS)put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman—^(FT)“the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh ^[ak]rot and your belly swell; ²² and may this water that causes the curse ^(FU)go into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.”

‘^(FV)Then the woman shall say, “Amen, so be it.”

²³ ‘Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water. ²⁴ And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to become bitter. ^25 (FW)Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, shall ^(FX)wave the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar; ²⁶ and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, ^(FY)as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water. ²⁷ When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a ^(FZ)curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman ^(GA)will become a curse among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children.

²⁹ ‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s authority, ^(GB)goes astray and defiles herself, ³⁰ or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her. ³¹ Then the man shall be free from ^[al]iniquity, but that woman ^(GC)shall bear her ^[am]guilt.’ ”

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 ^[an]consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, ^(GD)to separate himself to the Lord, ^3 (GE)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 ^[ao]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 ^(GF)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 ^(GG)he shall not go near a dead body. ^7 (GH)He shall not ^[ap]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 (GI)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 ^(GJ)shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. ¹⁰ Then ^(GK)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 ^(GL)as a trespass offering; but the former days shall be ^[aq]lost, because his separation was defiled.

¹³ ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite: ^(GM)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 ^(GN)as a sin offering, one ram without blemish ^(GO)as a peace offering, ¹⁵ a basket of unleavened bread, ^(GP)cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, unleavened wafers ^(GQ)anointed with oil, and their grain offering with their ^(GR)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 (GS)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 ^(GT)boiled shoulder of the ram, one ^(GU)unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and ^(GV)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; ^(GW)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 (HD)“So they shall ^[as]put My name on the children of Israel, and ^(HE)I will bless them.”

Offerings of the Leaders

7 Now it came to pass, when Moses had finished ^(HF)setting up the tabernacle, that he ^(HG)anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings, and the altar and all its utensils; so he anointed them and consecrated them. ² Then ^(HH)the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers’ houses, who were the leaders of the tribes ^[at]and over those who were numbered, made an offering. ³ And they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart for every two of the leaders, and for each one an ox; and they presented them before the tabernacle.

⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵ “Accept these from them, that they may be used in doing the work of the tabernacle of meeting; and you shall give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service.” ⁶ So Moses took the carts and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ Two carts and four oxen ^(HI)he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service; ^8 (HJ)and four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the ^[au]authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. ⁹ But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because theirs was ^(HK)the service of the holy things, ^(HL)which they carried on their shoulders.

¹⁰ Now the leaders offered ^(HM)the dedication offering for the altar when it was anointed; so the leaders offered their offering before the altar. ¹¹ For the Lord said to Moses, “They shall offer their offering, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar.”

¹² And the one who offered his offering on the first day was ^(HN)Nahshon the son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah. ¹³ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to ^(HO)the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a ^(HP)grain offering; ¹⁴ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of ^(HQ)incense; ^15 (HR)one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb ^(HS)in its first year, as a burnt offering; ¹⁶ one kid of the goats as a ^(HT)sin offering; ¹⁷ and for ^(HU)the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

¹⁸ On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, leader of Issachar, presented an offering. ¹⁹ For his offering he offered one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ²⁰ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ²¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ²² one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ²³ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar.

²⁴ On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, leader of the children of Zebulun, presented an offering. ²⁵ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ²⁶ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ²⁷ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ²⁸ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ²⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon.

³⁰ On the fourth day ^(HV)Elizur the son of Shedeur, leader of the children of Reuben, presented an offering. ³¹ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ³² one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ³³ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ³⁴ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ³⁵ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur.

³⁶ On the fifth day ^(HW)Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, leader of the children of Simeon, presented an offering. ³⁷ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ³⁸ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ³⁹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁴¹ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

⁴² On the sixth day ^(HX)Eliasaph the son of ^[av]Deuel, leader of the children of Gad, presented an offering. ⁴³ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁴⁴ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁴⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as ^(HY)a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

⁴⁸ On the seventh day ^(HZ)Elishama the son of Ammihud, leader of the children of Ephraim, presented an offering. ⁴⁹ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁵⁰ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁵² one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁵³ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.

⁵⁴ On the eighth day ^(IA)Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, leader of the children of Manasseh, presented an offering. ⁵⁵ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁵⁶ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵⁷ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

⁶⁰ On the ninth day ^(IB)Abidan the son of Gideoni, leader of the children of Benjamin, presented an offering. ⁶¹ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁶² one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶³ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁶⁵ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.

⁶⁶ On the tenth day ^(IC)Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, leader of the children of Dan, presented an offering. ⁶⁷ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁶⁸ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶⁹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁷¹ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

⁷² On the eleventh day ^(ID)Pagiel the son of Ocran, leader of the children of Asher, presented an offering. ⁷³ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁷⁴ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁷⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ocran.

⁷⁸ On the twelfth day ^(IE)Ahira the son of Enan, leader of the children of Naphtali, presented an offering. ⁷⁹ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁸⁰ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁸¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; ⁸² one kid of the goats as a sin offering; ⁸³ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan.

⁸⁴ This was ^(IF)the dedication offering for the altar from the leaders of Israel, when it was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold pans. ⁸⁵ Each silver platter weighed one hundred and thirty shekels and each bowl seventy shekels. All the silver of the vessels weighed two thousand four hundred shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁸⁶ The twelve gold pans full of incense weighed ten shekels apiece, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; all the gold of the pans weighed one hundred and twenty shekels. ⁸⁷ All the oxen for the burnt offering were twelve young bulls, the rams twelve, the male lambs in their first year twelve, with their grain offering, and the kids of the goats as a sin offering twelve. ⁸⁸ And all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace offerings were twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, and the lambs in their first year sixty. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was ^(IG)anointed.

⁸⁹ Now when Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting ^(IH)to speak with Him, he heard ^(II)the voice of One speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony, from ^(IJ)between the two cherubim; thus He spoke to him.

Arrangement of the Lamps^(IK)

8 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Speak to Aaron, and say to him, ‘When you ^(IL)arrange the lamps, the seven ^(IM)lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.’ ” ³ And Aaron did so; he arranged the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. ^4 (IN)Now this workmanship of the lampstand was hammered gold; from its shaft to its flowers it was ^(IO)hammered work. ^(IP)According to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Cleansing and Dedication of the Levites

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them ceremonially. ⁷ Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle ^(IQ)water of purification on them, and ^(IR)let^[aw] them shave all their body, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. ⁸ Then let them take a young bull with ^(IS)its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering. ^9 (IT)And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, ^(IU)and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel. ¹⁰ So you shall bring the Levites before the Lord, and the children of Israel ^(IV)shall lay their hands on the Levites; ¹¹ and Aaron shall ^[ax]offer the Levites before the Lord like a ^(IW)wave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the Lord. ^12 (IX)Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.

¹³ “And you shall stand the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and then offer them like a wave offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Thus you shall ^(IY)separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be ^(IZ)Mine. ¹⁵ After that the Levites shall go in to service the tabernacle of meeting. So you shall cleanse them and ^(JA)offer them like a wave offering. ¹⁶ For they are ^(JB)wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; I have taken them for Myself ^(JC)instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel. ^17 (JD)For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine, both man and beast; on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I ^[ay]sanctified them to Myself. ¹⁸ I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel. ¹⁹ And ^(JE)I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the work for the children of Israel in the tabernacle of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, ^(JF)that there be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did to the Levites; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel did to them. ^21 (JG)And the Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes; then Aaron presented them like a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ^22 (JH)After that the Levites went in to do their work in the tabernacle of meeting before Aaron and his sons; ^(JI)as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “This is what pertains to the Levites: ^(JJ)From twenty-five years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the tabernacle of meeting; ²⁵ and at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more. ²⁶ They may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meeting, ^(JK)to attend to needs, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall do to the Levites regarding their duties.”

The Second Passover^(JL)

9 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: ² “Let the children of Israel keep ^(JM)the Passover at its appointed ^(JN)time. ³ On the fourteenth day of this month, ^[az]at twilight, you shall ^[ba]keep it at its appointed time. According to all its ^[bb]rites and ceremonies you shall keep it.” ⁴ So Moses told the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover. ⁵ And ^(JO)they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, in the Wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.

⁶ Now there were certain men who were ^(JP)defiled by a human corpse, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day; ^(JQ)and they came before Moses and Aaron that day. ⁷ And those men said to him, “We became defiled by a human corpse. Why are we kept from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the children of Israel?”

⁸ And Moses said to them, “Stand still, that ^(JR)I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If anyone of you or your ^[bc]posterity is unclean because of a corpse, or is far away on a journey, he may still keep the Lord’s Passover. ¹¹ On ^(JS)the fourteenth day of the second month, at twilight, they may keep it. They shall ^(JT)eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ^12 (JU)They shall leave none of it until morning, ^(JV)nor break one of its bones. ^(JW)According to all the ^[bd]ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it. ¹³ But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and ceases to keep the Passover, that same person ^(JX)shall be cut off from among his people, because he ^(JY)did not bring the offering of the Lord at its appointed time; that man shall ^(JZ)bear his sin.

¹⁴ ‘And if a stranger ^[be]dwells among you, and would keep the Lord’s Passover, he must do so according to the rite of the Passover and according to its ceremony; ^(KA)you shall have one ^[bf]ordinance, both for the stranger and the native of the land.’ ”

The Cloud and the Fire^(KB)

¹⁵ Now ^(KC)on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud ^(KD)covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; ^(KE)from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. ¹⁶ So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. ¹⁷ Whenever the cloud ^(KF)was ^[bg]taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents. ¹⁸ At the ^[bh]command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; ^(KG)as long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped. ¹⁹ Even when the cloud continued long, many days above the tabernacle, the children of Israel ^(KH)kept the charge of the Lord and did not journey. ²⁰ So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle a few days: according to the command of the Lord they would remain encamped, and according to the command of the Lord they would journey. ²¹ So it was, when the cloud remained only from evening until morning: when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey; whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they would journey. ²² Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel ^(KI)would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey. ²³ At the command of the Lord they remained encamped, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed; they ^(KJ)kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

Two Silver Trumpets

10 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Make two silver trumpets for yourself; you shall make them of hammered work; you shall use them for ^(KK)calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps. ³ When ^(KL)they blow both of them, all the congregation shall gather before you at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁴ But if they blow only one, then the leaders, the ^(KM)heads of the divisions of Israel, shall gather to you. ⁵ When you sound the ^(KN)advance, ^(KO)the camps that lie on the east side shall then begin their journey. ⁶ When you sound the advance the second time, then the camps that lie ^(KP)on the south side shall begin their journey; they shall sound the call for them to begin their journeys. ⁷ And when the assembly is to be gathered together, ^(KQ)you shall blow, but not ^(KR)sound the advance. ^8 (KS)The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an ^[bi]ordinance forever throughout your generations.

^9 (KT)“When you go to war in your land against the enemy who ^(KU)oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be ^(KV)remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. ¹⁰ Also ^(KW)in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be ^(KX)a memorial for you before your God: I am the Lord your God.”

Departure from Sinai

¹¹ Now it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud ^(KY)was taken up from above the tabernacle of the Testimony. ¹² And the children of Israel set out from the ^(KZ)Wilderness of Sinai on ^(LA)their journeys; then the cloud settled down in the ^(LB)Wilderness of Paran. ¹³ So they started out for the first time ^(LC)according to the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

¹⁴ The ^[bj]standard of the camp of the children of Judah ^(LD)set out first according to their armies; over their army was ^(LE)Nahshon the son of Amminadab. ¹⁵ Over the army of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. ¹⁶ And over the army of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon.

¹⁷ Then ^(LF)the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set out, ^(LG)carrying the tabernacle.

¹⁸ And ^(LH)the standard of the camp of Reuben set out according to their armies; over their army was Elizur the son of Shedeur. ¹⁹ Over the army of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. ²⁰ And over the army of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

²¹ Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the ^(LI)holy things. (The tabernacle would be ^[bk]prepared for their arrival.)

²² And ^(LJ)the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set out according to their armies; over their army was Elishama the son of Ammihud. ²³ Over the army of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. ²⁴ And over the army of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.

²⁵ Then ^(LK)the standard of the camp of the children of Dan (the rear guard of all the camps) set out according to their armies; over their army was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶ Over the army of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ocran. ²⁷ And over the army of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan.

^28 (LL)Thus was the order of march of the children of Israel, according to their armies, when they began their journey.

²⁹ Now Moses said to ^(LM)Hobab the son of ^(LN)Reuel^[bl] the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ^(LO)‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and ^(LP)we will treat you well; for ^(LQ)the Lord has promised good things to Israel.”

³⁰ And he said to him, “I will not go, but I will depart to my own land and to my relatives.”

³¹ So Moses said, “Please do not leave, inasmuch as you know how we are to camp in the wilderness, and you can ^[bm]be our ^(LR)eyes. ³² And it shall be, if you go with us—indeed it shall be—that ^(LS)whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same we will do to you.”

³³ So they departed from ^(LT)the mountain of the Lord on a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord ^(LU)went before them for the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. ³⁴ And ^(LV)the cloud of the Lord was above them by day when they went out from the camp.

³⁵ So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said:

³⁶ And when it rested, he said:

The People Complain

11 Now ^(LX)when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; ^(LY)for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the ^(LZ)fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. ² Then the people ^(MA)cried out to Moses, and when Moses ^(MB)prayed to the Lord, the fire was ^[bn]quenched. ³ So he called the name of the place ^[bo]Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them.

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

⁷ Now ^(MH)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 ^(MI)its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. ⁹ And ^(MJ)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 ^(MK)the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased. ^11 (ML)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 ^[bq]burden of all these people on me? ¹² Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, ^(MM)‘Carry them in your bosom, as a ^(MN)guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You ^(MO)swore^[br] to their fathers? ^13 (MP)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 (MQ)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 ^(MR)do not let me see my wretchedness!”

The Seventy Elders

¹⁶ So the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to Me ^(MS)seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and ^(MT)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. ^(MU)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, ^[bs]‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept ^(MV)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 (MW)but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have ^(MX)despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, ^(MY)“Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?” ’ ”

²¹ And Moses said, ^(MZ)“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 (NA)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, ^(NB)“Has^[bt] the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether ^(NC)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 ^(ND)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, ^(NE)when the Spirit rested upon them, that ^(NF)they prophesied, ^[bu]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 ^(NG)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, ^(NH)forbid them!”

²⁹ Then Moses said to him, “Are you ^[bv]zealous for my sake? ^(NI)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 ^(NJ)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 ^(NK)homers); and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. ³³ But while the ^(NL)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 ^[bw]Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving.

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

Dissension of Aaron and Miriam

12 Then ^(NN)Miriam and Aaron ^[bx]spoke ^(NO)against Moses because of the ^[by]Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for ^(NP)he had married an Ethiopian woman. ² So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through ^(NQ)Moses? ^(NR)Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord ^(NS)heard it. ³ (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)

^4 (NT)Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. ^5 (NU)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, ^(OE)suddenly Miriam became ^(OF)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 ^(OG)do not lay ^[cb]this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. ¹² Please ^(OH)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 ^(OI)heal her, O God, I pray!”

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but ^(OJ)spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be ^(OK)shut^[cc] out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again.” ^15 (OL)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 ^(OM)Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

Spies Sent into Canaan^(ON)

13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^2 (OO)“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 ^(OP)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 (OQ)from the tribe of Judah, ^(OR)Caleb the son of Jephunneh; ⁷ from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; ⁸ from the tribe of Ephraim, ^[cd]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 ^[ce]spy out the land. And Moses called ^(OS)Hoshea^[cf] 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 ^(OT)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 ^[cg]rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. ^(OU)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 ^(OV)from the Wilderness of Zin as far as ^(OW)Rehob, near the entrance of ^(OX)Hamath. ²² And they went up through the South and came to ^(OY)Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of ^(OZ)Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ^23 (PA)Then they came to the ^[ch]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 ^[ci]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 ^(PB)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 ^[cj]flows with ^(PC)milk and honey, ^(PD)and this is its fruit. ²⁸ Nevertheless the ^(PE)people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of ^(PF)Anak there. ^29 (PG)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 ^(PH)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 (PI)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 ^(PJ)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 ^(PK)all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. ³³ There we saw the ^[ck]giants (^(PL)the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were ^(PM)like^[cl] grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were ^(PN)in their sight.”

Israel Refuses to Enter Canaan

14 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people ^(PO)wept that night. ^2 (PP)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 ^[cm]fall by the sword, that our wives and ^(PQ)children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, ^(PR)“Let us select a leader and ^(PS)return to Egypt.”

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron ^[cn]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: ^(PT)“The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ⁸ If the Lord ^(PU)delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ^(PV)‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ ⁹ Only ^(PW)do not rebel against the Lord, ^(PX)nor fear the people of the land, for ^(PY)they^[co] are our bread; their protection has departed from them, ^(PZ)and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”

^10 (QA)And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now ^(QB)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 ^(QC)reject^[cp] Me? And how long will they not ^(QD)believe Me, with all the ^[cq]signs which I have performed among them? ¹² I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will ^(QE)make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

¹³ And ^(QF)Moses said to the Lord: ^(QG)“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 ^(QH)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 ^(QI)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 (QJ)‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, ^(QK)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’ ^19 (QL)Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, ^(QM)according to the greatness of Your mercy, just ^(QN)as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

²⁰ Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, ^(QO)according to your word; ²¹ but truly, as I live, ^(QP)all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord— ^22 (QQ)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 ^(QR)these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, ²³ they certainly shall not ^(QS)see the land of which I ^[cr]swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. ²⁴ But My servant ^(QT)Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and ^(QU)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 ^(QV)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 (QW)“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? ^(QX)I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. ²⁸ Say to them, ^(QY)‘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, ^(QZ)all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. ^30 (RA)Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I ^[cs]swore I would make you dwell in. ^31 (RB)But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall ^[ct]know the land which ^(RC)you have despised. ³² But as for you, ^(RD)your^[cu] carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. ³³ And your sons shall ^(RE)be ^[cv]shepherds in the wilderness ^(RF)forty years, and ^(RG)bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. ^34 (RH)According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, ^(RI)forty days, for each day you shall bear your ^[cw]guilt one year, namely forty years, ^(RJ)and you shall know My ^[cx]rejection. ^35 (RK)I the Lord have spoken this. I will surely do so to all ^(RL)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, ^(RM)died by the plague before the Lord. ^38 (RN)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^(RO)

³⁹ Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, ^(RP)and the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, ^(RQ)“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 ^[cy]transgress the command of the Lord? For this will not succeed. ^42 (RR)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; ^(RS)because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.”

^44 (RT)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 ^(RU)Hormah.

Laws of Grain and Drink Offerings

15 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^2 (RV)“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you have come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you, ³ and you ^(RW)make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice, ^(RX)to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or ^(RY)in your appointed feasts, to make a ^(RZ)sweet^[cz] aroma to the Lord, from the herd or the flock, ⁴ then ^(SA)he who presents his offering to the Lord shall bring ^(SB)a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed ^(SC)with one-fourth of a hin of oil; ^5 (SD)and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering you shall prepare with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each ^(SE)lamb. ^6 (SF)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 as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a sweet aroma to the Lord. ⁸ And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering, or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or as a ^(SG)peace offering to the Lord, ⁹ then shall be offered ^(SH)with the young bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil; ¹⁰ and you shall bring as the drink offering half a hin of wine as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

^11 (SI)‘Thus it shall be done for each young bull, for each ram, or for each lamb or young goat. ¹² According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do with everyone according to their number. ¹³ All who are native-born shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. ¹⁴ And if a stranger ^[da]dwells with you, or whoever is among you throughout your generations, and would present an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord, just as you do, so shall he do. ^15 (SJ)One ^[db]ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. ¹⁶ One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you.’ ”

¹⁷ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^18 (SK)“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land to which I bring you, ¹⁹ then it will be, when you eat of ^(SL)the bread of the land, that you shall offer up a heave offering to the Lord. ^20 (SM)You shall offer up a cake of the first of your ground meal as a heave offering; as ^(SN)a heave offering of the threshing floor, so shall you offer it up. ²¹ Of the first of your ground meal you shall give to the Lord a heave offering throughout your generations.

Laws Concerning Unintentional Sin

^22 (SO)‘If you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments which the Lord has spoken to Moses— ²³ all that the Lord has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day the Lord gave commandment and onward throughout your generations— ²⁴ then it will be, ^(SP)if it is unintentionally committed, ^[dc]without the knowledge of the congregation, that the whole congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the Lord, ^(SQ)with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and ^(SR)one kid of the goats as a sin offering. ^25 (SS)So the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it was unintentional; they shall bring their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their unintended sin. ²⁶ It shall be forgiven the whole congregation of the children of Israel and the stranger who dwells among them, because all the people did it unintentionally.

²⁷ ‘And ^(ST)if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. ^28 (SU)So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the Lord, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. ^29 (SV)You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them.

Law Concerning Presumptuous Sin

^30 (SW)‘But the person who does anything ^[dd]presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one ^[de]brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be ^[df]cut off from among his people. ³¹ Because he has ^(SX)despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his ^[dg]guilt shall be upon him.’ ”

Penalty for Violating the Sabbath^(SY)

³² Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, ^(SZ)they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. ³³ And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. ³⁴ They put him ^(TA)under guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him.

³⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(TB)“The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall ^(TC)stone him with stones outside the camp.” ³⁶ So, as the Lord commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died.

Tassels on Garments

³⁷ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁸ “Speak to the children of Israel: Tell ^(TD)them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. ³⁹ And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and ^(TE)remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you ^(TF)may not ^(TG)follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, ⁴⁰ and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be ^(TH)holy for your God. ⁴¹ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”

Rebellion Against Moses and Aaron

16 Now ^(TI)Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with ^(TJ)Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; ² and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, ^(TK)representatives of the congregation, men of renown. ^3 (TL)They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You ^[dh]take too much upon yourselves, for ^(TM)all the congregation is holy, every one of them, ^(TN)and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

⁴ So when Moses heard it, he ^(TO)fell on his face; ⁵ and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is ^(TP)His and who is ^(TQ)holy,^[di] and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to ^(TR)come near to Him. ⁶ Do this: Take censers, Korah and all your company; ⁷ put fire in them and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!”

⁸ Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: ⁹ Is it ^(TS)a small thing to you that the God of Israel has ^(TT)separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to serve them; ¹⁰ and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? ¹¹ Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. ^(TU)And what is Aaron that you complain against him?”

¹² And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up! ¹³ Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of ^(TV)a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should ^(TW)keep acting like a prince over us? ¹⁴ Moreover ^(TX)you have not brought us into ^(TY)a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”

¹⁵ Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, ^(TZ)“Do not ^[dj]respect their offering. ^(UA)I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them.”

¹⁶ And Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow, you and all your company be present ^(UB)before the Lord—you and they, as well as Aaron. ¹⁷ Let each take his censer and put incense in it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers; both you and Aaron, each with his censer.” ¹⁸ So every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of meeting with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then ^(UC)the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ^21 (UD)“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may ^(UE)consume them in a moment.”

²² Then they ^(UF)fell^[dk] on their faces, and said, “O God, ^(UG)the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the ^(UH)congregation?”

²³ So the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ”

²⁵ Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶ And he spoke to the congregation, saying, ^(UI)“Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.” ²⁷ So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little ^(UJ)children.

²⁸ And Moses said: ^(UK)“By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them ^(UL)of my own will. ²⁹ If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are ^(UM)visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord creates ^(UN)a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they ^(UO)go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.”

^31 (UP)Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, ³² and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and ^(UQ)all the men with Korah, with all their goods. ³³ So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. ³⁴ Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!”

³⁵ And ^(UR)a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.

³⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to pick up the censers out of the blaze, for ^(US)they are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away. ³⁸ The censers of ^(UT)these men who sinned ^[dl]against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the Lord, therefore they are holy; ^(UU)and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.” ³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned up had presented, and they were hammered out as a covering on the altar, ⁴⁰ to be a ^[dm]memorial to the children of Israel ^(UV)that no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the Lord had said to him through Moses.

Complaints of the People

⁴¹ On the next day ^(UW)all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” ⁴² Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly ^(UX)the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting.

⁴⁴ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.”

And they fell on their faces.

⁴⁶ So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make ^[dn]atonement for them; ^(UY)for wrath has gone out from the Lord. The plague has begun.” ⁴⁷ Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ And he stood between the dead and the living; so ^(UZ)the plague was stopped. ⁴⁹ Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident. ⁵⁰ So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped.

The Budding of Aaron’s Rod

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses—twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod. ³ And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of each father’s house. ⁴ Then you shall place them in the tabernacle of meeting before ^(VA)the Testimony, ^(VB)where I meet with you. ⁵ And it shall be that the rod of the man ^(VC)whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, ^(VD)which they make against you.”

⁶ So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each of their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. ⁷ And Moses placed the rods before the Lord in ^(VE)the tabernacle of witness.

⁸ Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the ^(VF)rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds. ⁹ Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod.

¹⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, “Bring ^(VG)Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept ^(VH)as a sign against the rebels, ^(VI)that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die.” ¹¹ Thus did Moses; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

¹² So the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Surely we die, we perish, we all perish! ^13 (VJ)Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord must die. Shall we all utterly die?”

Duties of Priests and Levites

18 Then the Lord said to Aaron: ^(VK)“You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall ^(VL)bear the ^[do]iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood. ² Also bring with you your brethren of the ^(VM)tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be ^(VN)joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of ^[dp]witness. ³ They shall attend to your ^[dq]needs and ^(VO)all the needs of the tabernacle; ^(VP)but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, ^(VQ)lest they die—they and you also. ⁴ They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; ^(VR)but an outsider shall not come near you. ⁵ And you shall attend to ^(VS)the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, ^(VT)that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel. ⁶ Behold, I Myself have ^(VU)taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; ^(VV)they are a gift to you, given by the Lord, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁷ Therefore ^(VW)you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and ^(VX)behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a ^(VY)gift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

Offerings for Support of the Priests

⁸ And the Lord spoke to Aaron: “Here, ^(VZ)I Myself have also given you ^[dr]charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them ^(WA)as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever. ⁹ This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every ^(WB)grain offering and every ^(WC)sin offering and every ^(WD)trespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons. ^10 (WE)In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.

¹¹ “This also is yours: ^(WF)the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. ^(WG)Everyone who is ^[ds]clean in your house may eat it.

^12 (WH)“All the ^[dt]best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, ^(WI)their firstfruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them to you. ¹³ Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, ^(WJ)which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

^14 (WK)“Every ^[du]devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.

¹⁵ “Everything that first opens ^(WL)the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the Lord, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless ^(WM)the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. ¹⁶ And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, ^(WN)according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is ^(WO)twenty gerahs. ^17 (WP)But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. ^(WQ)You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. ¹⁸ And their flesh shall be yours, just as the ^(WR)wave^[dv] breast and the right thigh are yours.

¹⁹ “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; ^(WS)it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you.”

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You shall have ^(WT)no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; ^(WU)I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.

Tithes for Support of the Levites

²¹ “Behold, ^(WV)I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as ^[dw]an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, ^(WW)the work of the tabernacle of meeting. ^22 (WX)Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, ^(WY)lest they bear sin and die. ²³ But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. ²⁴ For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites ^[dx]as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ”

The Tithe of the Levites

²⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, ^(WZ)a tenth of the tithe. ²⁷ And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the ^(XA)threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. ²⁸ Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the Lord from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the Lord’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. ²⁹ Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the Lord, from all the ^[dy]best of them, the consecrated part of them.’ ³⁰ Therefore you shall say to them: ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress. ³¹ You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is ^(XB)your ^[dz]reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting. ³² And you shall ^(XC)bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not ^(XD)profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’ ”

Laws of Purification

19 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “This is the ^[ea]ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without ^[eb]blemish, in which there is no ^(XE)defect ^(XF)and on which a yoke has never come. ³ You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it ^(XG)outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; ⁴ and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and ^(XH)sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁵ Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: ^(XI)its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. ⁶ And the priest shall take ^(XJ)cedar wood and ^(XK)hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. ^7 (XL)Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening. ⁸ And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. ⁹ Then a man who is clean shall gather up ^(XM)the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel ^(XN)for the water of ^[ec]purification; it is for purifying from sin. ¹⁰ And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.

^11 (XO)‘He who touches the dead ^[ed]body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. ^12 (XP)He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. ¹³ Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and ^(XQ)does not purify himself, ^(XR)defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because ^(XS)the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; ^(XT)his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴ ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days; ¹⁵ and every ^(XU)open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. ^16 (XV)Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

¹⁷ ‘And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ^(XW)ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and ^[ee]running water shall be put on them in a vessel. ¹⁸ A clean person shall take ^(XX)hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave. ¹⁹ The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; ^(XY)and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean.

²⁰ ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has ^(XZ)defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. ²¹ It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening. ^22 (YA)Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and ^(YB)the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ”