Moses Dies and Is Buried in the Land of Moab

34 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, ² all Naph′tali, the land of E′phraim and Manas′seh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, ³ the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zo′ar. ⁴ And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” ⁵ 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 the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-pe′or; but no man knows the place of his burial to this day. ⁷ Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. ⁸ And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

⁹ And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him; so the people of Israel obeyed him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. ¹⁰ And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, ¹¹ none like him for all the signs and the wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, ¹² and for all the mighty power and all the great and terrible deeds which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel.

Balaam’s Third Oracle

24 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. ² And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and saw Israel encamping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, ³ and he took up his discourse, and said,

Balaam’s Fourth Oracle

¹⁰ And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. ¹¹ Therefore now flee to your place; I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the Lord has held you back from honor.” ¹² And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, ¹³ ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will; what the Lord speaks, that will I speak’? ¹⁴ And now, behold, I am going to my people; come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.” ¹⁵ And he took up his discourse, and said,

²⁰ Then he looked on Am′alek, and took up his discourse, and said,

²¹ And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse, and said,

²³ And he took up his discourse, and said,

²⁵ Then Balaam rose, and went back to his place; and Balak also went his way.

The First Census of Israel

1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ² “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by families, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head; ³ from twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go forth to war, you and Aaron shall number them, company by company. ⁴ And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. ⁵ And these are the names of the men who shall attend you. From Reuben, Eli′zur the son of Shed′eur; ⁶ from Simeon, Shelu′mi-el the son of Zurishad′dai; ⁷ from Judah, Nahshon the son of Ammin′adab; ⁸ from Is′sachar, Nethan′el the son of Zu′ar; ⁹ from Zeb′ulun, Eli′ab the son of Helon; ¹⁰ from the sons of Joseph, from E′phraim, Elish′ama the son of Ammi′hud, and from Manas′seh, Gama′liel the son of Pedah′zur; ¹¹ from Benjamin, Abi′dan the son of Gideo′ni; ¹² from Dan, Ahi-e′zer the son of Ammishad′dai; ¹³ from Asher, Pa′giel the son of Ochran; ¹⁴ from Gad, Eli′asaph the son of Deu′el; ¹⁵ from Naph′tali, Ahi′ra the son of Enan.” ¹⁶ These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.

¹⁷ Moses and Aaron took these men who have been named, ¹⁸ and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by families, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, ¹⁹ as the Lord commanded Moses. So he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.

²⁰ The people of Reuben, Israel’s first-born, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ²¹ the number of the tribe of Reuben was forty-six thousand five hundred.

²² Of the people of Simeon, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those of them that were numbered, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ²³ the number of the tribe of Simeon was fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

²⁴ Of the people of Gad, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ²⁵ the number of the tribe of Gad was forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.

²⁶ Of the people of Judah, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ²⁷ the number of the tribe of Judah was seventy-four thousand six hundred.

²⁸ Of the people of Is′sachar, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ²⁹ the number of the tribe of Is′sachar was fifty-four thousand four hundred.

³⁰ Of the people of Zeb′ulun, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ³¹ the number of the tribe of Zeb′ulun was fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

³² Of the people of Joseph, namely, of the people of E′phraim, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ³³ the number of the tribe of E′phraim was forty thousand five hundred.

³⁴ Of the people of Manas′seh, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ³⁵ the number of the tribe of Manas′seh was thirty-two thousand two hundred.

³⁶ Of the people of Benjamin, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ³⁷ the number of the tribe of Benjamin was thirty-five thousand four hundred.

³⁸ Of the people of Dan, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ³⁹ the number of the tribe of Dan was sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

⁴⁰ Of the people of Asher, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ⁴¹ the number of the tribe of Asher was forty-one thousand five hundred.

⁴² Of the people of Naph′tali, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ⁴³ the number of the tribe of Naph′tali was fifty-three thousand four hundred.

⁴⁴ These are those who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered with the help of the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers’ house. ⁴⁵ So the whole number of the people of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war in Israel— ⁴⁶ their whole number was six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.

⁴⁷ But the Levites were not numbered by their ancestral tribe along with them. ⁴⁸ For the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁹ “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel; ⁵⁰ but appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it; they are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall tend it, and shall encamp around the tabernacle. ⁵¹ When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any one else comes near, he shall be put to death. ⁵² The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, every man by his own camp and every man by his own standard; ⁵³ but the Levites shall encamp around the tabernacle of the testimony, that there may be no wrath upon the congregation of the people of Israel; and the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the testimony.” ⁵⁴ Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.

The Order of Encampment and Marching

2 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “The people of Israel shall encamp each by his own standard, with the ensigns of their fathers’ houses; they shall encamp facing the tent of meeting on every side. ³ Those to encamp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the leader of the people of Judah being Nahshon the son of Ammin′adab, ⁴ his host as numbered being seventy-four thousand six hundred. ⁵ Those to encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Is′sachar, the leader of the people of Is′sachar being Nethan′el the son of Zu′ar, ⁶ his host as numbered being fifty-four thousand four hundred. ⁷ Then the tribe of Zeb′ulun, the leader of the people of Zeb′ulun being Eli′ab the son of Helon, ⁸ his host as numbered being fifty-seven thousand four hundred. ⁹ The whole number of the camp of Judah, by their companies, is a hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred. They shall set out first on the march.

¹⁰ “On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the leader of the people of Reuben being Eli′zur the son of Shed′eur, ¹¹ his host as numbered being forty-six thousand five hundred. ¹² And those to encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the leader of the people of Simeon being Shelu′mi-el the son of Zurishad′dai, ¹³ his host as numbered being fifty-nine thousand three hundred. ¹⁴ Then the tribe of Gad, the leader of the people of Gad being Eli′asaph the son of Reu′el, ¹⁵ his host as numbered being forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. ¹⁶ The whole number of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, is a hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty. They shall set out second.

¹⁷ “Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they encamp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.

¹⁸ “On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of E′phraim by their companies, the leader of the people of E′phraim being Elish′ama the son of Ammi′hud, ¹⁹ his host as numbered being forty thousand five hundred. ²⁰ And next to him shall be the tribe of Manas′seh, the leader of the people of Manas′seh being Gama′liel the son of Pedah′zur, ²¹ his host as numbered being thirty-two thousand two hundred. ²² Then the tribe of Benjamin, the leader of the people of Benjamin being Abi′dan the son of Gideo′ni, ²³ his host as numbered being thirty-five thousand four hundred. ²⁴ The whole number of the camp of E′phraim, by their companies, is a hundred and eight thousand one hundred. They shall set out third on the march.

²⁵ “On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the leader of the people of Dan being Ahi-e′zer the son of Ammishad′dai, ²⁶ his host as numbered being sixty-two thousand seven hundred. ²⁷ And those to encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the leader of the people of Asher being Pa′giel the son of Ochran, ²⁸ his host as numbered being forty-one thousand five hundred. ²⁹ Then the tribe of Naph′tali, the leader of the people of Naph′tali being Ahi′ra the son of Enan, ³⁰ his host as numbered being fifty-three thousand four hundred. ³¹ The whole number of the camp of Dan is a hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They shall set out last, standard by standard.”

³² These are the people of Israel as numbered by their fathers’ houses; all in the camps who were numbered by their companies were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. ³³ But the Levites were not numbered among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁴ Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they encamped by their standards, and so they set out, every one in his family, according to his fathers’ house.

The Sons of Aaron

3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. ² These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the first-born, and Abi′hu, Elea′zar, and Ith′amar; ³ these are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to minister in the priest’s office. ⁴ But Nadab and Abi′hu died before the Lord when they offered unholy fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Elea′zar and Ith′amar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

The Duties of the Levites

⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. ⁷ They shall perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle; ⁸ they shall have charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and attend to the duties for the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. ⁹ And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. ¹⁰ And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but if any one else comes near, he shall be put to death.”

¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹² “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every first-born that opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, ¹³ for all the first-born are mine; on the day that I slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the first-born in Israel, both of man and of beast; they shall be mine: I am the Lord.”

A Census of the Levites

¹⁴ And the Lord said to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, ¹⁵ “Number the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by families; every male from a month old and upward you shall number.” ¹⁶ So Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. ¹⁷ And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merar′i. ¹⁸ And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shim′e-i. ¹⁹ And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uz′ziel. ²⁰ And the sons of Merar′i by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites, by their fathers’ houses.

²¹ Of Gershon were the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shim′e-ites; these were the families of the Gershonites. ²² Their number according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was^[a] seven thousand five hundred. ²³ The families of the Gershonites were to encamp behind the tabernacle on the west, ²⁴ with Eli′asaph, the son of La′el as head of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. ²⁵ And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was to be the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the door of the tent of meeting, ²⁶ the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords; all the service pertaining to these.

²⁷ Of Kohath were the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izhar′ites, and the family of the He′bronites, and the family of the Uzzie′lites; these are the families of the Ko′hathites. ²⁸ According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred, attending to the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹ The families of the sons of Kohath were to encamp on the south side of the tabernacle, ³⁰ with Eli-za′phan the son of Uz′ziel as head of the fathers’ house of the families of the Ko′hathites. ³¹ And their charge was to be the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service pertaining to these. ³² And Elea′zar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who had charge of the sanctuary.

³³ Of Merar′i were the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merar′i. ³⁴ Their number according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was six thousand two hundred. ³⁵ And the head of the fathers’ house of the families of Merar′i was Zu′riel the son of Ab′ihail; they were to encamp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ And the appointed charge of the sons of Merar′i was to be the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service pertaining to these; ³⁷ also the pillars of the court round about, with their bases and pegs and cords.

³⁸ And those to encamp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, having charge of the rites within the sanctuary, whatever had to be done for the people of Israel; and any one else who came near was to be put to death. ³⁹ All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, by families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.

The Redemption of the Firstborn

⁴⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, “Number all the first-born males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking their number by names. ⁴¹ And you shall take the Levites for me— I am the Lord—instead of all the first-born among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the people of Israel.” ⁴² So Moses numbered all the first-born among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³ And all the first-born males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as numbered were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

⁴⁴ And the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites instead of all the first-born among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. ⁴⁶ And for the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the first-born of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, ⁴⁷ you shall take five shekels apiece; reckoning by the shekel of the sanctuary, the shekel of twenty gerahs, you shall take them, ⁴⁸ and give the money by 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 redeemed by the Levites; ⁵⁰ from the first-born of the people of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, reckoned by the shekel of the sanctuary; ⁵¹ and Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Kohathites

4 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families and their fathers’ houses, ³ from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can enter the service, to do the work in the tent of meeting. ⁴ This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. ⁵ When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the testimony with it; ⁶ then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin, and spread over that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. ⁷ And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put upon it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the continual bread also shall be on it; ⁸ then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. ⁹ And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its snuffers, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied: ¹⁰ and they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it upon the carrying frame. ¹¹ And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles; ¹² and they shall take all the vessels of the service which are used in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of goatskin, and put them on the carrying frame. ¹³ And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it; ¹⁴ and they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the firepans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. ¹⁵ And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.

¹⁶ “And Elea′zar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the continual cereal offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of all the tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ¹⁸ “Let not the tribe of the families of the Ko′hathites be destroyed from among the Levites; ¹⁹ but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, ²⁰ but they shall not go in to look upon the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”

The Gershonites and Merarites

²¹ The Lord said to Moses, ²² “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their families and their fathers’ houses; ²³ from thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall number them, all who can enter for service, to do the work in the tent of meeting. ²⁴ This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: ²⁵ they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting with its covering, and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it, and the screen for the door of the tent of meeting, ²⁶ and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, and all the equipment for their service; and they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. ²⁷ All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry, and in all that they have to do; and you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. ²⁸ This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their work is to be under the oversight of Ith′amar the son of Aaron the priest.

²⁹ “As for the sons of Merar′i, you shall number them by their families and their fathers’ houses; ³⁰ from thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall number them, every one that can enter the service, to do the work of the tent of meeting. ³¹ And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, ³² and the pillars of the court round about with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories; and you shall assign by name the objects which they are required to carry. ³³ This is the service of the families of the sons of Merar′i, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ith′amar the son of Aaron the priest.”

Census of the Levites

³⁴ And Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Ko′hathites, by their families and their fathers’ houses, ³⁵ from thirty years old up to fifty years old, every one that could enter the service, for work in the tent of meeting; ³⁶ and their number by families was two thousand seven hundred and fifty. ³⁷ This was the number of the families of the Ko′hathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.

³⁸ The number of the sons of Gershon, by their families and their fathers’ houses, ³⁹ from thirty years old up to fifty years old, every one that could enter the service for work in the tent of meeting— ⁴⁰ their number by their families and their fathers’ houses was two thousand six hundred and thirty. ⁴¹ This was the number of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord.

⁴² The number of the families of the sons of Merar′i, by their families and their fathers’ houses, ⁴³ from thirty years old up to fifty years old, every one that could enter the service, for work in the tent of meeting— ⁴⁴ their number by families was three thousand two hundred. ⁴⁵ These are those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merar′i, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.

⁴⁶ All those who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families and their fathers’ houses, ⁴⁷ from thirty years old up to fifty years old, every one that could enter to do the work of service and the work of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, ⁴⁸ those who were numbered of them were eight thousand five hundred and eighty. ⁴⁹ According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses they were appointed, each to his task of serving or carrying; thus they were numbered by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Unclean Persons

5 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one having a discharge, and every one that is unclean through contact with the dead; ³ you shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.” ⁴ And the people of Israel did so, and drove them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.

Confession and Restitution

⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, ⁶ “Say to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that men commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person is guilty, ⁷ he shall confess his sin which he has committed; and he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it, and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. ⁸ But if the man has no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him. ⁹ And every offering, all the holy things of the people of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his; ¹⁰ and every man’s holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives to the priest shall be his.”

Concerning an Unfaithful Wife

¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹² “Say to the people of Israel, If any man’s wife goes astray and acts unfaithfully against him, ¹³ if a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, since she was not taken in the act; ¹⁴ and if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him, and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him, and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself; ¹⁵ then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a cereal offering of jealousy, a cereal offering of remembrance, bringing iniquity to remembrance.

¹⁶ “And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the Lord; ¹⁷ and 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 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord, and unbind the hair of the woman’s head, and place in her hands the cereal offering of remembrance, which is the cereal offering of jealousy. And in his hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse. ¹⁹ Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, ‘If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness, while you were under your husband’s authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your husband has lain with you, ²¹ then’ (let the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse, and say to the woman) ‘the Lord make you an execration and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh fall away and your body swell; ²² may this water that brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your body swell and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, ‘Amen, Amen.’

²³ “Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and wash them off into the water of bitterness; ²⁴ and he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain. ²⁵ And the priest shall take the cereal offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the cereal offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar; ²⁶ and the priest shall take a handful of the cereal offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. ²⁷ And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has acted unfaithfully against her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her body shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman shall become an execration among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.

²⁹ “This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, though under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself, ³⁰ or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law. ³¹ The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”

The Nazirites

6 And the Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the people of Israel, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite,^[b] to separate himself to the Lord, ³ he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. ⁴ All the days of his separation^[c] he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.

⁵ “All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy; he shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long.

⁶ “All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. ⁷ Neither for his father nor for his mother, nor for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean; because his separation to God is upon his head. ⁸ All the days of his separation he is holy to the Lord.

⁹ “And if any man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. ¹⁰ On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest to the door of the tent of meeting, ¹¹ and the priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned by reason of the dead body. And he shall consecrate his head that same day, ¹² and separate himself to the Lord for the days of his separation, and bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering; but the former time shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

¹³ “And this is the law for the Nazirite, when the time of his separation has been completed: he shall be brought to the door of the tent of meeting, ¹⁴ and he shall offer his gift to the Lord, one male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace offering, ¹⁵ and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and their cereal offering and their drink offerings. ¹⁶ And the priest shall present them before the Lord and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering, ¹⁷ and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall offer also its cereal offering and its drink offering. ¹⁸ And the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the door of the tent 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 shoulder of the ram, when it is boiled, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaven the hair of his consecration, ²⁰ and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord; they are a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is offered; and after that the Nazirite may drink wine.

²¹ “This is the law for the Nazirite who takes a vow. His offering to the Lord shall be according to his vow as a Nazirite, apart from what else he can afford; in accordance with the vow which he takes, so shall he do according to the law for his separation as a Nazirite.”

The Priestly Benediction

²² The Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Say to Aaron and his sons, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

²⁷ “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

Offerings of the Leaders

7 On the day when Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle, and had anointed and consecrated it with all its furnishings, and had anointed and consecrated the altar with all its utensils, ² the leaders of Israel, heads of their fathers’ houses, the leaders of the tribes, who were over those who were numbered, ³ offered and brought their offerings before the Lord, six covered wagons and twelve oxen, a wagon for every two of the leaders, and for each one an ox; they offered them before the tabernacle. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, ⁵ “Accept these from them, that they may be used in doing the service of the tent of meeting, and give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” ⁶ So Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service; ⁸ and four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merar′i, according to their service, under the direction of Ith′amar the son of Aaron the priest. ⁹ But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because they were charged with the care of the holy things which had to be carried on the shoulder. ¹⁰ And the leaders offered offerings for the dedication of the altar on the day it was anointed; and the leaders offered their offering before the altar. ¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “They shall offer their offerings, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar.”

¹² He who offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Ammin′adab, of the tribe of Judah; ¹³ and his offering was one silver plate whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ¹⁴ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ¹⁵ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ¹⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ¹⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Ammin′adab.

¹⁸ On the second day Nethan′el the son of Zu′ar, the leader of Is′sachar, made an offering; ¹⁹ he offered for his offering one silver plate, whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ²⁰ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ²¹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²² one male goat for a sin offering; ²³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nethan′el the son of Zu′ar.

²⁴ On the third day Eli′ab the son of Helon, the leader of the men of Zeb′ulun: ²⁵ his offering was one silver plate, whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ²⁶ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ²⁷ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²⁸ one male goat for a sin offering; ²⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eli′ab the son of Helon.

³⁰ On the fourth day Eli′zur the son of Shed′eur, the leader of the men of Reuben: ³¹ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ³² one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ³³ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ³⁴ one male goat for a sin offering; ³⁵ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eli′zur the son of Shed′eur.

³⁶ On the fifth day Shelu′mi-el the son of Zurishad′dai, the leader of the men of Simeon: ³⁷ his offering was one silver plate, whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ³⁸ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ³⁹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Shelu′mi-el the son of Zurishad′dai.

⁴² On the sixth day Eli′asaph the son of Deu′el, the leader of the men of Gad: ⁴³ his offering was one silver plate, whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁴⁴ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁴⁵ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eli′asaph the son of Deu′el.

⁴⁸ On the seventh day Elish′ama the son of Ammi′hud, the leader of the men of E′phraim: ⁴⁹ his offering was one silver plate, whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁵⁰ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵¹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵² one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elish′ama the son of Ammi′hud.

⁵⁴ On the eighth day Gama′liel the son of Pedah′zur, the leader of the men of Manas′seh: ⁵⁵ his offering was one silver plate, whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁵⁶ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵⁷ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Gama′liel the son of Pedah′zur.

⁶⁰ On the ninth day Abi′dan the son of Gideo′ni, the leader of the men of Benjamin: ⁶¹ his offering was one silver plate, whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁶² one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶³ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁶⁵ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Abi′dan the son of Gideo′ni.

⁶⁶ On the tenth day Ahie′zer the son of Ammishad′dai, the leader of the men of Dan: ⁶⁷ his offering was one silver plate, whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁶⁸ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶⁹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahie′zer the son of Ammishad′dai.

⁷² On the eleventh day Pa′giel the son of Ochran, the leader of the men of Asher: ⁷³ his offering was one silver plate, whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁷⁴ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁷⁵ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Pa′giel the son of Ochran.

⁷⁸ On the twelfth day Ahi′ra the son of Enan, the leader of the men of Naph′tali: ⁷⁹ his offering was one silver plate, whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁸⁰ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁸¹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁸² one male goat for a sin offering; ⁸³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahi′ra the son of Enan.

⁸⁴ This was the dedication offering for the altar, on the day when it was anointed, from the leaders of Israel: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, twelve golden dishes, ⁸⁵ each silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels and each basin seventy, all the silver of the vessels two thousand four hundred shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, ⁸⁶ the twelve golden dishes, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece according to the shekel of the sanctuary, all the gold of the dishes being a hundred and twenty shekels; ⁸⁷ all the cattle for the burnt offering twelve bulls, twelve rams, twelve male lambs a year old, with their cereal offering; and twelve male goats for a sin offering; ⁸⁸ and all the cattle for the sacrifice of peace offerings twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, the male lambs a year old sixty. This was the dedication offering for the altar, after it was anointed.

⁸⁹ And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was upon the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him.

The Seven Lamps

8 Now the Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to Aaron, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.” ³ And Aaron did so; he set up its lamps to give light in front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. ⁴ And this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flowers, it was hammered work; according to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Consecration and Service of the Levites

⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel, and cleanse them. ⁷ And thus you shall do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of expiation upon them, and let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. ⁸ Then let them take a young bull and its cereal offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull for a sin offering. ⁹ And you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting, and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel. ¹⁰ When you present the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites, ¹¹ and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of the Lord. ¹² Then the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bulls; and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³ And you shall cause the Levites to attend Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as a wave offering to the Lord.

¹⁴ “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine. ¹⁵ And after that the Levites shall go in to do service at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a wave offering. ¹⁶ For they are wholly given to me from among the people of Israel; instead of all that open the womb, the first-born of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. ¹⁷ For all the first-born among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast; on the day that I slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, ¹⁸ and I have taken the Levites instead of all the first-born among the people of Israel. ¹⁹ And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may be no plague among the people of Israel in case the people of Israel should come near the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them. ²¹ And the Levites purified themselves from sin, and washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting in attendance upon Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

²³ And the Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “This is what pertains to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall go in to perform the work in the service of the tent of meeting; ²⁵ and from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the work of the service and serve no more, ²⁶ but minister to their brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, and they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”

The Passover at Sinai

9 And 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 people of Israel keep the passover at its appointed time. ³ On the fourteenth day of this month, in the evening, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its ordinances you shall keep it.” ⁴ So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the passover. ⁵ And they kept the passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. ⁶ And there were certain men who were unclean through touching the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the passover on that day; and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day; ⁷ and those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching the dead body of a man; why are we kept from offering the Lord’s offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” ⁸ And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰ “Say to the people of Israel, If any man of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is afar off on a journey, he shall still keep the passover to the Lord. ¹¹ In the second month on the fourteenth day in the evening they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ¹² They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break a bone of it; according to all the statute for the passover they shall keep it. ¹³ But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, yet refrains from keeping the passover, that person shall be cut off from his people, because he did not offer the Lord’s offering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. ¹⁴ And if a stranger sojourns among you, and will keep the passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the passover and according to its ordinance, so shall he do; you shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.”

The Cloud and the Fire

¹⁵ On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony; and at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. ¹⁶ So it was continually; the cloud covered it by day^[d] and the appearance of fire by night. ¹⁷ And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel encamped. ¹⁸ At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they encamped; as long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. ¹⁹ Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the Lord, and did not set out. ²⁰ Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out. ²¹ And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning; and when the cloud was taken up in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud was taken up they set out. ²² Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out; but when it was taken up they set out. ²³ At the command of the Lord they encamped, and at the command of the Lord they set out; they kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.

The Silver Trumpets

10 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Make two silver trumpets; of hammered work you shall make them; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation, and for breaking camp. ³ And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁴ But if they blow only one, then the leaders, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. ⁵ When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. ⁶ And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. ⁷ But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but you shall not sound an alarm. ⁸ And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. ⁹ And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. ¹⁰ On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts, and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; they shall serve you for remembrance before your God: I am the Lord your God.”

Departure from Sinai

¹¹ In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the testimony, ¹² and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. ¹³ They set out for the first time at the command of the Lord by Moses. ¹⁴ The standard of the camp of the men of Judah set out first by their companies; and over their host was Nahshon the son of Ammin′adab. ¹⁵ And over the host of the tribe of the men of Is′sachar was Nethan′el the son of Zu′ar. ¹⁶ And over the host of the tribe of the men of Zeb′ulun was Eli′ab the son of Helon.

¹⁷ And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merar′i, who carried the tabernacle, set out. ¹⁸ And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies; and over their host was Eli′zur the son of Shed′eur. ¹⁹ And over the host of the tribe of the men of Simeon was Shelu′mi-el the son of Zurishad′dai. ²⁰ And over the host of the tribe of the men of Gad was Eli′asaph the son of Deu′el.

²¹ Then the Ko′hathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. ²² And the standard of the camp of the men of E′phraim set out by their companies; and over their host was Elish′ama the son of Ammi′hud. ²³ And over the host of the tribe of the men of Manas′seh was Gama′liel the son of Pedah′zur. ²⁴ And over the host of the tribe of the men of Benjamin was Abi′dan the son of Gideo′ni.

²⁵ Then the standard of the camp of the men of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies; and over their host was Ahie′zer the son of Ammishad′dai. ²⁶ And over the host of the tribe of the men of Asher was Pa′giel the son of Ochran. ²⁷ And over the host of the tribe of the men of Naph′tali was Ahi′ra the son of Enan. ²⁸ This was the order of march of the people of Israel according to their hosts, when they set out.

²⁹ And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reu′el the Mid′ianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you’; come with us, and we will do you good; for the Lord has promised good to Israel.” ³⁰ But he said to him, “I will not go; I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” ³¹ And he said, “Do not leave us, I pray you, for you know how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. ³² And if you go with us, whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same will we do to you.”

³³ So they set out from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them. ³⁴ And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp.

³⁵ And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O Lord, and let thy enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.” ³⁶ And when it rested, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.”

Complaining in the Desert

11 And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes; and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. ² Then the people cried to Moses; and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire abated. ³ So the name of that place was called Tab′erah,^[e] because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

⁴ Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving; and the people of Israel also wept again, and said, “O that we had meat to eat! ⁵ We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; ⁶ but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

⁷ Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. ⁸ The people went about and gathered it, and ground it in mills or beat it in mortars, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. ⁹ When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

¹⁰ Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man at the door of his tent; and the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. ¹¹ Moses said to the Lord, “Why hast thou dealt ill with thy servant? And why have I not found favor in thy sight, that thou dost lay the burden of all this people upon me? ¹² Did I conceive all this people? Did I bring them forth, that thou shouldst say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries the sucking child,’ to the land which thou didst swear to give their fathers? ¹³ Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ ¹⁴ I am not able to carry all this people alone, the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If thou wilt deal thus with me, kill me at once, if I find favor in thy sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”

The Seventy Elders

¹⁶ And the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. ¹⁷ And I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit which is upon you and put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone. ¹⁸ And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept 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 not eat one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, ²⁰ but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come forth out of Egypt?”’” ²¹ But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot; and thou hast said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ ²² Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to suffice them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?” ²³ And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”

²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and placed them round about the tent. ²⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did so no more.

²⁶ Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested upon them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” ²⁸ And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, forbid them.” ²⁹ But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!” ³⁰ And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

The Quails

³¹ And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and it brought quails from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and about two cubits above the face of the earth. ³² And the people rose all that day, and all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quails; he who gathered least gathered ten homers; and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. ³³ While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague. ³⁴ Therefore the name of that place was called Kib′roth-hatta′avah,^[f] because there they buried the people who had the craving. ³⁵ From Kib′roth-hatta′avah the people journeyed to Haze′roth; and they remained at Haze′roth.

Aaron and Miriam Jealous of Moses

12 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman; ² and they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. ³ Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all men that were on the face of the earth. ⁴ And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. ⁵ And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forward. ⁶ And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. ⁷ Not so with my servant Moses; he is entrusted with all my house. ⁸ With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in dark speech; and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”