Numbers 36
Expanded Bible
Land for Zelophehad’s Daughters
36 The leaders of ·Gilead’s family group [L the clan of the sons/descendants of Gilead] went to talk to Moses and the leaders of the ·families [clans] of ·Israel [L sons/T children of Israel]. (Gilead was the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, the son of Joseph.) 2 They said, “The Lord commanded you, our ·master [lord], to give the land for inheritance to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] by throwing lots [C perhaps the Urim and Thummim; Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8], and the Lord commanded you, our master [lord], to give for inheritance the land of Zelophehad, our brother, to his daughters [27:1–11]. 3 But if his daughters marry ·men [L sons] from other tribes of ·Israel [L the sons/T children of Israel], then ·that land will leave our family [L their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our ancestors/fathers], and the people of the other tribes will get that land. So ·we will lose some of our land [L part of our allotted portion will be lost]. 4 When the time of Jubilee [C every fiftieth year; Lev. 25:8–55] comes for the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], their land will go to the tribes of the people they marry; ·their land will be taken away from us, the land we received from our fathers [L the inheritance of the tribe of our ancestors/fathers will be deprived of inheritance].”
5 Then Moses gave the ·Israelites [L the sons/T children of Israel] this command from the Lord: “These men from the ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Joseph are right. 6 This is the Lord’s command to Zelophehad’s daughters: You may marry anyone you wish, as long as the person is from ·your [L a clan of your] own tribe. 7 In this way the ·Israelites’ land [L inheritance of the sons/T children of Israel] will not pass from tribe to tribe, and each ·Israelite [L son/child of Israel] will keep the land in the tribe that belonged to his ·ancestors [fathers]. 8 A woman who inherits her father’s land may marry, but she must marry someone from ·her own [L a clan of her own] tribe. In this way every ·Israelite [L son/child of Israel] will keep the land that belonged to his ·ancestors [fathers]. 9 The ·land [inheritance] must not pass from tribe to tribe, and each ·Israelite tribe [L tribe of the sons/T children of Israel] will keep the land it ·received [inherited] from its ·ancestors [fathers].”
10 Zelophehad’s daughters obeyed the Lord’s command to Moses.
11 So Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah—married ·their cousins, their father’s relatives [L sons of their father’s brothers]. 12 Their husbands were from the ·tribe of [L clan of the sons of] Manasseh son of Joseph, so their ·land [inheritance] stayed in their father’s ·family group [clan] and tribe.
13 These were the laws and commands that the Lord gave to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] through Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan River, across from Jericho.
Numbers 36
International Children’s Bible
Land for Zelophehad’s Daughters
36 The leaders of Gilead’s family group went to talk to Moses and the leaders of the families of Israel. (Gilead was the son of Makir. Makir was Manasseh’s son, and Manasseh was Joseph’s son.) 2 They said, “The Lord commanded you, our master, to give the land to the Israelites by throwing lots. And the Lord commanded you to give the land of Zelophehad, our brother, to his daughters. 3 His daughters may marry men from other tribes of Israel. Then that land will leave our family. The people of the other tribes will get that land. So we will lose some of our land. 4 The time of Jubilee will come for the Israelites. Then their land will go to other tribes. It will go to the tribes of the people they marry. So their land will be taken away from us. And that was land we received from our fathers.”
5 Then Moses gave the Israelites this command from the Lord: “These men from the tribe of Joseph are right. 6 This is the Lord’s command to Zelophehad’s daughters: You may marry anyone you wish from your own tribe. 7 In this way the Israelites’ land will not pass from tribe to tribe. Each Israelite will keep the land in the tribe that belonged to his ancestors. 8 A woman who inherits her father’s land may marry. But she must marry someone from her own tribe. In this way every Israelite will keep the land that belonged to his ancestors. 9 The land must not pass from tribe to tribe. Each Israelite tribe will keep the land it received from its ancestors.”
10 Zelophehad’s daughters obeyed the Lord’s command to Moses.
11 So Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah—married their cousins. These were their father’s relatives. 12 Their husbands were from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph. So their land stayed in their father’s family group and tribe.
13 These were the laws and commands that the Lord gave to the Israelites. He gave them through Moses. The Israelites were on the plains of Moab by the Jordan River, across from Jericho.
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