The Census of Israel’s Warriors

1 The Lord spoke [by special revelation] to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) on the first day of the second month in the second year after the ^[a]Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, saying, ² “Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, ^[b]head by head ³ from twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go out to war. You and Aaron shall number them, army by army. ⁴ And with you there shall be a man [to assist you] from each tribe, each being the head of his father’s household. ⁵ These then are the names of the men who shall stand with you: from [the tribe of] Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; ⁶ from [the tribe of] Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; ⁷ from [the tribe of] Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; ⁸ from [the tribe of] Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; ⁹ from [the tribe of] Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; ¹⁰ from the sons (descendants) of Joseph: from [the tribe of] ^[c]Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; from [the tribe of] Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; ¹¹ from [the tribe of] Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; ¹² from [the tribe of] Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; ¹³ from [the tribe of] Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; ¹⁴ from [the tribe of] Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; ¹⁵ from [the tribe of] Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan. ¹⁶ These men were the ones called from the congregation, the leaders of their fathers’ (ancestors’) tribes; they were the heads of thousands [the highest ranking officers] in Israel.”

¹⁷ So Moses and Aaron took these men who were designated by name, ¹⁸ and assembled all the congregation on the first day of the second month, and they registered by ancestry in their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, ¹⁹ just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.

²⁰ The sons of Reuben, Israel’s (Jacob’s) firstborn, their generations, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ²¹ those of the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.

²² Of the sons of Simeon, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, their numbered men according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ²³ those of the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.

²⁴ Of the sons of Gad, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ²⁵ those of the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.

²⁶ Of the sons of Judah, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ²⁷ those of the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.

²⁸ Of the sons of Issachar, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ²⁹ those of the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.

³⁰ Of the sons of Zebulun, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ³¹ those of the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.

³² Of the sons of Joseph: the sons (descendants) of Ephraim, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ³³ those of the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500.

³⁴ Of the sons of Manasseh, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ³⁵ those of the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.

³⁶ Of the sons of Benjamin, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ³⁷ those of the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.

³⁸ Of the sons of Dan, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ³⁹ those of the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.

⁴⁰ Of the sons of Asher, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ⁴¹ those of the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.

⁴² Of the sons of Naphtali, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ⁴³ those of the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.

⁴⁴ These were the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers’ household. ⁴⁵ So all those numbered of the sons of Israel, by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war in Israel, ⁴⁶ all who were numbered were 603,550.

Levites Exempted

⁴⁷ The Levites, however, were not numbered among them by their fathers’ tribe. ⁴⁸ For the Lord had said to Moses, ⁴⁹ “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor shall you take their census among the sons of Israel [since they are unavailable to go to war]. ⁵⁰ But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle (sanctuary) of the Testimony, and over all its furnishings and all things that belong to it. They shall carry the tabernacle [when traveling] and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and camp around it. ⁵¹ When the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to [be set up for] camp, the Levites shall set it up. But the layman (non-Levite) who approaches the tabernacle shall be put to death. ⁵² The Israelites shall camp according to their armies, every man by his own camp and every man by his own [tribal] standard (banner). ⁵³ But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, so that there will be no wrath against the congregation of the Israelites. The Levites shall be in charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony.” ⁵⁴ Thus the sons of Israel did these things; according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so they did.

Arrangement of the Camps

2 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “The sons of Israel shall camp, each by his own standard, with the ^[d]banners of their fathers’ households; they shall camp around the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), but at a distance. ³ Those who camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the ^[e]standard of the camp of Judah, by their armies; and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall lead the sons of Judah, ⁴ and his army as numbered totaled 74,600. ⁵ Next to Judah [on the east side] the tribe of Issachar shall encamp; and Nethanel the son of Zuar shall lead the sons of Issachar, ⁶ and his army as numbered totaled 54,400. ⁷ Then [also on the east side] the tribe of Zebulun; and Eliab the son of Helon shall lead the sons of Zebulun, ⁸ and his army as numbered totaled 57,400. ⁹ The total of the numbered men [in the three tribes on the east side] in the camp of Judah was 186,400, by their armies. They shall move out first [on the march].

¹⁰ “On the south side shall be the ^[f]standard of the camp of Reuben, by their armies; and Elizur the son of Shedeur shall lead the sons of Reuben, ¹¹ and his army as numbered totaled 46,500. ¹² Those who camp next to Reuben [on the south side] shall be the tribe of Simeon; and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai shall lead the sons of Simeon, ¹³ and his army as numbered totaled 59,300. ¹⁴ Then [completing the south side] the tribe of Gad; and Eliasaph the son of Reuel (Deuel) shall lead the sons of Gad, ¹⁵ and his army as numbered totaled 45,650. ¹⁶ The total of the numbered men [in the three tribes on the south side] in the camp of Reuben was 151,450, by their armies. They shall move out second [on the march].

¹⁷ “Then the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) shall move out with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the [other] camps; just as they camp so shall they move out, every man in his place by their standards.

¹⁸ “On the west side shall be the ^[g]standard of the camp of Ephraim, by their armies; and Elishama the son of Ammihud shall lead the sons of Ephraim, ¹⁹ and his army as numbered totaled 40,500. ²⁰ Beside Ephraim [on the west side] shall be the tribe of Manasseh; and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur shall lead the sons of Manasseh, ²¹ and his army as numbered totaled 32,200. ²² Then [completing the west side shall be] the tribe of Benjamin; and Abidan the son of Gideoni shall lead the sons of Benjamin, ²³ and his army as numbered totaled 35,400. ²⁴ The total of the numbered men [of the three tribes on the west side] in the camp of Ephraim was 108,100, by their armies. They shall move out in third place.

²⁵ “On the north side shall be the ^[h]standard of the camp of Dan, by their armies; and Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai shall lead the sons of Dan, ²⁶ and his army as numbered totaled 62,700. ²⁷ Encamped next to Dan [on the north side] shall be the tribe of Asher; and Pagiel the son of Ochran shall lead the sons of Asher, ²⁸ and his army as numbered totaled 41,500. ²⁹ Then [completing the north side] comes the tribe of Naphtali; and Ahira the son of Enan shall lead the sons of Naphtali, ³⁰ and his army as numbered totaled 53,400. ³¹ The total of the numbered men [of the three tribes on the north side] in the camp of Dan was 157,600. They shall move out last, ^[i]standard after standard.”

³² These are the men of the Israelites [twenty years old and upward] as numbered by their fathers’ households. The total of the numbered men of the camps by their armies, 603,550. ³³ But the Levites were not numbered with the [other] Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁴ Thus the Israelites did [as ordered]; according to everything the Lord had commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they moved out, everyone with his family (clan), according to his fathers’ household.

Levites to Be Priesthood

3 Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day when the Lord spoke [by special revelation] with Moses on Mount Sinai. ² These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom Aaron ^[j]consecrated and ordained to minister in the priest’s office. ⁴ But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered strange (unholy, unacceptable, inappropriate) fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests ^[k]in the presence and under the supervision of Aaron their father.^(A)

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them before Aaron the priest, so that they may serve him. ⁷ They shall carry out the duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, doing the service of the tabernacle. ⁸ They shall also take care of all the furnishings and utensils of the Tent of Meeting, and [attend to] the duties of the Israelites, doing the service of the tabernacle. ⁹ You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons [as servants and helpers]; they are to be given wholly to him from among the Israelites. ¹⁰ So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall observe and attend to their priesthood; but the layman (non-Levite) who approaches [the holy things] shall be put to death.”

¹¹ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of and as a substitute for every firstborn, that is, the first that opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites shall be Mine, ¹³ for all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine; I am the Lord.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying, ¹⁵ “Number the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families (clans). You shall number every male from a month old and upward.” ¹⁶ So Moses numbered them just as he was commanded by the word (mouth) of the Lord. ¹⁷ These are the [three] sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸ These are the names of the [two] sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei; ¹⁹ and the [four] sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; ²⁰ and the [two] sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers’ households.

²¹ Of Gershon were the families of the Libnites and of the Shimeites. These are the families of the Gershonites. ²² The males who were numbered, every male from a month old and upward totaled 7,500. ²³ The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, ²⁴ and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.

Duties of the Levites

²⁵ Now the responsibilities of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting involved the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the curtain for the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, ²⁶ and the hangings of the courtyard, the curtain for the doorway of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, its tent ropes, and all the service ^[l]concerning them.

²⁷ Of Kohath were the families of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these are the families of the Kohathites. ²⁸ The males who were numbered, every male from a month old and upward totaled ^[m]8,600, attending to the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹ The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, ³⁰ and the leader of the fathers’ households of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ³¹ Now their responsibilities involved the ark, the table [on which the bread of the Presence was placed], the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the curtain, and all the service concerning them. ³² Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, was chief of the leaders of the Levites; he supervised those who performed the duties of the sanctuary.

³³ Of Merari were the families of the Mahlites and the Mushites; these are the families of Merari. ³⁴ The males who were numbered, every male from a month old and upward totaled 6,200. ³⁵ The leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. The Merarites were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ Now the appointed responsibilities of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets or bases, and all the equipment, and all the service concerning them, ³⁷ and the pillars around the courtyard with their bases and their pegs and their cords (tent ropes).

³⁸ Now those to camp before the tabernacle toward the east, before the Tent of Meeting, toward the sunrise, were to be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for whatever was required of the Israelites; and the ^[n]layman (non-Levite) who approached [the sanctuary] was to be put to death. ³⁹ All the men of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the ^[o]command of the Lord, by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22,000.

Firstborn Redeemed

⁴⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Number every firstborn male of the Israelites from a month old and upward, and ^[p]make a list of their names. ⁴¹ You shall take the Levites for Me instead of and as a substitute for all the firstborn among the Israelites. I am the Lord; and you shall take the cattle of the Levites instead of and as a substitute for all the firstborn among the cattle of the Israelites.” ⁴² So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded him; ⁴³ and all the firstborn males from a month old and upward as numbered were 22,273 [273 more than the Levites].

⁴⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites [for Me] instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. And the Levites shall be Mine. I am the Lord. ⁴⁶ For the ransom (redemption price) of the 273 of the firstborn of the Israelites who outnumber the Levites, ⁴⁷ you shall take five shekels apiece, per head, you shall take them in terms of the sanctuary shekel (the shekel is twenty gerahs), ⁴⁸ and give the money, the ransom (redemption price) of those who outnumber the Levites to Aaron and to his sons.” ⁴⁹ So Moses took the ransom (redemption) money from those who were in excess, beyond those ransomed by the Levites; ⁵⁰ from the firstborn of the Israelites he took the money in terms of the sanctuary shekel, 1,365 shekels. ⁵¹ Then Moses gave the ransom money to Aaron and to his sons at the command of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Duties of the Kohathites

4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, ³ from thirty years old and upward, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). ⁴ This is the work and responsibility of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle): the most holy things.

⁵ “When the camp prepares to move out, Aaron and his sons shall come into the sanctuary and take down ^[q]the veil (curtain) screening off the Holy of Holies, and cover the ark of the testimony with it; ⁶ and they shall put on it a covering of ^[r]porpoise skin (fine leather), and shall spread over that a cloth of pure blue, and shall insert the carrying poles of the ark. ⁷ Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes [for incense], the sacrificial bowls, the jars for the drink offering, and the continual bread [of the Presence] shall be on it. ⁸ They shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet, and cover that with a covering of porpoise skin, and they shall insert its carrying poles. ⁹ Then they shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand for the light, along with its lamps, its wick cutters, its trays, and all the oil vessels, by which it is supplied; ¹⁰ and they shall put the lampstand and all its utensils in a covering of porpoise skin, and shall put it on the carrying bars. ¹¹ Over the golden [incense] altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of porpoise skin, and shall insert its carrying poles; ¹² and they shall take all the utensils of the service with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of porpoise skin, and put them on the carrying bars. ¹³ Then they shall clean away the ashes from the altar [of burnt offering], and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ They shall also put on it all its utensils with which they minister in connection with it: the pans, the meat-forks, the shovels, the basins, and all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread a covering of porpoise skin over it, and insert its carrying poles. ¹⁵ When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all its furniture, as the camp sets out, after all that [is done, but not before], the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them [using the poles], so that they do not touch the holy things, and die. These are the things in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) which the sons of Kohath are to carry.

¹⁶ “The responsibility of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, is the oil for the light, the ^[s]fragrant incense, the continual grain offering, and the anointing oil—the responsibility of all the tabernacle and everything 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 (eliminate, destroy) the tribe of the families of the Kohathites [who are only Levites and not priests], from among the Levites [by exposing them to the sin of ^[t]touching the most holy things]. ¹⁹ But deal with them in this way, so that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his [specific] work and to his load [to be carried on the march]. ²⁰ But the Kohathites shall not go in to see the holy things, even for an instant, or they will die.”

Duties of the Gershonites

²¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²² “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ households, by their families. ²³ From thirty years and upward to fifty years old, you shall number them; all who 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 in carrying [when on the march]: ²⁵ they shall carry the tent curtains of the tabernacle, and the Tent of Meeting, its covering and the covering of porpoise skin (fine leather) that is on top of it, and the curtain for the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), ²⁶ and the hangings of the courtyard, and the curtain for the entrance of the gate of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their tent ropes, and all the equipment for their service; and all that is to be done, they shall ^[u]perform. ²⁷ Aaron and his sons shall direct all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, all they have to carry and all they have to do. You shall assign to them as a duty all that they are to carry [on the march]. ²⁸ This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle); and their duties shall be ^[v]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron, the [high] priest.

Duties of the Merarites

²⁹ “As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households; ³⁰ from thirty years and upward to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the service to do the work of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). ³¹ This is what they are assigned to carry [on the march], according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the boards [for the framework] of the tabernacle and its bars and its pillars and its sockets or bases, ³² and the pillars around the courtyard with their sockets or bases and their pegs and their cords (tent ropes), with all their equipment and with all their [accessories for] service; and you shall assign each man by name the items ^[w]he is to carry [on the march]. ³³ This is the work of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their tasks in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), ^[x]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron, the priest.”

³⁴ So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families (clans) and by their fathers’ households, ³⁵ from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who enters the service to do the work in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle); ³⁶ the men who were numbered by their families were 2,750. ³⁷ These were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who did service in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord ^[y]through Moses.

³⁸ The men who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families (clans), and by their fathers’ households, ³⁹ from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service to do the work in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle); ⁴⁰ the men who were numbered by their families, by their fathers’ households, were 2,630. ⁴¹ These were numbered men of the families of the sons of Gershon, everyone who served in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), whom Moses and Aaron numbered just as the Lord had commanded.

⁴² The men who were numbered of the sons of Merari, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, ⁴³ from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle); ⁴⁴ the men who were numbered by their families were 3,200. ⁴⁵ These are the men who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered in accordance with the commandment of the Lord through Moses.

⁴⁶ All the men who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted by their families (clans) and by their fathers’ households, ⁴⁷ from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter to do the work of service and the work of carrying in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle); ⁴⁸ the men that were numbered were 8,580. ⁴⁹ According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses, they were numbered, each assigned to his work of serving and carrying. Thus they were numbered by him, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

On Defilement

5 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp every leper and everyone who has a discharge, and whoever is defiled [that is, ceremonially unclean] by [coming in contact with] the dead. ³ You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they will not defile their camp where I dwell in their midst.” ⁴ The Israelites did so, and sent them outside the camp; just as the Lord had said to Moses, so the Israelites did.

⁵ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Say to the Israelites, ‘When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind [against other people], thus breaking faith with the Lord, and that person is guilty, ⁷ then he shall confess the sin which he has committed, and he shall make restitution for his wrong in full, and add a fifth to it, and give it to [the person] whom he has wronged. ⁸ But if the man [who was wronged] has no redeemer (relative) to whom the restitution may be made, it is to be given to the Lord for the priest, besides the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for the offender. ⁹ Also every contribution pertaining to all the holy gifts of the Israelites which they offer to the priest, shall be his. ¹⁰ And every man’s holy gifts shall be the priest’s; whatever any man gives the priest, it becomes his.’”

The Adultery Test

¹¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘If any man’s wife goes astray (deviates) and is unfaithful to him, ¹³ and a man is intimate with her, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and it is kept secret, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act, ¹⁴ and if a spirit (sense, attitude) of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous and angry at his wife who has defiled herself—or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself— ¹⁵ then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring as an offering for her, a tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it [the symbols of favor and joy], because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a memorial grain offering, a reminder of [the consequences of] wickedness.

¹⁶ ‘Then the priest shall have her approach and have her stand before the Lord, ¹⁷ and the priest shall take holy water [from the sacred basin] in an earthenware vessel; and he shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it in the water. ¹⁸ The priest shall then have the woman stand before the Lord, and let the hair of the woman’s head hang loose, and put the memorial grain offering in her hands, which is the jealousy offering, and in the hand of the priest is to be the water of bitterness that brings a curse. ¹⁹ Then the priest shall have her take an oath and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you and if you have not gone astray into uncleanness [while married], then be immune to this water of bitterness that brings a curse; ²⁰ but if you have gone astray [while married] and you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has been intimate with you” ²¹ (then the priest shall have the woman swear the oath of the curse, and say to the woman), “The Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people when the Lord makes your thigh ^[z]waste away and your abdomen swell; ²² and this water that brings a curse shall go into your stomach, and make your abdomen swell and your thigh waste away.” And the woman shall say, “Amen. Amen (so let it be).”

²³ ‘The priest shall then write these curses on a scroll and shall wash them off into the water of bitterness; ²⁴ and he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse will go into her and cause bitterness. ²⁵ Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and he shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and offer it on the altar. ²⁶ Then the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as the memorial portion of it and offer it up in smoke on the altar, and afterward he shall make the woman drink the water. ²⁷ When he has made her drink the water, then it shall come about, that if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, the curse water will go into her and cause bitterness and cause her abdomen to swell and her thigh to waste away, and the woman will become a curse among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she will be free and conceive children.

²⁹ ‘This is the law of jealousy: when a wife goes astray [while married] and defiles herself, ³⁰ or when a spirit (sense, attitude) of jealousy and suspicion comes on a man and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest shall apply this law to her. ³¹ Further, the husband will be free from guilt, but that woman [if guilty] shall bear her guilt.’”

Law of the Nazirites

6 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘When a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, that is, one separated and dedicated to the Lord, ³ he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes.^{(B) 4 [aa]}All the time of his separation he shall not eat anything produced from the grapevine, from the seeds even to the skins.

⁵ ‘All the time of the vow of his separation no razor shall be used on his head. Until the time of his separation to the Lord is completed, he shall be holy, and shall let the hair of his head grow long.

⁶ ‘All the time that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. ⁷ He shall not make himself [ceremonially] unclean for his father, mother, brother, or sister, when they die, because [the responsibility for] his separation to God is on his head. ⁸ All the time of his separation he is holy to the Lord.

⁹ ‘If a man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his dedicated head, then he shall shave his head on the day that he becomes [ceremonially] clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day [the end of the purification period]. ¹⁰ On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). ¹¹ The priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering and make atonement for him concerning his sin because of the [dead] body. He shall consecrate his head the same day, ¹² and he shall dedicate himself to the Lord for the time of his separation and shall bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering; but the previous days will be void and lost, because his separation was defiled.

¹³ ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the days of his separation and dedication are fulfilled: he shall bring the offering to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). ¹⁴ and he shall offer his gift to the Lord: one male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering, and one female 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 wafers of unleavened bread spread with oil, along with their grain offering and their drink offering. ¹⁶ Then the priest shall present them before the Lord and shall offer the person’s sin offering and his burnt offering. ¹⁷ He shall also offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall offer also its grain offering and its drink offering. ¹⁸ The Nazirite shall shave his dedicated head at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and take the dedicated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings. ¹⁹ The priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened [ring-shaped] loaf out of the basket, and one unleavened flat cake and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his dedicated hair. ²⁰ Then the priest shall wave them as 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 by lifting up; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.’

²¹ “This is the law for the ^[ab]Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord for his separation, besides what else ^[ac]he is able to afford, according to the vow which he has vowed; so shall he do according to the law for his separation and abstinence [as a Nazirite].”^(C)

Aaron’s Benediction

²² Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them:

²⁷ So Aaron and his sons shall put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”

Offerings of the Leaders

7 On the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle and had anointed and consecrated it and all its furniture, and the altar and all its utensils; he also anointed them and consecrated them [for holy use]. ² Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers’ households, made offerings. (These were the leaders of the tribes; they were the ones who ^[ad]were over the men who were numbered.) ³ They brought their offering before the Lord, six covered carts and twelve oxen; a cart for each two of the leaders and an ox for each one; and they presented them before the tabernacle. ⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵ “Accept these things from them, so that they may be used in the service of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” ⁶ So Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ He gave two carts and four oxen to the sons of Gershon, according to their service [in transporting the tabernacle]; ⁸ and he gave four carts and eight oxen to the sons of Merari, according to their service [in transporting the tabernacle], under the supervision of Ithamar the son of Aaron, the [high] priest. ⁹ But to the sons of Kohath he gave nothing, because they were assigned the care of the holy things which they carried on their shoulders [when the tabernacle was moved].

¹⁰ The leaders offered the dedication sacrifices for the altar on the day that it was anointed; and they offered their sacrifice before the altar. ¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Let them present their offerings, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar.”

¹² Now the one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah; ¹³ and his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which 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 as a grain offering; ¹⁴ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ¹⁵ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ¹⁶ one male goat as a sin offering; ¹⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab [from the tribe of Judah].

¹⁸ On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, leader [of the tribe] of Issachar, presented [his offering]; ¹⁹ he presented as his offering one silver dish, the weight of which 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 as a grain offering; ²⁰ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ²¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ²² one male goat as a sin offering; ²³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar [from the tribe of Issachar].

²⁴ On the third day [it was] Eliab the son of Helon, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Zebulun [who presented his offering]; ²⁵ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin 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 golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ²⁷ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ²⁸ one male goat as a sin offering; ²⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon [from the tribe of Zebulun].

³⁰ On the fourth day [it was] Elizur the son of Shedeur, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Reuben [who presented his offering]; ³¹ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and 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 grain offering; ³² one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ³³ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ³⁴ one male goat as a sin offering; ³⁵ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur [from the tribe of Reuben].

³⁶ On the fifth day [it was] Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Simeon [who presented his offering]; ³⁷ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin 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 golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ³⁹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁴¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai [from the tribe of Simeon].

⁴² On the sixth day [it was] Eliasaph the son of Deuel, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Gad [who presented his offering]; ⁴³ his offering was one silver dish the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and a silver basin 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 golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁴⁵ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel [from the tribe of Gad].

⁴⁸ On the seventh day [it was] Elishama the son of Ammihud, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Ephraim [who presented his offering]; ⁴⁹ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin 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 golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵¹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁵² one male goat as a sin offering; ⁵³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud [from the tribe of Ephraim].

⁵⁴ On the eighth day [it was] Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Manasseh [who presented his offering]; ⁵⁵ his offering was one silver dish the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin 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 golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵⁷ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur [from the tribe of Manasseh].

⁶⁰ On the ninth day [it was] Abidan the son of Gideoni, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Benjamin [who presented his offering]; ⁶¹ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin 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 golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶³ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁶⁵ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni [from the tribe of Benjamin].

⁶⁶ On the tenth day [it was] Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Dan [who presented his offering]; ⁶⁷ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin 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 golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶⁹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁷¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai [from the tribe of Dan].

⁷² On the eleventh day [it was] Pagiel the son of Ochran, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Asher [who presented his offering]; ⁷³ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin 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 golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁷⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ochran [from the tribe of Asher].

⁷⁸ On the twelfth day [it was] Ahira the son of Enan, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Naphtali [who presented his offering]; ⁷⁹ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin 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 golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁸¹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁸² one male goat as a sin offering; ⁸³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan [from the tribe of Naphtali].

⁸⁴ This was the dedication offering for the altar from the leaders of Israel on the day when it was anointed: twelve dishes of silver, twelve silver basins, twelve golden bowls; ⁸⁵ each dish of silver weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, each basin seventy [shekels]; all the silver vessels weighed 2,400 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; ⁸⁶ the twelve golden bowls, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, all the gold of the bowls being a hundred and twenty shekels; ⁸⁷ all the oxen for the burnt offering were twelve bulls, the rams twelve, the male lambs one year old twelve, together with their grain offering; and the male goats as a sin offering twelve; ⁸⁸ and all the oxen for the sacrifice of the peace offerings were twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, the male lambs one year old sixty. This was the dedication for the altar [of burnt offering] after it was anointed.

⁸⁹ Now when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat (the gold cover) that was on the ark of the Testimony from between the two cherubim; and He spoke [by special revelation] to him.

The Seven Lamps

8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you set up and light the lamps, the seven lamps will shine in front of the lampstand.’” ³ And Aaron did so; he set up the lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴ Now 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.

Cleansing the Levites

⁵ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them. ⁷ This is what you shall do to them to [ceremonially] cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification on them, and let them use a razor over their whole body and wash their clothes, and they will be clean.^{(D) 8} Then let them take a young bull and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering. ⁹ You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and you shall also assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel, ¹⁰ and present the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites shall lay their hands on the Levites. ¹¹ Aaron shall ^[ae]present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may perform the service of the Lord. ¹² Then the Levites shall ^[af]lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, then you are to offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³ You shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and present them as a wave offering to the Lord.

¹⁴ “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites shall be Mine [in a very special sense]. ¹⁵ Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), but you shall cleanse them [first] and present them as a wave offering; ¹⁶ for they are wholly given to Me from among the Israelites. I have taken them for Myself instead of ^[ag]all who are born first, the firstborn of all the Israelites. ¹⁷ For all the firstborn among the Israelites are Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified and set the Israelites apart for Myself. ¹⁸ And I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the Israelites. ¹⁹ I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service of the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) and to make atonement for them, so that there will be no plague among the Israelites if they should approach the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did [these things] to the Levites; in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the Israelites did to them. ²¹ The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and they washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the Tent of Meeting before Aaron and his sons; just as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

Retirement

²³ Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the Tent of Meeting, ²⁵ but at the age of fifty years, they shall ^[ah]retire from the service of the [tabernacle] work and serve no longer. ²⁶ They may assist their brothers in the Tent of Meeting to keep an obligation, but they shall do no [heavy or difficult] work. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their obligations.”

The Passover

9 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 “The sons of Israel are to keep the Passover at its appointed time. ³ On the fourteenth day of this month ^[ai]at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and ordinances you shall keep it.” ⁴ So Moses told the Israelites to observe the Passover. ⁵ They observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight in the Wilderness of Sinai; in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did. ⁶ But there were certain men who were [ceremonially] unclean because of [touching] the dead body of a man, so they could not observe the Passover on that day; so they came before Moses and Aaron that same day. ⁷ Those men said to Moses, “We are [ceremonially] unclean because of [touching] a dead body. Why are we being restrained from presenting the Lord’s offering at its appointed time among the Israelites?” ⁸ Therefore, Moses said to them, “Wait, and I will listen to what the Lord will command concerning you.”

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Say to the Israelites, ‘If any one of you or of your descendants becomes [ceremonially] unclean because of [touching] a dead body or is on a distant journey, he may, however, observe the Passover to the Lord. ¹¹ On the fourteenth day of the second month [thirty days later] at twilight, they shall observe it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ¹² They shall leave none of it until morning nor break any of its bones; in accordance with all the statutes of the Passover they shall observe it.^{(E) 13} But the man who is [ceremonially] clean and is not on a journey, and yet does not observe the Passover, that person shall be cut off from among his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them] because he did not bring the Lord’s offering at its appointed time; that man will bear [the penalty of] his sin. ¹⁴ If a stranger lives among you as a resident alien and observes the Passover to the Lord, in accordance with its statutes and its ordinances, so shall he do; you shall have one statute, both for the resident alien and for the native of the land.’”

The Cloud on the Tabernacle

¹⁵ Now on the day that the tabernacle was erected, the cloud [of God’s presence] covered the tabernacle, that is, the tent of the Testimony; and in the evening it was over the tabernacle, appearing like [a pillar of] fire until the morning.^{(F) 16} So it was continuously; the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. ¹⁷ Whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent (tabernacle), afterward the Israelites would set out; and in the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites would camp. ¹⁸ At the Lord’s command the Israelites would journey on, and at His command they would camp. As long as the cloud remained over the tabernacle they remained camped. ¹⁹ Even when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, the Israelites would keep their obligation to the Lord and not set out. ²⁰ Sometimes the cloud remained only a few days over the tabernacle, and in accordance with the command of the Lord they remained camped. Then at His command they set out. ²¹ If sometimes the cloud remained [over the tabernacle] from evening only until morning, when the cloud was lifted in the morning, they would journey on; whether in the daytime or at night, whenever the cloud was lifted, they would set out. ²² Whether it was two days or a month or a year that the cloud [of the Lord’s presence] lingered over the tabernacle, staying above it, the Israelites remained camped and did not set out; but when it was lifted, they set out. ²³ At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed on; they kept their obligation to the Lord, in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses.

The Silver Trumpets

10 The Lord spoke further to Moses, saying, ² “Make two trumpets of silver; you shall make them of hammered work. You shall use them to summon the congregation and to have the camps move out. ³ When both are blown, all the congregation [that is, all adult males] shall gather before you at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). ⁴ However, if a single trumpet is blown, then the leaders, heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. ⁵ When you blow an alarm, the camps on the east side [of the tabernacle] shall set out. ⁶ When you blow an alarm the second time, then the camps on the south side [of the tabernacle] shall set out. They shall blow an alarm whenever they are to move out [on their journeys]. ⁷ When the assembly is to be gathered, you shall blow [the trumpets in short, sharp tones], but without sounding an alarm. ⁸ The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and the trumpets shall be for you a perpetual statute throughout your generations. ⁹ When you go to war in your land against the enemy that attacks you, then sound an alarm with the trumpets, so that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. ¹⁰ Also in the day of rejoicing, and in your appointed feasts, and at the beginnings of your months, you shall sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifice of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am the Lord your God.”

The Tribes Leave Sinai

¹¹ On the twentieth day of the second month in the second year [since leaving Egypt], the cloud [of the Lord’s presence] was lifted from over the tabernacle of the Testimony, ¹² and the Israelites set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud [of the Lord’s guiding presence] settled down in the Wilderness of Paran. ¹³ So they moved out for the first time in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses. ¹⁴ The ^[aj]standard of the camp of the sons of Judah, according to their armies, moved out first, Nahshon the son of Amminadab was [commander] over its army, ¹⁵ and Nethanel the son of Zuar was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Issachar; ¹⁶ and Eliab the son of Helon was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Zebulun.

¹⁷ Then the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were carrying the tabernacle, moved out. ¹⁸ Next the ^[ak]standard of the camp of the sons of Reuben, according to their armies, moved out, with Elizur the son of Shedeur [commander] over its army, ¹⁹ and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Simeon, ²⁰ and Eliasaph the son of Deuel was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Gad.

²¹ Then the Kohathites moved out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before they arrived. ²² Next the ^[al]standard of the camp of the sons of Ephraim moved out, according to their armies, with Elishama the son of Ammihud [commander] over its army, ²³ and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Manasseh, ²⁴ and Abidan the son of Gideoni was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Benjamin.

²⁵ Then the ^[am]standard of the camp of the sons of Dan, according to their armies, which formed the rear guard for all the camps, moved out, with Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai [commander] over its army, ²⁶ and Pagiel the son of Ochran was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Asher, ²⁷ and Ahira the son of Enan was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Naphtali. ²⁸ This was the order of march of the sons of Israel by their armies as they moved out.

²⁹ Then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are going to the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will be good to you, for the Lord has promised good [things] concerning Israel.” ³⁰ But Hobab [Moses’ brother-in-law] said to him, “I will not go; I will return to my own land and to my family.” ³¹ Then Moses said, “^[an]Please do not leave us, for you know how we are to camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us [as we make our trek through the desert]. ³² So if you will go with us, it shall be that ^[ao]whatever good the Lord does for us, we will do the same for you.”

³³ So they set out from the mountain of the Lord (Sinai) three days’ journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went in front of them during the three days’ journey to seek out a resting place for them. ³⁴ The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.

³⁵ Whenever the ark set out, Moses said,

³⁶ And when the ark rested, Moses said,

The People Complain

11 Now the people became like those who complain and whine about their hardships, and the Lord heard it; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and devoured those in the outlying parts of the camp. ² So the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire died out. ³ He named that place Taberah (the place of burning), because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

⁴ The ^[ap]rabble among them [who followed Israel from Egypt] had greedy desires [for familiar and delicious food], and the Israelites wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? ⁵ We remember the fish we ate freely and without cost in Egypt, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. ⁶ But now our ^[aq]appetite is gone; there is nothing at all [in the way of food] ^[ar]to be seen but this manna.”

⁷ The manna was like coriander seed, and it looked like ^[as]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 with it; and it tasted like cakes baked with fresh [olive] oil. ⁹ When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna fell with it.

The Complaint of Moses

¹⁰ Now Moses heard the people weeping [in self-pity] throughout their families, every man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and ^[at]Moses regarded their behavior as evil. ¹¹ So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have placed the burden of all these people on me? ¹² Was it I who conceived all these people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your ^[au]arms as a nurse carries the nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’? ¹³ Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, so that we may eat.’ ¹⁴ I am not able to carry all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ So if this is the way You are going to deal with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”

Seventy Elders to Assist

¹⁶ Accordingly, the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for Me ^[av]seventy men from among the elders of Israel whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers; bring them to the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) and let them stand there with you. ¹⁷ Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take away some of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not have to bear it all alone. ¹⁸ Say to the people, ‘Consecrate (separate as holy) yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept [in self-pity] in the ears of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For we were well-off 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 but a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and is disgusting to you—because you have rejected and despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept [in self-pity] before Him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”’”^{(H) 21} But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 [fighting men] on foot [besides all the women and children]; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat it for a whole month!’ ²² Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be collected for them to be sufficient for them?” ²³ The Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand (ability, power) limited (short, inadequate)? You shall see now whether My word will come to pass for you or not.”^(I)

²⁴ So Moses went out and spoke to the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered seventy men from among the elders of the people and stationed them around the Tent (tabernacle). ²⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took some of the Spirit who was upon Moses and put Him upon the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied [praising God and declaring His will], but they did not do it again.^(J)

²⁶ But two men had remained in the camp; one named Eldad and the other named Medad. The Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the Tent), and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying [extolling the praises of God and declaring His will] in the camp.” ²⁸ Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” ²⁹ But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!”^{(K) 30} Then Moses went back into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

The Quail and the Plague

³¹ Now there went forth a wind from the Lord and it brought quails from the sea, and let them fall [so they flew low] beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and on the other side, all around the camp, about two cubits (three feet) deep on the surface of the ground. ³² The people spent all that day and all night and all the next day and caught and gathered the quail (the one who gathered least gathered ten homers) and they spread them out for themselves around the camp [to cure them by drying]. ³³ While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very severe plague. ³⁴ So that place was named Kibroth-hattaavah (the graves of greediness), because there they buried the people who had been greedy [for more than the manna that God provided them].^{(L) 35} From Kibroth-hattaavah the people set out for Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.

The Murmuring of Miriam and Aaron

12 Now ^[aw]Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the ^[ax]Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); ² and they said, “Has the Lord really spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken also through us?” And the Lord heard it. ³ (^[ay]Now the man Moses was very humble (gentle, kind, devoid of self-righteousness), more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) ⁴ Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).” And the three of them came out. ⁵ The Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tabernacle, and He called Aaron and Miriam, and they came forward. ⁶ And He said,

⁹ And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Miriam and Aaron, and He departed. ¹⁰ But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. And Aaron turned and looked at Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. ¹¹ Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I plead with you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. ¹² Oh, do not let her be like one dead, already half decomposed when he comes from his mother’s womb.” ¹³ So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Heal her please, O God, I plead with You!” ¹⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but ^[az]spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up outside the camp for seven days, and afterward she may return.” ¹⁵ So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was brought in again [and declared ceremonially clean from her leprosy].

¹⁶ Afterward the people moved on from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

Spies View the Land

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel. From each of their fathers’ tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” ³ So Moses sent spies from the Wilderness of Paran at the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the Israelites. ⁴ 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 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; ⁷ from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; ⁸ from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea [that is, Joshua] 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, of 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 spy out the land; but Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua (the Lord is salvation).

¹⁷ Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the Negev (the South country); then go up into the hill country. ¹⁸ See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many, ¹⁹ and whether the land in which they live is good or bad, and whether the cities in which they live are [open] camps or fortifications, ²⁰ and what the land is, whether it is fat (productive) or lean, whether there is timber on it or not. Make an effort to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

²¹ So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin to Rehob [a town in Lebanon], at Lebo-hamath [in the far north]. ²² When they had gone up into the Negev (the South country), they came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai the descendants of Anak were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

²³ Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol (cluster of grapes), and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two of them, with some of pomegranates and the figs. ²⁴ That place was called the Valley of Eshcol (cluster of grapes) because of the cluster of grapes which the sons of Israel cut down there.

The Spies’ Reports

²⁵ When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, ²⁶ they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh, and brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the land’s fruit. ²⁷ They reported to Moses and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does ^[ba]flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. ²⁸ But the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are ^[bb]fortified (walled) and very large; moreover, we saw there the descendants of Anak [people of great stature and courage]. ²⁹ [The people descended from] Amalek live in the land of the Negev (South country); the Hittite, the Jebusite, and the Amorite live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the [Dead] Sea and along the side of the Jordan.”

³⁰ Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession of it; for we will certainly conquer it.” ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people [of Canaan], for they are too strong for us.” ³² So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we went, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. ³³ There we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation [of Israel] raised their voices and cried out, and the people wept that night. ² All the Israelites murmured [in discontent] against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Oh that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or that we had died in this wilderness! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us to this land [of Canaan], to fall by the sword? Our wives and ^[bc]children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”^{(N) 4} So they said one to another, “Let us appoint a [new] leader and return to Egypt.”

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the Israelites. ⁶ Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes [as a sign of grief], ⁷ and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “The land through which we passed as spies is an exceedingly good land. ⁸ If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which ^[bd]flows with milk and honey. ⁹ Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” ¹⁰ But all the congregation said to stone Joshua and Caleb with stones. But the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) before all the sons of Israel.

Moses Pleads for the People

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me disrespectfully and reject Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the [miraculous] signs which I have performed among them? ¹² I will strike them with the pestilence (plague) and dispossess them, and will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

¹³ But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up these people from among them, ¹⁴ and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, Lord, are among these people [of Israel], that You, Lord, are seen face to face, while Your cloud stands over them; and that 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 (Gentiles) that have heard of Your fame will say, ¹⁶ ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring these people into the land which He promised to give them, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ But now, please, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, saying, ¹⁸ ‘The Lord is slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving wickedness and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting (avenging) the wickedness and guilt of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].’^{(O) 19} Please pardon the wickedness and guilt of these people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You have forgiven these people, from Egypt even until now.”

The Lord Pardons and Rebukes

²⁰ So the Lord said, “I have pardoned them according to your word; ²¹ but indeed as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.^{(P) 22} Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My [miraculous] signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, ²³ will by no means see the land which I swore to [give to] their fathers; nor will any who treated me disrespectfully and rejected Me see it.^{(Q) 24} But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land into which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. ²⁵ Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valley; tomorrow turn and set out for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea.”

²⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²⁷ “How long shall I put up with this evil congregation who murmur [in discontent] against Me? I have heard the complaints of the Israelites, which they are making against Me. ²⁸ Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just what you have spoken in My hearing I will most certainly do to you; ²⁹ your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness, even all who were numbered of you, your entire number from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against Me.^{(R) 30} Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, not one of you shall enter the land in which I swore [an oath] to settle you. ³¹ But your children whom you said would become plunder, I will bring in, and they will know the land which you have despised and rejected. ³² But as for you, your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness. ³³ Your sons shall be wanderers and shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness (spiritual infidelity), until your corpses are consumed in the wilderness. ³⁴ According to the number of days in which you spied out the land [of Canaan], forty days, for each day, you shall bear and suffer a year for your sins and guilt, for forty years, and you shall know My displeasure [the revoking of My promise and My estrangement because of your sin]. ³⁵ I, the Lord, have spoken. I will most certainly do this to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed [by war, disease, and plagues], and here they shall die.’”^(S)

³⁶ As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and who returned and made all the congregation murmur and complain against him by bringing back a bad report concerning the land, ³⁷ even those [ten] men who brought back the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the Lord.^{(T) 38} But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

Israel Repulsed

³⁹ Moses spoke the Lord’s words to all the Israelites, and the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ They got up early in the morning and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Look, here we are; we have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised.” ⁴¹ But Moses said, “Why then are you transgressing the commandment of the Lord, when it will not succeed? ⁴² Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. ⁴³ For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, because you have turned away from following the Lord; therefore the Lord will not be with you.” ⁴⁴ But [in their arrogance] they dared to go up to the ridge of the hill country; however, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses left the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and struck the Israelites and scattered them as far as Hormah.

Laws for Canaan

15 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When you come into the land where you are to live, which I am giving you, ³ then make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your appointed feasts, to make a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord, from the herd or from the flock. ⁴ The one who presents his offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a ^[be]hin of oil, ⁵ and you shall prepare wine for the drink offering, a fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for each lamb. ⁶ Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil. ⁷ And for the drink offering you shall offer a third of a hin of wine, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. ⁸ When you prepare a bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice, in fulfilling a special vow or peace offering to the Lord, ⁹ then you shall offer with the 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 one-half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

¹¹ ‘Thus shall it be done for each bull, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats. ¹² According to the number that you prepare, so shall you do to everyone according to their number. ¹³ All who are native-born shall do these things in this way, in presenting an offering by fire, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

Law of the Stranger

¹⁴ If a stranger lives as a resident alien with you, or whoever may be among you throughout your generations, and he wishes to make an offering by fire, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord, just as you do, so shall he do. ¹⁵ As for the assembly, there shall be one [and the same] statute for you [of the congregation] and for the stranger who is a resident alien with you, a permanent statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. ¹⁶ There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the stranger who lives with you as a resident alien.’”

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When you enter the land to which I am bringing you, ¹⁹ then, when you eat the food of the land, you shall lift up an offering (heave offering) to the Lord. ²⁰ You shall lift up a cake made of the first of your [ground grain which has been made into] dough as an offering [to the Lord]; as an offering from the threshing floor, so shall you lift it up. ²¹ From the first of your dough (ground grain) you shall give to the Lord an offering throughout your generations.

²² ‘But when you unintentionally fail and do not observe all these commandments, which the Lord has spoken to Moses, ²³ even all that the Lord has commanded you ^[bf]through Moses, from the day that the Lord gave commandments and onward throughout your generations, ²⁴ then it shall be, if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat as a sin offering. ²⁵ Then the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they will be forgiven, for it was an error and they have brought their offering, an offering by fire to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their error. ²⁶ So all the congregation of the Israelites will be forgiven as well as the stranger who lives among them as a resident alien, because all the people were involved in the error.

²⁷ ‘Also if one person sins unintentionally, then he shall offer a female goat one year old as a sin offering. ²⁸ The priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who commits an error when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him so that he may be forgiven. ²⁹ You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, whether he is native-born among the Israelites or a stranger who is living among them as a resident alien. ³⁰ But the person who does [anything wrong] ^[bg]willfully and defiantly, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one is blaspheming the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them]. ³¹ Because he has despised and rejected the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; [the responsibility for] his wickedness and guilt will be upon him.’”

Sabbath-breaking Punished

³² Now while the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man who was gathering wood on the Sabbath day. ³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation; ³⁴ and they put him in custody, because it had not been explained [by God] what should be done to him. ³⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man shall certainly be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” ³⁶ So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁸ “Speak to the sons of Israel and tell them to make for themselves tassels on the hems of their garments throughout their generations, and put a cord of blue on the tassel of each hem. ³⁹ It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, so that you do not follow after [the desires of] your own heart and eyes, [desires] after which you used to follow and play the prostitute, ⁴⁰ so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy (set apart) to 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.”

Korah’s Rebellion

16 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben, took action, ² and they rose up [in rebellion] before Moses, together with some of the Israelites, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation chosen in the assembly, men of distinction. ³ They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

⁴ And when Moses heard this, he fell face downward; ⁵ and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to Him, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; the one whom He will choose He will bring near to Himself.^{(U) 6} Do this: Take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company, ⁷ then put fire in them and place incense on them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi.”

⁸ Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi, ⁹ does it seem but a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; ¹⁰ and that He has brought you near [to Him], Korah and all your brothers, sons of Levi with you? Would you seek the priesthood also? ¹¹ Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord; but as for Aaron, who is he that you murmur against him?”

¹² Then Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said [defiantly], “We will not come up. ¹³ Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land [of plenty] ^[bh]flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? ¹⁴ Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”

¹⁵ Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Pay no attention to their offering! I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them.” ¹⁶ Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company are to appear before the Lord tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron. ¹⁷ Each of you take his censer and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.” ¹⁸ So they each took his own censer and put fire on it and laid incense on it; and they stood at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ Then Korah assembled all the congregation against Moses and Aaron at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). And the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²¹ “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, so that I may consume them immediately.” ²² But they fell on their faces [before the Lord], and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh! When one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

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

²⁵ Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶ And he said to the congregation, “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, or you will be swept away in all their sin.” ²⁷ So they got back from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents with their wives and their sons and their little children. ²⁸ Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works; for I do not act of my own accord. ²⁹ If these men die the common death of all mankind or if what happens to everyone happens to them, then [you will know for sure that] the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord creates an entirely new thing, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up, along with all that belongs to them, and they descend alive into Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), then you will understand that these men have spurned and rejected the Lord!”

³¹ As soon as Moses finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split open; ³² and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all the men who supported Korah, with all their possessions.^{(V) 33} So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. ³⁴ All Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us also.” ³⁵ Fire also came forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.

^36 [bi]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest, that he is to pick up the censers from the midst of the blaze for they are holy; and you scatter the burning coals abroad. ³⁸ As for the censers of these people who have sinned at the cost of their lives, have the censers made into hammered sheets as a plating for the altar [of burnt offering], for they were presented before the Lord and they are sacred. They shall be a [warning] sign to the sons of Israel.” ³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the Levites who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out [into broad sheets] as a plating for the [bronze] altar [of burnt offering], ⁴⁰ as a reminder to the sons of Israel so that no layman—that is, one who is not of the descendants of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the Lord; so that he will not become like Korah and as his company—just as the Lord had said to him through Moses.

Murmuring and Plague

⁴¹ But on the next day the entire congregation of the Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have caused the death of the people of the Lord.” ⁴² When the congregation was assembled against Moses and Aaron, they turned and looked at the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), ⁴⁴ and the Lord spoke to Moses saying, ⁴⁵ “Get away from among this congregation, so that I may consume them immediately.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces [in silence before the Lord]. ⁴⁶ Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the Lord; the plague has begun!” ⁴⁷ So Aaron took the burning censer as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague had [already] begun among the people; and he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ He stood between the dead and the living, so that the plague was brought to an end. ⁴⁹ But those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died because of Korah. ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), for the plague had been brought to an end.

Aaron’s Rod Buds

17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and get rods from them, a rod for each father’s household, from all their leaders according to their fathers’ households, twelve rods. Write every man’s name on his rod, ³ and write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi [his ancestor]; for there is one rod for the head of each of their fathers’ households. ⁴ You shall then deposit them in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) in front of [the ark of] the Testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵ It shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will bud, and I will no longer hear the constant grumblings of the Israelites, who are grumbling against you.” ⁶ So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a rod, one for each leader according to their fathers’ households, twelve rods, and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. ⁷ So Moses deposited the rods before the Lord in the Tent of the Testimony (tabernacle).

⁸ Now on the next day Moses went into the Tent of the Testimony, and ^[bj]the rod of Aaron of the tribe of Levi had sprouted and put out buds and produced blossoms and yielded [ripe] almonds. ⁹ Moses brought out all the rods from the presence of Lord to all the Israelites; and they looked, and each man took his rod. ¹⁰ But the Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony [in the ark], to be kept as a [warning] sign for the rebellious and contentious, so that you may put an end to their murmurings [of discontent] against Me, so that they do not die.” ¹¹ And Moses did so; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

¹² The sons of Israel said to Moses, “Look, we perish, we are doomed, all doomed! ¹³ Everyone who approaches, who approaches the tabernacle of the Lord, must die. Are we to perish completely?”

Duties of Levites

18 So the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s household (family) with you shall bear the guilt in connection with the sanctuary [that is, through your service as priests you will atone for the offenses which the people unknowingly commit when brought into contact with the manifestations of God’s presence]; and you and your sons with you shall bear the guilt in connection with your priesthood [that is, your own unintentional offenses]. ² But bring with you also your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father (ancestor), so that they may join with you and serve you [as assistants], while you and your sons with you are before the Tent of the Testimony [the Holy Place where only priests may go, and the Most Holy Place which only the high priest may enter]. ³ And the Levites shall attend to your duty [as assistants] and to the duties of all the tent (tabernacle); only they shall not approach the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, or both they and you will die. ⁴ They shall join you and attend to the duties of the Tent of Meeting—all the service of the tent—and no stranger [no layman, anyone who is not a Levite] may approach you [and your sons]. ⁵ So you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar [of burnt offering and the altar of incense], so that there will no longer be wrath on the Israelites [as with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram].^{(W) 6} Behold, I Myself have taken your fellow Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are a gift to you, given (dedicated) to the Lord, to do the service for the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). ⁷ Therefore you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar [of burnt offering and the altar of incense] and [of the Holy of Holies] within the veil, and you are to serve. I am giving you the priesthood as a bestowed service, but the stranger (outsider, layman) who approaches shall be put to death.”^(X)

The Priests’ Portion

⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Now behold, I [the Lord] have entrusted you with My heave offerings, even all the holy gifts of the Israelites, I have given them to you as a portion, and to your sons as a continual allotment.^{(Y) 9} This shall be yours of the most holy things, [reserved] from the fire: every offering of the people, every grain offering and sin offering and guilt offering, which they shall render (give) to Me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons. ¹⁰ You shall eat it as the most holy thing; every male [of your family] shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.^{(Z) 11} This also is yours: the heave offering of their gift, including all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given them to you and to your sons and to your daughters with you as a continual allotment; everyone in your household who is [ceremonially] clean may eat it. ¹² All the best of the fresh [olive] oil, and all the best of the new wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to the Lord, I give them to you. ¹³ The first ripe fruits of all that is in the land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours; everyone in your household who is [ceremonially] clean may eat it. ¹⁴ Every devoted thing in Israel [everything that has been promised to the Lord with an oath] shall be yours. ¹⁵ Every firstborn of the womb of all flesh, whether it is man or animal, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours; nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall most certainly redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. ¹⁶ And their redemption price, from a month old you shall redeem, according to your ^[bk]valuation, for the [fixed] price of five shekels in silver, in accordance with the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. ¹⁷ But the firstborn of a cow or of a sheep or of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy [and belong to the Lord]. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire, for a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁸ Their meat shall be yours, like the breast of a wave offering and like the right thigh. ¹⁹ All the offerings of the holy things, which the Israelites offer to the Lord I have given to you and to your sons and your daughters with you as a continual allotment. It is an everlasting covenant of ^[bl]salt [that cannot be dissolved or violated] before the Lord to you and to your descendants with you.” ²⁰ Then the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in the land [of the Israelites], nor have any portion [of land] among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.

²¹ “Behold, I have given the Levites all the tithe in Israel as an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). ²² The Israelites shall never again approach the Tent of Meeting [the covered sanctuary, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies], or they [who do] will incur sin and die. ²³ Only the Levites shall perform the service of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that the Levites shall have no inheritance [of land] among the children of Israel. ²⁴ But the tithe of the Israelites, which they present as an offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘They shall ^[bm]have no inheritance among the children of Israel.’”

²⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ “Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, ‘When you take from the Israelites the tithe which I have given to you from them as your inheritance, then you shall present an offering from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe [paid by the people]. ²⁷ Your offering shall be credited to you as the grain from the threshing floor or as the full produce from the wine vat. ²⁸ Likewise you shall also present an offering to the Lord from all your tithes, which you receive from the Israelites; and from it you shall give the Lord’s offering to Aaron the priest. ²⁹ Out of all your gifts, you shall present every offering due to the Lord, from all the best of it, even the sacred part from them.’ ³⁰ Therefore you shall say to them, ‘When you have offered the best from it, then the rest shall be credited to the Levites as the product of the threshing floor, and as the product of the wine vat. ³¹ You may eat it anywhere, you and [the members of] your households, for it is your compensation in return for your service in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). ³² You will bear no sin because of it when you have offered the best of it; but you shall not profane the sacred gifts of the children of Israel, or you will die [because of it].’”

Ordinance of the Red Heifer

19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded: ‘Tell the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed. ³ You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. ⁴ Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of it toward the front of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) seven times. ⁵ Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its skin, its flesh, its blood, and its waste, shall be burned (reduced to ash). ⁶ The priest shall take cedar wood and ^[bn]hyssop and scarlet [material] and cast them into the midst of the burning heifer. ⁷ Then the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; and afterward come into the camp, but he shall be [ceremonially] unclean until evening. ⁸ The one who burns the heifer shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean until evening. ⁹ Now a man who is [ceremonially] clean shall collect the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and the congregation of the Israelites shall keep it for ^[bo]water to remove impurity; it is [to be used for] purification from sin. ¹⁰ The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. This shall be a perpetual statute to the Israelites and to the stranger who lives as a resident alien among them.

¹¹ ‘The one who touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean for seven days. ¹² That one shall purify himself from uncleanness with the water [made with the ashes of the burned heifer] on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. ¹³ Whoever touches a corpse, the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from Israel [that is, excluded from the atonement made for them]. Because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴ ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be [ceremonially] unclean for seven days. ¹⁵ Every open container [in the tent], which has no covering tied down on it, is unclean. ¹⁶ Also, anyone in the open field who touches one who has been killed with a sword or who has died [of natural causes], or a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean for seven days. ¹⁷ Then for the unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for the purification from sin, and running water shall be added to them in a container. ¹⁸ A clean person shall take ^[bp]hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the people who were there, and on the one who touched the bone or the one who was killed or the one who died [naturally] or the grave. ¹⁹ Then the clean person shall sprinkle [the water for purification] on the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day, and on the seventh day the unclean man shall purify himself, and wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and shall be [ceremonially] clean at evening.

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 defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water for purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. ²¹ So it shall be a perpetual statute to them. He who sprinkles the water for impurity [on another] shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening. ²² Furthermore, anything the unclean person touches shall be unclean, and anyone who touches it shall be [ceremonially] unclean until evening.’”

Death of Miriam

20 Then the Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month [in the fortieth year after leaving Egypt]. And the people lived in Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there.

² Now there was no water for the congregation, and they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. ³ The people contended with Moses, and said, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished [in the plague] before the Lord!^{(AA) 4} Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness to die here, we and our livestock? ⁵ Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or of figs or of vines or of pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” ⁶ Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) and fell on their faces [before the Lord in prayer]. Then the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared to them; ⁷ and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

The Water of Meribah

⁸ “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock ^[bq]in front of them, so that it will pour out its water. In this way you shall bring water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their livestock drink [fresh water].”

⁹ So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; ¹⁰ and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; must we bring you water out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his hand [in anger] and with his rod he struck the rock twice [instead of speaking to the rock as the Lord had commanded]. And the water poured out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank [fresh water]. ¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed (trusted) Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, you therefore ^[br]shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”^{(AB) 13} These are the waters of Meribah (contention, strife), where the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He showed Himself holy among them.

¹⁴ Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of ^[bs]Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel, ‘You know all the hardship that has come upon us [as a nation]; ¹⁵ that our fathers (ancestors) went down to Egypt, and we lived there for a long time, and the Egyptians treated [both] us and our fathers badly. ¹⁶ But when we cried out to the Lord [for help], He heard us and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through a field or through a vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the ^[bt]king’s highway, not turning [off-course] to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’”

¹⁸ But [the king of] Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my territory, or I will come out against you with the sword.” ¹⁹ Again, the Israelites said to him, “We will go by the highway [trade route], and if I and my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it. Only let me pass through on foot, nothing else.” ²⁰ But the king of Edom said, “You shall not pass through [my territory].” And Edom came out against Israel with many people and a strong hand. ²¹ Thus [the king of] Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him.

²² Now when they set out from Kadesh, the Israelites, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.

Death of Aaron

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, saying, ²⁴ “Aaron will be gathered to his people [in death]; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you [both] rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah.^{(AC) 25} Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor; ²⁶ and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. So Aaron will be gathered to his fathers, and will die there.” ²⁷ So Moses did just as the Lord had commanded; and they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. ²⁸ After Moses stripped Aaron of his [priestly] garments and put them on Eleazar his son, Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹ When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel wept (mourned) for him thirty days.

Arad Conquered

21 When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev (the South country) heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim [the route traveled by the spies sent out by Moses], he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. ² So Israel made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed hand over these people to me, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” ³ The Lord heard the voice of Israel and handed over the Canaanites; then they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of the place was called Hormah (dedicate to destruction).

⁴ Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the [branch of the] Red Sea [called the Gulf of Aqabah], to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient, because [of the challenges] of the journey. ⁵ So the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, nor is there any water, and we loathe this miserable food.”

The Bronze Serpent

⁶ Then the Lord sent fiery (burning) serpents among the people; and they bit the people, and many Israelites died. ⁷ So the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord, so that He will remove the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. ⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent [of bronze] and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten will live when he looks at it.” ⁹ So Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it on the pole, and it happened that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

¹⁰ Now the sons of Israel moved out and camped at Oboth. ¹¹ They journeyed on from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness facing Moab, toward the sunrise. ¹² From there they set out and camped in the ^[bu]Wadi Zered. ¹³ From there they journeyed on and camped on the other side of [the river] Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the boundary of the Amorites; for [the river] Arnon is the boundary of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. ¹⁴ That is why it is said in the ^[bv]Book of the Wars of the Lord:

¹⁶ From there the Israelites went on to Beer, that is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together and I will give them water.”^(AD)

¹⁷ Then Israel sang this song,

And from the wilderness Israel journeyed to Mattanah, ¹⁹ and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰ and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks down on the wasteland.

Two Victories

²¹ Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, ²² “Let me pass through your land; we will not turn away [from the road] into field or vineyard; we will not drink the water of the wells. We will go by the king’s highway until we have crossed your border.” ²³ But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border. Instead Sihon gathered all his people together and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz, and he fought against Israel. ²⁴ Then Israel struck the king of the Amorites with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the Ammonites, for the boundary of the Ammonites was ^[bz]strong. ²⁵ Israel took all these cities, and settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its towns. ²⁶ For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. ²⁷ That is why those who use proverbs say,

³¹ Thus Israel settled in the land of the Amorites. ³² Now Moses sent men to spy out Jazer, and they overthrew its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.

³³ Then they turned and went up by the way of Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. ³⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have handed over him and all his people and his land to you; and you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” ³⁵ So the sons of Israel killed Og and his sons and all his people, until there was no survivor left to him; and they took possession of his land.

Balak Sends for Balaam

22 The Israelites journeyed, and camped in the plains of Moab, on the east side of the Jordan [River] across from Jericho.

² And Balak [the king of Moab] the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³ So Moab was terrified because of the people, for they were numerous. Moab was overcome with fear because of the sons of Israel. ⁴ Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this horde will lick up all that is around us, just as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was the king of Moab at that time. ⁵ So he sent messengers to ^[ca]Balaam [a famous prophet-diviner] the son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the [Euphrates] River, in the land of the descendants of his people, to call for him, saying, “There is a people who have come out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me. ⁶ Now please come, curse these people for me, for they are too powerful for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know [your reputation] that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

⁷ So the elders of Moab and of Midian departed with fees for divination (foretelling) in hand; and they came to Balaam and told him the words of Balak. ⁸ Balaam said to them, “Spend the night here and I will bring word back to you as the Lord may speak to me.” So the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam [that night]. ⁹ God came to Balaam, and said, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰ Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent word to me: ¹¹ ‘Hear this, the people who came out of Egypt cover the surface of the land; come now, curse them for me. Perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” ¹² God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people [of Israel], for they are blessed.” ¹³ Balaam got up in the morning, and said to the leaders of Balak, “Go back to your own land [of Moab], for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” ¹⁴ The leaders of Moab arose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹⁵ Then Balak again sent leaders, more numerous and [men who were] more distinguished than the first ones. ¹⁶ They came to Balaam, and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, ‘I beg you, let nothing hinder you from coming to me. ¹⁷ For I will give you a very great honor and I will do whatever you tell me; so please come, curse these people [of Israel] for me.’” ¹⁸ Balaam answered the servants of Balak, “Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the command of the Lord my God. ¹⁹ Now please, you also stay here tonight, and I will find out what else the Lord will say to me.” ²⁰ God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them, but you shall still do only what I tell you.”

²¹ So Balaam got up in the morning and ^[cb]saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab.

The Angel and Balaam

²² But God’s anger was kindled because ^[cc]he was going, and the ^[cd]Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ When the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way and His drawn sword in His hand, the donkey turned off the path and went into the field; but Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back toward the path. ²⁴ But the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a [stone] wall on this side and a [stone] wall on that side. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pressed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against it, and he struck her again. ²⁶ The Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam, so Balaam was angry and he struck the donkey [a third time] with his staff. ²⁸ And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have struck me these three times?” ²⁹ Then Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, I would have killed you by now!” ³⁰ The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life until this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?” And he said, “No.”

³¹ Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and lay himself face down. ³² The Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your behavior was obstinate and contrary to Me. ³³ The donkey saw Me and turned away from Me these three times. If she had not turned away from Me, I would have certainly killed you now, and let her live.” ³⁴ Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that You were standing in the way against me. But now, if my going displeases You, I will turn back.” ³⁵ The Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you shall speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went along with the leaders of Balak.

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

⁴¹ Then it came about in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal; from there he saw a portion of the Israelites.

The Prophecies of Balaam

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

⁴ Now God met Balaam, who said to Him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered a bull and a ram on each altar.” ⁵ Then the Lord put a speech in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus.” ⁶ Balaam returned to Balak, and behold, he was standing by his burnt sacrifice, he and all the leaders of Moab. ⁷ Balaam took up his [first] discourse (oracle) and said:

¹¹ Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but here you have [thoroughly] blessed them instead!” ¹² Balaam answered, “Must I not be obedient and careful to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”

¹³ Balak said to him, “Come with me, I implore you, to another place from where you can see them, although you will see only the nearest and not all of them; and curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴ So he took Balaam to the field of Zophim to the top of [Mount] Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ¹⁵ Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I go to meet the Lord over there.” ¹⁶ Then the Lord met Balaam and put a speech in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak and you shall speak thus.” ¹⁷ When Balaam returned to Balak, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” ¹⁸ Balaam took up his [second] discourse (oracle) and said:

²⁵ Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!” ²⁶ But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not say to you, ‘All that the Lord speaks, that I must do?’”

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

The Prophecy from Peor

24 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as he had done each time before [superstitiously] to seek omens and signs [in the natural world], but he set his face toward the wilderness (desert). ² And Balaam raised his eyes and he saw Israel living in their tents tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came on him. ³ He took up his [third] discourse (oracle) and said:

¹⁰ Then 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, but behold, you have done nothing but bless them these three times. ¹¹ Therefore now flee to your place! I had intended to honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.” ¹² Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, ¹³ ‘Even if Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own accord. What the Lord speaks, that I will speak?’ ¹⁴ And now, look, I am going to my people; come, I will advise you as to what this people [Israel] will do to your people [Moab] in the days to come.”

¹⁵ He took up his [fourth] discourse (oracle) and said:

²⁰ Balaam looked at Amalek and took up his [fifth] discourse (oracle) and said:

²¹ And Balaam looked at the Kenites and took up his [sixth] discourse (oracle) and said:

²³ Then he took up his [seventh] discourse (oracle) and said:

²⁵ Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went on his way.

The Sin of Peor

25 Israel settled and remained in Shittim, and the people began to play the prostitute with the women of Moab [by being unfaithful to God]. ² For they invited the Israelites to the sacrifices of their gods, and the Israelites ate [food offered to idols] and bowed down to Moab’s gods. ³ So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor [in worship]. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. ⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people [who have committed sin with the Moabites], and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” ⁵ So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each one of you must kill his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor [in worship].”

⁶ Then one of the Israelites came and presented to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation of the Israelites, while they were weeping [over God’s judgment] at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). ⁷ When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he left the congregation and took a spear in his hand, ⁸ and he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and pierced both of them through the body, the man of Israel and the woman. Then the plague on the Israelites stopped. ⁹ Nevertheless, those [Israelites] who died in the plague numbered 24,000.

The Zeal of Phinehas

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the Israelites because he was ^[cl]jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the Israelites in My jealousy. ¹² Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to Phinehas My covenant of peace. ¹³ And it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous (impassioned) for [the unique honor and respect owed to] his God and made ^[cm]atonement for the sons of Israel.’”^(AK)

¹⁴ Now the name of the man of Israel who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites. ¹⁵ The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father’s household in Midian.

¹⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “Provoke hostilities with the Midianites and attack them, ¹⁸ for they harass you with their tricks, the tricks with which they have deceived you in the matter [of the Baal] of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague because [of the Baal] of Peor.”

Census of a New Generation

26 ^[cn]Then it happened after the plague that the Lord said to Moses and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, ² “Take a census of all the [males in the] congregation of the sons of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ households, all in Israel who are able to go to war.” ³ So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with the people in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ⁴ “A census of the people shall be taken from twenty years old and upward, just as the Lord has commanded Moses.”

Now the Israelites who came out of the land of Egypt were:

⁵ Reuben, the firstborn of Israel (Jacob), the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; ⁶ of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. ⁷ These are the families (clans) of the Reubenites; and those who were numbered of them were 43,730. ⁸ The son of Pallu: Eliab. ⁹ The sons of Eliab: Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were called by the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord, ¹⁰ and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, so that they became a [warning] sign. ¹¹ But Korah’s sons did not die [because they did not participate in the rebellion].

¹² The sons of Simeon according to their families: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites; ¹³ of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. ¹⁴ These are the families (clans) of the Simeonites, 22,200.

¹⁵ The sons of Gad according to their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites; ¹⁶ of Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites; ¹⁷ of Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites. ¹⁸ These are the families (clans) of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered, 40,500.

¹⁹ The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan [were judged by God and] died in the land of Canaan.^{(AL) 20} The sons of Judah according to their families: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites. ²¹ The sons of Perez: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. ²² These are the families (clans) of Judah according to those who were numbered, 76,500.

²³ The sons of Issachar according to their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the family of the Punites; ²⁴ of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. ²⁵ These are the families (clans) of Issachar according to those who were numbered, 64,300.

²⁶ The sons of Zebulun according to their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. ²⁷ These are the families (clans) of the Zebulunites according to those who were numbered, 60,500.

²⁸ The sons of Joseph according to their families were Manasseh and Ephraim. ²⁹ The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir was the father of Gilead; of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. ³⁰ These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the family of the Iezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites; ³¹ of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; ³² of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. ³³ Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but only daughters, and the names of Zelophehad’s daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ³⁴ These are the families (clans) of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were 52,700.

³⁵ These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. ³⁶ And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. ³⁷ These are the families (clans) of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were numbered, 32,500. These are the descendants of Joseph according to their families (clans).

³⁸ The sons of Benjamin according to their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites; ³⁹ of Shephupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. ⁴⁰ The sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. ⁴¹ These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families (clans); and those who were numbered, 45,600.

⁴² These are the sons of Dan according to their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan according to their families. ⁴³ All the families (clans) of the Shuhamites according to those who were numbered, 64,400.

⁴⁴ Of the sons of Asher according to their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites. ⁴⁵ Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. ⁴⁶ And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. ⁴⁷ These are the families (clans) of the sons of Asher according to those who were numbered, 53,400.

⁴⁸ Of the sons of Naphtali according to their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites; ⁴⁹ of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. ⁵⁰ These are the families (clans) of Naphtali according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were 45,400.

⁵¹ This was the [total] number of the [male] Israelites, 601,730 [twenty years old and upward who were able to go to war].

⁵² And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵³ “Among these the land shall be divided as an inheritance according to the number of names. ⁵⁴ To the larger tribe you shall give the larger inheritance, and to the smaller tribe the smaller inheritance; each tribe shall be given its inheritance according to its numbers. ⁵⁵ But the land shall be divided by lot. They shall receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers (tribal ancestors). ⁵⁶ According to the [location selected by] lot, their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller [groups].”

⁵⁷ These are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. ⁵⁸ These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. And Kohath was the father of Amram. ⁵⁹ The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and Miriam their sister. ⁶⁰ To Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ⁶¹ But Nadab and Abihu died [in the presence of God] when they offered [in their ceremonial censers] strange [unholy, unacceptable, unauthorized] fire before the Lord.^{(AM) 62} Those numbered of the Levites were 23,000, every male from a month old and upward; for they were not numbered among the sons of Israel, since no inheritance [of land] was given to them among the Israelites.

⁶³ These are those numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel [for the second time] in the plains of Moab by the Jordan [River] at Jericho. ⁶⁴ But among these there was not a man [left] of those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel [for the first time] in the Wilderness of Sinai. ⁶⁵ For the Lord had said of them, “They shall certainly die in the wilderness.” And not a man was left of them except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

A Law of Inheritance

27 Then the [five] daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the ^[co]tribes of Manasseh [who was] the son of Joseph, approached [with a request]. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ² They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and all the congregation at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), saying, ³ “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among those who assembled together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but he died for his own sin [as did all those who rebelled at Kadesh], and he had no sons.^{(AN) 4} Why should the name of our father be removed from his family because he had no son? Give to us a possession (land) among our father’s brothers.” ⁵ So Moses brought their case before the Lord.

⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, ⁷ “The request of the daughters of Zelophehad is justified. You shall certainly give them a possession as an inheritance among their father’s brothers, and you shall transfer their father’s inheritance to them. ⁸ Further, you shall say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and has no son, you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. ⁹ If a man has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ If a man has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ¹¹ If his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his nearest relative in his own family, and he shall take possession of it. It shall be a statute and ordinance to the Israelites, just as the Lord has commanded Moses.’”

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up to this mountain (Nebo) [in the] Abarim [range] and look at the land I have given to the sons of Israel. ¹³ When you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people [in death], just as Aaron your brother was gathered; ¹⁴ because in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to treat me as holy [by following My instruction] before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah in Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)^(AO)

Joshua to Succeed Moses

¹⁵ Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, ¹⁶ “^[cp]Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation ¹⁷ who will go out and come in before them, and will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord will not be as sheep without a shepherd.” ¹⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; ¹⁹ and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before the whole congregation, and give him a commission in their sight. ²⁰ You shall put some of your authority and honor on him, so that all the congregation of the Israelites will obey him. ²¹ He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the Lord for him by the judgment (decision) of the ^[cq]Urim. At Joshua’s command the people shall go out and at his command they shall come in, he and all the congregation of Israel with him.” ²² Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, ²³ and Moses laid his hands on Joshua and commissioned him, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

Laws for Offerings

28 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the Israelites and say to them, ‘You shall be careful to present at its appointed time [during the year] My offering, My food for My offerings by fire as a sweet and soothing aroma to Me.’ ³ You shall say to the people, ‘This is the offering by fire which you shall present to the Lord every day: two male lambs one year old without blemish as a continual burnt offering. ⁴ You shall offer one lamb in the morning and you shall offer the other lamb at twilight, ⁵ also a tenth of an ephah of finely-milled flour as a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin of pressed oil. ⁶ It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained on Mount Sinai as a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. ⁷ Its drink offering shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb, in the holy place you shall pour out a strong drink offering to the Lord. ⁸ The other lamb you shall offer at twilight; as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

⁹ ‘Then on the Sabbath day two male lambs one year old without blemish, and two-tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering. ¹⁰ This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

¹¹ ‘Then at the beginning of [each of] your months you shall present a burnt offering to the Lord: two bulls, one ram, seven male lambs one year old without blemish; ¹² and three-tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, for each bull; and two-tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, for the one ram; ¹³ and a tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering of a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. ¹⁴ Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, and a third of a hin for a ram, and a fourth of a hin for a lamb. This is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year. ¹⁵ And one male goat as a sin offering to the Lord; it shall be offered with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering.

¹⁶ ‘The Lord’s Passover shall be on the fourteenth day of the first month [of each year]. ¹⁷ There shall be a feast on the fifteenth day of this month; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. ¹⁸ On the first day there shall be a holy [summoned] assembly; you shall do no laborious work that day. ¹⁹ But you shall present an offering by fire, a burnt offering to the Lord: two bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old, without blemish. ²⁰ For their grain offering you shall offer fine flour mixed with oil; three-tenths [of an ephah] for the bull, and two-tenths for the ram; ²¹ you shall offer a tenth [of an ephah] for each of the seven male lambs; ²² and one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you. ²³ You shall present these in addition to the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. ²⁴ In this way you shall present daily, for seven days, the food of the offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord; it shall be presented with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering. ²⁵ On the seventh day you shall have a holy [summoned] assembly; you shall do no laborious work.

²⁶ ‘Also on the day of the first fruits, when you offer a new grain offering to the Lord at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy [summoned] assembly; you shall do no laborious work. ²⁷ You shall present the burnt offering as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs one year old;