Numbers 10
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
10 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 Make thee two trumpets of beaten silver, wherewith thou mayest call together the multitude when the camp is to be removed.
3 And when thou shalt sound the trumpets, all the multitude shall gather unto thee to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant.
4 If thou sound but once, the princes and the heads of the multitude of Israel shall come to thee.
5 But if the sound of the trumpets be longer, and with interruptions, they that are on the east side, shall first go forward.
6 And at the second sounding and like noise of the trumpet, they who lie on the south side shall take up their tents. And after this manner shall the rest do, when the trumpets shall sound for a march.
7 But when the people is to be gathered together, the sound of the trumpets shall be plain, and they shall not make a broken sound.
8 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall sound the trumpets: and this shall be an ordinance for ever in your generations.
9 If you go forth to war out of your land against the enemies that fight against you, you shall sound aloud with the trumpets, and there shall be a remembrance of you before the Lord your God, that you may be delivered out of the hands of your enemies.
10 If at any time you shall have a banquet, and on your festival days, and on the first days of your months, you shall sound the trumpets over the holocausts, and the sacrifices of peace offerings, that they may be to you for a remembrance of your God. I am the Lord your God.
11 The second year, in the second month, the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the covenant.
12 And the children of Israel marched by their troops from the desert of Sinai, and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Pharan.
13 And the first went forward according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
14 The sons of Juda by their troops: whose prince was Nahasson the son of Aminadab.
15 In the tribe of the sons of Issachar, the prince was Nathanael the son of Suar.
16 In the tribe of Zabulon, the prince was Eliab the son of Helon.
17 And the tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gerson and Merari set forward, bearing it.
18 And the sons of Ruben also marched, by their troops and ranks, whose prince was Helisur the son of Sedeur.
19 And in the tribe of Simeon, the prince was Salamiel the son of Surisaddai.
20 And in the tribe of Cad, the prince was Eliasaph the son of Duel.
21 Then the Caathites also marched carrying the sanctuary. So long was the tabernacle carried, till they came to the place of setting it up.
22 The sons of Ephraim also moved their camp by their troops, in whose army the prince was Elisama the son of Ammiud.
23 And in the tribe of the sons of Manasses, the prince was Gamaliel the son of Phadassur.
24 And in the tribe of Benjamin, the prince was Abidan the son of Gedeon.
25 The last of all the camp marched the sons of Dan by their troops, in whose army the prince was Ahiezer the son of Ammisaddai.
26 And in the tribe of the sons of Aser, the prince was Phegiel the son of Ochran.
27 And in the tribe of the sons of Nephtali, the prince was Ahira the son of Enan.
28 This was the order of the camps, and marches of the children of Israel by their troops, when they set forward.
29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Raguel the Madianite, his kinsman: We are going towards the place which the Lord will give us: come with us, that we may do thee good: for the Lord hath promised good things to Israel.
30 But he answered him: I will not go with thee, but I will return to my country, wherein I was born.
31 And he said: Do not leave us: for thou knowest in what places we should encamp in the wilderness, and thou shalt be our guide.
32 And if thou comest with us, we will give thee what is the best of the riches which the Lord shall deliver to us.
33 So they marched from the mount of the Lord three days' journey, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them, for three days providing a place for the camp.
34 The cloud also of the Lord was over them by day when they marched.
35 And when the ark was lifted up, Moses said: Arise, O Lord, and let thy enemies be scattered, and let them that hate thee, flee from before thy face.
36 And when it was set down, he said: Return, O Lord, to the multitude of the host of Israel.
Numbers 10
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 10
The Silver Trumpets. 1 The Lord said to Moses: 2 Make two trumpets of silver, making them of hammered silver, for you to use in summoning the community and in breaking camp. 3 When both are blown, the whole community shall gather round you at the entrance of the tent of meeting; 4 but when one of them is blown, only the tribal leaders, the heads of the clans of Israel, shall gather round you. 5 When you sound the signal, those encamped on the east side shall break camp; 6 when you sound a second signal, those encamped on the south side shall break camp; when you sound a third signal, those encamped on the west side shall break camp; when you sound a fourth signal, those encamped on the north side shall break camp. Thus shall the signal be sounded for them to break camp. 7 But in calling forth an assembly you are to blow a blast, without sounding the signal.
8 The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; this is prescribed forever for you and your descendants. 9 (A)When in your own land you go to war against an enemy that is attacking you, you shall sound the alarm on the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the Lord, your God, and be saved from your foes. 10 And when you rejoice[a] on your festivals, and your new-moon feasts, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and your communion sacrifices,(B) so that this serves as a reminder of you before your God. I, the Lord, am your God.
II. Departure, Rebellion, and Wandering in the Wilderness for Forty Years
Departure from Sinai. 11 In the second year, on the twentieth day of the second month, the cloud rose from the tabernacle of the covenant, 12 and the Israelites moved on from the wilderness of Sinai by stages, until the cloud came to rest in the wilderness of Paran.
13 The first time that they broke camp at the direction of the Lord through Moses, 14 (C)the divisional camp of the Judahites, arranged in companies, was the first to set out. Over its whole company was Nahshon, son of Amminadab, 15 with Nethanel, son of Zuar, over the company of the tribe of Issacharites, 16 and Eliab, son of Helon, over the company of the tribe of Zebulunites. 17 Then, after the tabernacle was dismantled, the Gershonites and Merarites who carried the tabernacle set out. 18 The divisional camp of the Reubenites, arranged in companies, was the next to set out. Over its whole company was Elizur, son of Shedeur, 19 with Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai, over the company of the tribe of Simeonites, 20 and Eliasaph, son of Reuel, over the company of the tribe of Gadites. 21 The Kohathites, who carried the sacred objects, then set out. Before their arrival the tabernacle would be erected. 22 The divisional camp of the Ephraimites set out next, arranged in companies. Over its whole company was Elishama, son of Ammihud, 23 with Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, over the company of the tribe of Manassites, 24 and Abidan, son of Gideoni, over the company of the tribe of Benjaminites. 25 Finally, as rear guard for all the camps, the divisional camp of the Danites set out, arranged in companies. Over its whole company was Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai, 26 with Pagiel, son of Ochran, over the company of the tribe of Asherites, 27 and Ahira, son of Enan, over the company of the tribe of Naphtalites. 28 This was the order of march for the Israelites, company by company, when they set out.
Hobab as Guide. 29 Moses said to Hobab,[b] son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place concerning which the Lord has said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will be generous toward you, for the Lord has promised prosperity to Israel.” 30 But he answered, “No, I will not come. I am going instead to the land of my birth.” 31 Moses said, “Please, do not leave us; you know where we can camp in the wilderness, and you can serve as our guide. 32 If you come with us, we will share with you the prosperity the Lord will bestow on us.”
Into the Wilderness. 33 (D)From the mountain of the Lord[c] they made a journey of three days, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them for the three-day journey to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from camp.
35 Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say,
“Arise, O Lord, may your enemies be scattered,
and may those who hate you flee before you.”
36 And when it came to rest, he would say,
“Bring back, O Lord, the myriads of Israel’s troops!”
Footnotes
- 10:10 When you rejoice: cf. Dt 16:14. Festivals: the great annual feasts of the Passover, Pentecost and Booths described in Lv 23; Nm 28–29.
- 10:29–32 Hobab: one of three names for the father-in-law of Moses (see Ex 2:18; 4:18; 18:6; Jgs 4:11). Here perhaps Hobab’s initial refusal indicates he wished to be coaxed before granting the favor. From Jgs 1:16 it seems probable that he did accede to Moses’ request. However, Ex 18:27 suggests Moses’ father-in-law returned to his own land. Indeed, to the extent Nm 10:29–32 appears to repeat Ex 18:27, it may indicate a resumption of the narrative of Israel’s march through the wilderness after the “digression” formed by the Israelite sojourn at Sinai, Ex 19:1–Nm 10:28.
- 10:33 The mountain of the Lord: Sinai (Horeb), elsewhere always called “the mountain of God.”
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