Numbers 27
Evangelical Heritage Version
Zelophehad’s Daughters
27 Then the daughters of Zelophehad came forward. (Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph.) These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah. 2 They stood at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before Moses and Eleazar the priest, before the tribal chiefs and the entire community. They said, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered together against the Lord along with the followers of Korah, but he died in his own sin. He had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from a place among his clan, because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s brothers.”
5 Moses brought their case before the Lord. 6 The Lord spoke to Moses: 7 “What the daughters of Zelophehad say is correct. You must give them property as an inheritance among their father’s brothers. You are to allow their father’s inheritance to be passed down to them. 8 You are to tell the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you are to have his inheritance pass down to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, then you will give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, then you will give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 If his father has no brothers, then you will give his inheritance to his closest relative from his clan, and he will take possession of it. This will be a legal statute for the Israelites, just as the Lord commanded Moses.’”
Joshua Will Succeed Moses
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up onto this mountain in the Abarim range and see the land which I have given to the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you yourself will also be gathered to your people just as Aaron your brother was gathered. 14 For when the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, you both rebelled against my command to honor me as holy in their sight at the waters.” (This refers to the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)
15 Moses spoke to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the community, 17 who will go out before them and come in before them, who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18 The Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and place your hand on him. 19 Have him stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the entire community. You will commission him in their sight. 20 You will give some of your authority to him so that the entire Israelite community will listen to him. 21 He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will inquire for him before the Lord with the decision of the Urim. He and all the Israelites with him, the entire community, will go out at his command and come in at his command.”
22 Moses did just as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the entire community. 23 He placed his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord spoke through Moses.
Numbers 27
New King James Version
Inheritance Laws
27 Then came the daughters of (A)Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: 3 “Our father (B)died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the Lord, (C)in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be (D)removed[a] from among his family because he had no son? (E)Give us a [b]possession among our father’s brothers.”
5 So Moses (F)brought their case before the Lord.
6 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; (G)you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. 8 And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.’ ” And it shall be to the children of Israel (H)a statute of judgment, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
Joshua the Next Leader of Israel(I)
12 Now the Lord said to Moses: (J)“Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. 13 And when you have seen it, you also (K)shall [c]be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. 14 For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you (L)rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the (M)waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)
15 Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: 16 “Let the Lord, (N)the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17 (O)who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be (P)like sheep which have no shepherd.”
18 And the Lord said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man (Q)in whom is the Spirit, and (R)lay your hand on him; 19 set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and (S)inaugurate[d] him in their sight. 20 And (T)you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel (U)may be obedient. 21 (V)He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the Lord for him (W)by the judgment of the Urim. (X)At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congregation.”
22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. 23 And he laid his hands on him (Y)and [e]inaugurated him, just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 27:4 withdrawn
- Numbers 27:4 inheritance
- Numbers 27:13 Die and join your ancestors
- Numbers 27:19 commission
- Numbers 27:23 commissioned
Numbers 27
GOD’S WORD Translation
A Request from Zelophehad’s Daughters
27 The daughters of Zelophehad, son of Hepher, grandson of Gilead, descendant of Machir, whose father was Manasseh, belonged to the families of Manasseh, son of Joseph. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They came 2 to Moses and stood in front of him, the priest Eleazar, the leaders, and the whole community at the entrance to the tent of meeting. They said, 3 “Our father died in the desert. He was not a part of Korah’s followers who joined forces against the Lord. He died for his own sin and left no sons. 4 Why should our father’s name be allowed to die out in his family because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”
5 So Moses brought their case to the Lord, 6 and the Lord said to him, 7 “Zelophehad’s daughters are right. You must give them property of their own among their father’s relatives. Turn their father’s property over to them.
8 “Tell the Israelites: If a man dies and leaves no sons, turn his property over to his daughters. 9 If he has no daughters, give his property to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, give his property to his uncles on his father’s side of the family. 11 If he has no uncles, give his property to the nearest relative in his family, and that relative will take possession of it. This will be a rule for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.”
The Lord Appoints Joshua to Succeed Moses
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into the Abarim Mountains, and take a look at the land I will give the Israelites. 13 After you see it, you, too, will join your ancestors ⌞in death⌟, as your brother Aaron did. 14 You both rebelled against my command in the Desert of Zin. You didn’t show the people how holy I am when they were complaining at the oasis.” (This was the oasis of Meribah at Kadesh in the Desert of Zin.)
15 Moses said to the Lord, 16 “Lord, you are the God who gives the breath of life to everyone. Please appoint someone over the community 17 who will lead them in and out ⌞of battle⌟ so that the Lord’s community will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit, and place your hand on him. 19 Make him stand in front of the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and give him his instructions in their presence. 20 Give him some of your authority so that the whole community of Israel will obey him. 21 He will stand in front of the priest Eleazar, who will use the Urim [a] to make decisions in the Lord’s presence. At his command Joshua and the whole community of Israel will go into battle. And at his command they will return.”
22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand in front of the priest Eleazar and the whole community. 23 Moses placed his hands on Joshua and gave him his instructions as the Lord had told him.
Footnotes
- 27:21 The Urim and Thummim were used by the chief priest to determine God’s answer to questions.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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