Numbers 36
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 36
Inheritance of Daughters. 1 The heads of the ancestral houses in a clan of the descendants of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh—one of the Josephite clans—came up and spoke before Moses and Eleazar the priest and before the leaders who were the heads of the ancestral houses of the Israelites. 2 They said: “The Lord commanded my lord to apportion the land by lot for a heritage among the Israelites;(A) and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the heritage of Zelophehad our kinsman to his daughters. 3 But if they marry into one of the other Israelite tribes, their heritage will be withdrawn from our ancestral heritage and will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry; thus the heritage that fell to us by lot will be diminished. 4 When the Israelites celebrate the jubilee year,[a] the heritage of these women will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry and their heritage will be withdrawn from that of our ancestral tribe.”
5 [b]So Moses commanded the Israelites at the direction of the Lord: “The tribe of the Josephites are right in what they say. 6 This is what the Lord commands with regard to the daughters of Zelophehad: They may marry anyone they please, provided they marry into a clan of their ancestral tribe, 7 so that no heritage of the Israelites will pass from one tribe to another, but all the Israelites will retain their own ancestral heritage. 8 Every daughter who inherits property in any of the Israelite tribes will marry someone belonging to a clan of her own ancestral tribe, in order that all the Israelites may remain in possession of their own ancestral heritage. 9 Thus, no heritage will pass from one tribe to another, but all the Israelite tribes will retain their own ancestral heritage.”
10 The daughters of Zelophehad did exactly as the Lord commanded Moses. 11 Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, Zelophehad’s daughters, married sons of their uncles on their father’s side. 12 They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh, son of Joseph; hence their heritage remained in the tribe of their father’s clan.
Conclusion. 13 These are the commandments and decisions which the Lord commanded the Israelites through Moses, on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan opposite Jericho.
Numbers 36
New Life Version
Married Women and What They Would Get from Their Families
36 The heads of the fathers’ houses of the family group of the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near. They spoke in front of Moses and the leaders, the heads of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel. 2 They said, “The Lord told my lord to give the land to the people of Israel by drawing names. And my lord was told by the Lord to give the land of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 But if they marry one of the sons of the other family groups of Israel, then their land would be taken away from what was given to our fathers and would be added to the land of the family group they marry into. So it would be taken from the land that had been given to us. 4 When the Year of Jubilee of the people of Israel comes, their land will be added to the land of the family group into which they marry. So their land will be taken from the land of the family group of our fathers.”
5 Then Moses told the people of Israel what the Lord said. He said, “The family group of the sons of Joseph are right in what they say. 6 This is what the Lord has said about the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best. Only they must marry within the family group of their father.’ 7 This way no land of the people of Israel will go from one family group to another. The people of Israel will each hold to the land of the family group of his fathers. 8 Every daughter who comes to own the land of any family group of Israel, must be the wife of one of her father’s family group. So every one of the people of Israel may own the land of his fathers. 9 No land will go from one family group to another. For the families of Israel will each hold to his own land.” 10 The daughters of Zelophehad did just as the Lord had told Moses. 11 Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, married sons of their father’s brothers. 12 They married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph. And their land stayed with their father’s family group.
13 These are the Laws which the Lord told the people of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
Numbers 36
Living Bible
36 1-2 Then the heads of the subclan of Gilead (of the clan of Machir, of the tribe of Manasseh, one of the sons of Joseph) came to Moses and the leaders of Israel with a petition: “The Lord instructed you to divide the land by lot among the people of Israel,” they reminded Moses, “and to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 But if they marry into another tribe, their land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way the total area of our tribe will be reduced 4 and will not be returned at the Year of Jubilee.”
5 Then Moses replied publicly, giving them these instructions from the Lord: “The men of the tribe of Joseph have a proper complaint. 6 This is what the Lord has further commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them be married to anyone they like, so long as it is within their own tribe. 7 In this way none of the land of the tribe will shift to any other tribe, for the inheritance of every tribe is to remain permanently as it was first allotted. 8 The girls throughout the tribes of Israel who are heiresses must marry within their own tribe, so that their land won’t leave the tribe. 9 In this way no inheritance shall move from one tribe to another.’”
10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses. 11-12 These girls, Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, were married to men in their own tribe of Manasseh (son of Joseph); so their inheritance remained in their tribe.
13 These are the commandments and ordinances that the Lord gave to the people of Israel through Moses, while they were camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.
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