Numbers 36
International Standard Version
The Daughters of Zelophehad(A)
36 The leaders of the ancestral families of the descendants of Gilead, who were descendants of Machir, and descendants of Manasseh, from Joseph’s tribe, approached and spoke to Moses and the leaders of the ancestral houses[a] of the Israelis. 2 “The Lord commanded my master[b] to apportion the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelis,” they said. “Now my master was ordered by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 But when they get married to one of the descendants of the tribes of Israel, their inheritances are to be withdrawn from our father’s inheritance and added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they are to belong. Consequently, it is to be withdrawn from the portion of our inheritance. 4 Then, when the Jubilee Year of the Israelis comes, their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they have come to belong. Their inheritance will thus be taken away from the inheritance of our father’s tribe!”
5 So Moses issued the Israelis these orders based on what the Lord said: “The tribe of the descendants of Joseph has spoken. 6 This is what the Lord is commanding the daughters of Zelophehad: If they decide it’s a good idea in their opinion[c] to get married only within the family of their father’s tribe, then let them get married 7 so that the inheritance of the Israelis won’t be turned over[d] from one tribe to another. Each one has an inheritance from his own father’s tribe that the Israelis are to maintain. 8 Every daughter who is in possession of an inheritance from the Israelis is to marry someone from the families within her father’s tribe so the Israelis can retain possession of their ancestral inheritance. 9 That way, their inheritance won’t be turned over from one tribe to another, because the Israelis are each to maintain their ancestral inheritances.”
10 Zelophehad’s daughters did just what the Lord had commanded Moses 11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah: Zelophehad’s daughters married their uncle’s sons. 12 They married[e] into families of the descendants of Manasseh, that is, Joseph’s descendants, so that their inheritance remained within the tribe of their ancestor’s family.
13 These were the commands and the ordinances that the Lord issued to the Israelis through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River in Jericho.
Footnotes
- Numbers 36:1 Lit. the fathers
- Numbers 36:2 Or lord
- Numbers 36:6 Lit. eyes
- Numbers 36:7 Lit. turned aside
- Numbers 36:12 Lit. became wives
Numbers 36
King James Version
36 And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel:
2 And they said, The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.
3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance.
4 And when the jubile of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well.
6 This is the thing which the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry.
7 So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers.
9 Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.
10 Even as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad:
11 For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their fathers brothers' sons:
12 And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
13 These are the commandments and the judgments, which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near 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.
Numbers 36
New King James Version
Marriage of Female Heirs
36 Now the chief fathers of the families of the (A)children of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and (B)spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the chief fathers of the children of Israel. 2 And they said: (C)“The Lord commanded my lord Moses to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel, and (D)my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 Now if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then their inheritance will be (E)taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and it will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance. 4 And when (F)the Jubilee of the children of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”
5 Then Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying: (G)“What the tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks is right. 6 This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them [a]marry whom they think best, (H)but they may marry only within the family of their father’s tribe.’ 7 So the inheritance of the children of Israel shall not change hands from tribe to tribe, for every one of the children of Israel shall (I)keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 And (J)every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be the wife of one of the family of her father’s tribe, so that the children of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9 Thus no inheritance shall change hands from one tribe to another, but every tribe of the children of Israel shall keep its own inheritance.”
10 Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad; 11 (K)for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to the sons of their father’s brothers. 12 They were married into the families of the children of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s family.
13 These are the commandments and the judgments which the Lord commanded the children of Israel by the hand of Moses (L)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.
Footnotes
- Numbers 36:6 Lit. be wives to
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
