Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites

4 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 clans and their fathers' houses, ^3 (A)from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. ⁴ This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: ^(B)the most holy things. ⁵ When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down ^(C)the veil of the screen and cover ^(D)the ark of the testimony with it. ⁶ Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin^[a] and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its ^(E)poles. ⁷ And over the ^(F)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 bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; ^(G)the regular showbread also shall be on it. ⁸ Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall ^(H)put in its poles. ⁹ And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover ^(I)the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. ¹⁰ And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. ¹¹ And over ^(J)the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. ¹² And they shall take all ^(K)the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. ¹³ And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. ¹⁵ And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that ^(L)the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, ^(M)but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

¹⁶ “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of ^(N)the oil for the light, the ^(O)fragrant incense, ^(P)the regular grain offering, and ^(Q)the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ¹⁸ “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, ¹⁹ but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to ^(R)the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, ^20 (S)but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”

²¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²² “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses and by their clans. ^23 (T)From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can ^(U)come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. ²⁴ This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: ^25 (V)they shall carry ^(W)the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with ^(X)its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting ²⁶ and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. ²⁷ All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. ²⁸ This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be ^(Y)under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

²⁹ “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' houses. ^30 (Z)From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. ³¹ And ^(AA)this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, ³² and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall ^(AB)list by name the objects that they are required to carry. ³³ This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, ^(AC)under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

³⁴ And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers' houses, ^35 (AD)from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; ³⁶ and those listed by clans were 2,750. ^37 (AE)This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.

³⁸ Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses, ^39 (AF)from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting— ⁴⁰ those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses were 2,630. ^41 (AG)This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord.

⁴² Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses, ^43 (AH)from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting— ⁴⁴ those listed by clans were 3,200. ^45 (AI)This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.

⁴⁶ All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses, ^47 (AJ)from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, ⁴⁸ those listed were 8,580. ⁴⁹ According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses they were listed, ^(AK)each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, ^(AL)as the Lord commanded Moses.

Unclean People

5 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the people of Israel that they ^(AM)put out of the camp everyone who is leprous^[b] or has ^(AN)a discharge and everyone who is ^(AO)unclean through contact with the dead. ³ You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, ^(AP)in the midst of which I dwell.” ⁴ And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.

Confession and Restitution

⁵ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Speak to the people of Israel, ^(AQ)When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, ^7 (AR)he shall confess his sin that he has committed.^{[c] (AS)}And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. ⁸ But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to ^(AT)the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him. ⁹ And ^(AU)every contribution, all the holy donations of the people of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. ¹⁰ Each one shall keep his holy donations: whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his.”

A Test for Adultery

¹¹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Speak to the people of Israel, If any man's wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, ¹³ if a man ^(AV)lies with her sexually, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, ^(AW)since she was not taken in the act, ¹⁴ and if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself, ¹⁵ then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah^[d] of barley flour. ^(AX)He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, ^(AY)bringing iniquity to remembrance.

¹⁶ “And the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord. ¹⁷ And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. ¹⁸ And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord and ^(AZ)unbind the hair of the woman's head and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And in his hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse. ¹⁹ Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, ‘If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband's authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband's authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your husband has lain with you, ²¹ then’ (let the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse, and say to the woman) ^(BA)‘the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh fall away and your body swell. ²² May this water that brings the curse ^(BB)pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, ^(BC)‘Amen, Amen.’

²³ “Then the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the water of bitterness. ²⁴ And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain. ²⁵ And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand ^(BD)and shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar. ²⁶ And the priest ^(BE)shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. ²⁷ And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman ^(BF)shall become a curse among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.

²⁹ “This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, ^(BG)though under her husband's authority, goes astray and defiles herself, ³⁰ or when the spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife. Then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall carry out for her all this law. ³¹ The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman ^(BH)shall bear her iniquity.”

The Nazirite Vow

6 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of ^(BI)a Nazirite,^{[e] (BJ)}to separate himself to the Lord, ³ he ^(BK)shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. ⁴ All the days of his separation^[f] he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.

⁵ “All the days of his vow of separation, no ^(BL)razor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. ^(BM)He shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long.

⁶ “All the days that he separates himself to the Lord ^(BN)he shall not go near a dead body. ^7 (BO)Not even for his father or for his mother, for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean, because his separation to God is on his head. ⁸ All the days of his separation he is holy to the Lord.

⁹ “And if any man dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head, then ^(BP)he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. ^10 (BQ)On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest to the entrance of the tent of meeting, ¹¹ and the priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned by reason of the dead body. And he shall consecrate his head that same day ¹² and separate himself to the Lord for the days of his separation and bring a male lamb a year old ^(BR)for a guilt offering. But the previous period shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

¹³ “And this is the law for the Nazirite, ^(BS)when the time of his separation has been completed: he shall be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting, ¹⁴ and he shall bring his gift to the Lord, one male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish ^(BT)as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish ^(BU)as a peace offering, ¹⁵ and a basket of unleavened bread, ^(BV)loaves of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and their ^(BW)grain offering and their ^(BX)drink offerings. ¹⁶ And the priest shall bring them before the Lord and offer ^(BY)his sin offering and his burnt offering, ¹⁷ and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer also its grain offering and its drink offering. ¹⁸ And the Nazirite ^(BZ)shall shave his consecrated head at the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire that is under the sacrifice of the peace offering. ¹⁹ And the priest shall take the ^(CA)shoulder of the ram, when it is boiled, and one unleavened loaf out of the basket and one unleavened wafer, and ^(CB)shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaved the hair of his consecration, ²⁰ and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. ^(CC)They are a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed. And after that the Nazirite may drink wine.

²¹ “This is the law of the Nazirite. But if he vows an offering to the Lord above his Nazirite vow, as he can afford, in exact accordance with the vow that he takes, then he shall do in addition to the law of the Nazirite.”

Aaron's Blessing

²² The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus ^(CD)you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

^27 (CI)“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

Offerings at the Tabernacle's Consecration

7 On the day when Moses had finished ^(CJ)setting up the tabernacle and had anointed and ^(CK)consecrated it with all its furnishings and had anointed and consecrated the altar with all its utensils, ^2 (CL)the chiefs of Israel, heads of their fathers' houses, who were the chiefs of the tribes, who were over those who were listed, approached ³ and brought their offerings before the Lord, six wagons and twelve oxen, a wagon for every two of the chiefs, and for each one an ox. They brought them before the tabernacle. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, ⁵ “Accept these from them, that they may be used in the service of the tent of meeting, and give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” ⁶ So Moses took the wagons and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ Two wagons and four oxen ^(CM)he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service. ⁸ And four wagons and eight oxen ^(CN)he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. ⁹ But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because they were charged with ^(CO)the service of the holy things that ^(CP)had to be carried on the shoulder. ¹⁰ And the chiefs offered offerings for the ^(CQ)dedication of the altar on the day it was anointed; and the chiefs offered their offering before the altar. ¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “They shall offer their offerings, one chief each day, for the dedication of the altar.”

¹² He who offered his offering the first day was ^(CR)Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah. ¹³ And his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels,^[h] one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to ^(CS)the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a ^(CT)grain offering; ¹⁴ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of ^(CU)incense; ^15 (CV)one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ¹⁶ one male goat for a ^(CW)sin offering; ¹⁷ and for ^(CX)the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

¹⁸ On the second day ^(CY)Nethanel the son of Zuar, the chief of Issachar, made an offering. ¹⁹ He offered for his offering one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁰ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ²¹ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²² one male goat for a sin offering; ²³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar.

²⁴ On the third day ^(CZ)Eliab the son of Helon, the chief of the people of Zebulun: ²⁵ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁶ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ²⁷ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²⁸ one male goat for a sin offering; ²⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon.

³⁰ On the fourth day ^(DA)Elizur the son of Shedeur, the chief of the people of Reuben: ³¹ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 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 dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ³³ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ³⁴ one male goat for a sin offering; ³⁵ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur.

³⁶ On the fifth day ^(DB)Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, the chief of the people of Simeon: ³⁷ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³⁸ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ³⁹ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

⁴² On the sixth day ^(DC)Eliasaph the son of Deuel, the chief of the people of Gad: ⁴³ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁴⁴ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁴⁵ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

⁴⁸ On the seventh day ^(DD)Elishama the son of Ammihud, the chief of the people of Ephraim: ⁴⁹ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁰ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁵¹ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵² one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.

⁵⁴ On the eighth day ^(DE)Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, the chief of the people of Manasseh: ⁵⁵ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁶ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁵⁷ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

⁶⁰ On the ninth day ^(DF)Abidan the son of Gideoni, the chief of the people of Benjamin: ⁶¹ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶² one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁶³ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁶⁵ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.

⁶⁶ On the tenth day ^(DG)Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, the chief of the people of Dan: ⁶⁷ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶⁸ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁶⁹ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

⁷² On the eleventh day ^(DH)Pagiel the son of Ochran, the chief of the people of Asher: ⁷³ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁷⁴ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁷⁵ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ochran.

⁷⁸ On the twelfth day ^(DI)Ahira the son of Enan, the chief of the people of Naphtali: ⁷⁹ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁸⁰ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁸¹ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁸² one male goat for a sin offering; ⁸³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan.

⁸⁴ This was the dedication offering for the altar on the day when it was anointed, from the chiefs of Israel: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, twelve golden dishes, ⁸⁵ each silver plate weighing 130 shekels and each basin 70, all the silver of the vessels 2,400 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, ⁸⁶ the twelve golden dishes, full of incense, weighing 10 shekels apiece according to the shekel of the sanctuary, all the gold of the dishes being 120 shekels; ⁸⁷ all the cattle for the burnt offering twelve bulls, twelve rams, twelve male lambs a year old, with their grain offering; and twelve male goats for a sin offering; ⁸⁸ and all the cattle for the sacrifice of peace offerings twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, the male lambs a year old sixty. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it ^(DJ)was anointed.

⁸⁹ And when Moses went into the tent of meeting ^(DK)to speak with the Lord, he heard ^(DL)the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him.

The Seven Lamps

8 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.” ³ And Aaron did so: he set up its lamps in front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. ⁴ And ^(DM)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 that the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Cleansing of the Levites

⁵ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and cleanse them. ⁷ Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the ^(DN)water of purification upon them, and ^(DO)let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. ⁸ Then let them take a bull from the herd and ^(DP)its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, ^(DQ)and you shall take another bull from the herd for a sin offering. ^9 (DR)And you shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting ^(DS)and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel. ¹⁰ When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel ^(DT)shall lay their hands on the Levites, ¹¹ and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord. ¹² Then the Levites ^(DU)shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer ^(DV)the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³ And you shall set the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as ^(DW)a wave offering to the Lord.

¹⁴ “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and ^(DX)the Levites shall be mine. ¹⁵ And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a ^(DY)wave offering. ¹⁶ For they are ^(DZ)wholly given to me from among the people of Israel. ^(EA)Instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. ^17 (EB)For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, ¹⁸ and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. ^19 (EC)And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and ^(ED)to make atonement for the people of Israel, ^(EE)that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them. ²¹ And ^(EF)the Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and ^(EG)Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

Retirement of the Levites

²³ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “This applies to the Levites: ^(EH)from twenty-five years old and upward they^[i] shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. ²⁵ And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. ²⁶ They minister^[j] to their brothers in the tent of meeting ^(EI)by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”

The Passover Celebrated

9 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, ^(EJ)in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ² “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. ^3 (EK)On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” ⁴ So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. ⁵ And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. ⁶ And there were certain men who were ^(EL)unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and ^(EM)they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. ⁷ And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the Lord's ^(EN)offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” ⁸ And Moses said to them, “Wait, that ^(EO)I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”

⁹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the Lord. ^11 (EP)In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. ^(EQ)They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ^12 (ER)They shall leave none of it until the morning, ^(ES)nor break any of its bones; ^(ET)according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. ¹³ But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, ^(EU)that person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring the Lord's ^(EV)offering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. ¹⁴ And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. ^(EW)You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.”

The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle

^15 (EX)On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And ^(EY)at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. ¹⁶ So it was always: the cloud covered it by day^[k] and the appearance of fire by night. ¹⁷ And whenever the cloud ^(EZ)lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. ¹⁸ At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. ^(FA)As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. ¹⁹ Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel ^(FB)kept the charge of the Lord and did not set out. ²⁰ Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out. ²¹ And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. ²² Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel ^(FC)remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. ²³ At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. ^(FD)They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.