Numbers 9
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Second Passover
9 In the first month of the second year after their departure from the land of Egypt, the Lord told Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai:(A) 2 “The Israelites are to observe the Passover at its appointed time.(B) 3 You must observe it at its appointed time on the fourteenth day of this month at twilight; you are to observe it according to all its statutes and ordinances.”(C) 4 So Moses told the Israelites to observe the Passover, 5 and they observed it in the first month on the fourteenth day at twilight in the Wilderness of Sinai. The Israelites did everything as the Lord had commanded Moses.
6 But there were some men who were unclean because of a human corpse, so they could not observe the Passover on that day.(D) These men came before Moses and Aaron the same day 7 and said to him, “We are unclean because of a human corpse. Why should we be excluded from presenting the Lord’s offering at its appointed time with the other Israelites?”
8 Moses replied to them, “Wait here until I hear what the Lord commands for you.”
9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 10 “Tell the Israelites: When any one of you or your descendants is unclean because of a corpse(E) or is on a distant journey, he may still observe the Passover to the Lord. 11 Such people are to observe it in the second month, on the fourteenth day at twilight. They are to eat the animal with unleavened bread and bitter herbs;(F) 12 they may not leave any of it until morning or break any of its bones.(G) They must observe the Passover according to all its statutes.
13 “But the man who is ceremonially clean, is not on a journey, and yet fails to observe the Passover is to be cut off from his people, because he did not present the Lord’s offering at its appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin.
14 “If a foreigner resides with you and wants to observe the Passover to the Lord,(H) he is to do so according to the Passover statute and its ordinances. You are to apply the same statute to both the foreign resident and the native of the land.”(I)
Guidance by the Cloud
15 On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony,(J) and it appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning. 16 It remained that way continuously: the cloud would cover it,[a] appearing like fire at night.(K) 17 Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped.(L) 18 At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at the Lord’s command they camped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they camped.
19 Even when the cloud stayed over the tabernacle many days, the Israelites carried out the Lord’s requirement and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud remained over the tabernacle for only a few days. They would camp at the Lord’s command and set out at the Lord’s command. 21 Sometimes the cloud remained only from evening until morning; when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out. Or if it remained a day and a night, they moved out when the cloud lifted. 22 Whether it was two days, a month, or longer,[b] the Israelites camped and did not set out as long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle. But when it was lifted, they set out. 23 They camped at the Lord’s command, and they set out at the Lord’s command. They carried out the Lord’s requirement according to His command through Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 9:16 LXX, Vg, Syr, Tg read it by day
- Numbers 9:22 Or a year
Numbers 9
Amplified Bible
The Passover
9 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “The sons of Israel are to keep the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month [a]at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and ordinances you shall keep it.” 4 So Moses told the Israelites to observe the Passover. 5 They observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight in the Wilderness of Sinai; in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did. 6 But there were certain men who were [ceremonially] unclean because of [touching] the dead body of a man, so they could not observe the Passover on that day; so they came before Moses and Aaron that same day. 7 Those men said to Moses, “We are [ceremonially] unclean because of [touching] a dead body. Why are we being restrained from presenting the Lord’s offering at its appointed time among the Israelites?” 8 Therefore, Moses said to them, “Wait, and I will listen to what the Lord will command concerning you.”
9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Say to the Israelites, ‘If any one of you or of your descendants becomes [ceremonially] unclean because of [touching] a dead body or is on a distant journey, he may, however, observe the Passover to the Lord. 11 On the fourteenth day of the second month [thirty days later] at twilight, they shall observe it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it until morning nor break any of its bones; in accordance with all the statutes of the Passover they shall observe it.(A) 13 But the man who is [ceremonially] clean and is not on a journey, and yet does not observe the Passover, that person shall be cut off from among his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them] because he did not bring the Lord’s offering at its appointed time; that man will bear [the penalty of] his sin. 14 If a stranger lives among you as a resident alien and observes the Passover to the Lord, in accordance with its statutes and its ordinances, so shall he do; you shall have one statute, both for the resident alien and for the native of the land.’”
The Cloud on the Tabernacle
15 Now on the day that the tabernacle was erected, the cloud [of God’s presence] covered the tabernacle, that is, the tent of the Testimony; and in the evening it was over the tabernacle, appearing like [a pillar of] fire until the morning.(B) 16 So it was continuously; the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17 Whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent (tabernacle), afterward the Israelites would set out; and in the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites would camp. 18 At the Lord’s command the Israelites would journey on, and at His command they would camp. As long as the cloud remained over the tabernacle they remained camped. 19 Even when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, the Israelites would keep their obligation to the Lord and not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud remained only a few days over the tabernacle, and in accordance with the command of the Lord they remained camped. Then at His command they set out. 21 If sometimes the cloud remained [over the tabernacle] from evening only until morning, when the cloud was lifted in the morning, they would journey on; whether in the daytime or at night, whenever the cloud was lifted, they would set out. 22 Whether it was two days or a month or a year that the cloud [of the Lord’s presence] lingered over the tabernacle, staying above it, the Israelites remained camped and did not set out; but when it was lifted, they set out. 23 At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed on; they kept their obligation to the Lord, in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 9:3 Lit between the two evenings.
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