The Passover Celebrated

9 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, ^(A)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 (B)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 ^(C)unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and ^(D)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 ^(E)offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” ⁸ And Moses said to them, “Wait, that ^(F)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 (G)In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. ^(H)They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ^12 (I)They shall leave none of it until the morning, ^(J)nor break any of its bones; ^(K)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, ^(L)that person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring the Lord's ^(M)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. ^(N)You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.”

The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle

^15 (O)On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And ^(P)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^[a] and the appearance of fire by night. ¹⁷ And whenever the cloud ^(Q)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. ^(R)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 ^(S)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 ^(T)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. ^(U)They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.