Numbers 16-26

New King James Version

Rebellion Against Moses and Aaron

16 Now ^(A)Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with ^(B)Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; ²and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, ^(C)representatives of the congregation, men of renown. ³^(D)They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You ^[a]take too much upon yourselves, for ^(E)all the congregation is holy, every one of them, ^(F)and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

⁴So when Moses heard it, he ^(G)fell on his face; ⁵and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is ^(H)His and who is ^(I)holy,^[b] and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to ^(J)come near to Him. ⁶Do this: Take censers, Korah and all your company; ⁷put fire in them and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!”

⁸Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: ⁹Is it ^(K)a small thing to you that the God of Israel has ^(L)separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to serve them; ¹⁰and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? ¹¹Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. ^(M)And what is Aaron that you complain against him?”

¹²And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up! ¹³Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of ^(N)a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should ^(O)keep acting like a prince over us? ¹⁴Moreover ^(P)you have not brought us into ^(Q)a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”

¹⁵Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, ^(R)“Do not ^[c]respect their offering. ^(S)I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them.”

¹⁶And Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow, you and all your company be present ^(T)before the Lord—you and they, as well as Aaron. ¹⁷Let each take his censer and put incense in it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers; both you and Aaron, each with his censer.” ¹⁸So every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of meeting with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then ^(U)the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²¹^(V)“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may ^(W)consume them in a moment.”

²²Then they ^(X)fell^[d] on their faces, and said, “O God, ^(Y)the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the ^(Z)congregation?”

²³So the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴“Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ”

²⁵Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶And he spoke to the congregation, saying, ^(AA)“Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.” ²⁷So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little ^(AB)children.

²⁸And Moses said: ^(AC)“By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them ^(AD)of my own will. ²⁹If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are ^(AE)visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰But if the Lord creates ^(AF)a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they ^(AG)go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.”

³¹^(AH)Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, ³²and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and ^(AI)all the men with Korah, with all their goods. ³³So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. ³⁴Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!”

³⁵And ^(AJ)a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.

³⁶Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ³⁷“Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to pick up the censers out of the blaze, for ^(AK)they are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away. ³⁸The censers of ^(AL)these men who sinned ^[e]against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the Lord, therefore they are holy; ^(AM)and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.” ³⁹So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned up had presented, and they were hammered out as a covering on the altar, ⁴⁰to be a ^[f]memorial to the children of Israel ^(AN)that no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the Lord had said to him through Moses.

Complaints of the People

⁴¹On the next day ^(AO)all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” ⁴²Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly ^(AP)the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. ⁴³Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting.

⁴⁴And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵“Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.”

And they fell on their faces.

⁴⁶So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make ^[g]atonement for them; ^(AQ)for wrath has gone out from the Lord. The plague has begun.” ⁴⁷Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸And he stood between the dead and the living; so ^(AR)the plague was stopped. ⁴⁹Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident. ⁵⁰So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped.

The Budding of Aaron’s Rod

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²“Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses—twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod. ³And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of each father’s house. ⁴Then you shall place them in the tabernacle of meeting before ^(AS)the Testimony, ^(AT)where I meet with you. ⁵And it shall be that the rod of the man ^(AU)whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, ^(AV)which they make against you.”

⁶So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each of their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. ⁷And Moses placed the rods before the Lord in ^(AW)the tabernacle of witness.

⁸Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the ^(AX)rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds. ⁹Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod.

¹⁰And the Lord said to Moses, “Bring ^(AY)Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept ^(AZ)as a sign against the rebels, ^(BA)that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die.” ¹¹Thus did Moses; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

¹²So the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Surely we die, we perish, we all perish! ¹³^(BB)Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord must die. Shall we all utterly die?”

Duties of Priests and Levites

18 Then the Lord said to Aaron: ^(BC)“You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall ^(BD)bear the ^[h]iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood. ²Also bring with you your brethren of the ^(BE)tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be ^(BF)joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of ^[i]witness. ³They shall attend to your ^[j]needs and ^(BG)all the needs of the tabernacle; ^(BH)but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, ^(BI)lest they die—they and you also. ⁴They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; ^(BJ)but an outsider shall not come near you. ⁵And you shall attend to ^(BK)the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, ^(BL)that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel. ⁶Behold, I Myself have ^(BM)taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; ^(BN)they are a gift to you, given by the Lord, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁷Therefore ^(BO)you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and ^(BP)behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a ^(BQ)gift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

Offerings for Support of the Priests

⁸And the Lord spoke to Aaron: “Here, ^(BR)I Myself have also given you ^[k]charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them ^(BS)as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever. ⁹This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every ^(BT)grain offering and every ^(BU)sin offering and every ^(BV)trespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons. ¹⁰^(BW)In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.

¹¹“This also is yours: ^(BX)the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. ^(BY)Everyone who is ^[l]clean in your house may eat it.

¹²^(BZ)“All the ^[m]best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, ^(CA)their firstfruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them to you. ¹³Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, ^(CB)which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

¹⁴^(CC)“Every ^[n]devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.

¹⁵“Everything that first opens ^(CD)the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the Lord, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless ^(CE)the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. ¹⁶And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, ^(CF)according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is ^(CG)twenty gerahs. ¹⁷^(CH)But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. ^(CI)You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. ¹⁸And their flesh shall be yours, just as the ^(CJ)wave^[o] breast and the right thigh are yours.

¹⁹“All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; ^(CK)it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you.”

²⁰Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You shall have ^(CL)no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; ^(CM)I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.

Tithes for Support of the Levites

²¹“Behold, ^(CN)I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as ^[p]an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, ^(CO)the work of the tabernacle of meeting. ²²^(CP)Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, ^(CQ)lest they bear sin and die. ²³But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. ²⁴For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites ^[q]as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ”

The Tithe of the Levites

²⁵Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶“Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, ^(CR)a tenth of the tithe. ²⁷And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the ^(CS)threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. ²⁸Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the Lord from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the Lord’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. ²⁹Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the Lord, from all the ^[r]best of them, the consecrated part of them.’ ³⁰Therefore you shall say to them: ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress. ³¹You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is ^(CT)your ^[s]reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting. ³²And you shall ^(CU)bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not ^(CV)profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’ ”

Laws of Purification

19 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²“This is the ^[t]ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without ^[u]blemish, in which there is no ^(CW)defect ^(CX)and on which a yoke has never come. ³You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it ^(CY)outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; ⁴and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and ^(CZ)sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁵Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: ^(DA)its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. ⁶And the priest shall take ^(DB)cedar wood and ^(DC)hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. ⁷^(DD)Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening. ⁸And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. ⁹Then a man who is clean shall gather up ^(DE)the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel ^(DF)for the water of ^[v]purification; it is for purifying from sin. ¹⁰And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.

¹¹^(DG)‘He who touches the dead ^[w]body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. ¹²^(DH)He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. ¹³Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and ^(DI)does not purify himself, ^(DJ)defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because ^(DK)the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; ^(DL)his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days; ¹⁵and every ^(DM)open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. ¹⁶^(DN)Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

¹⁷‘And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ^(DO)ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and ^[x]running water shall be put on them in a vessel. ¹⁸A clean person shall take ^(DP)hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave. ¹⁹The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; ^(DQ)and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean.

²⁰‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has ^(DR)defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. ²¹It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening. ²²^(DS)Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and ^(DT)the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ”

Moses’ Error at Kadesh^(DU)

20 Then^(DV) the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in ^(DW)Kadesh; and ^(DX)Miriam died there and was buried there.

²^(DY)Now there was no water for the congregation; ^(DZ)so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. ³And the people ^(EA)contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died ^(EB)when our brethren died before the Lord! ⁴^(EC)Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? ⁵And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” ⁶So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and ^(ED)they ^[y]fell on their faces. And ^(EE)the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

⁷Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁸^(EF)“Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus ^(EG)you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” ⁹So Moses took the rod ^(EH)from before the Lord as He commanded him.

¹⁰And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, ^(EI)“Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” ¹¹Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; ^(EJ)and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.

¹²Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because ^(EK)you did not believe Me, to ^(EL)hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

¹³^(EM)This was the water of ^[z]Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them.

Passage Through Edom Refused

¹⁴^(EN)Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of ^(EO)Edom. ^(EP)“Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us, ¹⁵^(EQ)how our fathers went down to Egypt, ^(ER)and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, ^(ES)and the Egyptians ^[aa]afflicted us and our fathers. ¹⁶^(ET)When we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and ^(EU)sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. ¹⁷Please ^(EV)let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King’s Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’ ”

¹⁸Then ^(EW)Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.”

¹⁹So the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, ^(EX)then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.”

²⁰Then he said, ^(EY)“You shall not pass through.” So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. ²¹Thus Edom ^(EZ)refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel ^(FA)turned away from him.

Death of Aaron

²²Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from ^(FB)Kadesh ^(FC)and came to Mount Hor. ²³And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: ²⁴“Aaron shall ^[ab]be ^(FD)gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah. ²⁵^(FE)Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor; ²⁶and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.” ²⁷So Moses did just as the Lord commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. ²⁸^(FF)Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and ^(FG)Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron ^(FH)thirty days.

Canaanites Defeated at Hormah

21 The ^(FI)king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. Then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners. ²^(FJ)So Israel made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then ^(FK)I will utterly destroy their cities.” ³And the Lord listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of that place was called ^[ac]Hormah.

The Bronze Serpent

⁴Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to ^(FL)go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very ^[ad]discouraged on the way. ⁵And the people ^(FM)spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul ^[ae]loathes this worthless bread.” ⁶So ^(FN)the Lord sent ^(FO)fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

⁷^(FP)Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have ^(FQ)sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; ^(FR)pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

⁸Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(FS)“Make a ^(FT)fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” ⁹So ^(FU)Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

From Mount Hor to Moab

¹⁰Now the children of Israel moved on and ^(FV)camped in Oboth. ¹¹And they journeyed from Oboth and camped at ^[af]Ije Abarim, in the wilderness which is east of Moab, toward the sunrise. ¹²^(FW)From there they moved and camped in the Valley of Zered. ¹³From there they moved and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites; for ^(FX)the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. ¹⁴Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord:

^[ag]“Waheb in Suphah,
The brooks of the Arnon,
¹⁵And the slope of the brooks
That reaches to the dwelling of ^(FY)Ar,
And lies on the border of Moab.”

¹⁶From there they went ^(FZ)to Beer, which is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” ¹⁷^(GA)Then Israel sang this song:

“Spring up, O well!
All of you sing to it—
¹⁸The well the leaders sank,
Dug by the nation’s nobles,
By the ^(GB)lawgiver, with their staves.”

And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah, ¹⁹from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰and from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the ^[ah]country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks ^(GC)down on the ^[ai]wasteland.

King Sihon Defeated^(GD)

²¹Then ^(GE)Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, ²²^(GF)“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” ²³^(GG)But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together and ^[aj]went out against Israel in the wilderness, ^(GH)and he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. ²⁴Then ^(GI)Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon; for the border of the people of Ammon was fortified. ²⁵So Israel took all these cities, and Israel ^(GJ)dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages. ²⁶For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon. ²⁷Therefore those who speak in ^[ak]proverbs say:

“Come to Heshbon, let it be built;
Let the city of Sihon be repaired.

²⁸“For ^(GK)fire went out from Heshbon,
A flame from the city of Sihon;
It consumed ^(GL)Ar of Moab,
The lords of the ^(GM)heights of the Arnon.
²⁹Woe to you, ^(GN)Moab!
You have perished, O people of ^(GO)Chemosh!
He has given his ^(GP)sons as fugitives,
And his ^(GQ)daughters into captivity,
To Sihon king of the Amorites.

³⁰“But we have shot at them;
Heshbon has perished ^(GR)as far as Dibon.
Then we laid waste as far as Nophah,
Which reaches to ^(GS)Medeba.”

³¹Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. ³²Then Moses sent to ^[al]spy out ^(GT)Jazer; and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.

King Og Defeated^(GU)

³³^(GV)And they turned and went up by the way to ^(GW)Bashan. So Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle ^(GX)at Edrei. ³⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(GY)“Do not fear him, for I have ^[am]delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and ^(GZ)you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.” ³⁵^(HA)So they defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him; and they took possession of his land.

Balak Sends for Balaam

22 Then ^(HB)the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho.

²Now ^(HC)Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³And ^(HD)Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. ⁴So Moab said to ^(HE)the elders of Midian, “Now this company will ^[an]lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. ⁵Then ^(HF)he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at ^(HG)Pethor, which is near ^[ao]the River in the land of ^[ap]the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! ⁶^(HH)Therefore please come at once, ^(HI)curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

⁷So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with ^(HJ)the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. ⁸And he said to them, ^(HK)“Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

⁹^(HL)Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”

¹⁰So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, ¹¹‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ”

¹²And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for ^(HM)they are blessed.”

¹³So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to give me permission to go with you.”

¹⁴And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

¹⁵Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more ^[aq]honorable than they. ¹⁶And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; ¹⁷for I will certainly ^(HN)honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. ^(HO)Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ”

¹⁸Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, ^(HP)“Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, ^(HQ)I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. ¹⁹Now therefore, please, you also ^(HR)stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.”

²⁰^(HS)And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but ^(HT)only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” ²¹So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel

²²Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, ^(HU)and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³Now ^(HV)the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. ²⁴Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. ²⁵And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. ²⁶Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. ²⁷And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

²⁸Then the Lord ^(HW)opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

²⁹And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have ^[ar]abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, ^(HX)for now I would kill you!”

³⁰^(HY)So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever ^[as]disposed to do this to you?”

And he said, “No.”

³¹Then the Lord ^(HZ)opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. ³²And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out ^[at]to stand against you, because your way is ^(IA)perverse^[au] before Me. ³³The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”

³⁴And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, ^(IB)“I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it ^[av]displeases You, I will turn back.”

³⁵Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, ^(IC)but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

³⁶Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, ^(ID)he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, ^(IE)which is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. ³⁷Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able ^(IF)to honor you?”

³⁸And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? ^(IG)The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.” ³⁹So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. ⁴⁰Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.

Balaam’s First Prophecy

⁴¹So it was, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the ^(IH)high places of Baal, that from there he might observe ^[aw]the extent of the people.

The Prophecies of Balaam

23 Then Balaam said to Balak, ^(II)“Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”

²And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam ^(IJ)offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ³Then Balaam said to Balak, ^(IK)“Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the Lord will come ^(IL)to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height. ⁴^(IM)And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”

⁵Then the Lord ^(IN)put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” ⁶So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.

⁷And he ^(IO)took up his ^[ax]oracle and said:

“Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram,
From the mountains of the east.
^(IP)‘Come, curse Jacob for me,
And come, ^(IQ)denounce Israel!’

⁸“How^(IR) shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
⁹For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him;
There! ^(IS)A people dwelling alone,
^(IT)Not reckoning itself among the nations.

¹⁰“Who^(IU) can count the ^[ay]dust of Jacob,
Or number one-fourth of Israel?
Let me die ^(IV)the death of the righteous,
And let my end be like his!”

¹¹Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? ^(IW)I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!”

¹²So he answered and said, ^(IX)“Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”

Balaam’s Second Prophecy

¹³Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, ^(IY)and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹⁵And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I ^[az]meet the Lord over there.”

¹⁶Then the Lord met Balaam, and ^(IZ)put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” ¹⁷So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”

¹⁸Then he took up his oracle and said:

^(JA)“Rise up, Balak, and hear!
Listen to me, son of Zippor!

¹⁹“God^(JB) is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He ^(JC)said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
²⁰Behold, I have received a command to bless;
^(JD)He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

²¹“He^(JE) has not observed iniquity in Jacob,
Nor has He seen ^[ba]wickedness in Israel.
The Lord his God is with him,
^(JF)And the shout of a King is among them.
²²^(JG)God brings them out of Egypt;
He has ^(JH)strength like a wild ox.

²³“For there is no ^[bb]sorcery against Jacob,
Nor any ^[bc]divination against Israel.
It now must be said of Jacob
And of Israel, ‘Oh, ^(JI)what God has done!’
²⁴Look, a people rises ^(JJ)like a lioness,
And lifts itself up like a lion;
^(JK)It shall not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”

²⁵Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!”

²⁶So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ^(JL)‘All that the Lord speaks, that I must do’?”

Balaam’s Third Prophecy

²⁷Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” ²⁸So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that ^(JM)overlooks the ^[bd]wasteland. ²⁹Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ³⁰And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.

Balaam Foretells the Happiness of Israel

24 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at ^(JN)other times, to seek to use ^[be]sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. ²And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel ^(JO)encamped according to their tribes; and ^(JP)the Spirit of God came upon him.

³^(JQ)Then he took up his oracle and said:

“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
⁴The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who ^(JR)falls down, with eyes wide open:

⁵“How lovely are your tents, O Jacob!
Your dwellings, O Israel!
⁶Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens by the riverside,
^(JS)Like aloes ^(JT)planted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the waters.
⁷He shall pour water from his buckets,
And his seed shall be ^(JU)in many waters.

“His king shall be higher than ^(JV)Agag,
And his ^(JW)kingdom shall be exalted.

⁸“God^(JX) brings him out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox;
He shall ^(JY)consume the nations, his enemies;
He shall ^(JZ)break their bones
And ^(KA)pierce them with his arrows.
⁹‘He^(KB) bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’

^(KC)“Blessed is he who blesses you,
And cursed is he who curses you.”

¹⁰Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he ^(KD)struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, ^(KE)“I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! ¹¹Now therefore, flee to your place. ^(KF)I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.”

¹²So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, ¹³‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’? ¹⁴And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, ^(KG)I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the ^(KH)latter days.”

Balaam’s Fourth Prophecy

¹⁵So he took up his oracle and said:

“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
¹⁶The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
And has the knowledge of the Most High,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:

¹⁷“I^(KI) see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
^(KJ)A Star shall come out of Jacob;
^(KK)A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And ^[bf]batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of ^[bg]tumult.

¹⁸“And ^(KL)Edom shall be a possession;
Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession,
While Israel does ^[bh]valiantly.
¹⁹^(KM)Out of Jacob One ^[bi]shall have dominion,
And destroy the remains of the city.”

²⁰Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said:

“Amalek was first among the nations,
But shall be last until he perishes.”

²¹Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said:

“Firm is your dwelling place,
And your nest is set in the rock;
²²Nevertheless Kain shall be burned.
How long until Asshur carries you away captive?”

²³Then he took up his oracle and said:

“Alas! Who shall live when God does this?
²⁴But ships shall come from the coasts of ^(KN)Cyprus,^[bj]
And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict ^(KO)Eber,
And so shall ^[bk]Amalek, until he perishes.”

²⁵So Balaam rose and departed and ^(KP)returned to his place; Balak also went his way.

Israel’s Harlotry in Moab

25 Now Israel remained in ^(KQ)Acacia Grove,^[bl] and the ^(KR)people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. ²^(KS)They invited the people to ^(KT)the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and ^(KU)bowed down to their gods. ³So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and ^(KV)the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.

⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(KW)“Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the Lord, out in the sun, ^(KX)that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”

⁵So Moses said to ^(KY)the judges of Israel, ^(KZ)“Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.”

⁶And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, ^(LA)who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁷Now ^(LB)when Phinehas ^(LC)the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; ⁸and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So ^(LD)the plague was ^(LE)stopped among the children of Israel. ⁹And ^(LF)those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.

¹⁰Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹¹^(LG)“Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in ^(LH)My zeal. ¹²Therefore say, ^(LI)‘Behold, I give to him My ^(LJ)covenant of peace; ¹³and it shall be to him and ^(LK)his descendants after him a covenant of ^(LL)an everlasting priesthood, because he was ^(LM)zealous for his God, and ^(LN)made ^[bm]atonement for the children of Israel.’ ”

¹⁴Now the name of the Israelite who was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the Simeonites. ¹⁵And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of ^(LO)Zur; he was head of the people of a father’s house in Midian.

¹⁶Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹⁷^(LP)“Harass the Midianites, and ^[bn]attack them; ¹⁸for they harassed you with their ^(LQ)schemes^[bo] by which they seduced you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of Peor.”

The Second Census of Israel

26 And it came to pass, after the ^(LR)plague, that the Lord spoke to Moses and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying: ²^(LS)“Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel ^(LT)from twenty years old and above, by their fathers’ houses, all who are able to go to war in Israel.” ³So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them ^(LU)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying: ⁴“Take a census of the people from twenty years old and above, just as the Lord ^(LV)commanded Moses and the children of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt.”

⁵^(LW)Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. The children of Reuben were: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; ⁶of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. ⁷These are the families of the Reubenites: those who were numbered of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty. ⁸And the son of Pallu was Eliab. ⁹The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, ^(LX)representatives of the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord; ¹⁰^(LY)and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men; ^(LZ)and they became a sign. ¹¹Nevertheless ^(MA)the children of Korah did not die.

¹²The sons of Simeon according to their families were: of ^[bp]Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of ^[bq]Jachin, the family of the Jachinites; ¹³of ^[br]Zerah, the family of the Zarhites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. ¹⁴These are the families of the Simeonites: twenty-two thousand two hundred.

¹⁵The sons of Gad according to their families were: of ^[bs]Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites; ¹⁶of ^[bt]Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites; ¹⁷of ^[bu]Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites. ¹⁸These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them: forty thousand five hundred.

¹⁹^(MB)The sons of Judah were Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰And ^(MC)the sons of Judah according to their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Parzites; of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites. ²¹And the sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. ²²These are the families of Judah according to those who were numbered of them: seventy-six thousand five hundred.

²³The sons of Issachar according to their families were: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of ^[bv]Puah, the family of the ^[bw]Punites; ²⁴of ^[bx]Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. ²⁵These are the families of Issachar according to those who were numbered of them: sixty-four thousand three hundred.

²⁶^(MD)The sons of Zebulun according to their families were: of Sered, the family of the Sardites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. ²⁷These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were numbered of them: sixty thousand five hundred.

²⁸^(ME)The sons of Joseph according to their families, by Manasseh and Ephraim, were: ²⁹The sons of ^(MF)Manasseh: of ^(MG)Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir begot Gilead; of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. ³⁰These are the sons of Gilead: of ^[by]Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites; ³¹of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; ³²of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. ³³Now ^(MH)Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters; and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ³⁴These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were fifty-two thousand seven hundred.

³⁵These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthalhites; of ^[bz]Becher, the family of the Bachrites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. ³⁶And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. ³⁷These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were numbered of them: thirty-two thousand five hundred.

These are the sons of Joseph according to their families.

³⁸^(MI)The sons of Benjamin according to their families were: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of ^(MJ)Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites; ³⁹of ^(MK)Shupham,^[ca] the family of the Shuphamites; of ^[cb]Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. ⁴⁰And the sons of Bela were ^[cc]Ard and Naaman: ^(ML)of Ard, the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. ⁴¹These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand six hundred.

⁴²These are the sons of Dan according to their families: of ^[cd]Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan according to their families. ⁴³All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those who were numbered of them, were sixty-four thousand four hundred.

⁴⁴^(MM)The sons of Asher according to their families were: of Jimna, the family of the Jimnites; of Jesui, the family of the Jesuites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites. ⁴⁵Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. ⁴⁶And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. ⁴⁷These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those who were numbered of them: fifty-three thousand four hundred.

⁴⁸^(MN)The sons of Naphtali according to their families were: of ^[ce]Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites; ⁴⁹of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of ^(MO)Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. ⁵⁰These are the families of Naphtali according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand four hundred.

⁵¹^(MP)These are those who were numbered of the children of Israel: six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty.

⁵²Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ⁵³^(MQ)“To these the land shall be ^(MR)divided as an inheritance, according to the number of names. ⁵⁴^(MS)To a large tribe you shall give a larger inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a smaller inheritance. Each shall be given its inheritance according to those who were numbered of them. ⁵⁵But the land shall be ^(MT)divided by lot; they shall inherit according to the names of the tribes of their fathers. ⁵⁶According to the lot their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller.”

⁵⁷^(MU)And these are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. ⁵⁸These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, and the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begot Amram. ⁵⁹The name of Amram’s wife was ^(MV)Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam. ⁶⁰^(MW)To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ⁶¹And ^(MX)Nadab and Abihu died when they offered profane fire before the Lord.

⁶²^(MY)Now those who were numbered of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and above; ^(MZ)for they were not numbered among the other children of Israel, because there was ^(NA)no inheritance given to them among the children of Israel.

⁶³These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel ^(NB)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. ⁶⁴^(NC)But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the children of Israel in the ^(ND)Wilderness of Sinai. ⁶⁵For the Lord had said of them, “They ^(NE)shall surely die in the wilderness.” So there was not left a man of them, ^(NF)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.