Beginning

Aaron Sets Up the Lamps

8 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to Aaron, ‘Set up the seven lamps. They will light up the area in front of the lampstand.’ ”

³ So Aaron did it. He set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand. He did just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴ The lampstand was made out of hammered gold. From its base to its blooms it was made out of hammered gold. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern the Lord had shown Moses.

Moses Sets Apart the Levites

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ⁶ “Take the Levites from among all the Israelites. Make them ‘clean’ in the usual way. ⁷ Here is how to make them pure. Sprinkle the special water on them. Then have them shave their whole bodies. Also have them wash their clothes. That is how they will make themselves pure. ⁸ Have them get a young bull along with its grain offering. The offering must be made out of the finest flour mixed with olive oil. Then you must get a second young bull. You must sacrifice it as a sin offering. ⁹ Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting. Gather the whole community of Israel together. ¹⁰ You must bring the Levites to me. The Israelites must place their hands on them. ¹¹ Aaron must bring the Levites to me. They are a wave offering from the Israelites. That is how they will be set apart to do my work.

¹² “Then I want the Levites to place their hands on the heads of the bulls. They must sacrifice one bull as a sin offering to me. And they must sacrifice the other as a burnt offering. The blood of the bulls will pay for the sin of the Levites. ¹³ Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons. Then give them as a wave offering to me. ¹⁴ That is how I want you to set apart the Levites from the other Israelites. The Levites will belong to me.

¹⁵ “Make the Levites pure. Give them to me as a wave offering. Then they must come to do their work at the tent of meeting. ¹⁶ They are the Israelites who will be given to me completely. I have taken them to be my own. I have taken them in place of every son born first in his family in Israel. ¹⁷ Every male born first in Israel belongs to me. That is true whether it is a human or an animal. In Egypt I struck down all the males born first to their mothers. Then I set apart for myself all the males born first in Israel. ¹⁸ And I have taken the Levites in place of all the sons born first in Israel. ¹⁹ I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons. I have taken them from among all the Israelites. I have appointed them to do the work at the tent of meeting. They will do it in place of the Israelites. That is how they will keep the Israelites from being guilty when they go near the sacred tent. Then no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the tent.”

²⁰ So Moses and Aaron and all the Israelites did with the Levites just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²¹ The Levites made themselves pure. They washed their clothes. Then Aaron gave them to the Lord as a wave offering. That’s how he paid for their sin to make them pure. ²² After that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting. They worked under the direction of Aaron and his sons. And so Moses and Aaron and the whole community of Israel did with the Levites just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²³ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “Here is what the Levites must do. Men 25 years old or more must come and take part in the work at the tent of meeting. ²⁵ But when they reach the age of 50, they must not work any longer. They must stop doing their regular work. ²⁶ They can help their brothers with their duties at the tent of meeting. But they themselves should not do the work. That is how you must direct the Levites to do their work.”

Israel Celebrates the Passover Feast

9 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai. It was the first month of the second year after the people came out of Egypt. He said, ² “Tell the Israelites to celebrate the Passover Feast. Have them do it at the appointed time. ³ Celebrate it when the sun goes down on the 14th day of this month. Obey all its rules and laws.”

⁴ So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover Feast. ⁵ They did it in the Desert of Sinai. They celebrated it when the sun went down on the 14th day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁶ But some of them couldn’t celebrate the Passover Feast on that day. That’s because they weren’t “clean.” They had gone near a dead body. So they came to Moses and Aaron that same day. ⁷ They said to Moses, “We went near a dead body. So we aren’t ‘clean.’ But why should we be kept from bringing the Lord’s offering at the appointed time? Why shouldn’t we bring it along with the other Israelites?”

⁸ Moses answered them, “Wait until I find out what the Lord wants you to do.”

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ¹⁰ “Tell the Israelites, ‘Suppose any of you or your children are “unclean” because they have gone near a dead body. Or suppose they are away on a journey. They must still celebrate the Lord’s Passover. ¹¹ They must celebrate it on the 14th day of the second month. They must do so when the sun goes down. They must eat the lamb together with bread made without yeast. They must eat it with bitter plants. ¹² They must not leave any of it until morning. They must not break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover Feast, they must follow all the rules. ¹³ But suppose someone is “clean” and not on a journey. And they fail to celebrate the Passover Feast. Then they must be separated from the community of Israel. They did not bring the Lord’s offering at the appointed time. They will be punished for their sin.

¹⁴ “ ‘What if there is an outsider living among you? And what if they want to celebrate the Lord’s Passover? Then they must obey its rules and laws. You must have the same laws for outsiders as you do for the Israelites.’ ”

The Cloud Covers the Holy Tent

¹⁵ The holy tent was set up. It was the tent where the tablets of the covenant law were kept. On the day it was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening until morning the cloud above the tent looked like fire. ¹⁶ That’s what continued to happen. The cloud covered the tent. At night the cloud looked like fire. ¹⁷ When the cloud lifted from its place above the tent, the Israelites started out. Where the cloud settled, the Israelites camped. ¹⁸ When the Lord gave the command, the Israelites started out. And when he gave the command, they camped. As long as the cloud stayed above the holy tent, they remained in camp. ¹⁹ Sometimes the cloud remained above the tent for a long time. Then the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order. They didn’t start out. ²⁰ Sometimes the cloud was above the tent for only a few days. When the Lord would give the command, they would camp. And when he would give the command, they would start out. ²¹ Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening until morning. When it lifted in the morning, they started out. It didn’t matter whether it was day or night. When the cloud lifted, the people started out. ²² It didn’t matter whether the cloud stayed above the holy tent for two days or a month or a year. The Israelites would remain in camp. They wouldn’t start out. But when the cloud lifted, they would start out. ²³ When the Lord gave the command, they camped. And when he gave the command, they started out. They obeyed the Lord’s order. They obeyed him, just as he had commanded them through Moses.

The Silver Trumpets

10 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Make two trumpets out of hammered silver. Blow them when you want the community to gather together. And blow them when you want the camps to start out. ³ When both trumpets are blown, the whole community must gather in front of you. They must come to the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁴ Suppose only one trumpet is blown. Then the leaders must gather in front of you. They are the heads of the tribes of Israel. ⁵ When a trumpet blast is blown, the tribes camped on the east side must start out. ⁶ When the second blast is blown, the camps on the south side must start out. The blast will tell them when to start. ⁷ Blow the trumpets to gather the people together. But do not use the same kind of blast.

⁸ “The sons of Aaron, the priests, must blow the trumpets. That is a law for you and your children after you for all time to come. ⁹ Suppose you go into battle in your own land. And suppose it is against an enemy who is treating you badly. Then blow a blast on the trumpets. If you do, I will remember you. I will save you from your enemies. I am the Lord your God. ¹⁰ You must also blow the trumpets when you are happy. Blow them at your appointed feasts. Blow them at your New Moon feasts. Blow them when you sacrifice your burnt offerings. Blow them when you sacrifice your friendship offerings. They will remind me of you. I am the Lord your God.”

The Israelites Leave the Sinai Desert

¹¹ It was the 20th day of the second month of the second year. On that day the cloud began to move. It went up from above the holy tent where the tablets of the covenant law were kept. ¹² Then the Israelites started out from the Desert of Sinai. They traveled from place to place. They kept going until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran. ¹³ The first time they started out, the Lord commanded Moses to tell them to do it. And they did it.

¹⁴ The groups of the camp of Judah went first. They marched out under their flag. Nahshon was their commander. He was the son of Amminadab. ¹⁵ Nethanel was over the group of the tribe of Issachar. Nethanel was the son of Zuar. ¹⁶ Eliab was over the group of the tribe of Zebulun. Eliab was the son of Helon. ¹⁷ The holy tent was taken down. The men of Gershon and Merari started out. They carried the tent.

¹⁸ The groups of the camp of Reuben went next. They marched out under their flag. Elizur was their commander. He was the son of Shedeur. ¹⁹ Shelumiel was over the group of the tribe of Simeon. Shelumiel was the son of Zurishaddai. ²⁰ Eliasaph was over the group of the tribe of Gad. Eliasaph was the son of Deuel. ²¹ The men of Kohath started out. They carried the holy things. The holy tent had to be set up before they arrived.

²² The groups of the camp of Ephraim went next. They marched out under their flag. Elishama was their commander. He was the son of Ammihud. ²³ Gamaliel was over the group of the tribe of Manasseh. Gamaliel was the son of Pedahzur. ²⁴ Abidan was over the group of the tribe of Benjamin. Abidan was the son of Gideoni.

²⁵ Finally, the groups of the camp of Dan started out. They marched out under their flag. They followed behind all the other groups and guarded them. Ahiezer was their commander. He was the son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶ Pagiel was over the group of the tribe of Asher. Pagiel was the son of Okran. ²⁷ Ahira was over the group of the tribe of Naphtali. Ahira was the son of Enan. ²⁸ As the groups of Israel started out, that was the order they marched in.

²⁹ Moses spoke to Hobab, the son of Reuel. Reuel was Moses’ father-in-law. Reuel was from Midian. Moses said to Hobab, “We’re starting out for the place the Lord promised to us. He said to us, ‘I will give it to you.’ So come with us. We’ll treat you well. The Lord has promised to give good things to Israel.”

³⁰ Hobab answered, “No. I can’t go. I’m going back to my own land. I’m returning to my own people.”

³¹ But Moses said, “Please don’t leave us. You know where we should camp in the desert. You can be our guide. ³² So come with us. The Lord will give us good things. We’ll share them with you.”

³³ So they started out from the mountain of the Lord. They traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the Lord went in front of them during those three days. It went ahead of them to find a place for them to rest. ³⁴ They started out from the camp by day. And the cloud of the Lord was above them.

³⁵ When the ark started out, Moses said,

³⁶ When the ark stopped, Moses said,