Bible in 90 Days

²⁷ “And if in spite of this you do not obey Me but act with hostility toward Me, ²⁸ I will act with furious hostility toward you; I will also discipline you seven times for your sins. ²⁹ You will eat the flesh of your sons; you will eat the flesh of your daughters.^{(A) 30} I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your dead bodies on the lifeless bodies of your idols;^(B) I will reject you. ³¹ I will reduce your cities to ruins and devastate your sanctuaries. I will not smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices.^{(C) 32} I also will devastate the land, so that your enemies who come to live there will be appalled by it. ³³ But I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw a sword to chase after you. So your land will become desolate, and your cities will become ruins.

³⁴ “Then the land will make up for its Sabbath years during the time it lies desolate, while you are in the land of your enemies. At that time the land will rest and make up for its Sabbaths. ³⁵ As long as it lies desolate, it will have the rest it did not have during your Sabbaths when you lived there.

³⁶ “I will put anxiety in the hearts of those of you who survive in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a wind-driven leaf will put them to flight, and they will flee as one flees from a sword, and fall though no one is pursuing them. ³⁷ They will stumble over one another as if fleeing from a sword though no one is pursuing them. You will not be able to stand against your enemies. ³⁸ You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you. ³⁹ Those^[a] who survive in the lands of your enemies will waste away because of their sin; they will also waste away because of their fathers’ sins along with theirs.

⁴⁰ “But if they will confess their sin and the sin of their fathers—their unfaithfulness that they practiced against Me, and how they acted with hostility toward Me, ⁴¹ and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled,^(D) and if they will pay the penalty for their sin, ⁴² then I will remember My covenant with Jacob. I will also remember My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. ⁴³ For the land abandoned by them will make up for its Sabbaths by lying desolate without the people, while they pay the penalty for their sin, because they rejected My ordinances and abhorred My statutes. ⁴⁴ Yet in spite of this, while they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or abhor them so as to destroy them and break My covenant with them, since I am Yahweh their God.^{(E) 45} For their sake I will remember the covenant with their fathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God; I am Yahweh.”

⁴⁶ These are the statutes, ordinances, and laws the Lord established between Himself and the Israelites through Moses on Mount Sinai.

Funding the Sanctuary

27 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When someone makes a special vow^(F) to the Lord that involves the assessment of people, ³ if the assessment concerns a male from 20 to 60 years old, your assessment is 50 silver shekels^(G) measured by the standard sanctuary shekel.^{(H) 4} If the person is a female, your assessment is 30 shekels.^{(I) 5} If the person is from five to 20 years old, your assessment for a male is 20 shekels^(J) and for a female 10 shekels. ⁶ If the person is from one month to five years old, your assessment for a male is five silver shekels,^(K) and for a female your assessment is three shekels of silver. ⁷ If the person is 60 years or more, your assessment is 15 shekels for a male and 10 shekels for a female. ⁸ But if one is too poor to pay the assessment, he must present the person before the priest and the priest will set a value for him. The priest will set a value for him according to what the one making the vow can afford.

⁹ “If the vow involves one of the animals that may be brought as an offering to the Lord, any of these he gives to the Lord will be holy. ¹⁰ He may not replace it or make a substitution for it, either good for bad, or bad for good.^(L) But if he does substitute one animal for another, both that animal and its substitute will be holy.

¹¹ “If the vow involves any of the unclean animals that may not be brought as an offering to the Lord, the animal must be presented before the priest. ¹² The priest will set its value, whether high or low; the price will be set as the priest makes the assessment for you. ¹³ If the one who brought it decides to redeem it, he must add a fifth to the^[b] assessed value.^(M)

¹⁴ “When a man consecrates his house as holy to the Lord, the priest will assess its value, whether high or low. The price will stand just as the priest assesses it. ¹⁵ But if the one who consecrated his house redeems it, he must add a fifth to the^[c] assessed value, and it will be his.^(N)

¹⁶ “If a man consecrates to the Lord any part of a field that he possesses, your assessment of value will be proportional to the seed needed to sow it, at the rate of 50 silver shekels for every five bushels^[d] of barley seed.^{[e] 17} If he consecrates his field during the Year of Jubilee,^(O) the price will stand according to your assessment. ¹⁸ But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, the priest will calculate the price for him in proportion to the years left until the next Year of Jubilee, so that your assessment will be reduced. ¹⁹ If the one who consecrated the field decides to redeem it, he must add a fifth to the^[f] assessed value, and the field will transfer back to him. ²⁰ But if he does not redeem the field or if he has sold it to another man, it is no longer redeemable. ²¹ When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will be holy to the Lord like a field permanently set apart; it becomes the priest’s property.

²² “If a person consecrates to the Lord a field he has purchased that is not part of his inherited landholding, ²³ then the priest will calculate for him the amount of the^[g] assessment up to the Year of Jubilee, and the person will pay the assessed value on that day as a holy offering to the Lord. ²⁴ In the Year of Jubilee the field will return to the one he bought it from,^(P) the original owner. ²⁵ All your assessed values will be measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, 20 gerahs to the shekel.^(Q)

²⁶ “But no one can consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, whether an animal from the herd or flock, to the Lord, because a firstborn already belongs to the Lord.^{(R) 27} If it is one of the unclean livestock, it must be ransomed according to your assessment by adding a fifth of its value to it. If it is not redeemed, it can be sold according to your assessment.^(S)

²⁸ “Nothing that a man permanently sets apart to the Lord from all he owns, whether a person, an animal, or his inherited landholding, can be sold or redeemed; everything set apart is especially holy to the Lord. ²⁹ No person who has been set apart for destruction is to be ransomed; he must be put to death.^(T)

³⁰ “Every tenth of the land’s produce, grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord;^(U) it is holy to the Lord. ³¹ If a man decides to redeem any part of this tenth, he must add a fifth to its value. ³² Every tenth animal from the herd or flock, which passes under the shepherd’s rod,^(V) will be holy to the Lord. ³³ He is not to inspect whether it is good or bad, and he is not to make a substitution for it. But if he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute will be holy;^(W) they cannot be redeemed.”^(X)

³⁴ These are the commands the Lord gave Moses for the Israelites on Mount Sinai.^(Y)

The Census of Israel

1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai, on the first day of the second month of the second year^(Z) after Israel’s departure from the land of Egypt: ² “Take a census^(AA) of the entire Israelite community by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting the names of every male one by one. ³ You and Aaron are to register those who are 20 years old or more by their military divisions—everyone who can serve in Israel’s army.^{[h] 4} A man from each tribe is to be with you, each one the head of his ancestral house.^{(AB) 5} These are the names of the men who are to assist you:

¹⁶ These are the men called from the community; they are leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of Israel’s clans.”

¹⁷ So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, ¹⁸ and they assembled the whole community on the first day of the second month. They recorded their ancestry by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting one by one the names of those 20 years old or more, ¹⁹ just as the Lord commanded Moses. He registered them in the Wilderness of Sinai:

⁴⁴ These are the men Moses and Aaron registered, with the assistance of the 12 leaders of Israel; each represented his ancestral house. ⁴⁵ So all the Israelites 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in Israel’s army, were registered by their ancestral houses. ⁴⁶ All those registered numbered 603,550.^(AP)

Duties of the Levites

⁴⁷ But the Levites were not registered with them by their ancestral tribe. ⁴⁸ For the Lord had told Moses: ⁴⁹ “Do not register or take a census of the tribe of Levi with the other Israelites. ⁵⁰ Appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They are to transport the tabernacle and all its articles, take care of it, and camp around it. ⁵¹ Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to stop at a campsite, the Levites are to set it up. Any unauthorized person who comes near it must be put to death.^(AQ)

⁵² “The Israelites are to camp by their military divisions, each man with his encampment and under his banner. ⁵³ The Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the Israelite community.”^{(AR) 54} The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Organization of the Camps

2 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ² “The Israelites are to camp under their respective banners beside the flags of their ancestral houses. They are to camp around the tent of meeting at a distance from it:

³⁴ The Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; they camped by their banners in this way and moved out the same way, each man by his clan and by his ancestral house.^(AT)

Aaron’s Sons and the Levites

3 These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.^{(AU) 2} These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. ⁴ But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they presented unauthorized fire^(AV) before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.^(AW)

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. ⁷ They are to perform duties for^[l] him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁸ They are to take care of^[m] all the furnishings of the tent of meeting^(AX) and perform duties for^[n] the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁹ Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him^[o] from the Israelites.^{(AY) 10} You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”^(AZ)

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹² “See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb.^(BA) The Levites belong to Me, ¹³ because every firstborn belongs to Me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt,^(BB) I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to Myself, both man and animal. They are Mine; I am Yahweh.”^(BC)

The Levitical Census

¹⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: ¹⁵ “Register the Levites by their ancestral houses and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.” ¹⁶ So Moses registered them in obedience to the Lord as he had been commanded:

³⁹ The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron^[u] registered by their clans at the Lord’s command was 22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

⁴⁰ The Lord told Moses: “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites^(BQ) one month old or more, and list their names. ⁴¹ You are to take the Levites for Me—I am Yahweh—in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites’ cattle.” ⁴² So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³ The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273.

⁴⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses again: ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to Me; I am Yahweh.^{(BR) 46} As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, ⁴⁷ collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel—20 gerahs to the shekel.^{(BS) 48} Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.”

⁴⁹ So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰ He collected the money from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 shekels^[v] measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. ⁵¹ He gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Duties of the Kohathites

4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ² “Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites^(BT) by their clans and their ancestral houses, ³ men from 30 years old to 50 years old—everyone who is qualified^[w] to do work at the tent of meeting.

⁴ “The service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting concerns the most holy objects.^{(BU) 5} Whenever the camp is about to move on, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the screening veil, and cover the ark of the testimony with it.^{(BV) 6} They are to place over this a covering made of manatee skin,^[x] spread a solid blue cloth on top, and insert its poles.^(BW)

⁷ “They are to spread a blue cloth over the table of the Presence and place the plates and cups on it, as well as the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to be on it.^{(BX) 8} They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with a covering made of manatee skin,^[y] and insert the poles in the table.^(BY)

⁹ “They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand^(BZ) used for light, with its lamps, snuffers, and firepans,^(CA) as well as its jars of oil by which they service it. ¹⁰ Then they must place it with all its utensils inside a covering made of manatee skin^[z] and put them on the carrying frame.

¹¹ “They are to spread a blue cloth over the gold altar,^(CB) cover it with a covering made of manatee skin,^[aa] and insert its poles.^{(CC) 12} They are to take all the serving utensils they use in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering made of manatee skin,^[ab] and put them on a carrying frame.

¹³ “They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it, ¹⁴ and place all the equipment on it that they use in serving: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and basins—all the equipment of the altar.^(CD) They are to spread a covering made of manatee skin^[ac] over it and insert its poles.^[ad](CE)

¹⁵ “Aaron and his sons are to finish covering the holy objects and all their equipment whenever the camp is to move on. The Kohathites will come and carry them, but they are not to touch the holy objects or they will die.^(CF) These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the tent of meeting.

¹⁶ “Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has oversight of the lamp oil,^(CG) the fragrant incense,^(CH) the daily grain offering,^(CI) and the anointing oil.^(CJ) He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, the holy objects and their utensils.”^[ae]

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ¹⁸ “Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites. ¹⁹ Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects:^(CK) Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty. ²⁰ The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment,^[af] or they will die.”

Duties of the Gershonites

²¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ²² “Take a census of the Gershonites^(CL) also, by their ancestral houses and their clans. ²³ Register men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting. ²⁴ This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties: ²⁵ They are to transport the tabernacle curtains,^(CM) the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering made of manatee skin^[ag] on top of it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, ²⁶ the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. They will carry out everything that needs to be done with these items.

²⁷ “All the service of the Gershonites, all their transportation duties and all their other work, is to be done at the command of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry. ²⁸ This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting, and their duties will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

Duties of the Merarites

²⁹ “As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans^(CN) and their ancestral houses. ³⁰ Register men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting. ³¹ This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, posts, and bases, ³² the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and all the work related to them. You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry. ³³ This is the service of the Merarite clans regarding all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”

Census of the Levites

³⁴ So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral houses, ³⁵ men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. ³⁶ The men registered by their clans numbered 2,750. ³⁷ These were the registered men of the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.

³⁸ The Gershonites were registered by their clans and their ancestral houses, ³⁹ men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. ⁴⁰ The men registered by their clans and their ancestral houses numbered 2,630. ⁴¹ These were the registered men of the Gershonite clans. At the Lord’s command Moses and Aaron registered everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting.

⁴² The men of the Merarite clans were registered by their clans and their ancestral houses, ⁴³ those from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. ⁴⁴ The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200. ⁴⁵ These were the registered men of the Merarite clans; Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.

⁴⁶ Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral houses, ⁴⁷ from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it. ⁴⁸ Their registered men numbered 8,580. ⁴⁹ At the Lord’s command they were registered under the direction of Moses, each one according to his work and transportation duty, and his assignment was as the Lord commanded Moses.

Isolation of the Unclean

5 The Lord instructed Moses: ² “Command the Israelites to send away anyone from the camp who is afflicted with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, or anyone who is defiled because of a corpse.^{(CO) 3} You must send away both male or female; send them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps where I dwell among them.” ⁴ The Israelites did this, sending them outside the camp. The Israelites did as the Lord instructed Moses.

Compensation for Wrongdoing

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ “Tell the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any sin against another, that person acts unfaithfully toward the Lord and is guilty. ⁷ The person is to confess the sin he has committed. He is to pay full compensation, add a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the individual he has wronged.^{(CP) 8} But if that individual has no relative^(CQ) to receive compensation,^[ah] the compensation goes to the Lord for the priest, along with the atonement ram by which the priest will make atonement for the guilty person.^{(CR) 9} Every holy contribution the Israelites present to the priest will be his.^{(CS) 10} Each one’s holy contribution is his to give; what each one gives to the priest will be his.”

The Jealousy Ritual

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: If any man’s wife goes astray, is unfaithful to him, ¹³ and sleeps with another,^[ai] but it is concealed from her husband, and she is undetected, even though she has defiled herself, since there is no witness against her, and she wasn’t caught in the act; ¹⁴ and if a feeling of jealousy comes over the husband and he becomes jealous because of his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he becomes jealous of her though she has not defiled herself— ¹⁵ then the man is to bring his wife to the priest. He is also to bring an offering for her of two quarts^[aj] of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering for remembrance that brings sin to mind.

¹⁶ “The priest is to bring her forward and have her stand before the Lord. ¹⁷ Then the priest is to take holy water in a clay bowl, and take some of the dust from the tabernacle floor and put it in the water. ¹⁸ After the priest has the woman stand before the Lord, he is to let down her hair^[ak] and place in her hands the grain offering for remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹ The priest will require the woman to take an oath and will say to her, ‘If no man has slept with you, if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, be unaffected by this bitter water that brings a curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has slept with you’— ²¹ at this point the priest must make the woman take the oath with the sworn curse, and he is to say to her—‘May the Lord make you into an object of your people’s cursing and swearing when He makes your thigh^[al] shrivel and your belly swell.^{[am] 22} May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach, causing your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’

“And the woman must reply, ‘Amen, Amen.’

²³ “Then the priest is to write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. ²⁴ He will require the woman to drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and cause bitter suffering. ²⁵ The priest is to take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, wave the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar. ²⁶ The priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar. Then he will require the woman to drink the water.

²⁷ “When he makes her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, and her thigh will shrivel. She will become a curse among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she will be unaffected and will be able to conceive children.

²⁹ “This is the law regarding jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, ³⁰ or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he becomes jealous of his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest will apply this entire ritual to her. ³¹ The husband will be free of guilt, but that woman will bear the consequences of her guilt.”

The Nazirite Vow

6 The Lord instructed Moses: ² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow,^(CT) to consecrate himself to^[an] the Lord, ³ he is to abstain^[ao] from wine and beer.^(CU) He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴ He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin,^[ap] during his vow.

⁵ “You must not cut his hair^[aq] throughout the time of his vow of consecration. He must be holy until the time is completed during which he consecrates himself to the Lord; he is to let the hair of his head grow long. ⁶ He must not go near a dead body during the time he consecrates himself to the Lord.^{(CV) 7} He is not to defile himself for his father or mother, or his brother or sister, when they die, because the hair consecrated to his God is on his head. ⁸ He is holy to the Lord^(CW) during the time of consecration.

⁹ “If someone suddenly dies near him, defiling his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his purification; he is to shave it on the seventh day.^{(CX) 10} On the eighth day he is to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.^{(CY) 11} The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering^(CZ) to make atonement on behalf of the Nazirite, since he sinned because of the corpse. On that day he must consecrate^[ar] his head again.^{(DA) 12} He is to rededicate his time of consecration to the Lord and to bring a year-old male lamb as a restitution offering.^(DB) But do not count the previous period, because his consecrated hair became defiled.

¹³ “This is the law of the Nazirite: On the day his time of consecration is completed, he must be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting.^{(DC) 14} He is to present an offering to the Lord^(DD) of one unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, one unblemished year-old female lamb as a sin offering, one unblemished ram as a fellowship offering,^{(DE) 15} along with their grain offerings and drink offerings,^(DF) and a basket of unleavened cakes made from fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil.^(DG)

¹⁶ “The priest is to present these before the Lord and sacrifice the Nazirite’s sin offering and burnt offering. ¹⁷ He will also offer the ram as a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread. Then the priest will offer the accompanying grain offering and drink offering.

¹⁸ “The Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the tent of meeting, take the hair from his head, and put it on the fire under the fellowship sacrifice. ¹⁹ The priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them into the hands^(DH) of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head. ²⁰ The priest is to wave them as a presentation offering before the Lord.^(DI) It is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution.^(DJ) After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.

²¹ “This is the ritual of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord for his consecration,^(DK) in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes in keeping with the ritual for his consecration.”

The Priestly Blessing

²² The Lord spoke to Moses: ²³ “Tell Aaron and his sons how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

²⁷ In this way they will pronounce My name over^[au] the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Offerings from the Leaders

7 On the day Moses finished setting up the tabernacle,^(DO) he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings, along with the altar and all its utensils. After he anointed and consecrated these things, ² the leaders of Israel, the heads of their ancestral houses, presented an offering. They were the tribal leaders who supervised the registration.^{(DP) 3} They brought as their offering before the Lord six covered carts and 12 oxen, a cart from every two leaders and an ox from each one, and presented them in front of the tabernacle.

⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ⁵ “Accept these from them to be used in the work of the tent of meeting, and give this offering to the Levites, to each division according to their service.”

⁶ So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ He gave the Gershonites two carts and four oxen corresponding to their service,^{(DQ) 8} and gave the Merarites four carts and eight oxen corresponding to their service,^(DR) under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. ⁹ But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since their responsibility was service related to the holy objects^(DS) carried on their shoulders.^(DT)

¹⁰ The leaders also presented the dedication gift for the altar when it was anointed.^(DU) The leaders presented their offerings in front of the altar. ¹¹ The Lord told Moses, “Each day have one leader present his offering for the dedication of the altar.”^(DV)

⁸⁴ This was the dedication gift from the leaders of Israel for the altar when it was anointed:^(EM) 12 silver dishes, 12 silver basins, and 12 gold bowls. ⁸⁵ Each silver dish weighed 3¼ pounds,^[ch] and each basin 1¾ pounds.^[ci] The total weight of the silver articles was 60 pounds^[cj] measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. ⁸⁶ The 12 gold bowls full of incense each weighed four ounces^[ck] measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. The total weight of the gold bowls was three pounds.^{[cl] 87} All the livestock for the burnt offering^(EN) totaled 12 bulls, 12 rams, and 12 male lambs a year old, with their grain offerings, and 12 male goats for the sin offering.^{(EO) 88} All the livestock for the fellowship sacrifice^(EP) totaled 24 bulls, 60 rams, 60 male breeding goats, and 60 male lambs a year old. This was the dedication gift for the altar after it was anointed.

⁸⁹ When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him^(EQ) from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim.^(ER) He spoke to him that way.

The Lighting in the Tabernacle

8 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Speak to Aaron and tell him: When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps are to give light in front of the lampstand.” ³ So Aaron did this; he set up its lamps to give light in front of the lampstand just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴ This is the way the lampstand was made: it was a hammered work of gold, hammered from its base to its flower petals. The lampstand was made according to the pattern the Lord had shown Moses.^(ES)

Consecration of the Levites

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the Israelites and ceremonially cleanse them. ⁷ This is what you must do to them for their purification: Sprinkle them with the purification water.^(ET) Have them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.^(EU)

⁸ “They are to take a young bull and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering. ⁹ Bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the entire Israelite community.^{(EV) 10} Then present the Levites before the Lord, and have the Israelites lay their hands on them. ¹¹ Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a presentation offering from the Israelites, so that they may perform the Lord’s work.^{(EW) 12} Next the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls. Sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.^(EX)

¹³ “You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and you are to present them before the Lord as a presentation offering. ¹⁴ In this way you are to separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites so that the Levites will belong to Me.^(EY)