Bible in 90 Days

¹⁵ Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the tent of meeting. But you shall cleanse them and ^(A)present them as a wave offering; ¹⁶ for they are ^(B)wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself ^(C)instead of every first issue of the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. ¹⁷ For ^(D)every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself. ¹⁸ But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel. ^19 (E)I have given the Levites as ^[a]a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no ^(F)plague among the sons of Israel by ^[b]their coming near to the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the sons of Israel to the Levites; according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. ^21 (G)The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before his sons; just as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

Retirement

²³ Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “This is what applies to the Levites: from ^(H)twenty-five years old and upward ^[c]they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. ²⁵ But at the age of fifty years they shall ^[d]retire from service in the work and not work any more. ²⁶ They may, however, ^[e]assist their brothers in the tent of meeting, ^(I)to keep an obligation, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their obligations.”

The Passover

9 Thus the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in ^(J)the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ² “Now, let the sons of Israel observe the Passover at ^(K)its appointed time. ³ On the fourteenth day of this month, ^[f]at twilight, you shall observe it at its appointed time; you shall observe it according to all its statutes and according to all its ordinances.” ⁴ So Moses ^[g]told the sons of Israel to observe the Passover. ^5 (L)They observed the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; ^(M)according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel did. ⁶ But there were some men who were ^(N)unclean because of the ^[h]dead person, so that they could not observe Passover on that day; so ^(O)they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. ⁷ Those men said to him, “Though we are unclean because of the ^[i]dead person, why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” ⁸ Moses therefore said to them, “^[j](P)Wait, and I will listen to what the Lord will command concerning you.”

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If any one of you or of your generations becomes unclean because of a dead ^[k]person, or is on a distant journey, he may, however, observe the Passover to the Lord. ¹¹ In the second month on the ^(Q)fourteenth day at twilight, they shall observe it; they ^(R)shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ¹² They ^(S)shall leave none of it until morning, ^(T)nor break a bone of it; according to all the statute of the Passover they shall observe it. ^13 (U)But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and yet ^[l]neglects to observe the Passover, that ^[m]person shall then be cut off from his people, for he did not present the offering of the Lord at its appointed time. That man ^(V)will bear his sin. ^14 (W)If an alien sojourns among you and ^[n]observes the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its ordinance, so he shall do; you shall have ^(X)one statute, both for the alien and for the native of the land.’”

The Cloud on the Tabernacle

¹⁵ Now on ^(Y)the day that the tabernacle was erected ^(Z)the cloud covered the tabernacle, the ^(AA)tent of the testimony, and ^(AB)in the evening it was like the appearance of fire over the tabernacle, until morning. ¹⁶ So it was continuously; ^(AC)the cloud would cover it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. ^17 (AD)Whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent, afterward the sons of Israel would then set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the sons of Israel would camp. ¹⁸ At the ^[o]command of the Lord the sons of Israel would set out, and at the ^[p]command of the Lord they would camp; ^(AE)as long as the cloud settled over the tabernacle, they remained camped. ¹⁹ Even when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, ^[q]the sons of Israel would keep the Lord’s charge and not set out. ²⁰ If ^[r]sometimes the cloud remained a few days over the tabernacle, ^(AF)according to the ^[s]command of the Lord they remained camped. Then according to the ^[t]command of the Lord they set out. ²¹ If ^[u]sometimes the cloud ^[v]remained from evening until morning, when the cloud was lifted in the morning, they would move out; or if it remained in the daytime and at night, whenever the cloud was lifted, they would set out. ²² Whether it was two days or a month or a year that the cloud lingered over the tabernacle, staying above it, the sons of Israel remained camped and did not set out; but ^(AG)when it was lifted, they did set out. ^23 (AH)At the ^[w]command of the Lord they camped, and at the ^[x]command of the Lord they set out; they kept the Lord’s charge, according to the ^[y]command of the Lord through Moses.

The Silver Trumpets

10 The Lord spoke further to Moses, saying, ² “Make yourself two trumpets of silver, of hammered work you shall make them; and you shall use them for ^(AI)summoning the congregation and for having the camps set out. ^3 (AJ)When both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ⁴ Yet if only one is blown, then the ^(AK)leaders, the heads of the ^[z]divisions of Israel, shall assemble before you. ⁵ But when you blow an alarm, the camps that are pitched ^(AL)on the east side shall set out. ⁶ When you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are pitched on ^(AM)the south side shall set out; an alarm is to be blown for them to set out. ⁷ When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow without ^(AN)sounding an alarm. ^8 (AO)The priestly sons of Aaron, moreover, shall blow the trumpets; and ^[aa]this shall be for you a perpetual statute throughout your generations. ⁹ When you go to war in your land against the adversary who ^(AP)attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be ^(AQ)remembered before the Lord your God, and be saved from your enemies. ¹⁰ Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed ^[ab]feasts, and on the first days of your months, ^(AR)you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am the Lord your God.”

The Tribes Leave Sinai

¹¹ Now in ^(AS)the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, the cloud was lifted from over the ^[ac]tabernacle of the testimony; ¹² and the sons of Israel set out on ^(AT)their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. Then the cloud settled down in the ^(AU)wilderness of Paran. ^13 (AV)So they moved out for the first time according to the ^[ad]commandment of the Lord through Moses. ¹⁴ The standard of the camp of the sons of Judah, according to their armies, ^(AW)set out first, with Nahshon the son of Amminadab, over its army, ¹⁵ and Nethanel the son of Zuar, over the tribal army of the sons of Issachar; ¹⁶ and Eliab the son of Helon over the tribal army of the sons of Zebulun.

^17 (AX)Then the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were carrying the tabernacle, set out. ¹⁸ Next ^(AY)the standard of the camp of Reuben, according to their armies, set out with Elizur the son of Shedeur, over its army, ¹⁹ and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai over the tribal army of the sons of Simeon, ²⁰ and Eliasaph the son of Deuel was over the tribal army of the sons of Gad.

^21 (AZ)Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy objects; and ^(BA)the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. ^22 (BB)Next the standard of the camp of the sons of Ephraim, according to their armies, was set out, with Elishama the son of Ammihud over its army, ²³ and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur over the tribal army of the sons of Manasseh; ²⁴ and Abidan the son of Gideoni over the tribal army of the sons of Benjamin.

^25 (BC)Then the standard of the camp of the sons of Dan, according to their armies, which formed the ^(BD)rear guard for all the camps, set out, with Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai over its army, ²⁶ and Pagiel the son of Ochran over the tribal army of the sons of Asher; ²⁷ and Ahira the son of Enan over the tribal army of the sons of Naphtali. ^28 [ae]This was the order of march of the sons of Israel by their armies as they set out.

²⁹ Then Moses said to ^(BE)Hobab the son of ^(BF)Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out to the place of which the Lord said, ‘^(BG)I will give it to you’; ^(BH)come with us and we will do you good, for the Lord ^(BI)has ^[af]promised good concerning Israel.” ³⁰ But he said to him, “^(BJ)I will not come, but rather will go to my own land and relatives.” ³¹ Then he said, “Please do not leave us, inasmuch as you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you ^(BK)will be as eyes for us. ³² So it will be, if you go with us, that ^[ag](BL)whatever good the Lord ^[ah]does for us, ^(BM)we will ^[ai]do for you.”

^33 (BN)Thus they set out from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey, with ^(BO)the ark of the covenant of the Lord journeying in front of them for the ^[aj]three days, to seek out ^(BP)a resting place for them. ^34 (BQ)The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.

³⁵ Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said,

³⁶ When it came to rest, he said,

The People Complain

11 Now the people became like ^(BV)those who complain of adversity ^(BW)in the hearing of the Lord; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. ^2 (BX)The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord and the fire ^[al]died out. ³ So the name of that place was called ^[am](BY)Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

⁴ The ^(BZ)rabble who were among them ^[an]had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “^(CA)Who will give us ^[ao]meat to eat? ^5 (CB)We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, ⁶ but now ^(CC)our ^[ap]appetite is gone. There is nothing at all ^[aq]to look at except this manna.”

^7 (CD)Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of ^(CE)bdellium. ⁸ The people would go about and gather it and grind it ^[ar]between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of ^[as]cakes baked with oil. ^9 (CF)When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall ^[at]with it.

The Complaint of Moses

¹⁰ Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, and ^[au]Moses was displeased. ^11 (CG)So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You ^[av]been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me? ¹² Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a ^[aw](CH)nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which ^(CI)You swore to their fathers’? ¹³ Where am I to get meat to give to ^(CJ)all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!’ ^14 (CK)I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too ^[ax]burdensome for me. ^15 (CL)So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”

Seventy Elders to Assist

¹⁶ The Lord therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me ^(CM)seventy men from the elders of Israel, ^(CN)whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. ^17 (CO)Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of ^(CP)the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone. ¹⁸ Say to the people, ‘^(CQ)Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept ^(CR)in the ears of the Lord, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat. ¹⁹ You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, ^20 [ay]but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because ^(CS)you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’” ²¹ But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.’ ²² Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?” ²³ The Lord said to Moses, “Is ^(CT)the Lord’s ^[az]power limited? Now you shall see whether ^(CU)My word will ^[ba]come true for you or not.”

²⁴ So Moses went out and ^(CV)told the people the words of the Lord. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and stationed them around the tent. ^25 (CW)Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.

²⁶ But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the ^[bb]other Medad. And ^(CX)the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” ²⁸ Then ^(CY)Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “^(CZ)Moses, my lord, restrain them.” ²⁹ But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? ^(DA)Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” ³⁰ Then Moses ^[bc]returned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel.

The Quail and the Plague

^31 (DB)Now there went forth a wind from the Lord and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp and ^[bd]about two ^[be]cubits deep on the surface of the ground. ³² The people ^[bf]spent all day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten ^[bg](DC)homers) and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. ^33 (DD)While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very severe plague. ³⁴ So the name of that place was called ^[bh](DE)Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had been greedy. ³⁵ From Kibroth-hattaavah ^(DF)the people set out for Hazeroth, and they ^[bi]remained at Hazeroth.

The Murmuring of Miriam and Aaron

12 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a ^(DG)Cushite woman); ^2 (DH)and they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And the Lord heard it. ³ (Now the man Moses was ^(DI)very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) ⁴ Suddenly the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out. ^5 (DJ)Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called ^[bj]Aaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward, ⁶ He said,

⁹ So the anger of the Lord burned against them and ^(DQ)He departed. ¹⁰ But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, ^(DR)Miriam was leprous, as ^(DS)white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous. ¹¹ Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I beg you, ^(DT)do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. ¹² Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother’s womb!” ¹³ Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “O God, ^(DU)heal her, I pray!” ¹⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but ^(DV)spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days ^(DW)outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again.” ¹⁵ So ^(DX)Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again.

¹⁶ Afterward, however, the people moved out from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

Spies View the Land

13 Then ^(DY)the Lord spoke to Moses saying, ² “^(DZ)Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.” ³ So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the ^[bk]command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel. ⁴ These then were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; ⁵ from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; ⁶ from the tribe of Judah, ^(EA)Caleb the son of Jephunneh; ⁷ from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; ⁸ from the tribe of Ephraim, ^(EB)Hoshea the son of Nun; ⁹ from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; ¹⁰ from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; ¹¹ from the tribe of Joseph, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; ¹² from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; ¹³ from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; ¹⁴ from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; ¹⁵ from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. ¹⁶ These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called ^(EC)Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

¹⁷ When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up ^[bl]there into ^(ED)the ^[bm]Negev; then go up into the hill country. ¹⁸ See what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many. ¹⁹ How is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are they ^[bn]like open camps or with fortifications? ^20 (EE)How is the land, is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not? ^[bo]Make an ^(EF)effort then to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

²¹ So they went up and spied out the land from ^(EG)the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, ^[bp](EH)at Lebo-hamath. ²² When they had gone up into ^(EI)the Negev, ^[bq]they came to Hebron where ^(EJ)Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the ^[br]descendants of ^(EK)Anak were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before ^(EL)Zoan in Egypt.)

²³ Then they came to the ^[bs]valley of ^[bt](EM)Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men, with some of the pomegranates and the figs. ²⁴ That place was called the valley of ^[bu]Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there.

The Spies’ Reports

²⁵ When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, ²⁶ they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel ^[bv]in the wilderness of Paran, at ^(EN)Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and ^(EO)it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and ^(EP)this is its fruit. ²⁸ Nevertheless, ^(EQ)the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw ^(ER)the ^[bw]descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ Amalek is living in the land of ^(ES)the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and ^(ET)the Amorites are living in the hill country, and ^(EU)the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”

³⁰ Then Caleb quieted the people ^[bx]before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.” ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “^(EV)We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” ³² So they gave out to the sons of Israel ^(EW)a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is ^(EX)a land that devours its ^[by]inhabitants; and ^(EY)all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. ³³ There also we saw the ^(EZ)Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and ^(FA)we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation ^[bz]lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept ^[ca]that night. ² All the sons of Israel ^(FB)grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “^(FC)Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, ^(FD)to fall by the sword? ^(FE)Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, “^(FF)Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”

^5 (FG)Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. ⁶ Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ⁷ and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “^(FH)The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ^8 (FI)If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—^(FJ)a land which flows with milk and honey. ⁹ Only ^(FK)do not rebel against the Lord; and do not ^(FL)fear the people of the land, for they will be our ^[cb]prey. Their ^[cc]protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” ^10 (FM)But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then ^(FN)the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

Moses Pleads for the People

^11 (FO)The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will ^(FP)they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? ¹² I will smite them with ^[cd](FQ)pestilence and dispossess them, and I ^(FR)will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

^13 (FS)But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from their midst, ¹⁴ and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O Lord, are in the midst of this people, for ^(FT)You, O Lord, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ Now if You slay this people as one man, ^(FU)then the nations who have heard of Your fame will ^[ce]say, ¹⁶ ‘Because the Lord ^(FV)could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have ^[cf]declared, ¹⁸ ‘^(FW)The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but ^(FX)He will by no means clear the guilty, ^(FY)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children ^[cg]to the third and the fourth generations.’ ^19 (FZ)Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

The Lord Pardons and Rebukes

²⁰ So the Lord said, “^(GA)I have pardoned them according to your word; ²¹ but indeed, ^(GB)as I live, ^[ch](GC)all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. ²² Surely ^(GD)all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet ^(GE)have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, ^23 (GF)shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. ²⁴ But My servant Caleb, ^(GG)because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, ^[ci](GH)I will bring into the land ^[cj]which he entered, and his ^[ck]descendants shall take possession of it. ^25 (GI)Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the ^[cl]Red Sea.”

²⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²⁷ “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are ^(GJ)grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are ^[cm]making against Me. ²⁸ Say to them, ‘^(GK)As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as ^(GL)you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you; ^29 (GM)your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all ^(GN)your ^[cn]numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. ³⁰ Surely you shall not come into the land in which I ^[co]swore to settle you, ^(GO)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. ^31 (GP)Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey—I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. ^32 (GQ)But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. ³³ Your sons shall be shepherds for ^(GR)forty years in the wilderness, and they will ^[cp]suffer for your ^[cq]unfaithfulness, until your corpses ^[cr]lie in the wilderness. ³⁴ According to the ^(GS)number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your ^[cs]guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. ^35 (GT)I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die.’”

^36 (GU)As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, ³⁷ even ^(GV)those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a ^(GW)plague before the Lord. ³⁸ But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

Israel Repulsed

³⁹ When Moses spoke ^(GX)these words to all the sons of Israel, ^(GY)the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ^[ct]ridge of the hill country, saying, “^(GZ)Here we are; ^[cu]we have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised.” ⁴¹ But Moses said, “^(HA)Why then are you transgressing the ^[cv]commandment of the Lord, when it will not succeed? ^42 (HB)Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. ⁴³ For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following the Lord. And the Lord will not be with you.” ⁴⁴ But they went up heedlessly to the ^[cw]ridge of the hill country; neither ^(HC)the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses left the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as ^(HD)Hormah.

Laws for Canaan

15 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “^(HE)Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land ^[cx]where you are to live, which I am giving you, ³ then make ^(HF)an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to ^[cy](HG)fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your ^(HH)appointed times, to make a ^(HI)soothing aroma to the Lord, from the herd or from the flock. ^4 (HJ)The one who presents his offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a ^[cz]hin of oil, ⁵ and you shall prepare wine for the drink offering, one-fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for ^(HK)each lamb. ⁶ Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil; ⁷ and for the drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a soothing aroma to the Lord. ⁸ When you prepare ^(HL)a bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to ^[da]fulfill a special vow, or for peace offerings to the Lord, ⁹ then you shall offer with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-half a hin of oil; ¹⁰ and you shall offer as the drink offering one-half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord.

¹¹ ‘Thus it shall be done for each ox, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats. ¹² According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do for everyone according to their number. ¹³ All who are native shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord.

Law of the Sojourner

¹⁴ If an alien sojourns with you, or one who may be among you throughout your generations, and he wishes to make an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord, just as you do so he shall do. ¹⁵ As for the assembly, there shall be ^(HM)one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the Lord. ¹⁶ There is to be ^(HN)one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.’”

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where I bring you, ¹⁹ then it shall be, that when you eat of the ^[db](HO)food of the land, you shall lift up ^[dc]an offering to the Lord. ^20 (HP)Of the first of your ^[dd]dough you shall lift up a cake as an ^[de]offering; as ^(HQ)the ^[df]offering of the threshing floor, so you shall lift it up. ²¹ From the first of your ^[dg]dough you shall give to the Lord an ^[dh]offering throughout your generations.

²² ‘But when you ^(HR)unwittingly fail and do not observe all these commandments, which the Lord has spoken to Moses, ²³ even all that the Lord has commanded you ^[di]through Moses, from the day when the Lord gave commandment and onward throughout your generations, ²⁴ then it shall be, if it is done ^(HS)unintentionally, ^[dj]without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one bull for a burnt offering, as a soothing aroma to the Lord, ^(HT)with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat for a sin offering. ²⁵ Then ^(HU)the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they will be forgiven; for it was an error, and they have brought their offering, an offering by fire to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their error. ²⁶ So all the congregation of the sons of Israel will be forgiven, with the alien who sojourns among them, for it happened to all the people through ^(HV)error.

²⁷ ‘Also if one person sins ^(HW)unintentionally, then he shall offer a one year old female goat for a sin offering. ^28 (HX)The priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who goes astray when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him ^[dk]that he may be forgiven. ²⁹ You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them. ³⁰ But the person who does anything ^(HY)defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. ³¹ Because he has ^(HZ)despised the word of the Lord and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; ^(IA)his ^[dl]guilt will be on him.’”

Sabbath-breaking Punished

³² Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man ^(IB)gathering wood on the sabbath day. ³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation; ³⁴ and they put him in ^[dm]custody ^(IC)because it had not been ^[dn]declared what should be done to him. ³⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death; ^(ID)all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” ³⁶ So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him ^[do]to death with stones, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁷ The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁸ “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves ^(IE)tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. ³⁹ It shall be a tassel for you ^[dp]to look at and ^(IF)remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not ^[dq]follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, ⁴⁰ so that you may remember to do all My commandments and ^(IG)be holy to your God. ⁴¹ I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.”

Korah’s Rebellion

16 Now ^(IH)Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with ^(II)Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action, ² and they rose up before Moses, ^[dr]together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, ^[ds](IJ)chosen in the assembly, men of renown. ³ They assembled together ^(IK)against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “^[dt](IL)You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and ^(IM)the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

⁴ When Moses heard this, ^(IN)he fell on his face; ⁵ and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His, and ^(IO)who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even ^(IP)the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. ⁶ Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all ^[du]your company, ⁷ and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. ^[dv](IQ)You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”

⁸ Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi, ^9 (IR)is it ^[dw]not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, ^(IS)to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; ¹⁰ and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you ^(IT)seeking for the priesthood also? ¹¹ Therefore you and all your company are gathered together ^(IU)against the Lord; but as for Aaron, ^[dx]who is he that ^(IV)you grumble against him?”

¹² Then Moses sent ^[dy]a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. ¹³ Is it ^[dz]not enough that you have brought us up out of a ^(IW)land flowing with milk and honey ^(IX)to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? ¹⁴ Indeed, you have not brought us ^(IY)into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of ^(IZ)fields and vineyards. Would you ^[ea](JA)put out the eyes of ^[eb]these men? We will not come up!”

¹⁵ Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “^(JB)Do not regard their offering! ^(JC)I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” ¹⁶ Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company be present before the Lord tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron. ¹⁷ Each of you take his firepan and put incense on ^[ec]it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.” ¹⁸ So they each took his own censer and put fire on ^[ed]it, and laid incense on ^[ee]it; and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And ^(JD)the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²¹ “^(JE)Separate yourselves from among this congregation, ^(JF)that I may consume them instantly.” ²² But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, ^(JG)God of the spirits of all flesh, ^(JH)when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘^(JI)Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

²⁵ Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, ²⁶ and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “^(JJ)Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, ^(JK)or you will be swept away in all their sin.” ²⁷ So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and ^(JL)their sons and their little ones. ²⁸ Moses said, “By this you shall know that ^(JM)the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not ^[ef]my doing. ²⁹ If these men die ^[eg]the death of all men or ^[eh]if they suffer the ^(JN)fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But ^(JO)if the Lord ^[ei]brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they ^(JP)descend alive into ^[ej]Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord.”

³¹ As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; ³² and ^(JQ)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and ^(JR)all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. ³³ So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to ^[ek]Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. ³⁴ All Israel who were around them fled at their ^[el]outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!” ^35 (JS)Fire also came forth from the Lord and consumed the ^(JT)two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.

^36 [em]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷ “Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the ^[en]blaze, for they are holy; and you scatter the ^[eo]burning coals abroad. ³⁸ As for the censers of these ^[ep]men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered sheets for a plating of the altar, since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy; and ^(JU)they shall be for a sign to the sons of Israel.” ³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as a plating for the altar, ⁴⁰ as a ^[eq]reminder to the sons of Israel that ^(JV)no ^[er]layman who is not of the ^[es]descendants of Aaron should come near ^(JW)to burn incense before the Lord; so that he will not become like Korah and his company—just as the Lord had spoken to him ^[et]through Moses.

Murmuring and Plague

⁴¹ But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel ^(JX)grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’s people.” ⁴² It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and ^(JY)the glory of the Lord appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴ and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “^[eu](JZ)Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. ⁴⁶ Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and ^(KA)make atonement for them, for ^(KB)wrath has gone forth from the Lord, the plague has begun!” ⁴⁷ Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. ^(KC)So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. ^49 (KD)But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who ^(KE)died on account of Korah. ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.

Aaron’s Rod Buds

17 ^[ev]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, and get from them a rod for each father’s household: twelve rods, from all their leaders according to their fathers’ households. You shall write each name on his rod, ³ and write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi; for there is one rod for the head of each of their fathers’ households. ⁴ You shall then deposit them in the tent of meeting in front of ^(KF)the testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵ It will come about that the rod of ^(KG)the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I will lessen from upon Myself the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.” ⁶ Moses therefore spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ households, twelve rods, with the rod of Aaron among their rods. ⁷ So Moses deposited the rods before the Lord in ^(KH)the tent of the testimony.

⁸ Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, ^(KI)the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. ⁹ Moses then brought out all the rods from the presence of the Lord to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod. ¹⁰ But the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron ^(KJ)before the testimony ^[ew]to be kept as a sign against the ^[ex](KK)rebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die.” ¹¹ Thus Moses did; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

¹² Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “^(KL)Behold, we perish, we are dying, we are all dying! ^13 (KM)Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, must die. Are we to perish completely?”

Duties of Levites

18 So the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s household with you shall ^(KN)bear the guilt ^[ey]in connection with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the guilt ^[ez]in connection with your priesthood. ² But bring with you also your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be ^(KO)joined with you and serve you, while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. ³ And they shall thus attend to your obligation and the obligation of all the tent, but ^(KP)they shall not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary and ^(KQ)the altar, or both they and you will die. ⁴ They shall be joined with you and attend to the obligations of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; but an ^[fa]outsider may not come near you. ⁵ So you shall attend to the ^(KR)obligations of the sanctuary and the obligations of the altar, ^(KS)so that there will no longer be wrath on the sons of Israel. ⁶ Behold, I Myself ^(KT)have taken your ^[fb]fellow Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are ^(KU)a gift to you, ^[fc]dedicated to the Lord, to perform the service for the tent of meeting. ⁷ But you and your sons with you shall ^(KV)attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and inside the veil, and you are to perform service. I am giving you the priesthood as ^(KW)a ^[fd]bestowed service, but ^(KX)the ^[fe]outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

The Priests’ Portion

⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Now behold, I Myself have given you charge of My ^[ff](KY)offerings, even all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual allotment. ⁹ This shall be yours from the most holy gifts reserved from the fire; every offering of theirs, even ^(KZ)every grain offering and every ^(LA)sin offering and every guilt offering, which they shall render to Me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons. ¹⁰ As the most holy gifts you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you. ¹¹ This also is yours, ^(LB)the offering of their gift, even all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have ^(LC)given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual allotment. Everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. ^12 (LD)All the ^[fg]best of the fresh oil and all the ^[fh]best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to the Lord, I give them to you. ^13 (LE)The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours; everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. ^14 (LF)Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. ^15 [fi](LG)Every first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. ¹⁶ As to their redemption price, from a month old you shall redeem them, by your valuation, five ^[fj]shekels in silver, according to the ^[fk]shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. ¹⁷ But ^(LH)the firstborn of an ox or the firstborn of a sheep or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. ^(LI)You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire, for a soothing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁸ Their ^[fl]meat shall be yours; it shall be yours like the ^(LJ)breast of a wave offering and like the right thigh. ^19 (LK)All the offerings of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a perpetual allotment. It is ^(LL)an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord to you and your ^[fm]descendants with you.” ²⁰ Then the Lord said to Aaron, “^(LM)You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; ^(LN)I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel.

²¹ “To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the ^(LO)tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting. ^22 (LP)The sons of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting again, or they will bear sin and die. ²³ Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall ^(LQ)bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel ^(LR)they shall have no inheritance. ²⁴ For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, ‘^(LS)They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel.’”

²⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ “Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, ‘When you take from the sons of Israel ^(LT)the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present an offering from it to the Lord, a ^(LU)tithe of the tithe. ²⁷ Your offering shall be reckoned to you as the grain from the threshing floor or the full produce from the wine vat. ²⁸ So you shall also present an offering to the Lord from your tithes, which you receive from the sons of Israel; and from it you shall give the Lord’s offering to Aaron the priest. ²⁹ Out of all your gifts you shall present every offering due to the Lord, from all the ^[fn]best of them, ^[fo]the sacred part from them.’ ³⁰ You shall say to them, ‘When you have ^[fp]offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be reckoned to the Levites as the product of the threshing floor, and as the product of the wine vat. ³¹ You may eat it anywhere, you and your households, for it is your compensation in return for your service in the tent of meeting. ³² You will bear no sin by reason of it when you have ^[fq]offered the ^[fr]best of it. But you shall not ^(LV)profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, or you will die.’”

Ordinance of the Red Heifer

19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an ^(LW)unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and ^(LX)on which a yoke has never ^[fs]been placed. ³ You shall give it to ^(LY)Eleazar the priest, and it shall ^(LZ)be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. ⁴ Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and ^(MA)sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. ⁵ Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; ^(MB)its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. ⁶ The priest shall take ^(MC)cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet material and cast it into the midst of the ^[ft]burning heifer. ⁷ The priest ^(MD)shall then wash his clothes and bathe his ^[fu]body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening. ⁸ The one who burns it shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his ^[fv]body in water, and shall be unclean until evening. ⁹ Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and ^[fw]the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as ^(ME)water to remove impurity; it is ^[fx]purification from sin. ¹⁰ The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer ^(MF)shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; and it shall be a perpetual statute to the sons of Israel and to the alien who sojourns among them.

¹¹ ‘^(MG)The one who touches the corpse of any ^[fy]person shall be unclean for seven days. ¹² That one shall ^(MH)purify himself from uncleanness with ^[fz]the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and 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. ^13 (MI)Anyone who touches a corpse, the ^[ga]body of a man who has died, and does not purify himself, ^(MJ)defiles the ^[gb]tabernacle of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Because the water for impurity was not ^[gc](MK)sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴ ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean for seven days. ¹⁵ Every open vessel, which has no covering ^[gd]tied down on it, shall be unclean. ^16 (ML)Also, anyone who in the open field touches one who has been slain with a sword or who has died naturally, or a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean for seven days. ¹⁷ Then for the unclean person they shall take some of the ^[ge]ashes of the ^[gf]burnt ^[gg](MM)purification from sin and ^[gh]flowing water shall be ^[gi]added to them in a vessel. ¹⁸ A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there, and on the one who touched the bone or the one slain or the one dying naturally or the grave. ¹⁹ Then the clean person ^(MN)shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him from uncleanness, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and shall be clean by evening.

²⁰ ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself from uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has ^(MO)defiled the sanctuary of the Lord; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean. ²¹ So it shall be a perpetual statute for them. And he ^(MP)who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening. ^22 (MQ)Furthermore, anything that the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’”

Death of Miriam

20 Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the ^(MR)wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there.

^2 (MS)There was no water for the congregation, ^(MT)and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. ^3 (MU)The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “^(MV)If only we had perished ^(MW)when our brothers perished before the Lord! ^4 (MX)Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die ^[gj]here? ⁵ Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? ^(MY)It is not a place of ^[gk]grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.” ⁶ Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and ^(MZ)fell on their faces. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them; ⁷ and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

The Water of Meribah

⁸ “Take ^(NA)the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”

⁹ So Moses took the rod ^(NB)from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; ¹⁰ and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “^(NC)Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and ^(ND)water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. ¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “^(NE)Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” ¹³ Those were the waters of ^[gl](NF)Meribah, ^[gm]because the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.

¹⁴ From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to ^(NG)the king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You ^(NH)know all the hardship that has befallen us; ¹⁵ that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly. ¹⁶ But ^(NI)when we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and sent ^(NJ)an angel and brought us out from Egypt; now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please ^(NK)let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s highway, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.’”

^18 (NL)Edom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through ^[gn]us, or I will come out with the sword against you.” ¹⁹ Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if I and ^(NM)my livestock do drink any of your water, ^(NN)then I will ^[go]pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, ^[gp]nothing else.” ²⁰ But he said, “^(NO)You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against him with a heavy ^[gq]force and with a strong hand. ^21 (NP)Thus Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; ^(NQ)so Israel turned away from him.

²² Now when they set out from ^(NR)Kadesh, the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.

Death of Aaron

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at ^(NS)Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, ²⁴ “Aaron will be ^(NT)gathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because ^(NU)you rebelled against My ^[gr]command at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵ Take Aaron and his son ^(NV)Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor; ²⁶ and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be ^(NW)gathered to his people, and will die there.” ²⁷ So Moses did just as the Lord had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. ²⁸ After Moses had stripped Aaron of his garments and ^(NX)put them on his son Eleazar, ^(NY)Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹ When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty ^(NZ)days.

Arad Conquered

21 When the Canaanite, the king of ^(OA)Arad, who lived in the ^[gs]Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of ^[gt]Atharim, then he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. ² So ^(OB)Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will ^[gu]utterly destroy their cities.” ³ The Lord heard the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites; then they ^[gv]utterly destroyed them and their cities. Thus the name of the place was called ^[gw](OC)Hormah.

⁴ Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the ^[gx]Red Sea, to ^(OD)go around the land of Edom; and the ^[gy]people became impatient because of the journey. ⁵ The people spoke against God and Moses, “^(OE)Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no ^[gz]food and no water, and ^[ha](OF)we loathe this miserable food.”

The Bronze Serpent

^6 (OG)The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and ^(OH)they bit the people, so that ^(OI)many people of Israel died. ^7 (OJ)So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; ^(OK)intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people.