Bible in 90 Days

⁸ And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.^[a]

The Journey to Moab

¹⁰ And the people of Israel set out, and encamped in Oboth. ¹¹ And they set out from Oboth, and encamped at I′ye-ab′arim, in the wilderness which is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. ¹² From there they set out, and encamped in the Valley of Zered. ¹³ From there they set out, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the boundary of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the boundary of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. ¹⁴ Wherefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,

¹⁶ And from there they continued to Beer;^[b] that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” ¹⁷ Then Israel sang this song:

And from the wilderness they went on to Mat′tanah, ¹⁹ and from Mat′tanah to Naha′liel, and from Naha′liel to Bamoth, ²⁰ and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah which looks down upon the desert.^[c]

King Sihon Defeated

²¹ Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, ²² “Let me pass through your land; we will not turn aside into field or vineyard; we will not drink the water of a well; we will go by the King’s Highway, until we have passed through your territory.” ²³ But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his men together, and went out against Israel to the wilderness, and came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. ²⁴ And Israel slew him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites; for Jazer was the boundary of the Ammonites.^{[d] 25} And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. ²⁶ For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. ²⁷ Therefore the ballad singers say,

King Og Defeated

³¹ Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. ³² And Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took its villages, and dispossessed the Amorites that were there. ³³ Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Ed′re-i. ³⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him; for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.” ³⁵ So they slew him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was not one survivor left to him; and they possessed his land.

Balak Summons Balaam to Curse Israel

22 Then the people of Israel set out, and encamped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. ² And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³ And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many; Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. ⁴ And Moab said to the elders of Mid′ian, “This horde will now lick up all that is round about us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, ⁵ sent messengers to Balaam the son of Be′or at Pethor, which is near the River, in the land of Amaw to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. ⁶ Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me; perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land; for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

⁷ So the elders of Moab and the elders of Mid′ian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and gave him Balak’s message. ⁸ And he said to them, “Lodge here this night, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me”; so the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. ⁹ And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰ And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, ¹¹ ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” ¹² God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” ¹³ So Balaam rose in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land; for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” ¹⁴ So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

¹⁵ Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than they. ¹⁶ And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me; ¹⁷ for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do; come, curse this people for me.’” ¹⁸ But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God, to do less or more. ¹⁹ Pray, now, tarry here this night also, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.” ²⁰ And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only what I bid you, that shall you do.”

Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel

²¹ So Balaam rose in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. ²² But God’s anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the ass, and his two servants were with him. ²³ And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand; and the ass turned aside out of the road, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the ass, to turn her into the road. ²⁴ Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. ²⁵ And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall, and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. ²⁶ Then the angel of the Lord went ahead, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. ²⁷ When the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the ass with his staff. ²⁸ Then the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” ²⁹ And Balaam said to the ass, “Because you have made sport of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” ³⁰ And the ass said to Balaam, “Am I not your ass, upon which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Was I ever accustomed to do so to you?” And he said, “No.”

³¹ Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face. ³² And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your ass these three times? Behold, I have come forth to withstand you, because your way is perverse before me; ³³ and the ass saw me, and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have slain you and let her live.” ³⁴ Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that thou didst stand in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in thy sight, I will go back again.” ³⁵ And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men; but only the word which I bid you, that shall you speak.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.^[g]

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, on the boundary formed by the Arnon, at the extremity of the boundary. ³⁷ And Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?” ³⁸ Balaam said to Balak, “Lo, I have come to you! Have I now any power at all to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak.” ³⁹ Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kir′iath-hu′zoth. ⁴⁰ And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.

Balaam’s First Oracle

⁴¹ And on the morrow Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamothba′al; and from there he saw the nearest of the people. 23 ¹ And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and provide for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ² Balak did as Balaam had said; and Balak and Balaam offered on each altar a bull and a ram. ³ And Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me; and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height. ⁴ And God met Balaam; and Balaam said to him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered upon each altar a bull and a ram.” ⁵ And the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” ⁶ And he returned to him, and lo, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. ⁷ And Balaam took up his discourse, and said,

¹¹ And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” ¹² And he answered, “Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

Balaam’s Second Oracle

¹³ And Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place, from which you may see them; you shall see only the nearest of them, and shall not see them all; then curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴ And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ¹⁵ Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder.” ¹⁶ And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” ¹⁷ And he came to him, and lo, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” ¹⁸ And Balaam took up his discourse, and said,

²⁵ And Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.” ²⁶ But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?” ²⁷ And Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” ²⁸ So Balak took Balaam to the top of Pe′or, that overlooks the desert.^{[i] 29} And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and provide for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ³⁰ And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Balaam’s Third Oracle

24 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. ² And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and saw Israel encamping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, ³ and he took up his discourse, and said,

Balaam’s Fourth Oracle

¹⁰ And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. ¹¹ Therefore now flee to your place; I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the Lord has held you back from honor.” ¹² And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, ¹³ ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will; what the Lord speaks, that will I speak’? ¹⁴ And now, behold, I am going to my people; come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.” ¹⁵ And he took up his discourse, and said,

²⁰ Then he looked on Am′alek, and took up his discourse, and said,

²¹ And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse, and said,

²³ And he took up his discourse, and said,

²⁵ Then Balaam rose, and went back to his place; and Balak also went his way.

Worship of Baal of Peor

25 While Israel dwelt in Shittim the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. ² These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate, and bowed down to their gods. ³ So Israel yoked himself to Ba′al of Pe′or. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel; ⁴ and the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” ⁵ And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you slay his men who have yoked themselves to Ba′al of Pe′or.”

⁶ And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Mid′ianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting. ⁷ When Phin′ehas the son of Elea′zar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation, and took a spear in his hand ⁸ and went after the man of Israel into the inner room, and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman, through her body. Thus the plague was stayed from the people of Israel. ⁹ Nevertheless those that died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

¹⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Phin′ehas the son of Elea′zar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. ¹² Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace; ¹³ and it shall be to him, and to his descendants after him, the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the people of Israel.’”

¹⁴ The name of the slain man of Israel, who was slain with the Mid′ianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, head of a fathers’ house belonging to the Simeonites. ¹⁵ And the name of the Mid′ianite woman who was slain was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the head of the people of a fathers’ house in Mid′ian.

¹⁶ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ “Harass the Mid′ianites, and smite them; ¹⁸ for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Pe′or, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Mid′ian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague on account of Pe′or.”

A Census of the New Generation

26 After the plague the Lord said to Moses and to Elea′zar the son of Aaron, the priest, ² “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all in Israel who are able to go forth to war.” ³ And Moses and Elea′zar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ⁴ “Take a census of the people,^[m] from twenty years old and upward,” as the Lord commanded Moses. The people of Israel, who came forth out of the land of Egypt, were:

⁵ Reuben, the first-born of Israel; the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Ha′nochites; of Pallu, the family of the Pal′luites; ⁶ of Hezron, the family of the Hez′ronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. ⁷ These are the families of the Reubenites; and their number was forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty. ⁸ And the sons of Pallu: Eli′ab. ⁹ The sons of Eli′ab: Nem′uel, Dathan, and Abi′ram. These are the Dathan and Abi′ram, chosen from the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord, ¹⁰ and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men; and they became a warning. ¹¹ Notwithstanding, the sons of Korah did not die.

¹² The sons of Simeon according to their families: of Nem′uel, the family of the Nem′uelites; of Jamin, the family of the Ja′minites; of Jachin, the family of the Ja′chinites; ¹³ of Zerah, the family of the Zer′ahites; of Shaul, the family of the Sha′ulites. ¹⁴ These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty-two thousand two hundred.

¹⁵ The sons of Gad according to their families: of Zephon, the family of the Ze′phonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites; ¹⁶ of Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites; ¹⁷ of Ar′od, the family of the Ar′odites; of Are′li, the family of the Are′lites. ¹⁸ These are the families of the sons of Gad according to their number, forty thousand five hundred.

¹⁹ The sons of Judah were Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ And the sons of Judah according to their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shela′nites; of Perez, the family of the Per′ezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zer′ahites. ²¹ And the sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hez′ronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamu′lites. ²² These are the families of Judah according to their number, seventy-six thousand five hundred.

²³ The sons of Is′sachar according to their families: of Tola, the family of the To′laites; of Puvah, the family of the Punites; ²⁴ of Jashub, the family of the Jash′ubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shim′ronites. ²⁵ These are the families of Is′sachar according to their number, sixty-four thousand three hundred.

²⁶ The sons of Zeb′ulun, according to their families: of Sered, the family of the Ser′edites; of Elon, the family of the E′lonites; of Jah′leel, the family of the Jah′leelites. ²⁷ These are the families of the Zeb′ulunites according to their number, sixty thousand five hundred.

²⁸ The sons of Joseph according to their families: Manas′seh and E′phraim. ²⁹ The sons of Manas′seh: of Machir, the family of the Ma′chirites; and Machir was the father of Gilead; of Gilead, the family of the Gil′eadites. ³⁰ These are the sons of Gilead: of Ie′zer, the family of the Ie′zerites; of Helek, the family of the He′lekites; ³¹ and of As′riel, the family of the As′rielites; and of Shechem, the family of the She′chemites; ³² and of Shemi′da, the family of the Shemi′daites; and of Hepher, the family of the He′pherites. ³³ Now Zeloph′ehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zeloph′ehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ³⁴ These are the families of Manas′seh; and their number was fifty-two thousand seven hundred.

³⁵ These are the sons of E′phraim according to their families: of Shu′thelah, the family of the Shu′thelahites; of Becher, the family of the Bech′erites; of Tahan, the family of the Ta′hanites. ³⁶ And these are the sons of Shu′thelah: of Eran, the family of the E′ranites. ³⁷ These are the families of the sons of E′phraim according to their number, thirty-two thousand five hundred. These are the sons of Joseph according to their families.

³⁸ The sons of Benjamin according to their families: of Bela, the family of the Be′la-ites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ash′belites; of Ahi′ram, the family of the Ahi′ramites; ³⁹ of Shephu′pham, the family of the Shu′phamites; of Hupham, the family of the Hu′phamites. ⁴⁰ And the sons of Bela were Ard and Na′aman: of Ard, the family of the Ard′ites; of Na′aman, the family of the Na′amites. ⁴¹ These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families; and their number was forty-five thousand six hundred.

⁴² These are the sons of Dan according to their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shu′hamites. These are the families of Dan according to their families. ⁴³ All the families of the Shu′hamites, according to their number, were sixty-four thousand four hundred.

⁴⁴ The sons of Asher according to their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beri′ah, the family of the Beri′ites. ⁴⁵ Of the sons of Beri′ah: of Heber, the family of the He′berites; of Mal′chi-el, the family of the Mal′chi-elites. ⁴⁶ And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. ⁴⁷ These are the families of the sons of Asher according to their number, fifty-three thousand four hundred.

⁴⁸ The sons of Naph′tali according to their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jah′zeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites; ⁴⁹ of Jezer, the family of the Je′zerites; of Shillem, the family of the Shil′lemites. ⁵⁰ These are the families of Naph′tali according to their families; and their number was forty-five thousand four hundred.

⁵¹ This was the number of the people of Israel, six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty.

⁵² The Lord said to Moses: ⁵³ “To these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. ⁵⁴ To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance according to its numbers. ⁵⁵ But the land shall be divided by lot; according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. ⁵⁶ Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller.”

⁵⁷ These are the Levites as numbered according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Ko′hathites; of Merar′i, the family of the Merar′ites. ⁵⁸ These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the He′bronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Kor′ahites. And Kohath was the father of Amram. ⁵⁹ The name of Amram’s wife was Joch′ebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister. ⁶⁰ And to Aaron were born Nadab, Abi′hu, Elea′zar and Ith′amar. ⁶¹ But Nadab and Abi′hu died when they offered unholy fire before the Lord. ⁶² And those numbered of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and upward; for they were not numbered among the people of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the people of Israel.

⁶³ These were those numbered by Moses and Elea′zar the priest, who numbered the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. ⁶⁴ But among these there was not a man of those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had numbered the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. ⁶⁵ For the Lord had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” There was not left a man of them, except Caleb the son of Jephun′neh and Joshua the son of Nun.

The Daughters of Zelophehad

27 Then drew near the daughters of Zeloph′ehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manas′seh, from the families of Manas′seh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ² And they stood before Moses, and before Elea′zar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, at the door of the tent of meeting, saying, ³ “Our father died in the wilderness; he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin; and he had no sons. ⁴ Why should the name of our father be taken away from his family, because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brethren.”

⁵ Moses brought their case before the Lord. ⁶ And the Lord said to Moses, ⁷ “The daughters of Zeloph′ehad are right; you shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. ⁸ And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. ⁹ And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ¹¹ And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it. And it shall be to the people of Israel a statute and ordinance, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

Joshua Appointed Moses’ Successor

¹² The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Ab′arim, and see the land which I have given to the people of Israel. ¹³ And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was gathered, ¹⁴ because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin during the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Mer′ibah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) ¹⁵ Moses said to the Lord, ¹⁶ “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, ¹⁷ who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep which have no shepherd.” ¹⁸ And the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand upon him; ¹⁹ cause him to stand before Elea′zar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. ²⁰ You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. ²¹ And he shall stand before Elea′zar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord; at his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” ²² And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; he took Joshua and caused him to stand before Elea′zar the priest and the whole congregation, ²³ and he laid his hands upon him, and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses.

Daily Offerings

28 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, ‘My offering, my food for my offerings by fire, my pleasing odor, you shall take heed to offer to me in its due season.’ ³ And you shall say to them, This is the offering by fire which you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs a year old without blemish, day by day, as a continual offering. ⁴ The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer in the evening; ⁵ also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a cereal offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil. ⁶ It is a continual burnt offering, which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the Lord. ⁷ Its drink offering shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb; in the holy place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the Lord. ⁸ The other lamb you shall offer in the evening; like the cereal offering of the morning, and like its drink offering, you shall offer it as an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord.

Sabbath Offerings

⁹ “On the sabbath day two male lambs a year old without blemish, and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a cereal offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering: ¹⁰ this is the burnt offering of every sabbath, besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

Monthly Offerings

¹¹ “At the beginnings of your months you shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish; ¹² also three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a cereal offering, mixed with oil, for each bull; and two tenths of fine flour for a cereal offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram; ¹³ and a tenth of fine flour mixed with oil as a cereal offering for every lamb; for a burnt offering of pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the Lord. ¹⁴ Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, a third of a hin for a ram, and a fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year. ¹⁵ Also one male goat for a sin offering to the Lord; it shall be offered besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

Offerings at Passover

¹⁶ “On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s passover. ¹⁷ And on the fifteenth day of this month is a feast; seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. ¹⁸ On the first day there shall be a holy convocation: you shall do no laborious work, ¹⁹ but offer an offering by fire, a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old; see that they are without blemish; ²⁰ also their cereal offering of fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths of an ephah shall you offer for a bull, and two tenths for a ram; ²¹ a tenth shall you offer for each of the seven lambs; ²² also one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you. ²³ You shall offer these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. ²⁴ In the same way you shall offer daily, for seven days, the food of an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord; it shall be offered besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering. ²⁵ And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work.

Offerings at the Festival of Weeks

²⁶ “On the day of the first fruits, when you offer a cereal offering of new grain to the Lord at your feast of weeks, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work, ²⁷ but offer a burnt offering, a pleasing odor to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs a year old; ²⁸ also their cereal offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for each bull, two tenths for one ram, ²⁹ a tenth for each of the seven lambs; ³⁰ with one male goat, to make atonement for you. ³¹ Besides the continual burnt offering and its cereal offering, you shall offer them and their drink offering. See that they are without blemish.

Offerings at the Festival of Trumpets

29 “On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. It is a day for you to blow the trumpets, ² and you shall offer a burnt offering, a pleasing odor to the Lord: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish; ³ also their cereal offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for the bull, two tenths for the ram, ⁴ and one tenth for each of the seven lambs; ⁵ with one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you; ⁶ besides the burnt offering of the new moon, and its cereal offering, and the continual burnt offering and its cereal offering, and their drink offering, according to the ordinance for them, a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the Lord.

Offerings on the Day of Atonement

⁷ “On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation, and afflict yourselves; you shall do no work, ⁸ but you shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing odor: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old; they shall be to you without blemish; ⁹ and their cereal offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for the bull, two tenths for the one ram, ¹⁰ a tenth for each of the seven lambs: ¹¹ also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering and its cereal offering, and their drink offerings.

Offerings at the Festival of Booths

¹² “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work, and you shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days; ¹³ and you shall offer a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord, thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old; they shall be without blemish; ¹⁴ and their cereal offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two tenths for each of the two rams, ¹⁵ and a tenth for each of the fourteen lambs; ¹⁶ also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its cereal offering and its drink offering.

¹⁷ “On the second day twelve young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ¹⁸ with the cereal offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by number, according to the ordinance; ¹⁹ also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its cereal offering, and their drink offerings.

²⁰ “On the third day eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ²¹ with the cereal offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by number, according to the ordinance; ²² also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its cereal offering and its drink offering.

²³ “On the fourth day ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ²⁴ with the cereal offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by number, according to the ordinance; ²⁵ also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its cereal offering and its drink offering.

²⁶ “On the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ²⁷ with the cereal offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by number, according to the ordinance; ²⁸ also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering and its cereal offering and its drink offering.

²⁹ “On the sixth day eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ³⁰ with the cereal offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by number, according to the ordinance; ³¹ also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering, its cereal offering, and its drink offerings.

³² “On the seventh day seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ³³ with the cereal offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by number, according to the ordinance; ³⁴ also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering, its cereal offering, and its drink offering.

³⁵ “On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly: you shall do no laborious work, ³⁶ but you shall offer a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish, ³⁷ and the cereal offering and the drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, by number, according to the ordinance; ³⁸ also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering and its cereal offering and its drink offering.

³⁹ “These you shall offer to the Lord at your appointed feasts, in addition to your votive offerings and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your cereal offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings.”

^40 [n] And Moses told the people of Israel everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Vows Made by Women

30 Moses said to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, “This is what the Lord has commanded. ² When a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. ³ Or when a woman vows a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house, in her youth, ⁴ and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself, and says nothing to her; then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁵ But if her father expresses disapproval to her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself, shall stand; and the Lord will forgive her, because her father opposed her. ⁶ And if she is married to a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, ⁷ and her husband hears of it, and says nothing to her on the day that he hears; then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁸ But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he expresses disapproval, then he shall make void her vow which was on her, and the thoughtless utterance of her lips, by which she bound herself; and the Lord will forgive her. ⁹ But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. ¹⁰ And if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by a pledge with an oath, ¹¹ and her husband heard of it, and said nothing to her, and did not oppose her; then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. ¹² But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning her pledge of herself, shall not stand: her husband has made them void, and the Lord will forgive her. ¹³ Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself, her husband may establish, or her husband may make void. ¹⁴ But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows, or all her pledges, that are upon her; he has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. ¹⁵ But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her iniquity.”

¹⁶ These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses, as between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter, while in her youth, within her father’s house.

War against Midian

31 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Avenge the people of Israel on the Mid′ianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” ³ And Moses said to the people, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Mid′ian, to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Mid′ian. ⁴ You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war.” ⁵ So there were provided, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. ⁶ And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phin′ehas the son of Elea′zar the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. ⁷ They warred against Mid′ian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and slew every male. ⁸ They slew the kings of Mid′ian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Mid′ian; and they also slew Balaam the son of Be′or with the sword. ⁹ And the people of Israel took captive the women of Mid′ian and their little ones; and they took as booty all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods. ¹⁰ All their cities in the places where they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burned with fire, ¹¹ and took all the spoil and all the booty, both of man and of beast. ¹² Then they brought the captives and the booty and the spoil to Moses, and to Elea′zar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

Return from the War

¹³ Moses, and Elea′zar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went forth to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴ And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. ¹⁵ Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? ¹⁶ Behold, these caused the people of Israel, by the counsel of Balaam, to act treacherously against the Lord in the matter of Pe′or, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord. ¹⁷ Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. ¹⁸ But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. ¹⁹ Encamp outside the camp seven days; whoever of you has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. ²⁰ You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats’ hair, and every article of wood.”

²¹ And Elea′zar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle: “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded Moses: ²² only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, ²³ everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless it shall also be purified with the water of impurity; and whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water. ²⁴ You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean; and afterward you shall come into the camp.”

Disposition of Captives and Booty

²⁵ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁶ “Take the count of the booty that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Elea′zar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation; ²⁷ and divide the booty into two parts, between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. ²⁸ And levy for the Lord a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the persons and of the oxen and of the asses and of the flocks; ²⁹ take it from their half, and give it to Elea′zar the priest as an offering to the Lord. ³⁰ And from the people of Israel’s half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the oxen, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who have charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.” ³¹ And Moses and Elea′zar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

³² Now the booty remaining of the spoil that the men of war took was: six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, ³³ seventy-two thousand cattle, ³⁴ sixty-one thousand asses, ³⁵ and thirty-two thousand persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him. ³⁶ And the half, the portion of those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, ³⁷ and the Lord’s tribute of sheep was six hundred and seventy-five. ³⁸ The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was seventy-two. ³⁹ The asses were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the Lord’s tribute was sixty-one. ⁴⁰ The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was thirty-two persons. ⁴¹ And Moses gave the tribute, which was the offering for the Lord, to Elea′zar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.

⁴² From the people of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had gone to war— ⁴³ now the congregation’s half was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, ⁴⁴ thirty-six thousand cattle, ⁴⁵ and thirty thousand five hundred asses, ⁴⁶ and sixteen thousand persons— ⁴⁷ from the people of Israel’s half Moses took one of every fifty, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who had charge of the tabernacle of the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses.

⁴⁸ Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses, ⁴⁹ and said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us. ⁵⁰ And we have brought the Lord’s offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.” ⁵¹ And Moses and Elea′zar the priest received from them the gold, all wrought articles. ⁵² And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the Lord, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. ⁵³ (The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.) ⁵⁴ And Moses and Elea′zar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the people of Israel before the Lord.

Conquest and Division of Transjordan

32 Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle; and they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for cattle. ² So the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Elea′zar the priest and to the leaders of the congregation, ³ “At′aroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elea′leh, Sebam, Nebo, and Be′on, ⁴ the land which the Lord smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle; and your servants have cattle.” ⁵ And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession; do not take us across the Jordan.”

⁶ But Moses said to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, “Shall your brethren go to the war while you sit here? ⁷ Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord has given them? ⁸ Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Ka′desh-bar′nea to see the land. ⁹ For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land which the Lord had given them. ¹⁰ And the Lord’s anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying, ¹¹ ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me; ¹² none except Caleb the son of Jephun′neh the Ken′izzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord.’ ¹³ And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was consumed. ¹⁴ And behold, you have risen in your fathers’ stead, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the Lord against Israel! ¹⁵ For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness; and you will destroy all this people.”

¹⁶ Then they came near to him, and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our flocks, and cities for our little ones, ¹⁷ but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁸ We will not return to our homes until the people of Israel have inherited each his inheritance. ¹⁹ For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond; because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.”