Chronological
The Seven Lamps
8 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron, and say to him: ‘When you are setting up the lamps, the seven lamps will give light in front of the face of the lampstand.’” 3 And Aaron did so; he set up the lampstand in front of the face of its lamps, just as Yahweh commanded Moses. 4 And this is how the lampstand was made,[a] a hammered-work of gold; from its base up to its blossom,[b] it was hammered-work according to the pattern that Yahweh showed Moses; so he made the lampstand.
Moses Consecrates the Levites
5 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from the midst of the Israelites[c] and purify them. 7 So you will do to them, to purify them: sprinkle on them waters of purification, and they will shave their whole body[d] and wash their garments. 8 And they will take a young bull[e] and its grain offering of finely milled flour mixed with oil, and you will take a second young bull[f] as a sin offering. 9 You will bring the Levites before[g] the tent of assembly, and you will summon the entire community of the Israelites.[h] 10 And you will bring the Levites before Yahweh,[i] and the Israelites[j] will lay their hands on the Levites, 11 and Aaron will offer[k] the Levites as a wave offering before Yahweh[l] from the Israelites,[m] and they will do the work of Yahweh. 12 And the Levites will lay their hands on the head of the one bull and offer it as a sin offering and the other one as a burnt offering to Yahweh, to make atonement for the Levites. 13 And you will present the Levites before[n] Aaron and before[o] his sons, and he will offer[p] them as a wave offering to Yahweh.
14 “And you will separate the Levites from the midst of the Israelites,[q] and the Levites will be for me. 15 And after this the Levites will come to serve at the tent of assembly, and you will purify them, and you will offer[r] them as a wave offering. 16 For they are given to me exclusively from the midst of the Israelites.[s] I have taken them for myself in place of the firstborn of every womb, every firstborn from the Israelites.[t] 17 For every firstborn among the Israelites[u] is mine, both humankind and animal. On the day I destroyed every firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them to me, 18 and I have taken the Levites in the place of every firstborn among the Israelites.[v] 19 And I have given the Levites; they are given to Aaron and his sons from the midst of the Israelites[w] to do the work of the Israelites[x] in the tent of the assembly and to make atonement for the Israelites,[y] so a plague will not be among the Israelites[z] when the Israelites[aa] come near the sanctuary.”
20 And Moses and Aaron and the entire community of the Israelites[ab] did to the Levites; everything that Yahweh commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the Israelites[ac] did to them. 21 And the Levites purified themselves, and they washed their garments, and Aaron offered them[ad] as a wave offering before Yahweh;[ae] and Aaron made atonement for them to purify them. 22 After this the Levites came to do their work in the tent of assembly before Aaron and his sons. Just as Yahweh commanded Moses concerning the Levities, so they did to them.
23 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This is what is for the Levites: those twenty-five years old[af] and above will[ag] come to help with the service in the work of the tent of assembly; 25 and those fifty years old[ah] will[ai] return from the service of the work and will serve no longer. 26 They[aj] can attend[ak] their brothers in the tent of assembly to keep their responsibilities, but they[al] will not do work. This is what you will do concerning the Levities and their responsibilities.”
The Passover
9 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the second year after they came out from the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying, 2 “Let the Israelites[am] observe the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month at twilight[an] you will perform it at its appointed time according to all its decrees; and according to all its stipulations you will observe it.” 4 So Moses spoke to the Israelites[ao] to observe the Passover. 5 And they observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight[ap] in the desert of Sinai. According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, thus the Israelites[aq] did.
6 And it happened, men who were unclean by a dead person[ar] were not able to perform the Passover on that day. And they came before[as] Moses and Aaron on that day. 7 And those men said to him, “Although we are unclean by a dead person,[at] why are we hindered from presenting the offering of Yahweh at its appointed time in the midst of the Israelites?”[au] 8 Moses said to them, “Stay. I will hear what Yahweh commands to you.”
9 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the Israelites,[av] saying, ‘Each man that is unclean by a dead person[aw] or is on a far journey, you or your descendants,[ax] he will observe the Passover of Yahweh. 11 On the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight[ay] they will observe it; they will eat it with unleavened bread and bitter plants. 12 They will leave none of it until morning, and they will not break a bone in it; they will observe it according to every decree of the Passover. 13 But the man who is clean and not on a journey, and he fails to observe the Passover, that person will be cut off from the people because he did not present the offering of Yahweh on its appointed time. That man will bear his guilt. 14 If an alien dwells with you he will observe the Passover of Yahweh according to the decree of the Passover and according to its stipulation; thus you will have one decree for you, for the alien and for the native of the land.’”
The Cloud and the Fire
15 And on a day setting up the tabernacle, the cloud covered the tent of the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony; in the evening it was on the tabernacle as an appearance of fire until morning. 16 So it was[az] continually; the cloud would cover it and the appearance of fire by night. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted up from on the tent, after that the Israelites[ba] would set out, and in the place where the cloud dwelled, there the Israelites[bb] camped. 18 On the command of Yahweh[bc] the Israelites[bd] would set out, and on the command of Yahweh[be] they encamped; all the days that the cloud dwelled on the tabernacle they encamped. 19 And when the cloud prolonged on the tabernacle many days the Israelites[bf] kept the kept requirement of Yahweh and did not set out. 20 When the cloud remained[bg] a number of days on the tabernacle, on the command of Yahweh[bh] they encamped; and on the command of Yahweh[bi] they set out. 21 When the cloud remained[bj] from evening until morning, and the cloud lifted up in the morning, they would set out, or if it remained in the daytime and at night, when the cloud lifted up they set out. 22 When it was two days, a month, or a year[bk] that the cloud prolonged to dwell on the tabernacle, the Israelites[bl] encamped, and they did not set out; when it lifted up they set out. 23 On the command of Yahweh[bm] they encamped, and on the command of Yahweh[bn] they set out. They kept the requirement of Yahweh, on the command of Yahweh[bo] in the hand of Moses.[bp]
The Silver Trumpets
10 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Make yourself two silver trumpets; make them of hammered-work. You will use them[bq] for calling the community and for breaking the camp. 3 You will blow them, and all the community will assemble to the doorway of the tent of assembly. 4 But if they blow only one, the leaders, the heads of the thousands of Israel, will assemble to you. 5 When you will blow a blast, the camps that are camping on the east will set out; 6 when you blow a second blast, the camps that are camping on the south will set out; they will blow a blast for their journeys. 7 But when summoning the assembly, you will blow, but you will not signal with a loud noise. 8 The sons of Aaron, the priests, will blow on the trumpets; this will be an eternal decree for your generations. 9 If you go to war in your land against the enemy who attacks you, you will signal with a loud noise on the trumpets. You will be remembered before[br] Yahweh your God, and you will be rescued from your enemies.
10 “And on the day of your joy and in your appointed times, at the beginning of your months, you will blow on the trumpets in addition to your burnt offerings and in addition to the sacrifices of your fellowship offerings. And they will be as a memorial for you before[bs] your God; I am Yahweh your God.”
The Israelites Depart from Sinai
11 And it happened, in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month the cloud was lifted from upon the tabernacle of the testimony.[bt] 12 And the Israelites[bu] set out for their journey[bv] from the desert of Sinai, and the cloud dwelled in the desert of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time[bw] on the command of Yahweh in the hand of Moses.[bx] 14 The standard of the camp of the descendants[by] of Judah set out for the first time according to their divisions, with Nahshon son of Amminadab over its division. 15 And Nathanel son of Zuar was over the division of the descendants[bz] of Issachar; 16 Eliab son of Helon was over the division of the tribe of the descendants[ca] of Zebulun.
17 The tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, the bearers of the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their divisions; Elizur son of Shedeur was over their division. 19 Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was over the division of the sons of the tribe of Simeon. 20 Eliasaph son of Deuel was over the division of the tribe of the descendants[cb] of Gad.
21 The Kohathites, the bearers of the sanctuary, set out, and they set up the tabernacle before they arrived. 22 And the stand of the camp of the descendants[cc] of Ephraim set out according to their divisions; Elishama son of Ammihud was over its division. 23 Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of the descendants[cd] of Manasseh. 24 Abidan son of Gideoni was over the division of the tribe of the descendants[ce] of Benjamin.
25 Then the standard of the camp of the descendants[cf] of Dan, who formed a rear guard for all the camps, set out according to their divisions; Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was over its division. 26 Pagiel son of Ocran was over the division of the tribe of the descendants[cg] of Asher. 27 Ahira son of Enan was over the division of the tribe of the descendants[ch] of Naphtali. 28 These were the departures of the Israelites[ci] according to their divisions; and so they set out.
29 Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses, “We are setting out to the place that Yahweh said, ‘I will give it to you’; go with us, and we will treat you well[cj] because Yahweh promised[ck] good concerning Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will only go to my land and to my family.” 31 He[cl] said, “Please, do not abandon us because you know our encampment in the desert, and you should be our guide.[cm] 32 Moreover, if you go with us, the good that Yahweh will do to us we will do to you.”
33 And so they set out from the mountain of Yahweh a journey of three days, with the ark of the covenant of Yahweh setting out ahead of them[cn] three days’ journey to search out a resting place for them; 34 and the cloud of Yahweh was over them by day when they set out from the camp.
35 And whenever the ark was setting out Moses would say,
“Rise up, Yahweh!
May your enemies be scattered;
may the ones that hate you flee from your presence.”
36 And when it rested he would say,
“Return, Yahweh,
to the countless thousands of Israel.”
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