NUMBERS
Chapter 1
1 In the second month of the year after the Israelite people had left Egypt, Yahweh spoke to Moses while he was in the sacred tent, in the wilderness of Sinai. Yahweh said to him, 2 "Count how many Israelite men, from each family in Israel, and count them by name. 3 You and Aaron must count the men who are at least twenty years old, those who can serve as soldiers in the army. Write down the number of the men, along with the names of their clans and families. 4 I have chosen one man from each of the tribes to help you to do this. Each one must be a leader of his clan.
5-6 Their names are:
Elizur son of Shedeur, from the tribe of Reuben;
Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, from the tribe of Simeon; 7-9 Nahshon son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah;
Nethanel son of Zuar, from the tribe of Issachar;
Eliab son of Helon, from the tribe of Zebulun; 10-11 Elishama son of Ammihud, from the tribe of Joseph's son Ephraim;
Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, from the tribe of Joseph's son Manasseh;
Abidan son of Gideoni, from the tribe of Benjamin;
12-15 Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, from the tribe of Dan;
Pagiel son of Ocran, from the tribe of Asher;
Eliasaph son of Deuel, from the tribe of Gad;
Ahira son of Enan, from the tribe of Naphtali."
16 These were the men whom Yahweh chose from the people. They were leaders of their tribes. They were the chief men of the clans of the Israelite people.
17 Aaron and Moses summoned all these leaders, 18 and they gathered all of the people on that same day. They listed the names of all the men who were at least 20 years old, and with their names they wrote the names of their clans and their family groups 19 just as Moses had commanded. They wrote the names while the Israelites were there in the wilderness of Sinai.
20-21 There were 46,500 men from the tribe of Reuben (who was Jacob's oldest son) who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles. They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
22-23 There were 59,300 men from the tribe of Simeon who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles. They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
24-25 There were 45,650 men from the tribe of Gad who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles. They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
26-27 There were 74,600 men from the tribe of Judah who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles. They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
28-29 There were 54,400 men from the tribe of Issachar who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles. They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
30-31 There were 57,400 men from the tribe of Zebulun who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles. They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
32-33 There were 40,500 men from the tribe of Ephraim who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles. They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
34-35 There were 32,200 men from the tribe of Manasseh who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles. They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
36-37 There were 35,400 men from the tribe of Benjamin who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles. They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
38-39 There were 62,700 men from the tribe of Dan who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles. They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
40-41 There were 41,500 men from the tribe of Asher who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles. They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
42-43 There were 53,400 men from the tribe of Naphtali who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles. They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
44-45 That was the number of men from each tribe that Aaron and Moses and the twelve leaders of the tribes of Israel listed, along with the names of their clans. 46 The total was 603,550 men.
47 But this number did not include the names of the men of the tribe of Levi, 48 because Yahweh had said to Moses, 49 "When you count the men of the tribes of Israel, do not count the men in the tribe of Levi. 50 Appoint the male descendants of Levi to take care of the sacred tent and the chest inside it that contains the tablets on which are written the Ten Commandments. They must also take care of the other things that are inside the tent. When you travel, they are the ones who must carry the sacred tent and all the things that are inside it, and they must take care of it and set up their tents around it. 51 Whenever it is time for all of you to move to another location, the descendants of Levi are the ones who must dismantle the sacred tent. And when it is time to stop traveling, they are the ones who must set it up again. Any other person who goes near the sacred tent to do this work must be executed. 52 The people of each Israelite tribe must set up their tents in their own area, and they must set up a flag that represents their tribe. 53 But the male descendants of Levi must set up their tents around the sacred tent in order to protect the other Israelite people from being punished by Yahweh for coming close to the sacred tent. The descendants of Levi are the ones who must stand around the sacred tent to guard it."
54 So the Israelite people did everything just like Yahweh had commanded Moses.
Chapter 2
1 Then Yahweh said this to Aaron and Moses, 2 "When the Israelites set up their tents, they are to set them up in areas that surround the sacred tent, but not close to it. The people of each tribe must set up their tents in a different area. Each tribe must put up a flag in that area that identifies their tribe.
9 So there will be 186,400 troops on the east side of the sacred tent. Whenever the Israelites move to a new location, those three tribes must go in front of the others.
16 So there will be 151,450 troops on the south side of the sacred tent. Those three tribes will follow the first group when the Israelites travel.
17 Behind that group will walk the descendants of Levi, who will carry the sacred tent. The Israelites will march in the same order that they always set up their tents. Each tribe will carry its own flag.
24 So there will be 108,100 troops on the west side of the sacred tent. Those three tribes will follow the second group, behind the descendants of Levi.
31 So there will be 157,600 troops on the north side of the sacred tent. Those three tribes will be last. They must carry their own flags when the Israelites travel."
32 So there were 603,550 Israelite men who were able to fight who were listed according to their families' ancestors. 33 But just as Yahweh had commanded, the names of the descendants of Levi were not included.
34 The Israelites did everything that Yahweh had told Moses. They set up their tents close to their tribal flags, and when they traveled to a new location, they walked with their own clans and family groups.
Chapter 3
1 These are some of the things that happened to Aaron and Moses when Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 Aaron had four sons. They were Nadab the oldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of Aaron's sons who were anointed priests and set apart as priests and whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But, while Yahweh was watching, Nadab and Abihu died in the wilderness of Sinai because they burned incense in a manner that was disobedient to what Yahweh had commanded. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar were the only sons of Aaron who were left to be priests, along with their father Aaron.
5 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 6 "Bring the men of the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron, in order that they may assist him. 7 They will serve Aaron and all the other Israelite people, while they do their work inside the sacred tent and outside it. 8 They must serve all the Israelite people by taking care of all the things that are inside the sacred tent. 9 Appoint them to help Aaron and his two sons. I have chosen them from all the Israelite people to do that. 10 Appoint Aaron and his two sons to do the work that priests do. But anyone else who comes close to the sacred tent to do that work must be executed."
11 Yahweh also told Moses, 12 "Note that from all the Israelites I have chosen the men of the tribe of Levi to take the places of all the firstborn sons of the Israelite people. The male descendants of Levi belong to me, 13 because truly all the firstborn males belong to me. That is because on the day that I killed all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt, I spared all the firstborn sons of the Israelites and set them apart for myself. I also set apart the firstborn males of your domestic animals. They belong to me, Yahweh."
14 Yahweh spoke to Moses again in the wilderness of Sinai. He said, 15 "Count the male members of the tribe of Levi. Write down their names and the names of their clans and family groups. Count all the males who are at least one month old." 16 So Moses counted them, just as Yahweh commanded.
17 Levi had three sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 Gershon had two sons, Libni and Shimei. The clans who were descended from them had the same names as those two sons.
19 Kohath had four sons, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The clans who were descended from them had the same names as those four sons.
20 Merari had two sons, Mahli and Mushi. The clans who were descended from them had the same names as those two sons.
Those are the clans who were descended from Levi.
21 The two clans descended from Gershon are those that were descended from his sons Libni and Shimei. 22 In those two clans there were 7,500 males who were at least one month old. 23 They were told to set up their tents on the west side of the sacred tent. 24 The leader of those two clans was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 Their work was to take care of the sacred tent, including its curtains and coverings and the curtain at its entrance, 26 the curtains that formed the walls around the courtyard that is around the tent and around the altar, the curtains that were at the entrance of the courtyard, and the ropes for fastening the tent. They also did all the work of taking care of the things outside the sacred tent.
27 The clans that were descended from Kohath were those descended from his sons Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 28 In those four clans there were 8,600 males who were at least one month old. The work of the men of the clans was to take care of the things that are inside the sacred tent. 29 They set up their tents on the south side of the sacred tent. 30 The leader of those four clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31 The work of the men of those clans was to take care of the sacred chest, the table on which the priest put the sacred bread, the lampstand, the altars, all the items that the priest used in the sacred tent, and the curtain that is inside the tent. Their work was also to take care of the things inside the tent.
32 Aaron's son Eleazar was the leader of all the male descendants of Levi. He supervised all the work that was done at the sacred tent.
33 The clans that were descended from Merari were those descended from his sons Mahli and Mushi. 34 In those two clans there were 6,200 males who were at least one month old. 35 They were told to set up their tents on the north side of the sacred tent. The leader of those two clans was Zuriel son of Abihail. 36 The work of the men of those two clans was to take care of the frames that held up the tent, the crossbars, the pillars, and the bases. They also did all the work that was connected with those items. 37 Their work was also to take care of the posts that held up the curtains that formed the walls of the courtyard, and all the bases, tent pegs, and ropes that fastened those curtains.
38 Aaron and Moses and Aaron's sons were told to set up their tents in the area in front of the sacred tent, on the east side. Their work was to supervise the work that would be done in and around the sacred tent, for the benefit of the Israelite people. Only the priests were permitted to do that. Yahweh declared that anyone else who went near the tent to do the work that the priests do must be executed.
39 When Aaron and Moses counted all the males who were at least one month old, who belonged to the clans descended from Levi, the total was twenty-two thousand.
40 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Now count all the other firstborn males in Israel who are at least one month old, and write down their names. 41 Also, set apart for me the descendants of Levi to be substitutes for the firstborn males of the other Israelites. And set apart for me the livestock of the descendants of Levi to be substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the other Israelite people."
42 So Moses did that. He counted the firstborn males of all the Israelite people, as Yahweh had commanded. 43 The total of those who were at least one month old was 22,273.
44 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 45 "Set apart the descendants of Levi to be substitutes for the firstborn males of the other Israelite people. The descendants of Levi belong to me, Yahweh. 46 There are 273 more firstborn males of the other Israelite people than of the descendants of Levi. 47-48 To pay for these 273 males, collect five pieces of silver for each of them. Each of those pieces of silver must weigh the same as each of the silver pieces that are stored in the sacred tent. Give this silver to Aaron and his sons."
49 So Moses did that. He collected the silver from those 273 males. 50 The total was 1,365 pieces of silver. Each silver piece weighed the same as each of the silver pieces stored in the sacred tent. 51 Moses gave these silver pieces to Aaron and his sons, as Yahweh had commanded.
Chapter 4
1 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 2 "Write down the names of the men who belong to the clans descended from Kohath. 3 Write the names of the men who are between 30 and 50 years old. These will be men who will do work at the sacred tent.
4 The work of these descendants of Kohath will be to take care of the sacred items that are used when the people worship at the sacred tent. 5 When you Israelites move to another location, Aaron and his sons must enter the tent to take down the curtain that separates the very holy place from the holy place in the sacred tent. They must cover the sacred chest with that curtain. 6 Then they must cover that with a covering made from sea cow skins. Over that they must spread a blue cloth. Then they must insert into the rings on the chest the poles for carrying it.
7 Then they must put a blue cloth over the table on which the priests will put the bread to display before God. On top of the cloth they must put the bowls for incense, the pans, the other dishes, the jars for the wine that will be offered as a sacrifice, and the sacred bread. 8 Over all of this they must spread a scarlet cloth. Finally, they must put on top a covering made from sea cow skins. Then they must insert into the rings at the corners of the tables the poles for carrying it.
9 Then with another blue cloth they must cover the lampstand, the lamps, the lamp snuffers, the trays, and the special jars of olive oil to burn in the lamps. 10 They must cover the lampstand and all the other items with a covering made from sea cow skins. They must place all these things on a frame for carrying them.
11 Then they must spread another blue cloth over the gold altar which is used for burning incense. Over this they must spread a covering made from sea cow skins. Then they must insert into the rings of that altar the poles for carrying it.
12 They must take all the other items that are inside the sacred tent and wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with a covering made from sea cow skins, and place all that on a frame for carrying it.
13 Then they must remove the ashes from the altar on which they have burned sacrifices. Then they must cover the altar with a purple cloth. 14 Then they must spread on top of the cloth all the items used at the altar—the pans for carrying the hot coals, the meat forks, the shovels, the bowls that hold the blood to sprinkle on the people, and all the other containers. Then they must spread over all those things a covering made from sea cow skins. Then they must insert into the rings at the sides of the altar the poles for carrying it.
15 When Aaron and his sons have finished covering all these sacred things, the Israelite people will be ready to move to a new location. The descendants of Kohath must come and carry all the sacred things to the next place where the Israelites will set up their tents. But the descendants of Kohath must not touch any of these sacred items, because they will immediately die if they touch them. They are the ones who will carry these things, but they must not touch them.
16 Aaron's son Eleazar will have the work of taking care of the olive oil for the lamps, the sweet smelling incense, the flour that will be burned on the altar each day, and the olive oil for anointing the priests. Eleazar is the one who will supervise the work that is done at the sacred tent and the men who take care of everything that is in it."
17 Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses, 18-20 "When the descendants of Kohath approach the sacred items in the sacred tent to take them to another location, Aaron and his sons must always go in with them and show each of them what work to do and what things to carry. But the descendants of Kohath must not enter the sacred tent at any other time and look at the things that are in it. If they do that, I will get rid of all the descendants of Kohath."
21 Yahweh also said to Moses, 22 "Write down the names of all the men who belong to the clans descended from Gershon. 23 Write the names of the men who are between thirty and fifty years old. They will be men who will also do work at the sacred tent.
24 This is the work that they must do and the things that they must carry when you move to a new location: 25 They must carry the curtains of the sacred tent. They must carry the sacred tent and all the things that cover it, including the outer covering made from sea cow skins, and the curtain which is at the entrance of the sacred tent. 26 They must also carry the curtains that form the wall that surrounds the courtyard that surrounds the sacred tent and the altar, the curtain that is at the entrance to the courtyard, and the ropes that fasten the curtains. They must also do the packing and loading of these things. 27 Aaron and his sons will supervise the work of all the descendants of Gershom. That work includes carrying those things and doing other work that is necessary for moving them. They must tell each of the descendants of Gershom what things they must carry. 28 Those are the tasks that you must give to the men who belong to the clans descended from Gershom. Aaron's son Ithamar is the one who will supervise their work.
29 Count also the men who belong to the clans descended from Merari. 30 Write the names of the men who are between thirty and fifty years old. They will be men who will also work at the sacred tent. 31 Their work will be to carry the frames that hold up the sacred tent, the crossbars, the posts that hold up the curtains, and the bases. 32 They must also carry the posts for the curtains that form the walls of the courtyard and the bases for the posts, the tent pegs, and the ropes to fasten the curtains. Tell each man what things he must carry. 33 Those are the tasks that the descendants of Merari must do at the sacred tent. Aaron's son Ithamar is the one who will supervise them."
34 So Aaron and Moses and the Israelite leaders counted the descendants of Kohath, writing also the names of their clans and family groups. 35 They counted all the men who were between thirty and fifty years old who were able to work at the sacred tent. 36 The total was 2,750 men. 37 They were the descendants of Kohath who were able to work at the sacred tent. Aaron and Moses counted them just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
38 They also counted the descendants of Gershon, writing also the names of their clans and family groups. 39 They counted all the men who were between thirty and fifty years old who were able to work at the sacred tent. 40 The total was 2,630 men. 41 They were the descendants of Gershon who were able to work at the sacred tent. Aaron and Moses counted them as Yahweh had commanded.
42 They also counted the descendants of Merari, writing also the names of their clans and family groups. 43 They counted all the men who were between thirty and fifty years old who were able to work at the sacred tent. 44 The total was 3,200 men. 45 They were the descendants of Merari who were able to work. Aaron and Moses counted them as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
46 So Aaron and Moses and the Israelite leaders counted all the descendants of Levi, writing also the names of their clans and family groups. 47 They counted all the men who were between thirty and fifty years old. They were ones who were able to work at the sacred tent and who carried the tent and everything that was connected with it. 48 The total was 8,580 men. 49 They completed the counting of all the descendants of Levi, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. And they told each man what work he was to do and what things he must carry when they moved to a new location.
Chapter 5
1 Yahweh said to Moses, 2 "Tell this to the Israelite people: 'You must send away from your camp where you have your tents any man or woman who has leprosy and anyone who has a discharge of some fluid from his body, and anyone who has become unacceptable to God because of having touched a corpse. 3 Send them away in order that they will not touch people in the camp area where I live among you and cause them to become unacceptable to me.'" 4 So the Israelite people obeyed what Yahweh commanded Moses.
5 Yahweh also told Moses, 6 "Tell this to the Israelite people: 'If someone commits a crime against another person, I consider that that person has done wrong to me. 7 That person must confess that he or she is guilty, and he or she must pay to the person to whom wrong was done what others consider to be a suitable payment for what he has done, and he must pay an extra 20 percent. 8 If the person against whom the wrong was done has died and there is no relative to whom the money can be paid, then the money belongs to me, and it must be paid to the priest. In addition, the one who did the wrong must give a male sheep to the priest to sacrifice in order that that person's sin may be forgiven. 9 All the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to me by bringing them to the priest will belong to the priest. 10 The priest can keep those gifts.'"
11 Yahweh also said this to Moses: 12 "Tell this to the Israelite people: 'Suppose a man thinks that his wife has not always slept faithfully only with him. 13 Suppose he thinks that she has slept with another man, but he does not know if this is true or not, because he did not see her do it. She was not caught in the act and the fact that she broke her vow to her husband could not be proved because no one saw her doing that. 14 But if the woman's husband is jealous, and if he suspects that she has committed adultery, and he would want to know whether that is true or not, and so there is a test whether she had been impure. 15 To test whether she had committed adultery he should take his wife to the priest. He must take along as an offering two liters of barley flour. The priest must not pour olive oil or incense on it, because this is an offering that the man has brought because he is jealous. It is an offering to find out if she is guilty or not.
16 The priest must tell the woman to stand in front of the altar in my presence. 17 He must put some sacred water in a clay jar, and then he must put some dirt from the floor of the sacred tent into the water. 18 He must untie the woman's hair. Then he must put in her hands the flour offering that her jealous husband is offering to determine whether she has committed adultery or not. The priest must hold the bowl that contains bitter water that will cause the woman to be cursed if she is guilty. 19 The priest must require her to solemnly declare that she will tell the truth. He must say to her, "Has another man slept with you? Have you faithfully slept only with your husband or not? If you have not slept with another man, nothing bad will happen to you if you drink the water. 20 But if you have slept with another man, Yahweh will curse you. 21-22 Your womb will shrivel up and your stomach will swell up. You will never be able to give birth to children, and as a result, everyone will curse you and avoid you. If you have committed adultery, when you drink this water, that is what will happen to you." Then the woman must answer, "If I am guilty, I will not object if that happens."
23 Then the priest must write with ink on a small scroll these curses and then wash the ink off into the bitter water. 24-25 The priest must take from her the offering of barley flour that she is holding; he must lift it up to dedicate it to me. Then he must put it on the altar 26 and burn part of it as a sacrifice. Then the woman must drink the bitter water. 27 If the woman has committed adultery instead of faithfully sleeping only with her husband, the water will cause her to suffer greatly. Her stomach will swell up and her womb will shrink, and she will be unable to give birth to children. And then her relatives will curse her. 28 But if she is innocent, her body will not be harmed, and she will still be able to give birth to children.
29 That is the ritual that must be performed when a woman who is married has sinned by committing adultery, 30 or when a man is jealous and suspects that his wife has slept with another man. The priest must tell that woman to stand at the altar in my presence and obey these instructions. 31 Even if the woman has not done what the husband suspected, he will not be punished for doing something wrong by bringing his wife to the priest. But if his wife is guilty, she will suffer as a result.'"
Chapter 6
1 Yahweh also said this to Moses: 2 "Tell this to the Israelite people: If any of you wants to make a solemn promise to dedicate himself to belong to me in a special way, after you obey these instructions, you will be called a Nazir, which means 'a dedicated person.' 3 You must not drink any wine or other alcoholic drink. You must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. 4 You must not eat anything that comes from grapevines, not even the skins or seeds of grapes, during the time that you are a Nazir.
5 Even your hair will be dedicated to me during the time that you are a Nazir, so you must never allow anyone to cut your hair. Until the time that your solemn promise to dedicate yourself to me is ended, you must allow your hair to grow long. 6 And you must not go near a corpse during the time that you are a Nazir. 7 Even if the person who died is your father or your mother or your brother or your sister, you must not cause yourself to become unacceptable to me by coming close to the corpse. Your long hair shows that you belong to me in a special way, so you must do what you have solemnly promised and not cut your hair. 8 You are required to keep doing this all the time that you are dedicated to me in this special way.
9 If anyone dies very suddenly when he is near you, then your hair that you have dedicated to me is no longer sacred. So you must wait seven days and then shave it all off. Then you must perform a special ritual to cause yourself to become acceptable to me again. 10 The next day you must bring two doves or two pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the sacred tent. 11 The priest must kill the birds and offer them as sacrifices. One of them will be an offering to take away the guilt of your sin, and the other will be an offering that is burned completely to please me. After the priests burns them on the altar, I will forgive you for having come close to a corpse, and when your hair grows again it will be dedicated to me again. 12 The amount of time that you were set apart for me the previous time does not count, because you had become unacceptable to me by coming close to a corpse during the time that you were a Nazir. So you must again make a solemn promise to dedicate yourself to me for the entire amount of time that you indicated the previous time. And you must also sacrifice a one year old lamb to take away your guilt.
13 When the time that you promised to dedicate yourself to me is ended, go to the entrance of the sacred tent 14 and offer as sacrifices to me three animals that have no defects. Offer a one year old ram that will be burned completely, a one year old female lamb as a sacrifice to take away the guilt of your sin, and one full-grown ram as a sacrifice to restore fellowship with me.
15 When you bring those animals, you must also bring some wine to offer as a sacrifice. And you must also bring a basket of bread that you have made with very good flour and olive oil. But you must not put any yeast in the bread. Also brush some olive oil on some thin wafers and bring them to the priest.
16 The priest will put the young lamb and the young ram on the altar and completely burn them, in order that I will be pleased and will forgive you. 17 Then he will kill the full-grown ram as an offering to restore fellowship with me, and he will also burn on the altar some of the bread and the flour and wine.
18 After that, you must stand at the entrance of the sacred tent and shave off your hair. Then you must put that hair in the fire that is under the animal that has been sacrificed on the altar to restore fellowship with me.
19 The meat from the ram's shoulder must be boiled. After it is cooked, the priest will take it along with one of the loaves of bread and one wafer which has been brushed with olive oil, and he will put them in your hands. 20 Then the priest will take them back and lift them up high to dedicate them to me. They now belong to the priest, and he is permitted to eat some of the meat from the ram's shoulder and from its ribs and from one of its thighs, because that meat is his share of the sacrifice. After that, you will no longer be a Nazir, and you will again be permitted to drink wine.
21 Those are the regulations about the offerings that Nazir solemnly promise to bring to me to end their time of being dedicated to me. They must bring these offerings, but if they want to, they may bring additional offerings. And they must do everything that they solemnly promised to do when they dedicated themselves to me."
22 Yahweh also said to Moses, 23 "Tell Aaron and his sons that when they ask me to bless the people, they must say,
24 'Yahweh bless you
and protect you.
25 May he smile on you
and act kindly toward you.
26 May he be good to you
and cause things to go well for you.'"
27 Then Yahweh said, "If Aaron and his sons ask me to bless the Israelite people, truly I will bless them."
Chapter 7
1 When Moses had finished setting up the sacred tent, he poured oil on it, and set it apart for the honor of Yahweh. He also dedicated the things that are inside the sacred tent, and the altar for burning sacrifices, and all the things that would be used at the altar. 2 Then the leaders of the twelve Israelite tribes, the same men who had helped Aaron and Moses to count the men who could fight in battles, 3 came to the sacred tent, bringing gifts to Yahweh. They brought six sturdy carts and twelve oxen, one ox from each of the leaders and a cart from each of the two leaders.
4 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 5 "Accept these gifts, in order that the descendants of Levi can use them for carrying the sacred items that are here at the sacred tent."
6 So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the descendants of Levi. 7 He gave two carts and four oxen to the descendants of Gershon for their work, 8 and he gave four carts and eight oxen to the descendants of Merari for their work. Aaron's son Ithamar was the supervisor of all their work. 9 But he did not give any carts or oxen to the descendants of Kohath, because they took care of the sacred items that were to be carried on their shoulders, not on carts.
10 On the day that the altar was dedicated, the twelve leaders brought other gifts to be dedicated and put them in front of the altar. 11 Yahweh said to Moses, "On each of the next twelve days one leader should bring his gifts for the dedication of the altar."
12-13 On the first day, Nahshon son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah brought his gifts:
- a silver dish that weighed one and one-half kilograms and a silver bowl that weighed four-fifths of a kilogram, both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be flour offerings. They both were weighed using the standard scales,
- a goat to be sacrificed to remove people's guilt for their sins,
- and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs that were one year old, to be sacrifices to restore the people's fellowship with Yahweh.