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 there are, 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 twenty 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 thirty and fifty 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 fine leather 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 fine leather 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 fine leather 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 fine leather 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 fine leather 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 fine leather 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 fine leather 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, then 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 priest 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 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 that 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, 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 every 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 weighed using the standard scales and both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be flour offerings,
- 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.
18-19 On the second day, Nethanel son of Zuar, the leader of Issachar, 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 weighed using the standard scales and both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be flour offerings,
- and a small gold dish that weighed 110 grams, filled with incense.
- 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.
24-26 On the third day, Eliab son of Helon, leader of the tribe of Zebulun, 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 weighed using the standard scales and both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be flour offerings,
- and a small gold dish that weighed 110 grams, filled with incense.
- 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.
30-32 On the fourth day, Elizur son of Shedeur, leader of the tribe of Reuben, 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 weighed using the standard scales and both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be flour offerings,
- and a small gold dish that weighed 110 grams, filled with incense.
- 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.
36-38 On the fifth day, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, leader of the tribe of Simeon, 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 weighed using the standard scales and both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be flour offerings,
- and a small gold dish that weighed 110 grams, filled with incense.
- 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.
42-44 On the sixth day, Eliasaph son of Deuel, leader of the tribe of Gad, 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 weighed using the standard scales and both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be flour offerings,
- and a small gold dish that weighed 110 grams, filled with incense.
- 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.
48-50 On the seventh day, Elishama son of Ammihud, leader of the tribe of Ephraim, brought his gifts:
- aa silver dish that weighed one and one-half kilograms and a silver bowl that weighed four-fifths of a kilogram, both weighed using the standard scales and both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be flour offerings,
- and a small gold dish that weighed 110 grams, filled with incense.
- 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.
54-56 On the eighth day, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, leader of the tribe of Manasseh, 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 weighed using the standard scales and both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be flour offerings,
- and a small gold dish that weighed 110 grams, filled with incense.
- 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.
60-62 On the ninth day, Abidan son of Gideoni, leader of the tribe of Benjamin, 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 weighed using the standard scales and both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be flour offerings,
- and a small gold dish that weighed 110 grams, filled with incense.
- 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.
66-68 On the tenth day, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, leader of the tribe of Dan, 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 weighed using the standard scales and both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be flour offerings,
- and a small gold dish that weighed 110 grams, filled with incense.
- 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.
72-74 On the eleventh day, Pagiel son of Okran, leader of the tribe of Asher, 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 weighed using the standard scales and both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be flour offerings,
- and a small gold dish that weighed 110 grams, filled with incense.
- 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.
78-80 On the twelfth day, Ahira son of Enan, leader of the tribe of Naphtali, 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 weighed using the standard scales and both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be flour offerings,
- and a small gold dish that weighed 110 grams, filled with incense.
- 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.
84-86 When the altar was dedicated to Yahweh, those twelve leaders brought these gifts:
- twelve silver plates and twelve silver bowls, weighing a total of twenty-six and one-half kilograms, each of them weighed on the scales kept in the sacred tent,
- and twelve gold dishes filled with incense, weighing a total of one and two-fifths kilograms, each weighed on those same scales.
- twelve goats to be sacrificed to take away the guilt of the people's sins;
- and twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty goats, and sixty male lambs that were one year old, to be sacrifices to restore the people's fellowship with Yahweh.
89 Whenever Moses entered the sacred tent to talk with Yahweh, he heard Yahweh's voice speaking between the two images of creatures with wings that were above the lid of the sacred chest.
Chapter 8
1 Yahweh said to Moses, 2 "Tell Aaron to put the seven lamps on the lampstand and place them in such a way that they shine toward the front of the lampstand."
3 So Moses told him what Yahweh said, and he did that. 4 The lampstand had been made from gold that had been hammered from one large lump of gold, from its base to the decorations at the top that resembled flowers. The lampstand was made exactly as Yahweh had told Moses that it should be made.
5 Yahweh also said to Moses, 6 "You must cause the descendants of Levi to be acceptable to me by setting them apart from the other Israelite people. 7 Do that by sprinkling them with water that will symbolize their being freed from the guilt of their sins. Then they must shave off all the hair of their bodies and wash their clothes. 8 Then they must bring one bull and some flour mixed with olive oil. Those things will be burned as sacrifices. They must also bring another bull that will be sacrificed to take away the guilt of their sins. 9 Then you must summon all the Israelite people to come together in front of the sacred tent, to gather around the descendants of Levi. 10 Then the Israelite people must lay their hands on the descendants of Levi. 11 Aaron must then present them to me to be a gift from the Israelite people, as if he had lifted them up to me, so that they can work for me at the sacred tent.
12 After that, the descendants of Levi must place their hands on the heads of the two bulls. Then the bulls will be killed and burned on the altar. One will be an offering to take away the guilt of their sins, and the other will be completely burned to please me. 13 The descendants of Levi must stand at the altar in front of Aaron and his sons, and you must then dedicate them to me, as if you had lifted them up to me. 14 This ritual will show that the descendants of Levi are set apart from the other Israelites and that they belong to me.
15 After the descendants of Levi have been made acceptable to me, and presented to me like a special offering as if they had been lifted up to me, they may start to work at the sacred tent. 16 They will belong to me. They will work for me as substitutes for the firstborn males of all the Israelites, who also belong to me. 17 All the firstborn males in Israel, both the people and the animals, are mine. When I caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die, I set them apart for myself. But I spared the firstborn of all males of the Israelites, of people and animals, because they are mine. 18 But now I have chosen the descendants of Levi to take the places of the firstborn male sons of the other Israelites. 19 I have appointed the descendants of Levi to help Aaron and his sons at the sacred tent, as Aaron and his sons offer the sacrifices to take away the guilt of the Israelite people's sins, and to prevent the Israelites from coming close to the tent with the result that a plague would cause many of them to become sick and die."
20 Aaron and Moses and the other Israelites helped the descendants of Levi to do everything that Yahweh had commanded. 21 The descendants of Levi sprinkled themselves with water to symbolize that they had been freed from the guilt of their sins, and they washed their clothes. Then Aaron brought them to the altar to present them to Yahweh, just as if he had lifted them up to him, and he offered sacrifices to take away the guilt of their sins and cause them to become acceptable to Yahweh. 22 After that, the descendants of Levi started to work at the sacred tent to assist Aaron and his sons. They did that just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
23 Yahweh also said this to Moses: 24 "The descendants of Levi who are between twenty-five and fifty years old will work at the sacred tent. 25 But after they become fifty years old, they must retire. 26 They may help their fellow descendants of Levi do their work at the sacred tent, but they must not do the work themselves. That is what you must tell them about the work they will do."
Chapter 9
1 One year after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first month of the second year, while they were in the wilderness of Sinai, Yahweh said to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelite people that they must celebrate the Passover festival again. 3 They must do it on the fourteenth day of this month, early in the evening, and they must obey all the instructions about it that I gave you previously."
4 So Moses told the people what Yahweh had said about celebrating the Passover. 5 The people celebrated it there in the wilderness of Sinai, in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
6 But some of the Israelite people had touched a corpse, and as a result they had become unfit to celebrate the Passover. So they asked Aaron and Moses, 7 "It is true that we have touched a corpse. But why should that prevent us from celebrating the Passover festival and offering sacrifices to Yahweh like everyone else?"
8 Moses replied, "Wait here until I go into the sacred tent and find out what Yahweh says about it."
9 So Moses went into the tent and asked Yahweh what he should tell the people, and this is what Yahweh said: 10 "Tell this to the Israelite people: 'If any of you or your descendants touch a corpse and as a result become unacceptable to me, or if you are away from home on a long trip at the time to celebrate the Passover, you will still be permitted to celebrate it. 11 But you must celebrate it exactly one month later, early in the evening of the fourteenth day of that month. Eat the meat of the lamb for the Passover festival with bread that is baked without yeast, and eat bitter herbs. 12 Do not leave any of it until the next morning. And do not break any of the lamb's bones. Obey all the regulations about celebrating the Passover. 13 But if any of you has not done anything that would make you unfit to celebrate the Passover festival, and you are not away from home on a long trip, and you do not sacrifice to me at the proper time, you will no longer belong to my people. You will be punished.
14 Settled foreigners who live among you must also celebrate the Passover festival and obey all my commands concerning it.'"
15-16 On the day that the sacred tent was set up, a cloud covered it. But from the time that the sun set until the time that the sun rose the next day, the cloud resembled a huge fire. And that is what happened every day that the Israelites were in the wilderness. 17 When the cloud rose up and started to move to a new location, the Israelites followed it. When the cloud stopped, the Israelites stopped there and set up their tents. 18 The Israelites moved when Yahweh told them to move and stopped when Yahweh told them to stop by causing the cloud to move or stop. When the cloud stayed over the sacred tent, the Israelites stayed at that place. 19 Sometimes the cloud stayed over the sacred tent for a long time, so when that happened, the Israelites did not move. 20 Sometimes the cloud remained over the sacred tent for only a few days. The people stopped and set up their tents as Yahweh commanded them, and they moved to a new location when Yahweh commanded them to do that. 21 Sometimes the cloud stayed in one place for only one day. When that happened, when the cloud rose up into the sky the next morning, then the people moved. Whenever the cloud moved, during the day or during the night, the people moved. 22 If the cloud stayed over the sacred tent for two days, or for a month, or for a year, during that time the people stayed where they were. But when the cloud rose up into the sky, they started to move. 23 When Yahweh commanded them to stop and set up their tents, they did that. When he told them to move, they moved. They did whatever Yahweh told Moses they should do.
Chapter 10
1 Yahweh also told Moses, 2 "Tell someone to make two trumpets by hammering each one from one lump of silver. Blow the trumpets to summon the people to come together and also to signal that they must move their tents to a new location. 3 If both trumpets are blown, it means that everyone must gather together at the entrance of the sacred tent. 4 If only one trumpet is blown, it means that only the twelve leaders of the tribes must gather together. 5 If the trumpets are blown loudly, the tribes that are to the east of the sacred tent should start to move. 6 When the trumpets are blown loudly the second time, the tribes that are to the south should start to move. The loud blasts on the trumpet will signal that they should start to move. 7 When you want only to gather the people together, blow the trumpets, but do not blow them as loudly.
8 The priests who are descended from Aaron are the ones who should blow the trumpets. That is a regulation that will never be changed. 9 When you fight against enemies who attack you in your own land, tell the priests to blow the trumpets loudly. I, Yahweh, your God, will hear that, and I will rescue you from your enemies. 10 Also tell the priests to blow the trumpets when the people are happy, and at the festivals each year, and at the times when they celebrate the new moon each month. Tell them to blow the trumpets when the people bring offerings that will be completely burned and when they bring offerings to restore fellowship with me. If they do that, it will help you to think about me. You must do that because I am Yahweh your God."
11 In the second year after the Israelites left Egypt, on the twentieth day of the second month, the cloud rose up from above the sacred tent. 12 So the Israelites moved from the wilderness of Sinai, and they continued traveling north until the cloud stopped in the wilderness of Paran. 13 That was the first time they moved, obeying the instructions that Yahweh had given to Moses to tell them.
14 The group that went first, carrying their flag, was the group from the tribe of Judah. Nahshon son of Amminadab was their leader. 15 The group from the tribe of Issachar followed them. Nethanel son of Zuar was their leader. 16 The group from the tribe of Zebulun went next. Eliab son of Helon was their leader. 17 Then they dismantled the sacred tent, and the descendants of Gershon and Merari carried it, and they went next.
18 The group from the tribe of Reuben went next, carrying their flag. Elizur son of Shedeur was their leader. 19 The group from the tribe of Simeon was next. Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was their leader. 20 The group from the tribe of Gad was next. Eliasaph son of Deuel was their leader. 21 The group descended from Kohath was next. They carried the sacred items from the sacred tent. The sacred tent was set up at the new location before they arrived there.
22 The group from the tribe of Ephraim was next, carrying their flag. Elishama son of Ammihud was their leader. 23 The group from the tribe of Manasseh went next. Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was their leader. 24 The group from the tribe of Benjamin was next. Abidan son of Gideoni was their leader.
25 The ones who went last were the groups from the tribe of Dan, carrying their flag. Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was their leader. 26 The group from the tribe of Asher went next. Pagiel son of Ocran was their leader. 27 The group from the tribe of Naphtali went last. Ahira son of Enan was their leader. 28 That was the order in which the groups of Israelite tribes traveled.
29 One day Moses said to his brother-in-law Hobab son of Reuel from the Midian people. "We are on the way to the place that Yahweh promised to give to us. Come with us, and we will take good care of you because Yahweh has promised to do good things for us Israelite people."
30 But Hobab replied, "No, I will not go with you. I want to return to my own land and to my own family."
31 But Moses said, "Please do not leave us. You know the places where we can set up our tents in this desert, and you can guide us. 32 Come with us. We will share with you all the good things that Yahweh gives to us."
33 So Hobab agreed to go with them. The Israelites left Mount Sinai, which they called the Mountain of Yahweh, and they walked for three days. The men carrying the sacred chest went in front of the other people for those three days, and they kept looking for a place to set up their tents. 34 The cloud sent by Yahweh was over them every day.
35 Each morning when the men who were carrying the sacred chest started to walk, Moses said,
"Yahweh, arise!
Scatter your enemies!
Cause those who hate you to run away from you!"
36 And each time the men stopped to set down the sacred chest, Moses said,
"Yahweh, stay close to the multiplied thousands of us Israelites!"
Chapter 11
1 One day the people complained to Yahweh about their troubles. When Yahweh heard what they were saying, he became angry. So he sent a fire that burned among the people at the edge of their camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to Yahweh. Then the fire stopped burning. 3 So they called that place Taberah, which means 'Burning,' because the fire from Yahweh had burned among them.
4 Then some troublemakers from other peoples who were traveling with the Israelites began to want better food. And when they started complaining, the Israelite people also started to complain. They said, "We wish we had some meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish that we ate while we were in Egypt, fish that was given to us without cost. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we could eat. 6 But now we have lost our appetite because all we have to eat is this manna!"
7 The manna resembled small white seeds. 8 Each morning the people would go out and gather some from the surface of the ground. Then they made flour by grinding it or pounding it with stones. Then they added water and boiled it in a pot, or they made flat cakes with it and baked them. The cakes tasted like bread that was baked with olive oil. 9 Each night the manna came down on the ground where their tents were, like dew from the sky.
10 Moses heard all the Israelite people complaining as they were standing in the entrances of their tents. Yahweh became extremely angry, and Moses was also disappointed. 11 He went into the sacred tent and asked Yahweh, "Why have you brought this trouble on me, your servant? Act mercifully to me! What wrong have I done, with the result that you have appointed me to take care of all of these people? 12 I am not their father. Why have you told me to take care of them like a woman carries around her baby and nurses it? How can I take them to the land that you promised to give to our ancestors? 13 Where can I get meat to feed to all these people? They keep complaining to me, saying, 'Give us some meat to eat!' 14 I cannot carry all these people's burdens by myself! They are like a heavy load to me, and I cannot carry this very heavy load anymore. 15 If you intend to act like this toward me, kill me now. If you are really concerned about me, be kind to me and kill me to end my misery of trying to take care of them!"
16 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Summon seventy men whom you know are leaders among the Israelite people. Tell them to stand with you in front of the sacred tent. 17 I will come down and talk with you there. Then I will take some of the power of my Spirit that you have, and I will put that power on them also. They will help you to take care of some of the things that the people are concerned about, in order that you will not need to do it alone.
18 Furthermore, say to the people, 'Make yourselves acceptable to me, and tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You were complaining, and Yahweh heard you when you were saying, "We want some meat to eat. We had better food in Egypt!" Now Yahweh will give you some meat, and you will eat it. 19 You will eat meat not only for one or two days, or only for five or ten or twenty days. 20 You will eat meat every day for one month, and then you will loathe it, and it will cause you to want to vomit. This will happen because you have rejected Yahweh who is here among you, and you have wailed in his presence, saying "We would have had better food to eat if we had not left Egypt."'"
21 But Moses replied to Yahweh, "There are six hundred thousand men plus women and children here with me, so why do you say 'I will give them plenty of meat every day for a month!'? 22 Even if we killed all the sheep and cattle, that would not be enough to provide meat for all of them! Even if we caught all the fish in the sea and gave it to them, that would not be enough!" 23 But Yahweh said to Moses, "Do you think that I have no power? You will now see if I can do what I say I will do."
24 So Moses went out from the sacred tent and told the people what Yahweh had said. Then he gathered together the seventy leaders and told them to stand around the sacred tent.
25 Then Yahweh came down in the cloud that was above the tent and spoke to Moses. He took some of the power of the Spirit that he had given to Moses and gave it to the seventy leaders. By means of the power of the Spirit within them, they prophesied, but they did that only once.
26 Two of the leaders whom Moses appointed, Eldad and Medad, were not there when the rest of them gathered together. They had not left their tents to go and stand around the sacred tent. But Yahweh's Spirit came on them also, and they started to prophesy. 27 So a young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying where all their tents are!"
28 Joshua, who had helped Moses since he was a young man, said, "Sir, tell them to stop doing that!"
29 But Moses replied, "Are you worried that they might injure my reputation? I wish that all Yahweh's people could prophesy. I wish that Yahweh would give the power of his Spirit to all of them!" 30 Then Moses and all the leaders went back to their tents.
31 Then Yahweh sent a strong wind from the sea. It blew quail into the area all around the camp, and caused the quail to fall onto the ground. They were piled up on the ground a meter high! 32 So the people went out and gathered up the quail all that day, and all that night, and all of the following day. No one gathered less than 2,200 liters of quail! They spread the quail out on the ground all around the camp, so that the quail would lose their moisture. 33 Then they cooked them and started to eat them. But while they were still eating the meat, Yahweh showed that he was very angry with them. He sent a severe plague on them, and many people died. 34 The people who died and were buried were the ones who had said they wanted to eat meat like they had formerly eaten in Egypt. So they called that place Kibroth Hattaavah, which means 'graves of those who craved.'
35 From there, the Israelites continued walking east until they arrived at Hazeroth, where they stopped and stayed for a long time.
Chapter 12
1-2 Moses's older sister Miriam and his older brother Aaron were jealous of Moses and said, "Is Moses the only one to whom Yahweh has spoken messages to tell to us? Does Yahweh not speak messages through us two also?" They also criticized Moses because he had married a woman who was a descendant of the Cush people. And Yahweh heard Miriam and Aaron complaining about Moses.
3 The truth was that Moses was a very humble person. He was more humble than anyone else on the earth.
4 So immediately Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam. He said, "All three of you must go and stand at the sacred tent." So they did that. 5 Then Yahweh descended to the entrance of the tent in a cloud that resembled a huge white pillar. He told Aaron and Miriam to step forward, so they did. 6 Then he said to them,
"Listen to me!
When a prophet is among you,
I usually reveal myself to him by allowing him to see visions,
and I speak to him in dreams.
7 But that is not the way I speak to my servant Moses.
I trust that he will lead my people well.
8 So I talk to him face to face.
I speak to him clearly, not using parables.
He has even seen what I look like.
So you should be afraid to criticize my servant Moses!"
9 Yahweh was very angry with Miriam and Aaron, and he left.
10 When the cloud rose up from the sacred tent, Aaron looked at Miriam, and he saw that her skin was as white as snow because she now had leprosy. 11 Aaron said to Moses, "My master, please do not punish us for this sin that we have foolishly committed. 12 Do not allow Miriam to be like a baby that is already dead when it is born, whose flesh is already half decayed!"
13 So Moses cried out to Yahweh, saying, "God, I plead with you to heal her!"
14 But Yahweh replied, "If her father had rebuked her for doing something wrong by spitting in her face, she would have been ashamed for seven days. She should be ashamed because of what she has done. So send her outside the camp for seven days. Then she will not have leprosy anymore, and she may return to the camp." 15 So they sent her outside the camp for seven days. The people did not move to another location until she returned.
16 But after she returned, they left Hazeroth and moved north in the Paran Desert and set up their tents there.
Chapter 13
1 Yahweh said to Moses, 2 "Send some men to Canaan to explore it. That is the land that I will give to you Israelites. Send men who are leaders in their tribes."
3 So Moses did what Yahweh commanded him. He sent out twelve Israelite men who were all leaders of their tribes. He sent them from their camp at Paran in the desert. 4 These are the names of the men and the tribes they belonged to:
Shammua son of Zaccur, from the tribe of Reuben;
5 Shaphat son of Hori, from the tribe of Simeon;
6 Caleb son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah;
7 Igal son of Joseph, from the tribe of Issachar;
8 Hoshea the son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim;
9 Palti son of Raphu, from the tribe of Benjamin;
10 Gaddiel son of Sodi, from the tribe of Zebulun;
11 Gaddi son of Susi, from the tribe of Joseph's descendent Manasseh;
12 Ammiel the son of Gemalli, from the tribe of Dan;
13 Sethur son of Michael, from the tribe of Asher;
14 Nahbi son of Vophsi, from the tribe of Naphtali;
15 and Geuel son of Maki, from the tribe of Gad.
16 Those are the names of the men whom Moses sent out to explore Canaan. Before they left, Moses gave Hoshea a new name, Joshua, which means 'Yahweh is the one who saves.'
17 Before Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said to them, "Go through the southern Judean wilderness, and then go north into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like. See if the people who live there are strong or weak. See if there are many people or only a few people. 19 Find out what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Find out about the towns in which they live. Do they have walls around them or not? 20 Find out about the soil. Is it fertile or not? Find out if there are trees there. Try to bring back some of the fruit that grows in that land." He said that because it was the beginning of the time to harvest grapes.
21 So those men went to Canaan. They went through the entire land, from the wilderness of Zin in the south all the way to the city of Rehob near Lebo Hamath in the north. 22 In the southern Judean wilderness, they went to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, huge men descended from Anak, lived. Hebron was a city that was built seven years before the city of Zoan was built in Egypt. 23 In one valley, they cut from a grapevine one cluster of grapes. Because it was very large, they needed two men to carry it on a pole. They also picked some pomegranates and some figs to carry back to their camp. 24 They called that place Eshcol which means 'cluster' because they had cut that huge cluster of grapes there. 25 After they explored the land for forty days, they returned to their camp.
26 They came to Aaron and Moses and the rest of the Israelite people in the wilderness at Paran. They reported to everyone what they had seen. They also showed them the fruit that they had brought back. 27 But this is what they reported to Moses: "We arrived in the land that you sent us to explore. It is truly a beautiful land. It is a very fertile land. Here is some of the fruit. 28 But the people who live there are very strong. Their cities are large and are surrounded by walls. We even saw some of the huge descendants of Anak there. 29 The descendants of Amalek live in the southern part of the land, and the descendants of Heth, Jebus, and Amor live in the hill country to the north. The descendants of Canaan live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan River."
30 Caleb told the people who were standing near Moses to be quiet. Then he said, "We should go there and take the land because we are certainly able to conquer it!"
31 But the men who had gone with him said, "No, we cannot attack and defeat those people. They are much stronger than we are!" 32 So those men gave to the Israelite people a bad report about the land that they had explored. They said, "The land that we explored destroys the life of those who try to attack it. And all the people living there are very tall. 33 We also saw giants there. They are the descendants of Anak (who come from the Nephilim, those giant people). When we saw these giants, we felt as small as grasshoppers and they thought that we looked like grasshoppers too."
Chapter 14
1 That night, all the Israelite people cried loudly. 2 The next day they all complained against Aaron and Moses. All the men said, "We wish that we had died in Egypt, or in this wilderness! 3 Why is Yahweh bringing us to this land, where we will be killed with swords? And they will take away our wives and children to be their slaves. Instead of going to Canaan, it would be better for us to return to Egypt!" 4 Then some of them said to each other, "We should choose a leader who will take us back to Egypt!"
5 Then Aaron and Moses bowed down to pray in front of all the Israelite people who had gathered there. 6 Joshua and Caleb, two of the men who had explored the land, tore their clothes because they were very dismayed. 7 They said to the Israelite people, "The land that we explored is very good. 8 If Yahweh is pleased with us, he will lead us into that very fertile land, and he will give it to us. 9 So do not rebel against Yahweh! And do not be afraid of the people in that land! We will gobble them up! They do not have anyone who will protect them, but Yahweh will be with us and help us. So do not be afraid of them!"
10 Then all the Israelite people talked about killing Caleb and Joshua by throwing stones at them. But suddenly Yahweh's glory appeared to them at the sacred tent. 11 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "How long will these people reject me? I am tired of them not believing in what I can do, in spite of all the miracles I have performed among them. 12 So I will send a plague among them and get rid of them. But I will cause your descendants to become a great nation. They will be a nation that is much greater and stronger than these people are."
13 But Moses replied to Yahweh, "Please do not do that, because the people of Egypt will hear about it! You brought these Israelite people from Egypt by your great power, 14 and the people of Egypt will tell that to the descendants of Canaan who live in this land. Yahweh, they have already heard about you. They know that you have been with these people and that they have seen you face to face. They have heard that your cloud is like a huge pillar that stays over them, and by that cloud you lead them during the day, and that the cloud becomes like a fire at night to give them light. 15 If you kill these people all at one time, the peoples who have heard about your power will say, 16 'Yahweh was not able to bring them into the land that he promised to give to them, so he killed them in the wilderness.'
17 So Yahweh, now show that you are very powerful. You said, 18 'I do not quickly become angry. Instead, I love people greatly, and I forgive people for having sinned and having disobeyed my laws. But I will always punish people who are guilty of doing what is wrong. When parents sin, I will punish them, but I will also punish their children and their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren and their great-great-grandchildren.' 19 So, because you love your people with a great covenant loyalty, forgive these people for the sins that they have committed, just like you have continued to forgive them ever since they left Egypt."
20 Then Yahweh replied, "I have forgiven them, as you requested me to. 21 But, just as certainly as I live and that people all over the world can see my glory, I solemnly declare that 22 all these people saw my glory and all the miracles that I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, but they disobeyed me, and many times they tested whether they could continue to do evil things without my punishing them. 23 Because of that, not one of them will see the land that I promised their ancestors that I would give to them. No one who rejected me will see that land. 24 But Caleb, who serves me well, is different from the others. He obeys me completely. So I will bring him into that land that he has already seen, and his descendants will inherit some of it. 25 So, since the descendants of Amalek and Canaan who are living in the valleys in Canaan are very strong, when you leave here tomorrow, instead of traveling toward Canaan, go back along the road through the wilderness toward the Sea of Reeds."
26 Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses, 27 "How long will the wicked people of this nation keep complaining about me? I have heard everything that they have grumbled against me. 28 So now tell them this: 'Just as certainly as I, Yahweh, live, I will do exactly what you said would happen. 29 I will cause all of you to die here in this wilderness! Because you grumbled against me, none of you who are more than twenty years old and who were counted when Moses counted everyone 30 will enter the land that I solemnly promised to give to you. Only Caleb and Joshua will enter that land. 31 You said that your children would be taken from you to become slaves, but I will take them into the land, and they will enjoy living in the land that you rejected. 32 But as for you adults, you will die here in this wilderness. 33 Your children will wander around in this wilderness as shepherds for forty years. Because you adults were not loyal to me, your children will suffer until you all die in the wilderness. 34 You will suffer for your sins for forty years. That will be one year for each of the forty days that the twelve men explored the land of Canaan. And I will be like an enemy to you. 35 This will certainly happen because I, Yahweh, have said it! I will do these things to everyone in this group who has plotted against me. They will all die right here in this wilderness!'"
36-37 Then Yahweh attacked the ten men who had discouraged the people, so that they died. These were the men who had explored Canaan and then told the people that they would not be able to take over the land. It was because of the men that the people spoke against Moses. 38 Of the twelve men who had explored Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.
39 When Moses reported to the Israelite people what Yahweh had said, many of them were very sad. 40 So the people got up early the next morning and started to go toward the hill country in Canaan. They said, "We know that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land that Yahweh promised to give to us."
41 But Moses said, "Yahweh commanded you to return to the desert, so why are you now disobeying him? It will not succeed. 42 Do not try to enter the land now! If you try, your enemies will defeat you because Yahweh will not be with you. 43 When you begin to fight the descendants of Amalek and Canaan, they will slaughter you! Yahweh will abandon you because you have abandoned him."
44 But even though Moses did not leave the camp, and the sacred chest that contained the Ten Commandments was not taken from the camp, the people began to go toward the hill country in Canaan. 45 Then the descendants of Amalek and Canaan who lived in those hills came down and attacked them; they chased them as far south as Hormah.
Chapter 15
1 Then Yahweh told Moses, 2 "Tell this to the Israelite people, 'When you arrive in the land that I am giving to you, 3 you must offer to me special sacrifices that will be pleasing to me when the priest burns them on the altar. Some of them may be offerings that will be completely burned on the altar. Some of them may be to indicate that you have made a solemn promise to me. Some of them may be offerings that you yourselves have decided to make. Some of them may be offerings at one of the festivals that you celebrate each year. These offerings may be taken from your herds of cattle or from your flocks of sheep and goats. 4 When you give these offerings, you must also bring to me a flour offering of about two liters of good flour mixed with about a liter of olive oil. 5 When you offer a young ram or goat for the sacrifice that will be completely burned up, or when you offer as a sacrifice of every young lamb, you should prepare a liter of wine to be used as a drink offering.
6 When you offer a ram to be a sacrifice, you must also bring an offering of about three and four-fifths liters of finely ground flour mixed with about one and one-quarter liters of olive oil. 7 And also pour on the altar about one and one-fifth liters of wine. While they are being burned, the smell of it will be very pleasing to me.
8 Sometimes you will offer a young bull to be completely burned on the altar. Sometimes you will offer a sacrifice to indicate that you have made a solemn promise to me. Sometimes you will offer a sacrifice to restore fellowship with me. 9 When you offer these sacrifices, you must also offer a flour offering of about six and one-half liters of finely ground flour mixed with about two liters of olive oil. 10 Also pour on the altar two quarts of wine to be an offering. While those special gifts are being burned, the smell from it will be very pleasing to me. 11 Each time someone offers a bull or a ram or a male lamb or young goat to be a sacrifice, it must be done that way. 12 You must obey these instructions for each animal that you bring to me for an offering.
13 All of you people who have been Israelites all of your lives must obey these regulations when you offer sacrifices that will be pleasing to me when they are burned on the altar. 14 If any foreigners visit you or live among you, if they also want to bring a sacrifice that will be pleasing to me when it is burned on the altar, they must obey these same instructions. 15 I consider that those who have always been Israelites and those who are foreigners are equal, and so they must all obey the same instructions. All of your descendants must also continue to obey these instructions of mine. 16 You Israelites and the foreigners who live among you must all obey the same instructions.'"
17 Yahweh also said to Moses, 18 "Tell these instructions to the Israelite people, 'When you arrive in the land to which I am taking you, 19 and you eat the crops that are growing there, you must set some of them aside to be a sacred offering to me, and present them to me. 20 Each year set aside some of the first grain that you gather after you have threshed it. Bake a loaf of bread from the first flour that you grind and present it before me as a sacred offering. 21 Every year, you and your descendants must continue to make and present to me a loaf of bread baked with flour from the first part of the grain that you harvest.
22 There may be times when you Israelites do not obey all these instructions that I have given to Moses to tell you, but not because you intended to disobey them. 23 There may be times when some of your descendants do not obey all these instructions that I have given to Moses to tell to you. 24 If you or they sin by forgetting to obey these instructions and none of the Israelite people realize that they were doing that, one young bull as an offering for all the people must be brought to the priest. That will be pleasing to me when it is burned on the altar. They must also bring to me a flour offering and an offering of wine, and a male goat to be sacrificed to remove the guilt of their sin. 25 By offering these sacrifices, the priest will make atonement for all of you Israelite people. Then, as a result of their bringing to me an offering to be burned on the altar, you will be forgiven because you sinned without realizing that you were sinning. 26 You Israelite people, and the foreigners who are living among you, will all be forgiven.
27 If one person commits a sin without realizing that he was sinning, that person must bring to me a female goat to be an offering to take away that person's guilt for that sin. 28 The priest will offer it to be a sacrifice to remove the guilt of that person's sin, and that person will be forgiven. 29 You Israelites and all the foreigners who live among you must obey these same instructions.
30 But those who disobey my commands deliberately, both Israelites and the foreigners who live among you, have sinned against me by doing that. So they must be expelled from your camp. 31 They have despised my commands and deliberately disobeyed them, so they must be punished for their sin by never being allowed to live among you again.'"
32 One day, while the Israelites were in the wilderness, some of them saw a man who was gathering firewood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who saw him doing that brought him to Aaron and Moses and the rest of the Israelite people. 34 They guarded him carefully because they did not know what to do to punish him. 35 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "The man must be executed. All of you must kill him by throwing stones at him outside the camp." 36 So they all took the man outside the camp and killed him by throwing stones at him, as Yahweh had commanded Moses that they should do.
37 Yahweh also said to Moses, 38 "Tell this to the Israelite people: 'You and all your descendants must twist threads together to make tassels, and then attach them with blue cords to the bottom edges of your clothes. 39 When you look at the tassels, you will remember all the instructions that I gave to you, and you will obey them. In that way, you will not be unfaithful to me. You will not be like an unfaithful prostitute who does the shameful things that she looks at and desires to do. 40 Seeing those tassels will help you to remember that you must obey all my commands and that you must be my holy people. 41 Do not forget that I am Yahweh, your God. I am the one who brought you out of Egypt in order that you might belong to me. I am Yahweh, your God.'"
Chapter 16
1 One day Korah, son of Izhar and a descendant of Levi's son Kohath, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, who were the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth. They were all from the tribe of Reuben. 2 Those four men incited 250 other people who were leaders among the Israelite people to join them in rebelling against Moses. 3 They came together to criticize Aaron and Moses. They said to them, "You two are using more authority than you should! Yahweh has set apart all of us Israelite people, and he is with all of us. So why do you act as though you were more important than the rest of us people who belong to Yahweh?"
4 When Moses heard what they were saying, he prostrated himself on the ground. 5 Then he said to Korah and those who were with Korah, "Tomorrow morning Yahweh will show to us whom he has chosen to be his priest, and who is holy and allowed to come near to him. Yahweh will permit only those whom he chooses to come into his presence. 6 So Korah, tomorrow you and those who are with you must prepare your pans to burn incense. 7 Then you must light a fire in them and burn the incense in the presence of Yahweh. Then we will see which one of us Yahweh has chosen to be his holy servant. It is you men who are descendants of Levi who are trying to use more authority than you should!"
8 Then Moses spoke again to Korah. He said, "You men who are descendants of Levi, listen to me! 9 You know that Yahweh, the God of Israel, has chosen you Levites from the community of Israel so you can work for him at his sacred tent and serve the people. Does that seem to you like a small thing for you to do? 10 Yahweh has brought you, Korah, and your fellow descendants of Levi, near to himself. Now are you demanding to become priests also? 11 It is really Yahweh against whom you and your fellow descendants of Levi are rebelling. Aaron is not the one about whom you are really complaining."
12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, but they refused to come. They sent a message saying, "We will not come to you! 13 You brought us out of Egypt, which was a very fertile land, in order to cause us to die here in this desert. That was bad. But now you are also trying to boss us, and that is worse. 14 You have not given us a new land to live in, a land that has good fields and vineyards. You are only trying to blind these people. So we will not come to you."
15 Then Moses became very angry. He said to Yahweh, "Do not accept the grain offerings that they have brought. I have not taken anything from them, not even one donkey, and I have never done anything wrong to them, so they have no reason to complain against me."
16 Then Moses said to Korah, "You and all those who are with you must come here tomorrow and stand in front of Yahweh. Aaron will also be here. 17 You and all the 250 men who are with you must each take a pan in which to burn incense, and put incense in it, to burn it to be an offering to Yahweh. Aaron will do the same thing."
18 So each of those men got a pan to burn incense. They put in it incense and hot coals to light it, and then they all stood at the entrance of the sacred tent with Aaron and Moses. 19 Then Korah summoned all the people who supported him and who were against Moses, and they also gathered at the entrance of the tent. Then the glory of Yahweh appeared to all of them. 20 Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses, 21 "Get away from all these people, in order that I can get rid of them immediately!"
22 But Aaron and Moses prostrated themselves on the ground. They pleaded with Yahweh, saying, "God, you are the one who caused all these people to live. Only one of these men has sinned. So, is it right for you to be angry with all the people?"
23 Yahweh said to Moses, 24 "Okay, but tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram."
25 So Moses stood up and went to the tents of Dathan and Abiram. The Israelite leaders followed him. 26 He told the people, "Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them! If you touch anything, you will die because of their sins!" 27 So all the people moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out of their tents with their wives and children and babies, and stood at the entrance of their tents.
28 Then Moses said, "I was not the one who decided to do all these things that I have done. It was Yahweh who chose me and sent me to do them. And now he will prove that to you. 29 If these men die in a normal way, then it will be clear that Yahweh did not choose me. 30 But if Yahweh does something that has never happened before, if he causes the ground that is under their feet to open up and swallow these men and their families and all their possessions, and they fall into the opening and are buried while they are still alive, then you will know that these men have insulted Yahweh."
31 As soon as Moses said this, the ground split open beneath those men. 32 It swallowed those men and their families and all those who were standing there with Korah and all of their possessions. 33 They fell into the opening in the ground while they were still alive, and all their possessions fell into the opening also. They disappeared, and the ground closed back up again. 34 They screamed as they fell, and all the people who were standing nearby heard them scream. The people were terrified and cried out as they ran away, saying, "We do not want the ground to swallow us, also!"
35 And then a fire from Yahweh came down from the sky and burned up the 250 men who were burning the incense!
36 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 37 "Tell Aaron's son Eleazar to take the pans that had incense in them away from the fire and to scatter the burning coals. The pans that those men were carrying are holy because they burned incense to me in them. 38 Those men have now died because of their sin. So Eleazar must take their pans and hammer the metal to make it become very thin. He must make a covering for the altar with that metal. Those pans were used to offer incense to me, so they are holy. What happened to those pans will now warn the Israelite people."
39-40 So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 pans for burning incense that had been used by the men who died in the fire. He hammered the pans very thin to make a covering for the altar, as Yahweh told Moses should be done. That warned the Israelites that only those who were descendants of Aaron were permitted to burn incense as an offering to Yahweh. If anyone else did that, the same thing would happen to him as happened to Korah and those with him.
41 But the following morning, all the Israelite people started to complain against Aaron and Moses, saying, "You have killed many people who belonged to Yahweh!"
42 When all the people gathered together to protest about what Aaron and Moses had done, they looked at the sacred tent and saw that the sacred cloud had covered it, and the glory of Yahweh had appeared. 43 Aaron and Moses went and stood in front of the sacred tent. 44 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 45 "Get away from these people, in order that I can get rid of them immediately without injuring you two!" But Aaron and Moses prostrated themselves on the ground and prayed.
46 Moses said to Aaron, "Quickly take another pan and put in it some burning coals from the altar. Put incense in the pan, and carry it out among the people to atone for the sins of the people. Yahweh is very angry with them, and I know that a severe plague has already started among them." 47 So Aaron did what Moses told him. He took the burning incense out among the people. The plague had already started to strike the people, but Aaron continued to burn the incense to make atonement for the sins of the people. 48 He stood between the people who had already died and those who were still alive, and then the plague stopped. 49 But 14,700 people had already died from that plague, in addition to the people who died with Korah. 50 Then after the plague had ended, Aaron and Moses returned to the entrance of the sacred tent.
Chapter 17
1 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelite people to bring to you twelve walking sticks. They should bring one from each of the leaders of the twelve tribes. You should carve each leader's name on his stick. 3 There must be one stick for the leader of each tribe, so you must carve Aaron's name on the stick for the tribe of Levi. 4 Put those walking sticks inside the sacred tent, in front of the sacred chest that has in it the tablets on which the Ten Commandments are written. That is the place where I always talk with you. 5 Buds will sprout on the stick of the man whom I have chosen to be the priest. When the people see that, they will stop their constant complaining about you because they will realize that he is the one whom I have chosen."
6 So Moses told the people what Yahweh had said. Then each of the twelve Israelite leaders, including Aaron, brought his walking stick to Moses. 7 Moses placed the sticks inside the sacred tent in front of the sacred chest.
8 The following morning, when he went into the tent, he saw that Aaron's stick, which represented the tribe of Levi, had sprouted. It had produced leaves and blossoms, and it had also produced almonds that were ripe! 9 Moses brought all the sticks out of the sacred tent and showed them to the people. Each of the twelve leaders took back his own stick.
10 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Put Aaron's stick in front of the sacred chest, and let it stay there permanently. That will be a warning to people who want to rebel against me. Then no more people will die because of complaining against me." 11 So Moses did what Yahweh had commanded.
12 Then the Israelite people said to Moses, "We are going to die! All of us are surely going to die! 13 Everyone who comes close to Yahweh's sacred tent dies. Are the rest of us going to die, also?"
Chapter 18
1 Yahweh said to Aaron, "You and your sons and the other members of your father's family are the ones who will be punished if anything bad happens to the things inside the sacred tent. And you and your sons will be punished if any priest does something bad. 2 Require that those who belong to your tribe, the tribe of Levi, must assist you and your sons while you perform your work at the sacred tent. 3 But while they do that work, they must not go near the sacred items inside the tent or near the altar. If they do that, they will die, and you will die, too! 4 They may assist you in doing all the work to take care of the sacred tent, but no one else is permitted to come near the place where you are working.
5 You are the ones who will do the sacred work inside the sacred tent and at the altar. If you obey these instructions, I will not become very angry with the Israelite people again. 6 I myself have chosen the descendants of Levi from the other Israelites in order that they may be your special helpers. They are like a gift that I have given you to work at the sacred tent. 7 But it is you and your sons, who are the priests, who must perform all the details I have commanded concerning the altar and with what happens inside the very holy place. I am giving to you this work of serving as priests. So anyone else who tries to do that work must be executed."
8 Yahweh also said to Aaron, "I myself have appointed you to take care of all the sacred offerings that the Israelite people bring to me. I have given all these sacred offerings to you and to your sons. You and your descendants will get a share of these offerings permanently. 9 The parts of the offerings that are not completely burned on the altar belong to you. Those parts of the sacred offerings, including the flour offerings and the offerings to make atonement for sins and to remove the guilt of sins, are set apart and are to be given to you and your sons. 10 You are to eat it as a most holy offering. Every male in your clan may eat it. But you must have respect for those offerings because they are holy to you.
11 The priests lift up high the sacred offerings while they are standing in front of the altar. All of those offerings that the Israelites present to me belong to you and your sons and daughters. They will always be your share. All the members of your family who have performed the rituals to cause them to be acceptable to me are permitted to eat from these offerings.
12 I am also giving to you the first food that people harvest each year and bring to me—the best olive oil and new wine and grain. 13 All of the first crops that people harvest and bring to me belong to you. Anyone in your family who has performed the ritual to become acceptable to me is permitted to eat that food.
14 Everything in Israel that is devoted to me will be yours. 15 The firstborn males, both humans and domestic animals, that are offered to me, will be yours. But people must buy back their firstborn sons and the firstborn animals that may not be used for sacrifices. 16 They must buy them back when they are one month old. The price that they must pay for each one is five pieces of silver. They must weigh the silver on the scales that are in the sacred tent.
17 But they are not permitted to buy back the firstborn cattle or sheep or goats. They are holy and have been set apart for me. Slaughter them and sprinkle their blood on the altar. Then completely burn the fat of those animals on the altar to be an offering to me. The smell as they burn will be very pleasing to me. 18 The meat from those offerings will be yours. The breasts of the offerings that the priests lifted high are yours; so also the right thighs of the animals that the priests offer, they also are yours. 19 Anything that the Israelite people present to me as holy gifts, I am giving to you. They are for you and your sons and daughters to eat. They will always be your share. This is an agreement that I am making with you, an agreement that will last forever. I am also making this agreement with your descendants."
20 Yahweh also said to Aaron, "You priests will not receive any of the land or the property like the other Israelite people will receive. I am what you will receive.
21 When the Israelite people bring to me a tenth of all the crops and of their newborn animals, I will give that to you descendants of Levi. That will be your payment for the work you do at the sacred tent. 22 The other Israelites must not go near that tent. If they go near it, I will consider their doing that is a sin, and they will die for committing that sin. 23 Only the descendants of Levi are permitted to work at the sacred tent, and they will be punished if anything bad happens to it. That is a law that will never be changed. You descendants of Levi will not receive any land to own among all the other Israelite people. 24 The Israelites must present one tenth of all their crops and animals as offerings to me, and that is what I give to the descendants of Levi so they can provide for themselves. This is why I said that I will not give the descendants of Levi any land to own.
25 Yahweh said to Moses, 26 "Tell this to the descendants of Levi, 'When you receive one tenth of all the crops and animals from the Israelite people, you must present one tenth of all that to me to be a sacred offering, 27 just like the other Israelites present one tenth of the grain and wine that they produce. 28 You must present to me one tenth of all that you receive from the Israelite people. That will be your sacred offering to me. You must present it to Aaron. 29 Select the best parts of the things that are given to you to present them to me.'
30 Also, tell this to the descendants of Levi, 'When you present those best portions of grain and wine as your offering to me, I will consider that those gifts are as though they came from your own grain and wine. 31 You descendants of Levi and your families are permitted to eat the rest of that food, and you may eat it wherever you want to because it is your payment for the work that you do at the sacred tent. 32 If you give to the priests the best portions of what you receive, you will not be punished by me for accepting one tenth of the gifts that the people bring to me. But you must consider those gifts to be sacred. If you sin by eating those things in ways that are contrary to these regulations that I have given to you, you will be executed.'"
Chapter 19
1 Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses, 2 "I am now giving to you another regulation. Tell the Israelite people to bring to you one reddish brown cow that has no defects. It must be an animal that has never been used for plowing ground. 3 Give it to Eleazar the priest. He must take it outside the camp and someone will slaughter it. 4 And Eleazar must dip one of his fingers in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times on the ground near the sacred tent. 5 Then, while Eleazar watches, the cow must be burned completely—its hide, its meat, the rest of its blood, and even its dung. 6 Eliezer then must take a stick of cedar wood, a stalk of a plant named hyssop, and some scarlet yarn, and throw them into the fire where the cow is burning.
7 Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe. After doing that, he may return to the camp. But he will be unfit for doing any sacred work until that evening. 8 The man who burns the cow must also wash his clothes and bathe, and he will also be unacceptable to me until that evening.
9 Then someone who has not become unacceptable to me must gather up the ashes of the cow and put them in a sacred place outside the camp. The ashes must be kept there for the people of Israel to use when they mix it with water for the ritual to remove the guilt of sin. 10 The man who gathers up the ashes of the cow must also wash his clothes, and he also will be unfit to do anymore sacred work until that evening. That is a regulation that will never be changed. It must be obeyed by you Israelite people and by any foreigners who live among you.
11 All those who touch a corpse will be unacceptable to me for seven days. 12 On the third day and on the seventh day after touching a corpse, in order to become acceptable to me again, they must sprinkle on themselves some of that water for removing the guilt of their sin. If they do not do that on both of those days, they will continue to be unacceptable to me. 13 All those who touch a corpse, and do not perform in the correct way the ritual to become acceptable to me again, defile Yahweh's sacred tent. They will no longer be permitted to live among the Israelite people. The water to remove the guilt of sin was not sprinkled on them, so they continue to be unacceptable to me.
14 There is another practice that must be performed when someone dies inside a tent. All those who were inside that tent when that person died or who enter that tent will be unacceptable to me for seven days. 15 Any jars that are inside that tent that are not covered are not permitted to be used. 16 If someone who is out in a field touches the corpse of someone who was murdered, or who died from natural causes, or if someone touches a bone from some human or touches a grave, that person will be unacceptable to me for seven days.
17 For someone like that to become acceptable to me again, some of the ashes from the cow that was burned must be taken and put in a jar. Then some fresh water must be poured over the ashes. 18 Then someone who has not become unacceptable to me must take a stalk of a plant named hyssop and dip it into the water. Then that person must sprinkle some of the water on the tent where that person died, on the things that are in the tent, and on the people who were in the tent. He must also sprinkle some of that water on any person who touched a human bone or who touched a person who had been killed, or who touched a person who died of natural causes, or who touched a grave. 19 On the third day and on the seventh day after that, the person who is acceptable to me must sprinkle some of that water on those who have become unacceptable to me. On the seventh day, the people who are performing that ritual to become acceptable to me again must wash their clothes and bathe. If they do that, on that evening they will become acceptable to me again.
20 If those who have become unacceptable to me do not become acceptable to me again by doing this, they will no longer be permitted to live among to the Israelite people, because they have defiled my sacred tent. They did not sprinkle on themselves the water that removes the guilt of their sins, so they remain unacceptable to me. 21 That is a law for the Israelite people that will never be changed. Those who sprinkle that water on themselves must then wash their clothes. And anyone who touches that water which removes guilt for sins will remain unacceptable to God until that evening.
22 Anything and any person that someone who has become unacceptable to me has touched will remain unacceptable to me until that evening."
Chapter 20
1 In the first month of the next year, the Israelite people traveled to the wilderness of Zin and camped near Kadesh. While they were there, Moses's sister Miriam died and was buried there.
2 There was no water for the people to drink there, so they came to Aaron and Moses. 3 They complained and said, "We wish that we had died in front of Yahweh's sacred tent when our fellow Israelites died! 4 Did you bring us, who are Yahweh's people, into this desert to die along with our livestock? 5 Why did you bring us from Egypt to this miserable place? There is no grain, there are no figs, no grapes, and no pomegranates here. And there is no water for us to drink!"
6 Moses and Aaron turned away from the people and went to the entrance of the sacred tent and prostrated themselves on the ground. Just then Yahweh appeared to them with his bright glory. 7 When Yahweh appeared in glory, he said, 8 "You and Aaron must take Aaron's walking stick with you and gather all the people together. While the people are watching, command that large rock over there to pour out water. Water for the people will flow from it. All they and all their livestock will have enough water to drink."
9 So Moses did what Yahweh told him to do. He took Aaron's walking stick from the place in the sacred tent where it was kept. 10 Then Moses and Aaron summoned all the people to gather at the rock. Then Moses shouted to them, "All you rebellious people, listen! Is it necessary for us to bring to you water from this rock?" 11 Then Moses raised his hand and instead of speaking to the rock, he struck the rock two times with the walking stick. And water gushed out. So all the people and their livestock drank all the water that they wanted.
12 But Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses, "You did not trust me or honor me before the people of Israel, and so you will not lead them into the land I have given to them!"
13 Later this place was called Meribah, which means 'arguing,' because there the Israelite people argued against Yahweh, and there he showed his honor and holiness to them by giving them water.
14 While the people were at Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom to tell him this,
"Your relatives, the Israelite people, are sending you this message. You know the many troubles that have happened to us. 15 You know that our ancestors went down to Egypt. You know that they stayed there for many years. They suffered because the rulers of Egypt caused them to become their slaves and to work very hard.
16 But when they called out to Yahweh, he heard them and sent an angel who brought them out of Egypt. Now we have set up our tents here at Kadesh, a town on the border of your land. 17 Please allow us to travel through your country. We will be careful to not walk through your fields and your vineyards. We will not even drink water from your wells. As we travel, we will stay on the king's highway, the main road that goes from the south to the north, and we will not leave that road until we have crossed the border of your country in the north."
18 But the king of Edom refused. He replied, "Stay out of my country! If you try to enter it, I will send my army to attack you!"
19 The Israelite messengers replied, "If we travel through your country, we will stay on the main road. If we and any of our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We want only to travel through your country. We do not want anything else."
20 But the king replied, "No! Stay out of our country! We will not allow you to travel through our land!" Then he sent the strongest soldiers in his army to prevent the Israelites from entering his country.
21 So, because the king of Edom refused to allow the Israelites to travel through his country, the Israelites turned and traveled a different way.
22 The Israelite people left Kadesh. They went to Mount Hor, 23 which is at the border of Edom. While they were there, Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses, 24 "It is time for Aaron to die. He will not enter the land that I am giving to you Israelites, because the two of you disobeyed me when I told you to speak to the rock to cause the water to flow at Meribah. 25 Now you, Moses, take Aaron and his son Eleazar up on Mount Hor. 26 There you must remove Aaron's clothes that he wears when he does the work of a priest, and put them on his son, Eleazar. Aaron will die up there."
27 So Moses did what Yahweh commanded. The three of them climbed up Mount Hor, while all the Israelite people watched. 28 At the top of the mountain, Moses took off the clothes that Aaron wore while he did the work of a priest and put them on Eleazar. Then Aaron died there on the top of the mountain, and Eleazar and Moses went back down. 29 When the Israelite people realized that Aaron had died, they all mourned for him for thirty days.
Chapter 21
1 The king of the city of Arad lived in the area where the Canaanites lived, in the southern Judean wilderness. He heard a report that the Israelites were approaching on the road to Atharim village. So his army attacked the Israelites and captured some of them. 2 Then the Israelites declared this solemnly, "Yahweh, if you will help us to defeat these people, we will completely destroy all their towns." 3 Yahweh heard what they requested, and he enabled them to defeat the army of this Canaanite people. The Israelite soldiers killed all the people and destroyed their towns. Ever since that time, that place has been called Hormah, which means "destruction."
4 Then the Israelites left Mount Hor and traveled on the road toward the Sea of Reeds, in order to go around the land of Edom. But the people became impatient along the way, 5 and they began to grumble against God and against Moses. They said, "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in this desert? There is nothing to eat here, and nothing to drink. And we detest this lousy manna food!"
6 So Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among them. Many of the people were bitten by the snakes and died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and cried out, saying, "We now know that we have sinned against Yahweh and against you. Pray to Yahweh, asking that he will take away the snakes!" So Moses prayed for the people.
8 Then Yahweh told him, "Make a model of a poisonous snake, and attach it to the top of a pole. If those who are bitten by the snakes look at that model, they will recover." 9 So Moses made a snake from bronze and attached it to the top of a pole. Then, when those who had been bitten by a snake looked at the bronze snake, they recovered!
10 Then the Israelites traveled to Oboth and camped there. 11 Then they left Oboth and went to Iye Abarim in the wilderness on the eastern border of Moab. 12 From there they traveled to the valley where the Zered riverbed is, and camped there. 13 Then they traveled to the north side of the Arnon River. That area is in the wilderness next to the land where the Amorites live. The Arnon River is the boundary between Moab and where the Amorites live. 14 That is why it is written down in the book of the wars of Yahweh,
"Waheb in Suphah, and the ravines there,
and the Arnon River
15 and the ravines there,
which extend as far as Ar village on the border of Moab."
16 From there the Israelites traveled to Beer. There was a well there where Yahweh previously had said to Moses, "Gather the people together, and I will give them water." 17 There the Israelites sang this song:
"O well, give us water!
Sing about this well!
18 Sing about this well
that our leaders dug;
they dug out the dirt with their royal scepters and their walking sticks."
Then the Israelites left that wilderness and went through Mattanah. 19 The Israelites also went through Nahaliel, and Bamoth village. 20 Then they went to the valley in Moab where Mount Pisgah rises above the wilderness.
21 Then the Israelites sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amor people. This was the message that they gave him:
22 "Allow us to travel through your country. We will stay on the king's highway, the main road that goes from the south to the north, until we have finished traveling through your land. We will not walk through any field or vineyard, or drink water from your wells."
23 But King Sihon refused. He would not allow them to walk through his land. Instead, he sent his whole army to attack the Israelites in the desert. They attacked the Israelites at Jahaz village. 24 But the Israelites completely defeated them and occupied their land, from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north. They stopped at the border of the land where the Ammon people lived because the Ammon army was defending the border strongly. 25 So the Israelites occupied all the cities and towns where the Amorites lived, and some of the Israelites began to live in them. They occupied the city of Heshbon and the nearby villages. 26 Heshbon was the capital of the country. It was the city where King Sihon ruled. His army had previously defeated the army of the king of Moab, and then his people had begun to live in all of the land of Moab as far as the Arnon River in the south.
27 For that reason, one of the poets wrote long ago,
"Come to Heshbon, the city where King Sihon ruled.
We want the city to be restored.
28 A fire blazed from Heshbon.
It burned down the city of Ar in Moab.
It destroyed everything on the hills along the Arnon River.
29 You people of Moab, terrible things have happened to you!
You people who worship your god Chemosh have been annihilated!
The men who worshiped Chemosh have run away and are now refugees,
and the women who worshiped him have been captured by the army of Sihon, the king of the Amor people.
30 But we have defeated those descendants of Amor,
all the way from Heshbon in the north to the city of Dibon in the south.
We have completely obliterated them as far as the cities of Nophah and Medeba."
31 So the Israelite people began to live in the land where the Amorites lived.
32 After Moses sent some men to explore the area near the city of Jazer, Israelite people began to live in all the towns in that region and expelled the Amor people who lived there. 33 Then they turned north toward the region of Bashan, but King Og of Bashan and all his army attacked them at the city of Edrei.
34 Yahweh said to Moses, "Do not be afraid of Og, because I am going to enable your men to defeat him and his army, and to take possession of all his land. You will do to him what you did to Sihon, the king of the Amor people, who ruled in Heshbon."
35 And that is what happened. The Israelites defeated Og's army, and killed King Og and his sons and all his people. Not a person survived! And then the Israelites began to live in their land.
Chapter 22
1 Then the Israelites traveled west to the plain of Moab that was in the Valley of the Jordan River, across the river from Jericho.
2 But King Balak son of Zippor, who ruled Moab, found out what the Israelites had done to the Amor people. 3 When he saw that the Israelites were very numerous, he and his people became terrified.
4 So the king of Moab went to the leaders of the Midian people and said to them, "This huge group of Israelites will wipe out everything around them, like an ox devours grass!"
Balak was the king of Moab. 5 He sent messengers to a prophet named Balaam, who was living in his own area, in Pethor, near the Euphrates River. He sent this message to request that Balaam would come to help him:
"A huge group of people has arrived here from Egypt. It looks like they are covering the entire land! And they have begun to live close to us. 6 Because they are very powerful, we are afraid of them. So please come and curse them for me. Then my army may be able to defeat them and expel them from the land where they are now living. I know that good things will happen to the people whom you bless, and disasters will happen to the people whom you curse."
7 Balak's messengers, who were leaders of both the Moab and Midian peoples, took money with them to pay Balaam in order that he would come and curse the Israelites. They went to Balaam and told him what Balak had said.
8 Balaam said, "Stay here tonight. Tomorrow morning I will tell you whatever Yahweh tells me that I should say to you."
So the leaders from Moab stayed there that night. 9 During the night, God appeared to Balaam and asked him, "Who are these men who are staying with you?"
10 Balaam replied, "Balak, the king of Moab, sent these men to tell me this message, 11 'A huge group of people has come from Egypt, and they have spread all over this area. Please come immediately to curse them. Then I may be able to defeat them and expel them from this area.'"
12 God replied to Balaam, "Do not go with them! I have blessed those people, so you must not curse them!"
13 The next morning, Balaam got up and told Balak's men, "Go back home. But go by yourselves because Yahweh is not allowing me to go with you."
14 So the men from Moab returned to King Balak and they reported to him, "Balaam refused to come with us."
15 But Balak sent another group of leaders to Balaam. It was a group that was larger and they were more important than the men in the first group. 16 They went to Balaam and told him this,
"This is what King Balak says, 'Please do not allow anything to hinder you from coming here. 17 I will pay you a lot of money if you come, and I will do anything that you ask me to do. Just come and curse these Israelite people for me!'"
18 But Balaam answered them, "Even if Balak would give me a palace filled with silver and gold, I would not do anything to disobey Yahweh, my God. 19 But stay here one more night, like the other messengers did, and I will find out if Yahweh has anything more to say to me."
20 That night God appeared to Balaam again and said to him, "These men have come to request that you go back with them, so you may go with them, but do only what I tell you to do!"
21 So the next morning, Balaam put a saddle on his donkey and he departed with two of his servants along with the men from Moab. 22 Even though God had given Balaam permission to go, he was still angry. So he sent one of his angels to Balaam. This angel stood in the road to block Balaam's path. As Balaam and the two servants were riding on their donkeys, 23 Balaam's donkey saw the angel. The angel was standing in the road and was holding a sword in his hand, but Balaam did not see him.
Balaam's donkey turned off the road into a field. So Balaam struck the donkey and forced it to go back onto the road. 24 Then the angel stood in a place where the road was very narrow, between two vineyards, with walls on each side of the road. 25 When the donkey saw the angel standing there, it walked very close to the wall to try to get past the angel. As a result, it bashed Balaam's foot against the wall. So Balaam struck the donkey again.
26 Then the angel went further along the road and stood at a place that was extremely narrow, with the result that the donkey could not get past at all. 27 This time, when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down on the ground with Balaam sitting on top of it. Balaam became extremely angry, and he struck the donkey again with his walking stick. 28 Then Yahweh enabled the donkey to speak! It said to Balaam, "What bad thing have I done to you that caused you to strike me three times?"
29 Balaam shouted, "I struck you because you have caused me to appear to be foolish! If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!"
30 But the donkey answered, "I am your own donkey, the one that you have always ridden! Have I ever done anything like this previously?"
Balaam said, "No."
31 Then Yahweh enabled Balaam to see the angel standing on the road, holding a sword in his hand. Balaam realized that it was an angel and prostrated himself on the ground in front of the angel.
32 The angel asked him, "Why did you strike your donkey three times? I have come to block your path because what you are planning to do is wrong. 33 Three times your donkey saw me and turned away from me. If it had not done that, I would certainly have killed you already, but I would have allowed the donkey to live."
34 Then Balaam said to the angel, "I have sinned. But I did not realize that you were standing there, trying to block my path. So if you do not want me to continue going, I will return home."
35 But the angel replied, "I will allow you to go with these men, but you must say only what I tell you to say!"
So Balaam went on with the leaders whom Balak had sent.
36 When King Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went to meet him at a city in Moab that is located alongside the Arnon River, near the border of his own land. 37 When he arrived where Balaam was, he said to him, "I sent you a message saying that you should come immediately! Why did you not come? Did you think that I was not able to pay you a lot of money for coming?"
38 Balaam replied, "I have come here now, but I am not able to say anything that I want to. I will say only the words that God tells me to say."
39 Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. 40 There Balak killed some cattle and sheep as sacrifices, and offered parts of the meat to Balaam and the leaders who were with him. 41 They slept there, and the next morning Balak took Balaam part way up the mountain to Bamoth Baal village. From there, they could see some of the Israelite people who were down below.
Chapter 23
1 Balaam said to King Balak, "Build here seven altars for me. Then kill seven young bulls and seven rams for a sacrifice." 2 So Balak did that. And then he and Balaam each burned a young bull and a ram as a sacrifice on each altar.
3 Then Balaam said to Balak, "You stand here close to your burned offerings, and I will go and ask Yahweh if he has something else to tell me. Then I will tell you what he says to me."
Then Balaam went by himself to the top of a hill. 4 While he was on the top of the hill, God appeared to him there. Balaam said to him, "We have built seven altars, and I have killed and burned a young bull and a ram as a sacrifice to you on each altar."
5 Then Yahweh gave Balaam a message to give to King Balak. Then he said, "Go back and tell him what I told you."
6 When Balaam returned to Balak, Balak was standing with the leaders from Moab beside the offerings he had burned on the altar. 7 This is the message that Balaam told them,
"Balak summoned me to come here from Aram;
the king of Moab brought me here from the hills at the eastern side of Aram.
He said, 'Come and curse the descendants of Jacob for me!
Come and say that bad things will happen to these Israelite people!'
8 But how can I curse people whom God has not cursed?
How can I fight against people against whom Yahweh does not fight?
9 I have seen them from the tops of the rocky peaks,
I have seen them from the hills.
I see that they are a group of people who live by themselves.
They have separated themselves from other nations.
10 Who can count the descendants of Jacob, as numerous as particles of dust!
Who can count even a fourth of the number of the Israelite people?
I wish that I will die like righteous people die.
I hope that I will die peacefully like they will die."
11 Then Balak said, "What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but instead you have blessed them!"
12 But Balaam replied, "I can say only what Yahweh tells me to say. I cannot say anything else."
13 Then King Balak told Balaam, "Come with me to another place. There you will see only part of the Israelite people, and you will be able to curse those people for me." 14 So Balak took Balaam to a field on the top of Mount Pisgah. There, again he built seven altars and offered a young bull and a ram as a sacrifice on each altar.
15 Then Balaam said to the king, "Stand here close to your burned offerings, while I go and talk with Yahweh."
16 So Balaam did that, and Yahweh appeared to Balaam again and gave him another message. Then he said, "Go back to Balak and tell him that message."
17 So Balaam returned to where the king and the leaders from Moab were standing, next to the altar where Balak had burned the sacrifices. Balak asked him, "What did Yahweh say?"
18 Then Balaam told him this message,
"Balak, listen carefully,
hear what I have to say, you son of Zippor!
19 God is not a human being.
Humans lie, but God never lies.
He never changes his mind, as humans do.
Whatever he has said that he will do, he does.
Whatever he has promised to do, he has done it.
20 He commanded me to request him to bless the Israelites,
So he has blessed them, and I cannot change that.
21 Yahweh their God is with them;
the people shout that he is their true king.
So the descendants of Jacob will not be harmed,
they will not endure trouble without God.
22 God brought them out slavery in Egypt
and has led them through the wilderness with strength like a wild ox.
23 When people curse the descendants of Jacob, they will not be harmed,
when people work sorcery on them, it will have no power.
So now people will say about the descendants of Jacob,
'God has done wonderful things for the Israelites!'
24 They are very strong, like lionesses that are ready to attack other animals.
They stand firm like lions.
The lions refuse to rest until they have killed and eaten their prey
and drunk the blood of the animals they slaughtered."
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, "If you will not curse them, then I certainly do not want you to bless them!"
26 But Balaam replied, "I told you that I must do only what Yahweh tells me to do!"
27 Then King Balak said to Balaam, "Come with me; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to allow you to curse them from that place." 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor where they could look down and see the Israelites in the desert.
29 Balaam again told Balak, "Build me seven altars again and kill seven young bulls and seven rams for a sacrifice." 30 So Balak did what Balaam told him to do. He burned a young bull and a ram on each altar as sacrifices.
Chapter 24
1 Balaam now realized that Yahweh wanted to bless the Israelite people, not curse them. So he did not use magic like a shaman would do to find out what Yahweh wanted, as he often did. Instead, he turned toward the desert. 2 He saw the Israelite people camped there in their tents, with each tribe gathered in one group. Then the Spirit of God came upon him, 3 and this is the prophetic message that he gave to Balak:
"I, Balaam son of Beor, am giving this prophecy.
This prophecy that I speak is as a man who sees what will happen in the future clearly speaks.
4 I hear this message from God.
I see a vision from the one who is all-powerful.
My eyes are open as I prostrate myself in front of him.
5 You descendants of Jacob, your tents are very beautiful!
The places where you live are lovely!
6 Your tents are spread out in front of me like groves of palm trees in valleys,
like gardens alongside a river.
They are like strong aloe trees that Yahweh has planted,
like strong cedar trees that grow along the rivers.
7 Your water buckets will always be full.
The seeds that you plant will always have plenty of water to make them grow.
The Israelites' king will be greater than King Agag.
The kingdom that he rules will be honored.
8 God brought them out of Egypt,
leading them along with his great power that is like a wild ox.
God devastates all the nations that oppose him.
He breaks all those people's bones into pieces,
and shoots them with his arrows.
9 The Israelites are like lions that crouch and lie down, ready to spring on their prey,
like lionesses that are resting.
No one would dare to arouse them!
God will bless everyone who blesses you Israelites,
and he will curse everyone who curses you."
10 Then King Balak was extremely angry with Balaam. He showed with his hands that he was very angry, and he shouted, saying, "I summoned you here to curse my enemies! Instead, you have blessed them three times! 11 So now, get out of here! Go back home! I said that I would pay you a lot of money if you cursed them, but Yahweh has prevented you from getting any pay!"
12 Balaam said to Balak, "Do you not remember what I told the messengers that you sent to me? I said, 13 'Even if Balak would give me a palace filled with silver and gold, I would not disobey Yahweh. I cannot do anything that is bad or anything that is good that he does not approve of.' And I told you that I could say only what Yahweh says to me. 14 So yes, I will return to my people, but first, allow me to tell you what will happen to you Moab people in the future."
15 Then Balaam said this to Balak:
"I, Balaam, son of Beor, am again giving a prophecy.
This prophecy that I speak is again as a man who sees what will happen in the future clearly speaks.
16 I hear a message from God;
I know things that God, who lives in heaven, has revealed to me.
I see a vision from the one who is all-powerful.
My eyes are open as I prostrate myself in front of him.
17 The things that I see in the vision are not going to happen now.
I see things that God will cause to happen in the future.
A man who is a descendant of Jacob will appear like a star;
a king who holds a scepter will be one of the Israelite people.
He will crush the heads of you people of Moab;
he will wipe out the descendants of Seth.
18 The Israelites will occupy Edom,
and they will conquer their enemies who live near Mount Seir.
The Israelite people will be victorious.
19 A ruler will come who is a descendant of Jacob.
He will get rid of the people who still live in the city where Balaam first met Balak."
20 Then Balaam looked out over where the Amalek people lived, and he prophesied this,
"The Amalek people were the greatest nation,
but they will be wiped out."
21 Then he looked out over the area where the Kenite people lived, and he prophesied this,
"You think that the place where you live is secure
like a nest that is made in the cliffs,
22 but you will be wiped out
when the army of Assyria conquers you."
23 Balaam ended his prophecies by saying,
"Also, who can survive when God does all these things?
24 Ships will come from the Island of Cyprus,
and the men in those ships will defeat the armies of Assyria and Eber.
But God will get rid of those men, too."
25 Then Balaam and Balak returned to their homes.
Chapter 25
1 While the Israelites were camped at a place called Acacia Grove, some of the men became unfaithful to God by sleeping with some of the women of the Moab people who lived in that area. 2 Then those women invited the men to come when the sacrifices were being offered to their gods. The Israelite men accepted. They went to the feasts with the women and worshiped the gods of the Moab people. 3 By doing that, the Israelite people joined the women in worshiping the god Baal who the Moab people thought lived on Mount Peor. That caused Yahweh to become very angry with his people, and he sent a severe plague on many of the Israelite people.
4 Yahweh said this to Moses: "Seize all the leaders of those who are doing this and execute them while I am watching. Do that in the daytime. After you do that, I will no longer be angry with the Israelite people."
5 So Moses said to the other Israelite leaders, "Each of you must execute your men who have joined others in worshiping Baal."
6 But later, while many people were crying at the entrance of the sacred tent, one of the Israelite men brought a woman from the Midian people into his tent and started to sleep with her. Moses and all the people heard of it. 7 When Phinehas, who was a grandson of Aaron, heard this, he grabbed a spear. 8 Then he rushed into the man's tent. He thrust the spear completely through the man's body and into the woman's belly and killed both of them. When he did that, the plague that had started to strike the Israelites stopped. 9 But twenty-four thousand people had already died from that plague.
10 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 11 "Phinehas has caused me to stop being angry with the Israelite people, by being as eager as I am to stop this sinful behavior. I was ready to get rid of all the Israelite people because I was extremely angry, but Phinehas has prevented me from doing that. 12 Now tell him that I am making a special peace agreement with him. 13 In this agreement, I am promising to give to him and to his descendants the right to be priests. I am doing this because he showed that he was very eager to honor me, his God, by stopping this sinful behavior. He has satisfied my holy righteousness against the sinfulness of Israel by causing me to forgive them for their sin."
14 The Israelite man who was killed with the woman of the Midian people was named Zimri son of Salu, who was the leader of a family from the tribe of Simeon. 15 The woman's name was Kozbi. She was the daughter of Zur, who was the leader of one of the clans of the Midian people.
16 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 17 "Take your men and attack the Midian people and kill them. 18 They have become your enemies because they tricked you Israelite people and induced many of you to worship Baal and because one of your men slept with Kozbi, who was the daughter of a leader of the Midian people. She was killed at the time the plague started because of the people who sinned at Mount Peor."
Chapter 26
1 After the plague ended, Yahweh said to Eleazar and Moses, 2 "Count all the people of Israel again. Write down the names of all the men who are at least twenty years old who are able to fight in battles, along with their family names." 3 So while the Israelites were on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho, Eleazar and Moses told this to the Israelite leaders, 4 "Write down the names of all the Israelite men who are at least twenty years old, as Yahweh has commanded us."
So they did that, and this is a record of all the descendants of Jacob who came out of Egypt who were still alive.
5-7 These are the descendants of Reuben, Jacob's oldest son:
- the Hanokites descended from his son Hanok;
- the Palluites descended from his son Pallu;
- the Hezronites descended from his son Hezron;
- the Carmites descended from his son Carmi.
The Israelite leaders counted 43,730 men from the tribe of Reuben. 8 Pallu's son was Eliab 9 and his grandsons were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were the leaders who joined with Korah to conspire against Aaron and Moses and rebelled against Yahweh.
10 But the earth opened up and swallowed them and Korah. Yahweh also sent a fire that burned up 250 men who supported those three men. That was a warning to all the Israelite people that they should respect and obey the leaders whom Yahweh had appointed. 11 But the descendants of Korah did not die on that day.
12-14 These are the descendants of Simeon:
- the Nemuelites descended from his son Nemuel;
- the Jaminites descended from his son Jamin;
- the Jakinites descended from his son Jakin;
- the Zerahites descended from his son Zerah;
- the Shaulites descended from his son Shaul.
The Israelite leaders counted 22,200 men from the tribe of Simeon.
15-18 These are the descendants of Gad:
- the Zephonites descended from his son Zephon;
- the Haggites descended from his son Haggi;
- the Shunites descended from his son Shuni;
- the Oznites descended from his son Ozni;
- the Erites descended from his son Eri;
- the Arodites descended from his son Arod;
- the Arelites descended from his son Areli.
The Israelite leaders counted 40,500 men from the tribe of Gad.
19-22 Judah's sons Er and Onan died in Canaan before they had any children. These are the descendants of Judah:
- the Shelanites descended from his son Shelah;
- the Perezites descended from his son Perez;
- the Zerahites descended from his son Zerah.
Perez was the father of Hezron and Hamul.
- The Hezronites descended from Hezron;
- the Hamulites descended from Hamul.
The Israelite leaders counted 76,500 men from the tribe of Judah.
23-25 These are the descendants of Issachar:
- the Tolaites descended from his son Tola;
- the Puites descended from his son Puah;
- the Jashubites descended from his son Jashub;
- the Shimronites descended from his son Shimron.
The Israelite leaders counted 64,300 men from the tribe of Issachar.
26-27 These are the descendants of Zebulun:
- the Seredites descended from his son Sered;
- the Elonites descended from his son Elon;
- the Jahleelites descended from his son Jahleel.
The Israelite leaders counted 60,500 men from the tribe of Zebulun.
28-29 The sons of Joseph are Manasseh and Ephraim. These are the descendants of Manasseh:
- the Makirites descended from his son Machir.
Makir was the father of Gilead.
- The Gileadites descended from Gilead.
30-32 Theses are the descendants of Gilead:
- the Iezerites descended from his son Iezer;
- the Helekites descended from his son Helek;
- the Asrielites descended from his son Asriel;
- the Shechemites descended from his son Shechem;
- the Shemidaites descended from his son Shemida;
- the Hepherites descended from his son Hepher.
33-34 Hepher's son Zelophehad did not have any sons, but he had five daughters—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah.
The Israelite leaders counted 52,700 men from the tribe of Manasseh, who was one of the sons of Joseph.
35-37 These are the descendants of Ephraim:
- the Shuthelahites descended from his son Shuthelah;
- the Becherites descended from his son Becher;
- the Tahanites descended from his son Tahan.
These are the descendants of Shuthelah:
- the Eranites descended from his son Eran.
The Israelite leaders counted 32,500 men from the tribe of Ephraim, who was Joseph's other son.
38-41 These are the descendants of Benjamin:
- the Belaites descended from his son Bela;
- the Ashbelites descended from his son Ashbel;
- the Ahiramites descended from his son Ahiram;
- the Shuphamites descended from his son Shupham;
- the Huphamites descended from his son Hupham.
Bela was the father of Ard and Naaman.
- The Ardites descended from his son Ard;
- the Naamites descended from his son Naaman.
The Israelite leaders counted 45,600 men from the tribe of Benjamin.
42-43 These are the descendants of Dan:
- the Shuhamites descended from his son Shuhman.
The Israelite leaders counted 64,400 men from the tribe of Dan.
44-47 These are the descendants of Asher:
- the Imnites descended from his son Imnah;
- the Ishvites descended from his son Ishvi;
- the Berites descended from his son Beriah.
Beriah had two sons, Heber and Malkiel.
- The Heberites descended from his son Heber;
- the Malkielites descended from his son Malkiel.
- Asher also had a daughter named Serah.
The Israelite leaders counted 53,400 men from the tribe of Asher.
48-50 These are the descendants of Napthali:
- the Jahzeelites descended from his son Jahzeel;
- the Gunites descended from his son Guni;
- the Jezerites descended from his son Jezer;
- the Shillemites descended from his son Shillem.
The Israelite leaders counted 45,400 men from the tribe of Naphtali.
51 The total of the Israelite men whom the leaders counted was 601,730.
52 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 53 "Divide the land of Canaan among the tribes. Distribute the land according to the number of people in each tribe that are on your lists. 54-56 Decide by casting lots to determine which group will get which area, but give the largest areas to the groups with the most people."
57 The leaders also counted the male descendants of Levi. They were in clans descended from Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 58 These also included people from the clans of Libni, Hebron, Mahli, Mushi, and Korah. All of them were descendants of Levi. Kohath was the ancestor of Amram, 59 whose wife was Jochebed. She also was a descendant of Levi, but she was born in Egypt. She and Amram had two sons, Aaron and Moses, and their older sister Miriam. 60 Aaron's sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they burned incense for a sacrifice to Yahweh in a way that disobeyed what Yahweh had commanded.
62 The leaders counted twenty-three thousand men from the descendants of Levi who were at least one month old. But these men were not counted when the rest of the Israelite people were counted, because they were not given any land at that time.
63 Those were the men whom Eleazar and Moses said should be counted. They counted the Israelite people on the plains of Moab, on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 64 None of the men whom they counted were on the lists that were made by Aaron and Moses when the Israelites were in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 They were told what Yahweh had said. He said, "They will all die in this desert," and that is what happened. The only ones who were still alive were Jephunneh's son Caleb and Nun's son Joshua.
Chapter 27
1 One day the five daughters of Zelophehad came to Moses. They were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah. 2 They came to the entrance of the sacred tent and stood in front of Eleazar, Moses, the tribal leaders, and many other Israelite people. 3 They said, "Our father died during the time that we were in the desert. But he was not among those who supported Korah, who rebelled against Yahweh, and he died because of his own sin. He did not have any sons. 4 Why should the name of his clan disappear because our father had no sons? So give us some land like our father's relatives will be getting!"
5 So Moses asked Yahweh what to do about their case. 6 And Yahweh replied, 7 "What the daughters of Zelophehad are requesting is right. You must give them some land, just as you are giving to their father's relatives. Give to each of them some of the land that would have been given to their brothers if they had any.
8 Also tell this to the Israelite people: 'If a man who has no sons dies, give the things that his sons would have inherited to his daughters. 9 If the man has no sons or daughters, give to his brothers the things that his sons and daughters would have inherited. 10 If the man had no brothers, give to his father's brothers the things that his sons or daughters or brothers would have inherited. 11 If the man's father has no brothers, give to his closest relative the things that the others would have inherited.' That will be a rule for the Israelite people because I am giving this as a command to you, Moses, to tell them."
12 One day, Yahweh said to Moses, "Climb to the top of the Abarim mountains east of the Jordan River. Then look out over the land that I am giving to the Israelite people. 13 After you have seen it, you will die just like your older brother Aaron did. 14 The reason that you will die and not enter that land is that you both disobeyed my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the Israelite people rebelled against me there at Meribah, near Kadesh, I told you to speak to the rock to cause water to flow out of it. But because you struck the rock instead of speaking to it, you did not show the people my holy power."
15 Then Moses said this to Yahweh, 16 "Yahweh, you are the God who directs the spirits of all people. So please appoint a new leader for the Israelite people. 17 Appoint someone who will lead your people when they go to fight a battle, so that they will not just wander around like sheep that do not have a shepherd."
18 Yahweh replied, "Get Joshua son of Nun, who has my Spirit within him. Lay your hands on him to appoint him. 19 Cause him to stand in front of Eleazar the priest, as all the people are watching, and commission him to be the new leader of the Israelite people. 20 Give to him some of the authority that you now have, in order that all the Israelite people will know that they must obey him. 21 When you all need me to guide you, Joshua will stand in front of Eleazar. Then by casting lots Eleazar will determine what they should do. At Joshua's command all people of Israel will mobilize themselves together."
22 So Moses did what Yahweh commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar and to all the Israelite people. 23 Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to do the work that Yahweh told Moses to tell him to do.
Chapter 28
1 Yahweh said this to Moses: 2 "Tell this to the Israelite people: Bring to me the offerings that will be burned on the altar. When they are burned, the smell will be very pleasing to me. And tell them that they must bring them at the proper time. 3 Tell them that what they must bring to me each day are two male lambs that are one year old. They must have no defects. They must be completely burned on the altar. 4 They should bring one in the morning and the other early in the evening. 5 They must also bring a flour offering of two liters of finely ground flour mixed with a liter of olive oil. 6 That is the offering that they must bring every day. They started to bring those offerings while you were at Mount Sinai. When those offerings are burned on the altar, the smell will be very pleasing to me. 7 When they burn each lamb, they must also pour on the sacred altar in the holy place one liter of wine. 8 In the evening, when they offer the second lamb, they must also bring the same offerings of flour and wine as they burned in the morning. When they are burned, the smell will also be very pleasing to me.
9 On each Sabbath, you must bring two male lambs that have no defects. Also bring a flour offering of four and one-half liters of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil and a wine offering of four and one-half liters of wine. 10 Those are the offerings that are to be burned on the altar each Sabbath. Those are in addition to the offerings of two lambs and wine that you must bring each day.
11 On the first day of each month, you must bring to me an offering of two young bulls, one male sheep, and seven male lambs that are one year old. All of these must be without defects. They must all be burned completely on the altar. 12 Also bring with each bull an offering of six liters of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil. With each male sheep make an offering of four liters of good flour mixed with olive oil. 13 Also bring an offering of two liters of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil with each lamb. When all of these are burned on the altar, the smell will be very pleasing to me. 14 With each bull also bring two liters of wine. With each male sheep bring one and one-fifth liters of wine. With each lamb bring one liter of wine. These offerings must be brought on the first day of each month and burned completely on the altar. 15 In addition to these offerings that you burn, you must bring to me one goat for an offering to remove the guilt of your sins.
16 The Passover festival must be celebrated to honor me each year on the fourteenth day of your first month. 17 The Festival of Unleavened Bread will start on the next day. For the following seven days, the bread that you eat must be made without yeast. 18 On the first day of that festival, you must gather together to worship me, and you must not do any regular work that you would normally do. 19 On that day, you must bring to me for an offering that will be completely burned on the altar two young bulls, one male sheep, and seven male lambs that are one year old. They must all have no defects. 20 With each of these bulls, bring a grain offering of six liters of finely-ground flour mixed with olive oil. With the male sheep, bring a grain offering of four liters of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil. 21 With each of the seven lambs, bring an offering of two liters of finely-ground flour mixed with olive oil. 22 Also bring one goat for a sacrifice to make atonement for your sin. 23 Bring these offerings in addition to the offerings that you bring each morning. 24 The smell of the grain that is burned on the altar each day for seven days will be very pleasing to me. Bring the grain in addition to the animals and the wine that you burn on the altar. 25 On the seventh day of that festival, you must again gather together to worship me, and you must not do any regular work that you would normally do.
26 On the day of the Harvest festival, when you bring to me the first grain that you have harvested, you must gather together to worship me. Do not do any regular work that you would normally do on that day. 27 Bring to me two young bulls, one male sheep, and seven male lambs that are one year old. When they are completely burned on the altar, the smell will be very pleasing to me. 28 Also bring a flour offering of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil. For each bull bring five and three-quarters of a liter, and with each male sheep bring three and four-fifths liters. 29 For each of the lambs bring two liters. 30 Also sacrifice one male goat to make atonement for your sins. 31 Bring these offerings and the offering of wine in addition to the animals and flour that you burn on the altar each day. And remember that the animals that you sacrifice must have no defects."
Chapter 29
1 "Each year, gather together to worship me on the first day of your seventh month, and do not do any regular work that you would normally do on that day. On that day the priests must blow their trumpets.
2 When the offerings on the altar on that day are being completely burned, the smell will be very pleasing to me. The animals that you must bring are one young bull, one male sheep, and seven male lambs that are one year old. They must have no defects. 3 With these animals, bring a grain offering of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil. With the bull, bring five and three-quarters liters. With the male sheep, bring three and four-fifths liters; 4 and with each of the seven lambs, bring two liters. 5 Also offer one male goat to atone for your sins. 6 All of those animals will be in addition to the animals that are completely burned on the altar each morning and on the first day of each month. The offerings of flour and wine must be made exactly as I have decreed that you are to do. When these offerings are burned, the smell will be very pleasing to me.
7 Each year, on the tenth day of your seventh month, you must gather together to worship me. Do not eat any food or do any work on that day. 8 When you burn offerings on the altar on that day, the smell will be very pleasing to me. The animals that you must bring are one young bull, one male sheep, and seven male lambs that are one year old. They must have no defects. 9 With the bull, bring a flour offering of five and three-quarters liters of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil. With the male sheep, bring three and four-fifths liters. 10 With each of the lambs, bring two liters. 11 Also bring one male goat to remove the guilt of your sins, and the animals and flour and wine that you burn on the altar each day to atone for your sins. Those offerings will be in addition to the animals and flour and wine that are completely burned on the altar each day.
12 On the fifteenth day of your seventh month, you must all gather together to worship me. You must not do any regular work that you would normally do on that day. You must continue to celebrate for seven days. 13 When the offerings are burned on the altar, the smell will be very pleasing to me. The animals that you must bring are thirteen young bulls, two male sheep, and fourteen male lambs that are one year old. These animals must have no defects. 14 With each of the thirteen bulls, bring a flour offering of five and three-quarters liters of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil. With each of the male sheep, bring three and four-fifths liters. 15 With each of the fourteen lambs, bring two liters. 16 Also bring one male goat; sacrifice it to remove the guilt of your sins, in addition to the offerings of animals and flour and wine that are completely burned on the altar each day.
17 On the second day of the festival, you must bring to the altar twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs that are one year old. These animals must have no defects. 18 Bring also with the animals the offerings of flour and wine that are required. 19 Also offer one male goat; sacrifice it to remove the guilt of your sins. These animals will be in addition to the offerings of animals and flour and wine that are completely burned on the altar each day.
20 On the third day of the festival, you must bring to the altar eleven young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs that are one year old. These animals must have no defects. They must all be burned on the altar, and their smell will please me. 21 Bring also with the animals the offerings of flour and wine that are required. 22 Also offer one male goat; sacrifice it to remove the guilt of your sins. These animals will be in addition to the offerings of animals and flour and wine that are completely burned on the altar each day.
23 On the fourth day of the festival, you must bring to the altar ten young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs that are one year old. These animals must have no defects. They must all be burned on the altar, and their smell will please me. 24 Bring also with the animals the offerings of flour and wine that are required. 25 Also offer one male goat; sacrifice it to remove the guilt of your sins. These animals will be in addition to the offerings of animals and flour and wine that are completely burned on the altar each day.
26 On the fifth day of the festival, you must bring to the altar nine young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs that are one year old. These animals must have no defects. They must all be burned on the altar, and their smell will please me. 27 Bring also with the animals the offerings of flour and wine that are required. 28 Also offer one male goat; sacrifice it to remove the guilt of your sins. These animals will be in addition to the offerings of animals and flour and wine that are completely burned on the altar each day.
29 On the sixth day of the festival, you must bring to the altar eight young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs that are one year old. These animals must have no defects. They must all be burned on the altar, and their smell will please me. 30 Bring also with the animals the offerings of flour and wine that are required. 31 Also offer one male goat; sacrifice it to remove the guilt of your sins. These animals will be in addition to the offerings of animals and flour and wine that are completely burned on the altar each day.
32 On the seventh day of the festival, you must bring to the altar seven young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs that are one year old. These animals must have no defects. They must all be burned on the altar, and their smell will please me. 33 Bring also with the animals the offerings of flour and wine that are required. 34 Also offer one male goat; sacrifice it to remove the guilt of your sins. These animals will be in addition to the offerings of animals and flour and wine that are completely burned on the altar each day.
35 Eight days after the start of that festival, you must again gather together to worship me; you must not do any regular work that you would normally do on that day. 36 On that day, you must bring to the altar one bull, one full-grown ram, and seven lambs that are one year old. These animals must have no defects. They must all be burned on the altar, and their smell will please me. 37 Bring also with the bull and the male sheep and each of the lambs the offerings of flour and wine that are required. 38 Also offer one male goat; sacrifice it to remove the guilt of your sins. These animals will be in addition to the offerings of animals and flour and wine that are completely burned on the altar each day.
39 At your festivals, these are the offerings that you must bring to me: the offerings that will be completely burned on the altar, the grain offerings, the wine offerings, and the offerings to restore fellowship with me. Those are in addition to the offerings that you give to me because you promised to do something, and other special offerings that you want to give to me."
40 Then Moses told to the Israelite people all the things that Yahweh had commanded him.
Chapter 30
1 Moses spoke with the leaders of the Israelite tribes. He told them these commands that Yahweh had given to him:
2 "If a man solemnly promises Yahweh that he will do something, he must do what he promised.
3 If a young woman who is still living with her parents solemnly promises to Yahweh to do something, 4 and if her father hears about what she promised, and if he does not say anything to her, she must do what she promised. 5 And if her father hears about her vow that she made before witnesses or the promise she had pledged, but even though he heard about them, he says nothing about what she has vowed or promised, then she must keep all her vows and all her promises, and they all will be in force and she must do what she promised to do.
6 If she marries a husband after she had made a vow or after she had made a careless promise by which she had obligated herself, 7 and her husband hears about the vow or the promise that she had made, but on the day that he hears about it he does nothing, in that case the vows she had made will stand in force, and her promises that she had made will still be an obligation that she must fulfill. 8 But if, on the day her husband hears about the vow she had given or the foolish promise she had made, he takes action to overrule her, then by overruling her he makes her pledges to be of no effect and he makes the promises that she had made to no longer be an obligation to her. Then Yahweh will set her free from the obligations that she had made when she had taken a vow or when she had made a foolish promise.
9 If a widow or a woman who has been divorced makes a promise, she must do what she promised.
10 If a woman who is married promises to do something, 11 and if her husband hears about it but does not object, she must do what she promised. 12 But if he hears about it and does not allow her to do that, she does not need to do what she promised, and Yahweh will forgive her for not doing it. 13 A woman's husband may require her to do what she has promised, or he may not allow her to do what she has promised. 14 If he does not object for several days after he hears about it, she must do what she promised. 15 But if he waits a long time after she has promised to do something and then he tells her that he will not permit her to do it, if she does not do what she promised, she will not be punished. Her husband is the one whom Yahweh will punish."
16 Those are the rules that Yahweh gave to Moses for husbands and wives, and for young women who are still living with their parents.
Chapter 31
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 2 "Tell the Israelite people that they should pay back the Midian people for what they did to you. After that happens, you will die."
3 So Moses said to the people, "Get some men prepared for battle. Yahweh will enable them to pay back the Midian people for what they did to us. 4 Select a thousand men from each tribe to fight." 5 So twelve thousand men prepared for fighting in the battle, one thousand from each tribe. 6 When Moses sent them to the battle, Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest went with them. He took with him some of the things from the sacred tent and the trumpets that would be blown to give the signal to start the battle.
7 The Israelite men fought the soldiers who were from the Midian people, as Yahweh had told Moses to tell them to do, and they killed every man from the Midian people. 8 Among those whom they killed were the five kings of the Midian people—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed Balaam with a sword son of Beor. 9 They captured all the women and children of the Midian people and took away their cattle, flocks of sheep, herds of goats, and all their other possessions. 10 Then they burned down all the houses in the towns and villages where the Midian people lived. 11 But they took home with them all the women and children and animals and possessions. 12 They brought all these to Eleazar and Moses and to the rest of the Israelite people who were at their camp on the plains of Moab, near the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 13 Eleazar and all the leaders of the people and Moses went outside the camp to greet them.
14 But Moses was angry with some of the men who had returned from the battle. He was angry with the army officers, those men who were commanders over thousands of men and those who were commanders over hundreds of men. 15 He asked them, "Why did you allow the women to live? 16 They are the ones who did what Balaam suggested and urged our people to worship Baal instead of Yahweh. As a result, Yahweh caused a plague to strike his people while they were at Peor. 17 So, now you must kill all the boys of the Midian people, and also kill all the women who have slept with any man. 18 Spare only the girls who are virgins. You can keep them to be your wives or your slaves.
19 All of you who have killed someone or touched the corpse of someone who was killed in the battle must stay outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and on the seventh day, you must perform the ritual to enable you to become acceptable to God again. 20 You must also wash your clothes and anything that you took to the battle that is made of leather or goat's hair or wood."
21 Then Eleazar said to the soldiers who had returned from the battle, "This is what Yahweh has instructed Moses. 22 You must put into a fire any gold or silver or bronze or iron or tin or lead things that you brought back from the battle. 23 Put everything that will not burn into the fire, and then they will be acceptable for you to use. But also sprinkle those things with the water that causes things and people to become acceptable to God. The things that would burn if you put them in a fire, sprinkle them with that water. 24 On the seventh day, wash your clothes, and then you will become acceptable to God again. After you do that, you may return to the camp."
25 Yahweh also said to Moses, 26 "Write down a list of all the goods, the women, and the animals that were captured in the battle. 27 Then tell Eleazar and the leaders of the family groups that they must they must divide all those things between the men who fought in the battle and the rest of the people. 28 From the men who fought in the battle, take one from every five hundred people and from every five hundred cattle and donkeys and sheep, to be a tax for me. 29 Take these things to Eleazar to be my share as the offering presented to me. 30 And from the other things, take one item from every fifty. That includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and other animals. Give those things to the descendants of Levi who take care of my sacred tent." 31 So Eleazar and Moses did what Yahweh commanded.
32-35 There were 675,000 sheep, seventy-two thousand cattle, sixty-one thousand donkeys, and thirty-two thousand virgins that they had captured from the Midian people.
36 The men who fought in the battle took 337,000 sheep from the battle, 37 and they gave 675 of them to Yahweh. 38 They took thirty-six thousand cattle and gave 72 of them to Yahweh. 39 They took 30,500 donkeys, and they gave 61 of them to Yahweh. 40 They took sixteen thousand virgins, and they gave 32 of them to Yahweh.
41 Moses gave to Eleazar all the animals that had been presented to Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded.
42-46 Moses separated what those who had fought in the battle received from what the other people received. The people received 337,500 sheep, thirty-six thousand cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and sixteen thousand virgins. 47 From what the people received, Moses took one from every fifty items and gave them to Yahweh. That included animals and people. As Yahweh commanded, Moses gave them all to the descendants of Levi who took care of the sacred tent.
48 Then the army officers, those who were commanders over thousands of men and those who were commanders over hundreds of men, came to Moses. 49 They said, "We, who are your servants, have counted the soldiers whom we command, and we found that none of them is missing. 50 So to thank Yahweh for that, we have brought to him a gift of the gold items that we found after the battle, gold arm bands and bracelets and rings, earrings and necklaces. We hope that this will atone for our sins."
51 So Eleazar and Moses accepted the gold items that they brought. 52 The total of the offering they presented weighed about 191 kilograms. 53 Each soldier had taken these things for himself. 54 Eleazar and Moses accepted these gold items from these commanders and put them in the sacred tent to remind the Israelite people about how Yahweh had helped them defeat the Midian people.
Chapter 32
1 The people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad had much livestock. They saw that the land near the city of Jazer and the region of Gilead east of the Jordan River had good grass for the animals to graze on. 2 So their leaders came to Eleazar and the leaders of the people and Moses. They said, 3 These are the lands we have captured: Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon. 4 It was Yahweh who enabled your servants to capture these lands, and they are very good for animals to graze on, and now your servants have a lot of livestock. 5 If it pleases you, we would like you to give this land to your servants, as a property that we would own. Please, do not make us go over to the land on the other side of the Jordan River."
6 Moses replied to the leaders of the tribes of Gad and Reuben, "It is not right for your fellow Israelites to go to fight in wars and you stay here! 7 If you do that, you will cause the other Israelites to be discouraged, with the result that they will not cross the Jordan River to the land that Yahweh is giving to them. 8 Our ancestors did the same kind of thing. I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see what the land of Canaan was like. 9 They went as far as Eshcol Valley, but when they saw the huge people in the land, they returned and caused the Israelite people to be discouraged saying, 'We should not try to enter the land that Yahweh said that he is giving to us.' 10 So Yahweh became very angry with them, and he solemnly declared this, 11-12 'From all the people who came out of Egypt, the only ones who are at least twenty years old who will see the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are Jephunneh's son Caleb and Nun's son Joshua because they trusted me completely. None of the other people who came out of Egypt will even see that land, because they have not completely believed in my power.' 13 So Yahweh was angry with the Israelite people, and as a result he has caused us to wander in this desert for forty years. Finally, all the people who had sinned against Yahweh by refusing to trust him died, one by one. 14 And you are acting like your ancestors did! You sinful Israelite people are going to cause Yahweh to be more angry with you than he was with our ancestors! 15 If you stop trusting him, he will cause you and all your fellow Israelites to stay longer in the desert, and he will get rid of all of you!"
16 Then the leaders of the tribes of Reuben and Gad said to Moses, "First we will build pens for our animals and build cities for our families here. 17 Then our families will live in strong cities with walls around them, and they will be safe from the people who live in this land. Then we will get ready to fight battles. We will help the other Israelites to get land on the other side of the river. 18 We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has received some land. 19 We will not take any land on the west side of the Jordan River, because our land will be here on the east side."
20 So Moses told them, "I will tell you what you must do. You must get ready to fight battles for Yahweh. 21 You must cross the Jordan River carrying your weapons. 22 After Yahweh helps us to take that land from the people who live there, you will be permitted to return to your homes. You will have done what you have promised Yahweh and the Israelite people that you would do, and you may keep this land to be your own, given to you by Yahweh.
23 But if you do not do these things, you will be sinning against Yahweh, and he will punish you for that sin. 24 Now you can build cities for your families and pens for your animals, but after doing that, you must do what you have promised."
25 The leaders of the tribes of Gad and Reuben replied, "Your servants will do what you have asked us to do, because you are our leader. 26 Our wives and children and our cattle and sheep and goats will stay here in the cities of the Gilead area, 27 but your servants will cross over before Yahweh as he leads us in battle. Every man will prepare to fight a war, just as our leader gives us orders."
28 So Moses gave instructions about them to Eleazar, Joshua, and the leaders of the Israelite tribes. 29 Moses said to them, "If the men from the tribes of Gad and Reuben prepare for battle and cross the Jordan River with you, in order to do what Yahweh desires and help you to take that land, give them the Gilead area to belong to them. 30 But if they do not take their weapons and go with you prepared to fight, they will not receive this land. They will need to accept some land in Canaan, like the rest of you will do."
31 The descendants of the tribes of Gad and Reuben replied, "We your servants will do what Yahweh has said. 32 We will cross the river into the land of Canaan, and we will do what Yahweh desires and be prepared for battle. But our land will be here on the east side of the Jordan River."
33 So Moses agreed to give that land to the tribes of Gad and Reuben and to half of the tribe of Joseph's son Manasseh. That land was previously the land where Sihon, the king of the Amor people, ruled, and the land where Og, the king of Bashan, ruled, including its cities and surrounding land.
34 The people of the tribe of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth Nimrah, and Beth Haran cities. Those were cities with strong walls around them. And they also built pens for their sheep.
37 The people of the tribe of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, Baal Meon, and Sibmah cities. When they rebuilt Nebo and Baal Meon, they gave new names to those cities.
39 The descendants of Manasseh's son Makir went to the region of Gilead and took it away from the Amor people. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to the family of Makir, and they started to live there. 41 Jair, who was also a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured the small towns in that region, and he named them Havvoth Jair, which means "the villages of Jair." 42 A man named Nobah went and captured the city of Kenath and the nearby towns, and then he used his own name to be the new name of that area.
Chapter 33
1 Here is a list of the places where the Israelites went as Aaron and Moses led them after they left Egypt. 2 Yahweh commanded Moses to write down the names of the places where they went.
3 On the fifteenth day of the first month of the year, the day after they celebrated the Passover, they left the city of Rameses in Egypt and marched boldly while the Egyptian army was coming behind them. 4 As they left, the people of Egypt were still burying the bodies of their firstborn sons. By killing them, Yahweh showed that the gods that the people of Egypt worshiped were false gods.
5 After leaving Rameses, they first went to Sukkoth and set up their tents there.
6 Then they left Sukkoth and went to Etham, at the edge of the desert, and set up their tents there.
7 Then they left Etham and returned to Pi Hahiroth, to the east of Baal Zephon, and set up their tents near Migdol.
8 Then they left Pi Hahiroth and walked through the Sea of Reeds and continued three days into the Etham Desert, and set up their tents at Marah.
9 Then they left Marah and went to Elim. There were twelve springs and seventy palm trees there. They set up their tents there.
10 Then they left Elim and went to the area near the Sea of Reeds and set up their tents there.
11 Then they left the Sea of Reeds and went near the wilderness of Sinai and set up their tents there.
12 Then they left the wilderness of Sinai and went to Dophkah and set up their tents there.
13 Then they left Dophkah and went to Alush and set up their tents there.
14 Then they left Alush and went and set up their tents at Rephidim, where they had no water to drink.
15 Then they left Rephidim and went to the wilderness of the Sinai and set up their tents there.
16 Then they left the wilderness of the Sinai and went to Kibroth Hattaavah and set up their tents there.
17 Then they left Kibroth Hattaavah and went to Hazeroth and set up their tents there.
18 Then they left Hazeroth and went to Rithmah and set up their tents there.
19 Then they left Rithmah and went to Rimmon Perez and set up their tents there.
20 Then they left Rimmon Perez and went to Libnah and set up their tents there.
21 Then they left Libnah and went to Rissah and set up their tents there.
22 Then they left Rissah and went to Kehelathah and set up their tents there.
23 Then they left Kehelathah and went to Mount Shepher and set up their tents there.
24 Then they left Mount Shepher and went to Haradah and set up their tents there.
25 Then they left Haradah and went to Makheloth and set up their tents there.
26 Then they left Makheloth and went to Tahath and set up their tents there.
27 Then they left Tahath and went to Terah and set up their tents there.
28 Then they left Terah and went to Mithcah and set up their tents there.
29 Then they left Mithcah and went to Hashmonah and set up their tents there.
30 Then they left Hashmonah and went to Moseroth and set up their tents there.
31 Then they left Moseroth and went to Bene Jaakan and set up their tents there.
32 Then they left Bene Jaakan and went to Hor Haggidgad and set up their tents there.
33 Then they left Hor Haggidgad and went to Jotbathah and set up their tents there.
34 Then they left Jotbathah and went to Abronah and set up their tents there.
35 Then they left Abronah and went to Ezion Geber and set up their tents there.
36 Then they left Ezion Geber and went to the wilderness of Zin and set up their tents at Kadesh.
37 Then they left Kadesh and went to Mount Hor, at the border of Edom, and set up their tents there. 38 Aaron the priest obeyed Yahweh and climbed up the mountain. There he died, on the first day of their fifth month, forty years after the Israelites left Egypt. 39 Aaron was 123 years old when he died.
40 That was when the king of the city of Arad heard that the Israelites were coming. Arad was in the southern wilderness in the land of Canaan, where the Canaanite people lived.
41 The Israelites left Mount Hor and went to Zalmonah and set up their tents there.
42 Then they left Zalmonah and went to Punon and set up tents there.
43 Then they left Punon and went to Oboth and set up their tents there.
44 Then they left Oboth and went to Iye Abarim, which was on the border of the region of Moab, and set up their tents there.
45 Then they left Iye Abarim and went to Dibon Gad and set up their tents there.
46 Then they left Dibon Gad and went to Almon Diblathaim and set up their tents there.
47 Then they left Almon Diblathaim and went to the Abarim Mountains, near Nebo, and set up their tents there.
48 Then they left the Abarim mountains and went to the plains of Moab, near the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 49 They set up their tents on the plains of Moab, from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim.
50 On the plains of Moab near the Jordan River, across from Jericho, Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 51 "Tell this to the Israelite people, 'When you cross the Jordan River and enter the region of Canaan, 52 you must force all the people who live there to leave. Destroy all their carved figures and all cast figures made of metal. Wreck all the places where they worship their idols. 53 Take their land from them and start to live there, because I have given their land to you for you to own.
54 Divide up the land by casting lots to decide which group will get which area. Give the larger areas to the groups that have more people, and give the smaller areas to the groups that have fewer people. Each tribe will receive its own land. 55 If you do not force the people who live there to leave, they will cause you to have much trouble. They will be like sharp hooks in your eyes, and like thorns in your sides. And they will bring trouble to you, in that land where you will be living. 56 And then I will punish you, as I had planned to punish them.'"
Chapter 34
1 Yahweh said to Moses, 2 "Tell this to the Israelite people, 'You will soon enter the land of Canaan, and it will become yours. The following will be the borders of the land. 3 On the south you will receive part of the wilderness of Zin, near the border of the region of Edom. On the east side, the border will start at the south end of the Dead Sea.
4 It will extend to a little south of the Scorpion Pass, and extend west through the wilderness of Sin and south of Kadesh Barnea. From there it will extend to Hazar Addar and from there to Azmon. 5 From Azmon it will extend west to the dry riverbed at the border of Egypt and then to the Mediterranean Sea.
6 The border on the west will be the Mediterranean Sea.
7 The border on the north will start from the Mediterranean Sea and extend west to Mount Hor. 8 From there it will extend to Lebo Hamath and then to Zedad. 9 From there the border will extend to Ziphron, and it will end at Hazar Enan.
10 The border on the east will start at Hazar Enan and extend south to Shepham. 11 From there it will extend east of Ain to Riblah and then along the hills that are east of Galilee Lake. 12 Then the border will extend south along the Jordan River and end at the Dead Sea.
Those will be the borders around your country.'"
13 So Moses told all that to the Israelite people. Then he said to them, "That is the land that you will receive. You must cast lots to decide which area will go to each of the nine and a half tribes, because Yahweh has commanded that it should be divided among them. 14 The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh have already received the land in which they will live. 15 They have received land on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho."
16 Then Yahweh said to Moses,
17 "These are the men who will divide the land: first, Eleazar and Joshua, 18 but other leaders from each of the twelve tribes will help them divide the land.
20 From the tribe of Simeon, appoint Ammihud's son Shemuel.
21 From the tribe of Benjamin, appoint Kislon's son Elidad.
22 From the tribe of Dan, appoint Jogli's son Bukki.
23 From the tribe of Manasseh, appoint Ephod's son Hanniel.
24 From the tribe of Ephraim, appoint Shiphtan's son Kemuel.
25 From the tribe of Zebulun, appoint Parnak's son Elizaphan.
26 From the tribe of Issachar, appoint Azzan's son Paltiel.
27 From the tribe of Asher, appoint Shelomi's son Ahihud.
28 From the tribe of Naphtali, appoint Ammihud's son Pedahel."
29 Yahweh commanded that all those were the men who should divide the region of Canaan among the Israelite people.
Chapter 35
1 Yahweh told this to Moses while the Israelites were on the plain in Moab near the Jordan River, across from Jericho: 2 "Tell the Israelite people that from the land that they will receive, they must give to the descendants of Levi some cities in which they can live. They must also give them some land around these cities. 3 These cities will be for the descendants of Levi to live in, and around the cities will be land for their cattle and flocks of sheep and goats and other animals.
4 The land that you give them for their animals must extend out for 460 meters from the walls of the cities. 5 Also measure 920 meters in each direction out from the walls of each city. That additional land will be land for their animals outside the walls of the cities.
6 Six of the cities that you give to the descendants of Levi will be cities to which people can run to be safe. If someone accidentally kills someone else, the one who killed that person may run to one of those cities to be safe. 7 You must also give to the descendants of Levi forty-two other cities and the land around those cities for their animals. 8 The Israelite tribes who have the most people must give them more cities than the tribes who have fewer people give. Each tribe must give some of its cities to the descendants of Levi, but the tribes that have more land must give more cities, and the tribes that have fewer cities will give fewer cities."
9 Yahweh also said to Moses, 10 "Tell this to the Israelite people, 'When you cross the Jordan River and enter the region of Canaan, 11 you must choose some cities to which people can run to be safe. If someone kills another person, the one who killed that person may run to one of those cities and be safe. 12 One of the relatives of the person who was killed may think he must avenge his relative's death by killing the murderer. But in that city, the killer will be safe because the people in that city would kill those relatives if they tried to get revenge there. The man who killed someone accidentally must be put on trial in a court. 13 You must set apart six cities to be cities to which someone who killed another person accidentally may run and be safe. 14 There must be three of these cities on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west side, in the region of Canaan. 15 Those six cities will be cities where Israelite people may run and be safe, and where foreigners and other people who are living among you can also run and be safe. Any of those people who accidentally kills someone may run to one of these cities and be safe there.
16-18 But you must consider that anyone who kills another person with an iron weapon or with a big rock or with a piece of wood is a murderer, and the one who killed the other person must be executed. 19 A relative of the person who was murdered must be the one who executes the murderer as soon as he finds him. 20 If someone shoves another person over a cliff or throws something at another person 21 or hits that person with his hand and causes that person to die, if he did it because he hated that person, then you must consider that he is a murderer and must be executed. A relative of the person who was killed must be the one who executes the murderer as soon as he finds him.
22 But someone might accidentally shove someone else, or he might accidentally throw something at another person and hit him, but not because he hates that person. 23 Or he might drop a rock on someone that he could not see. There is a law for the one who does that did not plan to hurt anyone and did not hate the person who was killed. 24 That law is that the people of that city must decide whether the relative of the dead person has the right to get revenge, or whether the one who killed the other person truly did it accidentally. 25 If they decide that the killer planned to kill the other person, they must not allow him to stay in their city. But if they decide that it was done accidentally, they must protect the killer from being killed by the dead person's relative. They must send the killer to one of the cities where he will be safe, and allow him to stay there until the high priest dies. After that, the killer may go back to his home because the dead person's relative no longer has the right to get revenge.
26 But while the high priest is still living, the person who is in that safe city must not leave that city. 27 If he goes outside the city, and if a relative of the dead person finds him, that relative is permitted to kill that person, and people will not consider that the relative is guilty of murder. 28 The killer must stay in that city where he will be safe until the high priest dies. He could only return to his home after the high priest dies.
29 You must always obey these legal proceedings, wherever you live.
30 If someone is accused of killing another person, the one who is accused may be executed only if there are people who saw him do it. There must be more than one witness. No one is permitted to be executed if there was only one witness.
31 If there is a murderer who truly should be executed, do not spare his life by accepting a ransom. He must be executed.
32 If someone has run to a city where he will be safe, do not allow him to give you money in order that you will permit him to return to his home before the high priest dies.
33 You must execute people who truly murder others. If you did not do that, you would be causing the people who live in the land to become unacceptable to me. Anyone who deliberately kills an innocent person must be executed. 34 I am Yahweh, and I live among you Israelites, so do not spoil the land by allowing people to murder others without being punished.'"
Chapter 36
1 The family leaders of the clan of Gilead of the tribe of Manasseh went to Moses and the other family leaders of the Israelite people. 2 They said to Moses, "Yahweh commanded you, our leader, to apportion the land to the Israelite tribes by casting lots to decide which group would get which area. Yahweh also commanded you to give the land that belonged to our fellow Israelite Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 But if his daughters marry men from the other Israelite tribes, that land will no longer belong to our tribe. People of other tribes will get it. So some of our land will no longer belong to us. 4 When the year of the celebration of Jubilee comes, when all the land that has been bought by someone is returned to its original owners, the land that belonged to Zelophehad will belong to the tribes of the men that his daughters marry. So some of our land, the land that we received from our fathers, will be taken from us, and we will never own it again."
5 Yahweh told Moses what to reply to them, so Moses said this to them, "These men from the tribe of Manasseh are right. 6 This is what Yahweh is saying to the daughters of Zelophehad, 'Each of you may marry anyone you want to, but you must marry only someone from your own tribe.' 7 In that way, the land that belongs to Israelites will not be passed from one tribe to another tribe. Each Israelite will keep the land in the tribe that belonged to his ancestors. 8 A woman who inherits her father's land may get married, but she must marry someone from her own tribe. In that way, every Israelite will keep the land that belonged to his ancestors. 9 The land must not be passed from one tribe to another tribe. Each Israelite tribe must keep the land that it received from its ancestors."
10 Zelophehad's daughters obeyed what Yahweh told Moses. 11 The five daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milkah and Noah—married their cousins, their father's relatives. 12 The men whom they married were from the tribe of Manasseh, so their land continued to belong to their father's family and tribe.
13 Those were the commands and decrees that Yahweh gave to Moses to tell to the Israelites, while they were on the plains of Moab, close to the Jordan River, across from Jericho.