Numbers

1 And Jehovah proceeded to speak to Moses in the wilderness* of Siʹnai,+ in the tent of meeting,+ on the first day of the second month in the second year of their coming out of the land of Egypt,+ and he said: 2 “TAKE the sum+ of the whole assembly of the sons of Israel according to their families, according to the house of their fathers, by the number of names, all the males, head by head of them,* 3 from twenty years old upward,+ everyone going out to the army in Israel.+ YOU should register them according to their armies, you and Aaron.

4 “And some men should be with YOU, one man to a tribe; each is a head to the house of his fathers.+ 5 And these are the names of the men who will stand with YOU: Of Reuʹben,+ E·liʹzur+ the son of Shedʹe·ur; 6 of Simʹe·on,+ She·luʹmi·el+ the son of Zu·ri·shadʹdai; 7 of Judah,+ Nahʹshon+ the son of Am·minʹa·dab; 8 of Isʹsa·char,+ Ne·thanʹel+ the son of Zuʹar; 9 of Zebʹu·lun,+ E·liʹab+ the son of Heʹlon; 10 of the sons of Joseph:+ of Eʹphra·im,+ E·lishʹa·ma the son of Am·miʹhud; of Ma·nasʹseh,+ Ga·maʹli·el the son of Pe·dahʹzur; 11 of Benjamin,+ Abʹi·dan+ the son of Gid·e·oʹni; 12 of Dan,+ A·hi·eʹzer+ the son of Am·mi·shadʹdai; 13 of Ashʹer,+ Paʹgi·el+ the son of Ochʹran; 14 of Gad,+ E·liʹa·saph+ the son of Deuʹel;*+ 15 of Naphʹta·li,+ A·hiʹra+ the son of Eʹnan. 16 These are the ones called of the assembly, the chieftains*+ of the tribes of their fathers. They are the heads of the thousands of Israel.”+

17 So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by names. 18 And they congregated all the assembly on the first day of the second month, that they might have their descent+ acknowledged as regards their families in the house of their fathers, by the number of the names, from twenty years old upward,+ head by head of them, 19 just as Jehovah had commanded Moses; and he proceeded to register+ them in the wilderness of Siʹnai.

20 And the sons of Reuʹben, Israel’s firstborn,+ their births according to their families in the house of their fathers, came to be by the number of names, head by head of them, all the males from twenty years old upward, everyone going out to the army, 21 those registered of them of the tribe of Reuʹben, forty-six thousand five hundred.+

22 Of the sons of Simʹe·on,+ their births according to their families in the house of their fathers, those registered ones of his by the number of names, head by head of them, all the males from twenty years old upward, everyone going out to the army, 23 those registered of them of the tribe of Simʹe·on were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.+

24 Of the sons of Gad,+ their births according to their families in the house of their fathers by the number of names from twenty years old upward, everyone going out to the army, 25 those registered of them of the tribe of Gad+ were forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.+

26 Of the sons of Judah,+ their births according to their families in the house of their fathers by the number of names from twenty years old upward, everyone going out to the army, 27 those registered of them of the tribe of Judah were seventy-four thousand six hundred.+

28 Of the sons of Isʹsa·char,+ their births according to their families in the house of their fathers by the number of names from twenty years old upward, everyone going out to the army, 29 those registered of them of the tribe of Isʹsa·char were fifty-four thousand four hundred.+

30 Of the sons of Zebʹu·lun,+ their births according to their families in the house of their fathers by the number of names from twenty years old upward, everyone going out to the army, 31 those registered of them of the tribe of Zebʹu·lun were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.+

32 Of the sons of Joseph: of the sons of Eʹphra·im,+ their births according to their families in the house of their fathers by the number of names from twenty years old upward, everyone going out to the army, 33 those registered of them of the tribe of Eʹphra·im+ were forty thousand five hundred.+

34 Of the sons of Ma·nasʹseh,+ their births according to their families in the house of their fathers by the number of names from twenty years old upward, everyone going out to the army, 35 those registered of them of the tribe of Ma·nasʹseh were thirty-two thousand two hundred.+

36 Of the sons of Benjamin,+ their births according to their families in the house of their fathers by the number of names from twenty years old upward, everyone going out to the army, 37 those registered of them of the tribe of Benjamin were thirty-five thousand four hundred.+

38 Of the sons of Dan,+ their births according to their families in the house of their fathers by the number of names from twenty years old upward, everyone going out to the army, 39 those registered of them of the tribe of Dan were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.+

40 Of the sons of Ashʹer,+ their births according to their families in the house of their fathers by the number of names from twenty years old upward, everyone going out to the army, 41 those registered of them of the tribe of Ashʹer were forty-one thousand five hundred.+

42 Of the sons* of Naphʹta·li,+ their births according to their families in the house of their fathers by the number of names from twenty years old upward, everyone going out to the army, 43 those registered of them of the tribe of Naphʹta·li were fifty-three thousand four hundred.+

44 These are the ones registered, whom Moses registered, together with Aaron and the chieftains of Israel, twelve men. They represented one each the house of his fathers. 45 And all those registered of the sons of Israel according to the house of their fathers from twenty years old upward, everyone going out to the army in Israel, came to be, 46 yes, all those registered came to be six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.+

47 However, the Levites+ according to the tribe of their fathers did not get registered in among them.+ 48 Accordingly Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 49 “Only the tribe of Leʹvi you must not register, and the sum of them you must not take in among the sons of Israel.+ 50 And you yourself appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony+ and over all its utensils and over everything that belongs to it.*+ They themselves will carry the tabernacle and all its utensils,+ and they themselves will minister+ at it; and around the tabernacle they are to camp.+ 51 And whenever the tabernacle is setting out, the Levites should take it down;+ and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites should set it up; and any stranger* coming near should be put to death.+

52 “And the sons of Israel must encamp each with reference to his camp,* and each man by his [three-tribe] division*+ by their armies. 53 And the Levites should encamp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, that no indignation+ may arise against the assembly of the sons of Israel; and the Levites must keep the service due to the tabernacle of the Testimony.”+

54 And the sons of Israel proceeded to do according to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses. They did just so.+

2 Jehovah now spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 “The sons of Israel should encamp, each man by his [three-tribe] division,+ by the signs* for the house of their fathers. Round about in front of the tent of meeting they should encamp.

3 “And those camping eastward toward the sunrising will be the [three-tribe] division of the camp of Judah in their armies, and the chieftain for the sons of Judah is Nahʹshon+ the son of Am·minʹa·dab. 4 And his army and the ones registered of them are seventy-four thousand six hundred.+ 5 And those camping alongside him will be the tribe of Isʹsa·char,+ and the chieftain for the sons of Isʹsa·char is Ne·thanʹel+ the son of Zuʹar. 6 And his army and his registered ones are fifty-four thousand four hundred.+ 7 And the tribe of Zebʹu·lun; and the chieftain for the sons of Zebʹu·lun is E·liʹab+ the son of Heʹlon. 8 And his army and his registered ones are fifty-seven thousand four hundred.+

9 “All the registered ones of the camp of Judah are one hundred eighty-six thousand four hundred in their armies. They should set out first.+

10 “The [three-tribe] division of the camp of Reuʹben+ will be toward the south in their armies, and the chieftain for the sons of Reuʹben is E·liʹzur+ the son of Shedʹe·ur. 11 And his army and his registered ones are forty-six thousand five hundred.+ 12 And those camping alongside him will be the tribe of Simʹe·on, and the chieftain for the sons of Simʹe·on is She·luʹmi·el+ the son of Zu·ri·shadʹdai. 13 And his army and the ones registered of them are fifty-nine thousand three hundred.+ 14 And the tribe of Gad; and the chieftain for the sons of Gad is E·liʹa·saph+ the son of Reuʹel.* 15 And his army and the ones registered of them are forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.+

16 “All the registered ones of the camp of Reuʹben are one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty in their armies, and they should set out second.+

17 “When the tent of meeting+ must set out, the camp of the Levites+ will be in the middle of the camps.

“Just as they should encamp, so they should set out,+ each one at his place, according to their [three-tribe] divisions.

18 “The [three-tribe] division of the camp of Eʹphra·im+ in their armies will be toward the west, and the chieftain for the sons of Eʹphra·im is E·lishʹa·ma+ the son of Am·miʹhud. 19 And his army and the ones registered of them are forty thousand five hundred.+ 20 And alongside him will be the tribe of Ma·nasʹseh,+ and the chieftain for the sons of Ma·nasʹseh is Ga·maʹli·el+ the son of Pe·dahʹzur. 21 And his army and the ones registered of them are thirty-two thousand two hundred.+ 22 And the tribe of Benjamin;+ and the chieftain for the sons of Benjamin is Abʹi·dan+ the son of Gid·e·oʹni. 23 And his army and the ones registered of them are thirty-five thousand four hundred.+

24 “All the registered ones of the camp of Eʹphra·im are one hundred and eight thousand one hundred in their armies, and they should set out third.+

25 “The [three-tribe] division of the camp of Dan will be toward the north in their armies, and the chieftain for the sons of Dan is A·hi·eʹzer+ the son of Am·mi·shadʹdai. 26 And his army and the ones registered of them are sixty-two thousand seven hundred.+ 27 And the ones camping alongside him will be the tribe of Ashʹer, and the chieftain for the sons of Ashʹer is Paʹgi·el+ the son of Ochʹran. 28 And his army and the ones registered of them are forty-one thousand five hundred.+ 29 And the tribe of Naphʹta·li;+ and the chieftain for the sons of Naphʹta·li is A·hiʹra+ the son of Eʹnan. 30 And his army and the ones registered of them are fifty-three thousand four hundred.+

31 “All the registered ones of the camp of Dan are one hundred fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They should set out last+—according to their* [three-tribe] divisions.”

32 These were the registered ones of the sons of Israel according to the house of their fathers; all the registered ones of the camps in their armies were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.+ 33 But the Levites did not get registered+ in among the sons of Israel, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses. 34 And the sons of Israel proceeded to do according to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses.+ That is the way they encamped in their [three-tribe] divisions,+ and that is the way they set out,+ each one in his families with regard to the house of his fathers.

3 Now these were the generations* of Aaron and Moses in the day that Jehovah spoke with Moses in Mount Siʹnai.+ 2 And these were the names of Aaron’s sons: the firstborn Naʹdab and A·biʹhu,+ El·e·aʹzar+ and Ithʹa·mar.+ 3 These were the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests whose hands had been filled with power to act as priests.+ 4 However, Naʹdab and A·biʹhu died before Jehovah when they offered illegitimate fire+ before Jehovah in the wilderness of Siʹnai; and they did not come to have any sons. But El·e·aʹzar+ and Ithʹa·mar+ continued to act as priests along with Aaron their father.

5 And Jehovah proceeded to speak to Moses, saying: 6 “Bring the tribe of Leʹvi+ near, and you must stand them before Aaron the priest, and they must minister+ to him. 7 And they must keep their obligation to him and their obligation to all the assembly before the tent of meeting in discharging the service of the tabernacle. 8 And they must take care of all the utensils+ of the tent of meeting, even the obligation of the sons of Israel in discharging the service of the tabernacle.+ 9 And you must give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They are given ones,* given to him from the sons of Israel.+ 10 And you should appoint Aaron and his sons, and they must take care of their priesthood;+ and any stranger* coming near should be put to death.”+

11 And Jehovah continued to speak to Moses, saying: 12 “As for me, look! I do take the Levites from among the sons of Israel in place of all the firstborn+ opening the womb of the sons of Israel; and the Levites must become mine. 13 For every firstborn is mine.+ In the day that I struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt+ I sanctified to myself every firstborn in Israel from man to beast.+ They should become mine. I am Jehovah.”

14 And Jehovah spoke further to Moses in the wilderness of Siʹnai,+ saying: 15 “Register the sons of Leʹvi according to the house of their fathers by their families. Every male from a month old upward you should register.”+ 16 And Moses began to register them at the order of Jehovah, just as he had been commanded. 17 And these came to be the sons of Leʹvi+ by their names: Gerʹshon and Koʹhath and Me·rarʹi.+

18 Now these were the names of the sons of Gerʹshon by their families: Libʹni and Shimʹe·i.+

19 And the sons of Koʹhath+ by their families were Amʹram and Izʹhar,+ Heʹbron and Uzʹzi·el.

20 And the sons of Me·rarʹi+ by their families were Mahʹli+ and Muʹshi.+

These were the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.

21 Of Gerʹshon there were the family of the Libʹnites+ and the family of the Shimʹe·ites.+ These were the families of the Gerʹshon·ites. 22 Their registered ones were by number of all males from a month old upward.+ Their registered ones were seven thousand five hundred.+ 23 The families of the Gerʹshon·ites were behind the tabernacle.+ They were encamped to the west. 24 And the chieftain of the paternal house for the Gerʹshon·ites was E·liʹa·saph the son of Laʹel. 25 And the obligation of the sons of Gerʹshon+ in the tent of meeting was the tabernacle and the tent,+ its covering+ and the screen+ of the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 and the hangings+ of the courtyard and the screen+ of the entrance of the courtyard that is round about the tabernacle and the altar, and its tent cords,+ for all its service.

27 And of Koʹhath there were the family of the Amʹram·ites and the family of the Izʹhar·ites and the family of the Heʹbron·ites and the family of the Uz·ziʹel·ites. These were the families of the Koʹhath·ites.+ 28 Among the number of all the males from a month old upward there were eight thousand six* hundred, taking care of the obligation to the holy place.+ 29 The families of the sons of Koʹhath were encamped on the side of the tabernacle to the south.+ 30 And the chieftain of the paternal house for the families of the Koʹhath·ites was E·li·zaʹphan the son of Uzʹzi·el.+ 31 And their obligation+ was the Ark+ and the table+ and the lampstand+ and the altars+ and the utensils+ of the holy place with which they would minister and the screen,+ and all its service.

32 And the chieftain of the chieftains of the Levites was El·e·aʹzar+ the son of Aaron the priest, who had the oversight of those taking care of the obligation to the holy place.

33 Of Me·rarʹi there were the family of the Mahʹlites+ and the family of the Muʹshites.+ These were the families of Me·rarʹi.+ 34 And their registered ones by the number of all the males from a month old upward were six thousand two hundred.+ 35 And the chieftain of the paternal house for the families of Me·rarʹi was Zuʹri·el the son of Abʹi·ha·il. They were encamped on the side of the tabernacle toward the north.+ 36 And the oversight for which the sons of Me·rarʹi were obligated was over the panel frames+ of the tabernacle and its bars+ and its pillars+ and its socket pedestals and all its utensils+ and all its service,+ 37 and the pillars+ of the courtyard round about and their socket pedestals+ and their tent pins and their tent cords.

38 And those camping before the tabernacle toward the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, those taking care of the obligation to the sanctuary,+ as the obligation for the sons of Israel. And any stranger* coming near would be put to death.+

39 All the registered ones of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron* registered at the order of Jehovah by their families, all the males from a month old upward, were twenty-two thousand.

40 Then Jehovah said to Moses: “Register all the firstborn males of the sons of Israel from a month old upward,+ and take the number of their names. 41 And you must take the Levites for me—I am Jehovah—in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel,+ and the domestic animals of the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the domestic animals of the sons of Israel.”+ 42 And Moses proceeded, just as Jehovah had commanded him, to register all the firstborn among the sons of Israel. 43 And all the firstborn males by the number of the names from a month old upward of their registered ones came to be twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

44 And Jehovah continued to speak to Moses, saying: 45 “Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the domestic animals of the Levites in place of their domestic animals; and the Levites must become mine.+ I am Jehovah. 46 And as the ransom price+ of the two hundred and seventy-three from the firstborn of the sons of Israel, who are in excess of the Levites,+ 47 you must take five shekels for each individual.+ In the shekel of the holy place you should take it. A shekel is twenty geʹrahs.+ 48 And you must give the money to Aaron and his sons as the ransom price of those who are in excess of them.” 49 So Moses took the money of the redemption price from those who were in excess of the ransom price of the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money, a thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels,* in the shekel of the holy place. 51 Then Moses gave the money of the ransom price to Aaron and his sons according to the order of Jehovah, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

4 Jehovah now spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 “There will be a taking* of the sum of the sons of Koʹhath+ from among the sons of Leʹvi, according to their families in the house of their fathers, 3 from thirty* years old+ upward to fifty years old,+ all those going into the service group*+ to do the work in the tent of meeting.

4 “This is the service of the sons of Koʹhath in the tent of meeting.+ It is something most holy: 5 And Aaron and his sons must come in when the camp is departing, and they must take down the screening curtain+ and must cover the ark+ of the testimony with it. 6 And they must put a covering of sealskins+ over it and spread out an entire cloth of blue on top and put in its poles.+

7 “And they will spread out a cloth of blue over the table+ of showbread, and they must put upon it the dishes+ and the cups and the bowls+ and the pitchers of the drink offering; and the constant bread+ should continue on it. 8 And they must spread out a cloth of coccus+ scarlet over them, and they must cover it with a covering of sealskins+ and put in its poles.+ 9 And they must take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand+ of the luminary and its lamps+ and its snuffers+ and its fire holders+ and all its vessels+ for oil with which they regularly minister to it. 10 And they must put it and all its utensils into a covering of sealskins+ and put it upon a bar. 11 And over the golden altar+ they will spread out a cloth of blue, and they must cover it with a covering of sealskins+ and put in its poles.+ 12 And they must take all the utensils+ of the ministry with which they regularly minister in the holy place, and they must put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of sealskins+ and put them upon a bar.

13 “And they must clear away the fatty ashes of the altar+ and spread out a cloth of wool dyed reddish purple over it. 14 And they must put upon it all its utensils with which they regularly minister at it, the fire holders, the forks and the shovels and the bowls, all the utensils of the altar;+ and they must spread out over it a covering of sealskins and put in its poles.*+

15 “And Aaron and his sons must finish covering the holy place+ and all the utensils+ of the holy place when the camp is departing, and after that the sons of Koʹhath will come in to carry them,+ but they must not touch+ the holy place so that they have to die. These things are the load of the sons of Koʹhath in the tent of meeting.+

16 “And the oversight+ of El·e·aʹzar the son of Aaron the priest is over the oil+ of the luminary and the perfumed incense+ and the constant grain offering+ and the anointing oil,+ the oversight of all the tabernacle and all that is in it, namely, the holy place and its utensils.”

17 And Jehovah spoke further to Moses and Aaron, saying: 18 “Do not let the tribe of the families of the Koʹhath·ites+ be cut off from among the Levites. 19 But do this for them that they may indeed keep alive and may not die for their approaching the most holy things.+ Aaron and his sons will come in, and they must assign them each one to his service and to his load. 20 And they must not come in to see the holy things for the least moment of time,* and so they have to die.”+

21 Then Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 22 “There will be a taking* of the sum of the sons of Gerʹshon,+ yes, them by the house of their fathers according to their families. 23 From thirty years old upward to fifty years you will register them,+ all who come to enter into the service group to render service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the families of the Gerʹshon·ites as to serving and as to carrying.+ 25 And they must carry the tent cloths+ of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting,+ its covering+ and the sealskin covering+ that is on top over it, and the screen+ of the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 and the hangings+ of the courtyard and the entrance screen+ of the gate of the courtyard that is round about the tabernacle and the altar, and their tent cords and all their service utensils, and all things with which* work is regularly done. Thus they must serve. 27 At the order of Aaron and his sons+ all the service of the sons of the Gerʹshon·ites+ should take place as regards all their loads and all their service, and YOU must assign all their loads to them by obligation.* 28 This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gerʹshon·ites+ in the tent of meeting, and their obligatory service is under the hand of Ithʹa·mar+ the son of Aaron the priest.

29 “As for the sons of Me·rarʹi,+ you will register them by their families in the house of their fathers. 30 From thirty years old upward to fifty years you will register them, all who enter into the service group to render the service of the tent of meeting.+ 31 And this is their obligation, their load,+ according to all their service in the tent of meeting: the panel frames+ of the tabernacle and its bars+ and its pillars+ and its socket pedestals,+ 32 and the pillars+ of the courtyard round about and their socket pedestals+ and their tent pins+ and their tent cords together with all their equipment and all their service. And by their names YOU will assign the equipment for which they are obligated, as their load.+ 33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Me·rarʹi+ according to all their service in the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ithʹa·mar the son of Aaron the priest.”+

34 And Moses and Aaron and the chieftains+ of the assembly proceeded to register the sons of the Koʹhath·ites+ by their families and by the house of their fathers, 35 from thirty+ years old upward to fifty years,+ all who entered into the service group for the service in the tent of meeting.+ 36 And the ones registered of them by their families came to be two thousand seven hundred and fifty.+ 37 These are the registered+ ones of the families of the Koʹhath·ites, all those serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron registered at the order of Jehovah by means of Moses.

38 As for the registered ones of the sons of Gerʹshon+ by their families and by the house of their fathers, 39 from thirty years old upward to fifty years, all who entered into the service group for the service in the tent of meeting,+ 40 the ones registered of them by their families, by the house of their fathers, came to be two thousand six hundred and thirty.+ 41 These were the registered ones of the families of the sons of Gerʹshon, all those serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron registered at the order of Jehovah.+

42 As for the registered ones of the families of the sons of Me·rarʹi by their families, by the house of their fathers, 43 from thirty years old upward to fifty years old, all those entering into the service group for the service in the tent of meeting,+ 44 the ones registered of them by their families came to be three thousand two hundred.+ 45 These were the registered ones of the families of the sons of Me·rarʹi, whom Moses and Aaron registered at the order of Jehovah by means of Moses.+

46 All the registered ones whom Moses and Aaron and the chieftains of Israel registered as Levites by their families and by the house of their fathers, 47 from thirty years old upward to fifty years old,+ all those coming to render the laborious service and the service of carrying loads in the tent of meeting,+ 48 their registered ones came to be eight thousand five hundred and eighty.+ 49 At the order of Jehovah they were registered* by means of Moses, each one according to his service and his load; and they were registered just as Jehovah had commanded Moses.+

5 And Jehovah spoke further to Moses, saying: 2 “Command the sons of Israel that they send out of the camp every leprous person+ and everyone having a running discharge+ and everyone unclean by a deceased soul.*+ 3 Whether a male or a female YOU should send them out. YOU should send them outside the camp,+ that they may not contaminate+ the camps of those in the midst of whom I am tabernacling.”+ 4 And the sons of Israel proceeded to do so, even to send them outside the camp. Just as Jehovah had spoken to Moses, so the sons of Israel did.

5 And Jehovah continued speaking to Moses, saying: 6 “Speak to the sons of Israel, ‘As for a man or a woman, in case they do any of all the sins of mankind in committing an act of unfaithfulness against Jehovah, that soul has also become guilty.+ 7 And they must confess+ their sin that they have done, and he must return the amount of his guilt in its principal, also adding a fifth of it to it,+ and he must give it to the one against whom he did wrong. 8 But if the latter has no near relative* to whom to return the amount of the guilt, the amount of the guilt that is being returned to Jehovah belongs to the priest,* except the ram of atonement with which he will make atonement for him.+

9 “‘And every contribution+ of all the holy things+ of the sons of Israel, which they will present to the priest, should become his.+ 10 And the holy things of each one will remain his own. Whatever each one may give to the priest, that will become his.’”

11 And Jehovah went on to speak to Moses, saying: 12 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and you must say to them, ‘In case any man’s wife turns aside in that she does commit an act of unfaithfulness against him,+ 13 and another man actually lies down with her and has an emission of semen,+ and it has been hidden from the eyes of her husband+ and has remained undiscovered, and she, on her part, has defiled herself but there is no witness against her, and she herself has not been caught; 14 and the spirit of jealousy+ has passed upon him, and he has become suspicious of his wife’s faithfulness, and she in fact has defiled herself, or the spirit of jealousy has passed upon him, and he has become suspicious of his wife’s faithfulness, but she in fact has not defiled herself; 15 then the man must bring his wife to the priest+ and bring her offering along with her, a tenth of an eʹphah* of barley flour. He must not pour oil upon it nor put frankincense+ upon it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a memorial grain offering bringing error to remembrance.

16 “‘And the priest must bring her forward and make her stand before Jehovah.+ 17 And the priest must take holy water* in an earthenware vessel, and the priest will take some of the dust that happens to be on the floor of the tabernacle, and he must put it in the water. 18 And the priest must make the woman stand before Jehovah and loosen the hair of the woman’s head and put upon her palms the memorial grain offering, that is, the grain offering of jealousy,+ and in the hand of the priest there should be the bitter water that brings a curse.+

19 “‘And the priest must make her swear, and he must say to the woman: “If no man has lain down with you and if while under your husband+ you have not turned aside in any uncleanness, be free of the effect of this bitter water that brings a curse. 20 But you, in case you have turned aside while under your husband+ and in case you have defiled yourself and some man has put in you his seminal emission,+ besides your husband,—” 21 The priest must now make the woman swear with an oath involving cursing,+ and the priest must say to the woman: “May Jehovah set you for a cursing and an oath in the midst of your people by Jehovah’s letting your thigh+ fall away, and your belly swell. 22 And this water that brings a curse must enter into your intestines to cause your belly to swell and the thigh to fall away.” To this the woman must say: “Amen! Amen!”*

23 “‘And the priest must write these cursings in the book+ and must wipe+ them out into the bitter water. 24 And he must make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse,+ and the water that brings a curse must enter into her as something bitter. 25 And the priest must take the grain offering+ of jealousy from the woman’s hand and wave the grain offering to and fro before Jehovah, and he must bring it near the altar. 26 And the priest must grasp some of the grain offering as a remembrancer+ of it and must make it smoke upon the altar, and afterward he will make the woman drink the water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, it must also occur that if she has defiled herself in that she committed an act of unfaithfulness toward her husband,+ the water that brings a curse must then enter into her as something bitter, and her belly must swell, and her thigh must fall away, and the woman must become a cursing in among her people.+ 28 However, if the woman has not defiled herself but she is clean, she must then be free from such punishment;+ and she must be made pregnant with semen.

29 “‘This is the law about jealousy,+ where a woman may turn aside+ while under her husband,+ and she does defile herself, 30 or in the case of a man where the spirit of jealousy may pass upon him, and he does suspect his wife of unfaithfulness; and he must make the wife stand before Jehovah, and the priest must carry out toward her all this law. 31 And the man must be innocent of error, but that wife will answer for her error.’”

6 And Jehovah spoke further to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and you must say to them, ‘In case a man or a woman takes a special vow to live as a Nazʹi·rite*+ to Jehovah, 3 he should keep away from wine and intoxicating liquor. He should not drink the vinegar of wine or the vinegar of intoxicating liquor,+ nor drink any liquid made from grapes, nor eat grapes either fresh or dried. 4 All the days of his Naziriteship he should not eat anything at all that is made from the wine vine, from the unripe grapes to the skins.*

5 “‘All the days of the vow of his Naziriteship no razor should pass over his head;+ until the days that he should be separated to Jehovah come to the full, he should prove holy by letting the locks+ of the hair of his head grow. 6 All the days of his keeping separate to Jehovah he may not come toward any dead soul.*+ 7 Not even for his father or his mother or his brother or his sister may he defile himself when they die,+ because the sign of his Naziriteship to his God is upon his head.

8 “‘All the days of his Naziriteship he is holy to Jehovah. 9 But in case anyone dying should die quite suddenly alongside him+ so that he has defiled the head of his Naziriteship, he must then shave+ his head in the day of establishing his purification. On the seventh day he should shave it. 10 And on the eighth day he should bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons* to the priest to the entrance of the tent of meeting.+ 11 And the priest must handle one as a sin offering+ and the other as a burnt offering+ and make atonement for him, since he has sinned because of the [dead] soul.* Then he must sanctify his head on that day. 12 And he must live as a Nazʹi·rite+ to Jehovah for the days of his Naziriteship, and he must bring a young ram in its first year as a guilt offering;+ and the former days will go uncounted because he defiled his Naziriteship.*

13 “‘Now this is the law about the Nazʹi·rite: On the day that the days of his Naziriteship come to the full,+ he will be brought* to the entrance of the tent of meeting. 14 And he must present as his offering to Jehovah one sound young ram in its first year as a burnt offering+ and one sound female lamb in its first year as a sin offering+ and one sound ram as a communion sacrifice,+ 15 and a basket of unfermented ring-shaped cakes of fine flour,+ moistened with oil,+ and unfermented wafers smeared with oil,+ and their grain offering+ and their drink offerings.+ 16 And the priest must present them before Jehovah and render up his sin offering and his burnt offering.+ 17 And he will render up the ram as a communion sacrifice+ to Jehovah along with the basket of unfermented cakes; and the priest must render up its grain offering+ and its drink offering.

18 “‘And the Nazʹi·rite must shave+ the head of his Naziriteship at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and he must take the hair of the head of his Naziriteship and put it upon the fire that is under the communion sacrifice. 19 And the priest must take a boiled+ shoulder from the ram and one unfermented ring-shaped cake out of the basket, and one unfermented wafer,+ and put them upon the palms of the Nazʹi·rite after he has had the sign of his Naziriteship shaved off. 20 And the priest must wave them to and fro as a wave offering before Jehovah.+ It is something holy for the priest, along with the breast+ of the wave offering and the leg of the contribution.+ And afterward the Nazʹi·rite may drink wine.+

21 “‘This is the law about the Nazʹi·rite+ who vows—his offering to Jehovah over his Naziriteship, besides that which he can afford. According to his vow that he may make, so he should do because of the law of his Naziriteship.’”

22 Then Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way YOU should bless+ the sons of Israel, saying* to them:

24 “May Jehovah bless you+ and keep you.+

25 May Jehovah make his face shine toward you,+ and may he favor you.+

26 May Jehovah lift up his face toward you+ and assign peace to you.”’+

27 And they must place my name+ upon the sons of Israel, that I myself may bless them.”+

7 Now it came about on the day that Moses finished setting up the tabernacle+ that he proceeded to anoint+ it and to sanctify it and all its furnishings* and the altar and all its utensils. Thus he anointed them and sanctified them.+ 2 Then the chieftains of Israel,+ the heads of the house of their fathers, made a presentation,+ they being the chieftains of the tribes and standing over the ones registered, 3 and they brought their offering before Jehovah, six covered wagons and twelve cattle, a wagon for two chieftains and a bull for each one; and they presented them before the tabernacle. 4 At this Jehovah said to Moses: 5 “Accept them from them, as they must serve for carrying on the service of the tent of meeting, and you must give them to the Levites, each one in proportion to his own service.”

6 So Moses accepted the wagons and the cattle and gave them to the Levites. 7 Two wagons and four cattle he gave to the sons of Gerʹshon in proportion to their service,+ 8 and four wagons and eight cattle he gave to the sons of Me·rarʹi in proportion to their service,+ under the hand of Ithʹa·mar the son of Aaron the priest.+ 9 But to the sons of Koʹhath he gave none, because the service of the holy place was upon them.+ They did their carrying on the shoulder.+

10 Now the chieftains made their presentation at* the inauguration+ of the altar on the day of its being anointed, and the chieftains proceeded with presenting their offering before the altar. 11 So Jehovah said to Moses: “One chieftain on one day and another chieftain on another day is the way they will present their offering for the inauguration of the altar.”+

12 Now the one presenting his offering on the first day proved to be Nahʹshon+ the son of Am·minʹa·dab of the tribe of Judah. 13 And his offering was one silver dish, its weight being a hundred and thirty shekels,* one silver bowl of seventy shekels by the shekel of the holy place,+ both of them full of fine flour moistened with oil for a grain offering;+ 14 one gold cup* of ten shekels, full of incense;+ 15 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering;+ 16 one kid of the goats for a sin offering;+ 17 and for a communion+ sacrifice two cattle, five rams, five he-goats, five male lambs each a year old. This was the offering of Nahʹshon the son of Am·minʹa·dab.+

18 On the second day Ne·thanʹel+ the son of Zuʹar, the chieftain of Isʹsa·char, made a presentation. 19 He presented as his offering one silver dish, its weight being a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels by the shekel of the holy place, both of them full of fine flour moistened with oil for a grain offering;+ 20 one gold cup of ten shekels, full of incense; 21 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering;+ 22 one kid of the goats for a sin offering;+ 23 and for a communion+ sacrifice two cattle, five rams, five he-goats, five male lambs each a year old. This was the offering of Ne·thanʹel the son of Zuʹar.

24 On the third day there was the chieftain for the sons of Zebʹu·lun, E·liʹab+ the son of Heʹlon. 25 His offering was one silver dish, its weight being a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels by the shekel of the holy place, both of them full of fine flour moistened with oil for a grain offering; 26 one gold cup of ten shekels, full of incense; 27 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering;+ 28 one kid of the goats for a sin offering;+ 29 and for a communion+ sacrifice two cattle, five rams, five he-goats, five male lambs each a year old. This was the offering of E·liʹab the son of Heʹlon.+

30 On the fourth day there was the chieftain for the sons of Reuʹben, E·liʹzur+ the son of Shedʹe·ur. 31 His offering was one silver dish, its weight being a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels by the shekel of the holy place, both of them full of fine flour moistened with oil for a grain offering;+ 32 one gold cup of ten shekels, full of incense; 33 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering;+ 34 one kid of the goats for a sin offering;+ 35 and for a communion+ sacrifice two cattle, five rams, five he-goats, five male lambs each a year old. This was the offering of E·liʹzur the son of Shedʹe·ur.+

36 On the fifth day there was the chieftain for the sons of Simʹe·on, She·luʹmi·el+ the son of Zu·ri·shadʹdai. 37 His offering was one silver dish, its weight being a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels by the shekel of the holy place, both of them full of fine flour moistened with oil for a grain offering;+ 38 one gold cup of ten shekels, full of incense; 39 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering;+ 40 one kid of the goats for a sin offering;+ 41 and for a communion+ sacrifice two cattle, five rams, five he-goats, five male lambs each a year old. This was the offering of She·luʹmi·el the son of Zu·ri·shadʹdai.+

42 On the sixth day there was the chieftain for the sons of Gad, E·liʹa·saph+ the son of Deuʹel. 43 His offering was one silver dish, its weight being a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels by the shekel of the holy place, both of them full of fine flour moistened with oil for a grain offering;+ 44 one gold cup of ten shekels, full of incense;+ 45 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering;+ 46 one kid of the goats for a sin offering;+ 47 and for a communion+ sacrifice two cattle, five rams, five he-goats, five male lambs each a year old. This was the offering of E·liʹa·saph the son of Deuʹel.+

48 On the seventh day there was the chieftain for the sons of Eʹphra·im, E·lishʹa·ma+ the son of Am·miʹhud. 49 His offering was one silver dish, its weight being a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels by the shekel of the holy place, both of them full of fine flour moistened with oil for a grain offering;+ 50 one gold cup of ten shekels, full of incense; 51 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering;+ 52 one kid of the goats for a sin offering;+ 53 and for a communion+ sacrifice two cattle, five rams, five he-goats, five male lambs each a year old. This was the offering of E·lishʹa·ma the son of Am·miʹhud.+

54 On the eighth day there was the chieftain for the sons of Ma·nasʹseh, Ga·maʹli·el+ the son of Pe·dahʹzur. 55 His offering was one silver dish, its weight being a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels by the shekel of the holy place, both of them full of fine flour moistened with oil for a grain offering;+ 56 one gold cup of ten shekels, full of incense;+ 57 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering;+ 58 one kid of the goats for a sin offering;+ 59 and for a communion+ sacrifice two cattle, five rams, five he-goats, five male lambs each a year old. This was the offering of Ga·maʹli·el the son of Pe·dahʹzur.+

60 On the ninth day there was the chieftain+ for the sons of Benjamin, Abʹi·dan+ the son of Gid·e·oʹni. 61 His offering was one silver dish, its weight being a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels by the shekel of the holy place, both of them full of fine flour moistened with oil for a grain offering;+ 62 one gold cup of ten shekels, full of incense; 63 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering;+ 64 one kid of the goats for a sin offering;+ 65 and for a communion+ sacrifice two cattle, five rams, five he-goats, five male lambs each a year old. This was the offering of Abʹi·dan the son of Gid·e·oʹni.+

66 On the tenth day there was the chieftain for the sons of Dan, A·hi·eʹzer+ the son of Am·mi·shadʹdai. 67 His offering was one silver dish, its weight being a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels by the shekel of the holy place, both of them full of fine flour moistened with oil for a grain offering;+ 68 one gold cup of ten shekels, full of incense; 69 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering;+ 70 one kid of the goats for a sin offering;+ 71 and for a communion+ sacrifice two cattle, five rams, five he-goats, five male lambs each a year old. This was the offering of A·hi·eʹzer the son of Am·mi·shadʹdai.+

72 On the eleventh day there was the chieftain for the sons of Ashʹer, Paʹgi·el+ the son of Ochʹran. 73 His offering was one silver dish, its weight being a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels by the shekel of the holy place, both of them full of fine flour moistened with oil for a grain offering;+ 74 one gold cup of ten shekels, full of incense;+ 75 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering;+ 76 one kid of the goats for a sin offering;+ 77 and for a communion+ sacrifice two cattle, five rams, five he-goats, five male lambs each a year old. This was the offering of Paʹgi·el the son of Ochʹran.+

78 On the twelfth day there was the chieftain for the sons of Naphʹta·li, A·hiʹra+ the son of Eʹnan. 79 His offering was one silver dish, its weight being a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels by the shekel of the holy place, both of them full of fine flour moistened with oil for a grain offering;+ 80 one gold cup of ten shekels, full of incense;+ 81 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering;+ 82 one kid of the goats for a sin offering;+ 83 and for a communion+ sacrifice two cattle, five rams, five he-goats, five male lambs each a year old. This was the offering of A·hiʹra the son of Eʹnan.+

84 This was the inauguration offering+ of the altar on the day of its being anointed, on the part of the chieftains+ of Israel: twelve silver dishes, twelve silver bowls,+ twelve gold cups; 85 a hundred and thirty shekels to each silver dish, and seventy to each bowl, all the silver of the vessels being two thousand four hundred shekels by the shekel of the holy place;+ 86 the twelve gold cups+ full of incense being ten shekels respectively to a cup by the shekel of the holy place, all the gold of the cups being a hundred and twenty shekels; 87 all the cattle for the burnt offering+ being twelve bulls, twelve rams, twelve male lambs each a year old and their grain+ offerings, and twelve kids of the goats for a sin offering;+ 88 and all the cattle of the communion+ sacrifice being twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty he-goats, sixty male lambs each a year old. This was the inauguration+ offering of the altar after its being anointed.+

89 Now whenever Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with him,+ then he would hear the voice* conversing with him from above the cover+ that was upon the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubs;+ and he would speak to him.

8 And Jehovah proceeded to speak to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to Aaron, and you must say to him, ‘Whenever you light up the lamps, the seven lamps should shine on the area in front of the lampstand.’”+ 3 And Aaron began to do so. He lit up its lamps for the area in front of the lampstand,+ just as Jehovah had commanded Moses. 4 Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand. It was hammered work of gold. Up to its sides and up to its blossoms it was hammered work.+ According to the vision+ that Jehovah had shown Moses, so he had made the lampstand.

5 And Jehovah spoke further to Moses, saying: 6 “Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and you must cleanse them.+ 7 And this is what you should do to them to cleanse them: Spatter sin-cleansing water upon them,+ and they must have a razor pass over all their flesh+ and must wash their garments+ and cleanse themselves.+ 8 Then they must take a young bull+ and its grain offering+ of fine flour moistened with oil, and you will take another young bull for a sin offering.+ 9 And you must present the Levites before the tent of meeting and congregate all the assembly of the sons of Israel.+ 10 And you must present the Levites before Jehovah, and the sons of Israel must lay+ their hands upon the Levites.+ 11 And Aaron must cause the Levites to move to and fro before Jehovah as a wave+ offering from the sons of Israel, and they must serve for carrying on the service of Jehovah.+

12 “Then the Levites will lay their hands upon the heads of the bulls.+ After that, render up the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to Jehovah to make atonement+ for the Levites. 13 And you must have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and must cause them to move to and fro as a wave offering to Jehovah. 14 And you must separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites must become mine.+ 15 And afterward the Levites will come in to serve at the tent of meeting.+ So you must cleanse them and cause them to move to and fro as a wave offering.+ 16 For they are given ones,* given to me from among the sons of Israel.+ In place of those opening all wombs, all the firstborn of the sons of Israel,+ I must take them for myself. 17 For every firstborn among the sons of Israel is mine, among man and among beast.+ On the day of my striking every firstborn in the land of Egypt+ I sanctified them to myself.+ 18 And I shall take the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel.+ 19 And I shall give the Levites as given ones to Aaron and his sons from among the sons of Israel,+ to carry on the service of the sons of Israel in the tent of meeting+ and to make atonement for the sons of Israel, that no plague may occur among the sons of Israel+ because the sons of Israel approach the holy place.”

20 And Moses and Aaron and all the assembly of the sons of Israel proceeded to do so to the Levites. In accord with all that Jehovah had commanded Moses as regards the Levites, that is the way the sons of Israel did to them. 21 So the Levites purified themselves+ and washed their garments, after which Aaron caused them to move to and fro as a wave offering before Jehovah.+ Then Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.+ 22 First after that the Levites came in to carry on their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons.+ Just as Jehovah had commanded Moses respecting the Levites, so they did to them.

23 Jehovah now spoke to Moses, saying: 24 “This is what applies to the Levites:* From twenty-five years old upward he will come to enter into the company in the service of the tent of meeting. 25 But after the age of fifty years he will retire from the service company and serve no longer. 26 And he must minister to his brothers in the tent of meeting in taking care of the obligation, but he must render no service. In accord with this you will do to the Levites in their obligations.”+

9 And Jehovah proceeded to speak to Moses in the wilderness of Siʹnai in the second year of their coming out of the land of Egypt, in the first month,+ saying: 2 “Now the sons of Israel should prepare the passover+ sacrifice at its appointed time.+ 3 On the fourteenth day in this month between the two evenings*+ YOU should prepare it at its appointed time. According to all its statutes and all its regular procedures YOU should prepare it.”+

4 So Moses spoke to the sons of Israel to prepare the passover sacrifice. 5 Then they prepared the passover sacrifice in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month between the two evenings, in the wilderness of Siʹnai. According to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel did.+

6 Now there happened to be men who had become unclean by a human soul*+ so that they were not able to prepare the passover sacrifice on that day. Hence they presented themselves before Moses and Aaron on that day.+ 7 Then those men said to him:* “We are unclean by a human soul. Why should we be restrained from presenting the offering+ to Jehovah at its appointed time in the midst of the sons of Israel?” 8 At this Moses said to them: “Stand there, and let me hear what Jehovah may command regarding YOU.”+

9 Then Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 10 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Although any man of YOU or of YOUR generations should happen to be unclean by a soul*+ or off on a distant* journey, he too must prepare the passover sacrifice to Jehovah. 11 In the second month,+ on the fourteenth day between the two evenings, they should prepare it. Together with unfermented cakes and bitter greens they should eat it.+ 12 They must not let any of it remain until morning,+ and they should break no bone in it.+ According to the whole statute of the passover they should prepare it.+ 13 But when the man was clean or did not happen to be off on a journey and neglected to prepare the passover sacrifice, that soul must then be cut off from his people,+ because the offering of Jehovah he did not present at its appointed time. For his sin that man will answer.+

14 “‘And in case an alien resident should be residing with YOU as an alien, he also must prepare the passover sacrifice to Jehovah.+ According to the statute of the passover and according to its regular procedure is the way he should do.+ There should exist one statute for YOU people, both for the alien resident and for the native of the land.’”+

15 Now on the day of setting up the tabernacle+ the cloud covered the tabernacle of the tent of the Testimony,+ but in the evening what appeared to be fire+ continued over the tabernacle until morning. 16 That is the way it went on constantly: The cloud would cover it by day,* and the appearance of fire by night.+ 17 And whenever the cloud would go up from over the tent, the sons of Israel would pull away* right afterward,+ and in the place where the cloud would reside, there is where the sons of Israel would encamp.+ 18 At the order of Jehovah the sons of Israel would pull away, and at the order of Jehovah they would encamp.+ All the days that the cloud would reside over the tabernacle, they would remain encamped. 19 And when the cloud prolonged its stay over the tabernacle many days, the sons of Israel also kept their obligation to Jehovah that they should not pull away.+ 20 And sometimes* the cloud would continue a few days over the tabernacle. At the order+ of Jehovah they would remain encamped, and at the order of Jehovah they would pull away. 21 And sometimes the cloud+ would continue from evening to morning; and the cloud lifted itself in the morning, and they pulled away. Whether it was by day or by night that the cloud lifted itself, they also pulled away.+ 22 Whether it was two days or a month or more days* during which the cloud prolonged its stay over the tabernacle by residing over it, the sons of Israel remained encamped and would not pull away, but when it lifted itself they would pull away.+ 23 At the order of Jehovah they would encamp, and at the order of Jehovah they would pull away. They kept their obligation+ to Jehovah at the order of Jehovah by means of Moses.+

10 And Jehovah proceeded to speak to Moses, saying: 2 “Make for yourself two trumpets*+ of silver. You will make them of hammered work, and they must be at your service for convening+ the assembly and for breaking up the camps. 3 And they must blow on them both, and the whole assembly must keep their appointment with you at the entrance of the tent of meeting.+ 4 And if they should blow on just one, the chieftains as heads of the thousands of Israel must also keep their appointment with you.+

5 “And YOU men must blow a fluctuating blast, and the camps of those camping to the east+ must pull away. 6 And YOU must blow a fluctuating blast a second time, and the camps of those camping to the south+ must pull away.* They should blow a fluctuating blast for each time one of them pulls away.

7 “Now when calling the congregation together, YOU should blow,+ but YOU must not sound a fluctuating blast. 8 And Aaron’s sons, the priests, should blow on the trumpets,+ and the use of them must serve as a statute for YOU men to time indefinite during YOUR generations.

9 “And in case YOU should enter into war in YOUR land against the oppressor who is harassing YOU,+ YOU must also sound a war call on the trumpets,+ and YOU will certainly be remembered before Jehovah YOUR God and be saved from YOUR enemies.+

10 “And in the day of YOUR rejoicing+ and in YOUR festal seasons+ and at the commencements of YOUR months,+ YOU must blow on the trumpets over YOUR burnt offerings+ and YOUR communion sacrifices;+ and their use must serve as a memorial* for YOU before YOUR God. I am Jehovah YOUR God.”+

11 Now it came about that in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day in the month,+ the cloud lifted itself from over the tabernacle+ of the Testimony. 12 And the sons of Israel began to pull away in the manner of their departures+ from the wilderness of Siʹnai, and the cloud proceeded to reside in the wilderness of Paʹran.+ 13 And they began pulling away for the first time, according to the order of Jehovah by means of Moses.+

14 So the [three-tribe] division* of the camp of the sons of Judah pulled away first of all in their armies,+ and Nahʹshon+ the son of Am·minʹa·dab was over its army. 15 And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Isʹsa·char there was Ne·thanʹel+ the son of Zuʹar. 16 And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Zebʹu·lun there was E·liʹab the son of Heʹlon.+

17 And the tabernacle was taken down,+ and the sons of Gerʹshon+ and the sons of Me·rarʹi+ as carriers of the tabernacle pulled away.

18 And the [three-tribe] division of the camp of Reuʹben+ pulled away in their armies, and E·liʹzur+ the son of Shedʹe·ur was over its army. 19 And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Simʹe·on+ there was She·luʹmi·el+ the son of Zu·ri·shadʹdai. 20 And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Gad there was E·liʹa·saph+ the son of Deuʹel.

21 And the Koʹhath·ites as carriers of the sanctuary+ pulled away, as they will have set up the tabernacle by the time of their coming.

22 And the [three-tribe] division of the camp of the sons of Eʹphra·im+ pulled away in their armies, and E·lishʹa·ma+ the son of Am·miʹhud was over its army. 23 And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Ma·nasʹseh+ there was Ga·maʹli·el+ the son of Pe·dahʹzur. 24 And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin+ there was Abʹi·dan+ the son of Gid·e·oʹni.

25 And the [three-tribe] division of the camp of the sons of Dan+ pulled away as forming the rear guard+ for all the camps in their armies, and A·hi·eʹzer+ the son of Am·mi·shadʹdai was over its army. 26 And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Ashʹer+ there was Paʹgi·el+ the son of Ochʹran. 27 And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Naphʹta·li+ there was A·hiʹra+ the son of Eʹnan. 28 In this manner were the departures of the sons of Israel in their armies when they would pull away.+

29 Then Moses said to Hoʹbab the son of Reuʹel+ the Midʹi·an·ite, the father-in-law of Moses:* “We are pulling away for the place about which Jehovah said, ‘I shall give it to YOU.’+ Do come with us, and we shall certainly do good to you,+ because Jehovah has spoken good concerning Israel.”+ 30 But he said to him: “I shall not go along, but I shall go to my own country+ and to my relatives.” 31 At this he said: “Please, do not leave us, because, for the reason that you well know where we may encamp in the wilderness, you must serve as eyes for us. 32 And it must occur that in case you should come with us,+ yes, it must occur that with what goodness Jehovah will do good with us, we, in turn, will do good to you.”

33 So they went marching from the mountain of Jehovah+ for a journey of three days, and the ark of Jehovah’s covenant+ was marching before them for a journey of three days to search out a resting-place for them.+ 34 And Jehovah’s cloud+ was over them by day at their marching out from the encampment.

35 And it would occur that when the Ark would set out, Moses would say: “Do arise, O Jehovah, and let your enemies be scattered;+ and let those who intensely hate you flee from before you.”+ 36 And when it would rest, he would say: “Do return, O Jehovah, to* the myriads of thousands of Israel.”*+

11 Now the people became as men having something evil to complain about in the ears of Jehovah.+ When Jehovah got to hear it, then his anger grew hot, and a fire of Jehovah began to blaze against them and to consume some in the extremity of the camp.+ 2 When the people began to cry out to Moses, then he made supplication to Jehovah,+ and the fire sank down. 3 And the name of that place got to be called* Tabʹe·rah,*+ because a fire of Jehovah had blazed against them.

4 And the mixed crowd*+ that was in the midst of them expressed selfish longing,+ and the sons of Israel too began to weep again and say: “Who will give us meat to eat?+ 5 How we remember the fish that we used to eat in Egypt for nothing,+ the cucumbers and the watermelons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic! 6 But now our soul is dried away. Our eyes are on nothing at all except the manna.”+

7 Incidentally, the manna+ was like coriander+ seed, and its look* was like the look of bdellium gum.+ 8 The people spread out and picked it up+ and ground it in hand mills or pounded it in a mortar, and they boiled it in cooking pots+ or made it into round cakes, and its taste proved to be like the taste of an oiled sweet cake.+ 9 And when the dew descended upon the camp by night, the manna would descend upon it.+

10 And Moses got to hear the people weeping in their families, each man at the entrance of his tent. And Jehovah’s anger began growing very hot,+ and in the eyes of Moses it was bad.+ 11 Then Moses said to Jehovah: “Why have you caused evil to your servant,* and why have I not found favor in your eyes, in placing the load of all this people upon me?+ 12 Have I myself conceived all this people? Is it I who have given them birth, so that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom,+ just as the male nurse carries the suckling,’+ to the soil about which you swore to their forefathers?+ 13 From where do I have meat to give to all this people? For they keep weeping toward me, saying, ‘Do give us meat, and let us eat!’ 14 I am not able, I by myself, to carry all this people, because they are too heavy for me.+ 15 So if this is the way you are doing to me, please kill me off* altogether,+ if I have found favor in your eyes, and let me not look upon my calamity.”*

16 In turn Jehovah said to Moses: “Gather for me seventy men of the older men of Israel,+ whom you do know that they are older men of the people and officers of theirs,+ and you must take them to the tent of meeting, and they must station themselves there with you. 17 And I shall have to come down+ and speak with you there;+ and I shall have to take away some of the spirit+ that is upon you and place it upon them, and they will have to help you in carrying the load of the people that you may not carry it, just you alone.+ 18 And to the people you should say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow,+ as YOU will certainly eat meat, because YOU have wept in the ears of Jehovah,+ saying: “Who will give us meat to eat, for it was well with us in Egypt?”+ And Jehovah will certainly give YOU meat, and YOU will indeed eat.+ 19 YOU will eat, not one day nor two days nor five days nor ten days nor twenty days, 20 but up to a month of days, until it comes out of YOUR nostrils and it has become a loathing to YOU,+ just because YOU rejected Jehovah, who is in YOUR midst, and YOU went weeping before him, saying: “Why is it that we have come out of Egypt?”’”+

21 Then Moses said: “The people in the midst of whom I am are six hundred thousand men+ on foot, and yet you—you have said, ‘Meat I shall give them, and they will certainly eat for a month of days’! 22 Will flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, for it to be adequate for them?+ Or will all the fish of the sea be caught for them, for it to be adequate for them?”

23 At this Jehovah said to Moses: “The hand of Jehovah is cut short, is it?+ Now you will see whether what I say befalls you or not.”+

24 After that Moses went out and spoke to the people the words of Jehovah. And he went gathering seventy men from the older men of the people and proceeded to have them stand round about the tent.+ 25 Then Jehovah came down in a cloud+ and spoke to him+ and took away some of the spirit+ that was upon him and put it upon each of the seventy older men.* And it came about that as soon as the spirit settled down upon them, then they proceeded to act as prophets; but they did not do it again.*+

26 Now there were two of the men remaining in the camp. The name of the one was Elʹdad, and the name of the other was Meʹdad. And the spirit began to settle down upon them, as they were among those written down, but they had not gone out to the tent. So they proceeded to act as prophets in the camp. 27 And a young man went running and reporting to Moses and saying: “Elʹdad and Meʹdad are acting as prophets in the camp!” 28 Then Joshua* the son of Nun, the minister+ of Moses from his young manhood on, responded and said: “My lord Moses, restrain them!”+ 29 However, Moses said to him: “Are you feeling jealous for me? No, I wish* that all of Jehovah’s people were prophets, because Jehovah would put his spirit* upon them!”+ 30 Later Moses withdrew to the camp, he and the older men of Israel.

31 And a wind*+ burst forth from Jehovah and began driving quails from the sea+ and letting them fall above the camp about a day’s journey this way and about a day’s journey that way, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the earth.* 32 Then the people got up all that day and all night and all the next day and kept gathering the quail. The one collecting least gathered ten hoʹmers,*+ and they kept spreading them extensively* all around the camp for themselves. 33 The meat was yet between their teeth,+ before it could be chewed, when Jehovah’s anger blazed+ against the people, and Jehovah began striking at the people with a very great slaughter.+

34 The name of that place came to be called Kibʹroth-hat·taʹa·vah,*+ because there they buried the people who showed selfish craving.+ 35 From Kibʹroth-hat·taʹa·vah the people pulled away for Ha·zeʹroth, and they continued in Ha·zeʹroth.+

12 Now Mirʹi·am and Aaron began to speak against Moses on account of the Cushʹite* wife whom he had taken, because it was a Cushʹite wife he had taken.+ 2 And they kept saying: “Is it just by Moses alone that Jehovah has spoken? Is it not by us also that he has spoken?”+ And Jehovah was listening.+ 3 And the man Moses was by far the meekest*+ of all the men who were upon the surface of the ground.

4 Then Jehovah suddenly said to Moses and Aaron and Mirʹi·am: “Go out, the three of YOU, to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them went out. 5 After that Jehovah came down in the pillar of cloud+ and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Mirʹi·am. At this both of them went out. 6 And he went on to say: “Hear my words, please. If there came to be a prophet of YOURS for Jehovah, it would be in a vision+ I would make myself known to him. In a dream+ I would speak to him. 7 Not so my servant Moses!+ He is being entrusted with all my house.*+ 8 Mouth to mouth I speak to him,+ thus showing him, and not by riddles;+ and the appearance of Jehovah is what he beholds.+ Why, then, did YOU not fear to speak against my servant, against Moses?”+

9 And Jehovah’s anger got to be hot against them, and he went his way. 10 And the cloud turned away from over the tent, and, look! Mirʹi·am was struck with leprosy as white as snow.+ Then Aaron turned toward Mirʹi·am, and, look! she was struck with leprosy.+ 11 Immediately Aaron said to Moses: “Excuse me, my lord! Do not, please, attribute to us the sin in which we have acted foolishly and which we have committed!+ 12 Please, do not let her continue like someone dead,+ whose flesh at the time of his coming out of his mother’s womb* is half eaten off!” 13 And Moses began to cry out to Jehovah, saying: “O God,* please! Heal her, please!”+

14 Then Jehovah said to Moses: “Were her father to spit+ directly in her face, would she not be humiliated seven days? Let her be quarantined+ seven days outside the camp,+ and afterward let her be received in.”+ 15 Accordingly Mirʹi·am was quarantined outside the camp seven days,+ and the people did not pull away until Mirʹi·am was received in. 16 And afterward the people pulled away from Ha·zeʹroth+ and took up camping in the wilderness of Paʹran.+

13 Jehovah now spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Send out for yourself men that they may spy out the land of Caʹnaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel.+ YOU will send out one man for each tribe of his fathers, each one a chieftain+ among them.”

3 So Moses sent them out from the wilderness of Paʹran+ at the order of Jehovah. All the men were heads of the sons of Israel. 4 And these are their names: Of the tribe of Reuʹben, Sham·muʹa the son of Zacʹcur; 5 of the tribe of Simʹe·on, Shaʹphat the son of Hoʹri; 6 of the tribe of Judah, Caʹleb+ the son of Je·phunʹneh; 7 of the tribe of Isʹsa·char, Iʹgal the son of Joseph; 8 of the tribe of Eʹphra·im, Ho·sheʹa*+ the son of Nun; 9 of the tribe of Benjamin, Palʹti the son of Raʹphu; 10 of the tribe of Zebʹu·lun, Gadʹdi·el the son of Soʹdi; 11 of the tribe of Joseph,+ for the tribe of Ma·nasʹseh,+ Gadʹdi the son of Suʹsi; 12 of the tribe of Dan, Amʹmi·el the son of Ge·malʹli; 13 of the tribe of Ashʹer, Seʹthur the son of Miʹcha·el; 14 of the tribe of Naphʹta·li, Nahʹbi the son of Vophʹsi; 15 of the tribe of Gad, Geuʹel the son of Maʹchi. 16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses continued to call Ho·sheʹa the son of Nun Je·hoshʹu·a.*+

17 When Moses was sending them to spy out the land of Caʹnaan, he proceeded to say to them: “Go up here into the Negʹeb,*+ and YOU must go up into the mountainous region.+ 18 And YOU must see what the land is+ and the people who are dwelling on it, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many; 19 and what the land is in which they are dwelling, whether it is good or bad, and what the cities are in which they are dwelling, whether it is in encampments or in fortifications; 20 and what the land is, whether it is fat or lean,+ whether there are trees in it or not. And YOU must show yourselves courageous+ and take some of the fruitage of the land.” Now the days were the days of the first ripe fruits of the grapes.+

21 So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin+ to Reʹhob+ to the entering in of Haʹmath.+ 22 When they went up into the Negʹeb,+ they then came to Heʹbron.+ Now A·hiʹman, Sheʹshai and Talʹmai,+ those born of Aʹnak,*+ were there. Incidentally, Heʹbron+ had been built seven years before Zoʹan+ of Egypt. 23 When they came to the torrent valley of Eshʹcol,+ they then proceeded to cut down from there a shoot with one cluster of grapes.+ And they went carrying it with a bar on two of the men, and also some of the pomegranates+ and some of the figs. 24 They* called that place the torrent valley of Eshʹcol,*+ on account of the cluster that the sons of Israel cut down from there.

25 Finally at the end of forty days+ they returned from spying out the land. 26 So they walked and came to Moses and Aaron and all the assembly of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paʹran, at Kaʹdesh.+ And they came bringing back word to them and all the assembly and showing them the fruitage of the land. 27 And they went on to report to him and say: “We entered into the land to which you sent us out, and it is indeed flowing with milk and honey,+ and this is its fruitage.+ 28 Nevertheless, the facts are that the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the fortified cities are very great;+ and, too, those born of Aʹnak we saw there.+ 29 The A·malʹek·ites+ are dwelling in the land of the Negʹeb,+ and the Hitʹtites and the Jebʹu·sites+ and the Amʹor·ites+ are dwelling in the mountainous region, and the Caʹnaan·ites+ are dwelling by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”

30 Then Caʹleb+ tried to still the people toward Moses and went on to say: “Let us go up directly, and we are bound to take possession of it, because we can surely prevail over it.”+ 31 But the men who went up with him said: “We are not able to go up against the people, because they are stronger than we are.”+ 32 And they kept on bringing forth to the sons of Israel a bad report+ of the land that they had spied out, saying: “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in the midst of it are men of extraordinary size.+ 33 And there we saw the Nephʹi·lim, the sons of Aʹnak,+ who are from the Nephʹi·lim; so that we became in our own eyes like grasshoppers, and the same way we became in their eyes.”+

14 Then all the assembly raised their voice, and the people continued giving vent to their voice and weeping+ all through that night. 2 And all the sons of Israel began to murmur against Moses and Aaron,+ and all the assembly began to say against them: “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 And why is Jehovah bringing us to this land to fall by the sword?+ Our wives and our little ones will become plunder.+ Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?”+ 4 They even went to saying to one another: “Let us appoint a head, and let us return to Egypt!”+

5 At this Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces+ before all the congregation of the assembly of the sons of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun+ and Caʹleb the son of Je·phunʹneh,+ who were of those who spied out the land, ripped their garments apart,+ 7 and they proceeded to say this to all the assembly of the sons of Israel: “The land that we passed through to spy it out is a very, very good land.+ 8 If Jehovah has found delight in us,+ then he will certainly bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that is flowing with milk and honey.+ 9 Only against Jehovah do not rebel;+ and YOU, do not YOU fear the people of the land,+ for they are bread to us. Their shelter has turned away from over them,+ and Jehovah is with us.+ Do not fear them.”+

10 However, all the assembly talked of pelting them with stones.+ And Jehovah’s glory appeared on the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.+

11 Finally Jehovah said to Moses: “How long+ will this people treat me without respect,+ and how long will they not put faith in me for all the signs that I performed in among them?+ 12 Let me strike them with pestilence and drive them away, and let me make you a nation greater and mightier than they are.”+

13 But Moses said to Jehovah: “Then the Egyptians will be bound to hear that you by your power have led this people up out of their midst.+ 14 And they will be bound to tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you are Jehovah in among this people,+ who has appeared face to face.*+ You are Jehovah, and your cloud is standing over them, and you are going before them in the pillar of cloud by day and in the pillar of fire by night.+ 15 Were you to put this people to death as one man,+ then the nations who have heard of your fame would certainly say this, 16 ‘Because of Jehovah’s not being able to bring this people into the land about which he swore to them he proceeded to slaughter them in the wilderness.’+ 17 And now, please, let your power* become great,+ O Jehovah,* just as you have spoken, saying, 18 ‘Jehovah, slow to anger+ and abundant in loving-kindness,*+ pardoning error and transgression,+ but by no means will he give exemption from punishment,+ bringing punishment for the error of the fathers upon sons, upon the third generation and upon the fourth generation.’+ 19 Forgive, please, the error of this people according to the greatness of your loving-kindness, and just as you have pardoned this people from Egypt onward until now.”+

20 Then Jehovah said: “I do forgive according to your word.+ 21 And, on the other hand, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of Jehovah.+ 22 But all the men who have been seeing my glory+ and my signs+ that I have performed in Egypt and in the wilderness and yet kept testing+ me these ten times, and have not listened to my voice,+ 23 will never see* the land about which I swore to their fathers, yes, all those treating me without respect will not see it.+ 24 As for my servant Caʹleb,+ because a different spirit has proved to be with him and he kept following wholly after me,+ I shall certainly bring him into the land where he has gone, and his offspring will take possession of it.+ 25 While the A·malʹek·ites and the Caʹnaan·ites+ are dwelling in the low plain, YOU people make a turn tomorrow and pull away to march to the wilderness by way of the Red Sea.”+

26 And Jehovah went on to speak to Moses and Aaron, saying: 27 “How long will this evil assembly have this murmuring that they are carrying on against me?+ I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel that they are murmuring against me.+ 28 Say to them, ‘“As I live,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “if I shall not do to YOU just that way as YOU have spoken in my ears!+ 29 In this wilderness YOUR carcasses will fall,+ yes, all YOUR registered ones of all YOUR number from twenty years old upward, YOU who have murmured against me.+ 30 As for YOU, YOU will not enter into the land in which I lifted up my hand+ [in oath] to reside with YOU, except Caʹleb the son of Je·phunʹneh and Joshua the son of Nun.+

31 “‘“And YOUR little ones who YOU said would become plunder,+ these also I shall certainly bring in, and they will indeed know the land that YOU have rejected.+ 32 But the carcasses of YOU yourselves will fall in this wilderness.+ 33 And YOUR sons will become shepherds* in the wilderness+ forty years, and they will have to answer for YOUR acts of fornication,*+ until YOUR carcasses come to their end in the wilderness.+ 34 By the number of the days that YOU spied out the land, forty days,+ a day for a year, a day for a year,+ YOU will answer for YOUR errors forty years,+ as YOU must know what my being estranged means.+

35 “‘“I Jehovah have spoken if this is not what I shall do to all this evil assembly,+ those who have gathered together against me: In this wilderness they will come to their end, and there they will die.+ 36 And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who, when they returned, began making the whole assembly murmur against him,* by bringing forth a bad report against the land,+ 37 yes, the men bringing forth the bad report about the land will die by the scourge before Jehovah.+ 38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caʹleb the son of Je·phunʹneh will certainly live on, of those men who went to spy out the land.”’”+

39 When Moses proceeded to speak these words to all the sons of Israel, then the people began to mourn a great deal.+ 40 Moreover, they got up early in the morning and tried to go up to the top of the mountain, saying: “Here we are, and we have to go up to the place that Jehovah mentioned. For we have sinned.”+ 41 But Moses said: “Why is it that YOU are passing beyond the order of Jehovah?+ But that will not succeed. 42 Do not go up, because Jehovah is not in YOUR midst, that YOU may not be defeated before YOUR enemies.+ 43 For the A·malʹek·ites and the Caʹnaan·ites are there before YOU;+ and YOU are certain to fall by the sword, because, for the reason that YOU turned back from following Jehovah, Jehovah will not continue with YOU.”+

44 However, they presumed to go up to the top of the mountain,+ but the ark of Jehovah’s covenant and Moses did not move away from the midst of the camp.+ 45 Then the A·malʹek·ites+ and the Caʹnaan·ites who were dwelling in that mountain came on down and began striking them and went scattering them as far as Horʹmah.+

15 And Jehovah spoke further to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and you must say to them, ‘When YOU eventually come into the land of YOUR dwelling places, which I am giving YOU,+ 3 and YOU must render up an offering made by fire to Jehovah,+ a burnt offering+ or a sacrifice to perform a special vow or voluntarily*+ or during YOUR seasonal festivals,+ in order to make a restful odor to Jehovah,+ from the herd or from the flock; 4 the one presenting his offering must also present to Jehovah a grain offering of fine flour,+ a tenth of an eʹphah,* moistened with a fourth of a hin of oil. 5 And you should render up wine as a drink offering,+ the fourth of a hin, together with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice of each male lamb. 6 Or for a ram you should render up a grain offering of two tenths of fine flour, moistened with a third of a hin of oil. 7 And you should present wine as a drink offering, a third of a hin, as a restful odor to Jehovah.

8 “‘But in case you should render up a male of the herd* as a burnt offering+ or a sacrifice to perform a special vow+ or communion sacrifices to Jehovah,+ 9 one must also present together with the male of the herd a grain offering+ of three tenths of fine flour, moistened with half a hin of oil. 10 And you should present wine as a drink offering,+ half a hin, as an offering made by fire, of a restful odor to Jehovah. 11 This is the way it should be done for each bull or for each ram or for one head among the male lambs or among the goats. 12 Whatever may be the number that YOU may render up, that is the way YOU should do for each one according to the number of them. 13 Every native should render up these in this way in presenting an offering made by fire, of a restful odor to Jehovah.+

14 “‘And in case there should be residing as an alien with YOU an alien resident or one who is in YOUR midst for generations of YOU, and he must render up an offering made by fire, of a restful odor to Jehovah, just as YOU should do, so he should do.+ 15 YOU who are of the congregation and the alien resident who is residing as an alien will have one statute.+ It will be a statute to time indefinite for YOUR generations. The alien resident should prove to be the same as YOU* before Jehovah.+ 16 There should prove to be one law and one judicial decision for YOU and for the alien resident who is residing as an alien with YOU.’”+

17 And Jehovah went on to speak to Moses, saying: 18 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and you must say to them, ‘On YOUR coming into the land where I am bringing YOU,+ 19 it must also occur that when YOU eat any of the bread of the land,+ YOU should make a contribution to Jehovah. 20 YOU should make a contribution of the firstfruits+ of YOUR coarse meal as ring-shaped cakes. Like the contribution of a threshing floor is the way YOU should contribute it. 21 Some of the firstfruits of YOUR coarse meal YOU should give as a contribution to Jehovah throughout YOUR generations.

22 “‘Now in case YOU should make a mistake and not do all these commandments,+ which Jehovah has spoken to Moses, 23 all that Jehovah has commanded YOU by means of Moses from the day that Jehovah commanded and onward for YOUR generations, 24 it must then occur that if it has been done far from the eyes of the assembly by mistake, the whole assembly must then render up one young bull as a burnt offering for a restful odor to Jehovah, and its grain offering and its drink offering according to the regular procedure,+ and one kid of the goats as a sin offering.+ 25 And the priest must make atonement+ for the whole assembly of the sons of Israel, and it must be forgiven them; because it was a mistake,+ and they, for their part, brought as their offering an offering made by fire to Jehovah and their sin offering before Jehovah for their mistake. 26 And it must be forgiven+ the whole assembly of the sons of Israel and the alien resident who is residing as an alien in their midst, because it was by mistake on the part of all the people.

27 “‘And if any soul should sin by mistake,+ then he must present a female goat in its first year for a sin offering.+ 28 And the priest must make atonement for the soul who made a mistake by a sin unintentionally before Jehovah, so as to make atonement for it, and it must be forgiven him.+ 29 As to the native among the sons of Israel and the alien resident who is residing as an alien in their midst, there should prove to be one law for YOU as respects doing something unintentionally.+

30 “‘But the soul that does something deliberately,*+ whether he is a native or an alien resident, he speaking abusively of Jehovah,+ in that case that soul must be cut off from among his people.+ 31 Because it is Jehovah’s word that he has despised+ and his commandment that he has broken,+ that soul should be cut off without fail.+ His own error is upon him.’”+

32 While the sons of Israel were continuing in the wilderness, they once found a man collecting pieces of wood on the sabbath day.+ 33 Then those who found him collecting pieces of wood brought him up to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly. 34 So they committed him into custody,+ because it had not been distinctly stated what should be done to him.

35 In time Jehovah said to Moses: “Without fail the man should be put to death,+ the whole assembly pelting* him with stones outside the camp.”+ 36 Accordingly the whole assembly brought him forth outside the camp and pelted him with stones so that he died, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

37 And Jehovah went on to say this to Moses: 38 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and you must say to them that they must make for themselves fringed edges upon the skirts of their garments throughout their generations, and they must put a blue string above the fringed edge of the skirt,+ 39 ‘And it must serve as a fringed edge for YOU, and YOU must see it and remember all the commandments+ of Jehovah and do them, and YOU must not go about following YOUR hearts and YOUR eyes,+ which YOU are following in immoral intercourse.*+ 40 The purpose is that YOU may remember and may certainly do all my commandments and indeed prove to be holy to YOUR God.+ 41 I am Jehovah YOUR God, who have brought YOU out of the land of Egypt in order to prove myself YOUR God.+ I am Jehovah YOUR God.’”+

16 And Koʹrah+ the son of Izʹhar,+ the son of Koʹhath,+ the son of Leʹvi,+ proceeded to get up,* together with Daʹthan+ and A·biʹram+ the sons of E·liʹab,+ and On the son of Peʹleth, the sons of Reuʹben.+ 2 And they proceeded to rise up before Moses, they and two hundred and fifty men of the sons of Israel, chieftains of the assembly, summoned ones of the meeting, men of fame.* 3 So they congregated themselves against+ Moses and Aaron and said to them: “That is enough of YOU, because the whole assembly are all of them holy+ and Jehovah is in their midst.+ Why, then, should YOU lift yourselves up above the congregation of Jehovah?”+

4 When Moses got to hear it he at once fell upon his face. 5 Then he spoke to Koʹrah and to his entire assembly, saying: “In the morning Jehovah will make known who belongs to him+ and who is holy+ and who must come near to him,+ and whoever he may choose+ will come near to him. 6 Do this: Take fire holders+ for yourselves, Koʹrah and his entire assembly,+ 7 and put fire in them and place incense upon them before Jehovah tomorrow, and it must occur that the man whom Jehovah will choose,+ he is the holy one. That is enough of YOU, YOU sons of Leʹvi!”+

8 And Moses went on to say to Koʹrah: “Listen, please, YOU sons of Leʹvi. 9 Is it such a little thing for YOU men that the God of Israel has separated+ YOU men from the assembly of Israel to present YOU to himself to carry on the service of Jehovah’s tabernacle and to stand before the assembly to minister to them,+ 10 and that he should bring you and all your brothers the sons of Leʹvi with you near? So must YOU men also try to secure the priesthood?+ 11 For that reason you and all your assembly who are gathering together are against Jehovah.+ As for Aaron, what is he that YOU men should murmur against him?”+

12 Later Moses sent to call Daʹthan and A·biʹram+ the sons of E·liʹab, but they said: “We are not going to come up!+ 13 Is it so little a thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to put us to death in the wilderness,+ that you should also try to play the prince over us to the limit?+ 14 As it is, you have not brought us into any land flowing with milk and honey,+ that you may give us an inheritance of field and vineyard. Is it the eyes of those men that you want to bore out? We are not going to come up!”

15 At this Moses became very angry and said to Jehovah: “Do not turn to look at their grain offering.+ Not one male ass have I taken away from them, nor have I harmed one of them.”+

16 Then Moses said to Koʹrah:+ “You and all your assembly, be present before Jehovah,+ you and they and Aaron, tomorrow. 17 And take each one his fire holder, and YOU men must put incense upon them and present each one his fire holder before Jehovah, two hundred and fifty fire holders, and you and Aaron each his fire holder.” 18 So they took each one his fire holder and put fire upon them and placed incense upon them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting together with Moses and Aaron. 19 When Koʹrah got all the* assembly+ together against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting, then Jehovah’s glory appeared to all the assembly.+

20 Jehovah now spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 21 “Separate+ yourselves from the midst of this assembly, that I may exterminate+ them in an instant.” 22 At this they fell upon their faces and said: “O God,* the God* of the spirits of every sort of flesh,+ will just one man sin and you become indignant against the entire assembly?”+

23 In turn Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 24 “Speak to the assembly, saying, ‘Get away from around the tabernacles* of Koʹrah, Daʹthan and A·biʹram!’”+

25 After that Moses got up and went to Daʹthan and A·biʹram, and the older men+ of Israel went with him. 26 Then he spoke to the assembly, saying: “Turn aside, please, from before the tents of these wicked men and do not touch anything that belongs to them,+ that YOU may not be swept away in all their sin.” 27 Immediately they got away from before the tabernacle of Koʹrah, Daʹthan and A·biʹram, from every side, and Daʹthan and A·biʹram came out, taking their stand at the entrance of their tents,+ together with their wives, and their sons and their little ones.

28 Then Moses said: “By this YOU will know that Jehovah has sent me to do all these deeds,+ that it is not of my own heart:+ 29 If it is according to the death of all mankind* that these people will die and with the punishment of all mankind that punishment will be brought upon them,+ then it is not Jehovah that has sent me.+ 30 But if it is something created that Jehovah will create,+ and the ground has to open its mouth and swallow up them+ and everything that belongs to them and they have to go down alive into Sheʹol,*+ YOU will then know for certain that these men have treated Jehovah disrespectfully.”+

31 And it came about that as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them began to be split apart.+ 32 And the earth proceeded to open its mouth and to swallow up them and their households and all humankind that belonged to Koʹrah and all the goods.*+ 33 So down they went, and all who belonged to them, alive into Sheʹol, and the earth went covering them over,+ so that they perished from the midst of the congregation.+ 34 And all the Israelites who were round about them fled at the screaming* of them, for they began to say: “We are afraid that the earth may swallow us up!”+ 35 And a fire came out from Jehovah+ and proceeded to consume the two hundred and fifty men offering the incense.*+

36 Jehovah now spoke to Moses, saying: 37 “Say to El·e·aʹzar the son of Aaron the priest that he should take up the fire holders+ from within the conflagration, ‘And you scatter the fire over there; for they are holy, 38 even the fire holders of these men who sinned against their own souls.+ And they must make them into thin metal plates as an overlaying for the altar,+ because they presented them before Jehovah, so that they became holy; and they should serve as a sign to the sons of Israel.’”+ 39 Accordingly El·e·aʹzar the priest took the copper fire holders,+ which those who had been burned up had presented, and they proceeded to beat them out into an overlaying for the altar, 40 as a memorial for the sons of Israel, to the end that no strange+ man who is not of the offspring of Aaron should come near to make incense smoke before Jehovah,+ and no one might become like Koʹrah and his assembly,+ just as Jehovah had spoken to him by means of Moses.

41 And directly the next day the whole assembly of the sons of Israel began to murmur against Moses and Aaron,+ saying: “YOU men, YOU have put Jehovah’s people to death.” 42 And it came about that when the assembly had congregated themselves together against Moses and Aaron, they then turned toward the tent of meeting; and, look! the cloud covered it, and Jehovah’s glory began to appear.+

43 And Moses and Aaron proceeded to come before the tent of meeting.+ 44 Then Jehovah spoke to Moses,* saying: 45 “YOU men, rise up from the midst of this assembly, that I may exterminate them in an instant.”+ At this they fell upon their faces.+ 46 After that Moses said to Aaron: “Take the fire holder and put fire from upon the altar in it+ and put on incense and go to the assembly in a hurry and make atonement for them,+ because the indignation has gone out from the face of Jehovah.+ The plague has started!” 47 Aaron at once took it, just as Moses had spoken, and went running into the midst of the congregation; and, look! the plague had started among the people. So he put the incense on and began making atonement for the people. 48 And he kept standing between the dead and the living.+ Eventually the scourge was stopped.+ 49 And those dead from the scourge amounted to fourteen thousand seven hundred, aside from those dead on account of Koʹrah. 50 When at last Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, the scourge had been stopped.

17 Jehovah now spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and take from them one rod+ for each paternal house from all their chieftains,+ by the house of their fathers, twelve rods. You will write the name of each one upon his rod. 3 And Aaron’s name you will write upon Leʹvi’s rod, because there is one rod for the head of the house of their fathers. 4 And you must deposit them in the tent of meeting before the Testimony,+ where I regularly present myself to YOU.+ 5 And what must occur is that the man whom I shall choose,+ his rod will bud, and I shall certainly make subside from against me the murmurings+ of the sons of Israel, which they are murmuring against YOU.”+

6 So Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their chieftains went giving him a rod for each chieftain, a rod for each chieftain, by the house of their fathers, twelve rods;+ and Aaron’s rod was in among their rods.+ 7 Then Moses deposited the rods before Jehovah in the tent of the Testimony.+

8 And it came about the next day that when Moses went into the tent of the Testimony, look! Aaron’s rod for the house of Leʹvi had budded, and it was bringing forth buds and blossoming flowers and was bearing ripe almonds. 9 Moses then brought out all the rods from before Jehovah to all the sons of Israel, and they went looking and taking each man his own rod.

10 Subsequently Jehovah said to Moses: “Put Aaron’s rod+ back before the Testimony as something to be kept for a sign+ to the sons of rebelliousness,+ that their murmurings may cease from against me, that they may not die.” 11 At once Moses did just as Jehovah had commanded him. He did just so.

12 And the sons of Israel began to say this to Moses: “Now we are bound to expire, we are bound to perish, we are all of us bound to perish.+ 13 Anyone approaching,+ coming near to Jehovah’s tabernacle, will die!+ Must we end up in expiring that way?”+

18 And Jehovah proceeded to say to Aaron: “You and your sons and the house of your father with you will answer for error against the sanctuary,+ and you and your sons with you will answer for error against YOUR priesthood.+ 2 And bring near, also, your brothers of the tribe of Leʹvi, the clan of your father, with you, that they may be joined to you and may minister to you,+ to both you and your sons with you, before the tent of the Testimony.+ 3 And they must keep their obligation to you and their obligation to the entire tent.+ Only to the utensils of the holy place and to the altar they must not come near that they may not die,+ neither they nor YOU men. 4 And they must be joined to you and must keep their obligation to the tent of meeting as respects all the service of the tent, and no stranger may come near to YOU men.+ 5 And YOU must keep YOUR obligation to the holy place+ and YOUR obligation to the altar,+ that no further indignation+ may occur against the sons of Israel. 6 And I, look! I have taken YOUR brothers, the Levites, from among the sons of Israel,+ as a gift for YOU,+ as those given to Jehovah to carry on the service of the tent of meeting.+ 7 And you and your sons with you should safeguard YOUR priesthood as regards every concern of the altar and as regards what is inside the curtain;+ and YOU men must render service.+ As a service of gift I shall give YOUR priesthood, and the stranger drawing near should be put to death.”+

8 And Jehovah spoke further to Aaron: “As for me, look! I have given you the custody of the contributions made to me.+ Of all the holy things of the sons of Israel I have given them to you and to your sons as a portion, as an allowance to time indefinite.+ 9 This should become yours out of the most holy things, out of the offering made by fire, every offering of theirs together with every grain offering+ of theirs and every sin offering+ of theirs and every guilt offering+ of theirs, which they will return to me. It is something most holy for you and for your sons. 10 In a most holy place you should eat it.+ Every male should eat it.+ It should become something holy to you.+ 11 And this belongs to you: the contribution+ of their gift together with all the wave offerings+ of the sons of Israel. I have given them to you and your sons and your daughters with you,+ as an allowance to time indefinite. Everyone clean in your house may eat it.+

12 “All the best* of the oil and all the best of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits,+ which they will give to Jehovah, I have given them to you.+ 13 The first ripe fruits of all that is on their land, which they will bring to Jehovah, yours it should become.+ Everyone clean in your house may eat it.

14 “Every devoted thing* in Israel should become yours.+

15 “Everything opening the womb,+ of every sort of flesh, which they will present to Jehovah, among man and among beast, should become yours. However, you should without fail redeem the firstborn of mankind;+ and the firstborn of the unclean beast you should redeem.+ 16 And with a redemption price for it from a month old onward you should redeem it, by the estimated value, five silver shekels by the shekel of the holy place.+ It is twenty geʹrahs.+ 17 Only the firstborn bull or firstborn male lamb or firstborn goat you should not redeem.+ They are something holy. Their blood+ you should sprinkle upon the altar, and their fat you should make smoke as an offering made by fire for a restful odor to Jehovah.+ 18 And their flesh should become yours. Like the breast of the wave offering and like the right leg, it should become yours.+ 19 All the holy contributions,+ which the sons of Israel will contribute to Jehovah, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as an allowance to time indefinite.+ It is a covenant of salt to time indefinite before Jehovah for you and your offspring with you.”+

20 And Jehovah went on to say to Aaron: “In their land you will not have an inheritance, and no share will become yours in their midst.+ I am your share and your inheritance in the midst of the sons of Israel.+

21 “And to the sons of Leʹvi, look! I have given every tenth+ part in Israel as an inheritance in return for their service that they are carrying on, the service of the tent of meeting. 22 And the sons of Israel should no more come near to the tent of meeting to incur sin so as to die.+ 23 And the Levites themselves must carry on the service of the tent of meeting, and they are the ones who should answer for their error.+ It is a statute to time indefinite during YOUR generations that in the midst of the sons of Israel they should not get possession of an inheritance.+ 24 For the tenth part of the sons of Israel, which they will contribute to Jehovah as a contribution, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance. That is why I have said to them, ‘In the midst of the sons of Israel they should not get possession of an inheritance.’”+

25 Then Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 26 “And you should speak to the Levites, and you must say to them, ‘YOU will receive from the sons of Israel the tenth part that I have given to YOU from them for YOUR inheritance,+ and YOU must contribute from it as a contribution to Jehovah a tenth part of the tenth part.+ 27 And it must be reckoned to YOU as YOUR contribution, like the grain of the threshing floor+ and like the full produce of the wine or oil press. 28 In this way YOU yourselves also will contribute a contribution to Jehovah from all YOUR tenth parts that YOU will receive from the sons of Israel, and from them YOU must give the contribution to Jehovah to Aaron the priest. 29 From all the gifts to YOU, YOU will contribute every sort of contribution to Jehovah, of the very best of it,+ as some holy thing from them.’

30 “And you must say to them, ‘When YOU contribute the best of them,+ then it will certainly be reckoned to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the wine or oil press. 31 And YOU must eat it in every place, YOU and YOUR household, because it is YOUR wages in return for YOUR service in the tent of meeting.+ 32 And YOU must not incur sin for it when YOU contribute the best from them, and YOU must not profane the holy things of the sons of Israel, that YOU may not die.’”+

19 And Jehovah proceeded to speak to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 “This is a statute of the law that Jehovah has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they should take for you a sound red cow* in which there is no defect+ and upon which no yoke has come.+ 3 And YOU must give it to El·e·aʹzar the priest, and he must lead it forth outside the camp, and it must be slaughtered* before him. 4 Then El·e·aʹzar the priest must take some of its blood with his finger and spatter some of its blood straight toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times.+ 5 And the cow must be burned* under his eyes. Its skin and its flesh and its blood together with its dung will be burned.*+ 6 And the priest must take cedarwood+ and hyssop+ and coccus scarlet+ material and throw it into the midst of the burning of the cow. 7 And the priest must wash his garments and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he may come into the camp; but the priest must be unclean until the evening.

8 “‘And the one who burned it will wash his garments in water and must bathe his flesh in water,+ and he must be unclean until the evening.

9 “‘And a clean man must gather up the ashes+ of the cow and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place; and they must serve the assembly of the sons of Israel as something to be kept for the water for cleansing.*+ It is a sin offering. 10 And the one gathering the ashes of the cow must wash his garments and be unclean until the evening.+

“‘And it must serve the sons of Israel and the alien resident who is residing as an alien in their midst as a statute to time indefinite.+ 11 Anyone touching the corpse of any human soul*+ must also be unclean seven days.+ 12 Such one should purify himself with it on the third day,+ and on the seventh day he will be clean. But if he will not purify himself on the third day, then on the seventh day he will not be clean. 13 Everyone touching a corpse, the soul* of whatever man may die, and who will not purify himself, has defiled Jehovah’s tabernacle,+ and that soul* must be cut off from Israel.+ Because the water for cleansing+ has not been sprinkled upon him, he continues unclean. His uncleanness is still upon him.+

14 “‘This is the law in case a man should die in a tent: Everyone coming into the tent, and everyone who is in the tent, will be unclean seven days. 15 And every opened vessel+ upon which there is no lid tied down* is unclean. 16 And everyone who on the open field may touch someone slain with the sword+ or a corpse or a bone+ of a man or a burial place will be unclean seven days. 17 And they must take for the unclean one some of the dust of the burning of the sin offering and put running water upon it in a vessel. 18 Then a clean man+ must take hyssop+ and dip it into the water and spatter it upon the tent and all the vessels and the souls that happened to be there and upon the one who touched the bone or the slain one or the corpse or the burial place. 19 And the clean person must spatter it upon the unclean one on the third day and on the seventh day and must purify him from sin on the seventh day;+ and he must wash his garments and bathe in water, and he must be clean in the evening.

20 “‘But the man who may be unclean and who will not purify himself, well, that soul must be cut off+ from the midst of the congregation, because it is Jehovah’s sanctuary that he has defiled. The water for cleansing was not sprinkled upon him. He is unclean.

21 “‘And it must serve as a statute to time indefinite for them, that the one spattering the water for cleansing should wash his garments,+ also the one touching the water for cleansing. He will be unclean until the evening. 22 And anything the unclean one may touch will be unclean,+ and the soul who touches it will be unclean until the evening.’”+

20 And the sons of Israel, the entire assembly, proceeded to come into the wilderness of Zin+ in the first month, and the people took up dwelling in Kaʹdesh.+ It was there that Mirʹi·am+ died and there that she was buried.

2 Now there proved to be no water for the assembly,+ and they began to congregate themselves against Moses and Aaron.+ 3 And the people went quarreling+ with Moses* and saying: “If only we had expired when our brothers expired before Jehovah!+ 4 And why have YOU men brought Jehovah’s congregation into this wilderness for us and our beasts of burden to die there?+ 5 And why have YOU conducted us up out of Egypt to bring us into this evil place?+ It is no place of seed and figs and vines and pomegranates,+ and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron came from before the congregation to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell upon their faces,+ and Jehovah’s glory began to appear to them.+

7 Then Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 8 “Take the rod+ and call the assembly together, you and Aaron your brother, and YOU must speak to the crag before their eyes that it may indeed give* its water; and you must bring out water for them from the crag* and give the assembly and their beasts of burden drink.”+

9 So Moses took the rod from before Jehovah,+ just as he had commanded him. 10 After that Moses and Aaron called the congregation together before the crag, and he proceeded to say to them: “Hear, now, YOU rebels!+ Is it from this crag that we shall bring out water for YOU?”+ 11 With that Moses lifted his hand up and struck the crag with his rod twice; and much water began to come out, and the assembly and their beasts of burden began to drink.+

12 Later Jehovah said to Moses and Aaron: “Because YOU did not show faith in me to sanctify+ me before the eyes of the sons of Israel, therefore YOU will not bring this congregation into the land that I shall certainly give them.”+ 13 These are the waters of Merʹi·bah,*+ because the sons of Israel quarreled with Jehovah, so that he was sanctified* among them.

14 Subsequently Moses sent messengers from Kaʹdesh to the king of Eʹdom:+ “This is what your brother Israel+ has said, ‘You yourself well know all the hardship that has overtaken us.+ 15 And our fathers proceeded to go down to Egypt,+ and we continued to dwell in Egypt many days;+ and the Egyptians began doing harm to us and our fathers.+ 16 Finally we cried out to Jehovah+ and he heard our voice and sent an angel+ and brought us out of Egypt; and here we are in Kaʹdesh, a city at the extremity of your territory. 17 Let us pass, please, through your land. We shall not pass through a field or a vineyard, and we shall not drink the water of a well. On the king’s road we shall march.+ We shall not bend toward the right or the left,+ until we shall pass through your territory.’”

18 However, Eʹdom said to him: “You must not pass through me, for fear I may come out with the sword to meet you.” 19 In turn the sons of Israel said to him: “By the highway we shall go up; and if I and my livestock should drink your water, I shall also certainly give the value of it.+ I want nothing more than to pass through on my feet.”+ 20 Still he said: “You must not pass through.”+ With that Eʹdom+ came on out to encounter him with a great many people and a strong hand. 21 So Eʹdom refused to grant Israel to pass through his territory.+ Hence Israel turned away from him.+

22 And the sons of Israel, the entire assembly, proceeded to pull away from Kaʹdesh+ and come to Mount Hor.+ 23 Then Jehovah said this to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Eʹdom: 24 “Aaron will be gathered to his people,+ for he will not enter into the land that I shall certainly give to the sons of Israel, on the ground that YOU men rebelled against my order respecting the waters of Merʹi·bah.+ 25 Take Aaron and El·e·aʹzar his son and bring them up into Mount Hor. 26 And strip Aaron of his garments,+ and you must clothe with them El·e·aʹzar+ his son; and Aaron will be gathered and must die there.”+

27 So Moses did just as Jehovah had commanded; and before the eyes of all the assembly they went climbing Mount Hor. 28 Then Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and clothed El·e·aʹzar his son with them, after which Aaron died there on the top of the mountain.+ And Moses and El·e·aʹzar came on down from the mountain. 29 And all the assembly got to see that Aaron had expired, and all the house of Israel continued weeping for Aaron thirty days.+

21 Now the Caʹnaan·ite the king of Aʹrad,+ who dwelt in the Negʹeb,*+ got to hear that Israel had come by the way of Athʹa·rim, and he began to fight with Israel and carry away some of them as captives. 2 Consequently Israel made a vow to Jehovah and said:+ “If you will without fail give this people into my hand, I shall also certainly devote their cities to destruction.”+ 3 So Jehovah listened to Israel’s voice and gave the Caʹnaan·ites over; and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. Hence they called the name of the place Horʹmah.*+

4 While they continued trekking from Mount Hor+ by the way of the Red Sea to go around the land of Eʹdom,+ the soul of the people began tiring out because of the way. 5 And the people kept speaking against God+ and Moses:+ “Why have YOU brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?+ For there is no bread and no water,+ and our soul has come to abhor the contemptible bread.”+ 6 So Jehovah sent poisonous serpents*+ among the people, and they kept biting the people, so that many people of Israel died.+

7 Finally the people came to Moses and said: “We have sinned,+ because we have spoken against Jehovah and against you. Intercede with Jehovah that he may remove the serpents from upon us.”+ And Moses went interceding in behalf of the people.+ 8 Then Jehovah said to Moses: “Make for yourself a fiery snake* and place it upon a signal pole. And it must occur that when anyone has been bitten, he then has to look at it and so must keep alive.”+ 9 Moses at once made a serpent of copper+ and placed it upon the signal pole;+ and it did occur that if a serpent had bitten a man and he gazed+ at the copper serpent, he then kept alive.+

10 After that the sons of Israel pulled away and encamped in Oʹboth.+ 11 Then they pulled away from Oʹboth and encamped in Iʹye-abʹa·rim,*+ in the wilderness that is toward the front of Moʹab, toward the rising of the sun. 12 From there they pulled away and took up camping by the torrent valley of Zeʹred.+ 13 From there they pulled away and went camping in the region of the Arʹnon,+ which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amʹor·ites; for the Arʹnon is the boundary of Moʹab, between Moʹab and the Amʹor·ites. 14 That is why it is said in the book of the Wars of Jehovah:

“Vaʹheb* in Suʹphah and the torrent valleys of Arʹnon,* 15 and the mouth of the torrent valleys, which has bent itself toward the seat of Ar+ and has leaned against the border of Moʹab.”

16 Next from there on to Beʹer.*+ This is the well about which Jehovah said to Moses: “Gather the people, and let me give them water.”+

Then from the wilderness on to Matʹta·nah. 19 And from Matʹta·nah on to Na·halʹi·el, and from Na·halʹi·el on to Baʹmoth.+ 20 And from Baʹmoth on to the valley that is in the field of Moʹab,+ at the head of Pisʹgah,+ and it projects over toward the face of Je·shiʹmon.*+

21 Israel now sent messengers to Siʹhon+ the king of the Amʹor·ites, saying: 22 “Let me pass through your land. We shall not turn off into a field or a vineyard. We shall drink water of no well. On the king’s road we shall march until we pass through your territory.”+ 23 And Siʹhon did not allow Israel to pass through his territory,+ but Siʹhon gathered all his people and went out to meet Israel in the wilderness, and came to Jaʹhaz+ and began fighting with Israel. 24 At that Israel struck him with the edge of the sword+ and took possession of his land+ from the Arʹnon+ to the Jabʹbok,+ near the sons of Amʹmon; because Jaʹzer*+ is the border of the sons of Amʹmon.+

25 So Israel took all these cities, and Israel began dwelling in all the cities of the Amʹor·ites,+ in Heshʹbon+ and all its dependent towns.* 26 For Heshʹbon was the city of Siʹhon.+ He was the king of the Amʹor·ites,+ and it was he who fought with the king of Moʹab formerly and went taking all his land out of his hand as far as the Arʹnon.+ 27 That is why the sayers of mock verses* would say:

31 And Israel began to dwell in the land of the Amʹor·ites.+ 32 Then Moses sent some to spy on Jaʹzer.+ So they captured its dependent towns and dispossessed the Amʹor·ites who were there.+ 33 After that they turned and went up by the way of Baʹshan.+ At this Og+ the king of Baʹshan came out to meet them, he and all his people, to the battle of Edʹre·i.+ 34 Jehovah now said to Moses: “Do not be afraid of him,+ for into your hand I shall certainly give him and all his people and his land;+ and you must do to him just as you did to Siʹhon, the king of the Amʹor·ites, who used to dwell in Heshʹbon.”+ 35 So they went striking him and his sons and all his people, until there was no survivor remaining to him;+ and they went taking possession of his land.+

22 Then the sons of Israel pulled away and encamped on the desert plains of Moʹab+ across the Jordan from Jerʹi·cho. 2 And Baʹlak+ the son of Zipʹpor got to see all that Israel had done to the Amʹor·ites. 3 And Moʹab became very frightened at the people, because they were many; and Moʹab began to feel a sickening dread of the sons of Israel.+ 4 And Moʹab proceeded to say to the older men of Midʹi·an:+ “Now this congregation* will lick up all our surroundings like the bull licking up the green growth of the field.”

And Baʹlak+ the son of Zipʹpor was king of Moʹab at that particular time. 5 He now sent messengers to Baʹlaam+ the son of Beʹor at Peʹthor,+ which is by the River*+ of the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look! A people has come out of Egypt. Look! They have covered the earth as far as one can see,*+ and they are dwelling right in front of me. 6 And now do come, please; do curse+ this people for me, for they are mightier than I am. Perhaps I may be able to strike them and I may drive them out of the land; for I well know that the one whom you bless is a blessed one and the one whom you curse is cursed.”+

7 So the older men of Moʹab and the older men of Midʹi·an traveled with the payments for divination+ in their hands and went to Baʹlaam+ and spoke to him Baʹlak’s words. 8 At that he said to them: “Lodge here tonight, and I shall certainly return YOU word just as Jehovah may speak to me.”+ Accordingly the princes of Moʹab stayed with Baʹlaam.

9 Then God came to Baʹlaam and said:+ “Who are these men with you?” 10 So Baʹlaam said to the [true] God: “Baʹlak+ the son of Zipʹpor, the king of Moʹab, has sent to me, saying,* 11 ‘Look! The people who are coming out of Egypt, and they go covering the earth as far as the eye can see.+ Now do come, do execrate them for me.+ Perhaps I may be able to fight against them and I shall actually drive them out.’” 12 But God said to Baʹlaam: “You must not go with them. You must not curse the people,+ for they are blessed.”+

13 After that Baʹlaam got up in the morning and said to the princes of Baʹlak: “Go to YOUR country, because Jehovah has refused to let me go with YOU.” 14 So the princes of Moʹab got up and came to Baʹlak and said: “Baʹlaam has refused to come with us.”+

15 However, Baʹlak sent again other princes in greater number and more honorable than the former. 16 In turn they came to Baʹlaam and said to him: “This is what Baʹlak the son of Zipʹpor has said, ‘Do not be detained, please, from coming to me. 17 For I shall without fail honor you greatly,+ and everything you may say to me I shall do.+ So do come, please. Do execrate this people for me.’” 18 But Baʹlaam answered and said to the servants of Baʹlak: “If Baʹlak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I should not be able to pass beyond the order of Jehovah my God, so as to do something small or great.+ 19 And now YOU men also stay here, please, tonight that I may know what further Jehovah will speak with me.”+

20 Then God* came to Baʹlaam by night and said to him: “If it is to call you that the men have come, get up, go with them. But only the word that I shall speak to you is what you may speak.”+ 21 After that Baʹlaam got up in the morning and saddled his she-ass and went with the princes of Moʹab.+

22 And the anger of God* began to blaze because he was going; and Jehovah’s angel proceeded to station himself in the road to resist him.*+ And he was riding upon his she-ass, and two attendants* of his were with him. 23 And the ass got to see Jehovah’s angel stationed in the road with his drawn sword in his hand;+ and the ass tried to turn aside from the road that she might go into the field, but Baʹlaam began to strike the ass in order to turn her aside to the road. 24 And Jehovah’s angel kept standing in the narrow way between the vineyards, with a stone wall on this side and a stone wall on that side. 25 And the she-ass kept seeing Jehovah’s angel and began to squeeze herself against the wall and so to squeeze Baʹlaam’s foot against the wall; and he went beating her some more.

26 Jehovah’s angel now passed by again and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn aside to the right or the left. 27 When the ass got to see Jehovah’s angel she now lay down under Baʹlaam; so that Baʹlaam’s anger blazed,+ and he kept beating the ass with his staff. 28 Finally Jehovah opened the mouth of the ass+ and she said to Baʹlaam: “What have I done to you so that you have beaten me these three times?”+ 29 At this Baʹlaam said to the ass: “It is because you have dealt ruthlessly with me. If only there were a sword in my hand, for now I should have killed you!”+ 30 Then the she-ass said to Baʹlaam: “Am I not your she-ass that you have ridden upon all your life long until this day? Have I ever been used to do to you this way?”+ To which he said: “No!” 31 And Jehovah proceeded to uncover Baʹlaam’s eyes,+ so that he saw Jehovah’s angel stationed in the road with his drawn sword in his hand. At once he bowed low and prostrated himself on his face.

32 Then Jehovah’s angel said to him: “Why have you beaten your she-ass these three times? Look! I—I have come out to offer resistance, because your way has been headlong* against my will.+ 33 And the she-ass got to see me and tried to turn aside before me these three times.+ Supposing she had not* turned aside from before me! For by now even you I should have killed,+ but her I should have preserved alive.” 34 At this Baʹlaam said to Jehovah’s angel: “I have sinned,+ because I did not know that it was you stationed in the road to meet me. And now, if it is bad in your eyes, let me go my way back.” 35 But Jehovah’s angel said to Baʹlaam: “Go with the men;+ and nothing but the word that I shall speak to you is what you may speak.”+ And Baʹlaam continued going with the princes of Baʹlak.

36 When Baʹlak got to hear that Baʹlaam had come, he at once went out to meet him at the city of Moʹab, which is on the bank of the Arʹnon, which is on the extremity of the territory.+ 37 Then Baʹlak said to Baʹlaam: “Have I not for a fact sent to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not really and truly able to honor you?”+ 38 At this Baʹlaam said to Baʹlak: “Here I have come to you now. Shall I be able at all to speak something?+ The word that God will place in my mouth is what I shall speak.”+

39 So Baʹlaam went with Baʹlak and they came to Kirʹi·ath-huʹzoth. 40 And Baʹlak proceeded to sacrifice cattle and sheep+ and to send some to Baʹlaam and the princes who were with him. 41 And it came about in the morning that Baʹlak went taking Baʹlaam and bringing him up to Baʹmoth-baʹal,*+ that he might see* from there the whole of the people.+

23 Then Baʹlaam said to Baʹlak: “Build for me on this spot seven altars+ and make ready for me on this spot seven bulls and seven rams.” 2 Baʹlak immediately did just as Baʹlaam had spoken. After that Baʹlak and Baʹlaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.*+ 3 And Baʹlaam went on to say to Baʹlak: “Station yourself by your burnt offering,+ and let me go. Perhaps Jehovah will get in touch and meet with me.+ In that case whatever he will show me, I shall certainly tell you.” So he went to a bare hill.

4 When God got in touch with Baʹlaam,+ he then said to Him: “I set the seven altars in rows, and I proceeded to offer up a bull and a ram on each altar.”+ 5 Accordingly Jehovah* put a word in the mouth of Baʹlaam+ and said: “Return to Baʹlak, and this is what you will speak.”+ 6 So he returned to him, and, look! he and all the princes of Moʹab were stationed by his burnt offering. 7 Then he took up his proverbial+ utterance and said:

11 At this Baʹlak said to Baʹlaam: “What have you done to me? It was in order to execrate my enemies that I took you, and here you have blessed them to the limit.”+ 12 In turn he answered and said: “Is it not whatever Jehovah may put in my mouth that I should take care to speak?”+

13 Then Baʹlak said to him: “Do come, please, with me to another place from which you can see them. Only the extremity of them you will see,+ and you will not see all of them. And execrate them for me from there.”+ 14 So he took him to the field of Zoʹphim, to the top of Pisʹgah,+ and proceeded to build seven altars and to offer up a bull and a ram on each altar.+ 15 After that he said to Baʹlak: “Station yourself here by your burnt offering, and, as for me, let me get in touch with him there.” 16 Subsequently Jehovah* got in touch with Baʹlaam and put a word in his mouth and said:+ “Return to Baʹlak,+ and this is what you will speak.” 17 So he came to him, and, look! he was stationed by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moʹab with him. Then Baʹlak said to him: “What has Jehovah spoken?” 18 At this he took up his proverbial utterance and said:+

25 At this Baʹlak said to Baʹlaam: “If, on the one hand, you cannot execrate him at all, then, on the other hand, you should not bless him at all.” 26 In turn Baʹlaam answered and said to Baʹlak: “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘All that Jehovah will speak is what I shall do’?”+

27 Then Baʹlak said to Baʹlaam: “O come, please. Let me take you to still another place. Perhaps it will be right in the eyes of the [true] God so that you will certainly execrate him for me from there.”+ 28 With that Baʹlak took Baʹlaam to the top of Peʹor, which looks toward Je·shiʹmon.+ 29 Then Baʹlaam+ said to Baʹlak: “Build for me on this spot seven altars and make ready for me on this spot seven bulls and seven rams.”+ 30 So Baʹlak did just as Baʹlaam had said, and he went offering up a bull and a ram on each altar.+

24 When Baʹlaam got to see that it was good in the eyes of Jehovah to bless Israel, he did not go away as at the other times+ to come upon any unlucky omens,*+ but he directed his face to the wilderness. 2 When Baʹlaam raised his eyes and saw Israel tabernacling by his tribes,+ then the spirit of God came to be upon him.+ 3 Hence he took up his proverbial utterance+ and said:

 5 How good-looking are your tents, O Jacob, your tabernacles, O Israel!+

10 At that Baʹlak’s anger blazed against Baʹlaam and he clapped his hands,+ and Baʹlak went on to say to Baʹlaam: “It was to execrate+ my enemies that I called you, and, look! you have blessed them to the limit these three times. 11 And now run your way off to your place. I had said to myself I was without fail going to honor you,+ but, look! Jehovah has held you back from honor.”

12 In turn Baʹlaam said to Baʹlak: “Was it not also to your messengers whom you sent to me that I spoke, saying, 13 ‘If Baʹlak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I should not be able to pass beyond the order of Jehovah so as to do something good or bad out of my own heart. Whatever Jehovah may speak is what I shall speak’?+ 14 And now here I am going away to my people. Do come, let me advise you+ what this people will do to your people afterward in the end of the days.”+ 15 So he took up his proverbial utterance+ and said:

20 When he got to see Amʹa·lek, he carried further his proverbial utterance and went on to say:+

21 When he got to see the Kenʹites,+ he carried further his proverbial utterance and went on to say:

“Durable is your dwelling, and set on the crag is your abode.*

25 After that Baʹlaam got up and went and returned to his place.+ And Baʹlak also went his own way.

25 Now Israel was dwelling in Shitʹtim.+ Then the people started to have immoral relations with the daughters of Moʹab.+ 2 And the women came calling the people to the sacrifices of their gods,+ and the people began to eat and to bow down to their gods.+ 3 So Israel* attached itself to the Baʹal of Peʹor;*+ and the anger of Jehovah began to blaze against Israel.+ 4 Hence Jehovah said to Moses: “Take all the head ones* of the people and expose* them to Jehovah+ toward the sun, that the burning anger of Jehovah may turn back from Israel.” 5 Then Moses said to the judges of Israel:+ “Each one of YOU kill+ his men who have an attachment with the Baʹal of Peʹor.”

6 But, look! a man+ of the sons of Israel came, and he was bringing near to his brothers* a Midʹi·an·ite woman+ before Moses’ eyes and before the eyes of all the assembly of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinʹe·has+ the son of El·e·aʹzar the son of Aaron the priest caught sight of it, he at once got up from the midst of the assembly and took a lance in his hand. 8 Then he went after the man of Israel into the vaulted tent* and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman through her genital parts.* At that the scourge was halted from upon the sons of Israel.+ 9 And those who died from the scourge amounted to twenty-four thousand.+

10 Then Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 11 “Phinʹe·has+ the son of El·e·aʹzar the son of Aaron the priest has turned back my wrath+ from upon the sons of Israel by his tolerating no rivalry at all toward me in the midst of them,+ so that I have not exterminated the sons of Israel in my insistence on exclusive devotion.+ 12 For that reason say, ‘Here I am giving him my covenant of peace. 13 And it must serve as the covenant of a priesthood to time indefinite for him and his offspring after him,+ due to the fact that he tolerated no rivalry toward his God+ and proceeded to make atonement for the sons of Israel.’”+

14 Incidentally the name of the fatally struck Israelite man who was fatally struck with the Midʹi·an·i·tess was Zimʹri the son of Saʹlu, a chieftain+ of a paternal house of the Simʹe·on·ites. 15 And the name of the Midʹi·an·ite woman fatally struck was Cozʹbi the daughter of Zur;+ he was a head one of the clans of a paternal house in Midʹi·an.+

16 Later Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 17 “Let there be a harassing* of the Midʹi·an·ites, and YOU men must strike them,+ 18 because they are harassing YOU with their deeds of cunning+ that they committed against YOU cunningly in the affair of Peʹor+ and in the affair of Cozʹbi+ the daughter of a chieftain of Midʹi·an, their sister who was fatally struck+ in the day of the scourge over the affair of Peʹor.”+

26 And it came about after the scourge,*+ that Jehovah went on to say this to Moses and El·e·aʹzar the son of Aaron the priest: 2 “TAKE the sum of the whole assembly of the sons of Israel from twenty years of age and upward, according to the house of their fathers, all those going out to the army in Israel.”+ 3 And Moses and El·e·aʹzar+ the priest proceeded to speak with them in the desert plains of Moʹab+ by the Jordan at Jerʹi·cho,+ saying: 4 “[Take the sum of them] from the age of twenty years and upward, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses.”+

Now the sons of Israel who went out of the land of Egypt were: 5 Reuʹben, Israel’s firstborn;+ Reuʹben’s sons: Of Haʹnoch+ the family of the Haʹnoch·ites; of Palʹlu+ the family of the Palʹlu·ites; 6 of Hezʹron+ the family of the Hezʹron·ites; of Carʹmi+ the family of the Carʹmites. 7 These were the families of the Reuʹben·ites, and their registered ones amounted to forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty.+

8 And the son* of Palʹlu was E·liʹab. 9 And the sons of E·liʹab: Nemʹu·el and Daʹthan and A·biʹram. This Daʹthan+ and A·biʹram+ were summoned ones of the assembly, who engaged in a struggle against Moses and Aaron in the assembly of Koʹrah,+ when they engaged in a struggle against Jehovah.

10 Then the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up.+ As for Koʹrah, [he died] at the death of the assembly when the fire consumed two hundred and fifty men.*+ And they came to be a symbol.+ 11 However, the sons of Koʹrah did not die.+

12 The sons of Simʹe·on+ by their families: Of Nemʹu·el*+ the family of the Nemʹu·el·ites; of Jaʹmin+ the family of the Jaʹmin·ites; of Jaʹchin+ the family of the Jaʹchin·ites; 13 of Zeʹrah* the family of the Zeʹrah·ites; of Shaʹul+ the family of the Sha·uʹlites. 14 These were the families of the Simʹe·on·ites: twenty-two thousand two hundred.+

15 The sons of Gad+ by their families: Of Zeʹphon* the family of the Zeʹphon·ites; of Hagʹgi the family of the Hagʹgites; of Shuʹni the family of the Shuʹnites; 16 of Ozʹni* the family of the Ozʹnites; of Eʹri the family of the Eʹrites; 17 of Arʹod* the family of the Arʹod·ites; of A·reʹli+ the family of the A·reʹlites. 18 These were the families of the sons of Gad, of their registered ones: forty thousand five hundred.+

19 The sons of Judah+ were Er+ and Oʹnan.+ However, Er and Oʹnan died in the land of Caʹnaan.+ 20 And the sons of Judah came to be, by their families: Of Sheʹlah+ the family of the She·laʹnites; of Peʹrez+ the family of the Perʹe·zites; of Zeʹrah+ the family of the Zeʹrah·ites. 21 And the sons of Peʹrez came to be: Of Hezʹron+ the family of the Hezʹron·ites; of Haʹmul+ the family of the Ha·muʹlites. 22 These were the families of Judah,+ of their registered ones: seventy-six thousand five hundred.+

23 The sons of Isʹsa·char+ by their families were: Of Toʹla+ the family of the Toʹla·ites; of Puʹvah the family of the Puʹnites; 24 of Jaʹshub* the family of the Jashʹu·bites; of Shimʹron+ the family of the Shimʹron·ites. 25 These were the families of Isʹsa·char, of their registered ones: sixty-four thousand three hundred.+

26 The sons of Zebʹu·lun+ by their families were: Of Seʹred the family of the Serʹe·dites; of Eʹlon the family of the Eʹlon·ites; of Jahʹle·el+ the family of the Jahʹle·el·ites. 27 These were the families of the Ze·buʹlu·nites, of their registered ones: sixty thousand five hundred.+

28 The sons of Joseph+ by their families were Ma·nasʹseh and Eʹphra·im.+ 29 The sons of Ma·nasʹseh+ were: Of Maʹchir+ the family of the Maʹchir·ites. And Maʹchir became father to Gilʹe·ad.+ Of Gilʹe·ad the family of the Gilʹe·ad·ites. 30 These were the sons of Gilʹe·ad: Of Ieʹzer+ the family of the Ieʹzer·ites; of Heʹlek the family of the Heʹlek·ites; 31 of Asʹri·el the family of the Asʹri·el·ites; of Sheʹchem the family of the Sheʹchem·ites; 32 of She·miʹda+ the family of the She·miʹda·ites; of Heʹpher+ the family of the Heʹpher·ites. 33 Now Ze·loʹphe·had the son of Heʹpher proved to have no sons, but daughters,+ and the names of the daughters of Ze·loʹphe·had were Mahʹlah and Noah, Hogʹlah, Milʹcah and Tirʹzah.+ 34 These were the families of Ma·nasʹseh, and their registered ones were fifty-two thousand seven hundred.+

35 These were the sons of Eʹphra·im+ by their families: Of Shuʹthe·lah+ the family of the Shuʹthel·aʹhites; of Beʹcher the family of the Beʹcher·ites; of Taʹhan+ the family of the Taʹhan·ites. 36 And these were the sons of Shuʹthe·lah: Of Eʹran the family of the Eʹran·ites. 37 These were the families of the sons of Eʹphra·im,+ of their registered ones: thirty-two thousand five hundred. These were the sons of Joseph by their families.+

38 The sons of Benjamin+ by their families were: Of Beʹla+ the family of the Beʹla·ites; of Ashʹbel+ the family of the Ashʹbel·ites; of A·hiʹram* the family of the A·hiʹram·ites; 39 of She·phuʹpham* the family of the Shuʹpham·ites; of Huʹpham*+ the family of the Huʹpham·ites. 40 The sons of Beʹla came to be Ard and Naʹa·man:+ [Of Ard]* the family of the Ardʹites; of Naʹa·man the family of the Naʹa·mites. 41 These were the sons of Benjamin+ by their families, and their registered ones were forty-five thousand six hundred.+

42 These were the sons of Dan+ by their families: Of Shuʹham* the family of the Shuʹham·ites. These were the families of Dan+ by their families. 43 All the families of the Shuʹham·ites, of their registered ones, were sixty-four thousand four hundred.+

44 The sons of Ashʹer+ by their families were: Of Imʹnah+ the family of the Imʹnites; of Ishʹvi+ the family of the Ishʹvites; of Be·riʹah the family of the Be·riʹites; 45 of the sons of Be·riʹah: Of Heʹber the family of the Heʹber·ites; of Malʹchi·el+ the family of the Malʹchi·el·ites. 46 And the name of Ashʹer’s daughter was Seʹrah.+ 47 These were the families of the sons of Ashʹer,+ of their registered ones: fifty-three thousand four hundred.+

48 The sons of Naphʹta·li+ by their families were: Of Jahʹze·el+ the family of the Jahʹze·el·ites; of Guʹni+ the family of the Guʹnites; 49 of Jeʹzer+ the family of the Jeʹzer·ites; of Shilʹlem+ the family of the Shilʹlem·ites. 50 These were the families of Naphʹta·li+ by their families, and their registered ones were forty-five thousand four hundred.+

51 These were the registered ones of the sons of Israel: six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty.+

52 After that Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 53 “To these the land should be apportioned for an inheritance by the number of the names.+ 54 According to the great number you should increase one’s inheritance, and according to the fewness you should reduce one’s inheritance.+ Each one’s inheritance should be given in proportion to his registered ones. 55 Only by the lot+ should the land be apportioned. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they should get an inheritance. 56 By the determination of the lot one’s inheritance should be apportioned between the many and the few.”

57 Now these were the registered ones of the Levites+ by their families: Of Gerʹshon+ the family of the Gerʹshon·ites; of Koʹhath+ the family of the Koʹhath·ites; of Me·rarʹi+ the family of the Me·rarʹites. 58 These were the families of the Levites:* the family of the Libʹnites,+ the family of the Heʹbron·ites,+ the family of the Mahʹlites,+ the family of the Muʹshites,+ the family of the Koʹrah·ites.+

And Koʹhath+ became father to Amʹram.+ 59 And the name of Amʹram’s wife was Jochʹe·bed,+ Leʹvi’s daughter, whom his wife bore* to Leʹvi in Egypt. In time she bore to Amʹram Aaron and Moses and Mirʹi·am their sister.+ 60 Then there were born to Aaron Naʹdab and A·biʹhu,+ El·e·aʹzar and Ithʹa·mar.+ 61 But Naʹdab and A·biʹhu died for their presenting illegitimate fire before Jehovah.+

62 And their registered ones amounted to twenty-three thousand, all males from a month old and upward.+ For they did not get registered in among the sons of Israel,+ because no inheritance was to be given to them in among the sons of Israel.+

63 These were the ones registered by Moses and El·e·aʹzar the priest when they registered the sons of Israel in the desert plains of Moʹab by the Jordan at Jerʹi·cho.+ 64 But among these there did not prove to be a man of those registered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they registered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Siʹnai.+ 65 For Jehovah had said concerning them: “They will die without fail in the wilderness.”+ So there was not left of them a man except Caʹleb the son of Je·phunʹneh and Joshua the son of Nun.+

27 Then the daughters of Ze·loʹphe·had+ the son of Heʹpher the son of Gilʹe·ad the son of Maʹchir the son of Ma·nasʹseh,+ of the families of Ma·nasʹseh the son of Joseph, came near. And these were the names of his daughters: Mahʹlah, Noah and Hogʹlah and Milʹcah and Tirʹzah.+ 2 And they proceeded to stand before Moses and before El·e·aʹzar the priest+ and before the chieftains and all the assembly at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying: 3 “Our father has died in the wilderness,+ and yet he did not prove to be in among the assembly, that is, those who ranged themselves against Jehovah in the assembly of Koʹrah,+ but for his own sin he has died;+ and he did not get to have any sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from the midst of his family because he had no son?+ O give us a possession in the midst of our father’s brothers.”+ 5 At that Moses presented their case before Jehovah.+

6 Jehovah then said this to Moses: 7 “The daughters of Ze·loʹphe·had are speaking right. By all means you should give them the possession of an inheritance in the midst of their father’s brothers, and you must cause their father’s inheritance to pass to them.+ 8 And to the sons of Israel you should speak, saying, ‘In case any man should die without his having a son, YOU must then cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. 9 And if he has no daughter, YOU must then give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 And if he has no brothers, YOU must then give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 And if his father has no brothers, YOU must then give his inheritance to his blood relation+ who is closest to him of his family, and he must take possession of it. And it must serve as a statute by judicial decision for the sons of Israel, just as Jehovah has commanded Moses.’”

12 Subsequently Jehovah said to Moses: “Go up into this mountain of Abʹa·rim*+ and see the land that I shall certainly give the sons of Israel.+ 13 When you have seen it, then you must be gathered to your people,+ yes, you, just as Aaron your brother was gathered,+ 14 inasmuch as YOU men rebelled against my order in the wilderness of Zin at the quarreling of the assembly,+ in relation to sanctifying+ me* by the waters before their eyes. These are the waters of Merʹi·bah+ at Kaʹdesh+ in the wilderness of Zin.”+

15 Then Moses spoke to Jehovah, saying: 16 “Let Jehovah the God of the spirits+ of all sorts of flesh*+ appoint over the assembly a man+ 17 who will go out before them and who will come in before them and who will bring them out and who will bring them in,+ that Jehovah’s assembly may not become like sheep that have no shepherd.”+ 18 So Jehovah said to Moses: “Take for yourself Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom there is spirit,+ and you must lay your hand upon him;+ 19 and you must stand him before El·e·aʹzar the priest and before all the assembly, and you must commission him before their eyes.+ 20 And you must put some of your dignity upon him,+ in order that all the assembly of the sons of Israel may listen to him.+ 21 And it is before El·e·aʹzar the priest that he will stand, and he must inquire+ in his behalf by the judgment of the Uʹrim+ before Jehovah. At his order they will go out and at his order they will come in, he and all the sons of Israel with him and all the assembly.”

22 And Moses proceeded to do just as Jehovah had commanded him. Accordingly he took Joshua and stood him before El·e·aʹzar+ the priest and before all the assembly 23 and laid his hands upon him and commissioned him,+ just as Jehovah had spoken by means of Moses.+

28 And Jehovah spoke further to Moses, saying: 2 “Command the sons of Israel, and you must say to them, ‘YOU should take care to present to me my offering, my bread,+ for my offerings made by fire as a restful odor to me,+ at their appointed times.’*+

3 “And you must say to them, ‘This is the offering made by fire that YOU will present to Jehovah: two sound year-old male lambs a day as a burnt offering constantly.+ 4 The one male lamb you will render up in the morning, and the other male lamb you will render up between the two evenings,*+ 5 together with the tenth of an eʹphah+ of fine flour as a grain+ offering moistened with the fourth of a hin of beaten oil;+ 6 the constant burnt offering,+ which was rendered up at Mount Siʹnai as a restful odor, an offering made by fire to Jehovah,+ 7 along with its drink offering,+ the fourth of a hin to each male lamb.+ Pour out in the holy place the drink offering of intoxicating liquor+ to Jehovah. 8 And you will render up the other male lamb between the two evenings. With the same grain offering as of the morning and with its same drink offering you will render it up as an offering made by fire, of a restful odor to Jehovah.+

9 “‘However, on the sabbath+ day there will be two sound year-old male lambs and two tenth measures of fine flour as a grain offering moistened with oil, together with its drink offering, 10 as a sabbath burnt offering on its sabbath,* along with the constant burnt offering+ and its drink offering.+

11 “‘And at the commencements of YOUR months YOU people will present as a burnt offering to Jehovah two young bulls and one ram, seven sound male lambs each a year old,+ 12 and three tenth measures of fine flour as a grain offering+ moistened with oil for each bull and two tenth measures of fine flour as a grain offering moistened with oil for the one ram,+ 13 and a tenth measure of fine flour respectively as a grain offering moistened with oil for each male lamb, as a burnt offering, a restful odor,+ an offering made by fire to Jehovah. 14 And as their drink offerings there should go half+ a hin of wine for a bull and a third+ of a hin for the ram and a fourth+ of a hin for a male lamb.* This is the monthly burnt offering in its month for the months of the year.+ 15 Also, one kid+ of the goats should be rendered up as a sin offering to Jehovah in addition to the constant burnt offering together with its drink offering.+

16 “‘And in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, will be Jehovah’s passover.+ 17 And on the fifteenth day of this month will be a festival. Seven days unfermented cakes will be eaten.+ 18 On the first day there will be a holy convention.+ No sort of laborious work must YOU do.+ 19 And YOU must present as an offering made by fire, a burnt offering+ to Jehovah, two young bulls and one ram and seven male lambs each a year old.+ They should prove to be sound ones for YOU.+ 20 And as their grain offerings+ of fine flour moistened with oil YOU will render up three tenth measures for a bull and two tenth measures+ for the ram. 21 You will render up a tenth measure+ respectively for each male lamb of the seven male lambs; 22 and one goat of sin offering to make atonement for YOU.+ 23 Aside from the morning burnt offering, which is for the constant+ burnt offering,+ YOU will render these up. 24 The same as these YOU will render up daily for the seven days as bread,+ an offering made by fire, of a restful odor to Jehovah.+ Along with the constant burnt offering it should be rendered, and its drink offering. 25 And on the seventh day YOU should hold a holy convention.+ No sort of laborious work must YOU do.+

26 “‘And on the day of the first ripe fruits,+ when YOU present a new grain offering to Jehovah, in YOUR feast of weeks+ YOU should hold a holy convention. No sort of laborious work must YOU do.+ 27 And YOU must present as a burnt offering for a restful odor to Jehovah two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs each a year old;+ 28 and as their grain offering of fine flour moistened with oil three tenth measures for each bull, two tenth measures+ for the one ram, 29 a tenth measure+ respectively for each male lamb of the seven male lambs; 30 one kid of the goats to make atonement for YOU.+ 31 Aside from the constant burnt offering and its grain offering YOU will render them up.+ They should prove to be sound ones for YOU,+ together with their drink offerings.+

29 “‘And in the seventh month, on the first of the month, YOU should hold a holy convention.+ No sort of laborious work must YOU do.+ It should prove to be a day of the trumpet blast for YOU.+ 2 And YOU must render up as a burnt offering for a restful odor to Jehovah one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs each a year old, sound ones;+ 3 and their grain offering of fine flour moistened with oil, three tenth measures for the bull, two tenth measures for the ram,+ 4 and one tenth measure for each male lamb of the seven male lambs;+ 5 and one male kid of the goats as a sin offering to make atonement for YOU;+ 6 aside from the monthly burnt offering+ and its grain offering+ and the constant burnt offering+ and its grain offering,+ together with their drink offerings,+ according to the regular procedure for them, as a restful odor, an offering made by fire to Jehovah.+

7 “‘And on the tenth of this seventh month YOU should hold a holy convention,+ and YOU must afflict YOUR souls.+ No sort of work must YOU do.+ 8 And YOU must present as a burnt offering to Jehovah, as a restful odor, one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs each a year old.+ They should prove to be sound ones for YOU.+ 9 And as their grain offering of fine flour moistened with oil three tenth measures for the bull, two tenth measures for the one ram,+ 10 a tenth measure respectively for each male lamb of the seven male lambs;+ 11 one kid of the goats as a sin offering, aside from the sin offering of atonement+ and the constant burnt offering and its grain offering, together with their drink offerings.+

12 “‘And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month+ YOU should hold a holy convention.+ No sort of laborious work must YOU do,+ and YOU must celebrate a festival to Jehovah seven days.+ 13 And YOU must present as a burnt offering,+ an offering made by fire, of a restful odor to Jehovah, thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs each a year old. They should prove to be sound ones.+ 14 And as their grain offering of fine flour moistened with oil three tenth measures for each bull of the thirteen bulls, two tenth measures for each ram of the two rams,+ 15 and a tenth measure* for each male lamb of the fourteen male lambs;*+ 16 and one kid of the goats as a sin offering, aside from the constant burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.+

17 “‘And on the second day twelve young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs each a year old, sound ones;+ 18 and their grain offering+ and their drink offerings+ for the bulls, the rams and the male lambs by their number according to the regular procedure;+ 19 and one kid of the goats as a sin offering,+ aside from the constant burnt offering and its grain offering, together with their drink offerings.+

20 “‘And on the third day eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs each a year old, sound ones;+ 21 and their grain offering+ and their drink offerings+ for the bulls, the rams and the male lambs by their number according to the regular procedure; 22 and one goat* as a sin offering,+ aside from the constant burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

23 “‘And on the fourth day ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs each a year old, sound ones;+ 24 their grain offering+ and their drink offerings+ for the bulls, the rams and the male lambs by their number according to the regular procedure;+ 25 and one kid of the goats as a sin offering,+ aside from the constant burnt offering,+ its grain offering and its drink offering.+

26 “‘And on the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs each a year old, sound ones;+ 27 and their grain offering+ and their drink offerings+ for the bulls, the rams and the male lambs by their number according to the regular procedure;+ 28 and one goat as a sin offering,+ aside from the constant burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.+

29 “‘And on the sixth day eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs each a year old, sound ones;+ 30 and their grain offering+ and their drink offerings+ for the bulls, the rams and the male lambs by their number according to the regular procedure;+ 31 and one goat as a sin offering,+ aside from the constant burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offerings.+

32 “‘And on the seventh day seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs each a year old, sound ones;+ 33 and their grain offering+ and their drink offerings+ for the bulls, the rams and the male lambs by their number according to the regular procedure for them;+ 34 and one goat as a sin offering,+ aside from the constant burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.+

35 “‘And on the eighth day YOU should hold a solemn assembly.+ No sort of laborious work must YOU do.+ 36 And YOU must present as a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a restful odor to Jehovah, one bull, one ram, seven male lambs each a year old, sound ones;+ 37 and their grain offering+ and their drink offerings+ for the bull, the ram and the male lambs by their number according to the regular procedure;+ 38 and one goat as a sin offering,+ aside from the constant burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.+

39 “‘These YOU will render up to Jehovah at YOUR seasonal festivals,+ besides YOUR vow offerings+ and YOUR voluntary offerings+ as YOUR burnt offerings+ and YOUR grain offerings+ and YOUR drink offerings+ and YOUR communion sacrifices.’”*+ 40 And Moses proceeded to talk to the sons of Israel according to everything that Jehovah had commanded Moses.+

30 Then Moses spoke to the heads+ of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying: “This is the word that Jehovah has commanded: 2 In case a man makes a vow+ to Jehovah or swears an oath+ to bind a vow of abstinence+ upon his soul, he must not violate his word.+ According to all that has gone out of his mouth he should do.+

3 “And in case a woman makes a vow to Jehovah+ or she does bind herself with a vow of abstinence in the house of her father in her youth,* 4 and her father actually hears her vow or her abstinence vow that she has bound upon her soul and her father does keep silent toward her, all her vows must also stand, and every abstinence vow+ that she has bound upon her soul will stand. 5 But if her father has forbidden her on the day of his hearing all her vows or her abstinence vows that she has bound upon her soul, it will not stand, but Jehovah will forgive her, because her father forbade her.+

6 “However, if she at all happens to belong to a husband, and her vow is upon her+ or the thoughtless promise of her lips that she has bound upon her soul, 7 and her husband actually hears it and keeps silent toward her on the day of his hearing it,* her vows must also stand or her abstinence vows that she has bound upon her soul will stand.+ 8 But if her husband on the day of hearing it forbids her,+ he has also annulled her vow that was upon her or the thoughtless promise of her lips that she bound upon her soul, and Jehovah will forgive her.+

9 “In the case of the vow of a widow or a divorced woman, everything that she has bound upon her soul will stand against her.

10 “However, if it is in the house of her husband that she has vowed or has bound an abstinence vow+ upon her soul by an oath, 11 and her husband has heard it and has kept silent toward her, he has not forbidden her;* and all her vows must stand or any abstinence vow that she has bound upon her soul will stand. 12 But if her husband has totally annulled them on the day of his hearing any expression of her lips as her vows or as an abstinence vow of her soul, they will not stand.+ Her husband has annulled them, and Jehovah will forgive her.+ 13 Any vow or any oath of an abstinence vow to afflict the soul,+ her husband should establish it or her husband should annul it. 14 But if her husband absolutely keeps silent toward her from day to day, he has also established all her vows or all her abstinence vows that are upon her.+ He has established them because he kept silent toward her on the day of his hearing them. 15 And if he totally annuls them after his hearing them, he also actually bears her* error.+

16 “These are the regulations that Jehovah commanded Moses as between a husband and his wife,+ as between a father and his daughter in her youth in the house of her father.”+

31 Jehovah then spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Take vengeance+ for the sons of Israel upon the Midʹi·an·ites.+ Afterward you will be gathered to your people.”+

3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying: “Equip* men from among YOU for the army, that they may serve against Midʹi·an to execute Jehovah’s vengeance upon Midʹi·an.+ 4 A thousand of each tribe of all the tribes of Israel YOU will send into the army.” 5 Accordingly from the thousands+ of Israel a thousand were assigned of a tribe, twelve thousand equipped for the army.+

6 Then Moses sent them out, a thousand of each tribe, to the army, them and Phinʹe·has+ the son of El·e·aʹzar the priest to the army, and the holy utensils and the trumpets+ for blowing calls were in his hand. 7 And they went waging war against Midʹi·an, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses, and they proceeded to kill every male.+ 8 And they killed the kings of Midʹi·an along with the others slain, namely, Eʹvi and Reʹkem and Zur and Hur and Reʹba, the five kings of Midʹi·an;+ and they killed Baʹlaam+ the son of Beʹor with the sword. 9 But the sons of Israel carried off the women of Midʹi·an and their little ones captive;+ and all their domestic animals and all their livestock and all their means of maintenance they plundered. 10 And all their cities in which they had settled* and all their walled camps they burned with fire.+ 11 And they went taking all the spoil+ and all the booty in the way of humans* and domestic animals. 12 And they came bringing to Moses and El·e·aʹzar the priest and to the assembly* of the sons of Israel the captives and the booty and the spoil, to the camp, to the desert plains of Moʹab,+ which are by the Jordan at Jerʹi·cho.

13 Then Moses and El·e·aʹzar the priest and all the chieftains of the assembly went out to meet them outside the camp. 14 And Moses grew indignant at the appointed men of the combat forces,+ the chiefs* of the thousands and the chiefs of the hundreds who were coming in from the military expedition. 15 So Moses said to them: “Have YOU preserved alive every female?+ 16 Look! They are the ones who, by Baʹlaam’s word, served to induce the sons of Israel to commit unfaithfulness*+ toward Jehovah over the affair of Peʹor,+ so that the scourge came upon the assembly of Jehovah.+ 17 And now kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has had intercourse with man by lying with a male.+ 18 And preserve alive for yourselves all the little ones among the women who have not known the act of lying with a male.+ 19 As for YOU yourselves, camp outside the camp seven days. Everyone who has killed a soul+ and everyone who has touched someone slain,+ YOU should purify+ yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, YOU and YOUR captives. 20 And every garment and every article of skin and everything made of goat’s hair and every article of wood YOU should purify for yourselves from sin.”+

21 El·e·aʹzar the priest then said to the men of the army who had gone into the battle: “This is the statute of the law that Jehovah commanded Moses, 22 ‘Only the gold and the silver, the copper, the iron, the tin and the lead, 23 everything that is processed with fire,*+ YOU should pass through the fire, and it must be clean. Only it should be purified by the water for cleansing.+ And everything that is not processed with fire* YOU should pass through the water.+ 24 And YOU must wash YOUR garments on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward YOU may come into the camp.’”+

25 And Jehovah proceeded to say this to Moses: 26 “Take the sum of the booty, the captives both of humankind and of domestic animals, you and El·e·aʹzar the priest and the heads of the fathers of the assembly. 27 And you must divide the booty in two between those taking part in the battle who went out on the expedition and all the rest of the assembly.+ 28 And as a tax+ for Jehovah you must take away from the men of war who went out on the expedition one soul out of five hundred, of humankind and of the herd and of the asses and of the flock. 29 From their half YOU* should take it and you must give it to El·e·aʹzar the priest as Jehovah’s contribution.+ 30 And from the half of the sons of Israel you should take one out of fifty,* of humankind, of the herd, of the asses and of the flock, of every sort of domestic animal, and you must give them to the Levites,+ the keepers of the obligation of Jehovah’s tabernacle.”+

31 And Moses and El·e·aʹzar the priest went doing just as Jehovah had commanded Moses. 32 And the booty, the rest of the plunder that the people of the expedition had taken as plunder, amounted to six hundred and seventy-five thousand of the flock, 33 and seventy-two thousand of the herd, 34 and sixty-one thousand asses. 35 As for human souls+ from the women who had not known the act of lying with a male,+ all the souls were thirty-two thousand. 36 And the half that was the share of those who went out on the expedition amounted in number to three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred of the flock. 37 And the tax+ for Jehovah from the flock amounted to six hundred and seventy-five. 38 And of the herd there were thirty-six thousand, and the tax on them for Jehovah was seventy-two. 39 And the asses were thirty thousand five hundred, and the tax on them for Jehovah was sixty-one. 40 And the human souls were sixteen thousand, and the tax on them for Jehovah was thirty-two souls. 41 Then Moses gave the tax as Jehovah’s contribution to El·e·aʹzar the priest,+ just as Jehovah had commanded Moses.+

42 And from the half belonging to the sons of Israel, which Moses divided from that belonging to the men who waged war: 43 Now the half of the assembly from the flock amounted to three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred, 44 and of the herd, thirty-six thousand, 45 and the asses, thirty thousand five hundred, 46 and human souls, sixteen thousand. 47 Then Moses took from the half belonging to the sons of Israel the one to be taken out of fifty,* of humankind and of domestic animals, and gave them to the Levites,+ the keepers of the obligation+ of Jehovah’s tabernacle, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

48 And the appointed men who were of the thousands of the army,+ the chiefs of the thousands and the chiefs of the hundreds,+ proceeded to approach Moses, 49 and to say to Moses: “Your servants have taken the sum of the men of war who are in our charge and not one has been reported missing from us.+ 50 So let us present each one what he has found as Jehovah’s offering,+ articles of gold, ankle chainlets, and bracelets, signet rings,+ earrings, and female ornaments,+ in order to make atonement for our souls before Jehovah.”

51 Accordingly Moses and El·e·aʹzar the priest accepted the gold from them,+ all the jewelry. 52 And all the gold of the contribution that they contributed to Jehovah amounted to sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from the chiefs of the thousands and the chiefs of the hundreds. 53 The men of the army had taken plunder each for himself.+ 54 So Moses and El·e·aʹzar the priest accepted the gold from the chiefs of the thousands and of the hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial+ for the sons of Israel before Jehovah.

32 Now the sons of Reuʹben+ and the sons of Gad+ had come to have numerous livestock, very many, in fact. And they began to see the land of Jaʹzer+ and the land of Gilʹe·ad, and, look! the place was a place for livestock. 2 Hence the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuʹben came and said this to Moses and El·e·aʹzar the priest and to the chieftains of the assembly: 3 “Atʹa·roth+ and Diʹbon+ and Jaʹzer and Nimʹrah+ and Heshʹbon+ and E·le·aʹleh+ and Seʹbam and Neʹbo+ and Beʹon,+ 4 the land that Jehovah defeated+ before the assembly of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.”+ 5 And they went on to say: “If we have found favor in your eyes, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.”+

6 Then Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuʹben: “Are YOUR brothers to go to war while YOU yourselves keep dwelling here?+ 7 And why should YOU dishearten the sons of Israel from crossing into the land that Jehovah will certainly give them? 8 That is the way YOUR fathers did+ when I sent them from Kaʹdesh-barʹne·a+ to see the land. 9 When they went up to the torrent valley of Eshʹcol+ and saw the land, then they disheartened the sons of Israel, so as not to go into the land that Jehovah was certain to give them.+ 10 Consequently Jehovah’s anger blazed on that day so that he swore,+ saying, 11 ‘The men who came up out of Egypt from twenty years old upward+ will not see the soil of which I have sworn* to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,+ because they have not followed me wholly, 12 except Caʹleb+ the son of Je·phunʹneh the Kenʹiz·zite and Joshua+ the son of Nun, because they have followed Jehovah wholly.’ 13 So Jehovah’s anger blazed against Israel and he made them wander about in the wilderness forty years,+ until all the generation that was doing evil in the eyes of Jehovah came to their end.+ 14 And here YOU have risen in the place of YOUR fathers as the brood of sinful men in order to add further* to the burning anger of Jehovah+ against Israel. 15 In case YOU should turn back from following him,+ he also would certainly once again let them stay longer in the wilderness,+ and YOU would have acted ruinously toward all this people.”+

16 Later they approached him and said: “Let us build here stone flock pens for our livestock and cities for our little ones. 17 But we ourselves shall go equipped in battle formation+ before the sons of Israel until whenever we have brought them to their place, while our little ones must dwell in the cities with fortifications away from the face of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We shall not return to our houses until the sons of Israel have provided themselves with landed property, each with his own inheritance.+ 19 For we shall not get an inheritance with them from the side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us from the side of the Jordan toward the sunrising.”+

20 At this Moses said to them: “If YOU will do this thing, if YOU will equip yourselves before Jehovah for the war,+ 21 and every equipped one of YOURS will actually pass over the Jordan before Jehovah, until he drives away his enemies from before him,+ 22 and the land is actually subdued before Jehovah,+ and afterward YOU return,+ YOU also will indeed prove yourselves free from guilt against Jehovah and against Israel; and this land must become YOURS as a possession before Jehovah.+ 23 But if YOU will not do this way, YOU will also certainly sin against Jehovah.+ In that case know that YOUR sin will catch up with YOU.+ 24 Build for yourselves cities for YOUR little ones and stone pens for YOUR flocks, and what has gone forth from YOUR mouth YOU should do.”+

25 Then the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuʹben said this to Moses: “Your servants will do just as my lord is commanding.+ 26 Our little ones, our wives, our livestock and all our domestic animals will stay there in the cities of Gilʹe·ad,+ 27 but your servants will pass over, everyone equipped for the army,+ before Jehovah for the war, just as my lord is speaking.”

28 Accordingly Moses gave a command respecting them to El·e·aʹzar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 29 So Moses said to them: “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuʹben pass with YOU over the Jordan, everyone equipped for the war,+ before Jehovah, and the land is actually subdued before YOU, YOU must then give them the land of Gilʹe·ad as a possession.+ 30 But if they do not pass over equipped with YOU,* they must then be settled in YOUR midst in the land of Caʹnaan.”+

31 To this the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuʹben answered, saying: “What Jehovah has spoken to your servants is the way we shall do.+ 32 We ourselves will pass over equipped before Jehovah to the land of Caʹnaan,+ and the possession of our inheritance will be with us* on this side of the Jordan.”+ 33 At this Moses gave to them, that is, to the sons of Gad+ and to the sons of Reuʹben+ and to half the tribe of Ma·nasʹseh+ the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Siʹhon+ the king of the Amʹor·ites and the kingdom of Og+ the king of Baʹshan, the land belonging to its cities in the territories, and the cities of the land round about.*

34 And the sons of Gad proceeded to build Diʹbon+ and Atʹa·roth+ and A·roʹer,+ 35 and Atʹroth-shoʹphan and Jaʹzer+ and Jogʹbe·hah,+ 36 and Beth-nimʹrah+ and Beth-haʹran,+ cities with fortifications,+ and stone flock pens.+ 37 And the sons of Reuʹben built Heshʹbon+ and E·le·aʹleh+ and Kir·i·a·thaʹim,+ 38 and Neʹbo+ and Baʹal-meʹon+—their names being changed—and Sibʹmah; and they began to call by their own names* the names of the cities that they built.

39 And the sons of Maʹchir+ the son of Ma·nasʹseh proceeded to march to Gilʹe·ad and to capture it and to drive away the Amʹor·ites who were in it. 40 So Moses gave Gilʹe·ad to Maʹchir the son of Ma·nasʹseh, and he took up dwelling in it.+ 41 And Jaʹir the son of Ma·nasʹseh marched and went capturing their tent villages, and he began to call them Havʹvoth-jaʹir.+ 42 And Noʹbah marched and went capturing Keʹnath+ and its dependent towns;* and he began to call it Noʹbah by his own name.

33 These were the stages of the sons of Israel who went out of the land of Egypt+ in their armies+ by the hand of Moses and Aaron.+ 2 And Moses kept recording the departure places by their stages at the order of Jehovah; and these were their stages from one departure place to another:+ 3 And they proceeded to pull away from Ramʹe·ses+ in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month.+ Directly the day after the passover+ the sons of Israel went out with uplifted hand before the eyes of all the Egyptians.+ 4 All the while the Egyptians were burying those whom Jehovah had struck among them, that is, all the firstborn;+ and upon their gods Jehovah had executed judgments.+

5 So the sons of Israel pulled away from Ramʹe·ses+ and went camping in Sucʹcoth.+ 6 Then they pulled away from Sucʹcoth and went camping in Eʹtham,+ which is on the edge of the wilderness. 7 Next they pulled away from Eʹtham and turned back toward Pi·ha·hiʹroth,+ which is in view of Baʹal-zeʹphon;+ and they went camping before Migʹdol.+ 8 After that they pulled away from Pi·ha·hiʹroth* and went passing through the midst of the sea+ to the wilderness+ and kept marching a three-day journey in the wilderness of Eʹtham+ and took up camping at Maʹrah.+

9 Then they pulled away from Maʹrah and came to Eʹlim.+ Now in Eʹlim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. So they camped there. 10 Next they pulled away from Eʹlim and went camping by the Red Sea. 11 After that they pulled away from the Red Sea and took up camping in the wilderness of Sin.+ 12 Then they pulled away from the wilderness of Sin and went camping at Dophʹkah. 13 Later they pulled away from Dophʹkah and went camping at Aʹlush. 14 They next pulled away from Aʹlush and went camping in Rephʹi·dim.+ And there proved to be no water there for the people to drink. 15 After that they pulled away from Rephʹi·dim and went camping in the wilderness of Siʹnai.+

16 Subsequently they pulled away from the wilderness of Siʹnai and went camping at Kibʹroth-hat·taʹa·vah.+ 17 Then they pulled away from Kibʹroth-hat·taʹa·vah and went camping in Ha·zeʹroth.+ 18 After that they pulled away from Ha·zeʹroth and went camping in Rithʹmah. 19 Next they pulled away from Rithʹmah and took up camping in Rimʹmon-peʹrez. 20 Then they pulled away from Rimʹmon-peʹrez and went camping in Libʹnah. 21 Later they pulled away from Libʹnah and went camping in Risʹsah. 22 Next they pulled away from Risʹsah and went camping in Ke·he·laʹthah. 23 Then they pulled away from Ke·he·laʹthah and went camping in Mount Sheʹpher.

24 After that they pulled away from Mount Sheʹpher and went camping+ in Har·aʹdah. 25 Then they pulled away from Har·aʹdah and went camping in Mak·heʹloth. 26 Next they pulled away+ from Mak·heʹloth and went camping in Taʹhath. 27 After that they pulled away from Taʹhath and went camping in Teʹrah. 28 Then they pulled away from Teʹrah and went camping in Mithʹkah. 29 Later they pulled away from Mithʹkah and went camping in Hash·moʹnah. 30 Next they pulled away from Hash·moʹnah and went camping in Mo·seʹroth. 31 Then they pulled away from Mo·seʹroth and went camping in Benʹe-jaʹa·kan.+ 32 After that they pulled away from Benʹe-jaʹa·kan and went camping in Hor-hag·gidʹgad. 33 Next they pulled away from Hor-hag·gidʹgad and went camping in Jotʹba·thah.+ 34 Later they pulled away from Jotʹba·thah and went camping in A·broʹnah. 35 Then they pulled away from A·broʹnah and went camping in Eʹzi·on-geʹber.+ 36 After that they pulled away from Eʹzi·on-geʹber and went camping in the wilderness of Zin,+ that is to say, Kaʹdesh.

37 Later they pulled away from Kaʹdesh and went camping in Mount Hor,+ on the frontier of the land of Eʹdom. 38 And Aaron the priest proceeded to go up into Mount Hor at the order of Jehovah and to die there in the fortieth year of the going out of the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first of the month.+ 39 And Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old at his death on Mount Hor.

40 Now the Caʹnaan·ite, the king of Aʹrad,+ as he was dwelling in the Negʹeb,+ in the land of Caʹnaan, got to hear about the coming of the sons of Israel.

41 In time they pulled away from Mount Hor+ and went camping in Zal·moʹnah. 42 After that they pulled away from Zal·moʹnah and went camping in Puʹnon. 43 Next they pulled away from Puʹnon and went camping in Oʹboth.+ 44 Then they pulled away from Oʹboth and went camping in Iʹye-abʹa·rim* on the border of Moʹab.+ 45 Later they pulled away from Iʹyim and went camping in Diʹbon-gad.+ 46 After that they pulled away from Diʹbon-gad and went camping in Alʹmon-dib·la·thaʹim. 47 Then they pulled away from Alʹmon-dib·la·thaʹim+ and went camping in the mountains of Abʹa·rim*+ before Neʹbo.+ 48 Finally they pulled away from the mountains of Abʹa·rim and took up camping on the desert plains of Moʹab+ by the Jordan at Jerʹi·cho. 49 And they continued camping by the Jordan from Beth-jeshʹi·moth+ to Aʹbel-shitʹtim+ on the desert plains of Moʹab.

50 And Jehovah proceeded to speak to Moses on the desert plains of Moʹab by the Jordan at Jerʹi·cho,+ saying: 51 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and you must say to them, ‘YOU are crossing the Jordan into the land of Caʹnaan.+ 52 And YOU must drive away all the inhabitants* of the land from before YOU and destroy all their stone figures,*+ and all their images of molten metal+ YOU should destroy, and all their sacred high places YOU should annihilate.+ 53 And YOU must take possession of the land and dwell in it, because to YOU I shall certainly give the land to take possession of it.+ 54 And YOU must apportion the land to yourselves as a possession by lot+ according to YOUR families.+ To the populous one YOU should increase his inheritance, and to the sparse one YOU should reduce his inheritance.+ To where the lot will come out for him, there it will become his.+ By the tribes of YOUR fathers YOU should provide yourselves with landed property.+

55 “‘If, though, YOU will not drive the inhabitants of the land away from before YOU,+ then those whom YOU leave of them will certainly become as pricks in YOUR eyes and as thorns in YOUR sides, and they will indeed harass YOU on the land in which YOU will be dwelling.+ 56 And it must occur that just as I had figured doing to them I shall do to YOU.’”+

34 And Jehovah spoke further to Moses, saying: 2 “Command the sons of Israel, and you must say to them, ‘YOU are going into the land of Caʹnaan.+ This is the land that* will fall to YOU by inheritance,+ the land of Caʹnaan according to its boundaries.+

3 “‘And YOUR south side must prove to be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Eʹdom,+ and YOUR south boundary must prove to be from the extremity of the Salt Sea+ on the east. 4 And YOUR boundary must change direction from the south of the ascent* of A·krabʹbim+ and cross over to Zin, and its termination* must prove to be on the south of Kaʹdesh-barʹne·a;+ and it must go out to Haʹzar-adʹdar+ and pass over to Azʹmon. 5 And the boundary must change direction at Azʹmon to the torrent valley of Egypt,+ and its termination must prove to be at the Sea.*+

6 “‘As for a west boundary,+ it must prove to be for YOU the Great Sea and the shoreland. This will become YOUR west boundary.

7 “‘Now this will become YOUR north boundary: From the Great Sea YOU will mark out to Mount Hor*+ as a boundary for yourselves. 8 From Mount Hor YOU will mark out the boundary to the entering in of Haʹmath,+ and the termination of the boundary must prove to be at Zeʹdad.+ 9 And the boundary must go out to Ziphʹron,* and its termination must prove to be Haʹzar-eʹnan.+ This will become YOUR north boundary.

10 “‘Then YOU must mark for yourselves as YOUR boundary on the east from Haʹzar-eʹnan to Sheʹpham. 11 And the boundary must go down from Sheʹpham* to Ribʹlah* on the east of Aʹin, and the border must go down and strike upon the eastern slope of the sea of Chinʹne·reth.*+ 12 And the border must go down to the Jordan, and its termination must prove to be the Salt Sea.+ This will become YOUR land+ according to its boundaries all around.’”

13 So Moses commanded the sons of Israel, saying: “This is the land that YOU will apportion to yourselves as a possession by lot,+ just as Jehovah has commanded to give to the nine and a half tribes.+ 14 For the tribe of the sons of the Reuʹben·ites by the house of their fathers and the tribe of the sons of the Gadʹites by the house of their fathers have already taken, and the half tribe of Ma·nasʹseh have already taken their inheritance.+ 15 The two and a half tribes have already taken their inheritance from the region of the Jordan by Jerʹi·cho eastward toward the sunrising.”+

16 And Jehovah spoke further to Moses, saying: 17 “These are the names of the men who will divide the land to YOU people for a possession, El·e·aʹzar+ the priest and Joshua the son of Nun.+ 18 And YOU will take one chieftain out of each tribe to divide the land for a possession.+ 19 And these are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah,+ Caʹleb the son of Je·phunʹneh;+ 20 and of the tribe of the sons of Simʹe·on,+ She·muʹel the son of Am·miʹhud; 21 of the tribe of Benjamin,+ E·liʹdad the son of Chisʹlon; 22 and of the tribe of the sons of Dan+ a chieftain, Bukʹki the son of Jogʹli; 23 of the sons of Joseph,+ of the tribe of the sons of Ma·nasʹseh+ a chieftain, Hanʹni·el the son of Eʹphod; 24 and of the tribe of the sons of Eʹphra·im+ a chieftain, Kem·uʹel the son of Shiphʹtan; 25 and of the tribe of the sons of Zebʹu·lun+ a chieftain, E·li·zaʹphan the son of Parʹnach; 26 and of the tribe of the sons of Isʹsa·char+ a chieftain, Palʹti·el the son of Azʹzan; 27 and of the tribe of the sons of Ashʹer+ a chieftain, A·hiʹhud the son of She·loʹmi; 28 and of the tribe of the sons of Naphʹta·li+ a chieftain,* Ped·ahʹel the son of Am·miʹhud.” 29 These are the ones whom Jehovah commanded to make the sons of Israel landholders in the land of Caʹnaan.+

35 And Jehovah went on to speak to Moses on the desert plains of Moʹab by the Jordan+ at Jerʹi·cho, saying: 2 “Give the sons of Israel the command that they must give the Levites cities+ to inhabit out of the inheritance of their possession, and they should give the Levites the pasture ground of the cities all around them.+ 3 And the cities must serve for them to inhabit, while their pasture grounds will serve for their domestic animals and their goods and for all their wild beasts. 4 And the pasture grounds of the cities, which YOU will give the Levites, will be from the wall of the city and out for a thousand* cubits all around. 5 And YOU must measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits and on the south side two thousand cubits and on the west side two thousand cubits and on the north side two thousand cubits, with the city in the middle. This will serve them as pasture grounds of the cities.

6 “These are the cities that YOU will give to the Levites: six cities of refuge,+ which YOU will give for the manslayer* to flee there,+ and besides them YOU will give forty-two other cities. 7 All the cities that YOU will give to the Levites will be forty-eight cities, they together with their pasture grounds.+ 8 The cities that YOU will give will be from the possession of the sons of Israel.+ From the many YOU will take many, and from the few YOU will take few.+ Each one, in proportion to his inheritance that he will take as a possession, will give some of his cities to the Levites.”

9 And Jehovah continued to speak to Moses, saying: 10 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and you must say to them, ‘YOU are crossing the Jordan to the land of Caʹnaan.+ 11 And YOU must choose cities convenient for yourselves. As cities of refuge they will serve for YOU, and the manslayer must flee there who fatally strikes a soul unintentionally.+ 12 And the cities must serve YOU as a refuge from the blood avenger,*+ that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the assembly for judgment.+ 13 And the cities that YOU will give, the six cities of refuge, will be at YOUR service. 14 Three cities YOU will give on this side of the Jordan,+ and three cities YOU will give in the land of Caʹnaan.+ As cities of refuge they will serve. 15 For the sons of Israel and for the alien resident+ and for the settler in the midst of them these six cities will serve as a refuge, for anyone to flee there that fatally strikes a soul unintentionally.+

16 “‘Now if it was with an instrument of iron that he has struck him so that he dies, he is a murderer.+ Without fail the murderer should be put to death.+ 17 And if it was with a small stone* by which he could die that he has struck him so that he dies, he is a murderer. Without fail the murderer should be put to death. 18 And if* it was with a small instrument of wood by which he could die that he has struck him so that he dies, he is a murderer. Without fail the murderer should be put to death.

19 “‘The avenger+ of blood is the one who will put the murderer to death. When he chances upon him he himself will put him to death. 20 And if in hatred he was pushing him+ or he has thrown at him while lying in wait*+ that he might die, 21 or in enmity he has struck him with his hand that he might die, without fail the striker should be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood will put the murderer to death when he chances upon him.+

22 “‘But if it was unexpectedly without enmity that he has pushed him or has thrown any article toward him without lying in wait,*+ 23 or any stone by which he could die without seeing him or he should cause it to fall upon him, so that he died, while he was not at enmity with him and was not seeking his injury, 24 the assembly must then judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these judgments.+ 25 And the assembly+ must deliver the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the assembly must return him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he must dwell in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.+

26 “‘But if the manslayer without fail goes out of the boundary of his city of refuge to which he may flee, 27 and the avenger+ of blood does find him outside the boundary of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood does slay the manslayer, he has no bloodguilt. 28 For he ought to dwell in his city of refuge until the high priest’s death,+ and after the high priest’s death the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. 29 And these must serve as a statute of judgment for YOU throughout YOUR generations in all YOUR dwelling places.

30 “‘Every fatal striker of a soul should be slain as a murderer+ at the mouth of witnesses,+ and one witness may not testify against a soul for him to die. 31 And YOU must take no ransom for the soul of a murderer who is deserving to die,+ for without fail he should be put to death.+ 32 And YOU must not take a ransom for one who has fled to his city of refuge, to resume dwelling in the land before the death of the high priest.*

33 “‘And YOU must not pollute the land in which YOU are;* because it is blood that pollutes the land,+ and for the land there may be no atonement respecting the blood that has been spilled upon it except by the blood of the one spilling it.+ 34 And you must not defile the land in which YOU are dwelling, in the midst of which I am residing; for I Jehovah am residing in the midst of the sons of Israel.’”+

36 And the heads of the fathers of the family of the sons of Gilʹe·ad the son of Maʹchir+ the son of Ma·nasʹseh of the families of the sons of Joseph proceeded to come near and speak before Moses* and the chieftains, the heads of the fathers* of the sons of Israel, 2 and say: “Jehovah commanded my lord to give the land in inheritance by lot+ to the sons of Israel; and my lord was commanded by Jehovah to give the inheritance of Ze·loʹphe·had our brother to his daughters.+ 3 If any* of the sons of the other tribes of the sons of Israel happened to get them as wives, the women’s inheritance must also be withdrawn from the inheritance of our fathers and must be added to the inheritance of the tribe* to which they may come to belong, so that it would be withdrawn from the lot of our inheritance.+ 4 Now if the Jubilee+ takes place for the sons of Israel, the women’s inheritance must also be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they may come to belong; so that their inheritance would be withdrawn from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”

5 Then Moses commanded the sons of Israel at the order of Jehovah, saying: “The tribe of the sons of Joseph is speaking right. 6 This is the word that Jehovah has commanded for the daughters of Ze·loʹphe·had,+ saying, ‘To whom it is good in their eyes they may become wives. Only it is to the family of the tribe of their fathers that they should become wives.+ 7 And no inheritance of the sons of Israel should circulate from tribe to tribe, because the sons of Israel should cleave each one to the inheritance of the tribe of his forefathers. 8 And every daughter getting possession of an inheritance out of the tribes of the sons of Israel, to one of the family of the tribe of her father she should become a wife,+ in order that the sons of Israel may get possession each one of the inheritance of his forefathers. 9 And no inheritance should circulate from one tribe to another tribe, because the tribes of the sons of Israel should cleave each to its own inheritance.’”

10 Just as Jehovah had commanded Moses, that is the way the daughters of Ze·loʹphe·had did.+ 11 Accordingly Mahʹlah, Tirʹzah and Hogʹlah and Milʹcah and Noah, the daughters of Ze·loʹphe·had,+ became the wives of the sons of their father’s brothers.* 12 To some of the families of the sons of Ma·nasʹseh the son of Joseph they became wives, that their inheritance might continue together with the tribe of the family of their father.

13 These are the commandments+ and the judicial decisions that Jehovah commanded by means of Moses to the sons of Israel on the desert plains of Moʹab by the Jordan at Jerʹi·cho.+