New American Standard Bible (en)

Whole Bible

Numbers

Chapters 10-36

Numbers, Chapter 10, verses 11-36

¹¹ Now in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, the cloud was lifted from over the^dtabernacle of the testimony; ¹² and the sons of Israel set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. Then the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. ¹³ So they moved out for the first time according to the^ecommandment of the LORD through Moses. ¹⁴ The standard of the camp of the sons of Judah, according to their armies, set out first, with Nahshon the son of Amminadab, over its army, ¹⁵ and Nethanel the son of Zuar, over the tribal army of the sons of Issachar; ¹⁶ and Eliab the son of Helon over the tribal army of the sons of Zebulun.

¹⁷ Then the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were carrying the tabernacle, set out. ¹⁸ Next the standard of the camp of Reuben, according to their armies, set out with Elizur the son of Shedeur, over its army, ¹⁹ and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai over the tribal army of the sons of Simeon, ²⁰ and Eliasaph the son of Deuel was over the tribal army of the sons of Gad.

²¹ Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy objects; and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. ²² Next the standard of the camp of the sons of Ephraim, according to their armies, was set out, with Elishama the son of Ammihud over its army, ²³ and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur over the tribal army of the sons of Manasseh; ²⁴ and Abidan the son of Gideoni over the tribal army of the sons of Benjamin.

²⁵ Then the standard of the camp of the sons of Dan, according to their armies, which formed the rear guard for all the camps, set out, with Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai over its army, ²⁶ and Pagiel the son of Ochran over the tribal army of the sons of Asher; ²⁷ and Ahira the son of Enan over the tribal army of the sons of Naphtali. ²⁸ ^fThis was the order of march of the sons of Israel by their armies as they set out.

²⁹ Then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out to the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you’; come with us and we will do you good, for the LORD has^gpromised good concerning Israel.” ³⁰ But he said to him, “I will not come, but rather will go to my own land and relatives.” ³¹ Then he said, “Please do not leave us, inasmuch as you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will be as eyes for us. ³² So it will be, if you go with us, that^hwhatever good the LORDⁱdoes for us, we will^jdo for you.”

³³ Thus they set out from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD journeying in front of them for the^kthree days, to seek out a resting place for them. ³⁴ The cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out from the camp.

³⁵ Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said,“Rise up, O LORD!
And let Your enemies be scattered,
And let those who hate You flee^lbefore You.”

³⁶ When it came to rest, he said,“Return, O LORD,
To the myriad thousands of Israel.”

Numbers, Chapter 11

¹ The People Complain, ¹⁰ The Complaint of Moses, ¹⁶ Seventy Elders to Assist, ³¹ The Quail and the Plague

¹ Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the LORD; and when the LORD heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. ² The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD and the fire^adied out. ³ So the name of that place was called^bTaberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.

⁴ The rabble who were among them^chad greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us^dmeat to eat? ⁵ We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, ⁶ but now our^eappetite is gone. There is nothing at all^fto look at except this manna.”

⁷ Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. ⁸ The people would go about and gather it and grind it^gbetween two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of^hcakes baked with oil. ⁹ When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fallⁱwith it.

¹⁰ Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and^jMoses was displeased. ¹¹ So Moses said to the LORD, “Why have You^kbeen so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me? ¹² Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a^lnurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’? ¹³ Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!’ ¹⁴ I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too^mburdensome for me. ¹⁵ So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”

¹⁶ The LORD therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. ¹⁷ Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone. ¹⁸ Say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt.” Therefore the LORD will give you meat and you shall eat. ¹⁹ You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, ²⁰ ⁿbut a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’” ²¹ But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.’ ²² Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?” ²³ The LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD’S^opower limited? Now you shall see whether My word will^pcome true for you or not.”

²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and stationed them around the tent. ²⁵ Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.

²⁶ But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the^qother Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” ²⁸ Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “Moses, my lord, restrain them.” ²⁹ But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!” ³⁰ Then Moses^rreturned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel.

³¹ Now there went forth a wind from the LORD and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp and^sabout two^tcubits deep on the surface of the ground. ³² The people^uspent all day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten^vhomers) and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. ³³ While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very severe plague. ³⁴ So the name of that place was called^wKibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had been greedy. ³⁵ From Kibroth-hattaavah the people set out for Hazeroth, and they^xremained at Hazeroth.

Numbers, Chapter 12

¹ The Murmuring of Miriam and Aaron

¹ Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); ² and they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And the LORD heard it. ³ (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) ⁴ Suddenly the LORD said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out. ⁵ Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called^aAaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward, ⁶ He said,“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision.
I shall speak with him in a dream.

⁷“Not so, with My servant Moses,
He is faithful in all My household;

⁸With him I speak mouth to mouth,
Even openly, and not in dark sayings,
And he beholds the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant, against Moses?”

⁹ So the anger of the LORD burned against them and He departed. ¹⁰ But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous. ¹¹ Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I beg you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. ¹² Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother’s womb!” ¹³ Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “O God, heal her, I pray!” ¹⁴ But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again.” ¹⁵ So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again.

¹⁶ Afterward, however, the people moved out from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

Numbers, Chapter 13

¹ Spies View the Land, ²⁵ The Spies’ Reports

¹ Then the LORD spoke to Moses saying, ² “Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.” ³ So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the^acommand of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel. ⁴ These then were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; ⁵ from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; ⁶ from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; ⁷ from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; ⁸ from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; ⁹ from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; ¹⁰ from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; ¹¹ from the tribe of Joseph, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; ¹² from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; ¹³ from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; ¹⁴ from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; ¹⁵ from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. ¹⁶ These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

¹⁷ When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up^bthere into the^cNegev; then go up into the hill country. ¹⁸ See what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many. ¹⁹ How is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are they^dlike open camps or with fortifications? ²⁰ How is the land, is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not?^eMake an effort then to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

²¹ So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob,^fat Lebo-hamath. ²² When they had gone up into the Negev,^gthey came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the^hdescendants of Anak were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

²³ Then they came to theⁱvalley of^jEshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men, with some of the pomegranates and the figs. ²⁴ That place was called the valley of^kEshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there.

²⁵ When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, ²⁶ they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel^lin the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. ²⁸ Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the^mdescendants of Anak there. ²⁹ Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”

³⁰ Then Caleb quieted the peopleⁿbefore Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.” ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” ³² So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its^oinhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. ³³ There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Numbers, Chapter 14

¹ The People Rebel, ¹¹ Moses Pleads for the People, ²⁰ The Lord Pardons and Rebukes, ³⁹ Israel Repulsed

¹ Then all the congregation^alifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept^bthat night. ² All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! ³ Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. ⁶ Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ⁷ and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ⁸ If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey. ⁹ Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our^cprey. Their^dprotection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” ¹⁰ But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

¹¹ The LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? ¹² I will smite them with^epestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

¹³ But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from their midst, ¹⁴ and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, for You, O LORD, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will^fsay, ¹⁶ ‘Because the LORD could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have^gdeclared, ¹⁸ ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children^hto the third and the fourth generations.’ ¹⁹ Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

²⁰ So the LORD said, “I have pardoned them according to your word; ²¹ but indeed, as I live,ⁱall the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD. ²² Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, ²³ shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. ²⁴ But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully,^jI will bring into the land^kwhich he entered, and his^ldescendants shall take possession of it. ²⁵ Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the^mRed Sea.”

²⁶ The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²⁷ “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they areⁿmaking against Me. ²⁸ Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you; ²⁹ your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your^onumbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. ³⁰ Surely you shall not come into the land in which I^pswore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. ³¹ Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey—I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. ³² But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. ³³ Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will^qsuffer for your^runfaithfulness, until your corpses^slie in the wilderness. ³⁴ According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your^tguilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. ³⁵ I, the LORD, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die.’”

³⁶ As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, ³⁷ even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the LORD. ³⁸ But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

³⁹ When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the^uridge of the hill country, saying, “Here we are;^vwe have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised.” ⁴¹ But Moses said, “Why then are you transgressing the^wcommandment of the LORD, when it will not succeed? ⁴² Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the LORD is not among you. ⁴³ For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following the LORD. And the LORD will not be with you.” ⁴⁴ But they went up heedlessly to the^xridge of the hill country; neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses left the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as Hormah.

Numbers, Chapter 15

¹ Laws for Canaan, ¹⁴ Law of the Sojourner, ³² Sabbath-breaking Punished

¹ Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land^awhere you are to live, which I am giving you, ³ then make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to^bfulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your appointed times, to make a soothing aroma to the LORD, from the herd or from the flock. ⁴ The one who presents his offering shall present to the LORD a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a^chin of oil, ⁵ and you shall prepare wine for the drink offering, one-fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for each lamb. ⁶ Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil; ⁷ and for the drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a soothing aroma to the LORD. ⁸ When you prepare a bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to^dfulfill a special vow, or for peace offerings to the LORD, ⁹ then you shall offer with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-half a hin of oil; ¹⁰ and you shall offer as the drink offering one-half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD.

¹¹ ‘Thus it shall be done for each ox, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats. ¹² According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do for everyone according to their number. ¹³ All who are native shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD.

¹⁴ If an alien sojourns with you, or one who may be among you throughout your generations, and he wishes to make an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD, just as you do so he shall do. ¹⁵ As for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the LORD. ¹⁶ There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.’”

¹⁷ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where I bring you, ¹⁹ then it shall be, that when you eat of the^efood of the land, you shall lift up^fan offering to the LORD. ²⁰ Of the first of your^gdough you shall lift up a cake as an^hoffering; as theⁱoffering of the threshing floor, so you shall lift it up. ²¹ From the first of your^jdough you shall give to the LORD an^koffering throughout your generations.

²² ‘But when you unwittingly fail and do not observe all these commandments, which the LORD has spoken to Moses, ²³ even all that the LORD has commanded you^lthrough Moses, from the day when the LORD gave commandment and onward throughout your generations, ²⁴ then it shall be, if it is done unintentionally,^mwithout the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one bull for a burnt offering, as a soothing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat for a sin offering. ²⁵ Then the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they will be forgiven; for it was an error, and they have brought their offering, an offering by fire to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their error. ²⁶ So all the congregation of the sons of Israel will be forgiven, with the alien who sojourns among them, for it happened to all the people through error.

²⁷ ‘Also if one person sins unintentionally, then he shall offer a one year old female goat for a sin offering. ²⁸ The priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who goes astray when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for himⁿthat he may be forgiven. ²⁹ You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them. ³⁰ But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. ³¹ Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his^oguilt will be on him.’”

³² Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the sabbath day. ³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation; ³⁴ and they put him in^pcustody because it had not been^qdeclared what should be done to him. ³⁵ Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” ³⁶ So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him^rto death with stones, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

³⁷ The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁸ “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. ³⁹ It shall be a tassel for you^sto look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not^tfollow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, ⁴⁰ so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God. ⁴¹ I am the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the LORD your God.”

Numbers, Chapter 16

¹ Korah’s Rebellion, ⁴¹ Murmuring and Plague

¹ Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action, ² and they rose up before Moses,^atogether with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation,^bchosen in the assembly, men of renown. ³ They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “^cYou have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”

⁴ When Moses heard this, he fell on his face; ⁵ and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. ⁶ Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all^dyour company, ⁷ and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the LORD tomorrow; and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the one who is holy.^eYou have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”

⁸ Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi, ⁹ is it^fnot enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; ¹⁰ and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for the priesthood also? ¹¹ Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the LORD; but as for Aaron,^gwho is he that you grumble against him?”

¹² Then Moses sent^ha summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. ¹³ Is itⁱnot enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? ¹⁴ Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you^jput out the eyes of^kthese men? We will not come up!”

¹⁵ Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering! I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” ¹⁶ Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company be present before the LORD tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron. ¹⁷ Each of you take his firepan and put incense on^lit, and each of you bring his censer before the LORD, two hundred and fifty firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.” ¹⁸ So they each took his own censer and put fire on^mit, and laid incense onⁿit; and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²¹ “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” ²² But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

²³ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

²⁵ Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, ²⁶ and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, or you will be swept away in all their sin.” ²⁷ So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and their sons and their little ones. ²⁸ Moses said, “By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not^omy doing. ²⁹ If these men die^pthe death of all men or^qif they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the LORD^rbrings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into^sSheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD.”

³¹ As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; ³² and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. ³³ So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to^tSheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. ³⁴ All Israel who were around them fled at their^uoutcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!” ³⁵ Fire also came forth from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.

³⁶ ^vThen the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷ “Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the^wblaze, for they are holy; and you scatter the^xburning coals abroad. ³⁸ As for the censers of these^ymen who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered sheets for a plating of the altar, since they did present them before the LORD and they are holy; and they shall be for a sign to the sons of Israel.” ³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as a plating for the altar, ⁴⁰ as a^zreminder to the sons of Israel that no^aalayman who is not of the^abdescendants of Aaron should come near to burn incense before the LORD; so that he will not become like Korah and his company—just as the LORD had spoken to him^acthrough Moses.

⁴¹ But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the LORD’S people.” ⁴² It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴ and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “^adGet away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. ⁴⁶ Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD, the plague has begun!” ⁴⁷ Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. ⁴⁹ But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah. ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.

Numbers, Chapter 17

¹ Aaron’s Rod Buds

¹ ^aThen the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, and get from them a rod for each father’s household: twelve rods, from all their leaders according to their fathers’ households. You shall write each name on his rod, ³ and write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi; for there is one rod for the head of each of their fathers’ households. ⁴ You shall then deposit them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵ It will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I will lessen from upon Myself the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.” ⁶ Moses therefore spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ households, twelve rods, with the rod of Aaron among their rods. ⁷ So Moses deposited the rods before the LORD in the tent of the testimony.

⁸ Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. ⁹ Moses then brought out all the rods from the presence of the LORD to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod. ¹⁰ But the LORD said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony^bto be kept as a sign against the^crebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die.” ¹¹ Thus Moses did; just as the LORD had commanded him, so he did.

¹² Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Behold, we perish, we are dying, we are all dying! ¹³ Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, must die. Are we to perish completely?”

Numbers, Chapter 18

¹ Duties of Levites, ⁸ The Priests’ Portion

¹ So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s household with you shall bear the guilt^ain connection with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the guilt^bin connection with your priesthood. ² But bring with you also your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be joined with you and serve you, while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. ³ And they shall thus attend to your obligation and the obligation of all the tent, but they shall not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary and the altar, or both they and you will die. ⁴ They shall be joined with you and attend to the obligations of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; but an^coutsider may not come near you. ⁵ So you shall attend to the obligations of the sanctuary and the obligations of the altar, so that there will no longer be wrath on the sons of Israel. ⁶ Behold, I Myself have taken your^dfellow Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are a gift to you,^ededicated to the LORD, to perform the service for the tent of meeting. ⁷ But you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and inside the veil, and you are to perform service. I am giving you the priesthood as a^fbestowed service, but the^goutsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

⁸ Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, “Now behold, I Myself have given you charge of My^hofferings, even all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual allotment. ⁹ This shall be yours from the most holy gifts reserved from the fire; every offering of theirs, even every grain offering and every sin offering and every guilt offering, which they shall render to Me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons. ¹⁰ As the most holy gifts you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you. ¹¹ This also is yours, the offering of their gift, even all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual allotment. Everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. ¹² All theⁱbest of the fresh oil and all the^jbest of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to the LORD, I give them to you. ¹³ The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours; everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. ¹⁴ Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. ¹⁵ ^kEvery first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. ¹⁶ As to their redemption price, from a month old you shall redeem them, by your valuation, five^lshekels in silver, according to the^mshekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. ¹⁷ But the firstborn of an ox or the firstborn of a sheep or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire, for a soothing aroma to the LORD. ¹⁸ Theirⁿmeat shall be yours; it shall be yours like the breast of a wave offering and like the right thigh. ¹⁹ All the offerings of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a perpetual allotment. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD to you and your^odescendants with you.” ²⁰ Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel.

²¹ “To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting. ²² The sons of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting again, or they will bear sin and die. ²³ Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance. ²⁴ For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, ‘They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel.’”

²⁵ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ “Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, ‘When you take from the sons of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present an offering from it to the LORD, a tithe of the tithe. ²⁷ Your offering shall be reckoned to you as the grain from the threshing floor or the full produce from the wine vat. ²⁸ So you shall also present an offering to the LORD from your tithes, which you receive from the sons of Israel; and from it you shall give the LORD’S offering to Aaron the priest. ²⁹ Out of all your gifts you shall present every offering due to the LORD, from all the^pbest of them,^qthe sacred part from them.’ ³⁰ You shall say to them, ‘When you have^roffered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be reckoned to the Levites as the product of the threshing floor, and as the product of the wine vat. ³¹ You may eat it anywhere, you and your households, for it is your compensation in return for your service in the tent of meeting. ³² You will bear no sin by reason of it when you have^soffered the^tbest of it. But you shall not profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, or you will die.’”

Numbers, Chapter 19

¹ Ordinance of the Red Heifer

¹ Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never^abeen placed. ³ You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. ⁴ Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. ⁵ Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. ⁶ The priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet material and cast it into the midst of the^bburning heifer. ⁷ The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his^cbody in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening. ⁸ The one who burns it shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his^dbody in water, and shall be unclean until evening. ⁹ Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and^ethe congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as water to remove impurity; it is^fpurification from sin. ¹⁰ The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; and it shall be a perpetual statute to the sons of Israel and to the alien who sojourns among them.

¹¹ ‘The one who touches the corpse of any^gperson shall be unclean for seven days. ¹² That one shall purify himself from uncleanness with^hthe water on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. ¹³ Anyone who touches a corpse, theⁱbody of a man who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the^jtabernacle of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Because the water for impurity was not^ksprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴ ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean for seven days. ¹⁵ Every open vessel, which has no covering^ltied down on it, shall be unclean. ¹⁶ Also, anyone who in the open field touches one who has been slain with a sword or who has died naturally, or a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean for seven days. ¹⁷ Then for the unclean person they shall take some of the^mashes of theⁿburnt^opurification from sin and^pflowing water shall be^qadded to them in a vessel. ¹⁸ A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there, and on the one who touched the bone or the one slain or the one dying naturally or the grave. ¹⁹ Then the clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him from uncleanness, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and shall be clean by evening.

²⁰ ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself from uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean. ²¹ So it shall be a perpetual statute for them. And he who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening. ²² Furthermore, anything that the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’”

Numbers, Chapter 20

¹ Death of Miriam, ⁸ The Water of Meribah, ²³ Death of Aaron

¹ Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there.

² There was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. ³ The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the LORD! ⁴ Why then have you brought the LORD’S assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die^ahere? ⁵ Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of^bgrain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.” ⁶ Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to them; ⁷ and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

⁸ “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”

⁹ So Moses took the rod from before the LORD, just as He had commanded him; ¹⁰ and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. ¹² But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” ¹³ Those were the waters of^cMeribah,^dbecause the sons of Israel contended with the LORD, and He proved Himself holy among them.

¹⁴ From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to the king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us; ¹⁵ that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly. ¹⁶ But when we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out from Egypt; now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s highway, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.’”

¹⁸ Edom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through^eus, or I will come out with the sword against you.” ¹⁹ Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if I and my livestock do drink any of your water, then I will^fpay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet,^gnothing else.” ²⁰ But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against him with a heavy^hforce and with a strong hand. ²¹ Thus Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.

²² Now when they set out from Kadesh, the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.

²³ Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, ²⁴ “Aaron will be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because you rebelled against Myⁱcommand at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵ Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor; ²⁶ and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be gathered to his people, and will die there.” ²⁷ So Moses did just as the LORD had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. ²⁸ After Moses had stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹ When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.

Numbers, Chapter 21

¹ Arad Conquered, ⁶ The Bronze Serpent, ²¹ Two Victories

¹ When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the^aNegev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of^bAtharim, then he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. ² So Israel made a vow to the LORD and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will^cutterly destroy their cities.” ³ The LORD heard the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites; then they^dutterly destroyed them and their cities. Thus the name of the place was called^eHormah.

⁴ Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the^fRed Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the^gpeople became impatient because of the journey. ⁵ The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no^hfood and no water, andⁱwe loathe this miserable food.”

⁶ The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. ⁷ So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. ⁸ Then the LORD said to Moses, “^jMake a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” ⁹ And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

¹⁰ Now the sons of Israel moved out and camped in Oboth. ¹¹ They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness which is opposite Moab, to the^keast. ¹² From there they set out and camped in^lWadi Zered. ¹³ From there they journeyed and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that comes out of the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. ¹⁴ Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD,“Waheb in Suphah,
And the wadis of the Arnon,

¹⁵And the slope of the wadis
That extends to the site of Ar,
And leans to the border of Moab.”

¹⁶ From there they continued to^mBeer, that is the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Assemble the people, that I may give them water.”

¹⁷ Then Israel sang this song:“Spring up, O well! Sing to it!

¹⁸“The well, which the leaders sank,
Which the nobles of the people dug,
With the scepter and with their staffs.”

And from the wilderness they continued to Mattanah,

¹⁹ and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰ and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the land of Moab, at the top of Pisgah which overlooks theⁿwasteland.

²¹ Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, ²² “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn off into field or vineyard; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the king’s highway until we have passed through your border.” ²³ But Sihon would not permit Israel to pass through his border. So Sihon gathered all his people and went out against Israel in the wilderness, and came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. ²⁴ Then Israel^ostruck him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the sons of Ammon; for the border of the sons of Ammon was^pJazer. ²⁵ Israel took all these cities and Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all her^qvillages. ²⁶ For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. ²⁷ Therefore those who use proverbs say,“Come to Heshbon! Let it be built!
So let the city of Sihon be established.

²⁸“For a fire went forth from Heshbon,
A flame from the town of Sihon;
It devoured Ar of Moab,
The^rdominant^sheights of the Arnon.

²⁹“Woe to you, O Moab!
You are ruined, O people of Chemosh!
He has given his sons as fugitives,
And his daughters into captivity,
To an Amorite king, Sihon.

³⁰“But we have cast them down,
Heshbon is ruined as far as Dibon,
Then we have laid waste even to Nophah,
Which reaches to Medeba.”

³¹ Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. ³² Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.

³³ Then they turned and went up by the way of Bashan, and Og the king of Bashan went out^twith all his people, for battle at Edrei. ³⁴ But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” ³⁵ So they^ukilled him and his sons and all his people, until there was no remnant left him; and they possessed his land.

Numbers, Chapter 22

¹ Balak Sends for Balaam, ²² The Angel and Balaam

¹ Then the sons of Israel journeyed, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho.

² Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³ So Moab was in great fear because of the people, for they were numerous; and Moab was in dread of the sons of Israel. ⁴ Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this^ahorde will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. ⁵ So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the^bRiver, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me. ⁶ Now, therefore, please come, curse this people for me since they are too^cmighty for me; perhaps I may be able to^ddefeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

⁷ So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam and^erepeated Balak’s words to him. ⁸ He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you as the LORD may speak to me.” And the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam. ⁹ Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰ Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent word to me, ¹¹ ‘Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” ¹² God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” ¹³ So Balaam arose in the morning and said to Balak’s leaders, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.” ¹⁴ The leaders of Moab arose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹⁵ Then Balak again sent leaders, more numerous and more distinguished than^fthe former. ¹⁶ They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, ‘Let nothing, I beg you, hinder you from coming to me; ¹⁷ for I will indeed honor you richly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Please come then, curse this people for me.’” ¹⁸ Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the^gcommand of the LORD my God. ¹⁹ Now please, you also stay here tonight, and I will find out what else the LORD will speak to me.” ²⁰ God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you shall you do.”

²¹ So Balaam arose in the morning, and saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab.

²² But God was angry because he was going, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. ²³ When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, the donkey turned off from the way and went into the field; but Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back into the way. ²⁴ Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed herself to the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again. ²⁶ The angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right hand or the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his stick. ²⁸ And the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” ²⁹ Then Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, I would have killed you by now.” ³⁰ The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?” And he said, “No.”

³¹ Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed^hall the way to the ground. ³² The angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way wasⁱcontrary to me. ³³ But the donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let her live.” ³⁴ Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back.” ³⁵ But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I^jtell you.” So Balaam went along with the leaders of Balak.

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the Arnon border,^kat the extreme end of the border. ³⁷ Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not urgently send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I really unable to honor you?” ³⁸ So Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come now to you! Am I able to speak anything at all? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I shall speak.” ³⁹ And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰ Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent some to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.

⁴¹ Then it came about in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to^lthe high places of Baal, and he saw from there^ma portion of the people.

Numbers, Chapter 23

¹ The Prophecies of Balaam

¹ Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” ² Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. ³ Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a bare hill.

⁴ Now God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.” ⁵ Then the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus.” ⁶ So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab. ⁷ He took up his^adiscourse and said,“From Aram Balak has brought me,
Moab’s king from the mountains of the East,
‘Come curse Jacob for me,
And come, denounce Israel!’

⁸“How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

⁹“As I see him from the top of the rocks,
And I look at him from the hills;
Behold, a people who dwells apart,
And will not be reckoned among the nations.

¹⁰“Who can count the dust of Jacob,
Or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let^bme die the death of the upright,
And let my end be like his!”

¹¹ Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have actually blessed them!” ¹² He replied, “Must I not be careful to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?”

¹³ Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from where you may see them, although you will only see the extreme end of them and will not see all of them; and curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴ So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ¹⁵ And he said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet the Lord over there.” ¹⁶ Then the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” ¹⁷ He came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?” ¹⁸ Then he took up his^cdiscourse and said,“Arise, O Balak, and hear;
Give ear to me, O son of Zippor!

¹⁹“God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

²⁰“Behold, I have received a command to bless;
When He has blessed, then I cannot revoke it.

²¹“He has not observed^dmisfortune in Jacob;
Nor has He seen trouble in Israel;
The LORD his God is with him,
And the shout of a king is among them.

²²“God brings them out of Egypt,
He is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

²³“For there is no omen against Jacob,
Nor is there any divination against Israel;
At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob
And to Israel, what God has done!

²⁴“Behold, a people rises like a lioness,
And as a lion it lifts itself;
It will not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”

²⁵ Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!” ²⁶ But Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘^eWhatever the LORD speaks, that I must do’?”

²⁷ Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be^fagreeable with God that you curse them for me from there.” ²⁸ So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor which overlooks the^gwasteland. ²⁹ Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” ³⁰ Balak did just as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.

Numbers, Chapter 24

¹ The Prophecy from Peor

¹ When Balaam saw that it^apleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to^bseek omens but he set his face toward the wilderness. ² And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel^ccamping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him. ³ He took up his^ddiscourse and said,“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened;

⁴The oracle of him who hears the^ewords of God,
Who sees the vision of^fthe Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,

⁵How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
Your dwellings, O Israel!

⁶“Like^gvalleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside the river,
Like aloes planted by the LORD,
Like cedars beside the waters.

⁷“Water will flow from his buckets,
And his seed will be by many waters,
And his king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.

⁸“God brings him out of Egypt,
He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.
He will devour the nations who are his adversaries,
And will crush their bones in pieces,
And shatter them with his arrows.

⁹“He^hcouches, he lies down as a lion,
And as aⁱlion, who^jdares rouse him?
Blessed is everyone who blesses you,
And cursed is everyone who curses you.”

¹⁰ Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his^khands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times! ¹¹ Therefore,^lflee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the LORD has held you back from honor.” ¹² Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, ¹³ ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the^mcommand of the LORD, either good or bad, of my ownⁿaccord. What the LORD speaks, that I will speak’? ¹⁴ And now, behold, I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the^odays to come.”

¹⁵ He took up his discourse and said,“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

¹⁶The oracle of him who hears the^pwords of God,
And knows the knowledge of the^qMost High,
Who sees the vision of^rthe Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered.

¹⁷“I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
A star shall come forth from Jacob,
A scepter shall rise from Israel,
And shall crush through the^sforehead of Moab,
And^ttear down all the sons of^uSheth.

¹⁸“Edom shall be a possession,
Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.

¹⁹“One from Jacob shall have dominion,
And will destroy the remnant from the city.”

²⁰ And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,“Amalek was the first of the nations,
But his end shall be^vdestruction.”

²¹ And he looked at the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,“Your dwelling place is enduring,
And your nest is set in the cliff.

²²“Nevertheless Kain will be consumed;
How long will Asshur^wkeep you captive?”

²³ Then he took up his discourse and said,“Alas, who can live except God has ordained it?

²⁴“But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim,
And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict Eber;
So they also will come to destruction.”

²⁵ Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went his way.

Numbers, Chapter 25

¹ The Sin of Peor, ¹⁰ The Zeal of Phinehas

¹ While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. ² For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³ So Israel joined themselves to^aBaal of Peor, and the LORD was angry against Israel. ⁴ The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them^bin broad daylight before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” ⁵ So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to^cBaal of Peor.”

⁶ Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his^drelatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ⁷ When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, ⁸ and he went after the man of Israel into the^etent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the^fbody. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. ⁹ Those who died by the plague were 24,000.

¹⁰ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy. ¹² Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; ¹³ and it shall be for him and his^gdescendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.’”

¹⁴ Now the name of the^hslain man of Israel who wasⁱslain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites. ¹⁵ The name of the Midianite woman who was^jslain was Cozbi the daughter of Zur,^kwho was head of the people of a father’s household in Midian.

¹⁶ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “Be hostile to the Midianites and strike them; ¹⁸ for they have been hostile to you with their tricks, with which they have deceived you in the affair of Peor and in the affair of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was slain on the day of the plague because of Peor.”

Numbers, Chapter 26

¹ Census of a New Generation

¹ ^aThen it came about after the plague,^bthat the LORD spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, ² “Take a^ccensus of all the congregation of the sons of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ households, whoever is able to go out to war in Israel.” ³ So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ⁴ “Take a census of the people from twenty years old and upward, as the LORD has commanded Moses.”

Now the sons of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:

⁵ Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; ⁶ of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. ⁷ These are the families of the Reubenites, and those who were numbered of them were 43,730. ⁸ The son of Pallu: Eliab. ⁹ The sons of Eliab: Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were called by the congregation, who contended against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the LORD, ¹⁰ and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, so that they became a^dwarning. ¹¹ The sons of Korah, however, did not die.

¹² The sons of Simeon according to their families: of^eNemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of^fJachin, the family of the Jachinites; ¹³ of^gZerah, the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. ¹⁴ These are the families of the Simeonites, 22,200.

¹⁵ The sons of Gad according to their families: of^hZephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites; ¹⁶ ofⁱOzni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites; ¹⁷ of^jArod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites. ¹⁸ These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them, 40,500.

¹⁹ The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ The sons of Judah according to their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites. ²¹ The sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. ²² These are the families of Judah according to those who were numbered of them, 76,500.

²³ The sons of Issachar according to their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of^kPuvah, the family of the Punites; ²⁴ of^lJashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. ²⁵ These are the families of Issachar according to those who were numbered of them, 64,300.

²⁶ The sons of Zebulun according to their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. ²⁷ These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were numbered of them, 60,500.

²⁸ The sons of Joseph according to their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. ²⁹ The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir^mbecame the father of Gilead: of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. ³⁰ These are the sons of Gilead: ofⁿIezer, the family of the Iezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites; ³¹ and of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; ³² and of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. ³³ Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but only daughters; and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. ³⁴ These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were 52,700.

³⁵ These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of^oBecher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. ³⁶ These are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. ³⁷ These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were numbered of them, 32,500. These are the sons of Joseph according to their families.

³⁸ The sons of Benjamin according to their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of^pAhiram, the family of the Ahiramites; ³⁹ of^qShephupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of^rHupham, the family of the Huphamites. ⁴⁰ The sons of Bela were^sArd and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. ⁴¹ These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were 45,600.

⁴² These are the sons of Dan according to their families: of^tShuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan according to their families. ⁴³ All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those who were numbered of them, were 64,400.

⁴⁴ The sons of Asher according to their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites. ⁴⁵ Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. ⁴⁶ The name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. ⁴⁷ These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those who were numbered of them, 53,400.

⁴⁸ The sons of Naphtali according to their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites; ⁴⁹ of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. ⁵⁰ These are the families of Naphtali according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were 45,400.

⁵¹ These are those who were numbered of the sons of Israel, 601,730.

⁵² Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵³ “^uAmong these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names. ⁵⁴ To the larger group you shall increase their inheritance, and to the smaller group you shall diminish their inheritance; each shall be given their inheritance according to those who were numbered of them. ⁵⁵ But the land shall be divided by lot. They shall^vreceive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers. ⁵⁶ According to the selection by lot, their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller groups.”

⁵⁷ These are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. ⁵⁸ These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. Kohath^wbecame the father of Amram. ⁵⁹ The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram: Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam. ⁶⁰ To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ⁶¹ But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the LORD. ⁶² Those who were numbered of them were 23,000, every male from a month old and upward, for they were not numbered among the sons of Israel since no inheritance was given to them among the sons of Israel.

⁶³ These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. ⁶⁴ But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. ⁶⁵ For the LORD had said^xof them, “They shall surely die in the wilderness.” And not a man was left of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Numbers, Chapter 27

¹ A Law of Inheritance, ¹⁵ Joshua to Succeed Moses

¹ Then the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph, came near; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah and Hoglah and Milcah and Tirzah. ² They stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the leaders and all the congregation, at the doorway of the tent of meeting, saying, ³ “Our father died in the wilderness, yet he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but he died in his own sin, and he had no sons. ⁴ Why should the name of our father be withdrawn from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.” ⁵ So Moses brought their case before the LORD.

⁶ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁷ “The daughters of Zelophehad are right in their statements. You shall surely give them a hereditary possession among their father’s brothers, and you shall transfer the inheritance of their father to them. ⁸ Further, you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. ⁹ If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ¹¹ If his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his nearest relative in his own family, and he shall possess it; and it shall be a statutory ordinance to the sons of Israel, just as the LORD commanded Moses.’”

¹² Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go up to this mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the sons of Israel. ¹³ When you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother^awas; ¹⁴ for in the wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My^bcommand^cto treat Me as holy before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

¹⁵ Then Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, ¹⁶ “May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, ¹⁷ who will go out^dand come in before them, and who will lead them out and^ebring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD will not be like sheep which have no shepherd.” ¹⁸ So the LORD said to Moses, “^fTake Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; ¹⁹ and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and commission him in their sight. ²⁰ You shall put some of your^gauthority on him, in order that all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey him. ²¹ Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his^hcommand they shall go out and at hisⁱcommand they shall come in, both he and the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation.” ²² Moses did just as the LORD commanded him; and he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. ²³ Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the LORD had spoken^jthrough Moses.

Numbers, Chapter 28

¹ Laws for Offerings

¹ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall^abe careful to present My offering, My food for My offerings by fire, of a soothing aroma to Me, at their appointed time.’ ³ You shall say to them, ‘This is the offering by fire which you shall offer to the LORD: two male lambs one year old without defect as a continual burnt offering every day. ⁴ You shall offer the one lamb in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer^bat twilight; ⁵ also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil. ⁶ It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai as a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD. ⁷ Then the drink offering with it shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb, in the holy place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the LORD. ⁸ The other lamb you shall offer^cat twilight; as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the LORD.

⁹ ‘Then on the sabbath day two male lambs one year old without defect, and two-tenths of an^dephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering: ¹⁰ This is the burnt offering of every sabbath in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

¹¹ ‘Then at the beginning of each of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the LORD: two^ebulls and one ram, seven male lambs one year old without defect; ¹² and three-tenths of an^fephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, for each bull; and two-tenths of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, for the one ram; ¹³ and a tenth of an^gephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering for each lamb, for a burnt offering of a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD. ¹⁴ Their drink offerings shall be 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 lamb; this is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year. ¹⁵ And one male goat for a sin offering to the LORD; it shall be offered with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering.

¹⁶ ‘Then on the fourteenth day of the first month shall be the LORD’S Passover. ¹⁷ On the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast, unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. ¹⁸ On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. ¹⁹ You shall present an offering by fire, a burnt offering to the LORD: two^hbulls and one ram and seven male lambs one year old, having them without defect. ²⁰ For their grain offering, you shall offer fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of anⁱephah for a bull and two-tenths for the ram. ²¹ A tenth of an^jephah you shall offer for^keach of the seven lambs; ²² and one male goat for a sin offering to make atonement for you. ²³ You shall present these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. ²⁴ After this manner you shall present daily, for seven days, the food of the offering by fire, of a soothing aroma to the LORD; it shall be presented with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering. ²⁵ On the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work.

²⁶ ‘Also on the day of the first fruits, when you present a new grain offering to the LORD in your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. ²⁷ You shall offer a burnt offering for a soothing aroma to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs one year old; ²⁸ and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an^lephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram, ²⁹ a tenth for^meach of the seven lambs; ³⁰ also one male goat to make atonement for you. ³¹ Besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, you shall present them with their drink offerings. They shall beⁿwithout defect.

Numbers, Chapter 29

¹ Offerings of the Seventh Month

¹ ‘Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall also have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. It will be to you a day for blowing trumpets. ² You shall offer a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to the LORD: one^abull, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old without defect; ³ also their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an^bephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, ⁴ and one-tenth for^ceach of the seven lambs. ⁵ Offer one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you, ⁶ besides the burnt offering of the new moon and its grain offering, and the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, for a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD.

⁷ ‘Then on the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall humble yourselves; you shall not do any work. ⁸ You shall present a burnt offering to the LORD as a soothing aroma: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs one year old, having them without defect; ⁹ and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an^dephah for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram, ¹⁰ a tenth for each of the seven lambs; ¹¹ one male goat for a sin offering, besides the sin offering of atonement and the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

¹² ‘Then on the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work, and you shall observe a feast to the LORD for seven days. ¹³ You shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire as a soothing aroma to the LORD: thirteen bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old, which are without defect; ¹⁴ and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an^eephah for^feach of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for^geach of the two rams, ¹⁵ and a tenth for each of the fourteen lambs; ¹⁶ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.

¹⁷ ‘Then on the second day: twelve bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ¹⁸ and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ¹⁹ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

²⁰ ‘Then on the third day: eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ²¹ and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ²² and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

²³ ‘Then on the fourth day: ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ²⁴ their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ²⁵ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.

²⁶ ‘Then on the fifth day: nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ²⁷ and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ²⁸ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

²⁹ ‘Then on the sixth day: eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ³⁰ and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ³¹ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offerings.

³² ‘Then on the seventh day: seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ³³ and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ³⁴ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.

³⁵ ‘On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly; you shall do no laborious work. ³⁶ But you shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs one year old without defect; ³⁷ their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ³⁸ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

³⁹ ‘You shall present these to the LORD at your appointed times, besides your^hvotive offerings and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings and for your grain offerings and for your drink offerings and for your peace offerings.’” ⁴⁰ ⁱMoses spoke to the sons of Israel in accordance with all that the LORD had commanded Moses.

Numbers, Chapter 30

¹ The Law of Vows

¹ Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the word which the LORD has commanded. ² If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

³ “Also if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by an obligation in her father’s house in her youth, ⁴ and her father hears her vow and her obligation by which she has bound herself, and her father^asays nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁵ But if her father should forbid her on the day he hears of it, none of her vows or her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will forgive her because her father had forbidden her.

⁶ “However, if she should^bmarry while^cunder her vows or the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself, ⁷ and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears it, then her vows shall stand and her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁸ But if on the day her husband hears of it, he forbids her, then he shall annul her vow which^dshe is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself; and the LORD will forgive her.

⁹ “But the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, everything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. ¹⁰ However, if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an obligation with an oath, ¹¹ and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not forbid her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she bound herself shall stand. ¹² But if her husband indeed annuls them on the day he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning the obligation of herself shall not stand; her husband has annulled them, and the LORD will forgive her.

¹³ “Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it. ¹⁴ But if her husband indeed says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her obligations which are on her; he has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them. ¹⁵ But if he indeed annuls them after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.”

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

Numbers, Chapter 31

¹ The Slaughter of Midian, ²⁵ Division of the Booty

¹ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.” ³ Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may^ago against Midian to execute the LORD’S vengeance on Midian. ⁴ A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” ⁵ So there were^bfurnished from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. ⁶ Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war with them, and the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. ⁷ So they made war against Midian, just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. ⁸ They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. ⁹ The sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods they plundered. ¹⁰ Then they burned all their cities where they lived and all their camps with fire. ¹¹ They took all the spoil and all the prey, both of man and of beast. ¹² They brought the captives and the prey and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

¹³ Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴ Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. ¹⁵ And Moses said to them, “Have you^cspared all the women? ¹⁶ Behold, these^dcaused the sons of Israel, through the^ecounsel of Balaam, to^ftrespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD. ¹⁷ Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man^gintimately. ¹⁸ But all the^hgirls who have not known manⁱintimately,^jspare for yourselves. ¹⁹ And you, camp outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves, you and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day. ²⁰ You shall purify for yourselves every garment and every article of^kleather and all the work of goats’ hair, and all articles of wood.”

²¹ Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses: ²² only the gold and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin and the lead, ²³ everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean, but it shall be purified with water for impurity. But whatever cannot stand the fire you shall pass through the water. ²⁴ And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may enter the camp.”

²⁵ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ “You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation take a count of the booty^lthat was captured, both of man and of animal; ²⁷ and divide the booty between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. ²⁸ Levy a tax for the LORD from the men of war who went out to battle, one^min five hundred of the persons and of the cattle and of the donkeys and of the sheep; ²⁹ take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest, as anⁿoffering to the LORD. ³⁰ From the sons of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys and of the sheep, from all the animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.” ³¹ Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

³² Now the booty that remained from the spoil which the^omen of war had plundered was 675,000 sheep, ³³ and 72,000 cattle, ³⁴ and 61,000 donkeys, ³⁵ and of human beings, of the women who had not known man^pintimately, all the persons were 32,000.

³⁶ The half, the portion of those who went out to war, was as follows: the number of sheep was 337,500, ³⁷ and the LORD’S levy of the sheep was 675; ³⁸ and the cattle were 36,000, from which the LORD’S levy was 72; ³⁹ and the donkeys were 30,500, from which the LORD’S levy was 61; ⁴⁰ and the human beings were 16,000, from whom the LORD’S levy was 32 persons. ⁴¹ Moses gave the levy which was the LORD’S offering to Eleazar the priest, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁴² As for the sons of Israel’s half, which Moses^qseparated from the men who had gone to war— ⁴³ now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep, ⁴⁴ and 36,000 cattle, ⁴⁵ and 30,500 donkeys, ⁴⁶ and the human beings were 16,000— ⁴⁷ and from the sons of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animals, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁴⁸ Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, approached Moses, ⁴⁹ and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a census of men of war who are in our charge, and no man of us is missing. ⁵⁰ So we have brought as an offering to the LORD what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.” ⁵¹ Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all kinds of wrought articles. ⁵² All the gold of the offering which they offered up to the LORD, from the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels. ⁵³ The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself. ⁵⁴ So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it to the tent of meeting as a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD.

Numbers, Chapter 32

¹ Reuben and Gad Settle in Gilead

¹ Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had an exceedingly large number of livestock. So when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that^ait was indeed a place suitable for livestock, ² the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, ³ “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon, ⁴ the land which the LORD^bconquered before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” ⁵ They said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession; do not take us across the Jordan.”

⁶ But Moses said to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to war while you yourselves sit here? ⁷ Now why are you^cdiscouraging the sons of Israel from crossing over into the land which the LORD has given them? ⁸ ^dThis is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. ⁹ For when they went up to the^evalley of Eshcol and saw the land, they^fdiscouraged the sons of Israel so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them. ¹⁰ So the LORD’S anger burned in that day, and He swore, saying, ¹¹ ‘None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob; for they did not follow Me fully, ¹² except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have followed the LORD fully.’ ¹³ So the LORD’S anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the LORD was destroyed. ¹⁴ Now behold, you have risen up in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to the burning anger of the LORD against Israel. ¹⁵ For if you turn away from following Him, He will once more abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”

¹⁶ Then they came near to him and said, “We will build here sheepfolds for our livestock and cities for our little ones; ¹⁷ but we ourselves will be armed ready to go before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place, while our little ones live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁸ We will not return to our homes until every one of the sons of Israel has possessed his inheritance. ¹⁹ For we will not have an inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of the Jordan toward the east.”

²⁰ So Moses said to them, “If you will do^gthis, if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for the war, ²¹ and all of you armed men cross over the Jordan before the LORD until He has driven His enemies out from before Him, ²² and the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you shall return and be free of obligation toward the LORD and toward Israel, and this land shall be yours for a possession before the LORD. ²³ But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out. ²⁴ Build yourselves cities for your little ones, and sheepfolds for your sheep, and do^hwhat you have promised.”

²⁵ The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands. ²⁶ Our little ones, our wives, our livestock and all our cattle shallⁱremain there in the cities of Gilead; ²⁷ while your servants, everyone who is armed for war, will cross over in the presence of the LORD to battle, just as my lord says.”

²⁸ So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel. ²⁹ Moses said to them, “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, everyone who is armed for battle, will cross with you over the Jordan in the presence of the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession; ³⁰ but if they will not cross over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” ³¹ The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, saying, “As the LORD has said to your servants, so we will do. ³² We ourselves will cross over armed in the presence of the LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us across the Jordan.”

³³ So Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land with its cities with their^jterritories, the cities of the surrounding land. ³⁴ The sons of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer, ³⁵ and Atroth-shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah, ³⁶ and Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran as fortified cities, and sheepfolds for sheep. ³⁷ The sons of Reuben built Heshbon and Elealeh and Kiriathaim, ³⁸ and Nebo and Baal-meon—their names being changed—and Sibmah, and they gave other names to the cities which they built. ³⁹ The sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. ⁴⁰ So Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he lived in it. ⁴¹ Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its^ktowns, and called them^lHavvoth-jair. ⁴² Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah after his own name.

Numbers, Chapter 33

¹ Review of the Journey from Egypt to Jordan, ⁵⁰ Law of Possessing the Land

¹ These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, by which they came out from the land of Egypt by their armies, under the^aleadership of Moses and Aaron. ² Moses recorded their starting places according to their journeys by the^bcommand of the LORD, and these are their journeys according to their starting places. ³ They journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the^cnext day after the Passover the sons of Israel started out^dboldly in the sight of all the Egyptians, ⁴ while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the LORD had struck down among them. The LORD had also executed judgments on their gods.

⁵ Then the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses and camped in Succoth. ⁶ They journeyed from Succoth and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. ⁷ They journeyed from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol. ⁸ They journeyed^efrom before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness; and they went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. ⁹ They journeyed from Marah and came to Elim; and in Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. ¹⁰ They journeyed from Elim and camped by the^fRed Sea. ¹¹ They journeyed from the^gRed Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin. ¹² They journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. ¹³ They journeyed from Dophkah and camped at Alush. ¹⁴ They journeyed from Alush and camped at Rephidim; now it was there that the people had no water to drink. ¹⁵ They journeyed from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai. ¹⁶ They journeyed from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.

¹⁷ They journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. ¹⁸ They journeyed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. ¹⁹ They journeyed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. ²⁰ They journeyed from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah. ²¹ They journeyed from Libnah and camped at Rissah. ²² They journeyed from Rissah and camped in Kehelathah. ²³ They journeyed from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. ²⁴ They journeyed from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. ²⁵ They journeyed from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. ²⁶ They journeyed from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. ²⁷ They journeyed from Tahath and camped at Terah. ²⁸ They journeyed from Terah and camped at Mithkah. ²⁹ They journeyed from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. ³⁰ They journeyed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. ³¹ They journeyed from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan. ³² They journeyed from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad. ³³ They journeyed from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah. ³⁴ They journeyed from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. ³⁵ They journeyed from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber. ³⁶ They journeyed from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin, that is, Kadesh. ³⁷ They journeyed from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom.

³⁸ Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the^hcommand of the LORD, and died there in the fortieth year after the sons of Israel had come from the land of Egypt, on the first day in the fifth month. ³⁹ Aaron was one hundred twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰ Now the Canaanite, the king of Aradⁱwho lived in the^jNegev in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the sons of Israel.

⁴¹ Then they journeyed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. ⁴² They journeyed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. ⁴³ They journeyed from Punon and camped at Oboth. ⁴⁴ They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, at the border of Moab. ⁴⁵ They journeyed from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad. ⁴⁶ They journeyed from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim. ⁴⁷ They journeyed from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. ⁴⁸ They journeyed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho. ⁴⁹ They camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

⁵⁰ Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, ⁵¹ “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ⁵² then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places; ⁵³ and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. ⁵⁴ You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the larger you shall give more inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give less inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to anyone, that shall be his. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers. ⁵⁵ But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live. ⁵⁶ And as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you.’”

Numbers, Chapter 34

¹ Instruction for Apportioning Canaan

¹ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to its borders. ³ Your southern^asector shall^bextend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom, and your southern border shall^cextend from the end of the Salt Sea eastward. ⁴ Then your border shall turn direction from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim and^dcontinue to Zin, and its^etermination shall be to the south of Kadesh-barnea; and it shall^freach Hazaraddar and^gcontinue to Azmon. ⁵ The border shall turn direction from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and its termination shall be at the sea.

⁶ ‘As for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea, that is, its^hcoastline; this shall be your west border.

⁷ ‘And this shall be your north border: you shall draw your border line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor. ⁸ You shall draw a line from Mount Hor to theⁱLebo-hamath, and the termination of the border shall be at Zedad; ⁹ and the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and its termination shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your north border.

¹⁰ ‘For your eastern border you shall also draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham, ¹¹ and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down and reach to the^jslope on the east side of the Sea of Chinnereth. ¹² And the border shall go down to the Jordan and its termination shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to its borders all around.’”

¹³ So Moses commanded the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the land that you are to apportion by lot among you as a possession, which the LORD has commanded to give to the nine and a half tribes. ¹⁴ For the tribe of the sons of Reuben have received theirs according to their fathers’ households, and the tribe of the sons of Gad according to their fathers’ households, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their possession. ¹⁵ The two and a half tribes have received their possession across the Jordan opposite Jericho, eastward toward the sunrising.”

¹⁶ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “These are the names of the men who shall apportion the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. ¹⁸ You shall take one leader of every tribe to apportion the land for inheritance. ¹⁹ These are the names of the men: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ²⁰ Of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, Samuel the son of Ammihud. ²¹ Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. ²² Of the tribe of the sons of Dan a leader, Bukki the son of Jogli. ²³ Of the sons of Joseph: of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh a leader, Hanniel the son of Ephod. ²⁴ Of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim a leader, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. ²⁵ Of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun a leader, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. ²⁶ Of the tribe of the sons of Issachar a leader, Paltiel the son of Azzan. ²⁷ Of the tribe of the sons of Asher a leader, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. ²⁸ Of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali a leader, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” ²⁹ These are those whom the LORD commanded to apportion the inheritance to the sons of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Numbers, Chapter 35

¹ Cities for the Levites, ⁶ Cities of Refuge

¹ Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, ² “Command the sons of Israel that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their possession cities to live in; and you shall give to the Levites pasture lands around the cities. ³ The cities shall be theirs to live in; and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their herds and for all their beasts.

⁴ “The pasture lands of the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city^aoutward a thousand cubits around. ⁵ You shall also 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 center. This shall become theirs as pasture lands for the cities.

⁶ The cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the manslayer to flee to; and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. ⁷ All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities,^btogether with their pasture lands. ⁸ As for the cities which you shall give from the possession of the sons of Israel, you shall take more from the larger and you shall take less from the smaller; each shall give some of his cities to the Levites in proportion to his possession which he inherits.”

⁹ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ¹¹ then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your cities of refuge, that the manslayer who has^ckilled any person unintentionally may flee there. ¹² The cities shall be to you as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands before the congregation for^dtrial. ¹³ The cities which you are to give shall be your six cities of refuge. ¹⁴ You shall give three cities across the Jordan and three cities^ein the land of Canaan; they are to be cities of refuge. ¹⁵ These six cities shall be for refuge for the sons of Israel, and for the alien and for the sojourner among them; that anyone who^fkills a person unintentionally may flee there.

¹⁶ ‘But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁷ If he struck him down with a stone in the hand, by which he will die, and as a result he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if he struck him with a wooden object in the hand, by which he might die, and as a result he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁹ The blood avenger himself shall put the murderer to death; he shall put him to death when he meets him. ²⁰ If he pushed him of hatred, or threw something at him lying in wait and as a result he died, ²¹ or if he struck him down with his hand in enmity, and as a result he died, the one who struck him shall surely be put to death, he is a murderer; the blood avenger shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

²² ‘But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or threw something at him without lying in wait, ²³ or with any^gdeadly object of stone, and without seeing it dropped on him so that he died, while he was not his enemy nor seeking his injury, ²⁴ then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the blood avenger according to these ordinances. ²⁵ The congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the blood avenger, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he fled; and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. ²⁶ But if the manslayer at any time goes beyond the border of his city of refuge to which he may flee, ²⁷ and the blood avenger finds him outside the border of his city of refuge, and the blood avenger kills the manslayer, he will not be guilty of blood ²⁸ because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the manslayer shall return to the land of his possession.

²⁹ ‘These things shall be for a statutory ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

³⁰ ‘If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death at the^hevidence of witnesses, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. ³¹ Moreover, you shall not take ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. ³² You shall not take ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to live in the landⁱbefore the death of the priest. ³³ So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. ³⁴ You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.’”

Numbers, Chapter 36

¹ Inheritance by Marriage

¹ And the heads of the fathers’ households of the family of the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the heads of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, ² and they said, “The LORD commanded my lord to give the land by lot to the sons of Israel as an inheritance, and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. ³ But if they^amarry one of the sons of the other tribes of the sons of Israel, their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of our fathers and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; thus it will be withdrawn from our allotted inheritance. ⁴ When the jubilee of the sons of Israel^bcomes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; so their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”

⁵ Then Moses commanded the sons of Israel according to the^cword of the LORD, saying, “The tribe of the sons of Joseph are right in their statements. ⁶ This is^dwhat the LORD has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them marry^ewhom they wish; only they must marry within the family of the tribe of their father.’ ⁷ Thus no inheritance of the sons of Israel shall^fbe transferred from tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel shall each^ghold to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. ⁸ Every daughter who comes into possession of an inheritance of any tribe of the sons of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, so that the sons of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers. ⁹ Thus no inheritance shall^hbe transferred from one tribe to another tribe, for the tribes of the sons of Israel shall eachⁱhold to his own inheritance.”

¹⁰ Just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad did: ¹¹ Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad married their uncles’ sons. ¹² They married those from the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance^jremained with the tribe of the family of their father.

¹³ These are the commandments and the ordinances which the LORD commanded to the sons of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho.


	After registering, you can subscribe to any Bible reading plan. Personalized settings and other services for registered users are planned, so we recommend registering now. Registration is free.