The Fourth Book of Moses Numbers

• Author: Moses
• Place Written: Wilderness and Plains of Moab
• When Written: c. 1470 B.C.E.

CHAPTER 1

The Census of Men for the Army

1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ² “Take you the sum of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, every male, head by head. ³ From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel, you and Aaron shall number them by their armies. ⁴ And with you there shall be a man from every tribe, each man the head of his fathers’ house. ⁵ And these are the names of the men who shall stand with you. Of Reuben: Elizur the son of Shedeur; ⁶ of Simeon: Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; ⁷ of Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; ⁸ of Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; ⁹ of Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; ¹⁰ of the sons of Joseph: of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; of Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; ¹¹ of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; ¹² of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; ¹³ of Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; ¹⁴ of Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel;[1] ¹⁵ of Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan. ¹⁶ These are the ones who were called of the congregation, chieftains[2] of the tribes of their fathers; they were the heads of the thousands of Israel.

¹⁷ And Moses and Aaron took these men who are mentioned by name, ¹⁸ And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they declared their ancestry after their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, head by head, ¹⁹ just as Jehovah commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.

²⁰ And the sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ²¹ those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.

²² Of the sons of Simeon, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were numbered, according to the number of the names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ²³ those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

²⁴ Of the sons of Gad, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were numbered, according to the number of the names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ²⁵ those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Gad, were forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.

²⁶ Of the sons of Judah, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were numbered, according to the number of the names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ²⁷ those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Judah, were seventy-four thousand six hundred.

²⁸ Of the sons of Issachar, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were numbered, according to the number of the names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ²⁹ those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty-four thousand four hundred.

³⁰ Of the sons of Zebulun, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were numbered, according to the number of the names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ³¹ those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

³² Of the sons of Joseph, namely, of the sons of Ephraim, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were numbered, according to the number of the names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ³³ those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand five hundred.

³⁴ Of the sons of Manasseh, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were numbered, according to the number of the names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ³⁵ those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty-two thousand two hundred.

³⁶ Of the sons of Benjamin, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were numbered, according to the number of the names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ³⁷ those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty-five thousand four hundred.

³⁸ Of the sons of Dan, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were numbered, according to the number of the names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ³⁹ those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Dan, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

⁴⁰ Of the sons of Asher, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were numbered, according to the number of the names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ⁴¹ those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Asher, were forty-one thousand five hundred.

⁴² Of the sons[3] of Naphtali, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were numbered, according to the number of the names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ⁴³ those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty-three thousand four hundred.

⁴⁴ These are the men who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, with the chieftains of Israel, twelve men: they were each one from his fathers’ house. ⁴⁵ So all the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war in Israel. ⁴⁶ even all who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty.

Levites Exempted from the Army

⁴⁷ But the Levites by the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them. ⁴⁸ For Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁹ “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, neither shall you take the census among the sons of Israel. ⁵⁰ But you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over all that belongs to it.[4] They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the tabernacle. ⁵¹ And when the tabernacle is to move, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger who comes near shall be put to death. ⁵² And the sons of Israel shall pitch their tents, each man by his own camp, and each man by his own standard, according to their armies. ⁵³ But the Levites shall encamp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be no wrath on the congregation of the sons of Israel: and the Levites shall care for the tabernacle of the testimony.” ⁵⁴ Thus did the sons of Israel; according to all that Jehovah commanded Moses, so they did.

CHAPTER 2

Orderly Arrangement of the Camps

2 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ² “The sons of Israel shall encamp every man by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses: they shall camp around the tent of meeting on every side. ³ And those who encamp on the east side toward the sunrising they shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah, according to their armies: and the chieftain of the sons of Judah shall be Nahshon the son of Amminadab. ⁴ And his army, and those who were numbered of them, were seventy-four thousand six hundred. ⁵ And those who encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and the chieftain of the sons of Issachar shall be Nethanel the son of Zuar. ⁶ And his army, and those who were numbered, were fifty-four thousand four hundred. ⁷ And the tribe of Zebulun: and the chieftain of the sons of Zebulun shall be Eliab the son of Helon. ⁸ And his army, and those who were numbered, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred. ⁹ All that were numbered of the camp of Judah were one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred, according to their armies. They shall set out first.

¹⁰ “On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the chieftain of the sons of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur. ¹¹ And his army, and those who were numbered, were forty-six thousand five hundred. ¹² And those who encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the chieftain of the sons of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. ¹³ And his army, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred. ¹⁴ And the tribe of Gad: and the chieftain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel.[5] ¹⁵ And his army, and those who were numbered of them, were forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. ¹⁶ All who were numbered of the camp of Reuben were one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty, according to their armies. And they shall set out second.

¹⁷ “Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps: just as they encamp, so shall they set out, every man in his place, by their standards.

¹⁸ “On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the chieftain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud. ¹⁹ And his army, and those who were numbered of them, were forty thousand five hundred. ²⁰ And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the chieftain of the sons of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. ²¹ And his army, and those who were numbered of them, were thirty-two thousand two hundred. ²² And the tribe of Benjamin: and the chieftain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni. ²³ And his army, and those who were numbered of them, were thirty-five thousand four hundred. ²⁴ All who were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were one hundred and eight thousand one hundred, according to their armies. And they shall set out third.

²⁵ “On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan according to their armies: and the chieftain of the sons of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶ And his army, and those who were numbered of them, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred. ²⁷ And those who encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the chieftain of the sons of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ochran. ²⁸ And his army, and those who were numbered of them, were forty-one thousand five hundred. ²⁹ And the tribe of Naphtali: and the chieftain of the sons of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan. ³⁰ And his army, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-three thousand four hundred. ³¹ All who were numbered of the camp of Dan were one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They shall set out last by their standards.”

³² These are they who were numbered of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ houses: all who were numbered of the camps according to their armies were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. ³³ But the Levites were not numbered among the sons of Israel, as Jehovah commanded Moses. ³⁴ Thus did the sons of Israel; according to all that Jehovah commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, everyone by their families, according to their fathers’ houses.

CHAPTER 3

The Sons of Aaron

3 Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that Jehovah spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. ² These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whose hands had been filled[6] to serve as priests. ⁴ And Nadab and Abihu died before Jehovah, when they offered strange fire before Jehovah, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. But Eleazar and Ithamar continued to serve as priests alongside Aaron their father.

The Levites Chosen to Minister

⁵ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. ⁷ And they shall perform duties for him and duties for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. ⁸ And they shall keep all the furniture of the tent of meeting, and the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. ⁹ And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given to him[7] from among the sons of Israel. ¹⁰ And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood: but the stranger[8] who comes near shall be put to death.”

¹¹ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “And I, look, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of all the firstborn that opens the womb among the sons of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine ¹³ for all the firstborn are mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast; mine they shall be: I am Jehovah.”

¹⁴ And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, ¹⁵ “Number the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families: every male from a month old and upward you shall number them.” ¹⁶ So Moses numbered them according to the word of Jehovah, as he was commanded. ¹⁷ And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸ And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹ And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, and Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰ And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.

²¹ Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites: these are the families of the Gershonites. ²² Those who were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand five hundred. ²³ The families of the Gershonites shall camp behind the tabernacle[9] westward. ²⁴ And the chieftain of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.

Duties of the Priests

²⁵ And the duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering, and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ²⁶ and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the entrance of the court, which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords for all the service connected with these.

²⁷ And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites. ²⁸ According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six[10] hundred, keeping the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹ The families of the sons of Kohath shall camp on the side of the tabernacle southward. ³⁰ And the chieftain of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ³¹ And their duty shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the screen, and all the service connected with these. ³² And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chieftain of the chieftains of the Levites and have the oversight of those who keep the duties of the sanctuary.

³³ Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari. ³⁴ And those who were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred. ³⁵ And the chieftain of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: they shall camp on the side of the tabernacle northward. ³⁶ And the appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars, and the pillars, and the sockets, and all the utensils, and all the service connected with these, ³⁷ and the pillars around the court with their sockets and their pegs and their cords.

³⁸ And those who camp before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the duty of the sanctuary for the obligation of the sons of Israel; and the stranger[11] who comes near shall be put to death. ³⁹ All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron[12] numbered at the commandment of Jehovah, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.

Redemption of the Firstborn

⁴⁰ And Jehovah said to Moses, Number all the firstborn males of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward and take the number of their names.[13] ⁴¹ You shall take the Levites for me, I am Jehovah, instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the sons of Israel.” ⁴² And Moses numbered, as Jehovah commanded him, all the firstborn among the sons of Israel. ⁴³ And all the firstborn males according to the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

⁴⁴ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am Jehovah. ⁴⁶ And for the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the first-born of the sons of Israel, that are over and above the number of the Levites, ⁴⁷ you shall take five shekels[14] apiece, per head; you shall take them in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs),[15] ⁴⁸ and you shall give the money, the redemption price of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons.” ⁴⁹ And Moses took the redemption money from them who were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰ From the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels,[16] after the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁵¹ And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of Jehovah, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

CHAPTER 4

Duties of the Kohathites

4 Then Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ² “Take the census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, ³ from thirty[17] years old and upward even to fifty years old, all who enter the service,[18] to do the work in the tent of meeting. ⁴ This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, concerning the most holy things. ⁵ when the camp sets out, Aaron shall go in, and his sons, and they shall take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. ⁶ Then they shall put a covering of sealskin on it, and shall spread over it a blue cloth, and shall put in the poles. ⁷ And they shall spread out a cloth of blue over the table of showbread, and they must put upon it the dishes and the cups and the bowls and the pitchers of the drink offering; and the regular offering of bread shall be on it. ⁸ And they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in the poles. ⁹ Then they shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand for the light, along with its lamps, and its snuffers, its trays, and all its vessels for oil with which it is supplied. ¹⁰ And they shall put it and all the utensils within a covering of sealskin and shall put it on the carrying frame. ¹¹ And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in the poles. ¹² And they shall take all the vessels of service, with which they serve in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the carrying frame. ¹³ And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, with which they serve there, the firepans, the forks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of sealskin and put in the poles.[19] ¹⁵ And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

¹⁶ “And the responsibility of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its utensils.”

¹⁷ Then Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ¹⁸ “Let not the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, ¹⁹ but do this to them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them each one to his service and to his burden, ²⁰ but they shall not go in to see the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”

Duties of the Gershonites

²¹ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ²² “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses and by their families. ²³ From thirty years old and upward to fifty years old you shall number them; all who enter for service, to do the work in the tent of meeting. ²⁴ This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens: ²⁵ they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of sealskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting ²⁶ and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And all that needs to be done with regard to them, they shall do. ²⁷ At the command of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all that they are to carry, and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. ²⁸ This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting: and their duties shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

Duties of the Merarites

²⁹ “As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families, by their fathers’ houses. ³⁰ From thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old you shall number them, every one that enters the service, to do the work of the tent of meeting. ³¹ And this is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars, and the pillars, and the bases, ³² and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And by name you shall assign the objects that they are required to carry. ³³ This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

Summary of the Census

³⁴ And Moses and Aaron and the chieftains of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their families and their fathers’ houses, ³⁵ from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service, for work in the tent of meeting: ³⁶ and those who were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty. ³⁷ These are the numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who did serve in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah by Moses.

³⁸ And those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, their families, and by their fathers’ houses, ³⁹ from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service, for work in the tent of meeting, ⁴⁰ even those who were numbered by their families, by their fathers’ houses, were two thousand six hundred and thirty. ⁴¹ These are the numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all that did serve in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah.

⁴² And those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, ⁴³ from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service, for work in the tent of meeting. ⁴⁴ Even those who were numbered of them by their families, were three thousand two hundred. ⁴⁵ These are the numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah by Moses.

⁴⁶ All those who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chieftains of Israel numbered, by their families, and by their fathers’ houses, ⁴⁷ from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered to do the work of service, and the work of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, ⁴⁸ even those who were numbered of them, were eight thousand five hundred and eighty. ⁴⁹ According to the commandment of Jehovah they were numbered[20] by Moses, everyone according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered by him, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

CHAPTER 5

Quarantining the Unclean

5 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the sons of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and everyone who has a discharge, and whosoever is unclean by a dead soul. ³ Both male and female you shall put outside the camp. You shall put them out, so that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.” ⁴ And the sons of Israel did so and put them outside the camp; as Jehovah spoke to Moses, so the sons of Israel did.

Confession and Restitution

⁵ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Speak to the sons of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, by breaking faith with Jehovah, and that soul shall be guilty, ⁷ then he[21] shall confess his sin which he has committed: and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add a fifth to it, and give it to the one he wronged. ⁸ But if the man has no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt shall be made to Jehovah for the priest; in addition to the ram of the atonement, with which atonement shall be made for him. ⁹ And every contribution, all the holy things of the sons of Israel, which they present to the priest, shall be his. ¹⁰ And every man’s holy things shall be his: whatever any man gives the priest, it shall be his.”

Water Test for Those Suspected of Adultery

¹¹ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, If any man’s wife goes astray, and is unfaithful to him, ¹³ and a man lies with her and has an emission of semen,[22] and it has been hidden from the eyes of her husband and she is undetected, though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, since she was not taken in the act,[23] ¹⁴ and if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself, ¹⁵ then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah[24] of barley flour. He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, bringing guilt to remembrance.

¹⁶ “And the priest shall bring her near and set her before Jehovah. ¹⁷ And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. ¹⁸ And the priest shall set the woman before Jehovah and unbind the hair of the woman’s head and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that brings a curse. ¹⁹ And the priest shall make her swear, and he shall say to the woman, ‘If no man has lain down with you and if while under your husband’s authority you have not turned aside to any uncleanness, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your husband has put in you his seminal emission,[25] ²¹ then the priest shall make the woman swear with the oath of the curse, and the priest shall say to the woman, ‘Jehovah make you a curse and an oath among your people, when Jehovah makes your thigh[26] fall away,[27] and your abdomen swell; ²² and this water that brings the curse shall pass into your inward parts, and make your abdomen swell, and your thigh[28] fall away.’[29] And the woman shall say, ‘Amen, Amen.’

²³ “And the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the water of bitterness. ²⁴ And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitterness. ²⁵ And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand and shall wave the grain offering before Jehovah and bring it to the altar. ²⁶ And the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. ²⁷ And when he makes her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and committed an act of unfaithfulness toward her husband, the water that brings a curse shall enter into her and become bitterness, and her abdomen will swell, and her thigh[30] will fall away,[31] and the woman shall become a curse among her people. ²⁸ And if the woman is not defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive children.

²⁹ “This is the law of jealousy: when a wife, being under the authority of her husband, goes astray and defiles herself, ³⁰ or when the spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife. Then he shall set the woman before Jehovah, and the priest shall carry out toward her all this law. ³¹ And the man shall be free from guilt, and that woman shall bear her guilt.”

CHAPTER 6

The Nazirite Vow

6 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, When a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to Jehovah, ³ he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any juice of grapes, or eat fresh grapes or dried. ⁴ All the days of his separation he shall not eat anything that is produced by the grapevine, from the seeds even to the skins.

⁵ “All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall come upon his head: until the days are fulfilled, in which he separated himself to Jehovah, he shall be holy; he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow long.

⁶ ‘All the days of his separation to Jehovah he shall not go near to a dead soul.[32] ⁷ He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. ⁸ All the days of his separation he is holy to Jehovah.

⁹ “And if any man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles the head of his Naziriteship; then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day he shall shave it. ¹⁰ And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting. ¹¹ And the priest shall offer one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, for he sinned because of the dead soul, and he shall sanctify his head that day. ¹² And he shall separate himself to Jehovah for the days of his separation and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering; but the former days shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

¹³ “And this is the law of the Nazirite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting. ¹⁴ And he shall present his offering to Jehovah, one male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings, ¹⁵ and a basket of unleavened ring-shaped loaves of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their grain offering, and their drink offerings. ¹⁶ And the priest shall present them before Jehovah, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering, ¹⁷ and he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto Jehovah, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall offer also the grain offering, and the drink offering. ¹⁸ And the Nazirite shall shave the head of his Naziriteship at the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall take the hair of the head of his Naziriteship and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings. ¹⁹ The priest will take the shoulder from the ram that is boiled, and one unleavened ring-shaped loaf from the basket, and one wafer of unleavened bread, and he will put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head, ²⁰ and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before Jehovah; this is holy for the priest, along with the breast of the wave offering and the leg of the contribution; and after that the Nazirite may drink wine.

²¹ “This is the law of the Nazirite who vows, and of his offering to Jehovah for his Naziriteship, besides that which he is able to afford: according to his vow which he takes, so he must do because of the law of his Naziriteship.”

Priestly Blessing

²² And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the way you shall bless the sons of Israel: you shall say to them,

²⁴ May Jehovah bless you and keep you.

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

²⁶ May Jehovah lift up his face upon you and grant you peace.

²⁷ “So shall they put my name upon the sons of Israel, and I will bless them.”

CHAPTER 7

Offerings of the Leaders

7 Now it came about on the day that Moses finished setting up the tabernacle that he anointed it and sanctified it with all its furnishings and the altar and all its utensils; he anointed them and sanctified them. ² Then the chieftains of Israel, the heads of the house of their fathers, made an offering. They were the chieftains of the tribes, who were over those who were numbered, ³ and they brought their offering before Jehovah, six covered wagons and twelve cattle, a wagon for two chieftains and an ox for each one; and they presented them before the tabernacle. ⁴ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵ “Accept these things from them, that they may be used in the service of the tent of meeting, and you shall give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” ⁶ So Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service. ⁸ And four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. ⁹ But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because the service of the sanctuary belonged to them; they carried it on their shoulders. ¹⁰ And the chieftains presented offering for the dedication of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the chieftains offered their offering before the altar. ¹¹ And Jehovah said to Moses, “One chieftain on one day and another chieftain on another day, they shall present their offering, for the dedication of the altar.”

¹² The one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah. ¹³ And his offering was one silver dish, its weight was one hundred and thirty shekels,[33] one silver bowl of seventy shekels by the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ¹⁴ one gold dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ¹⁵ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ¹⁶ one male of the goats for a sin offering; ¹⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old: this was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

¹⁸ On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, chieftain of Issachar, made an offering. ¹⁹ He presented for his offering one silver dish, the weight was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁰ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ²¹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²² one male of the goats for a sin-offering; ²³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old: this was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar.

²⁴ On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, chieftain of the sons of Zebulun: ²⁵ his offering was one silver plate, the weight was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁶ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ²⁷ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²⁸ one male of the goats for a sin offering; ²⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old: this was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon.

³⁰ On the fourth day Elizur the son of Shedeur, chieftain of the sons of Reuben: ³¹ his offering was one silver plate, the weight was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³² one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ³³ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ³⁴ one male of the goats for a sin offering; ³⁵ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old: this was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur.

³⁶ On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, chieftain of the sons of Simeon: ³⁷ his offering was one silver plate, the weight was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³⁸ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ³⁹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one male of the goats for a sin offering; ⁴¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old: this was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

⁴² On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel, chieftain of the sons of Gad: ⁴³ his offering was one silver plate, the weight was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁴⁴ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁴⁵ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one male of the goats for a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old: this was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

⁴⁸ On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, chieftain of the sons of Ephraim: ⁴⁹ his offering was one silver plate, the weight was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering; ⁵⁰ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵¹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵² one male of the goats for a sin offering; ⁵³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old: this was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.

⁵⁴ On the eighth day Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, chieftain of the sons of Manasseh: ⁵⁵ his offering was one silver plate, the weight was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering; ⁵⁶ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵⁷ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one male of the goats for a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old: this was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

⁶⁰ On the ninth day it was Abidan the son of Gideoni, leader of the sons of Benjamin; ⁶¹ his offering was one silver plate, the weight was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering; ⁶² one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶³ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one male of the goats for a sin offering; ⁶⁵ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old: this was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.

⁶⁶ On the tenth day it was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, leader of the sons of Dan; ⁶⁷ his offering was one silver plate, the weight was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering; ⁶⁸ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶⁹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one male of the goats for a sin offering; ⁷¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old: this was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

⁷² On the eleventh day it was Pagiel the son of Ochran, leader of the sons of Asher; ⁷³ his offering was one silver plate, the weight was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering; ⁷⁴ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁷⁵ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one male of the goats for a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old: this was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ochran.

⁷⁸ On the twelfth day it was Ahira the son of Enan, leader of the sons of Naphtali; ⁷⁹ his offering was one silver dish whose weight was one hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁸⁰ one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁸¹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁸² one male of the goats for a sin offering; ⁸³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old: this was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan.

⁸⁴ This was the dedication offering for the altar, on the day when it was anointed, by the chieftains of Israel: twelve silver plates, twelve silver bowls, twelve golden dishes, ⁸⁵ each silver plates weighing one hundred thirty shekels, and each bowl seventy; all the silver of the vessels two thousand four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; ⁸⁶ the twelve golden dishes, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary; all the gold of the dishes one hundred twenty shekels; ⁸⁷ all the oxen for the burnt offering twelve bulls, the rams twelve, the male lambs a year old twelve, and their grain offering; and the males of the goats for a sin offering twelve; ⁸⁸ and all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace offerings twenty four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, the male lambs a year old sixty. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed.

⁸⁹ And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with him, then he heard the voice[34] speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was upon the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim: and he spoke to him.

CHAPTER 8

The Seven Lamps

8 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron, and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.” ³ And Aaron did so: he set up its lamps in front of the lampstand, as Jehovah commanded Moses. ⁴ Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand. It was hammered work of gold. Up to its sides and up to its flowers it was hammered work. According to the pattern that Jehovah had shown Moses, so he had made the lampstand.

Cleansing the Levites, Begin Serving

⁵ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and cleanse them. ⁷ And thus you shall do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification on them and let them go with a razor over all their body and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. ⁸ Then let them take a young bull, and its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and another young bull you shall take for a sin offering. ⁹ And you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting: and you shall assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel. ¹⁰ And you shall present the Levites before Jehovah. And the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites. ¹¹ And Aaron shall offer[35] the Levites before Jehovah for a wave offering, on the behalf of the sons of Israel, that they may do the service of Jehovah. ¹² And the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls: and you shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, to Jehovah, to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³ And you shall set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer[36] them for a wave offering to Jehovah.

¹⁴ “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine. ¹⁵ And after that shall the Levites go in to serve at the tent of meeting: and you shall cleanse them and offer[37] them for a wave offering. ¹⁶ For they are wholly given to me from among the sons of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel, I have taken them to me. ¹⁷ For all the first born among the sons of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself. ¹⁸ And I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel. ¹⁹ And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to do the service of the sons of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the sons of Israel; that there be no plague among the sons of Israel, when the sons of Israel come near to the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Thus did Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the Levites: according to all that Jehovah commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. ²¹ And the Levites purified themselves from sin, and they washed their clothes: and Aaron offered[38] them as a wave offering before Jehovah; and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron, and before his sons: as Jehovah had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they to them.

Age Restrictions for Levitical Service

²³ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “This is what applies to the Levites:[39] from twenty-five years old and upward, a man[40] shall enter to perform the service in the work of the tent of meeting. ²⁵ And from the age of fifty years he[41] shall withdraw from the work of the service and shall serve no more. ²⁶ He[42] shall minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting, to keep their responsibilities, but he[43] shall do no work. Thus, you shall do to the Levites concerning their responsibilities.”

CHAPTER 9

Condition for late Passover

9 And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ² “Let the sons of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. ³ On the fourteenth day of this month, between the two evenings,[44] you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” ⁴ And Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, that they should keep the Passover. ⁵ And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between the two evenings,[45] in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that Jehovah commanded Moses, so did the sons of Israel. ⁶ And there were certain men, who were unclean through touching the dead soul of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day. ⁷ And those men said to him,[46] We are unclean through touching the dead soul of a man: why are we restrained, that we may not present the offering of Jehovah in its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” ⁸ And Moses said to them, Wait, that I may hear what Jehovah will command concerning you.”

⁹ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your generations shall be unclean because of a dead soul, or be on a distant journey, yet he shall keep the Passover to Jehovah. ¹¹ In the second month on the fourteenth day between the two evenings[47] they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ¹² They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break a bone of it: according to all the statute of the Passover they shall keep it. ¹³ But the man who is clean, and is not on a journey, and fails to keep the Passover, that soul shall be cut off[48] from his people; because he presented not the offering of Jehovah in its appointed time, that man shall bear his sin. ¹⁴ And if a stranger shall sojourn among you and will keep the Passover to Jehovah; according to the statute of the Passover, and according to its ordinance, so shall he do: you shall have one statute, both for the sojourner, and for the native of the land.”

The Cloud and Fire above the Tabernacle

¹⁵ And on the day that the tabernacle was set up the cloud covered the tabernacle, even the tent of the testimony: and in the evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire, until morning. ¹⁶ So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night.[49] ¹⁷ And whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent, after that the sons of Israel set out: and in the place where the cloud settled, there the sons of Israel camped. ¹⁸ At the commandment of Jehovah the sons of Israel set out, and at the commandment of Jehovah they camped: as long as the cloud settled over the tabernacle, they remained camped. ¹⁹ And when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, then the sons of Israel kept the obligation of Jehovah and did not set out. ²⁰ And sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle; then according to the command of Jehovah they remained camped, and according to the command of Jehovah they set out. ²¹ And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning; and when the cloud was lifted up in the morning, they set out: or if it continued by day and by night, when the cloud was lifted up, they set out. ²² Whether it was two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the sons of Israel remained camped, and did not set out; but when it was lifted up, they set out. ²³ At the command of Jehovah they camped, and at the command of Jehovah they set out: they kept the obligation of Jehovah, at the command of Jehovah by Moses.

CHAPTER 10

The Silver Trumpets

10 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Make you two trumpets of silver; of beaten work you shall make them: and you shall use them for the calling of the congregation, and for breaking camp. ³ And when both of them are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁴ And if they blow only one, then the chieftains, the heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. ⁵ And When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. ⁶ And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out;[50] an alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. ⁷ But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm. ⁸ And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. ⁹ When you go to war in your land against the adversary[51] who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before Jehovah your God, and be saved from your enemies. ¹⁰ On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am Jehovah your God.”

The Tribes Leave Sinai

¹¹ Now it came about that in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day in the month, the cloud lifted up from over the tabernacle of the testimony. ¹² And the sons of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. ¹³ They set out for the first time at the command of Jehovah by the hand of Moses. ¹⁴ The standard of the camp of the sons of Judah set out first according to their armies, and over their army was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. ¹⁵ And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. ¹⁶ And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon.

¹⁷ And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. ¹⁸ And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out according to their armies, and over their army was Elizur the son of Shedeur. ¹⁹ And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. ²⁰ And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

²¹ Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. ²² And the standard of the army of the sons of Ephraim set out according to their armies, and over their army was Elishama the son of Ammihud. ²³ And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. ²⁴ And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.

²⁵ Then the standard of the army of the sons of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out according to their armies, and over their army was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶ And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. ²⁷ And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. ²⁸ This was the order of march of the sons of Israel by their armies, when they set out.

Hobab asked to guide Israel

²⁹ And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel[52] the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses, “We are setting out for the place of which Jehovah said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will do good to you, for Jehovah has spoken good concerning Israel.” ³⁰ But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” ³¹ And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you shall serve as eyes for us. ³² And it shall be, if you go with us, it shall be, that whatever good Jehovah shall do to us, the same we will do to you.”

³³ And they set out from the mount of Jehovah three days’ journey; and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them. ³⁴ And the cloud of Jehovah was over them by day, when they set out from the camp.

³⁵ And it would occur, when the ark set out, that Moses said, “Rise up, O Jehovah, and let your enemies be scattered; and let them that hate you flee before you.” ³⁶ And when it rested, he said, “Return, O Jehovah, to the ten thousand of the thousands of Israel.”[53]

CHAPTER 11

The People Complain and Bring Fire from God

11 And the people began to complain bitterly, speaking evil in the ears of Jehovah: and when Jehovah heard it, his anger was kindled; and the fire of Jehovah burned among them, and consumed the outskirts of the camp. ² And the people cried to Moses; and Moses prayed to Jehovah, and the fire died down. ³ And the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of Jehovah burned among them.

The People Cry for Meat

⁴ The mixed crowd who were in their midst then expressed selfish longing, and the Israelites too began to weep again and say: “Who shall give us meat to eat? ⁵ We remember the fish that we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic. ⁶ But now our soul is dried up; there is nothing at all save this manna to look at.”

⁷ Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. ⁸ The people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in hand mills, or beat it in mortars, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil. ⁹ And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

Moses Feels of Inadequate

¹⁰ Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man at the door of his tent: and the anger of Jehovah grew very hot; and Moses was displeased. ¹¹ Moses said to Jehovah, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? ¹² Have I conceived all this people? have I brought them forth, that you should say to me,  ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their forefathers? 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 am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If you are going to treat me like this, please kill me at once if I have found favor in your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”[54]

Seventy Elders Receive Spirit

¹⁶ And Jehovah said to Moses, “Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them to the tent of meeting and let them take their stand there with you. ¹⁷ And I will come down and talk with you there: and I will take of the Spirit which is upon you and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. ¹⁸ And you say to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of Jehovah, saying, “Who shall give us meat to eat? it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore, Jehovah will give you meat, and you shall eat. ¹⁹ You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, ²⁰ but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected Jehovah who is in your midst and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”’” ²¹ But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ ²² Shall whole flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?” ²³ And Jehovah said to Moses, “Is the hand of Jehovah too short? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”

²⁴ Then Jehovah came down in a cloud and spoke to him and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on each of the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again. ²⁵ Then Jehovah came down in the cloud and spoke to him and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.[55]

Joshua Grows Jealous for Moses over Eldad and Medad

²⁶ But there remained two men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the Spirit rested upon them; and they were among those 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 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, restrain them.” ²⁹ But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all Jehovah’s people were prophets, that Jehovah would put his Spirit upon them!” ³⁰ Then Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

The Quail and the Punishment for Greed

³¹ Now there went forth a wind from Jehovah 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, around the camp, and about two cubits[56] above the face of the ground. ³² And the people rose up all that day, and all the night, and all the next day, and gathered the quails: he who gathered least gathered ten homers; 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 Jehovah was kindled against the people, and Jehovah struck the people with a very great plague. ³⁴ So the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving. ³⁵ From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.

CHAPTER 12

The Murmuring of Miriam and Aaron

12 And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite[57] woman whom he had married; for he had married a Cushite woman. ² And they said, “Has Jehovah indeed spoken only with Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And Jehovah heard it. ³ Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than anyone on the face of the earth. ⁴ And Jehovah spoke suddenly to Moses, and to Aaron, and to Miriam, “Come out you three to the tent of meeting.” And the three came out. ⁵ And Jehovah came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the entrance of the tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forward. ⁶ And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I Jehovah make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. ⁷ Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. ⁸ With him I speak mouth to mouth,[58] clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of Jehovah. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” ⁹ And the anger of Jehovah burned[59] against them; and he departed. 

Miriam Struck with Leprosy

¹⁰ And the cloud removed from over the tent; and look, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow: and Aaron turned toward Miriam, and look, she was leprous. ¹¹ And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I pray, please do not lay this  sin on us, because we have done foolishly and have sinned. ¹² Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.”[60] ¹³ And Moses cried to Jehovah, saying, “O God,[61] please heal her! Please!” ¹⁴ But Jehovah said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again.” ¹⁵ So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days: and the people did not set out until Miriam was brought in again. ¹⁶ And afterward the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

CHAPTER 13

12 Spies Sent into the Land of Canaan

13 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Send men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the sons of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, everyone a chieftain among them.” ³ And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the command of Jehovah: all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel. ⁴ And these 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 that Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.

¹⁷ And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way by the Negev,[62] and go up into the hill-country: ¹⁸ and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, ¹⁹ and whether the land that they are dwelling in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, ²⁰ and find out whether the land is fat[63] or lean[64] and whether there are trees in it or not. And be of good courageous and bring some of the fruitage of the land.” Now it was the season of the first ripe grapes.

²¹ So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath. ²² And they went up by the Negev,[65] and came unto Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ²³ And they came to the valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it upon a pole between two men; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ That place[66] was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there.

10 Spies’ Bad Report

²⁵ And they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days. ²⁶ And they came to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; and brought back word to them, and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ And they told him, and said, “We came to the land to which you sent us; and surely it flows with milk and honey; and this is its fruit. ²⁸ However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negev.[67] The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”

³⁰ And Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “Surely, let us go up and let us take possession of it because surely we will be able to overcome over 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 stronger than we are.” 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 inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of tall stature. ³³ And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak came from the Nephilim,[68] and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their eyes.”

CHAPTER 14

The People Rebel Wanting to Return to Egypt

14 Then all the assembly raised their voice, and the people continued crying out and weeping all through that night. ² All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole assembly 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 Jehovah 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.”

The Good Report of Joshua and Caleb

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. ⁶ And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among 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 it out, is an exceeding good land.” ⁸ If Jehovah delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us; a land that flows with milk and honey. ⁹ Only do not rebel against Jehovah, and do not fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their protection is removed from them, and Jehovah is with us: do not fear them.” ¹⁰ But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of Jehovah appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

The Anger of Jehovah, Moses Pleads for the People

¹¹ And Jehovah said unto Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have done among them? ¹² I will strike them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

¹³ And Moses said to Jehovah, “Then the Egyptians will hear it; for you brought this people up in your might from among them, ¹⁴ and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you Jehovah are in the midst of this people; for you Jehovah are seen face to face, and 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 kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard the fame of you will speak, saying, ¹⁶ ‘Because Jehovah was not able to bring this people into the land which he swore to them, therefore he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ And now, I pray, let the power[69] of Jehovah[70] be great, according as you have spoken, saying, ¹⁸ ‘Jehovah is slow to anger, and abundant in loyal love, forgiving errors and transgression; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the errors of the fathers on the sons, on the third and on the fourth generation.’ ¹⁹ Pardon, I pray, the error of this people according to the greatness of your loyal love, and just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

The Punishment of Forty Years In the Wilderness

²⁰ And Jehovah said, “I have pardoned according to your word. ²¹ but indeed, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Jehovah; ²² because 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 heard to my voice, ²³ surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any of them who despised me see it. ²⁴ But my servant Caleb, because he had different spirit, and has followed me fully, him will I bring into the land into which he went; and his offspring shall possess it. ²⁵ Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Sea of Reeds.”^[71]

²⁶ And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²⁷ “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, who murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel, which they murmur against me. ²⁸ Say to them, ‘As I live, says Jehovah, surely as you have spoken in my ears, so will I do to you: ²⁹ your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all who were numbered of you, according to your complete number, from twenty years old and upward, that have murmured against me, ³⁰ surely you shall not come into the land, concerning which I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. ³¹ But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which you have rejected. ³² But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. ³³ And your sons shall be wanderers in the wilderness forty years, and shall bear your prostitution, until your dead bodies be consumed in the wilderness. ³⁴ According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, even forty days, for every day a year, shall you bear your errors, even forty years, and you shall know my opposition. ³⁵ I, Jehovah, have spoken, surely this will I do to all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to their end, and there they shall die.”

³⁶ And the men, whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him,[72] by bringing up a bad report against the land, ³⁷ even those men who did bring up a bad report of the land, died by a plague before Jehovah. ³⁸ But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, remained alive of those men who went to spy out the land.

The Amalekites Defeat Israel

³⁹ And Moses told these words to all the sons of Israel: and the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ And they rose up early in the morning and tried to go up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place that Jehovah promised, for we have sinned.” ⁴¹ But Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of Jehovah, when that shall not succeed? ⁴² Do not go up, for Jehovah is not among you, that you may not be struck down before your enemies. ⁴³ For there the Amalekite and the Canaanite are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword: because you have turned back from following Jehovah, and Jehovah will not be with you.” ⁴⁴ But they presumed to go to the top of the mountain, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah and Moses did not depart out of the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekite came down, and the Canaanite who dwelt in that mountain, and struck them and beat them down, even to Hormah.

CHAPTER 15

Laws Concerning Offerings

15 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you, ³ and you make an offering by fire to Jehovah, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice, to accomplish a vow, or as a freewill offering, or at your appointed feasts, to make a restful aroma[73] to Jehovah, from the herd, or from the flock, ⁴ then shall he who offers his offering offer to Jehovah a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah[74] of fine flour mixed with the fourth part of a hin[75] of oil: ⁵ and wine for the drink offering, the fourth part of a hin, you shall prepare with the burnt offering, or for the sacrifice, for each lamb. ⁶ Or for a ram, you shall prepare for a grain offering two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with the third part of a hin of oil. ⁷ And for the drink offering you shall offer the third part of a hin of wine, of a restful aroma[76] to Jehovah. ⁸ And when you prepare a bull[77] for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice, to accomplish a vow, or for peace offerings to Jehovah, ⁹ then one shall offer with the bull a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil. ¹⁰ And you shall offer for the drink offering half a hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a restful aroma[78] to Jehovah.

¹¹ “Thus shall it be done for each bull, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats. ¹² According to the number that you shall prepare, so shall you do to everyone according to their number. ¹³ All that are native born shall do these things after this manner, in offering an offering made by fire, of a restful aroma^[79] to Jehovah.

Law of the Sojourner

¹⁴ And if a stranger is sojourning with you, or whosoever may be among you throughout your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a restful aroma^[80] to Jehovah; as you do, so he shall do. ¹⁵ For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you, and for the stranger that sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations: as you are, so shall the sojourner be before Jehovah. ¹⁶ One law and one regulation shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourns with you.”

¹⁷ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land to which I bring you, ¹⁹ then it shall be, that, when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall lift up an offering to Jehovah. ²⁰ Of the first of your dough you shall lift up ring-shaped loaves for an offering: as the offering of the threshing floor, so you shall lift it up. ²¹ Of the first of your dough you shall give to Jehovah an offering throughout your generations.

Offerings for Unintentional Sins

²² “But if you shall err unintentionally, and not observe all these commandments that Jehovah has spoken to Moses, ²³ even all that Jehovah hath commanded you by Moses, from the day that Jehovah gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations, ²⁴ then it shall be, if it is done unintentionally, without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bull[81] for a burnt offering, for a restful aroma^[82] to Jehovah, with the grain offering, and the drink offering according to the judgment decision, and one male goat for a sin offering. ²⁵ And the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they shall be forgiven; for it was an error, and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to Jehovah, and their sin offering before Jehovah, for their error. ²⁶ And all the congregation of the sons of Israel shall be forgiven, and the stranger that sojourns among them, because the whole population was involved in the unintentional wrong.

²⁷ “And if one person sins unintentionally, then he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. ²⁸ And the priest shall make atonement for the soul who errs, when he sins unintentionally, before Jehovah, to make atonement for him; and he shall be forgiven. ²⁹ You shall have one law for him who does anything at all unintentionally, for him that is native-born among the sons of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them. 

Punishment for Deliberate Sins

³⁰ But the soul who does anything at all with a high hand,[83] whether he is native-born or a sojourner, that one is blaspheming Jehovah; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. ³¹ Because he has despised the word of Jehovah, and has broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his error shall be on him.”

Sabbath Violations Punishable with Death

³² And while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. ³³ And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. ³⁴ And they put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. ³⁵ And Jehovah said to Moses, The man shall surely be put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” ³⁶ And all the congregation brought him outside the camp, and stoned him to death with stones; as Jehovah commanded Moses.

Tassels on Garments

³⁷ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁸ “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the edges of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each edge a cord of blue. ³⁹ And it shall be to you for a tassel, that you may look on it, and remember all the commandments of Jehovah, and do them; and that you do not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you use to play the prostitute, ⁴⁰ So that you may remember and do all my commandments and be holy to your God. ⁴¹ I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am Jehovah your God.”

CHAPTER 16

Rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram

16 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 men. ² And they rose up before Moses, with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty chieftains of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown; ³ And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and Jehovah is among them: why then do you lift yourselves up above the assembly of Jehovah?”

⁴ And when Moses heard it, he fell on his face, ⁵ and he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, “In the morning Jehovah will show who are his,[84] and who is holy, and will bring him near to him, even him whom he shall choose he will bring near to him. ⁶ Do this: take for yourselves fire holders, Korah and all of your company; ⁷ and put fire in them, and put incense upon them before Jehovah tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom Jehovah does choose, he shall be holy. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!”

⁸ And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: ⁹ It seems but a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of Jehovah, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; ¹⁰ and that he has brought you near, and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? ¹¹ Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against Jehovah: and Aaron, what is he that you murmur against him?”

¹² And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, “We will not come up. ¹³ Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must also make yourself a chieftain over us? ¹⁴ Moreover you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: will you put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up!”

¹⁵ And Moses was very angry, and said to Jehovah, “Do not respect their offering: I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them.” 

¹⁶ And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company be before Jehovah, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. ¹⁷ And take each man his fire holder, and put incense on it, and you shall bring before Jehovah every man his fire holder, two hundred and fifty fire holders; you also, and Aaron, each his fire holder.” ¹⁸ And they took every man his fire holder, and put fire in them, and laid incense on them, and stood at the door of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ And Korah assembled all the congregation against them to the door of the tent of meeting: and the glory of Jehovah appeared to all the congregation.

Judgment on the Rebels

²⁰ And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²¹ “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” ²² And they fell on their faces, and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?”

²³ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the congregation, saying, “Get away from the dwelling[85] of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

²⁵ And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶ And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you are consumed in all their sins.” ²⁷ So they go away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little ones. 

²⁸ And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that Jehovah has sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of my own heart.[86] ²⁹ If these people die a natural death as all men do and if their natural fate is the same as that of all mankind, then Jehovah has not sent me. ³⁰ But if Jehovah does something new with them and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up and everything that belongs to them and they go down alive into the Sheol,[87] then you shall know that these men have despised Jehovah.”

³¹ And it came about that as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them began to be split apart. ³² and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that belonged to Korah, and all their goods.[88] ³³ So they, and all that belonged to them, went down alive into Sheol: and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. ³⁴ And all Israel that who were around them fled at their voice, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up.” ³⁵ And fire came out from Jehovah and devoured the two hundred and fifty men who offered the incense.

³⁶ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷ “Say to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to lift up the fire holders from the midst of the burning and scatter the fire away, for they are holy. ³⁸ As for the fire holders of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before Jehovah, and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the sons of Israel.” ³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the copper fire holders, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar, ⁴⁰ to be a reminder to the sons of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the offspring of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before Jehovah, lest he become like Korah and his company, as Jehovah had spoken to him through Moses.

Murmuring and Plague

⁴¹ But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have put the people of Jehovah to death.” ⁴² And it came to pass, when the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting: and look, the cloud covered it, and the glory of Jehovah appeared. 

⁴³ And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting. ⁴⁴ And Jehovah spoke to Moses,[89] saying, ⁴⁵ “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. ⁴⁶ And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from Jehovah; the plague has begun.” ⁴⁷ So Aaron took it as Moses had spoken and ran into the midst of the assembly. And look, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. ⁴⁹ Now those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died for the matter of Korah. ⁵⁰ And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

CHAPTER 17

Aaron’s Rod Buds

17 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, and take a rod from each of them, one for each fathers’ house, of all their chieftains according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods: write each man’s name on his rod, ³ and you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi; for there shall be one rod for each head of their fathers’ houses. ⁴ And you shall place them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵ And it shall come about, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the sons of Israel, which they murmur against you.” ⁶ And Moses spoke to the sons of Israel; and all their chieftains gave him rods, for each chieftain one, according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. ⁷ And Moses placed the rods before Jehovah in the tent of the testimony.

⁸ And it came about on the next day, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and look, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted, and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds. ⁹ And Moses brought out all the rods from before Jehovah to all the sons of Israel: and they looked and took each man his rod. ¹⁰ And Jehovah said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign against the sons of rebellion; that you may make an end of their murmurings against me, that they do not die.” ¹¹ Thus Moses did as Jehovah commanded him, so he did.

¹² And the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “look, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. ¹³ Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of Jehovah, shall die. Shall we all perish?”

CHAPTER 18

Duties of Priests and Levites

18 So Jehovah said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your fathers’ house with you shall bear the error of the sanctuary; and you and your sons with you shall bear the error of your priesthood. ² And your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, you bring near with you, that they may be joined to you, and minister to you: but you and your sons with you shall be before the tent of the testimony. ³ And they shall keep your obligation, and the obligation of all the tent: only they shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary and to the altar, that they do not die, neither they, nor you. ⁴ And they shall be joined to you, and keep the obligation of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent: and a stranger shall not come near you. ⁵ And you shall keep the obligation of the sanctuary, and the obligation of the altar; that there be no more wrath on the sons of Israel. ⁶ And I, look, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the sons of Israel: to you they are a gift, given to Jehovah, to do the service of the tent of meeting. ⁷ And you and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood for everything concerning the altar, and for that within the curtain; and you men shall serve: I give the service of the priesthood as a gift to you: and the stranger that comes near shall be put to death.”

The Priests’ Portion to Give and Receive

⁸ And Jehovah spoke to Aaron, “And I, look, I have given you the obligation of my contributions, even all the holy things of the sons of Israel; to you I have given them for the anointing, and to your sons, as a permanent statute. ⁹ This shall be yours from the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, even every grain offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every guilt offering of theirs, which they shall render to me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons. ¹⁰ As the most holy things you shall eat; every male shall eat: it shall be holy to you. ¹¹ And this 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 to your daughters with you, as a permanent statute; every one that is clean in your house shall eat it. 

¹² All the best of the oil and all the best of the new wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to Jehovah, I give them to you. ¹³ The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to Jehovah, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat it. 

¹⁴ Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 

¹⁵ Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to Jehovah, shall be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. ¹⁶ As to their redemption price at a month old you shall redeem them you shall fix at five shekels[90] in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.[91] ¹⁷ But the firstborn of a cow, 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 burn their fat as an offering made by fire, with a restful aroma[92] to Jehovah. ¹⁸ But their flesh shall be yours, like the breast of a wave offering and like the right thigh, it shall be yours. ¹⁹ All the offerings of the holy things, which the sons of Israel offer to Jehovah, I have given you, and your sons and your daughters with you, as a permanent statute: it is a covenant of salt forever before Jehovah to you and to your offspring with you.” 

²⁰ And Jehovah said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel.

²¹ “To the sons of Levi, look, every tenth part[93] in Israel as an inheritance in return for the service they are carrying out, 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 error; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance. ²⁴ For the tenth part of the sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to Jehovah, 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 Jehovah 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 Jehovah, a tenth part of the tenth part. ²⁷ Your offering shall be reckoned to you as the grain from the threshing floor or the full produce from the winepress. ²⁸ So you shall also present an offering to Jehovah from your tenth parts, which you receive from the sons of Israel; and from it you shall give Jehovah’s offering to Aaron the priest. ²⁹ Out of all your gifts you shall present every offering due to Jehovah, from all the best of them,[94] its sacred part from them.’ 

³⁰ You shall say to them, ‘When you have offered[95] 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 winepress. ³¹ You may eat it anywhere, you and your household, because it is a wage in return for your service in the tent of meeting. ³² You will bear no sin by reason of it when you have offered[96] the best of it.[97] But you shall not profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, or you will die.’”

CHAPTER 19

Laws for Purification

19 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and unto Aaron, saying, ² “This is the statute of the law which Jehovah has commanded, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which never came yoke. ³ And you shall give her to Eleazar the priest, and he shall bring her forth outside the camp, and he shall slaughter[98] it before his face. ⁴ And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. ⁵ And the heifer shall be burned[99] in his sight. Its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned.[100] ⁶ And the priest shall take cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn and throw them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. ⁷ Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his body in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the evening. ⁸ The one who burns the heifer shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water and shall be unclean until the evening. ⁹ And a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place. And they shall be kept for the water for impurity for the congregation of the sons of Israel; it is a sin offering. ¹⁰ And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And this shall be a perpetual statute for the sons of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them.

¹¹ “He who touches the dead body of a soul[101] of a man shall be unclean seven days. ¹² He shall purify himself on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he does not purify himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. ¹³ Whoever touches a dead body, the soul[102] of a man who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of Jehovah; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water for impurity was not sprinkled 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 seven days. ¹⁵ And every open vessel that has no covering bound on it,[103] is unclean. ¹⁶ And whoever in the open field touches one who is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. ¹⁷ And for the unclean they shall take some of the ashes of the burning of the sin-offering; and running water shall be put in a vessel. ¹⁸ And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, and on all the vessels, and on the persons that were there, and on him who touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave. ¹⁹ And 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; and he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at evening.

²⁰ “But the man who shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of Jehovah: the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. ²¹ And it shall be a perpetual statute to them: and he who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he that touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening. ²² And whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the soul who touches it shall be unclean until evening.”

CHAPTER 20

Miriam Dies at Kadesh

20 And the sons of Israel, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month: and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.

Moses Strikes the Rock and Sins

² And there was no water for the congregation: and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. ³ And the people quarreled with Moses, and spoke, saying, “If only we had died when our brothers died before Jehovah! ⁴ Why have you brought the assembly of Jehovah into this wilderness, that we should die here, we and our livestock? ⁵ And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” ⁶ Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of Jehovah appeared to them, ⁷ and Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ⁸ “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may give forth its water. You shall bring forth water out of the rock for them; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink.” ⁹ And Moses took the rod from before Jehovah, as he 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 Jehovah 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 These are the waters of Meribah;[104] because the sons of Israel quarreled with Jehovah, and he was sanctified among them.

Edom Refuses to Give Israel Passage

¹⁴ Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that has befallen us: ¹⁵ how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt many days.[105] And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. ¹⁶ And when we cried to Jehovah, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and brought us forth out of Egypt: and look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink water from the wells. We will go along the king’s highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed through your territory.” ¹⁸ But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” ¹⁹ And the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay its price. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” ²⁰ But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against him with many people and with a strong hand. ²¹ Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him.

The Death of Aaron

²² And they journeyed from Kadesh, and the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor. ²³ And Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, saying, ²⁴ “Aaron shall be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵ Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up unto Mount Hor. ²⁶ And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered to his people and shall die there.” ²⁷ And Moses did as Jehovah commanded: and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. ²⁸ And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹ And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.

CHAPTER 21

King of Arad Defeated

21 When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelled in the Negev,[106] heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. ² And Israel made a vow to Jehovah, and said, “If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.” ³ And Jehovah listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites; and they devoted them and their cities to destruction: and the name of the place was called Hormah.[107]

Copper Serpent

⁴ And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way to the Sea of Reeds,^[108] to go around the land of Edom: and the soul of the people became impatient on the way. ⁵ And the people spoke against God, and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” ⁶ And Jehovah sent fiery serpents[109] among the people, and they bit the people; and many sons of Israel died. ⁷ And the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against Jehovah, and against you; pray to Jehovah, that he takes away the serpents from us.” And Moses prayed for the people. ⁸ And Jehovah said to Moses, “Make for yourself a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole: and it shall come about, that every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” ⁹ And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the pole; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

Israel’s March Around Moab

¹⁰ And the sons of Israel set out and camped in Oboth. ¹¹ And they set out from Oboth, and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness, which is before Moab, toward the sunrising. ¹² From there they set out and camped in the valley of Zered. ¹³ From there they set out, 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 Jehovah, Waheb in Suphah,[110] and the valleys of the Arnon,[111] ¹⁵ And the mouth[112] of the valleys that extends toward the dwelling of Ar and leans to the border of Moab.”

¹⁶ And from there they journeyed to Beer: that is the well where Jehovah said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”

¹⁷ Then Israel sang this song:

“Spring up, O well! Sing to it!
¹⁸ “The well that the princes made, that the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs.”

And from the wilderness they continued on to Mattanah, ¹⁹ and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰ and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which overlooks the face of Jeshimon.[113]

Amorite King Sihon Defeated

²¹ Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, ²² “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard; we will not drink the water of the wells. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” ²³ But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. ²⁴ And Israel defeated 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 Jazer.[114] ²⁵ And Israel took all these cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. ²⁶ For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. ²⁷ For that reason those who use proverbs say,

“Come to Heshbon, let it be built;
    let the city of Sihon be established.
²⁸ For a fire came out from Heshbon,
    a flame from the city of Sihon.
It devoured Ar of Moab,[115]
    the lords of the high places of the Arnon.
²⁹ Woe to you, O Moab!
    You are undone, O people of Chemosh!
He has given his sons as fugitives,
    and his daughters into captivity,
    to an Amorite king, Sihon.
³⁰ So we have shot at them;
    Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon;
    and we laid waste as far as Nophah;
    fire spread as far as Medeba.”[116]

Amorite King Og Defeated

³¹ Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. ³² And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. ³³ And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. ³⁴ And Jehovah said to Moses, “Do not fear him: for I have delivered 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 dwelt at Heshbon.” ³⁵ So they went striking him and his sons and all his people, until there was no survivor remaining to him; and they went taking possession of his land.

CHAPTER 22

Balak Hires Balaam

22 And the sons of Israel journeyed, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. ² And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³ And Moab was very afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was sick with fear because of the sons of Israel. ⁴ And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now will this multitude[117] lick up all that is round about 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 And he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the river,[118] to the land of the sons of his people,[119] to call him, saying, “look, a people has come out of Egypt; look, they cover the face of the earth,[120] and they are dwelling opposite me. ⁶ Come now please, curse this people for me; for they are too mighty for me; perhaps I shall prevail, that we may strike them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

⁷ And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees of divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. ⁸ And he said to them, “Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as Jehovah shall speak to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. ⁹ And God came to Balaam, and said, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰ And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying,[121] ¹¹ ‘Look, the people that has come out of Egypt, they cover the face[122] of the earth.[123] Now, come curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to fight against them, and shall drive them out.’ ¹² And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.” ¹³ And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land; for Jehovah has refused to allow me to go with you.” ¹⁴ And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

¹⁵ Once again Balak sent princes, more, and more honorable than the former. ¹⁶ And they came to Balaam, and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, ‘Let nothing, please, hinder you from coming to me, ¹⁷ for I will surely honor you greatly, and whatever you say to me I will do: come therefore, please, curse this people for me.’” ¹⁸ And Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of Jehovah my God, to do less or more. ¹⁹ Now therefore, please, you also stay here this night, that I may know what more Jehovah will speak to me.” ²⁰ And God[124] came to Balaam at night, and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak to you, that shall you do.” ²¹ So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

Balaam’s Donkey Speaks

²² And the anger of God[125] burned[126] because he went; and the angel of Jehovah placed himself in the road as an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his donkey and his two servants were with him. ²³ And the donkey saw the angel of Jehovah standing in the road, with his sword drawn in his hand; and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. ²⁴ Then the angel of Jehovah stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. ²⁵ And the donkey saw the angel of Jehovah, and she thrust herself against the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall: and he struck her again. ²⁶ And the angel of Jehovah went further, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. ²⁷ And the donkey saw the angel of Jehovah, and she lay down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his rod. ²⁸ Then Jehovah 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 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a mockery of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for now I would have killed you.” ³⁰ And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Have I ever treated you this way before?” And he said, “No.”

³¹ Then Jehovah opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of Jehovah standing in the road, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head and fell on his face. ³² And the angel of Jehovah said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Look, I have come forth as an adversary, because your way is perverse[127] before me. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not[128] turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let her live.” ³⁴ Balaam said to the angel of Jehovah, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the road against me. Now, therefore, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back.” ³⁵ And the angel of Jehovah said to Balaam, “Go with the men; but only the word that I shall speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

³⁶ And when Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the City of Moab, which is on the border of the Arnon, which is at the outermost part of the territory. ³⁷ And Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not urgently send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I really not able to honor you?” ³⁸ Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come now to you! Have I now any power at all to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I shall speak.” ³⁹ Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰ And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep and sent for Balaam and for the princes who were with him.

⁴¹ And it came about in the morning, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up to the high places of Baal; and he saw from there the outermost part of the people.

CHAPTER 23

The First Proverbial Advice of Balaam

23 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ² And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on each altar[129] a bull and a ram. ³ And Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps Jehovah will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height, ⁴ and God met Balaam. And Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” ⁵ And Jehovah[130] put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak. ⁶ And he returned to him, and look, he was standing by his burnt offering, he, and all the princes of Moab. ⁷ And Balaam took up his proverbial advice, and said,

“From Aram[131] Balak has brought me,
    the king of Moab 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?
    How can I denounce whom Jehovah has not denounced?
⁹ For from the top of the crags I see him,
    from the hills I behold him;
look, a people dwelling alone,
    and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
¹⁰ Who can count the dust of Jacob
    or number the fourth part[^a] of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright,
    and let my end be like his!”[132]

¹¹ And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless them.” ¹² He replied, “Must I not be careful to speak what Jehovah puts in my mouth?”

The Second Proverbial Advice of Balaam

¹³ And Balak said to him, “Come, please, with me to another place, from where you may see them; you shall see only the outermost part of them, and shalt not see them all. Then curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴ And 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 by your burnt offering, while I meet Jehovah over there.” ¹⁶ And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” ¹⁷ And he came to him, and look, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has Jehovah spoken?” ¹⁸ And Balaam took up his proverbial advice, and said,

“Rise, Balak, and hear;
    give ear to me, O son of Zippor:
¹⁹ God is not man, that he should lie,
    Nor a son of man, that he should repent.[133]
Has he said, and will he not do it?
    Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?
²⁰ Look, I have taken the command[134] to bless:
    he has blessed,[135] and I cannot revoke it.
²¹ He has not looked on evil against Jacob,
    nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
Jehovah their God is with them,
    and the shout of a king is among them.
²² God brings them[136] out of Egypt
    and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.[137]
²³ For there is no enchantment against Jacob,
    no divination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
    ‘What has God done!’
²⁴ Look, the rise up like a lioness
    and like a lion it raises itself;
it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey
    and drunk the blood of the slain.”

²⁵ And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.” ²⁶ But Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that Jehovah says, that I must do’?”

²⁷ And Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” ²⁸ So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which looks down on the face of the Jeshimon.[138] ²⁹ And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ³⁰ And Balak did as Balaam had said and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.

CHAPTER 24

The Third Proverbial Advice of Balaam

24 And when Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of Jehovah to bless Israel, he did not go, as at the other times, to search for omens, but he set his face toward the wilderness. ² And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. ³ He then he took up his proverbial advice, and said,

“The saying of Balaam the son of Beor,
    the saying of the man whose eye is opened,[139]
⁴ the saying of him who hears the words of God,
    who sees the vision of the Almighty,
    falling down with his eyes uncovered:
⁵ How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,
    your dwellings, O Israel!
⁶ Like valleys that stretch afar,
    like gardens[140] beside a river,
like aloes[141] that Jehovah has planted,
    like cedar trees beside the waters.
⁷ Water shall flow from his buckets,[142]
    and his seed shall be in many waters;
his king shall be higher than Agag,[143]
    and his kingdom shall be exalted.
⁸ God brings him out of Egypt
    and is for him like the horns of the wild ox;[144]
he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries,
    and shall break their bones in pieces
    and pierce them through with his arrows.[145]
⁹ He crouched, he lay down like a lion
    and like a lioness; who shall rouse him up?
Blessed is everyone who blesses you,
    and cursed is everyone who curses you.”

¹⁰ And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them these three times. ¹¹ Therefore now flee you to your place: I said I would honor you greatly; but, look, Jehovah has kept you back from honor.” ¹² And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, ¹³ ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of Jehovah, to do either good or bad from my heart. What Jehovah speaks, that will I speak’? ¹⁴ And now, look, I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the end of the days.”

The Fourth and final Proverbial Advice of Balaam

¹⁵ And he took up his proverbial advice, and said,

“The saying of Balaam the son of Beor,
    the saying of the man whose eye is opened,
¹⁶ the saying of him who hears the words of God,
    and knows the knowledge of the Most High,
who sees the vision of the Almighty,
    falling down with his eyes uncovered:
¹⁷ I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near:
a star[146] shall step forth[147] out of Jacob,
    and a scepter[148] shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the forehead of Moab
    and break down[149] all the sons of Sheth.[150]
¹⁸ Edom shall be a possession;
    Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession,
    While Israel is doing valiantly.
¹⁹ And out of Jacob shall one have dominion[151]
    and shall destroy the survivors of city.”

²⁰ Then he looked on Amalek and took up his proverbial advice, and said,

“Amalek was the first among the nations,
    but its end is utter destruction.”

²¹ And he looked on the Kenite, and he took up his proverbial advice, and said,

“Enduring is your dwelling place,
    and your nest is set in the rock.
²² Nevertheless, Kain shall be burned
    how long until Asshur shall carry you away captive?”

²³ And he took up his proverbial advice, and said,

“Alas, who shall live when God does this?
²⁴ But ships shall come from Kittim
and they shall afflict Asshur and Eber;[152]
    and he too shall come to destruction.”

²⁵ And Balaam rose up and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way.

CHAPTER 25

Israel’s Sin with Moabite Women

25 While Israel dwelt in Shittim, the people began to prostitute[153] themselves with the daughters of Moab. ² For they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods; and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³ And Israel[154] yoked himself[155] to Baal of Peor: and the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel. ⁴ And Jehovah said to Moses, “Take all the heads of the people, and impale them with legs and arms broken[156] in the sun before Jehovah, so that the fierce anger of Jehovah may turn away from Israel.” ⁵ And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”

⁶ And look, one of the sons of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his brothers, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁷ And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand; ⁸ and he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her stomach.[157] So the plague was stopped on the sons of Israel. ⁹ And those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

The Zeal of Phinehas

¹⁰ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the sons of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the sons of Israel in my jealousy. ¹² Therefore say, ‘Look, I give to him my covenant of peace, ¹³ and it shall be to him, and to his offspring after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.’”

¹⁴ Now the name of the man of Israel that was slain, who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a chieftain of a fathers’ house among the Simeonites. ¹⁵ And the name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head of the people of a father’s house in Midian.

¹⁶ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “Harass the Midianites and strike them down, ¹⁸ for they harassed you with their wiles, with which they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.”

CHAPTER 26

Second Census of the Tribes of Israel

26 And it came about after the plague, that Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, ² “Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel.” ³ And 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 Jehovah commanded Moses and the sons of Israel, that came forth out of the land of Egypt.

⁵ Reuben, the first-born of Israel; 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 they that were numbered of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty. ⁸ And the sons[158] of Pallu: Eliab. ⁹ And the sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, chosen from the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against Jehovah, ¹⁰ and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men,[159] and they became a warning. ¹¹ The sons of Korah, however, did not die.

¹² The sons of Simeon according to their families: of Nemuel,[160] the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites; ¹³ of Zerah,[161] the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. ¹⁴ These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty-two thousand two hundred.

¹⁵ The sons of Gad according to their families: of Zephon,[162] the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites; ¹⁶ of Ozni,[163] the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites; ¹⁷ of Arod,[164] 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 that were numbered of them, forty thousand five hundred.

¹⁹ The sons of Judah: Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ And 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 And 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 that were numbered of them, seventy-six thousand five hundred.

²³ The sons of Issachar according to their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the family of the Punites;[165] ²⁴ of Jashub,[166] the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. ²⁵ These are the families of Issachar according to those that were numbered of them, sixty-four thousand three hundred.

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 that were numbered of them, sixty thousand five hundred.

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 begat Gilead: of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. ³⁰ These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, 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 And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ³⁴ These are the families of Manasseh; and they that were numbered of them were fifty-two thousand seven hundred.

³⁵ These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. ³⁶ And 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 that were numbered of them, thirty-two thousand five hundred. These are the sons of Joseph after 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 Ahiram,[167] the family of the Ahiramites; ³⁹ of Shephupham,[168] the family of the Shuphamites; of Hupham,[169] the family of the Huphamites. ⁴⁰ And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard,[170] the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. ⁴¹ These are the sons of Benjamin after their families; and they that were numbered of them were forty-five thousand six hundred.

⁴² These are the sons of Dan according to their families: of Shuham,[171] the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan after their families. ⁴³ All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those that were numbered of them, were sixty-four thousand four hundred.

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 Berites. ⁴⁵ Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. ⁴⁶ And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. ⁴⁷ These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those that were numbered of them, fifty-three thousand four hundred.

⁴⁸ The sons of Naphtali after 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 they that were numbered of them were forty-five thousand four hundred.

⁵¹ These are they that were numbered of the sons of Israel, six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty.

⁵² And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵³ “Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. ⁵⁴ According to the larger group you should increase one’s inheritance, and according to the smaller group you should reduce one’s inheritance. Each one’s inheritance should be given in proportion to his numbered ones. ⁵⁵ But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. ⁵⁶ Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller.”

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:[172] 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. And Kohath became father to Amram. ⁵⁹ And the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi[173] in Egypt: and she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. ⁶⁰ And to Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ⁶¹ And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before Jehovah. ⁶² And they who were numbered of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the sons of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the sons of Israel.

⁶³ These are the ones 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 them that were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. ⁶⁵ For Jehovah had said of them, “They shall surely die in the wilderness.” And there was not left a man of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

CHAPTER 27

Daughters of Zelophehad

27 Then drew near 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; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. ² And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the tent of meeting, saying, ³ “Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against Jehovah 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 taken away from among his family, because he had no son? Give to us a possession among the brothers of our father.” 

⁵ And Moses brought their case before Jehovah. ⁶ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ⁷ “The daughters of Zelophehad are right: you shall give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers; and you shall transfer the inheritance of their father to pass to them. ⁸ And 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 And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ¹¹ And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his family, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the sons of Israel a statute and rule, as Jehovah commanded Moses.’”

Joshua Appointed to Succeed Moses

¹² Jehovah said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the sons of Israel. ¹³ When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was gathered, ¹⁴ because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to sanctify me[174] as holy at the waters before their eyes.” These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. ¹⁵ And Moses spoke to Jehovah, saying, ¹⁶ “Let Jehovah, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, ¹⁷ who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of Jehovah may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” ¹⁸ So Jehovah said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand upon him. ¹⁹ and stand him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a commission in their sight. ²⁰ And you shall put of your authority on him, so that all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey. ²¹ And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before Jehovah. At his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation.” ²² And Moses did as Jehovah commanded him; and he took Joshua, and stood him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation, ²³ and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as Jehovah spoke through Moses.

CHAPTER 28

Laws for Various Offerings

28 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘My offering, my food for my offerings made by fire, a restful aroma[175] to me, shall you observe to offer to me at its appointed time.’[176] ³ And you shall say to them, This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to Jehovah: two male lambs a year old without blemish, day by day, as a continual burnt offering. ⁴ The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer between the two evenings;[177] ⁵ also a tenth of an ephah[178] of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin[179] of beaten oil. ⁶ It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai as a restful aroma,[180] an offering by fire to Jehovah. ⁷ And the drink offering shall be the fourth part of a hin for the one lamb. In the holy place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to Jehovah. ⁸ And the other lamb you shall offer between the two evenings;^[181] as the grain offering of the morning, and as the drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering made by fire, of a restful aroma[182] to Jehovah.

Sabbath Offerings

⁹ “And on the Sabbath day two male lambs a year old without blemish, and two tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, and the drink offering: ¹⁰ this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath,[183] besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

Monthly Offerings

¹¹ “At the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt offering to Jehovah: two bulls from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish; ¹² and three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for each bull, and two tenths of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram; ¹³ and a tenth of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for every lamb; for a burnt offering with a restful aroma,[184] a food offering to Jehovah. ¹⁴ Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, a third of a hin for a ram, and a quarter of a hin for the male lamb.[185] This is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year. ¹⁵ And one male goat for a sin offering to Jehovah; it shall be offered besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

Passover Offerings

¹⁶ “And in the fourteenth day of the first month is Jehovah’s Passover, ¹⁷ And on the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. ¹⁸ On the first day there shall be a holy assembly. You shall not do any laborious work, ¹⁹ but you shall offer an offering made by fire, a burnt offering to Jehovah: two young bulls, and one ram, and seven male lambs a year old; they shall be without blemish for you; ²⁰ and their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths of an ephah shall you offer for a bull, and two tenths for a ram; ²¹ a tenth shall you offer for each of the seven lambs; ²² and one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you. ²³ You shall offer these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. ²⁴ In the manner you shall offer daily, for seven days, the food of the offering made by fire, of a restful aroma[186] to Jehovah: it shall be offered with the continual burnt offering, and the drink offering. ²⁵ And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work.

Offerings for the Feast of Weeks

²⁶ “And on the day of the firstfruits, when you offer a grain offering of new grain to Jehovah at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy assembly. You shall not do any laborious work, ²⁷ but you shall offer a burnt offering, with a restful aroma[187] to Jehovah: two bulls from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old; ²⁸ and their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for each bull, two tenths for one ram, ²⁹ a tenth for each of the seven lambs; ³⁰ and one male goat to make atonement for you. ³¹ Besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, you shall offer them without blemish for you, with their drink offerings.

CHAPTER 29

Offerings for the Feast of Trumpets

29 “And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy assembly; you shall do no laborious work: it is for you a day to blow the trumpets. ² And you shall offer a burnt offering for a restful aroma[188] to Jehovah: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish; ³ also their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for the bull, two tenths for the ram, ⁴ and one tenth for each male lamb of the seven male lambs; ⁵ with 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 offering, according to their ordinance for them, for a restful aroma,[189] an offering made by fire to Jehovah.

Offerings for the Day of Atonement

⁷ “And on the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy assembly; and you shall afflict your souls.[190] you shall not do any work, ⁸ but you shall offer a burnt offering to Jehovah, a restful aroma:[191] one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old: they shall be without blemish. ⁹ And their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for the bull, two tenths for the one ram, ¹⁰ a tenth for each male lamb of the seven male 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.

Offerings for the Feast of Booths

¹² “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy assembly. You shall not do any laborious work, and you shall keep a feast to Jehovah seven days. ¹³ And you shall offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a restful aroma[192] to Jehovah; thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old; they shall be without blemish; ¹⁴ and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two tenths for each of the two rams, ¹⁵ and a tenth for each male lamb of the fourteen male lambs;[193] ¹⁶ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.

¹⁷ “On the second day twelve bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, 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 regulation; ¹⁹ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

²⁰ “On the third day eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, 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 regulation; ²² and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

²³ “On the fourth day ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ²⁴ with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number according to the regulation; ²⁵ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.

²⁶ “On the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ²⁷ with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number according to the regulation; ²⁸ and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

²⁹ “On the sixth day eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ³⁰ and their grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number according to the regulation; ³¹ and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offerings.

³² “On the seventh day seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ³³ and their grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number according to the regulation; 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 offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a restful aroma[194] to Jehovah: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish; ³⁷ their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, by their number according to the regulation; ³⁸ and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

³⁹ “These you shall offer to Jehovah at your appointed feasts, besides your vow offerings and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your grain offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings.”[195]

⁴⁰ Moses spoke to the sons of Israel in accordance with all that Jehovah had commanded Moses.

CHAPTER 30

The Vows of Men

30 Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which Jehovah has commanded. ² If a man vows a vow to Jehovah or swears an oath to bind an obligation upon his soul, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

The Vows of Women and Daughters

³ “If a woman vows a vow to Jehovah and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth, ⁴ and her father hears of her vow and of her obligation by which she has bound her soul and her father says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she has bound her soul shall stand. ⁵ But if her father has disallowed her in the day that he hears, none of her vows, or her obligations which she has bound her soul, shall stand: and Jehovah will forgive her, because her father disallowed her.

⁶ “And if she is married to a husband, while her vows are on her, or the rash utterance of her lips, by which she has bound her soul, ⁷ and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears it,[196] then her vows shall stand and her obligations by which she has bound her soul shall stand. ⁸ But if on the day her husband hears of it, he forbids her, then he shall make void her vow that is on her and the rash utterance of her lips by which she has bound her soul; and Jehovah will forgive her. ⁹ But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound her soul, shall stand against her. ¹⁰ And if she vowed in her husband’s house or bound her soul by an obligation with an oath, ¹¹ and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not forbid her,[197] then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she bound her soul shall stand. ¹² But if her husband made them null and void in the day that he heard them, then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the obligation of her soul, shall not stand: her husband has made them void; and Jehovah will forgive her. ¹³ Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. ¹⁴ But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her obligations which are on her; he has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard them. ¹⁵ But if he shall make them null and void after that he has heard them, then he shall bear her[198] error.”

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

CHAPTER 31

Vengeance on Midian

31 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Avenge the sons of Israel of the Midianites: afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” ³ And Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm your men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute Jehovah’s vengeance on Midian. ⁴ A thousand from each tribe of every tribe of Israel you will send to war.” ⁵ So they were assigned from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. ⁶ And Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war,[199] them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. ⁷ And they warred against Midian, as Jehovah commanded Moses; and they killed every male. ⁸ And they killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they killed with the sword. ⁹ And the sons of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took as plunder. ¹⁰ And all their cities in the places where they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burned with fire. ¹¹ And they took all the spoil, and all the plunder, both of man and of beast. ¹² And they brought the captives, and the plunder, and the spoil, to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation[200] of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are near the Jordan at Jericho.

Instruction for Spoils of War

¹³ And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went out to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴ And Moses was furious with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who came from the service in the war. ¹⁵ And Moses says to them, “Have you let all of the women live? ¹⁶ Look, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against Jehovah in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of Jehovah. ¹⁷ Now therefore kill every male among the little ones and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.[201] ¹⁸ But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves. ¹⁹ Encamp outside the camp seven days. Whoever of you has killed any soul and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. ²⁰ And you yourselves shall purify every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.”

²¹ And Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, “This is the statute of the law which Jehovah has commanded Moses: ²² only the gold, the silver, the copper, the iron, the tin, and the lead, ²³ everything that can come into the fire,[202] you shall pass through the fire, and it will be clean, only it shall be purified with water for impurity. But whatever cannot come into the fire you shall pass through the water. ²⁴ And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. And afterward you may come into the camp.”

Division of the Booty

²⁵ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ “Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation, ²⁷ and divide the prey into two parts: between the men skilled in war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. ²⁸ Levy a tax for Jehovah from the men of war who went out to battle, one soul from five hundred of the persons and of the cattle and of the donkeys and of the sheep; ²⁹ from their half you[203] shall take and give it to Eleazar the priest, as an offering to Jehovah. ³⁰ From the sons of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty,[204] of mankind, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep the charge of the tabernacle of Jehovah.” ³¹ And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as Jehovah commanded Moses.

³² Now the plunder, over and above the spoil which the men of war took, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, ³³ and seventy-two thousand cattle, ³⁴ and sixty-one thousand male donkeys, ³⁵ As for human souls from the women who had not known man by lying with him,[205] all the souls were thirty-two thousand. ³⁶ And the half that was the share of those who went out to war numbered three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred of the flock, ³⁷ and the tribute to Jehovah from the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five. ³⁸ And the cattle were thirty-six thousand; from which the tribute to Jehovah was seventy-two. ³⁹ And the donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred; from which Jehovah’s tribute was sixty-one. ⁴⁰ And the human souls were sixteen thousand, from which the tribute to Jehovah was thirty-two souls. ⁴¹ And Moses gave the tribute, which was the contribution for Jehovah, to Eleazar the priest, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

⁴² And of the sons of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who warred, ⁴³ now the congregation’s half was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred of the sheep, ⁴⁴ and thirty-six thousand cattle, ⁴⁵ and thirty thousand five hundred male donkeys, ⁴⁶ and sixteen thousand souls. ⁴⁷ From the sons of Israel’s half, Moses took one out of every fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them to the Levites, who had the responsibility of the tabernacle of Jehovah, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

⁴⁸ Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses, ⁴⁹ and they said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not missing from us a man. ⁵⁰ And we have brought Jehovah’s offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and female ornaments, to make atonement for our souls before Jehovah.” ⁵¹ And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all crafted jewels. ⁵² All the gold of the offering which they offered up to Jehovah, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. ⁵³ The men of war had taken plunder, every man for himself. ⁵⁴ So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it to the tent of meeting as a memorial for the sons of Israel before Jehovah.

CHAPTER 32

Reuben and Gad Settle in Gilead

32 Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, look, the place was a place for livestock. ² So the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chieftains of the congregation, ³ “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam,[206] Nebo, and Beon, ⁴ the land that Jehovah struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” ⁵ And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for 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 Why should you discourage the heart of the sons of Israel from going over into the land that Jehovah has given them? ⁸ This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. ⁹ For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the sons of Israel that they should not go into the land which Jehovah had given them. ¹⁰ And Jehovah’s anger was kindled in that day, and he swore, saying, ¹¹ ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore[207] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me, ¹² none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed Jehovah.’ ¹³ And Jehovah’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander to and fro in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the eyes of Jehovah, was destroyed. ¹⁴ And look, you have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more[208] the fierce anger of Jehovah against Israel! ¹⁵ For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.”

¹⁶ Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, ¹⁷ but we ourselves will take up arms, ready to go before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place, and our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁸ We will not return to our homes until each of the sons of Israel has gained his inheritance. ¹⁹ But we will not have an inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan toward the east.” ²⁰ So Moses said to them, “If you will do this thing, if you will take up arms to go before Jehovah for the war, ²¹ and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before Jehovah, until he has driven out his enemies from before him, ²² and the land is subdued before Jehovah; then afterward you shall return and be free of obligation toward Jehovah and toward Israel, and this land shall be your possession before Jehovah. ²³ But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against Jehovah, and be sure your sin will find you out. ²⁴ Build for yourselves cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep and do what 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 shall remain there in the cities of Gilead, ²⁷ but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before Jehovah to battle, 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 And Moses said to them, “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before Jehovah, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. ³⁰ But if they will not pass over with you armed,[209] they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” ³¹ And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, saying, “As Jehovah has said to your servants, so will we do. ³² We will pass over armed before Jehovah into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us[210] beyond the Jordan.”

³³ And Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land and its cities with their territories, the cities of the surrounding land.[211] 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, 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 were changed), and Sibmah, and they gave other names[212] to the cities that they built. ³⁹ And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. ⁴⁰ And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it. ⁴¹ And Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages and called them Havvoth-jair. ⁴² And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages,[213] and called it Nobah, after his own name.

CHAPTER 33

Stages of Israel’s Wilderness Journey from Egypt to the Jordan

33 These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, when they went forth out of the land of Egypt according to their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. ² And Moses wrote their departure places according to their journeys by the command[214] of Jehovah: and these are their journeys according to their departure places. ³ And they journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the sons of Israel went out with uplifted hand in the sight of all the Egyptians, ⁴ while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom Jehovah had struck down among them: upon their gods also, Jehovah executed judgments.

⁵ Then the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses and camped at Succoth. ⁶ And they journeyed from Succoth, and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. ⁷ And they journeyed from Etham, and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon: and they camped before Migdol. ⁸ And they journeyed from before Pi-hahiroth[215] 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 And they journeyed from Marah and came to Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. ¹⁰ And they journeyed from Elim and camped by the Sea of Reeds.^[216] 11 And they journeyed from the Sea of Reeds^[217] and camped in the wilderness of Sin. ¹² And they journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. ¹³ And they journeyed from Dophkah and camped at Alush. ¹⁴ And they journeyed from Alush, and camped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink. ¹⁵ And they journeyed from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai. ¹⁶ And they journeyed from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah. ¹⁷ And they journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. ¹⁸ They journeyed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. ¹⁹ And they journeyed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. ²⁰ And they journeyed from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah. ²¹ And they journeyed from Libnah and camped at Rissah. ²² And they journeyed from Rissah and camped in Kehelathah. ²³ And they journeyed from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. ²⁴ And they journeyed from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. ²⁵ And they journeyed from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. ²⁶ And they journeyed from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. ²⁷ And they journeyed from Tahath and camped at Terah. ²⁸ And they journeyed from Terah and camped at Mithkah. ²⁹ And they journeyed from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. ³⁰ And they journeyed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. ³¹ And they journeyed from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan. ³² And they journeyed from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad. ³³ And they journeyed from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah. ³⁴ And they journeyed from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. ³⁵ And they journeyed from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber. ³⁶ And they journeyed from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin, that is, Kadesh. ³⁷ And they journeyed from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom.

³⁸ And Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command[218] of Jehovah 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 And Aaron was one hundred twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰ And the Canaanite, the king of Arad who[219] dwelt in the Negev[220] in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the sons of Israel.

⁴¹ And they journeyed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. ⁴² And they journeyed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. ⁴³ And they journeyed from Punon and camped at Oboth. ⁴⁴ And they journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, at the border of Moab. ⁴⁵ And they journeyed from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad. ⁴⁶ And they journeyed from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim. ⁴⁷ And they journeyed from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. ⁴⁸ And they journeyed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.[221] ⁴⁹ They camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

Instructions for Conquering Canaan

⁵⁰ Then Jehovah spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho,[222] saying, ⁵¹ “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ⁵² then you shall drive out all the inhabitants[223] 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 dwell 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 group you shall give more inheritance, and to the smaller group you shall give less inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to any man, that shall be his. According to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit. ⁵⁵ But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land in which you dwell. ⁵⁶ And it shall come to pass, that, as I thought to do to them, so will I do to you.”

CHAPTER 34

Instruction for Apportioning Canaan

34 And Jehovah 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[224] shall fall to you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to its borders), ³ Your southern border shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your south border shall extend from the end of the Salt Sea[225] to the east. ⁴ And your border shall turn southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass along to Zin, and the limits shall be southward of Kadesh-barnea; and it shall continue to Hazar-addar and pass along to Azmon. ⁵ And the border shall turn from Azmon to the Wadi[226] of Egypt, and the limits shall be at the sea.[227]

⁶ “For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea[228] and its coast. This shall be your western border.

⁷ “This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall mark out a line to Mount Hor. ⁸ From Mount Hor you shall mark out the border to Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at Zedad. ⁹ Then the border shall go out to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern border.

¹⁰ “You shall mark out your eastern border 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 shoulder of the Sea of Chinnereth[229] on the east. ¹² And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit 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 shall inherit by lot, which Jehovah has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe. ¹⁴ For the tribe of the sons of Reuben according to their fathers’ houses, and the tribe of the sons of Gad according to their fathers’ houses, have received, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received, their inheritance. ¹⁵ The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan by Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising.”

¹⁶ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land unto you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. ¹⁸ You shall take one chieftain from every tribe to divide 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, Shemuel 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 chieftain, Bukki the son of Jogli. ²³ Of the sons of Joseph: of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh a chieftain, Hanniel the son of Ephod. ²⁴ Of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim a chieftain, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. ²⁵ Of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun a chieftain, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. ²⁶ Of the tribe of the sons of Issachar a chieftain, Paltiel the son of Azzan. ²⁷ Of the tribe of the sons of Asher a chieftain, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. ²⁸ Of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali a chieftain,[230] Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” ²⁹ These are the men whom Jehovah commanded to divide the inheritance for the sons of Israel in the land of Canaan.

CHAPTER 35

Cities for the Levites

35 And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ² “Command the sons of Israel that they give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in; and you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities. ³ The cities shall be theirs to dwell in, and their pasturelands shall be for their cattle and for their livestock and for all their beasts. ⁴ The pasturelands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all around. ⁵ And you shall 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, the city being in the middle. This shall belong to them as pastureland for their cities.

Cities of Refuge

⁶ “The cities that you give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. ⁷ All the cities that you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, together with their pasturelands. ⁸ And as for the cities that you shall give from the possession of the sons of Israel, from the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites.”

⁹ And Jehovah 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, and the manslayer must flee there who fatally strikes a soul unintentionally. ¹² And the cities shall be for you a refuge from the blood avenger,[231] that the manslayer die not, until he stands before the congregation for judgment. ¹³ And the cities that you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge. ¹⁴ You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan,[232] and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. ¹⁵ For the sons of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, these six cities shall be for refuge; that anyone who fatally strikes a soul 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 And 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 avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. ²⁰ And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died, ²¹ or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

²² “But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity or hurled anything on him without lying in wait ²³ or used a stone by which a man may die without seeing him, he dropped it upon him so that he died though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm, ²⁴ then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, according to with these judgments. ²⁵ And the congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall dwell in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. ²⁶ But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled, ²⁷ and the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall 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 And these things shall be for a statutory regulation for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

³⁰ “If anyone fatally strikes a soul, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses. But no soul shall be put to death on the testimony[233] of one witness. ³¹ Moreover, you shall not take ransom for the soul of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. ³² And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest.[234] ³³ So you shall not pollute the land in which you are dwelling,[235] for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. ³⁴ And you shall not defile the land which you dwell, in the midst of which I dwell: for I, Jehovah, dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel.”

CHAPTER 36

Law on Marriage of Female Heirs

36 And the heads of the fathers’ houses 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,[236] and before the chieftains, the heads of the fathers’ houses of the sons of Israel. ² And they said, “Jehovah commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the sons of Israel: and my lord was commanded by Jehovah to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. ³ But if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the sons of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. ⁴ And when the jubilee of the sons of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”

⁵ And Moses commanded the sons of Israel according to the word of Jehovah, saying, “The tribe of the sons of Joseph are right. ⁶ This is what Jehovah commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best, only they shall marry within the family of the tribe of their father. ⁷ Thus no inheritance of the sons of Israel shall be transferred from tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel shall each hold to the inheritance of the tribe of his forefathers. ⁸ And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the sons of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the sons of Israel may possess the inheritance of his forefathers. ⁹ So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another tribe, for each of the tribes of the sons of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance.’

¹⁰ Just as Jehovah commanded Moses so did the daughters of Zelophehad: ¹¹ for Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophedad, were married to their father’s brothers’ sons. ¹² They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

¹³ These are the commandments and the judgment decisions that Jehovah commanded by Moses to the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

[1] MT SP VG “Deuel” LXX “Raguel” SYR “Reuel”

[2] Or leaders

[3] SP LXX VG ten Heb. MSS “Of the sons” MT “The sons”

[4] MT SP “that belongs to it” LXX SYR “which is in it”

[5] MT SYR “Reuel” SP VG 109 Heb. MSS “Deuel” LXX “Raguel” See 1:14 f.n.

[6] That is, whom he ordained

[7] MT “to him” LXX SP some Heb. MSS “to me” This would then be referring to God instead of Aaron.

[8] That is, a man who is not of Aaron’s family

[9] Lit dwelling place, and so throughout this chapter

[10] MT SP SYR VG “Six” some LXX MSS “three” This would give us a total of 22,000 when added to the sums in vss 22 and 34 as is found in vs 39.

[11] That is, a man who is not of Aaron’s family

[12] MT LXX VG “and Aaron” In the MT these words are marked with extraordinary points by the Sopherim. In vs 14, Jehovah commanded Moses to number the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families. However, Aaron also took part in the numbering with Moses. Therefore, some ancient copyists inserted “and Aaron” in the text. Later, scribes were reluctant to remove the words, so they put dots over them, suggesting interpolations (added material) in the original text. SP SYR and 11 Heb. MSS lack “and Aaron.”

[13] That is, make a list of their names

[14] A shekel equaled 11.4 g (0.367 oz t).

[15] A gerah equaled 0.57 g (0.01835 oz t).

[16] AT^J,O LXX SYR VG “Shekels” MT SP lack

[17] MT SP SYR VG “Thirty” LXX “twenty-five” Compare 8:24.

[18] LXX “every one that goes in to minister”

[19] LXX adds: “And they will take a purple cloth and cover the basin and its base, and they will place it into a covering of blue leather, and they will place these on poles.” SP also adds: “And they shall take a purple cloth, and they shall cover the laver and its base, and they shall insert them into the covering of yellow-dyed skin, and they shall put it on the pole.”

[20] Lit At the mouth of Jehovah he numbered them

[21] Lit they

[22] That is, another man has sexual relations with her

[23] That is, since she was not caught in the act

[24] A tenth of an ephah equaled 2.2 L (2 dry qt).

[25] That is, sexual relations with another man other than your husband

[26] That is, the reproductive organs

[27] That is, a loss of fertility

[28] That is, the reproductive organs

[29] That is, a loss of fertility

[30] That is, the reproductive organs

[31] That is, a loss of fertility

[32] Or person

[33] A shekel equaled 11.4 g (0.367 oz t).

[34] MT SP SYR VG “the voice” LXX “the voice of the Lord”

[35] Lit waved; that is, caused to move to and fro

[36] Lit waved; that is, caused to move to and fro

[37] Lit waved; that is, caused to move to and fro

[38] Lit waved; that is, caused to move to and fro

[39] SYR VG “This is the law for the Levites”

[40] MT “a man” LXX SP “they”

[41] MT “he” LXX SP “they”

[42] MT LXX SP “he”

[43] MT LXX SP “he”

[44] The Hebrew rendered “between the two evenings” (Heb. בֵּין הָעֲרְבַּיִם ben hoarbayim) according to some scholars (e.g., Ronald B. Allen, R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke), as well as the Karaite Jews and Samaritans, at twilight, the period of the evening between when the sun sets on the horizon and the actual darkness. The Pharisees and the Rabbis viewed it differently. For them, it was the first evening when the sun began to go down and the sunset of the second evening.

[45] The Hebrew rendered “between the two evenings” (Heb. בֵּין הָעֲרְבַּיִם ben hoarbayim) according to some scholars (e.g., Ronald B. Allen, R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke), as well as the Karaite Jews and Samaritans, at twilight, the period of the evening between when the sun sets on the horizon and the actual darkness. The Pharisees and the Rabbis viewed it differently. For them, it was the first evening when the sun began to go down and the sunset of the second evening.

[46] MT SP LXX^B “him” LXX^A SYR VG “them”

[47] The Hebrew rendered “between the two evenings” (Heb. בֵּין הָעֲרְבַּיִם ben hoarbayim) according to some scholars (e.g., Ronald B. Allen, R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke), as well as the Karaite Jews and Samaritans, at twilight, the period of the evening between when the sun sets on the horizon and the actual darkness. The Pharisees and the Rabbis viewed it differently. For them, it was the first evening when the sun began to go down and the sunset of the second evening.

[48] Or put to death

[49] LXX SP SYR AT^J VG “by day” MT lack

[50] LXX IT and Coptic Version add: “And you shall trumpet a third signal, and the camps encamping along the sea shall set out. And you shall trumpet a fourth signal, and the camps encamping towards the north shall set out.”

[51] Adversaries: (Heb. tsarim) An enemy, foe, adversary, opponent or oppressor, i.e., a personal enemy, who is in a state of open hostility or conflict.–Gen. 14:20; Num. 10:9; Ezra 4:1; Ps 44:5, 7.

[52] MT “Reuel” LXX “Raguel”

[53] SYR “To the myriads and to the thousands of Israel” VG “to the multitude of the army of Israel”

[54] MT “see my wretchedness” instead of “see your wretchedness.” The latter was the original reading, but scribes thought that it might have been mistakenly taken as attributing evil to Jehovah. Thus, the scribes revised the reading to what we have in the MT. This is one of the Eighteen Emendations: In the Masoretic text margin, some notes read: “This is one of the eighteen emendations of the Sopherim” or similar words. The scribe who made these revisions had good intentions as he saw the original reading as though it showed a lack of respect for God or his people.

[55] MT LXX SYR “But they did not do it again” With a different vowel pointing of the Heb. verb, it would agree with AT^J,O VG “and did not quit”

[56] A cubit equaled 44.5 cm (17.5 in.).

[57] LXX VG “Ethiopian”

[58] That is, face to face; an expression that is referring to the manner of the communication.

[59] Lit And the nose of Jehovah became hot

[60] In the Masorah (side margin of the MT), the Sopherim (scribes) revised this text so that it did not reflect against Aaron, the high priest. The original text read, “our flesh” and “our mother’s womb.” This is one of the Eighteen Emendations: In the Masoretic text margin, some notes read: “This is one of the eighteen emendations of the Sopherim” or similar words. The scribe who made these revisions had good intentions as he saw the original reading as though it showed a lack of respect for God or his people.

[61] MT SP LXX SYR VG “O God” but a reading suggested in a fn of BHK and of BHS, ʼal, “No”

[62] Or the south. That is, the southern part of the Promised Land. The Negev was an arid region in the southern part of Palestine, and its name came to mean south.

[63] That is, rich

[64] That is, poor

[65] Or the south. That is the southern part of the Promised Land. The Negev was an arid region in the southern part of Palestine, and its name came to mean south.

[66] SP AT^J LXX SYR “They called that place” MT “He called that place”

[67] Or the south. That is the southern part of the Promised Land. The Negev was an arid region in the southern part of Palestine, and its name came to mean south.

[68] The sons of Anak were not of the pre-Flood Nephilim. This was a ruse to scare the people. As a result of these distortions, a wave of fear spread throughout the camp. The people even sought to return to Egypt, where they had been slaves. (Numbers 13:31–14:4) Remember, the Nephilim were the offspring of fallen angels and women (Gen. 6:4), who had perished in the Flood.

[69] MT “power” LXX SYR “Your power”

[70] This is one of the 134 scribal changes from יהוה [JHVH] to אדני [Adonai]. The earliest MSS have the Tetragrammaton.

[71] MT “Reed Sea” or “Sea of Reeds” LXX “Red Sea”

[72] VG “had made the whole multitude murmur against him”

[73] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[74] A tenth of an ephah equaled 2.2 L (2 dry qt). LXX VG “A tenth of an ephah” MT SP SYR “a tenth”

[75] A hin equaled 3.67 L (7.75 pt).

[76] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[77] Lit son of the herd

[78] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[79] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[80] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[81] Lit son of the herd

[82] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[83] That is, deliberately, purposely, openly, proudly

[84] LXX has “God has carefully examined and knows those who are his” The LXX reading seems to be the one Paul followed in 2 Tim 2:19.

[85] MT SP SYR “dwelling (tabernacle)” VG “dwellings (tabernacles)”

[86] Or of my own mind (thoughts), Or of my own accord

[87] Sheol: (שְׁאוֹל sheol) Sheol occurs sixty-six times in the UASV. The Greek Septuagint renders Sheol as Hades. It is the grave. It has the underlying meaning of a place of the dead, where they are conscious of nothing, awaiting a resurrection, for both the righteous and the unrighteous. (Gen. 37:35; Psa. 16:10; Ac 2:31; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15) It corresponds to “Hades” in the NT. It does not involve torment and punishment.

[88] Or their possessions or their property; SYR VG^c “their property” LXX “their livestock”

[89] MT SP VG “Moses” LXX SYR “Moses and Aaron”

[90] A shekel equaled 11.4 g (0.367 oz t).

[91] A gerah equaled 0.57 g (0.01835 oz t).

[92] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[93] Or the tithe

[94] Lit fat

[95] Lit lifted

[96] Lit lifted

[97] Lit fat

[98] MT Lit “and he (one) shall slaughter it” LXX “and they shall slaughter it”

[99] MT Lit “and he (one) shall burn the heifer” LXX “and they shall burn it up”

[100] MT Lit “with her dung he (one) will burn” LXX “with its dung, shall be burned up”

[101] Lit soul of a man (לְכָל־נֶפֶשׁ אָדָם lekol-nephesh adam)

[102] the soul of a man (בְּנֶפֶשׁ הָאָדָם; benephesh haadam), clearly a dead soul.

[103] LXX “tied on it” MT “fastened (a cord)”

[104] Meaning “quarreling; strife; contention.” (Heb. מְרִיבָה meribah)

[105] That is, a long time

[106] Or the south. That is the southern part of the Promised Land. The Negev was an arid region in the southern part of Palestine, and its name came to mean south.

[107] That is, a devoting to destruction

[108] MT “Reed Sea” or “Sea of Reeds” LXX “Red Sea”

[109] MT SP VG “fiery serpents” LXX “deadly serpents”

[110] MT “Waheb in Suphah” LXX “he has set on fire Zoob” SP “Waheb on the sea of Reeds” VG “What he did in the Red Sea”

[111] VG “As he did in the Red Sea, so will he do in the streams of Arnon”

[112] That is, slope or descent

[113] MT “overlooks the face of Jeshimon” LXX VG SP “overlooks the desert (wasteland),” A barren desert or wasteland area apparently at the northeast end of the Dead Sea, in which area Beth-jeshimoth was possibly located. Evidently, Pisgah and Peor overlooked Jeshimon. (Num 21:20; 23:28; Josh. 12:1-3)

[114] LXX “Jazer” (probably the original reading) MT SP “strong.” VG “held by a strong garrison.” The immediate context is about the cities that Moses took (vss 25, 32) not how strong the sons of Ammon were. The extended context is that Jazer was later on assigned to the Levites. (Num. 32:1, 3-5, 34, 35; Josh. 13:24-25; 21:34, 38-39; 1 Chron. 6:77, 81)

[115] MT “devoured Ar of Moab” SP “devoured Ar till (up to the point of) Moab” VG “consumed Ar of the Moabites,” LXX “devoured as far as Moab”

[116]  LXX “And so their seed will perish at Heshbon as far as Dibon, and the women still more caused a flaming fire against Moab.” “And the . . . Medeba,” according to textual principles of the Sopherim who marked this line with an extraordinary point. If we were to set aside the extraordinary point, the text would then read: “so let us lay it desolate to Nophah, which is near Medeba.”

[117] SP LXX SYR VG “This multitude” MT “the multitude”

[118] That is, the Euphrates

[119] MT “in the land of his people (Amaw)” SP SYR VG “the Ammonites”

[120] Lit covered the eye of the land

[121] LXX SYR VG “saying”

[122] Lit eye

[123] Lit land

[124] MT LXX SYR VG “God” SP “the angel of God”

[125] MT LXX SYR VG “God” SP and one Heb. MS “Jehovah”

[126] Lit the nose of God became hot

[127] LXX “your way was not pretty” (charming; good)” VG “your way is perverse”

[128] LXX “unless she had” VG “unless the donkey had” MT “perhaps she had”

[129] MT SP LXX “on the altar” SYR “on the altars”

[130] MT “Jehovah” SP “the angel of Jehovah” LXX “God”

[131] MT SP SYR VG “Aram” LXX “Mesopotamia”

[132] MT SP “his” LXX SYR VG “theirs”

[133] In the OT, “repentance” with reference to sin is not so prominent as that change of mind or purpose, out of pity for those who have been affected by one’s action, or in whom the results of the action have not fulfilled expectations, a “repentance” attributed both to God and to man, e.g., Gen. 6:6; Exod. 32:14 (that this does not imply anything contrary to God’s immutability, but that the aspect of His mind is changed toward an object that has itself changed,) (Vine 1996, Volume 2, Page 526)

[134] LXX SYR VG “I have been taken” MT “I have taken [the command]”

[135] MT “He has blessed” SP LXX “I will bless”

[136] MT SP LXX SYR “them,” VG “him”

[137] LXX “unicorn” VG “rhinoceros”

[138] MT “overlooks the face of Jeshimon” LXX VG SP “overlooks the desert (wasteland),” A barren desert or wasteland area apparently at the northeast end of the Dead Sea, in which area Beth-jeshimoth was possibly located. Evidently, Pisgah and Peor overlooked Jeshimon. (Num 21:20; 23:28; Josh. 12:1-3)

[139] MT SP “the man whose eye is opened” LXX “the man who truly sees” VG “whose eye is stopped up”

[140] LXX “Paradises”

[141] LXX SYR VG “tents”

[142] LXX “a man shall come out of his seed”

[143] MT SYR VG “Agag” SP LXX “Gog”

[144] LXX “unicorn” VG “rhinoceros”

[145] MT VG “arrows” LXX “missiles”

[146] MT SP LXX SYR VG “star” AT^J “king”

[147] MT SP “step forth” LXX SYR VG “arise”

[148] MT “scepter” VG “rod” AT^J “Messiah” LXX “man” SYR “head one”

[149] SP “and a head of all the Sons of Sheth [Seth]” (See Jer. 48:45)

[150] MT SP LXX SYR VG “the sons of Sheth [Seth]” 1901 ASV “the sons of tumult” agrees with Jer. 48:45

[151] VG “Out of Jacob there will be one who will rule.”

[152] MT SP “Eber” LXX SYR VG “the Hebrews”

[153] That is, commit sexual immorality

[154] MT LXX SYR VG “Israel” SP “some of the sons of Israel.”

[155] That is, joined himself

[156] MT SYR (וְהוֹקַע אוֹתָם; and impale them) “impale them with legs and arms broken” (That is, to mutilate the body by breaking the legs and arms and then impaling the dead body on poles during the day when the Israelites can be easily seen) AT^J VG “hang” LXX “make an example of them”

[157] VG “the genital parts” LXX “her womb”

[158] VG “Son” MT SP LXX SYR “sons”

[159] SP And the earth opened its mouth, and the earth swallowed them up, . . . . . . . . . when that congregation died, when the fire devoured Korah and the fifty and two hundred men, when they had escaped.

[160] MT LXX SP VG “Nemuel” SYR “Jemuel” (See Gen. 46:10; Ex. 6:15)

[161] “Zohar” in Gen. 46:10; Ex 6:15

[162] “Ziphion” in Gen. 46:16

[163] “Ez­bon” in Gen. 46:16

[164] “Arodi” in Gen. 46:16

[165] MT “Puvah, the clan of the Punites” (1 Chron 7:1) LXX SP SYR VG “Puah, the clan of the Puaites”

[166] “Iob” in Gen. 46:13

[167] “Ehi” in Gen. 46:21

[168] MT “Shephupham” LXX SYR AT VG and a few Heb. MSS “Shupham” “Muppim” in Gen. 46:21; “Shuppim” in 1 Chron. 7:12

[169] “Huppim” in Gen. 46:2

[170] LXX “Adar” SP VG “of Ard”

[171] “Hushim” in Gen. 46:23

[172] SYR “the Levites” MT VG “Levi” LXX “the sons of Levi”

[173] LXX “Jochebed daughter of Levi, who bore them for the tribe of Levi” SYR VG “Jochabed the daughter of Levi, who was born to him”

[174] LXX “To sanctify me; you did not sanctify me,” VG “and you did not wish to sanctify me.”

[175] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[176] MT “at its appointed time”  SYR VG “at their appointed times”

[177] The Hebrew rendered “between the two evenings” (Heb. בֵּין הָעֲרְבַּיִם ben hoarbayim) according to some scholars (e.g., Ronald B. Allen, R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke), as well as the Karaite Jews and Samaritans, at twilight, the period of the evening between when the sun sets on the horizon and the actual darkness. The Pharisees and the Rabbis viewed it differently. For them, it was the first evening when the sun began to go down and the sunset of the second evening.

[178] A tenth of an ephah equaled 2.2 L (2 dry qt).

[179] A hin equaled 3.67 L (7.75 pt).

[180] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[181] The Hebrew rendered “between the two evenings” (Heb. בֵּין הָעֲרְבַּיִם ben hoarbayim) according to some scholars (e.g., Ronald B. Allen, R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke), as well as the Karaite Jews and Samaritans, at twilight, the period of the evening between when the sun sets on the horizon and the actual darkness. The Pharisees and the Rabbis viewed it differently. For them, it was the first evening when the sun began to go down and the sunset of the second evening.

[182] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[183] SP SYR “As a burnt offering sabbath by sabbath”

[184] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[185] MT “the male lamb” LXX “the one lamb” SP “the one sheep”

[186] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[187] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[188] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[189] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[190] This is generally understood to involve different kinds of self-denial, which would include fasting.

[191] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[192] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[193] MT LXX SYR VG “male lambs” SP “male lambs and their drink offerings”

[194] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[195] MT LXX VG end chapter 29 here.

[196] LXX “and says nothing to her on the day he hears it,” MT has “on the day of his hearing it,” before the conjunction “and.”

[197] MT “he has not forbidden her” LXX “and he has not forbidden her”

[198] MT “her” LXX SP “his”

[199] LXX lacks “to the war”

[200] MT “the congregation” SP T^J SYR VG many Heb. MSS “all the congregation”

[201] The sense here is a woman who has had sexual intercourse with man by lying with a man.

[202] That is, withstand the fire

[203] MT LXX “you” pl.; SP “you” sing.

[204] LXX SYR VG “take one out of fifty” MT “take one drawn out of fifty”

[205] That is, had not had sexual relations with a man

[206] LXX SP “Sibmah”

[207] VG “land that I promised under oath”

[208] LXX SYR VG “to increase still more” MT SP same meaning

[209] LXX adds: “for war before the Lord, then carry over their household possessions and their women and their livestock ahead of you into the land of Canaan”

[210] MT “and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us” LXX “and you shall give to us the possession”

[211] LXX “the land and the cities, together with its borders, cities of the land round about” VG “and their land with their cities all around”

[212] LXX SYR “after their own names,” MT SP “by names”

[213] Lit and its daughters

[214] Lit mouth

[215] SP AT^O SYR VG “from Pi-hahiroth” MT “from before Hahiroth.”

[216] MT “Reed Sea” or “Sea of Reeds” LXX “Red Sea”

[217] MT “Reed Sea” or “Sea of Reeds” LXX “Red Sea”

[218] Lit mouth

[219] Lit and he

[220] Or the south. That is the southern part of the Promised Land. The Negev was an arid region in the southern part of Palestine, and its name came to mean south.

[221] Or opposite Jericho, or across from Jericho, or near Jericho

[222] Or opposite Jericho, or across from Jericho, or near Jericho

[223] LXX SYR “You yourselves are crossing the Jordan into the land of Canaan. ⁵² And you will destroy all the inhabitants” VG “When you will cross the Jordan to enter the land of Canaan, ⁵² destroy all the inhabitants.”

[224] MT LXX “When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that” VG “When you will enter the land of Canaan, and it”

[225] That is, the Dead Sea

[226] That is, a stream, valley, ravine, or channel that is dry except in the rainy season

[227] That is, the Great Sea, the Mediterranean

[228] That is, the Mediterranean

[229] That is, the lake of Gennesaret, or the Sea of Galilee

[230] MT “a chieftain” occurs seven times from vss 22-28 SYR omits all seven occurrences VG omits all occurrences except for vs 26, where it has dux, “leader.” According to vs 18 all twelve men were chieftains.

[231] MT SP (מִגֹּאֵל, “from the goel”) “the blood avenger” AT LXX SYR IT “the avenger of blood”

[232] That is, on this side of the Jordan

[233] Lit mouth

[234] SP LXX SYR one Heb. MS “the high priest” MT “the priest”  VG pontificis.

[235] MT “you are,” SP LXX SYR VG four Heb. MSS “you are dwelling”

[236] LXX SYR add “and before Eleazar the priest”