The People Rebel
14 rThen all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel sgrumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, t“Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 uWhy is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and vour little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, w“Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron xfell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun yand Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, z“The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not arebel against the Lord. And bdo not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 Then call the congregation said to dstone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord eappeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.
11 fAnd the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people gdespise me? And how long will they hnot believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and iI will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”
Moses Intercedes for the People
13 jBut Moses said to the Lord, “Then the kEgyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are lin the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen mface to face, and your ncloud 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 your fame will say, 16 ‘It is obecause the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 p‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, qvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 19 rPlease pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”
God Promises Judgment
20 Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as sall the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 tnone of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have uput me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 vBut my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants 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 Red Sea.”
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall this wicked congregation wgrumble against me? I have xheard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, ywhat you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 zyour dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, alisted in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where 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, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have brejected. 32 But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, cforty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”
36 And dthe men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by ebringing up a bad report about the land— 37 the men who brought up a bad report of the land—died by plague before the Lord. 38 Of those men who went to spy out the land, fonly Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.
Israel Defeated in Battle
39 gWhen Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people hmourned greatly. 40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, “Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.” 41 But Moses said, i“Why now are you transgressing the command of the Lord, when that will not succeed? 42 Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. 43 For there the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” 44 But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to jHormah.
Laws About Sacrifices
15 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you, 3 and you offer to the Lord from the herd or from the flock a food offering1 or a kburnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or at your lappointed feasts, to make a pleasing aroma to the Lord, 4 then he who brings his offering shall offer to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah2 of fine flour, mixed with a quarter of a hin3 of oil; 5 and you shall offer with the burnt offering, or for the sacrifice, a quarter of a hin of wine for the drink offering mfor each lamb. 6 Or nfor a ram, you shall offer for a grain offering two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil. 7 And for the drink offering you shall offer a third of a hin of wine, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 8 And when you offer a bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or for peace offerings to the Lord, 9 then one shall offer owith 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, as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
11 “Thus it shall be done for each bull or ram, or for each lamb or young goat. 12 As many as you offer, so shall you do with each one, as many as there are. 13 Every native Israelite shall do these things in this way, in offering a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 14 pAnd if a stranger is sojourning with you, or anyone is living permanently among you, and he wishes to offer a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord, he shall do as you do. 15 For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the Lord. 16 One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.”
17 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land to which I bring you 19 and when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall present a contribution to the Lord. 20 Of the first of your qdough you shall present a loaf as a contribution; like a contribution rfrom the threshing floor, so shall you present it. 21 Some of the first of your dough you shall give to the Lord as a contribution throughout your generations.
Laws About Unintentional Sins
22 “But if you sin sunintentionally,4 and do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses, 23 all that the Lord has commanded you by Moses, from the day that the Lord gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations, 24 then if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, all the congregation shall offer one bull from the herd for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord, with tits grain offering and its drink offering, according to the rule, and one male goat for a sin offering. 25 And uthe priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the people of Israel, and they shall be forgiven, because it was a mistake, and they have brought their offering, a food offering to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord for their mistake. 26 And all the congregation of the people of Israel shall be forgiven, and the stranger who sojourns among them, because the whole population was involved in the mistake.
27 “If vone person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. 28 And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. 29 You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. 30 But the person who does anything wwith a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has xdespised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”
A Sabbathbreaker Executed
32 While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the ySabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. 34 They zput him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. 35 And the Lord said to Moses, a“The man shall 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 the Lord commanded Moses.
Tassels on Garments
37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make btassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 39 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow5 after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and cbe holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt dto be your God: I am the Lord your God.”
Korah’s Rebellion
16 Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and 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 a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, echosen from the assembly, well-known men. 3 fThey assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are gholy, every one of them, and the Lord is hamong them. iWhy then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 4 When Moses heard it, jhe fell on his face, 5 and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning kthe Lord will show who is his,1 and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he lchooses he will bring near to him. 6 Do this: mtake censers, Korah and all his company; 7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” 8 And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has nseparated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to ominister to them, 10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? 11 Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you pgrumble 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 qflowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? 14 Moreover, ryou 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 the Lord, “Do not respect their offering. sI have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.”
16 And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, before the Lord, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. 17 And let every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the Lord his censer, 250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.” 18 So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 Then Korah assembled tall the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the Lord uappeared to all the congregation.
20 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 21 v“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, wthe God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be xangry with all the congregation?” 23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, y“Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, zlest you be swept away with all their sins.” 27 So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. 28 And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. 29 If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down aalive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have bdespised the Lord.”
31 And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. 32 And the earth opened its mouth and cswallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they dperished from the midst of the assembly. 34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” 35 And efire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.
36 2 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37 “Tell fEleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy. 38 As for the censers 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 the Lord, and they became holy. Thus they shall be a gsign to the people of Israel.” 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the haltar, 40 to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that ino outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to jburn incense before the Lord, lest he become like Korah and his company—kas the Lord said to him through Moses.
41 But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel lgrumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” 42 And when the congregation had assembled magainst Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the ncloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 o“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 the Lord; the pplague has begun.” 47 So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, 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 qwas stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. 50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.
Aaron’s Staff Buds
17 1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers’ house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. Write each man’s name on his staff, 3 and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers’ house. 4 Then you shall rdeposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. 5 And the staff of the man whom I schoose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the tgrumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.” 6 Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. 7 And Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony.
8 On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and uput forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. 9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a vsign for the wrebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, xlest they die.” 11 Thus did Moses; as the Lord commanded him, so he did.
12 And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. 13 yEveryone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?”
Duties of Priests and Levites
18 So the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall zbear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood. 2 And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister ato you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 3 They shall bkeep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die. 4 They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and cno outsider shall come near you. 5 And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel. 6 And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. dThey are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 7 And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift,1 and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
8 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Behold, I have given you charge of the econtributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due. 9 This shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs and every sin offering of theirs and every guilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons. 10 fIn a most holy place shall you eat it. gEvery male may eat it; it is holy to you. 11 This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the hwave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. iEveryone who is clean jin your house may eat it. 12 All the kbest of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the Lord, I give to you. 13 The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. 14 Every ldevoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 15 mEverything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall nredeem, and the firstborn of ounclean animals you shall redeem. 16 And their redemption price (at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at pfive shekels2 in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. 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 a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 18 But their flesh shall be yours, as qthe breast that is waved and as the right thigh are yours. 19 All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a rcovenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you.” 20 And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have sno inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. tI am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.
21 u“To the Levites I have given every vtithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, 22 so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. 23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.”
25 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, wa tithe of the tithe. 27 And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress. 28 So you shall also present a contribution to the Lord from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the Lord’s contribution to Aaron the priest. 29 Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the Lord; from each its best part is to be dedicated.’ 30 Therefore you shall say to them, ‘When you have offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be counted to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as produce of the winepress. 31 And you may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting. 32 And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it. But you shall not xprofane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.’”
