Numbers 35

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Recounting Israel’s Journey

33 These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Moses wrote down their starting places, lstage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places. They mset out from Rameses in nthe first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover, the people of Israel went out otriumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians, while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, pwhom the Lord had struck down among them. qOn their gods also the Lord executed judgments.

So the people of Israel set out from Rameses and camped at rSuccoth. And they set out from Succoth and camped at sEtham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. And they set out from Etham and turned back to tPi-hahiroth, which is east of Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol. And they set out from before Hahiroth1 and upassed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and they vwent a three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. And they set out from Marah and came to wElim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. 10 And they set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. 11 And they set out from the Red Sea and camped in xthe wilderness of Sin. 12 And they set out from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. 13 And they set out from Dophkah and camped at Alush. 14 And they set out from Alush and camped at yRephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. 15 And they set out from Rephidim and camped in the zwilderness of Sinai. 16 And they set out from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at aKibroth-hattaavah. 17 And they set out from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at bHazeroth. 18 And they cset out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. 19 And they set out from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. 20 And they set out from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah. 21 And they set out from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 22 And they set out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah. 23 And they set out from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. 24 And they set out from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. 25 And they set out from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. 26 And they set out from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 27 And they set out from Tahath and camped at Terah. 28 And they set out from Terah and camped at Mithkah. 29 And they set out from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. 30 And they set out from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. 31 And they set out from Moseroth and camped at dBene-jaakan. 32 And they set out from Bene-jaakan and camped at eHor-haggidgad. 33 And they set out from Hor-haggidgad and camped at eJotbathah. 34 And they set out from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. 35 And they set out from Abronah and camped at fEzion-geber. 36 And they set out from Ezion-geber and camped in the gwilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh). 37 And they set out from hKadesh and camped at iMount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.

38 And Aaron the priest went up jMount Hor at the command of the Lord and died there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. 39 And Aaron was k123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

40 And lthe Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the people of Israel.

41 And they set out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. 42 And they set out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. 43 And they set out from Punon and camped at mOboth. 44 And they set out from Oboth and camped at nIye-abarim, in the territory of Moab. 45 And they set out from Iyim and camped at oDibon-gad. 46 And they set out from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim. 47 And they set out from Almon-diblathaim pand camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. 48 And they set out from the mountains of Abarim and camped in qthe plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho; 49 they camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth as far as rAbel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

Drive Out the Inhabitants

50 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, 51 Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, sWhen you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then tyou shall drive out uall the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their vfigured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. 53 And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. 54 wYou shall inherit the land by lot according to your clans. xTo a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance. Wherever the lot falls for anyone, 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 ybarbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. 56 And I will do to you zas I thought to do to them.

Boundaries of the Land

34 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter athe land of Canaan b(this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders), cyour south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of dthe Salt Sea on the east. And your border shall turn south of ethe ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to eHazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon. And the border shall turn ffrom Azmon to gthe Brook of Egypt, and its limit shall be at the sea.

For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its1 coast. This shall be your western border.

This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to hMount Hor. From Mount Hor you shall draw a line ito Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at jZedad. Then the border shall extend to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at kHazar-enan. This shall be your northern border.

10 You shall draw a line for your eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham. 11 And the border shall go down from Shepham to lRiblah on the east side of Ain. And the border shall go down and reach to the shoulder of mthe Sea of Chinnereth on the east. 12 And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at nthe Salt Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around.

13 Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, oThis is the land that you shall inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe. 14 pFor the tribe of the people of Reuben by fathers’ houses and the tribe of the people of Gad by their fathers’ houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh. 15 The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.

List of Tribal Chiefs

16 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: qEleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. 18 You shall take one rchief 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 people of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. 22 Of the tribe of the people of Dan a chief, Bukki the son of Jogli. 23 Of the people of Joseph: of the tribe of the people of Manasseh a chief, Hanniel the son of Ephod. 24 And of the tribe of the people of Ephraim a chief, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. 25 Of the tribe of the people of Zebulun a chief, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. 26 Of the tribe of the people of Issachar a chief, Paltiel the son of Azzan. 27 And of the tribe of the people of Asher a chief, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. 28 Of the tribe of the people of Naphtali a chief, Pedahel the son of Ammihud. 29 These are the men whom the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Cities for the Levites

35 The Lord spoke to Moses in sthe plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, tCommand the people of Israel to 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. 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. The pasturelands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits1 all around. 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.

The cities that you give to the Levites shall be uthe six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be vforty-eight, with their pasturelands. And as for the cities that you shall give wfrom the possession of the people of Israel, xfrom 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.

Cities of Refuge

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, yWhen you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 zthen you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. 12 The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. 13 And the cities that you give shall be your asix cities of refuge. 14 bYou shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. 15 These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and cfor the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.

16 dBut if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 17 And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 18 Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 19 eThe 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, flying 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 be put to death. He is a murderer. eThe 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 gwithout lying in wait 23 or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm, 24 then hthe congregation shall judge between the manslayer and ethe avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules. 25 And the congregation shall rescue 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 live in it iuntil the death of the high priest jwho 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 ethe 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 For he must remain in his city of refuge iuntil the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. 29 And these things shall be for ka statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

30 If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the levidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 31 Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall 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. 33 You shall not mpollute the land in which you live, for blood mpollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except nby the blood of the one who shed it. 34 oYou shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, pfor I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.

Marriage of Female Heirs

36 The heads of the fathers’ houses of the clan of the qpeople of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of the people of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the chiefs, the heads of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel. They said, rThe Lord commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, and smy lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. But if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the people 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. And when tthe jubilee of the people 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.

And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, The tribe of the people of Joseph uis right. This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry whom they think best, vonly they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father. The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel wshall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. And xevery daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers. So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance.

10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses, 11 yfor Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to sons of their father’s brothers. 12 They were married into the clans of the people of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s clan.

13 These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel zin the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

Deuteronomy Illustration

Deuteronomy

The Command to Leave Horeb

These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in athe Arabah opposite bSuph, between cParan and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to dKadesh-barnea. eIn the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them, after fhe had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and gOg the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in hEdrei. Beyond the Jordan, iin the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, jYou have stayed long enough at this mountain. Turn and take your journey, and go to kthe hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in athe Arabah, lin the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and lby the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, mto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.

Leaders Appointed

At that time nI said to you, I am not able to bear you by myself. 10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, oyou are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. 11 pMay the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, qas he has promised you! 12 rHow can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife? 13 sChoose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads. 14 And you answered me, The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do. 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, tand set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes. 16 And I charged your judges at that time, Hear the cases between your brothers, and ujudge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him. 17 vYou shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for wthe judgment is God’s. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall xbring to me, and I will hear it. 18 And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land

19 Then we set out from Horeb and ywent through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us. And zwe came to Kadesh-barnea. 20 And I said to you, You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. aDo not fear or be dismayed. 22 Then all of you came near me and said, Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come. 23 The thing seemed good to me, and bI took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe. 24 And cthey turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out. 25 And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.

26 Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27 And dyou murmured in your tents and said, Because the Lord ehated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, fto give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Where are we going up? gOur brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, hThe people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen ithe sons of the Anakim there. 29 Then I said to you, Do not be in dread or afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God who goes before you jwill himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God kcarried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place. 32 Yet in spite of this word lyou did not believe the Lord your God, 33 mwho went before you in the way nto seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.

The Penalty for Israel’s Rebellion

34 And the Lord heard your words and was angered, and he swore, 35 oNot one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, 36 pexcept Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the Lord! 37 Even with me qthe Lord was angry on your account and said, You also shall not go in there. 38 rJoshua the son of Nun, rwho stands before you, he shall enter. sEncourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. 39 And as for tyour little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today uhave no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. 40 But as for you, vturn, and journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.

41 Then you answered me, wWe have sinned against the Lord. We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us. And every one of you fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill country. 42 And the Lord said to me, xSay to them, Do not go up or fight, yfor I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies. 43 So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the Lord and zpresumptuously went up into the hill country. 44 aThen the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you bas bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as cHormah. 45 And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to your voice or give ear to you. 46 So dyou remained at Kadesh many days, the days that you remained there.