Laws About Vows
27 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone xmakes a special yvow to the Lord involving the valuation of persons, 3 then the valuation of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels1 of silver, according to the zshekel of the sanctuary. 4 If the person is a female, the valuation shall be thirty shekels. 5 If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 6 If the person is from a month old up to five years old, the valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female the valuation shall be three shekels of silver. 7 And if the person is sixty years old or over, then the valuation for a male shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 8 And aif someone is too poor to pay the valuation, then he shall be made to stand before the priest, and the priest shall value him; the priest shall value him according to what the vower can afford.
9 “If the vow2 is an animal that may be offered as an offering to the Lord, all of it that he gives to the Lord is holy. 10 He shall not bexchange it or make a substitute for it, good for bad, or bad for good; and if he does in fact substitute one animal for another, then both it and the substitute shall be holy. 11 And if it is any cunclean animal that may not be offered as an offering to the Lord, then he shall stand the animal before the priest, 12 and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall be. 13 But if he wishes to redeem it, he shall dadd a fifth to the valuation.
14 “When a man dedicates his house as a holy gift to the Lord, the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. 15 And if the donor wishes to redeem his house, he shall add a fifth to the valuation price, and it shall be his.
16 “If a man dedicates to the Lord part of the land that is his possession, then the valuation shall be in proportion to its seed. A homer3 of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he dedicates his field from the year of ejubilee, the valuation shall stand, 18 but if he dedicates his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall calculate the price according to the years that remain until the year of jubilee, and a deduction shall be made from the valuation. 19 And if he who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, then he shall add a fifth to its valuation price, and it shall remain his. 20 But if he does not wish to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore. 21 But the field, fwhen it is released in the jubilee, shall be a holy gift to the Lord, like a field that has been devoted. gThe priest shall be in possession of it. 22 If he dedicates to the Lord a field that he has hbought, which is not a part of his possession, 23 then the priest shall calculate the amount of the valuation for it up to the year of jubilee, and the man shall give the valuation on that day as a holy gift to the Lord. 24 iIn the year of jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to whom the land belongs as a possession. 25 Every valuation shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs4 shall make a shekel.
26 “But a firstborn of animals, jwhich as a firstborn belongs to the Lord, no man may dedicate; whether ox or sheep, it is the Lord’s. 27 And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall buy it back at the valuation, and add a fifth to it; or, if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold at the valuation.
28 “But no kdevoted thing that a man devotes to the Lord, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord. 29 No one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction5 from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.
30 “Every ltithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord. 31 If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. 32 And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that mpass under the herdsman’s staff, shall be holy to the Lord. 33 One shall not differentiate between good or bad, neither shall he make a nsubstitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.”
34 oThese are the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.
Numbers
A Census of Israel’s Warriors
1 The Lord spoke to Moses ain the wilderness of Sinai, bin 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 a ccensus of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. 3 dFrom twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company. 4 And there shall be with you ea man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. 5 And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, fElizur the son of Shedeur; 6 from Simeon, gShelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; 7 from Judah, hNahshon the son of Amminadab; 8 from Issachar, iNethanel the son of Zuar; 9 from Zebulun, jEliab the son of Helon; 10 from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim, kElishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, lGamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 11 from Benjamin, mAbidan the son of Gideoni; 12 from Dan, nAhiezer the son of Ammishaddai; 13 from Asher, oPagiel the son of Ochran; 14 from Gad, pEliasaph the son of Deuel; 15 from Naphtali, qAhira the son of Enan.” 16 These were the ones rchosen from the congregation, the schiefs of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.
17 Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named, 18 and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, 19 as the Lord commanded Moses. So he listed them in the wilderness of Sinai.
20 The people of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their generations, by their clans, 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 to war: 21 tthose listed of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.
22 Of the people of Simeon, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, those of them who were listed, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 23 uthose listed of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.
24 Of the people of Gad, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 25 vthose listed of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.
26 Of the people of Judah, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 27 wthose listed of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.
28 Of the people of Issachar, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 29 xthose listed of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.
30 Of the people of Zebulun, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 31 ythose listed of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.
32 Of the people of Joseph, namely, of the people of Ephraim, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 33 zthose listed of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.
34 Of the people of Manasseh, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 35 athose listed of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.
36 Of the people of Benjamin, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 37 bthose listed of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.
38 Of the people of Dan, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 39 cthose listed of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.
40 Of the people of Asher, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 41 dthose listed of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.
42 Of the people of Naphtali, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 43 ethose listed of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.
44 These are fthose who were listed, whom Moses and Aaron listed with the help of the chiefs of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers’ house. 45 So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel— 46 all those listed were g603,550.
Levites Exempted
47 But hthe Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe. 48 For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 49 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel. 50 But appoint the Levites over ithe tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and shall camp around the tabernacle. 51 When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall jtake it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall kset it up. And lif any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death. 52 The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp and meach man by his own standard. 53 But nthe Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, oso that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. And pthe Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony.” 54 Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.
Arrangement of the Camp
2 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “The people of Israel shall camp qeach by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. 3 Those to camp ron the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being sNahshon the son of Amminadab, 4 this company as listed being 74,600. 5 Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, the chief of the people of Issachar being uNethanel the son of Zuar, 6 vhis company as listed being 54,400. 7 Then the tribe of Zebulun, the chief of the people of Zebulun being wEliab the son of Helon, 8 xhis company as listed being 57,400. 9 All those listed of the camp of Judah, by their companies, were 186,400. yThey shall set out first on the march.
10 z“On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the chief of the people of Reuben being aElizur the son of Shedeur, 11 bhis company as listed being 46,500. 12 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the chief of the people of Simeon being cShelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, 13 dhis company as listed being 59,300. 14 Then the tribe of Gad, the chief of the people of Gad being eEliasaph the son of Reuel, 15 fhis company as listed being 45,650. 16 All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. gThey shall set out second.
17 h“Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.
18 i“On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies, the chief of the people of Ephraim being jElishama the son of Ammihud, 19 khis company as listed being 40,500. 20 And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the chief of the people of Manasseh being lGamaliel the son of Pedahzur, 21 mhis company as listed being 32,200. 22 Then the tribe of Benjamin, the chief of the people of Benjamin being nAbidan the son of Gideoni, 23 ohis company as listed being 35,400. 24 All those listed of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, were 108,100. pThey shall set out third on the march.
25 q“On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the chief of the people of Dan being rAhiezer the son of Ammishaddai, 26 shis company as listed being 62,700. 27 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the chief of the people of Asher being tPagiel the son of Ochran, 28 uhis company as listed being 41,500. 29 Then the tribe of Naphtali, the chief of the people of Naphtali being vAhira the son of Enan, 30 whis company as listed being 53,400. 31 All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. xThey shall set out last, standard by standard.”
32 These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers’ houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were y603,550. 33 But the Levites were znot listed among the people of Israel, aas the Lord commanded Moses.
34 Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers’ house.
The Sons of Aaron
3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 bThese 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 canointed priests, dwhom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But eNadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.
Duties of the Levites
5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister fto him. 7 They shall gkeep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall hgive the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are iwholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall jguard their priesthood. But kif any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”
11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have ltaken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for mall the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”
14 And the Lord spoke to Moses nin the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by clans; every male ofrom a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. 17 And pthese were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And qthese are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And rthe sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And sthe sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers’ houses.
21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 tThe clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle uon the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. 25 vAnd the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved wthe tabernacle, the xtent with its covering, the yscreen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the zhangings of the court, the ascreen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these.
27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp bon the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 cAnd their guard duty involved the dark, the etable, the flampstand, the galtars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the hscreen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.
33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp ion the north side of the tabernacle. 36 jAnd the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the kframes of the tabernacle, the lbars, the mpillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 nalso the pillars around the court, with their obases and ppegs and cords.
38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle qon the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, rguarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And sany outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 tAll those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the Lord, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000.
Redemption of the Firstborn
40 And the Lord said to Moses, u“List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, vfrom a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—winstead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.
44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. 46 And as the xredemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take yfive shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites
4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 3 zfrom athirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 bThis is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: cthe most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the dveil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin1 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its epoles. 7 And over the ftable of the gbread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the hplates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the ilampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over the jgolden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and 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, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, kas 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 ldie. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.
16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the moil for the light, the nfragrant incense, the oregular grain offering, and the panointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”
17 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to qlook on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”
21 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 rThis is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the stabernacle and the ttent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the uscreen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and vthe hangings of the court and wthe 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 they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, 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 clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be xunder the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers’ houses. 30 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And ythis is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the zframes of the tabernacle, with its abars, bpillars, and bases, 32 cand the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”
34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.
38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting— 40 those listed by their clans and their fathers’ houses were 2,630. 41 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord.
42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting— 44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.
46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.
