1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? oHas he not spoken through us also?” And pthe Lord heard it. 3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. 4 And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. 5 And qthe Lord 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 the Lord make myself known to him rin a vision; I speak with him sin a dream. 7 Not so with tmy servant Moses. uHe is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak vmouth to mouth, clearly, and not in wriddles, and he beholds xthe form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.
10 When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, yMiriam was zleprous,1 like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. 11 And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, ado not punish us2 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.” 13 And Moses cried to the Lord, “O God, please heal her—please.” 14 But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but bspit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be cshut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” 15 So Miriam dwas shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. 16 After that the people set out from eHazeroth, and camped in fthe wilderness of Paran.
1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 g“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from hthe wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people 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 ifrom the tribe of Judah, jCaleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, kHoshea 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 (that is, 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 were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called kHoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.
17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into lthe Negeb and go up into mthe 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 dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, 20 and whether the land is nrich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. oBe of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.
21 So they went up and spied out the land pfrom the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, qnear Lebo-hamath. 22 They went up into mthe Negeb and came to rHebron. sAhiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the tdescendants of Anak, were there. (uHebron was built seven years before uZoan in Egypt.) 23 And vthey came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol,3 because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.
25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at wKadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It xflows with milk and honey, yand this is its fruit. 28 zHowever, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 aThe Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. bAnd the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”
30 But cCaleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 dThen 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 ethey brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and fall the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the gNephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the gNephilim), and we seemed to ourselves hlike grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”
1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people iwept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel jgrumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or kwould that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? lOur wives and our 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, m“Let us choose a leader and ngo back to Egypt.”
5 Then oMoses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 pAnd 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 said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, q“The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If rthe Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, sa land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only tdo not rebel against the Lord. And udo not fear the people of the land, for vthey are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 wThen all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But xthe glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.
11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people ydespise me? And how long will they not zbelieve 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 I awill make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”
13 But bMoses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians 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. cThey have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and dyour 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 your fame will say, 16 ‘It is because the Lord ewas 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 f‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, gvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 19 Please hpardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just ias you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”
20 Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, jaccording to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all kthe earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 lnone of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these mten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 nshall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant oCaleb, because he has a different spirit and has pfollowed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. 25 qNow, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, rturn 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 sthis wicked congregation grumble against me? tI have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, u‘As I live, declares the Lord, vwhat you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 wyour dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and xof all your number, listed in the census yfrom twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I zswore that I would make you dwell, aexcept Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 bBut your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that cyou have rejected. 32 But as for you, wyour dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children dshall be shepherds in the wilderness eforty years and shall fsuffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 gAccording to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, hforty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ 35 iI, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all jthis wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”
36 kAnd the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— 37 the men who brought up a bad report of the land—ldied by plague before the Lord. 38 Of those men who went to spy out the land, monly Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.
39 When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people nmourned greatly. 40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, o“Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.” 41 pBut Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the Lord, when that will not succeed? 42 qDo not go up, rfor the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. 43 For there sthe 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 tBut they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither uthe ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp. 45 Then vthe Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to wHormah.
1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, xWhen you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you, 3 and yyou offer to the Lord from the herd or from the flock a food offering4 or a burnt offering or a sacrifice, zto fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or aat your appointed feasts, to make a bpleasing aroma to the Lord, 4 then che who brings his offering shall offer to the Lord da grain offering of a tenth of an ephah5 of fine flour, emixed with a quarter of a hin6 of oil; 5 and you shall offer with the burnt offering, or for the sacrifice, a quarter of a hin of fwine for the drink offering for each lamb. 6 gOr for 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 bpleasing aroma to the Lord. 8 And when you offer a bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, to zfulfill a vow or for hpeace offerings to the Lord, 9 then one shall offer iwith 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 j“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 And 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, kthere 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 l“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 mthe bread of the land, you shall present a contribution to the Lord. 20 nOf the first of your dough you shall present a loaf as a contribution; like a ocontribution from the threshing floor, so shall you present it. 21 nSome of the first of your dough you shall give to the Lord as a contribution throughout your generations.
22 p“But if you sin unintentionally,7 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 qwithout 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, rwith its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the rule, and sone male goat for a sin offering. 25 tAnd the 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 u“If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. 28 vAnd 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 wYou 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 xBut the person who does anything with 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 ydespised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”
32 While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man zgathering 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 aThey put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. 35 And the Lord said to Moses, b“The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall cstone 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.
37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to dmake tassels 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, enot to follow8 after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined fto whore after. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be gholy to your God. 41 hI am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”
1 Now iKorah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and jDathan 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, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. 3 kThey assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, l“You have gone too far! For mall in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 4 When Moses heard it, nhe fell on his face, 5 and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show owho is his,9 and who is pholy, and will bring him near to him. The one qwhom he chooses he will rbring near to him. 6 Do this: take scensers, 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. tYou have gone too far, sons of Levi!” 8 And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 is it utoo small a thing for you that the God of Israel has vseparated 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 minister 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 wAaron that you grumble 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 xa small thing that you have brought us up out of ya land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also zmake yourself a prince 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 the Lord, a“Do not respect their offering. bI 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, cbefore the Lord, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. 17 And dlet every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the Lord his censer, e250 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 all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. fAnd the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.
20 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 21 g“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them hin a moment.” 22 And they ifell on their faces and said, “O God, jthe God of the spirits of all flesh, kshall one man sin, and will you be angry 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, l“Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest 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 mat 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 nof my own accord. 29 If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, othen the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord creates something new, and pthe ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they qgo down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”
31 rAnd as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. 32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and sall 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 tthey perished 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 ufire came out from the Lord and consumed vthe 250 men offering the incense.
36 10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37 “Tell Eleazar 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 wthese 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. xThus they shall be a sign 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 altar, 40 to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so ythat no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the Lord, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the Lord said to him through Moses.
41 But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel zgrumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” 42 And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, athe cloud covered it, and bthe 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 c“Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” dAnd 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 ewrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague 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 fthe plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, gbesides 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.
1 11 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 h“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 deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, iwhere I meet with you. 5 And the staff of the man jwhom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me kthe grumblings 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 lthe 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 put 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 mthe staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept nas a sign for the rebels, othat you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest 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 pEveryone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?”
1 So the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall qbear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, rand 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 sjoin you and tminister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 3 They shall keep guard over you and uover the whole tent, vbut shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar wlest they, and you, die. 4 They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, xand no outsider shall come near you. 5 And you shall ykeep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, zthat there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel. 6 aAnd behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. bThey are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 7 And cyou and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and dthat is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift,12 and eany outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
8 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Behold, fI have given you charge of the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you gas 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 hsin offering of theirs and every iguilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons. 10 In a most holy place shall you eat it. Every male may eat it; it is holy to you. 11 This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the jwave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to kyou, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. lEveryone who is clean in your house may eat it. 12 mAll the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, nthe firstfruits of what they give to the Lord, I give to you. 13 The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, owhich they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. lEveryone who is clean in your house may eat it. 14 pEvery devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 15 qEverything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours. Nevertheless, rthe firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 And their redemption price s(at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels13 in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, twhich is twenty gerahs. 17 uBut 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 vthe breast that is waved and as the right thigh are yours. 19 wAll 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. xIt is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you.” 20 And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. yI am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.
21 z“To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, 22 aso that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, blest they bear sin and die. 23 But cthe Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, dand 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 ethey 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 famong 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, ga tithe of the tithe. 27 hAnd 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, ithen 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 jyour reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting. 32 And you shall kbear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it. But you shall not lprofane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.’”
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, mand on which a yoke has never come. 3 And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and nit shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered before him. 4 And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and osprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. 5 And the heifer shall be burned in his sight. pIts skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take qcedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn, and throw them into the fire burning the heifer. 7 Then the priest rshall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. But the priest shall be unclean until evening. 8 sThe one who burns the heifer rshall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water and shall be unclean until evening. 9 And a man who is clean shall gather up tthe ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a uclean place. And they shall be kept for the water for vimpurity for the congregation of the people of Israel; it is a sin offering. 10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer rshall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. And this shall be a perpetual statute for the people of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them.
11 w“Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days. 12 He xshall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean. 13 Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, ydefiles the tabernacle of the Lord, zand that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him.
14 “This is the law when someone 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 aopen vessel that has no cover fastened on it is unclean. 16 bWhoever in the open field touches someone who was killed with a sword or who died naturally, or touches a human bone or a cgrave, shall be unclean seven days. 17 For the unclean they shall take dsome ashes of the burnt sin offering, and fresh14 water shall be added in a vessel. 18 Then a clean person shall take ehyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there and on whoever touched the bone, or the slain or the dead or the grave. 19 And the clean person shall sprinkle it on the unclean fon the third day and on the seventh day. gThus on the seventh day he shall cleanse him, and he shall hwash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and at evening he shall be clean.
20 “If the man who is unclean does not cleanse himself, ithat person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, since he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. Because the water for impurity has not been thrown on him, he is unclean. 21 And it shall be a statute forever for them. The one who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening. 22 And jwhatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean, and anyone who touches it shall be unclean until evening.”
1 And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came kinto the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And lMiriam died there and was buried there.
2 mNow there was no water for the congregation. nAnd they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people oquarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished pwhen our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? 5 And qwhy 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 rfell on their faces. sAnd the glory of the Lord appeared to them, 7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 t“Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So uyou shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” 9 And Moses took the staff vfrom before the Lord, as he commanded him.
10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, w“Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, uand water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because xyou did not believe in me, yto uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 13 zThese are the waters of Meribah,15 where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy.
14 aMoses sent messengers from Kadesh to bthe king of Edom: “Thus says cyour brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: 15 dhow our fathers went down to Egypt, eand we lived in Egypt a long time. fAnd the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. 16 And gwhen we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and hsent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. 17 iPlease let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, jor drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or 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 people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, kand if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, lthen I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” 20 But he said, m“You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. 21 Thus Edom nrefused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel oturned away from him.
22 And they journeyed from pKadesh, and the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came to qMount Hor. 23 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, 24 r“Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because syou rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor. 26 And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron rshall be gathered to his people and shall die there.” 27 Moses did as the Lord commanded. And they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 tAnd Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there uon the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had perished, vall the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.
1 When wthe Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in xthe Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. 2 yAnd Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.”16 3 And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called zHormah.17
4 From Mount Hor athey set out by the way to the Red Sea, bto go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people cspoke against God and against Moses, d“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and ewe loathe this worthless food.” 6 fThen the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and gthey bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 hAnd the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. iPray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So jMoses made a bronze18 serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
10 And the people of Israel set out and kcamped in Oboth. 11 kAnd they set out from Oboth and kcamped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they set out and camped in lthe Valley of Zered. 13 From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the mArnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,
“Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,
15 and the slope of the valleys
that extends to the seat of nAr,
and leans to the border of Moab.”
16 And from there they continued oto Beer;19 that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that pI may 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 qthe scepter and with their staffs.”
And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah rthat looks down on the desert.20
21 Then sIsrael sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 t“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 uBut 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 vcame to Jahaz and fought against Israel. 24 wAnd Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the xJabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. 25 And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled 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 Therefore the yballad singers say,
“Come to zHeshbon, let it be built;
let the city of Sihon be established.
28 For afire came out from zHeshbon,
flame from the city of Sihon.
It devoured nAr of Moab,
and swallowed21 the heights of the Arnon.
29 aWoe to you, O Moab!
You are undone, O people of bChemosh!
He has made his sons fugitives,
and his daughters captives,
to an Amorite king, Sihon.
30 So we overthrew them;
Heshbon, as far as cDibon, perished;
and we laid waste as far as Nophah;
31 Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. 32 And Moses sent to spy out eJazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. 33 Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle fat Edrei. 34 gBut the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And hyou shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” 35 So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land.
1 Then ithe people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. 2 And jBalak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And kMoab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. 4 And Moab said to lthe elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 msent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor nat Pethor, which is near the River23 in the land of the people of Amaw,24 to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. 6 oCome now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”
7 So the elders of Moab and lthe elders of Midian departed with pthe fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak’s message. 8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 qAnd 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, 11 ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” 12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for rthey are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” 14 So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”
15 Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, 17 sfor I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. tCome, curse this people for me.’” 18 But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, u“Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, vI could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more. 19 So you, too, wplease stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.” 20 qAnd God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; xbut only do what I tell you.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.
22 But God’s anger was kindled because he went, yand the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way zas his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. 25 And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So he struck her again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the Lord aopened 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 fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill 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? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.”
31 Then the Lord bopened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. 32 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out cto oppose you because your way is perverse25 before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.” 34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, d“I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” 35 And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, ebut speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.
36 When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, fon the border formed by the Arnon, at the extremity of the border. 37 And Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to ghonor you?” 38 Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you! Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? hThe word that God puts in my mouth, that must I 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 in the morning Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal, and from there he saw a fraction of the people.
1 And Balaam said to Balak, i“Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 2 Balak did as Balaam had said. And Balak and Balaam joffered on each altar a bull and a ram. 3 And Balaam said to Balak, k“Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the Lord will come lto meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height, 4 mand 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 the Lord nput a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 6 And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. 7 And Balaam otook up his discourse and said,
“From pAram Balak has brought me,
the king of Moab qfrom the eastern mountains:
‘Come, rcurse Jacob for me,
and come, denounce Israel!’
8 How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
9 For from the top of the crags sI see him,
from the hills I behold him;
behold, ta people dwelling alone,
and unot counting itself among the nations!
10 vWho can count the dust of Jacob
or number the fourth part26 of Israel?
Let me die wthe death of the upright,
and let my end be like his!”
11 And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? xI took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” 12 And he answered and said, y“Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”
13 And Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall 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, zand built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Balaam said to Balak, a“Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there.” 16 And the Lord met Balaam and bput a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” 17 And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” 18 And Balaam took up his discourse and said,
“Rise, Balak, and hear;
give ear to me, O son of Zippor:
19 cGod is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
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