This book gives the account of the Israeli people after they escaped from Egypt. We call this book

Numbers

1

The men of Israel were counted

1In April of the year after the Israeli people left Egypt, Yahweh spoke to Moses/me while he/I was in the Sacred Tent, in the Sinai Desert. Yahweh said to him/me, 2-3“I want you and Aaron to determine how many Israeli men are able to fight in battles. Write down the names of all the men who are at least 20 years old, and write down the names of their clans and families. 4I have chosen one man from each of the tribes to help you to do this. Each one will be a leader of his clan.

5-15Their names are:

Elizur, the son of Shedeur, from the tribe of Reuben;

Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, from the tribe of Simeon;

Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah;

Nethanel, the son of Zuar, from the tribe of Issachar;

Eliab, the son of Helon, from the tribe of Zebulun;

Elishama, the son of Ammihud, from the tribe of Joseph’s son Ephraim;

Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, from the tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh;

Abidan, the son of Gideoni, from the tribe of Benjamin;

Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, from the tribe of Dan;

Pagiel, the son of Ocran, from the tribe of Asher;

Eliasaph, the son of Deuel, from the tribe of Gad;

Ahira, the son of Enan, from the tribe of Naphtali.”

16Those were the men whom Yahweh chose from the people. They were leaders of their tribes. They were the chief men of the clans of the Israeli people.

17Aaron and Moses/I summoned all these leaders, 18and they gathered all of the people together on that same day. They listed/wrote down the names of all the men who were at least 20 years old, and with their names they wrote the names of their clans and their family groups 19just as Moses/I had commanded. They wrote the names while ◄the Israelis/we► were there in the Sinai Desert.

20-43This is a list of the number of men who were at least 20 years old and able to fight in battles, and the names of their tribes:

There were 46,500 men from the tribe of Reuben (who was Jacob’s oldest son);

there were 59,300 men from the tribe of Simeon;

there were 45,560 men from the tribe of Gad;

there were 74,600 men from the tribe of Judah;

there were 54,400 men from the tribe of Issachar;

there were 57,400 men from the tribe of Zebulun;

there were 40,500 men from the tribe of Ephraim;

there were 32,200 men from the tribe of Manasseh;

there were 35,400 men from the tribe of Benjamin;

there were 62,700 men from the tribe of Dan;

there were 41,500 men from the tribe of Asher;

there were 53,400 men from the tribe of Naphtali.

44-45That was the number of men from each tribe that Aaron and Moses/I and the twelve leaders of the tribes of Israel listed, along with the names of their clans. 46The total was 603,550 men.

47But this number did not include the names of the men of the tribe of Levi, 48because Yahweh had said to Moses/me, 49“When you ◄count/write the names of► the men of the tribes of Israel, do not count the men in the tribe of Levi. 50Appoint the male descendants of Levi to take care of the Sacred Tent and the chest inside it that contains the tablets on which are written the Ten Commandments. They must also take care of the other things that are inside the tent. When you travel, they are the ones who must carry the tent and all the things that are inside it, and they must take care of it and set up their tents around it. 51Whenever it is time for all of you to move to another location, the descendants of Levi are the ones who must dismantle the tent. And when it is time to stop traveling, they are the ones who must set up the Sacred Tent again. Any other person who goes near the Sacred Tent to do this work must be executed. 52The people of each Israeli tribe must set up their tents in their own area, and they must set up a flag/banner that represents their tribe. 53But the male descendants of Levi must set up their tents around the Sacred Tent, in order to protect the other Israeli people from being punished [MTY] by Yahweh for coming close to the Sacred Tent. The descendants of Levi are the ones who must stand around the Sacred Tent to guard it.”

54So the Israeli people did everything just like Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.

2

Instructions for setting up the Israeli camp

1Then Yahweh said this to Aaron and Moses/me: 2“When the Israelis set up their tents, they should set them up in areas that surround the Sacred Tent, but not close to it. The people of each tribe must set up their tents in a different area. Each tribe must erect in that area a banner of their own clan and a flag that represents their tribe.

3-4The people of the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun must set up their tents on the east side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and the number of soldiers whom they will lead:

Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, will be the leader of the 74,600 men of the tribe of Judah.

5-6Nethanel, the son of Zuar, will be the leader of the 54,500 men of the tribe of Issachar.

7-8Eliab, the son of Helon, will be the leader of the 57,400 men of the tribe of Zebulun.

9So there will be 86,400 troops on the east side of the Sacred Tent. Whenever the Israelis move to a new location, those three tribes must go in front of the others.

10-11The tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad must set up their tents on the south side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and the number of men whom they will lead:

Elizur, the son of Shedeur, will be the leader of the 46,500 men of the tribe of Reuben.

12-13Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, will be the leader of the 59,300 men of the tribe of Simeon.

14-15Eliasaph, the son of Deuel, will be the leader of the 45,650 men of the tribe of Gad.

16So there will be 151,450 troops on the south side of the Sacred Tent. Those three tribes will follow the first group when the Israelis travel.

17Behind that group will walk the descendants of Levi, who will carry the Sacred Tent. The Israelis will march in the same order that they always set up their tents. Each tribe will carry its own flag.

18-19The tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin must set up their tents on the west side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and number of men whom they will lead:

Elishama, the son of Ammihud, will be the leader of the 40,500 men of the tribe of Ephraim.

20-21Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, will be the leader of the 32,200 men of the tribe of Manasseh.

22-23Abidan, the son of Gideoni, will be the leader of the 35,400 men of the tribe of Benjamin.

24So there will be 108,100 troops on the west side of the Sacred Tent. Those three tribes will follow the second group, behind the descendants of Levi.

25-26The tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali must set up their tents on the north side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and the number of men whom they will lead:

Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, will be the leader of the 62,700 men of the tribe of Dan.

27-28Pagiel, the son of Ocran, will be the leader of the 41,500 men of the tribe of Asher.

29-30Ahira, the son of Enan, will be the leader of the 53,400 men of the tribe of Naphtali.

31So there will be 157,600 troops on the north side of the Sacred Tent. Those three tribes will be last. They must carry their own flags when the Israelis travel.”

32So there were 603,550 Israeli men who were able to fight who were listed according to their families’ ancestors. 33But just as Yahweh had commanded, the names of the descendants of Levi were not included.

34The Israelis did everything that Yahweh had told Moses/me. They set up their tents close to their tribal flags, and when they traveled to a new location, they walked with their own clans and family groups.

3

The sons of Aaron

1These are some of the things that happened to Aaron and Moses/me when Yahweh spoke to Moses/me on Sinai Mountain.

2Aaron ’s four sons were Nadab the oldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3They were appointed [MTY] (OR, Moses/I appointed them) to be priests. 4But, while Yahweh was watching, Nadab and Abihu died in the Sinai Desert because they burned incense in a manner that was different from what Yahweh had commanded. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar were the only sons of Aaron who were left to be priests, along with their father Aaron.

5Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 6“Bring the men of the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron, in order that they may assist him. 7They will serve Aaron and all the other Israeli people, while they do their work inside the Sacred Tent and outside it. 8They must serve all the Israeli people by taking care of all the things that are inside the Sacred Tent. 9Appoint them to help Aaron and his two sons. I have chosen them from all the Israeli people to do that. 10Appoint Aaron and his two sons to do the work that priests do. But anyone else who comes close to the Sacred Tent to do that work must be executed.”

11Yahweh also told Moses/me, 12“Note that from all the Israelis, I have chosen the men of the tribe of Levi to take the places of all the firstborn sons of the Israeli people. The male descendants of Levi belong to me, 13because truly all the firstborn males belong to me. That is because on the day that I killed all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt, I spared all the firstborn sons of the Israelis and set them apart for myself. I also set apart the firstborn males of your domestic animals. They belong to me, Yahweh.”

14Yahweh spoke to Moses/me again in the Sinai Desert. He said, 15“Count the male members of the tribe of Levi. Write down their names and the names of their clans and family groups. Count all the males who are at least one month old.” 16So Moses/I counted them, just as Yahweh commanded.

17Levi had three sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

18Gershon had two sons: Libni and Shimei. The clans that were descended from them had the same names as those two sons.

19Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The clans that were descended from them had the same names as those four sons.

20Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi. The clans that were descended from them had the same names as those two sons.

Those are the clans that were descended from Levi.

21The two clans descended from Gershon are those that were descended from his sons Libni and Shimei. 22In those two clans there were 7,500 males who were at least one month old. 23They were told to set up their tents on the west side of the Sacred Tent. 24The leader of those two clans was Eliasaph, the son of Lael. 25Their work was to take care of the Sacred Tent, including the coverings of the tent, the curtain at the entrance of the tent, 26the ◄curtains/large pieces of cloth► that formed the walls around the courtyard that is around the tent and around the altar, the curtains that were at the entrance of the courtyard, and the ropes for fastening the tent. They also did all the work of taking care of the things outside the Sacred Tent.

27The clans that were descended from Kohath were those descended from his four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 28In those four clans there were 8,600 males who were at least one month old. The work of the men of the clans was to take care of the things that are inside the Sacred Tent. 29They set up their tents on the south side of the Sacred Tent. 30The leader of those four clans was Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel. 31The work of the men of those clans was to take care of the sacred chest, the table on which the priest put the sacred bread, the lampstand, the altars, all the items that the priest used in the Sacred Tent, and the curtain that is inside the tent. Their work was also to take care of the things inside the tent.

32Aaron’s son Eleazar was the leader of all the male descendants of Levi. He supervised all the work that was done at the Sacred Tent.

33The clans that were descended from Merari were those descended from his sons Mahli and Mushi. 34In those two clans there were 6,200 males who were at least one month old. 35They were told to set up their tents on the north side of the Sacred Tent. The leader of those two clans was Zuriel, the son of Abihail. 36The work of the men of those two clans was to take care of the frames that held up the tent, the crossbars, the pillars, and the bases. They also did all the work that was connected with those items. 37Their work was also to take care of the posts that held up the curtains that formed the walls of the courtyard, and all the bases, tent pegs, and ropes that fastened those curtains.

38Aaron and Moses/I and Aaron’s sons were told to set up their/our tents in the area in front of the Sacred Tent, on the east side. Their/Our work was to supervise the work that would be done in and around the Sacred Tent, for the benefit of the Israeli people. Only the priests were permitted to do that. Yahweh declared that we should execute anyone else who went near the tent to do the work that the priests do.

39When Aaron and Moses/I counted all the males who were at least one month old, who belonged to the clans descended from Levi, the total was 22,000.

40Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Now count all the other firstborn males in Israel who are at least one month old, and write down their names. 41Also, set apart for me the descendants of Levi to be substitutes for the firstborn males of the other Israelis. And set apart for me the livestock of the descendants of Levi to be substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the other Israeli people.”

42So Moses/I did that. He/I counted the firstborn males of all the Israeli people, as Yahweh had commanded. 43The total of those who were at least one month old was 22,273.

44Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 45“Set apart the descendants of Levi to be substitutes for the firstborn males of the other Israeli people. The descendants of Levi belong to me, Yahweh. 46There are 273 more firstborn males of the other Israeli people than of the descendants of Levi. 47-48To pay for these 273 males, collect five pieces of silver for each of them. Each of those pieces of silver must weigh the same as each of the silver coins that are stored in the Sacred Tent. Give this silver to Aaron and his sons.”

49So Moses/I did that. He/I collected the silver from those 273 males. 50The total was 1,365 pieces of silver. Each silver coin weighed the same as each of the silver coins stored in the Sacred Tent. 51Moses/I gave these silver coins to Aaron and his sons, as Yahweh had commanded.

4

The work of the clans descended from Kohath

1Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 2“Write down the names of the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi. 3Write the names of the men who are between 30 and 50 years old. These will be men who will work at the Sacred Tent.

4“The work of these descendants of Kohath will be to take care of the sacred items that are used when the people worship at the Sacred Tent. 5When you Israelis move to another location, Aaron and his sons must enter the tent to take down the curtain that separates the Very Holy Place from the other part of the Sacred Tent. They must cover the sacred chest with that curtain. 6Then they must cover that with a nice covering made from the skins of goats. Over that they must spread a blue cloth. Then they must insert into the rings on the chest the poles for carrying it.

7“Then they must put a blue cloth over the table on which the priests put the sacred bread. On top of the cloth they must put the bowls for incense, the pans, the other dishes, the jars for the wine that will be offered as a sacrifice, and the sacred bread. 8Over all of this they must spread a scarlet/red cloth. Finally, they must put on top a nice covering made from the skins of goats. Then they must insert into the rings at the corners of the tables the poles for carrying it.

9“Then with another blue cloth they must cover the lampstand, the lamps, the lamp snuffers, the trays, and the special jars of olive oil to burn in the lamps. 10They must cover the lampstand and all the other items with a nice covering made from the skins of goats. They must place all these things on a frame for carrying them.

11“Then they must spread another blue cloth over the gold altar which is used for burning incense. Over this they must spread a nice covering made from the skins of goats. Then they must insert into the rings of that altar the poles for carrying it.

12“They must take all the other items that are inside the Sacred Tent and wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with a nice covering made from the skins of goats, and place all that on a frame for carrying it.

13“Then they must remove the ashes from the altar on which they have burned sacrifices. Then they must cover the altar with a purple cloth. 14Then they must spread on top of the cloth all the items used at the altar—the pans for carrying the hot coals, the meat forks, the shovels, the bowls for containing the blood to sprinkle on the people, and all the other containers. Then they must spread over all those things a nice covering made from the skins of goats. Then they must insert into the rings at the sides of the altar the poles for carrying it.

15“When Aaron and his sons have finished covering all these sacred things, the Israeli people will be ready to move to a new location. The descendants of Kohath must come and carry all the sacred things to the next place where you Israelis will set up your tents. But the descendants of Kohath must not touch any of these sacred items, because they will immediately die if they touch them. They are the ones who will carry these things, but they must not touch them.

16“Aaron’s son Eleazar will have the work of taking care of the olive oil for the lamps, the nice-smelling incense, the grain which will be burned on the altar each day, and the olive oil for anointing the priests. Eleazar is the one who will supervise the work that is done at the Sacred Tent and the men who take care of everything that is in it.”

17“Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me, 18-20“When the descendants of Kohath approach the sacred items in the Sacred Tent to take them to another location, Aaron and his sons must always go in with them and show each of them what work to do and what things to carry. But the descendants of Kohath must not enter the Sacred Tent at any other time and look at the things that are in it. If they do that, I will get rid of all the descendants of Kohath.”

The work of the men descended from Gershon

21Yahweh also said to Moses/me, 22“Write down the names of all the men who belong to the clans descended from the Gershon division of the descendants of Levi. 23Write the names of the men who are between 30 and 50 years old. They will be men who will also work at the Sacred Tent.

24“This is the work that they must do and the things that they must carry when you move to a new location: 25They must carry the curtains of the Sacred Tent; they must carry the Sacred Tent and all the things that cover it, including the nice outer covering made from skins of goats, and the curtain which is at the entrance of the Sacred Tent. 26They must also carry the curtains that form the wall that surrounds the courtyard that surrounds the Sacred Tent and the altar, the curtain that is at the entrance to the courtyard, and the ropes that fasten the curtains. They must also do the packing and loading of these things. 27Aaron and his sons will supervise the work of all the descendants of Gershom. That work includes carrying those things and doing other work that is necessary for moving them. They must tell each of the descendants of Gershom what things they must carry. 28Those are the tasks that you must give to the men who belong to the clans descended from Gershom. Aaron’s son Ithamar is the one who will supervise their work.

The work of the men descended from Merari

29Count also the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi’s son Merari. 30Write the names of the men who are between 30 and 50 years old. They will be men who will also work at the Sacred Tent. 31Their work will be to carry the frames that hold up the tent, the crossbars, the posts that hold up the curtains, and the bases. 32They must also carry the posts for the curtains that form the walls of the courtyard and the bases for the posts, the tent pegs, and the ropes to fasten the curtains. Tell each man what things he must carry. 33Those are the tasks that the descendants of Merari must do at the Sacred Tent. Aaron’s son Ithamar is the one who will supervise them.”

Summary of the counting of the descendants of Levi

34So Aaron and Moses/I and the Israeli leaders counted the descendants of Kohath, writing also the names of their clans and family groups. 35They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent. 36The total was 2,750 men. 37They were the descendants of Kohath who were able to work at the Sacred Tent. Aaron and Moses/I counted them just as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.

38They/We also counted the descendants of Gershon, writing also the names of their clans and family groups. 39They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent. 40The total was 2,630 men. 41They were the descendants of Gershon who were able to work at the Sacred Tent. Aaron and Moses/I counted them as Yahweh had commanded.

42They/We also counted the descendants of Merari, writing also the names of their clans and family groups. 43They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent. 44The total was 3,200 men. 45They were the descendants of Merari who were able to work. Aaron and Moses/I counted them as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.

46So Aaron and Moses/I and the Israeli leaders counted all the descendants of Levi, writing also the names of their clans and family groups. 47They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old. They were ones who were able to work at the Sacred Tent and who carried the tent and everything that was connected with it. 48The total was 8,580 men. 49They/We completed the counting of all the descendants of Levi, as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me. And they/we told each man what work he was to do and what things he must carry when they moved to a new location.

5

Expelling those who were ritually impure

1Yahweh said to Moses/me, 2“Tell this to the Israeli people: ’You must send away from your ◄camp/area where you have your tents► any man or woman who has leprosy and anyone who has a discharge of some fluid from his body, and anyone who has become unacceptable to God because of having touched a corpse. 3Send them away from there in order that they will not touch people in the camp area where I live among you and cause them to become unacceptable to me.’” 4So Moses/I told that to the Israeli people, and the Israeli people obeyed what Yahweh commanded Moses/me.

Paying for committing crimes

5Yahweh also told Moses/me, 6“Tell this to the Israeli people: ’If someone ◄commits a crime against/does something wrong to► another person, I consider that that person has done wrong to me. 7That person must confess that he or she is guilty, and he or she must pay to the person to whom wrong was done what others consider to be a suitable/proper payment for what he has done, and he must pay an extra 20 percent. 8If the person against whom the wrong was done has died and there is no relative to whom the money can be paid, then the money belongs to me, and it must be paid to the priest. In addition, the one who did the wrong must give a male sheep to the priest to sacrifice in order that ◄that person’s sin may be forgiven/I can forgive that person for his sin►. 9All the sacred offerings that the Israelis bring to the priest belong to the priest. 10The priest can keep those gifts.’”

Suspecting a wife of committing adultery

11Yahweh also said this to Moses/me: 12“Tell this to the Israeli people: ’Suppose a man thinks that his wife has slept with another man, 13but neither he nor anyone else knows if it is true or not, because no one saw her doing that. 14But if the woman’s husband is jealous, and if he suspects that she has committed adultery, and he wants to know whether that is true or not, 15he should take his wife to the priest. He must take along as an offering two quarts/liters of barley flour. The priest must not pour olive oil or incense on it, because this is an offering that the man has brought because he ◄is jealous/wants his wife to sleep only with him►. It is an offering to find out if she is guilty or not.

16’The priest must tell the woman to stand in front of the altar in my presence. 17He must put some sacred water in a clay jar, and then he must put some dirt from the floor of the Sacred Tent into the water. 18He must untie/unfasten the woman’s hair. Then he must put in her hands the grain that her jealous husband is offering to determine whether she has committed adultery or not. The priest must hold the bowl that contains bitter water that will cause ◄the woman to be cursed/bad things to happen to the woman► if she is guilty. 19The priest must require her to solemnly declare that she will tell the truth. Then he must say to her, “Has another man had sex [EUP] with you? Have you faithfully slept only with your husband or not? If you have not slept with another man, nothing bad will happen to you if you drink the water. 20But if you have had sex with another man, Yahweh will curse you. 21-22Your womb will shrivel up and your stomach will swell up. You will never be able to give birth to children, and as a result, everyone will curse you and avoid you. If you have committed adultery, when you drink this water, that is what will happen to you.” Then the woman must answer, “If I am guilty, I will not object if that happens.”

23’Then the priest must write with ink on a small scroll these ◄curses/bad things that will happen to her if she is guilty► and then wash the ink off into the bitter water. 24-25The priest must take from her the offering of barley flour that she is holding, and lift it up to dedicate it to me. Then he must put it on the altar 26and burn part of it as a sacrifice. Then the woman must drink the bitter water. 27If the woman has committed adultery, the water will cause her to suffer greatly. Her stomach will swell up and her womb will shrink, and she will be unable to give birth to children. And then her ◄relatives/fellow Israelis► will curse her. 28But if she ◄is innocent/has not committed adultery►, her body will not be harmed, and she will still be able to give birth to children.

29’That is the ritual that must be performed when a woman who is married has been unfaithful to her husband, 30or when a man is jealous and suspects that his wife has had sex with another man. The priest must tell that woman to stand at the altar in my presence and obey these instructions. 31Even if the woman has not done what the husband suspected, he will not be punished [MTY] for doing something wrong by bringing his wife to the priest. But if his wife is guilty, she will suffer as a result.’”

6

Rules about Nazir-men

1Yahweh also said this to Moses/me: 2“Tell this to the Israeli people: ’If any of you wants to make a solemn promise to dedicate himself to belong to me in a special way, after you obey these instructions, you will be called a Nazir-man, which means “a dedicated man”. 3You must not drink any wine or other alcoholic/fermented drink. You must not drink any vinegar made from wine or from any other alcoholic/fermented drink. You must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. 4You must not eat anything that comes from grapevines, not even the skins or seeds of grapes, during the time that you are a Nazir-man.

5’Even your hair will be dedicated to me during the time that you area Nazir-man, so you must never allow anyone to cut your hair. Until the time that your solemn promise to dedicate yourself to me is ended, you must allow your hair to grow long. 6And you must not go near a corpse during the time that you are a Nazir-man. 7Even if the person who died is your father or your mother or your brother or your sister, you must not cause yourself to become unacceptable to me by coming close to the corpse. Your long hair [MTY] shows that you belong to me in a special way, so you must not cut your hair. 8You are required to keep doing this all the time that you are dedicated to me in this special way.

9’If anyone dies very suddenly when he is near you, then your hair that you have dedicated to me is no longer sacred. So you must wait seven days and then shave it all off. Then you must perform a special ritual to cause yourself to become acceptable to me again. 10The next day you must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the Sacred Tent. 11’The priest must kill the birds and offer them as sacrifices. One of them will be an offering to enable me to forgive you for the sins you have committed, and the other will be an offering that is burned completely to please me. After the priest burns them on the altar, I will forgive you for having come close to a corpse, and when your hair grows again it will be dedicated to me again. 12The amount of time that you were set apart for me the previous time does not count, because you had become unacceptable to me by coming close to a corpse during the time that you were a Nazir-man. So you must again make a solemn promise to dedicate yourself to me for the entire amount of time that you indicated the previous time. And you must also sacrifice a one-year-old lamb for not doing what you were required to do.

13’When the time that you promised to dedicate yourself to me is ended, go to the entrance of the Sacred Tent 14and offer as sacrifices to me three animals that have no defects: Offer a one-year-old ram that will be burned completely, a one-year-old female lamb as a sacrifice to enable me to forgive your sins, and one full-grown ram as a sacrifice to maintain fellowship with me.

15’When you bring those animals, you must also bring some wine to offer as a sacrifice. And you must also bring a basket of bread that you have made with very good flour and olive oil. But you must not put any yeast in the bread. Also brush/spread some olive oil on some thin wafers and bring them to the priest.

16’The priest will put the young lamb and the young ram on the altar and completely burn them, in order that I will be pleased and will forgive you for your sins. 17Then he will kill the full-grown ram as an offering to restore fellowship with me, and he will also burn on the altar some of the bread and the grain and wine.

18’After that, you must stand at the entrance of the Sacred Tent and shave off your hair. Then you must put that hair in the fire that is under the animal that has been sacrificed on the altar to maintain fellowship with me.

19’The meat from the ram’s shoulder must be boiled. After it is cooked, the priest will take it along with one of the loaves of bread and one wafer which has been brushed with olive oil, and he will put them in your hands. 20Then the priest will take them back and lift them up high to dedicate them to me. They now belong to the priest, and he is permitted to eat some of the meat from the ram’s shoulder and from its ribs and from one of its thighs, because that meat is his share of the sacrifice. After that, you will no longer be a Nazir-man, and you will again be permitted to drink wine.

21’Those are the regulations about the offerings that Nazir-men solemnly promise to bring to me to end their time of being dedicated to me. They must bring these offerings, but if they want to, they may bring additional offerings. And they must do everything that they solemnly promised to do when they dedicated themselves to me.’”

The blessing for the people

22Yahweh also said to Moses/me, 23“Tell Aaron and his sons that when they ask me to bless the people, they must say,

24‘I desire that Yahweh will bless you

and protect you,

25and that he will smile at you

and act kindly toward you,

26and that he will be good to you [IDM]

and cause things to go well for you.’”

27Then Yahweh said, “If Aaron and his sons ask me to bless the Israeli people, truly I will bless them.”

7

The offerings brought to the Sacred Tent

1When Moses/I had finished setting up the Sacred Tent, he/I dedicated [MTY] it to Yahweh. He/I also dedicated the things that are inside the tent, and the altar for burning sacrifices, and all the things that would be used at the altar. 2Then the leaders of the twelve Israeli tribes, the same men who had helped Aaron and Moses/me to count the men who could fight in battles, 3came to the tent, bringing gifts to Yahweh. They brought six sturdy/large carts and twelve oxen, one ox from each of the leaders and a cart from each of the two leaders.

4Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 5“Accept these gifts, in order that the descendants of Levi can use them for carrying the sacred items that are here at the Sacred Tent.”

6So Moses/I took the carts and oxen and gave them to the descendants of Levi. 7He/I gave two carts and four oxen to the descendants of Gershon for their work, 8and he/I gave four carts and eight oxen to the descendants of Merari for their work. Aaron’s son Ithamar was the supervisor of all their work. 9But he/I did not give any carts or oxen to the descendants of Kohath, because they took care of the sacred items that were to be carried on their shoulders, not on carts.

10On the day that the altar was dedicated [MTY], the twelve leaders brought other gifts to be dedicated and put them in front of the altar. 11Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Each of the next twelve days one leader should bring his gifts for the dedication of the altar.”

12-83These are the gifts that each of the leaders brought:

—a silver dish that weighed ◄more than three pounds/1.5 kg.►, and a silver bowl that weighed ◄almost two pounds/800 grams►, both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be offerings of grain; they both were weighed using the standard scales;

—a small gold dish that weighed ◄four ounces/14 grams►, filled with incense;

—a young bull, a full-grown ram, and a one-year-old ram, to be sacrifices to be completely burned on the altar;

—a goat to be sacrificed to enable me to forgive the people for the sins they have committed;

—and two bulls, five full-grown rams, five male goats, and five rams that were one-year-old, to be sacrifices to maintain the people’s fellowship with Yahweh.

This was the order in which the leaders brought their gifts:

on the first day, Nahshon, son of Amminadab from the tribe of Judah brought his gifts;

on the next/second day, Nethanel, son of Zuar, from the tribe of Issachar;

on the next/third day, Eliab, son of Helon, from the tribe of Zebulun;

on the next/fourth day, Elizur, son of Shedeur, from the tribe of Reuben;

on the next/fifth day, Shelumiel, son of Jurishhaddai, from the tribe of Simeon;

on the next/sixth day, Eliasaph, son of Deuel, from the tribe of Gad;

on the next/seventh day, Elishama, son of Ammihud, from the tribe of Ephraim;

on the next/eighth day, Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, from the tribe of Manasseh;

on the next/ninth day, Abidan, son of Gideoni, from the tribe of Benjamin;

on the next/tenth day, Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai, from the tribe of Dan;

on the next/eleventh day, Pagiel, son of Acran, from the tribe of Asher;

on the next/twelfth day, Ahira, son of Enam, from the tribe of Naphtali.

84-88When the altar was dedicated to Yahweh, those twelve leaders brought these gifts:

—twelve silver plates and twelve silver bowls, weighing a total of about ◄60 pounds/27.6 kg.►, each of them being weighed on the scales kept in the Sacred Tent;

—twelve gold dishes filled with incense, weighing a total of about ◄three pounds/1.4 kg.►, each being weighed on those same scales;

—twelve bulls, twelve full-grown rams, and twelve one-year-old rams, to be sacrifices that were completely burned, along with the grain offerings;

—twelve goats to be sacrificed to forgive the people for the sins they have committed;

—and 24 bulls, 60 full-grown rams, 60 goats, and 60 rams that were one-year-old, to be sacrifices to maintain the people’s fellowship with Yahweh.

89Whenever Moses/I entered the Sacred Tent to talk with Yahweh, he/I heard Yahweh’s voice speaking between the two images of creatures with wings that were above the lid of the sacred chest.

8

Aaron set up the lampstand

1Yahweh said to Moses/me, 2“Tell Aaron to put the seven lamps on the lampstand and place them in such a way that they shine toward the front of the lampstand.”

3So Moses/I told him what Yahweh said, and he did that. 4The lampstand had been made from gold that had been hammered from one large lump of gold, from its base to the decorations at the top that resembled flowers. The lampstand was made exactly like Yahweh had told Moses/me that it should be made.

Instructions for dedicating the descendants of Levi

5Yahweh also said to Moses/me, 6“You must cause the descendants of Levi to be acceptable to me by setting them apart from the other Israeli people. 7Do that by sprinkling them with water which will symbolize their being freed/cleansed from the guilt of their sins. Then they must shave off all the hair on their bodies and wash their clothes. 8Then they must bring to the Sacred Tent one bull and some grain mixed with olive oil. Those things will be burned as sacrifices. They must also bring another bull that will enable me to forgive them for the sins they have committed. 9Then you must summon all the Israeli people to come together in front of the Sacred Tent, to gather around the descendants of Levi. 10Then the Israeli people must lay their hands on the descendants of Levi. 11Aaron must then present them to me to be a gift from the Israeli people, in order that they can work for me at the Sacred Tent.

12“After that, the descendants of Levi must place their hands on the heads of the two bulls. Then the bulls will be killed and burned on the altar. One will be an offering to enable me to forgive them for the sins they have committed, and the other will be completely burned to please me. 13The descendants of Levi must stand at the altar in front of Aaron and his sons, and you must then dedicate to me the descendants of Levi. 14This ritual will show that the descendants of Levi are set apart from the other Israelis and that they belong to me.

15“After the descendants of Levi have been made acceptable to me, and presented to me like a special offering, they may start to work at the Sacred Tent. 16They will belong to me. They will work for me as substitutes for the firstborn males of all the Israelis, who also belong to me. 17All the firstborn males in Israel, both the people and the animals, are mine. When I caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die, I ◄spared/did not kill► the firstborn males of the Israelis. I set them apart to belong to me. I said that the firstborn males of all their domestic animals would also belong to me. 18But now I have chosen the descendants of Levi to take the places of the firstborn males of other Israelis. 19I have appointed the descendants of Levi to help Aaron and his sons at the Sacred Tent, as Aaron and his sons offer the sacrifices so that the Israeli people’s sins will be forgiven, and to prevent the Israelis from coming close to the tent with the result that a plague would cause many of them to become sick and die.”

20Aaron and Moses/I and the other Israelis helped the descendants of Levi to do everything that Yahweh had commanded. 21The descendants of Levi sprinkled themselves with water to symbolize that they had been freed/cleansed from the guilt of their sins, and they washed their clothes. Then Aaron brought them to the altar to present them to Yahweh, and he offered sacrifices to cleanse them from the guilt of their sins and cause them to become acceptable to Yahweh. 22After that, the descendants of Levi started to work at the Sacred Tent to assist Aaron and his sons. They did that just as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.

23Yahweh also said this to Moses/me: 24“The descendants of Levi who are between 25 and 50 years old will work at the Sacred Tent. 25But after they become 50 years old, they must ◄retire/not do that work anymore►. 26They may help the other descendants of Levi to do their work at the Sacred Tent, but they must not do the work themselves. That is what you must tell them about the work they will do.”

9

They celebrated Passover again

1One year after the Israelis left Egypt, during the month of March, while they were in the Sinai Desert, Yahweh said to Moses/me, 2“Tell the Israeli people that they must celebrate the Passover Festival again. 3They must do it on the fourteenth day of this month, early in the evening, and they must obey all the instructions about it that I gave you previously.”

4So Moses/I told the people what Yahweh had said about celebrating the Passover. 5The people celebrated it, there in the Sinai Desert, in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.

6But some of the Israeli people had touched a corpse, and as a result they had become unfit to celebrate the Passover. So they asked Aaron and Moses/me, 7“It is true that we have touched a corpse. But why should that prevent us from celebrating the Passover Festival and offering sacrifices to Yahweh like everyone else [RHQ]?”

8Moses/I replied, “Wait here until I go into the Sacred Tent and find out what Yahweh says about it.”

9So Moses/I went into the tent and asked Yahweh what he/I should tell the people, and this is what Yahweh said: 10“Tell this to the Israeli people: If any of you or your descendants touch a corpse and as a result become unacceptable to me, or if you are away from home on a long trip at the time to celebrate the Passover, you will still be permitted to celebrate it. 11But you must celebrate it exactly one month later, early in the evening of the fourteenth day of that month. Eat the meat of the lamb for the Passover Festival with bread that is baked without yeast and eat bitter herbs. 12Do not leave any of it until the next morning. And do not break any of the lamb’s bones. Obey all the regulations about celebrating the Passover. 13But if any of you has not done anything that would make you unfit to celebrate the Passover Festival, and you are not away from home on a long trip, and you do not sacrifice to me at the proper time, you will no longer be allowed to associate with my people. ◄You will be punished/I will punish you►.

14Foreigners who live among you may also celebrate the Passover Festival, if they obey all my commands concerning it.”

A cloud covered the Sacred Tent

15-16On the day that the Sacred Tent was set up, a cloud covered it. From the time that the sun set until the time that the sun rose the next day, the cloud resembled a huge fire. And that is what happened every day that we/the Israelis were in the desert. 17When the cloud rose up and started to move to a new location, we/they followed it. When the cloud stopped, we/the Israelis stopped there and set up their tents. 18We/They traveled when Yahweh, by causing the cloud to move or stop, signaled to us/them when to move and when to stop. When the cloud stayed over the Sacred Tent, we/the Israelis stayed at that place. 19Sometimes the cloud stayed over the tent for a long time, so when that happened, we/they did not travel. 20Sometimes the cloud remained over the tent for only a few days. We/The people stopped and set up our/their tents as Yahweh commanded us/them, and we/they traveled to a new location when Yahweh commanded us/them to do that. 21Sometimes the cloud stayed in one place for only one day. When that happened, when the cloud rose up into the sky the next morning, then we/they traveled. Whenever the cloud moved, during the day or during the night, we/they traveled. 22If the cloud stayed over the Sacred Tent for two days, or for a month, or for a year, during that time we/they stayed where we/they were. But when the cloud rose up into the sky, we/they started to travel. 23When Yahweh commanded us/them to stop and set up our/their tents, we/they did that. When he told us/them to move, we/they moved. We/They did whatever Yahweh told Moses/me that we/they should do.

10

The silver trumpets

1Yahweh also told Moses/me, 2“Tell someone to make two trumpets by hammering each one from one lump of silver. Blow the trumpets to summon the people to come together and also to signal that they must move their tents to a new location. 3If both trumpets are blown, it means that everyone must gather together at the entrance of the Sacred Tent. 4If only one trumpet is blown, it means that only the twelve leaders of the tribes must gather together. 5If the trumpets are blown loudly, the tribes that are to the east of the Sacred Tent should start to travel. 6When the trumpets are blown loudly the second time, the tribes that are to the south should start to travel. The loud blasts on the trumpet will signal that they should start to travel. 7When you want only to gather the people together, blow the trumpets, but do not blow them as loudly.

8“The priests who are descended from Aaron are the ones who should blow the trumpets. That is a regulation that will never be changed. 9When you fight against enemies who attack you in your own land, tell the priests to blow the trumpets loudly. I, Yahweh, your God, will hear that, and I will rescue you from your enemies. 10Also tell the priests to blow the trumpets when the people are happy, and at the festivals each year, and at the times when they celebrate the new moon each month. Tell them to blow the trumpets when the people bring offerings that will be completely burned, and when they bring offerings to maintain fellowship with me. If they do that, it will help you to remember that I, Yahweh your God, will help you.”

The Israelis traveled

11On the twentieth day of May in the second year after the/we Israelis left Egypt, the cloud rose up from above the Sacred Tent. 12So we/the Israelis traveled from the Sinai Desert, and we/they continued traveling north until the cloud stopped in the Paran Desert. 13That was the first time we/they moved, obeying the instructions that Yahweh had given to Moses/me to tell them.

14The group that went first, carrying their flag/banner, was the group from the tribe of Judah. Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, was their leader. 15The group from the tribe of Issachar followed them. Nethanel, the son of Zuar, was their leader. 16The group from the tribe of Zebulun went next. Eliab, the son of Helon, was their leader. 17Then they dismantled the Sacred Tent, and the descendants of Gershon and Merari carried it, and they went next.

18The group from the tribe of Reuben went next, carrying their flag. Elizur, the son of Shedeur, was their leader. 19The group from the tribe of Simeon was next. Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, was their leader. 20The group from the tribe of Gad was next. Eliasaph, the son of Deuel, was their leader. 21The group descended from Kohath was next. They carried the sacred items from the Sacred Tent. The Sacred Tent itself was set up at the new location before they arrived there.

22The group from the tribe of Ephraim was next, carrying their flag. Elishama, the son of Ammihud, was their leader. 23The group from the tribe of Manasseh went next. Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, was their leader. 24The group from the tribe of Benjamin, went next. Abidan, the son of Gideoni, was their leader.

25The ones who went last were the group from the tribe of Dan, carrying their flag. Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, was their leader. 26The group from the tribe of Asher went next. Pagiel, the son of Ocran, was their leader. 27The group from the tribe of Naphtali went last. Ahira, the son of Enan, was their leader. 28That was the order in which the groups of Israeli tribes traveled.

29One day Moses/I said to his/my brother-in-law Hobab, the son of Reuel from the Midian people-group, “We are on the way to the place that Yahweh promised to give to us. Come with us, and we will take good care of you, because Yahweh has promised to do good things for us Israeli people.”

30But Hobab replied, “No, I will not go with you. I want to return to my own land and to my own family.”

31But Moses/I said, “Please do not leave us. You know the places where we can set up our tents in this desert, and you can guide us. 32Come with us. We will share with you all the good things that Yahweh gives to us.”

33So Hobab agreed to go with them. The Israelis left Sinai Mountain, which they called Yahweh’s Mountain, and they walked for three days. The men carrying the sacred chest went in front of the other people for those three days, and they kept looking for a place to set up their tents. 34The cloud sent by Yahweh was over them every day.

35Each morning when the men who were carrying the sacred chest started to walk, Moses/I said,

“Yahweh, arise!

Scatter your enemies!

Cause those who hate you to run away from you!”

36And each time the men stopped to set down the sacred chest, Moses/I said,

“Yahweh, stay close to the thousands of us Israelis!”

11

Yahweh sent fire because the people complained

1One day the people complained to Yahweh about their troubles. When Yahweh heard what they were saying, he became angry. So he sent a fire which burned among the people at the edge of their camp. 2Then the people cried out to Moses/me, and he/I prayed to Yahweh. Then the fire stopped burning. 3So they called that place Taberah, which means ’Burning’, because the fire from Yahweh had burned among them.

Seventy leaders were chosen to help Moses

4Then some troublemakers from other people-groups who were traveling with the Israelis began to want better food. And when they started complaining the Israeli people also started to complain. 5They said, “We wish we had some meat! 6We remember the fish that we ate while we were in Egypt, fish that was given to us without ◄cost/asking us to pay for it►. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic that we wanted. But now we do not have any desire to eat, because all we have to eat is this manna!”

7The manna resembled small white seeds. 8Each morning the people would go out and gather some from the surface of the ground. Then they made flour by grinding it or pounding it with stones. Then they added water and boiled it in a pot, or they made flat cakes with it and baked them. The cakes tasted like bread that was baked with olive oil. 9Each night the manna came down on their ground where their tents were, like dew from the sky.

10Moses/I heard all the Israeli people complaining as they were standing in the entrances of their tents. Yahweh became very angry, and Moses/I was also very perturbed. 11He/I went into the Sacred Tent and asked Yahweh, “Why have you caused me, your servant, to experience this trouble [RHQ]? Act mercifully to me! What wrong have I done, with the result that you have appointed me to take care of all of these people [RHQ]? 12◄I am not their father./Am I their father?► [RHQ] Why have you told me to take care of them like a woman carries around her baby and ◄nurses it/gives it her milk► [MET, RHQ]? How can I take them to the land that you promised to give to our ancestors [RHQ]? 13Where can I get meat to feed all these people? They keep complaining to me, saying, ‘Give us some meat to eat!’ 14I cannot carry all these people’s burdens by myself! They are like a heavy load [MET], and I cannot carry this very heavy load anymore. 15If you intend to act like this toward me, kill me now. If you are really concerned about me, be kind to me and kill me to end my misery of trying to take care of them!”

16Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Summon 70 men whom you know are leaders among the Israeli people. Tell them to stand with you in front of the Sacred Tent. 17I will come down and talk with you there. Then I will take some of the power of my Spirit that you have, and I will put that power on them also. They will help you to take care of some of the things that the people are concerned about, in order that you will not need to do it alone.

18“Furthermore, say to the people, ‘Make yourselves acceptable to me, and tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You were complaining, and Yahweh heard you when you were saying, “We want some meat to eat. We had better food in Egypt!” Now Yahweh will give you some meat, and you will eat it. 19You will eat meat not only for one or two days, nor only for five or ten or 20 days. 20You will eat meat every day for one month, and then you will loathe/despise it, and it will cause you to want to vomit. This will happen because you have rejected Yahweh who is here among you, and you have wailed in his presence, saying “We would have had better food to eat if we had not left Egypt [RHQ].”’”

21But Moses/I replied to Yahweh, “There are 600,000 men plus women and children here with me, so ◄why do you say ‘I will give them plenty of meat every day for a month!’?/it does not seem right for you to say ‘I will give them plenty of meat every day for a month!’► [RHQ] 22Even if we killed all the sheep and cattle, that would not [RHQ] be enough to provide meat for all of them Even if we caught all the fish in the sea and gave it to them, that would not be enough [RHQ]!” 23But Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Do you think that I [SYN] have no power? You will now see if I can do what I say I will do.”

24So Moses/I went out from the Sacred Tent and told the people what Yahweh had said. Then he/I gathered together the 70 leaders and told them to stand around the Sacred Tent.

25Then Yahweh came down in the cloud that was above the tent and spoke to Moses/me. He took some of the power of the Spirit that he had given to Moses/me and gave it to the 70 leaders. By means of the power of the Spirit within them, they ◄prophesied/spoke messages that Yahweh gave them►, but they did that only once.

26Two of the leaders whom Moses/I appointed, Eldad and Medad, were not there when the rest of them gathered together. They had not left their tents to go and stand around the Sacred Tent. But Yahweh’s Spirit came on them also, and they started to ◄prophesy/speak messages from Yahweh►. 27So a young man ran and told Moses/me, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in all their tents!”

28Joshua, who had helped Moses/me since he was a young man, said, “Sir, tell them to stop doing that!”

29But Moses/I replied, “◄Are you worried that they might injure my reputation/Do you think that I want to be the only one who prophesies► [RHQ]? I wish that all Yahweh’s people could ◄prophesy/speak messages from Yahweh►. I wish that Yahweh would give the power of his Spirit to all of them!” 30Then Moses/I and all the leaders went back to their/our tents.

31Then Yahweh sent a strong wind from the sea. It blew quail into the area all around the camp for miles in every direction, and caused the quail to fall onto the ground. They were piled up on the ground about ◄3 feet/1 meter► high! 32So the people went out and gathered up the quail all that day, and all that night, and all of the following day. It seemed as though everyone gathered at least 50 bushels! They spread the quail out on the ground all around the camp, so that the quail would dry out. 33Then they cooked them and started to eat them. But while they were still eating the meat [MTY], Yahweh showed that he was very angry with them. He struck them with a severe plague/sickness, and many people died. 34The people who died and were buried were the ones who had said they wanted to eat meat like they had formerly eaten in Egypt. So they called that place Kibroth-Hattaavah, which means ‘graves of those who craved’.

35From there, the Israelis continued walking east until they arrived at Hazeroth town, where they stopped and stayed for a long time.

12

Miriam and Aaron were jealous of Moses

1-2Moses’/My older sister Miriam and his/my older brother Aaron were saying this: “Is Moses the only one to whom Yahweh has spoken messages to tell to us [RHQ]? Does Yahweh not speak messages to us two also?” They told people that they were saying that because Moses/I had married a woman who was a descendant of the Cush people-group, but they were really saying that because they ◄were jealous/did not want Moses/me to be the only leader of the Israeli people►. But Yahweh heard what they were saying.

3The truth was that Moses/I was very humble. He/I was more humble than anyone else on the earth and Moses/I had not appointed himself/myself to be their leader.

4So immediately Yahweh spoke to Moses/me and to Aaron and Miriam. He said, “All three of you must go and stand at the Sacred Tent.” So they/we did that. 5Then Yahweh descended to the entrance of the tent in a cloud that resembled a huge white pillar. He told Aaron and Miriam to step forward, so they did. 6Then he said to them,

“Listen to me!

When a prophet is among you,

I usually reveal myself to him by allowing him to see visions,

and I speak to him in dreams.

7But that is not the way I speak to my servant Moses.

I trust that he will lead my people well.

8So I talk to him face-to-face.

I speak to him ◄clearly/using words that he will understand easily►, not using parables.

He has even seen what I look like.

So you should be afraid to criticize my servant Moses!”

9Yahweh was very angry with Miriam and Aaron, and he left.

10When the cloud rose up from the Sacred Tent, Aaron looked at Miriam, and he saw that her skin was as white as snow, because she now had leprosy. 11Aaron said to Moses/me, “My master, please do not punish us for this sin that we have foolishly committed. 12Do not allow Miriam to be like a baby that is already dead when it is born, whose flesh is already half decayed!”

13So Moses/I cried out to Yahweh, saying, “God, I plead with you to heal her!”

14But Yahweh replied, “If her father had rebuked her for doing something wrong by spitting in her face, she would have been ashamed for seven days. She should be ashamed because of what she has done. So send her outside the camp for seven days. Then she will not have leprosy anymore, and she may return to the camp.” 15So they sent her outside the camp for seven days. ◄The people/We► did not move to another location until she returned.

16But after she returned, they/we left Hazeroth and moved north in the Paran Desert and set up their/our tents there.

13

Twelve Israeli men explored Canaan

1Yahweh said to Moses/me, 2“Send some men to Canaan land to explore it. That is the land that I will give to you Israelis. Send men who are leaders in their tribes.”

3So Moses/I did what Yahweh commanded him/me. He/I sent out twelve Israeli men who were all leaders of their tribes. He/I sent them from their/our camp at Paran in the desert. 4These are the names of the men and the tribes they belonged to:

Shammua, the son of Zaccur, from the tribe of Reuben;

5Shaphat, the son of Hori, from the tribe of Simeon;

6Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah;

7Igal, the son of Joseph, from the tribe of Issachar;

8Hoshea, the son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim;

9Palti, the son of Raphu, from the tribe of Benjamin;

10Gaddiel, the son of Sodi, from the tribe of Zebulun;

11Gaddi, the son of Susi, from the tribe of Manasseh;

12Ammiel, the son of Gemalli, from the tribe of Dan;

13Sethur, the son of Michael, from the tribe of Asher;

14Nahbi, the son of Vophsi, from the tribe of Naphtali;

15and Geuel, the son of Maki, from the tribe of Gad.

16Those are the names of the men whom Moses/I sent out to explore Canaan. Before they left, Moses/I gave Hoshea a new name, Joshua, which means ’Yahweh is the one who saves.’

17Before Moses/I sent them to explore Canaan, he/I said to them, “Go through the southern part of Canaan, and then go north into the hilly area. 18See what the land is like. See if the people who live there are strong or weak. See if there are many people or only a few people. 19Find out what kind of land they live in [RHQ]. Is it good or bad? Find out about the towns in which they live [RHQ]. Do they have walls around them or not? 20Find out about the soil [RHQ]. Is it ◄fertile/good for growing crops► or not? Find out if there are trees there [RHQ]. Try to bring back some of the fruit that grows in that land.” He/I said that because it was the beginning of the time to harvest grapes.

21So those men went to Canaan. They went through the entire land, from the Zin desert in the south all the way to Rehob town near Lebo-Hamath in the north. 22In the south, they went to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, huge men descended from Anak, lived. Hebron was a city that was built seven years before Zoan city was built in Egypt. 23In one valley, they cut from a grapevine one cluster of grapes. Because it was very large, they needed two men to carry it on a pole. They also picked some pomegranates and some figs to carry back to their camp. 24They called that place Eshcol which means ‘cluster’ because they had cut that huge cluster of grapes there. 25After they explored the land for 40 days, they returned to their camp.

The report about Canaan

26They came to Aaron and Moses/me and the rest of the Israeli people in the desert at Paran. They reported to everyone what they had seen. They also showed them the fruit that they had brought back. 27But this is what they reported to Moses/me: “We arrived in the land that you sent us to explore. It is truly a beautiful land, and it is very fertile [IDM]. Here is some of the fruit. 28But the people who live there are very strong. Their cities are large and are surrounded by walls. We even saw some of the huge descendants of Anak there. 29The descendants of Amalek live in the southern part of the land, and the descendants of Heth, Jebus, and Amor live in the hilly area to the north. The descendants of Canaan live along the coast of the Mediterranean sea and along the Jordan River.”

30When they said that, the people were afraid and started to cry out very loudly. But Caleb told the people who were standing near Moses/me to be quiet. Then he said, “We should go there and take the land, because we are certainly able to conquer it!”

31But the men who had gone with him said, “No, we cannot attack and defeat those people! They are much stronger than we are!” 32So those men gave to the Israeli people a bad report about the land that they had explored. They said, “The land that we explored is very large; we cannot conquer it. And all the people whom we saw are very tall. 33We even saw the descendants of Nephili there. The descendants of Anak whom we saw there are descended from the giant Nephili people. When we saw them, we felt as small as grasshoppers [SIM], and they thought that we looked like grasshoppers too!”

14

The Israeli people continued to complain

1That night, all the Israeli people cried loudly. 2The next day they all complained to Aaron and Moses/me. All the men said, “We wish that we had died in Egypt, or in this desert! 3Why is Yahweh bringing us to this land, where we men will be killed with swords? And our wives and children will be taken away to be slaves. Instead of going to Canaan. It would be better for us to return to Egypt!” 4Then some of them said to each other, “We should choose a leader who will take us back to Egypt!”

5Then Aaron and Moses/I bowed down to pray in front of all the Israeli people who had gathered there. 6Joshua and Caleb, two of the men who had explored the land, tore their clothes because they were very dismayed. 7They said to the Israeli people, “The land that we explored is very good. 8If Yahweh is pleased with us, he will lead us into that very fertile [IDM] land, and he will give it to us. 9So do not rebel against Yahweh! And do not be afraid of the people in that land! We will ◄gobble them up/completely destroy them► [MET]! They do not have anyone who will protect them, but Yahweh will be with us and help us. So do not be afraid of them!”

10Then all the Israeli people talked about killing Caleb and Joshua by throwing stones at them. But suddenly Yahweh’s glory appeared to them at the Sacred Tent. 11Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “How long will these people reject me [RHQ]? I am tired of them not believing in what I can do, in spite of all the miracles I have performed among them [RHQ]! 12So I will cause a ◄plague/widespread sickness► to strike them and get rid of them. But I will cause your descendants to become a great nation. They will be a nation that is much greater and stronger than these people are.”

13But Moses/I replied to Yahweh, “Please do not do that, because the people of Egypt will hear about it! You brought these Israeli people from Egypt by your great power, 14and the people of Egypt will tell that to the descendants of Canaan who live in this land. Yahweh, they have already heard about you. They know that you have ◄been with/helped► these people and that they have seen you face-to-face. They have heard that your cloud is like a huge pillar that stays over them, and by using that cloud you lead them during the day, and the cloud becomes like a fire at night to give them light. 15If you kill these people all at one time, the people-groups who have heard about your power will say, 16‘Yahweh was not able to bring them into the land that he promised to give to them, so he killed them in the desert.’

17“So Yahweh, now show that you are very powerful. You said, 18‘I do not quickly become angry; instead, I love people very much, and I forgive people for having sinned and having disobeyed my laws. But I will always punish [LIT] people who are guilty of doing what is wrong. When parents sin, I will punish them, but I will also punish their children and their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren and their great-great-grandchildren.’ 19So, because you love people like that, forgive these people for the sins that they have committed, just like you have continued to forgive them ever since they left Egypt.”

20Then Yahweh replied, “I have forgiven them, as you requested me to. 21But, just as certainly as I live and that people all over the world can see my ◄glory/glorious power►, I solemnly declare this:22All these people saw my glory and all the miracles that I performed in Egypt and in the desert, but they disobeyed me, and many times they tested whether they could continue to do evil things without my punishing them. 23Because of that, not one of them will see the land that I promised their ancestors that I would give to them. No one who rejected me will see that land. 24But Caleb, who serves me well, is different from the others. He obeys me completely. So I will bring him into that land that he has already seen, and his descendants will inherit/possess some of it. 25So, since the descendants of Amalek and Canaan who are living in the valleys in Canaan are very strong, when you leave here tomorrow, instead of traveling toward Canaan, go back along the road through the desert towards the Red Sea.”

Yahweh punished the Israelis

26Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me, 27“How long will the wicked people of this nation keep complaining about me [RHQ]? I have heard everything that they have grumbled/complained against me. 28So now tell them this: ‘Just as certainly as I, Yahweh, live, I will do exactly what you said would happen. 29I will cause all of you to die here in this desert! Because you grumbled about me, none of you who are more than 20 years old and who were counted when Moses counted everyone 30will enter the land that I solemnly promised to give to you. Only Caleb and Joshua will enter that land. 31You said that your children would be taken from you to become slaves, but I will take them into the land, and they will enjoy living in the land that you ◄rejected/said that you could not conquer►. 32But as for you adults, you will die here in this desert. 33And like shepherds wander around in the desert as they take care of their sheep, your children will wander around in this desert for 40 years. Because you adults were not loyal/faithful to me, your children will suffer until you all die in the desert. 34You will suffer for your sins for 40 years. That will be one year for each of the 40 days that the twelve men explored Canaan land. And I will be like an enemy to you.’ 35This will certainly happen because I, Yahweh, have said it! I will do these things to every one in this group who conspired against me. They ◄conspired against/decided together to reject► me here in the desert, and they will all die right here in this desert!”

36Then the ten men who had explored Canaan and who had urged the people to rebel against Yahweh by giving reports that discouraged the people 37were immediately struck with a plague/disease that Yahweh sent, and they died. 38Of the twelve men who had explored Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.

39When Moses/I reported to the Israeli people what Yahweh had said, many of them were very sad. 40So the people got up early the next morning and started to go toward the hilly area in Canaan. They said, “We know that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land that Yahweh promised to give to us.”

41But Moses/I said, “Yahweh commanded you to return to the desert, so why are you now disobeying him [RHQ]? It will not ◄succeed/be possible►. 42Do not try to enter the land now! If you try, your enemies will defeat you, because Yahweh will not ◄be with/help► you. 43When you begin to fight the descendants of Amalek and Canaan, they will slaughter you! Yahweh will abandon you, because you have abandoned him.”

44But even though Moses/I did not leave the camp, and the sacred chest that contained the Ten Commandments was not taken from the camp, the people began to go towards the hilly area in Canaan. 45Then the descendants of Amalek and Canaan who lived in that hilly area came down and attacked them and chased them as far south as the town of Hormah.

15

Instructions about offerings

1Then Yahweh told Moses/me, 2“Tell this to the Israeli people: When you arrive in the land that I am giving to you, 3you must offer to me special sacrifices which will be pleasing to me when the priest burns them on the altar. Some of them may be offerings that will be completely burned on the altar. Some of them may be to indicate that you have made a solemn promise to me. Some of them may be offerings that you yourselves have decided to make. Some of them may be offerings at one of the festivals that you celebrate each year. These offerings may be taken from your herds of cattle or from your flocks of sheep and goats. 4When you give these offerings, you must also bring to me a grain offering of two quarts/liters of nice flour mixed with one quart/liter of olive oil. 5When you offer a lamb to be a sacrifice to be completely burned, you must also pour on the altar one quart/liter of wine.

6’When you offer a ram to be a sacrifice, you must also bring an offering of four quarts/liters of finely-ground flour mixed with ◄a third of a gallon/1.3 liters► of olive oil. 7And also pour on the altar ◄a third of a gallon/1.3 liters► of wine. While they are being burned, the smell will be very pleasing to me.

8’Sometimes you will offer a young bull to be completely burned on the altar. Sometimes you will offer a sacrifice to indicate that you have made a solemn promise to me. Sometimes you will offer a sacrifice to maintain fellowship with me. 9When you offer these sacrifices, you must also offer a grain offering of six quarts/liters of finely-ground flour mixed with two quarts/liters of olive oil. 10Also pour on the altar two quarts/liters of wine to be an offering. While those special gifts are being burned, the smell will be very pleasing to me. 11Each time someone offers a bull or a ram or a male lamb or a young goat to be a sacrifice, it must be done that way. 12You must obey these instructions for each animal that you bring to me for an offering.

13’All of you people who have been Israelis all of your lives must obey these regulations when you offer sacrifices that will be pleasing to me when they are burned on the altar. 14If any foreigners visit you or live among you, if they also want to bring a sacrifice that will be pleasing to me when it is burned on the altar, they must obey these same instructions. 15I consider that those who have always been Israelis and those who are foreigners are equal, and so they must all obey the same instructions. All of your descendants must also continue to obey these instructions. 16You Israelis and the foreigners who live among you must all obey the same instructions.”

17Yahweh also said to Moses/me, 18“Tell these instructions to the Israeli people: Yahweh says this: ‘When you arrive in the land to which I am taking you, 19and you eat the crops that are growing there, you must set some of them aside to be a sacred offering to me. 20Each year set aside some of the first grain that you gather after you have threshed it. Bake a loaf of bread from the first flour that you grind and bring it to me to be a sacred offering. 21Every year, you and your descendants must continue to make and bring to me a loaf of bread baked [MTY] with flour from the first part of the grain that you harvest.’”

When people sin unintentionally or deliberately

22“’There may be times when you Israelis do not obey all these instructions that I have given to Moses to tell you, but not because you intended to disobey them. 23There may be times when some of your descendants do not obey all these instructions that I have given to Moses to tell to you. 24If you or they sin by forgetting to obey these instructions and none of the Israeli people realize that they were doing that, one young bull as an offering for all the people must be brought to the priest. That will be pleasing to me when it is burned on the altar. They must also bring to me a grain offering and an offering of wine, and a male goat, to be sacrificed to enable me to forgive them for the sins they have committed. 25By offering these sacrifices, the priest will make atonement for all of you Israeli people. Then, as a result of their bringing to me an offering to be burned on the altar, ◄you will be forgiven/I will forgive you►, because you sinned without realizing that you were sinning. 26You Israeli people and the foreigners who are living among you will all be forgiven.

27If one person commits a sin without realizing that he was sinning, that person must bring to me a female goat to be an offering to enable me to forgive that person for the sins that person has committed. 28The priest will offer it to be a sacrifice to remove the guilt of that person, and that person will be forgiven. 29You Israelis and all the foreigners who live among you must obey these same instructions.

30But those who disobey my commands ◄deliberately/because they want to►, both Israelis and the foreigany moreners who live among you, have sinned against me by doing that. So ◄they must be expelled/you must expel them► from your camp. 31They have despised my commands and deliberately disobeyed them, so they must be punished for their sin by not being allowed to live among you anymore.’”

A man is punished for working on the Sabbath

32One day, while the Israelis were in the desert, some of them saw a man who was gathering firewood on the Sabbath/rest day. 33Those who saw him doing that brought him to Aaron and Moses/me and the rest of the Israeli people. 34They guarded him carefully, because they did not know what to do to punish him. 35Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “The man must be executed. All of you must kill him by throwing stones at him outside the camp.” 36So they all took the man outside the camp and killed him by throwing stones at him, as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me that they should do.

Putting tassels on clothing

37Yahweh also said to Moses/me, 38“Tell this to the Israeli people: You and all your descendants must twist threads together to make tassels, and then attach them with blue cords to the bottom edges of your clothes. 39When you look at the tassels, you will remember all the instructions that I gave to you, and you will obey them, instead of doing what you desire and as a result causing yourselves to become unacceptable to me. 40Seeing those tassels will help you to remember that you must obey all my commands and that you must be ◄my holy people/dedicated to me►. 41Do not forget that I am Yahweh, your God. I am the one who brought you out of Egypt in order that you might belong to me. I am Yahweh, your God.”

16

Several men rebelled against Moses

1One day Korah, who was the son of Izhar and a descendant of Levi’s son Kohath, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, who were the sons of Eliab, and On, who was the son of Peleth. Those three men were from the tribe of Reuben. 2Korah and those other three men incited 250 other people who were leaders among the Israeli people to join them in rebelling against Moses/me. 3They came together to criticize Aaron and Moses/me. They said to them/us, “You two are using more authority than you should! Yahweh has set apart all of us Israeli people, and he is with/helping all of us. So why do you act as though you are more important than the rest of us people who belong to Yahweh [RHQ]?”

4When Moses/I heard what they were saying, he/I prostrated himself/myself on the ground. 5Then he/I said to Korah and those Israeli leaders who were with Korah, “Tomorrow morning Yahweh will show us whom he has chosen to be his priest, and who is holy and allowed to come near to him. Yahweh will permit only those whom he chooses to come into his presence. 6So Korah, tomorrow you and those who are with you must prepare your pans to burn incense. 7Then you must light a fire in them and burn the incense in the presence of Yahweh. Then we will see which one of us Yahweh has chosen to be his holy servant. It is you men who are descendants of Levi who are trying to use more authority than you should!”

8Then Moses/I spoke again to Korah. He/I said, “You men who are descendants of Levi, listen to me! 9The God of us Israelis has chosen all of you to be close to him in order that you can work for him at his Sacred Tent and serve the people. ◄Is that unimportant/Does that mean nothing► to you [RHQ]? 10Yahweh has brought you, Korah, and your fellow descendants of Levi, near to himself. Now are you demanding to become priests also? 11It is really Yahweh against whom you and your fellow descendants of Levi are rebelling. Aaron is not the one about whom you are really complaining [RHQ].”

12Then Moses/I summoned Dathan and Abiram, but they refused to come. They sent a message saying, “We will not come to you! 13You brought us out of Egypt, which was a very fertile [IDM] land, in order to cause us to die here in this desert. That was bad. But now you are also trying to boss us [RHQ], and that is worse. 14You have not given us a new land to live in, a land that has good fields and vineyards. You are only trying to [RHQ] trick these people. So we will not come to you.”

15Then Moses/I became very angry. He/I said to Yahweh, “Do not accept the grain offerings that they have brought. I have not taken anything from them, not even one donkey, and I have never done anything wrong to them, so they have no reason to complain about me.”

16Then Moses/I said to Korah, “You and all those who are with you must come here tomorrow and stand in front of Yahweh. Aaron will also be here. 17You and all the 250 men who are with you must each take a pan in which to burn incense, and put incense in it, to burn it to be an offering to Yahweh. Aaron will do the same thing.”

18So the next day each of those men got a pan to burn incense. They put in it incense and hot coals to light it, and then they all stood at the entrance of the Sacred Tent with Aaron and Moses/me. 19Then Korah summoned all the people who supported him and who were against Moses/me, and they also gathered at the entrance of the tent. Then the glory of Yahweh appeared to all of them/us, 20and Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me, 21“Get away from all these people, in order that I can get rid of them immediately!”

22But Aaron and Moses/I prostrated themselves/ourselves on the ground. We pleaded with Yahweh, saying, “God, you are the one who caused all these people to live [MTY]. Only one of these men has sinned; so, ◄is it right for you to be angry with all the people?/it is not right for you to be angry with all the people!► [RHQ]”

23Yahweh said to Moses/me, 24“Okay, but tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

25So Moses/I stood up and went to the tents of Dathan and Abiram. The Israeli leaders followed him/me. 26He/I told the people, “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them! If you touch anything, you will die because of their sins!” 27So all the people moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out of their tents with their wives and children and babies, and stood at the entrances of their tents.

28Then Moses/I said, “I was not the one who decided to do all these things that I have done. It was Yahweh who chose me and sent me to do them. And now he will prove that to you. 29If these men die in a normal way, then it will be clear that Yahweh did not choose me. 30But if Yahweh does something that has never happened before, if he causes the ground that is under their feet to open up and swallow these men and their families and all their possessions, and they fall into the opening and are buried while they are still alive, then you will know that these men have insulted Yahweh.”

31As soon as Moses/I said this, the ground split open beneath those men. 32It swallowed them and their families and all those who were standing there with Korah and all of their possessions. 33They fell into the opening in the ground while they were still alive, and all their possessions fell into the opening also. They disappeared, and the ground closed back up again. 34They screamed as they fell, and all the people who were standing nearby heard them scream. The people were terrified and cried out as they ran away, saying, “We do not want the ground to swallow us also!”

35And then a fire from Yahweh came down from the sky and burned up the 250 men who were burning the incense!

36Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 37“Tell Aaron’s son Eleazar to take the pans that had incense in them away from the fire and to scatter the burning coals. The pans that those men were carrying are ◄holy/dedicated to me► because they burned incense to me in them. 38Those men have now died because of their sin; so Eleazar must take their pans and hammer the metal to make it become very thin. He must make a covering for the altar with that metal. Those pans were used to offer incense to me, so they are ◄holy/dedicated to me►. What happened to those pans will now warn the Israeli people.”

39So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 pans for burning incense that had been used by the men who died in the fire. He hammered the pans very thin to make a covering for the altar, as Yahweh told Moses/me should be done. 40That warned the Israeli people that only those who were descendants of Aaron were permitted to burn incense for an offering to Yahweh. If anyone else did that, the same thing that happened to Korah and those who were with him would happen to them.

41But the following morning, all the Israeli people started to complain against Aaron and Moses/me, saying “You have killed many people who belonged to Yahweh!”

42When all the people gathered together to protest about what Aaron and Moses/I had done, they looked at the Sacred Tent and saw that the sacred cloud had covered it, and the glory of Yahweh had appeared. 43Aaron and Moses/I went and stood in front of the Sacred Tent. 44Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 45“Get away from these people, in order that I can get rid of them immediately without injuring you two!” But Aaron and Moses/I prostrated themselves/ourselves on the ground and prayed.

46Moses/I said to Aaron, “Quickly take another pan and put in it some burning/hot coals from the altar. Put incense in the pan, and carry it out among the people to atone for the sins of the people. Yahweh is very angry with them, and I know that a ◄severe plague/bad sickness► has already started among them.” 47So Aaron did what Moses/I told him. He took the burning incense out among the people. The plague had already started to strike the people, but Aaron continued to burn the incense so that God would forgive them for the sins they had committed. 48He stood between the people who had already died and those who were still alive, and then the plague stopped. 49But 14,700 people had already died from that plague/sickness, in addition to the people who died with Korah. 50Then after the plague had ended, Aaron and Moses/I returned to the entrance of the Sacred Tent.

17

Aaron’s walking stick budded

1Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 2“Tell the Israeli people to bring to you twelve walking sticks. They should bring one from each of the leaders of the twelve tribes. You should carve each leader’s name on his stick. 3There must be one stick for the leader of each tribe, so you must carve Aaron’s name on the stick for the tribe of Levi. 4Put those sticks inside the Sacred Tent, in front of the sacred chest that has in it the tablets on which the Ten Commandments are written. That is the place where I always talk with you. 5Buds will sprout on the stick of the man whom I have chosen to be the priest. When the people see that, they will stop their constantly complaining about you because they will realize that you are the one whom I have chosen.”

6So Moses/I told the people what Yahweh had said. Then each of the twelve Israeli leaders, including Aaron, brought his walking stick to Moses/me. 7Moses/I placed the sticks inside the Sacred Tent in front of the sacred chest.

8The following morning, when he/I went into the tent, he/I saw that Aaron’s stick, which represented the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, it had produced leaves and blossoms, and it had also produced almonds that were ripe! 9Moses/I brought all the sticks out of the Sacred Tent and showed them to the people. Each of the twelve leaders took back his own stick.

10Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Put Aaron’s stick in front of the sacred chest, and let it stay there permanently. That will be a warning to people who want to rebel against me. Then no more people will die because of complaining against me.” 11So Moses/I did what Yahweh had commanded.

12Then the Israeli people said to Moses/me, “We are going to die! All of us are surely going to die! 13Everyone who comes close to Yahweh’s Sacred Tent dies. Are the rest of us going to die, also?” [RHQ]

18

The duties of the priests and Levites

1Yahweh said to Aaron, “You and your sons and the other members of your father’s family are the ones ◄who will be punished/whom I will punish► if anything bad happens to the things inside the Sacred Tent. But only you and your sons will be punished if the priests do something bad. 2Require that those who belong to your tribe, the tribe of Levi, must assist you and your sons while you perform your work at the Sacred Tent. 3But while they do that work, they must not go near the sacred items inside the tent or near the altar. If they do that, they will die, and you will die, too! 4They may assist you in doing all the work to take care of the Sacred Tent, but no one else is permitted to come near the place where you are working.

5“You are the ones who will do the sacred work inside the Sacred Tent and at the altar. If you obey these instructions, I will not become very angry with the Israeli people again. 6I myself have chosen the descendants of Levi from the other Israelis in order that they may be your special helpers. They are like a gift that I have given you to work at the Sacred Tent. 7But it is you and your sons, who are the priests, who must perform all the rituals concerning the altar and with what happens inside the Very Holy Place. I am giving to you this work of serving as priests. So anyone else who tries to do that work must be executed.”

The offerings for the priests and Levites

8Yahweh also said to Aaron, “I myself have appointed you to take care of all the sacred offerings that the Israeli people bring to me. I have given all these sacred offerings to you and to your sons. You and your descendants will get a share of these offerings permanently. 9The parts of the offerings that are not completely burned on the altar belong to you. Those parts of the sacred offerings, including the offerings of grain, the offerings for sins and for the people to be forgiven for not giving me what they are required to give, are set apart, and are to be given to you and your sons. 10You must eat those offerings in a sacred place, near the Sacred Tent. You and all of the other males in your clan may eat them, but you must consider those offerings to be holy/dedicated to me.

11“The priests lift up high the sacred offerings while they are standing in front of the altar. All of those offerings that the Israelis offer to me belong to you and your sons and daughters. They will always be your share. All the members of your family who have performed the rituals to cause them to be acceptable to me are permitted to eat from these offerings.

12“I am also giving to you the first food that people harvest each year and bring to me—the best olive oil and new wine and grain. 13All of the first crops that people harvest and bring to me belong to you. Anyone in your family who has performed the ritual to become acceptable to me is permitted to eat that food.

14“Everything in Israel that is set apart to belong to me also belongs to you. 15The firstborn males, both humans and domestic animals, that are offered to me, will be yours. But people must buy back their firstborn sons and the firstborn animals that may not be used for sacrifices. 16They must buy them back when they are one month old. The price that they must pay for each one is five pieces of silver. They must weigh the silver on the scales that are in the Sacred Tent.

17“But they are not permitted to buy back the firstborn cattle or sheep or goats. They are holy and have been set apart for me. Slaughter them and sprinkle their blood on the altar. Then completely burn the fat of those animals on the altar to be an offering to me. The smell as they burn will be very pleasing to me. 18The meat from those offerings will be yours, just like the breast and right thigh of animals that are presented to me to maintain fellowship with me as the priest lifts them up high in front of the altar are yours. 19Anything that the Israeli people present to me as holy/sacred gifts, I am giving to you. They are for you and your sons and daughters to eat. They will always be your share. This is an agreement that I am making with you, an agreement that will ◄last forever/never be changed►. I am also making this agreement with your descendants.”

20Yahweh also said to Aaron, “You priests will not receive any of the land or the property like the other Israeli people will receive. I am what you will receive.

21“When the Israeli people bring to me a tenth of all the crops and of their newborn animals, I will give that to you descendants of Levi. That will be your payment for the work you do at the Sacred Tent. 22The other Israelis must not go near that tent. If they go near it, I will consider that their doing that is a sin, and they will die for committing that sin. 23Only the descendants of Levi are permitted to work at the Sacred Tent, and they will be punished if anything bad happens to it. That is a law that will never be changed. You descendants of Levi will not receive any land among the other Israeli people, 24because I will give you one tenth of all the crops and animals that the Israelis bring to be offerings to me. That is why I said that you will not receive any land like the other Israelis will receive.”

25Yahweh said to Moses/me, 26“Tell this to the descendants of Levi: ‘When you receive one tenth of all the crops and animals from the Israeli people, you must give one tenth of all that to me to be a sacred offering. 27Just like the other Israelis give one tenth of the grain and wine that they produce, 28you must give to me one tenth of all that you receive from them. That will be your sacred offering to me. You must present it to Aaron. 29Select the best parts of the things that are given to you to give them to me.’

30“Also, tell this to the descendants of Levi: ‘When you present those best portions of grain and wine as your offering to me, I will consider that those gifts are as though they came from your own grain fields and vineyards. 31You descendants of Levi and your families are permitted to eat the rest of that food, and you may eat it wherever you want to, because it is your payment for the work that you do at the Sacred Tent. 32If you give to the priests the best portions of what you receive, you will not be punished by me for accepting one tenth of the gifts that the people bring to me. But you must consider those gifts to be sacred/holy. If you sin by eating those things in ways that are contrary to these regulations that I have given to you, you will be executed.’ ”

19

The ritual for removing the guilt of sin

1Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me, 2“I am now giving to you another regulation. Tell the Israeli people to bring to you one reddish-brown cow that has no defects. It must be an animal that ◄has never been/no one has ever► used for plowing ground. 3Give it to Eleazar, the priest. He must take it outside the camp and slaughter it and drain the blood in a basin. 4He must dip one of his fingers in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times on the ground near the Sacred Tent. 5Then, while Eleazar watches, the cow must be burned completely—its hide, its meat, the rest of its blood, and even its dung. 6Eliezer then must take a stick of cedar wood, a stalk of a plant named hyssop, and some scarlet/red yarn, and throw them into the fire where the cow is burning.

7“Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe. After doing that, he may return to the camp. But he will be unfit for doing any sacred work until that evening. 8The man who burns the cow must also wash his clothes and bathe, and he will also be unacceptable to me until that evening.

9“Then someone who has not become unacceptable to me must gather up the ashes of the cow and put them in a ◄sacred place/place that is acceptable to me► outside the camp. The ashes must be kept there for the people of Israel to use when they mix it with water for the ritual to remove the guilt of sin. 10The man who gathers up the ashes of the cow must also wash his clothes, and he also will be unfit to do any more sacred work until that evening. That is a regulation that will never be changed. It must be obeyed by you Israeli people and by any foreigners who live among you.

11“All those who touch a corpse will be unacceptable to me for seven days. 12On the third day and on the seventh day after touching a corpse, in order to become acceptable to me again, they must have sprinkled on them some of that water for removing the guilt of their sin. If they do not do that on both of those days, they will continue to be unacceptable to me. 13All those who touch a corpse, and do not perform in the correct way the ritual to become acceptable to me again, defile Yahweh’s Sacred Tent. They will no longer be permitted to live among the Israeli people. The water to remove the guilt of sin was not sprinkled on them, so they continue to be unacceptable to me.

14“There is another ritual that must be performed when someone dies inside a tent. All those who were inside that tent when that person died or who enter that tent will be unacceptable to me for seven days. 15Any jars that are inside that tent that are not covered are not permitted to be used. 16If someone who is out in a field touches the corpse of someone who was murdered, or who died from natural causes, or if someone touches a bone from some human or touches a grave, that person will be unacceptable to me for seven days.

17“For someone like that to become acceptable to me again, some of the ashes from the cow that was burned must be taken and put in a jar. Then some fresh water must be poured over the ashes. 18Then someone who is still acceptable to me must take a stalk of a plant named hyssop and dip it into the water. Then that person must sprinkle some of the water on the tent where that person died, on the things that are in the tent, and on the people who were in the tent. He must also sprinkle some of that water on any person who touched a human bone or who touched a person who died, or who touched a grave. 19On the third day and on the seventh day after that, the person who is acceptable to me must sprinkle some of that water on those who have become unacceptable to me. On the seventh day, the people who are performing that ritual to become acceptable to me again must wash their clothes and bathe. If they do that, on that evening they will become acceptable to me again.

20“If those who have become unacceptable to me do not become acceptable to me again by doing this, they will no longer be permitted to live among the Israeli people, because they have defiled my Sacred Tent. They did not sprinkle on themselves the water that removes the guilt of their sins, so they remain unacceptable to me. 21That is a law for the Israeli people that will never be changed. Those who sprinkle that water on themselves must then wash their clothes. And anyone who touches that water which removes guilt for sins will remain unacceptable to God until that evening.

22“If someone touches a thing or a person that has become unacceptable to me, that person will remain unacceptable to me until that evening.”

20

Water flowed from a rock

1In March/April of the next year, the Israeli people traveled/walked to the Zin Desert and ◄camped/set up their tents► near Kadesh town. While they/we were there, Moses’/my older sister Miriam died and was buried there.

2There was no water for the people to drink there, so they came to Aaron and Moses/me. 3They complained and said, “We wish that we had died in front of Yahweh’s Sacred Tent when our fellow Israelis died! 4◄Did you bring us, who are Yahweh’s people, into this desert to die along with our livestock?/You brought us, who are Yahweh’s people, into this desert to die along with our livestock!► [RHQ] 5Why did you bring us from Egypt to this miserable place [RHQ]? There is no grain, there are no figs, no grapes, and no pomegranates here. And there is no water for us to drink!”

6Aaron and Moses/I turned away from the people and went to the entrance of the Sacred Tent and prostrated themselves/ourselves on the ground. Then Yahweh appeared to them/us with his bright glory, 7and he said to Moses/me, 8“You and Aaron must take Aaron’s walking stick with you and gather all the people together. While the people are watching, command that water will flow out of that large rock over there. Water for the people will flow from it; all they and all their livestock will have enough water to drink.”

9So Moses/I did what Yahweh told him/me to do. He/I took Aaron’s walking stick from the place in the Sacred Tent where it was kept. 10Then Aaron and he/I summoned all the people to gather at the rock. Then Moses/I shouted to them, “All you rebellious people, listen! Is it necessary for us to give you water from this rock?” 11Then Moses/I raised his/my hand and instead of speaking to the rock, he/I struck the rock two times with the walking stick. And water gushed/poured out. So all the people and their livestock drank all the water that they wanted.

12But Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me, “You did not believe that I could demonstrate my power to the Israeli people and give them water without your striking the rock. So you will not lead them into the land that I am giving to them!”

13Later this place was called Meribah, which means ‘arguing’, because there the Israeli people argued with Yahweh, and there he showed his power to them by giving them water.

The king of Edom refused to allow the Israelis to travel through his country

14While the people were at Kadesh town, Moses/I sent messengers to the king of Edom to tell him this:

“Your relatives, the Israeli people, are sending you this message. You know the many troubles/hardships that have happened to us. 15You know that our ancestors went down to Egypt. You know that they stayed there for many years. They suffered because the rulers of Egypt caused them to become their slaves and to work very hard.

16“But when they called out to Yahweh, he heard them and sent an angel who brought them out of Egypt. Now we have set up our tents here at Kadesh, a town at the border of your land. 17Please allow us to travel through your country. We will be careful to not walk through your fields and your vineyards. We will not even drink water from your wells. As we travel, we will stay on the king’s highway, the main road that goes from the south to the north, and we will not leave that road until we have crossed the border of your country in the north.”

18But the king of Edom refused. He replied, “Stay out of my country! If you try to enter it, I will send my army to attack you!”

19The Israeli messengers replied, “If we travel through your country, we will stay on the main road. If we and any of our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We want only to travel through your country. We do not want anything else.”

20But the king replied, “No! Stay out of our country! We will not allow you to travel through our land!” Then he sent the strongest soldiers in his army to prevent the Israelis from entering his country.

21So, because the king of Edom refused to allow the Israelis to travel through his country, the Israelis turned and traveled a different way.

Aaron died

22The Israeli people left Kadesh. They went to Hor Mountain, 23which is at the border of Edom. While they were there, Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me, 24“It is time for Aaron to die [EUP]. He will not enter the land that I am giving to you Israelis, because the two of you disobeyed me when I told you to speak to the rock to cause the water to flow at Meribah. 25Now you, Moses, take Aaron and his son Eleazar up on Hor Mountain. 26There you must remove Aaron’s robes that he wears when he does the work of a priest, and put them on his son, Eleazar. Aaron will die up there.”

27So Moses/I did what Yahweh commanded. The three of them/us climbed up Hor Mountain, while all the Israeli people watched. 28At the top of the mountain, Moses/I took off the robes that Aaron wore while he did the work of a priest and put them on Eleazar. Then Aaron died there on the top of the mountain, and Eleazar and Moses/I went back down. 29When the Israeli people realized that Aaron had died, they all mourned for him for 30 days.

21

The Israelis defeated the Canaan people

1The king of Arad city lived in the area where the Canaan people-group lived, in the desert in the southern part of the land. He heard a report that the Israelis were approaching on the road to Atharim village. So his army attacked the Israelis and captured some of them. 2Then the Israelis solemnly vowed: “Yahweh, if you will help us to defeat these people, we will completely destroy all their towns.” 3Yahweh heard what they requested, and he enabled them to defeat the army of the Canaan people-group. The Israeli soldiers killed all the people and destroyed their towns. Ever since that time, that place has been called Hormah which means ‘destruction’.

The bronze snake

4Then the Israelis left Hor Mountain and traveled on the road towards the Red Sea, in order to go around the land of Edom. But the people became impatient along the way, 5and they began to grumble/complain against God and against Moses/me. They said, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in this desert [RHQ]? There is nothing to eat here, and nothing to drink. And we detest this lousy manna food!”

6So Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among them. Many of the people were bitten by the snakes and died. 7Then the people came to Moses/me and cried out, saying, “We now know that we have sinned against Yahweh and against you. Pray to Yahweh, asking that he will take away the snakes!” So Moses/I prayed for the people.

8Then Yahweh told him/me, “Make a model/image of a poisonous snake, and attach it to the top of a pole. If those who are bitten by the snakes look at that model, they will ◄recover/get well►.” 9So Moses/I made a snake from bronze and attached it to the top of a pole. Then, when those who had been bitten by a snake looked at the bronze snake, they recovered!

The Israelis traveled to Moab

10Then the Israelis traveled to Oboth and ◄camped/set up their tents► there. 11Then they left there, and went to Iye-Abarim, in the desert on the eastern border of Moab. 12From there they traveled to the valley where the Zered riverbed is, and camped there. 13Then they traveled to the north side of the Arnon River. That area is in the desert next to the land where the Amor people-group lived. The Arnon River is the boundary between Moab and where the Amor people-group lived. 14That is why in the book called ‘The Book of the Wars of Yahweh’ it tells about

“Waheb town in the Suphah area, and the ravines there;

and the Arnon River

15and the ravines there,

which extend as far as Ar village on the border of Moab.”

16From there, the Israelis traveled to Beer. There was a well there, where Yahweh previously had said to Moses/me, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” 17There the Israelis sang this song:

“O well, give us water!

Sing about this well!

18Sing about this well

which our leaders dug;

they dug out the dirt with their royal scepters and their walking sticks.”

Then the Israelis left that desert and went through Mattanah, 19Nahaliel, and Bamoth villages. 20Then they went to the valley in Moab where Pisgah Mountain rises above the desert.

The Israelis defeated kings Sihon and Og

21Then the Israelis sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group. This was the message that they/we gave him:

22“Allow us to travel through your country. We will stay on the king’s highway, the main road that goes from the south to the north, until we have finished traveling through your land. We will not walk through any field or vineyard, or drink water from your wells.”

23But King Sihon refused. He would not allow them to walk through his land. Instead, he sent his whole army to attack the Israelis in the desert. They attacked the Israelis at Jahaz village. 24But the Israelis completely defeated them and occupied their land, from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north. They stopped at the border of the land where the Ammon people-group lived, because the Ammon army was defending the border strongly. 25So the Israelis occupied all the cities and towns where the Amor people-group lived, and some of the Israelis began to live in them. They occupied Heshbon city and the nearby villages. 26Heshbon was the capital of the country. It was the city where King Sihon ruled. His army had previously defeated the army of the king of Moab, and then his people had begun to live in all of the land of Moab as far as the Arnon River in the south.

27For that reason, one of the poets wrote long ago,

“Come to Heshbon, the city where King Sihon ruled.

We want the city to be restored/rebuilt.

28A fire blazed from Heshbon;

it burned down Ar city in Moab,

it destroyed everything on the hills along the Arnon River.

29You people of Moab, terrible things have happened to you!

You people who worship your god Chemosh have been ◄annihilated/wiped out►!

The men who worshiped [MET] Chemosh have run away and are now refugees,

and the women who worshiped him have been captured by the army of Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group.

30But we have defeated Sihon and those descendants of Amor,

all the way from Heshbon in the north to Dibon city in the south.

We have completely obliterated/destroyed them as far as Nophah and Medeba towns.”

31So the Israeli people began to live in the land where the Amor people-group lived.

32After Moses/I sent some men to explore the area near Jazer city, Israeli people began to live in all the towns in that region and expelled the Amor people-group who lived there. 33Then they turned north toward the Bashan region, but King Og of Bashan and all his army attacked them at Edrei town.

34Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Do not be afraid of Og, because I am going to enable your men to defeat him and his army, and to take possession of all his land. You will do to him what you did to Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who ruled in Heshbon.”

35And that is what happened. We Israelis defeated Og’s army, and killed King Og and his sons and all his people. Not a person survived! And then we Israelis began to live in their land.

22

King Balak summoned Balaam

1Then the Israelis traveled west to the area of Moab that was in the valley of the Jordan River, across the river from Jericho city.

2But King Balak, the son of Zippor, who ruled Moab, found out what the Israelis had done to the Amor people-group. 3When he saw that the Israelis were very numerous, he and his people became terrified.

4So the king of Moab went to the leaders of the Midian people-group and said to them, “This huge group of Israelis will ◄wipe out/destroy► everything around them, like an ox devours grass!”

Balak was the king of Moab. 5He sent messengers to a prophet named Balaam, who was living in his own area, in Pethor town, near the Euphrates River. He sent this message to request that Balaam would come to help him:

“A huge group of people has arrived here from Egypt. It looks like they are covering the entire land! And they have begun to live close to us. 6Because they are very powerful/numerous, we are afraid of them. So please come and curse them for me. Then my army may be able to defeat them and expel them from the land where they are now living. I know that good things will happen to the people whom you bless, and disasters will happen to the people whom you curse.”

7Balak’s messengers, who were leaders of both the Moab and Midian people-groups, took money with them to pay Balaam in order that he would come and curse the Israelis. They went to Balaam and told him what Balak had said.

8Balaam said, “Stay here tonight. Tomorrow morning I will tell you whatever Yahweh tells me that I should say to you.”

So the leaders from Moab stayed there that night. 9During the night, God appeared to Balaam and asked him, “◄Who are/Tell me about► these men who are staying with you.”

10Balaam replied, “Balak, the king of Moab, sent these men to tell me this: 11‘A huge group of people has come from Egypt, and they have spread all over this area. Please come immediately to curse them. Then I may be able to defeat them and expel them from this area.’”

12God replied to Balaam, “Do not go with them! I have blessed those people, so you must not curse them!”

13The next morning, Balaam got up and told Balak’s men, “Go back home. But go by yourselves, because Yahweh is not allowing me to go with you.”

14So the men from Moab returned to King Balak and they reported to him, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

15But Balak sent another group of leaders to Balaam. It was a group that was larger and they were more important than the men in the first group. 16They went to Balaam and told him this:

“This is what King Balak says: ‘Please do not allow anything to hinder you from coming here. 17I will pay you ◄a lot of money/very well► if you come, and I will do anything that you ask me to do. Just come and curse these Israeli people for me!’”

18But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak would give me a palace filled with silver and gold, I would not do anything to disobey Yahweh, ◄my God/the God whom I worship►. 19But stay here one more night, like the other messengers did, and I will find out if Yahweh has anything more to say to me.”

20That night God appeared to Balaam again and said to him, “These men have come to request that you go back with them, so you may go with them, but do only what I tell you to do!”

Balaam’s donkey spoke to warn him

21So the next morning, Balaam put a saddle on his donkey and he departed with two of his servants along with the men from Moab. 22Even though God had given Balaam permission to go, he was still angry. So he sent one of his angels to Balaam. This angel stood in the road to block Balaam’s path. As Balaam and the two servants were riding on their donkeys, 23Balaam’s donkey saw the angel. The angel was standing in the road and was holding a sword in his hand, but Balaam did not see him.

Balaam’s donkey turned off the road into a field. So Balaam struck the donkey and forced it to go back onto the road. 24Then the angel stood in a place where the road was very narrow, between two vineyards, with walls on each side of the road. 25When the donkey saw the angel standing there, it walked very close to the wall to try to get past the angel. As a result, it bashed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam struck the donkey again.

26Then the angel went further along the road and stood at a place that was extremely narrow, with the result that the donkey could not get past at all. 27This time, when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down on the ground with Balaam sitting on top of it. Balaam became extremely angry, and he struck the donkey again with his walking stick. 28Then Yahweh enabled the donkey to speak! It said to Balaam, “What bad thing have I done to you that caused you to strike me three times?”

29Balaam shouted, “I struck you because you have caused me to appear to be foolish! If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”

30But the donkey answered, “I am your own donkey [RHQ], the one that you have always ridden! Have I ever done anything like this previously?”

Balaam said, “No.”

31Then Yahweh enabled Balaam to see the angel standing on the road, holding a sword in his hand. Balaam realized that it was an angel and prostrated himself on the ground in front of the angel.

32The angel asked him, ‘◄Why did you strike your donkey three times?/ You should certainly not have sruck the donkey three times! [RHQ] I have come to block your path because what you are planning to do is wrong. 33Three times your donkey saw me and turned away from me. If it had not done that, I would certainly have killed you already, but I would have allowed the donkey to live.”

34Then Balaam said to the angel, “I have sinned. But I did not realize that you were standing there, trying to block my path. So if you do not want me to continue going, I will return home.”

35But the angel replied, “I will allow you to go with these men, but you must say only what I tell you to say!”

So Balaam went on with the leaders whom Balak had sent.

36When King Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went to meet him at a Moab town alongside the Arnon River that was at the border of his own land. 37When he arrived where Balaam was, he said to him, “I sent you [RHQ] a message saying that you should come immediately [RHQ]! Why did you not come immediately? Did you think that I was not able to pay you a lot of money for coming?”

38Balaam replied, “I have come here now, but I am not able to say anything that I want to. I will say only the words that God tells me to say [MTY].”

39Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath-Huzoth town. 40There Balak killed some cattle and sheep as sacrifices, and offered parts of the meat to Balaam and the leaders who were with him. 41They slept there, and the next morning Balak took Balaam part way up the mountain to Bamoth-Baal village. From there, they could see some of the Israeli people who were down below.

23

Balaam blessed the Israeli people

1Balaam said to King Balak, “Build seven altars for me here. Then kill seven young bulls and seven rams for a sacrifice.” 2So Balak did that. And then he and Balaam each burned a young bull and a ram as a sacrifice on each altar.

3Then Balaam said to Balak, “You stand here close to your burned offerings, and I will go and ask Yahweh if he has something else to tell me. Then I will tell you what he says to me.”

Then Balaam went by himself to the top of a hill, 4and God appeared to him there. Balaam said to him, “We have built seven altars, and I have killed and burned a young bull and a ram as a sacrifice to you on each altar.”

5Then Yahweh gave Balaam a message to give to King Balak. Then he said, “Go back and tell him what I told you.”

6When Balaam returned to Balak, Balak was standing with the leaders from Moab beside the offerings he had burned on the altar. 7This is the message that Balaam told them:

“Balak, the King of Moab, summoned me to come here from Syria;

he brought me here from the hills at the eastern side of Syria.

He said, ‘Come and curse the descendants of Jacob for me,

saying that bad things will happen to these Israeli people!’

8But ◄how can I curse people whom God has not cursed?/I certainly cannot curse people whom God has not cursed!► [RHQ]

◄How can I condemn people whom Yahweh has not condemned?/I cannot condemn people whom Yahweh has not condemned!► [RHQ]

9I have seen them from the tops of the rocky peaks, .

I see that they are a group of people who live by themselves;

they have separated themselves from other nations.

10◄Who can count the descendants of Jacob; they are as numerous as particles of ‘dust/dirt’?/No one can count the descendants of Jacob; they are as numerous as particles of ‘dust/dirt’!► [RHQ]

◄Who can count even a quarter of the Israeli people?/No one can count even a quarter of the Israeli people!► [RHQ]

I wish/hope that I will die like righteous people die;

I hope that I will die peacefully like they will die.”

11Then Balak said, “What have you done to me [RHQ]? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but instead you have ◄blessed them/asked Yahweh to bless them►!”

12But Balaam replied, “I can [RHQ] say only what Yahweh tells me to say. I cannot say anything else.”

Balaam prophesied about the Israelis again

13Then King Balak told Balaam, “Come with me to another place. There you will see only part of the Israeli people, and you will be able to curse those people for me.” 14So Balak took Balaam to a field on the top of Pisgah Mountain. There, again he built seven altars and offered a young bull and a ram as a sacrifice on each altar.

15Then Balaam said to the king, “Stand here close to your burned offerings, while I go and talk with Yahweh.”

16So Balaam did that, and Yahweh appeared to Balaam again and gave him another message. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and tell him that message.”

17So Balaam returned to where the king and the leaders from Moab were standing, next to the altar where Balak had burned the sacrifices. Balak asked him, “What did Yahweh say?”

18Then Balaam told him this message:

“Balak, listen carefully;

hear what I have to say, you son of Zippor [DOU]!

19God is not a human being.

Humans lie, but God never lies.

He never changes his mind/thoughts, as humans do.

Whatever he has said that he will do, he does.

20He commanded me to request him to bless the Israelis,

So he has blessed them, and I cannot change that.

21Yahweh their God is with/helping them;

they have declared that he is their true king.

So the descendants of Jacob will not be harmed;

they will not have any troubles [DOU].

22God brought them out of Egypt where they were slaves;

he is as strong as a wild ox.

23When people curse [PRS] the descendants of Jacob, they will not be harmed;

when people work sorcery on them, it will have no power.

So now people will say about the descendants of Jacob,

‘God has done wonderful things for the Israelis!’

24They are very strong, like lionesses that are ready to attack other animals;

they stand firm like lions.

The lions refuse to rest until they have killed and eaten their prey,

and drunk the blood of the animals they slaughtered.”

25Then Balak said to Balaam, “If you will not curse them, then I certainly do not want you to bless them!”

26But Balaam replied, “I told you that I must do only what Yahweh tells me to do!”

Balaam prophesied about the Israelis a third time

27Then King Balak said to Balaam, “Come with me; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to allow you to curse them from that place.” 28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor Mountain where they could look down and see the Israelis in the desert.

29Balaam again told Balak, “Build me seven altars again and kill seven young bulls and seven rams for a sacrifice.” 30So Balak did what Balaam told him to do. He burned a young bull and a ram on each altar as sacrifices.

24

1Balaam now realized that Yahweh wanted to bless the Israeli people, not curse them. So he did not use magic/divination like a shaman would do to find out what Yahweh wanted, as he often did. Instead, he turned toward the desert. 2He saw the Israeli people camped there in their tents, with each tribe gathered in its own group. Then the Spirit of God took control of him, 3and enabled him to give this prophetic message to Balak:

“I, Balaam, the son of Beor, am giving this prophecy;

I am speaking as a man who sees what will happen in the future clearly speaks.

4I hear this message from God;

I see a vision from him who is all-powerful.

My eyes are open as I prostrate myself in front of him.

5You descendants of Jacob, your tents are very beautiful;

they are truly lovely!

6Your tents are spread out in front of me like groves of palm trees in valleys,

like gardens alongside a river.

They are like strong aloe trees/plants that Yahweh has planted,

like strong cedar trees that grow along the rivers.

7Your water buckets will always be full;

the seeds that you plant will always have plenty of water to make them grow.

The Israelis’ king will be greater than King Agag;

the kingdom that he rules will be honored.

8God brought the Israelis out of Egypt,

leading them along with his great power [MTY] like a wild ox has.

He devastates all the nations that oppose him;

he breaks all those people’s bones into pieces,

and shoots them with his arrows.

9The Israelis are like lions that crouch and lie down, ready to pounce on their prey [SIM].

They are like lionesses that are resting, but ready to attack;

no one [RHQ] would dare to arouse them!

God will bless everyone who blesses you Israelis,

and he will curse everyone who curses you.”

10Then King Balak was extremely angry with Balaam. He showed with his hands that he was very angry, and he shouted at Balaam, “I summoned you here to curse my enemies! Instead, you have ◄blessed/asked God to bless► them three times! 11So now, get out of here! Go back home! I said that I would pay you a lot of money if you cursed them, but Yahweh has prevented you from getting any pay!”

12Balaam said to Balak, “Do you not remember what [RHQ] I told the messengers that you sent to me? I said, 13‘Even if Balak would give me a palace filled with silver and gold, I would not disobey Yahweh. I cannot do anything bad or anything that is good that he does not approve of.’ And I told you that I could say only what Yahweh says to me. 14So yes, I will return to my people, but first, allow me to tell you what will happen to you Moab people in the future.”

Balaam prophesied a fourth time

15So Balaam said this to Balak:

“I, Balaam, son of Beor, am again giving a prophecy,

speaking as a man who sees what will happen in the future clearly speaks.

16I hear a message from God;

I know things that God, who lives in heaven, has revealed to me.

I see a vision from him who is all-powerful.

My eyes are open as I prostrate myself in front of him.

17The things that I see in the vision are not going to happen now;

I see things that God will cause to happen in the future.

A man who is a descendant of Jacob will appear like a star [MET];

a king who holds a scepter will be one of the Israeli people.

He will crush the heads of you people of Moab;

he will wipe out the descendants of Seth.

18The Israelis will occupy Edom,

and they will conquer their enemies who live near Seir Mountain.

The Israeli people will be victorious/strong.

19A ruler who is a descendant of Jacob will come;

he will get rid of the people who still live in the city where Balaam first met Balak.”

Balaam’s final prophecies

20Then Balaam looked out over where the Amalek people-group lived, and he prophesied this:

“The Amalek people-group were the greatest nation,

but they will be wiped out.”

21Then he looked out over the area where the Ken people-group lived, and he prophesied this:

“You think that the place where you live is secure/safe

like a nest that is made in the cliffs [MET],

22but you will be wiped out

when the army of Assyria conquers you.”

23Balaam ended his prophecies by saying,

“Also, ◄who can ‘survive/escape’ when God does all these things?/no one will be able to ‘survive/escape’ when God does all these things!► [RHQ]

24Ships will come from Cyprus Island,

and the men in those ships will defeat the armies of Assyria and Eber.

But God will get rid of those men, too.”

25Then Balaam and Balak returned to their homes.

25

The Israelis worshiped Baal

1While the Israelis were camped at a place called Acacia Grove, some of the men caused themselves to become unacceptable to God by having sex with some of the women of the Moab people-group who lived in that area. 2Then those women invited the men to come when the sacrifices were being offered to their gods. The Israeli men accepted. They went to the feasts with the women and worshiped the gods of the Moab people-group. 3By doing that, those Israeli people joined the women in worshiping the god Baal add who the Moab people-group thought lived on Peor Mountain. That caused Yahweh to become very angry with his people.

4Yahweh said this to Moses/me: “Seize all the leaders of those men who are doing this and execute them while I am watching. Do that in the daytime. After you do that, I will no longer be angry with the Israeli people.”

5So Moses/I said to the other Israeli leaders, “Each of you must execute your men who have joined others in worshiping Baal.”

6But later, while Moses/I and many [HYP] other people were crying at the entrance of the Sacred Tent, while they/we were watching, one of the Israeli men brought a woman from the Midian people-group into his tent and started to have sex with her. 7When Phinehas, who was the grandson of Aaron, saw that, he grabbed a spear 8and rushed into the man’s tent. He thrust the spear completely through the man’s body and into the woman’s belly and killed both of them. When he did that, the ◄plague/serious illness► that had started to strike the Israelis stopped. 9But 24,000 people had already died from that plague.

10Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 11“Phinehas has caused me to stop being angry with the Israeli people, by being as eager as I am to stop this sinful behavior. I was ready to get rid of all the Israeli people because I was extremely angry, but Phinehas has prevented me from doing that. 12Now tell him that I am making a special peace agreement with him. 13In this agreement, I am promising to give to him and to his descendants the right/authority to be priests. I am doing this because he showed that he was very eager to honor me, his God, by stopping this sinful behavior. He has caused the Israeli people to become acceptable to me again by causing them to be forgiven for their sin.”

14The Israeli man who was killed with the woman of the Moab people-group was named Zimri. He was the son of Salu, who was the leader of a family from the tribe of Simeon. 15The woman’s name was Cozbi. She was the daughter of Zur, who was the leader of one of the clans of the Midian people-group.

16Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 17“Take your men and attack the Midian people-group and kill them. 18They have become your enemies, because they tricked you Israeli people and induced/persuaded many of you to worship Baal, and because one of your men had sex with Cozbi, who was the daughter of a leader of the Midian people-group. She was killed at the time the plague started because the people sinned at Peor Mountain.”

26

The people were counted again

1After the plague ended, Yahweh said to Eleazar and Moses/me, 2“Count all the people of Israel again. Write down the names of all the men who are at least 20 years old who are able to fight in battles, along with their family names.” 3So while the Israelis were on the plains where the Moab people-group lived, Eleazar and Moses/I told this to the Israeli leaders: 4“Write down the names of all the Israeli men who are at least 20 years old, as Yahweh has commanded us.”

So they did that, and this is a record of all the descendants of Jacob who came out of Egypt who were still alive.

5-7They counted 43,730 men from the tribe of Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son. They were in clans descended from Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 8Pallu’s son was Eliab 9and his grandsons were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were the leaders who joined with Korah to conspire against Aaron and Moses/me and rebelled against Yahweh.

10But the earth opened up and swallowed them and Korah. Yahweh also sent a fire that burned up 250 men who supported those three men. That was a warning to all the Israeli people that they should respect and obey the leaders whom Yahweh had appointed. 11But the descendants of Korah did not die on that day.

12-14The Israeli leaders counted 22,200 men from the tribe of Simeon. They were in clans descended from Nemuel, Jamin, Jakin, Zerah, and Shaul.

15-18They counted 40,500 men from the tribe of Gad. They were in clans descended from Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ozni, Eri, Arod, and Areli.

19-22They counted 76,500 men from the tribe of Judah. They were in clans descended from Shelah, Perez, Zerah, Hezron, and Hamul. Judah’s other two sons, Er and Onan, died in Canaan without having had any children.

23-25They counted 64,300 men from the tribe of Issachar. They were in clans descended from Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron.

26-27They counted 60,500 men from the tribe of Zebulun. They were in clans descended from Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

28-34They counted 52,700 men from the tribe of Manasseh, who was one of the sons of Joseph. They were in clans descended from Machir, from his son Gilead, and from his six grandsons—Jezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida, and Hepher. Hepher’s son Zelophehad did not have any sons, but he had five daughters—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

35-37They counted 32,500 men from the tribe of Ephraim, who was Joseph’s other son. They were in clans descended from Shuthelah, Becher, Tahan, and Shuthelah’s son Eran.

38-41They counted 45,600 men from the tribe of Benjamin. They were in clans descended from Bela, Ashbel, Ahiram, Shephupham, and Hupham, and from Bela’s two sons—Ard and Naaman.

42-43They counted 64,400 men from the tribe of Dan. They were in one clan descended from Shuham.

44-47They counted 53,400 men from the tribe of Asher. They were in clans descended from Imnah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and from Beriah’s two sons—Heber and Malkiel. Asher also had a daughter named Serah.

48-50They counted 45,400 men from the tribe of Naphtali. They were in clans descended from Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

51The total of the Israeli men whom the leaders counted was 601,730.

52Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 53“Divide Canaan land among the tribes. Distribute the land according the number of people in each tribe that are on your lists. 54-56Decide by ◄casting lots/throwing stones which are marked► to determine which group will get which area, but give the largest areas to the groups with the most people.”

57The leaders also counted the male descendants of Levi. They were in clans descended from Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 58These also included people from the clans of Libni, Hebron, Mahli, Mushi, and Korah. All of them were descendants of Levi. Kohath was the ancestor of Amram, 59whose wife was Jochebed. She also was a descendant of Levi, but she was born in Egypt. She and Amram had two sons, Aaron and Moses/me, and their/our older sister Miriam. 60Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61But Nadab and Abihu died when they burned incense for a sacrifice to Yahweh in a way that disobeyed what Yahweh had commanded.

62The leaders counted 23,000 men from the descendants of Levi who were at least one month old. But these men were not counted when the rest of the Israeli people were counted, because they were not given any land.

63Those were the men whom Eleazar and Moses/I said should be counted. They counted the Israeli people on the plains where the Moab people-group lived, on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho city. 64None of the men whom they counted were on the lists that were made by Aaron and Moses/me when the Israelis were in the Sinai Desert, 65because Yahweh had said about them, “They will all die in this desert,” and that is what happened. The only ones who were still alive were Jephunneh’s son Caleb and Nun’s son Joshua.

27

The request of the daughters of Zelophehad

1One day the five daughters of Zelophehad came to Moses/me. They were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2They came to the entrance of the Sacred Tent and stood in front of Eleazar, Moses/me, the tribal leaders, and many [EUP] other Israeli people. 3They said, “Our father died during the time that we were in the desert, and he did not have any sons. But he was not among those who supported Korah, who rebelled against Yahweh. He died just because he was a sinner like everyone else. 4◄Why should the name of his clan disappear with the result that we do not receive any land only because our father had no sons?/It is not right that the name of his clan disappear with the result that we do not receive any land only because our father had no sons.► [RHQ] So give us some land like our relatives will be getting!”

5So Moses/I asked Yahweh what to do about their request. 6And Yahweh replied, 7“What the daughters of Zelophehad are requesting is right. You must give them some land, just as you are giving to their father’s relatives. Give to each of them some of the land that would have been given to their brothers if they had any.

8“Also tell this to the Israeli people: ‘If a man who has no sons dies, give the things that his sons would have inherited to his daughters. 9If the man has no sons or daughters, give to his brothers the things that his sons and daughters would have inherited. 10If the man had no brothers, give to his father’s brothers the things that his sons or daughters or brothers would have inherited. 11If the man’s father has no brothers, give to his closest relative the things that the others would have inherited.’ That will be a rule for the Israeli people, because I am giving this as a command to you, Moses, to tell them.”

Joshua was chosen to be the Israelis’ new leader

12One day, Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Climb to the top of the Abarim Mountains east of the Jordan River. Then look out over the land that I am giving to the Israeli people. 13After you have seen it, you will die [EUP] just like your older brother Aaron did. 14The reason that you will die and not enter that land is that you both disobeyed my instructions/commands in the Zin Desert. When the Israeli people rebelled against me there at Meribah, near Kadesh, I told you to speak to the rock to cause water to flow out of it. But because you struck the rock instead of speaking to it, you did not show the people my holy power.”

15Then Moses/I said this to Yahweh: 16“Yahweh, you are the God who directs the spirits of all people. So please appoint a new leader for the Israeli people. 17Appoint someone who will lead your people when they go to fight a battle, so that they will not just wander around like sheep that do not have a shepherd.” [SIM]

18Yahweh replied, “Get Joshua, the son of Nun, who has my Spirit within him. Lay your hands on him to appoint him. 19Cause him to stand in front of Eleazar the priest, as all the people are watching, and commission/appoint him to be the new leader of the Israeli people. 20Give to him some of the authority that you now have, in order that all the Israeli people will know that they must obey him. 21When you all need me to guide you, Joshua will stand in front of Eleazar. Then by ◄casting lots/throwing marked stones on the ground► Eleazar will find out what they should do.”

22So Moses/I did what Yahweh commanded. He/I presented Joshua to Eleazar and to all the Israeli people. 23Moses/I laid his/my hands on him and commissioned/appointed him to do the work that Yahweh told Moses/me to tell him to do.

28

The daily offerings

1Yahweh said this to Moses/me: 2“Tell this to the Israeli people: Bring to me the offerings that will be burned on the altar. When they are burned, the smell will be very pleasing to me. And tell them that they must bring them at the proper/right time. 3Tell them that what they must bring to me each day are two male lambs that are one-year-old. They must have no defects. They must be completely burned on the altar. 4They should bring one in the morning and the other early in the evening. 5They must also bring an offering of grain, consisting of two quarts/liters of finely-ground flour, mixed with a quart of olive oil. 6That is the offering that they must bring every day. They started to bring those offerings while you were at Sinai Mountain. When those offerings are burned on the altar, the smell will be very pleasing to me. 7When they burn each lamb, they must also pour on the sacred altar one quart/liter of wine. 8In the evening, when they offer the second lamb, they must also bring the same offerings of grain and wine as they burned in the morning. When they are burned, the smell will also be very pleasing to me.”

The offerings on the Sabbath

9“On each ◄Sabbath/rest day►, you must bring two male lambs that have no defects. Also bring a grain offering of four quarts/liters of finely-ground flour mixed with olive oil and a wine offering of four quarts/liters of wine. 10Those are the offerings that are to be burned on the altar each ◄Sabbath/rest day►. Those are in addition to the offerings of two lambs and wine that you must bring each day.”

The monthly offerings

11“On the first day of each month, you must bring to me an offering of two young bulls, one male sheep, and seven male lambs that are one-year-old. All of these must be without defects. They must all be burned completely on the altar. 12Also bring with each bull an offering of six quarts/liters of finely-ground flour mixed with olive oil. With each male sheep make an offering of four quarts of finely-ground flour mixed with olive oil. 13Also bring an offering of two quarts/liters of finely-ground flour mixed with olive oil with each lamb. When all of these are burned on the altar, the smell will be very pleasing to me. 14With each bull, also bring two quarts/liters of wine. With each male sheep, bring ◄1-1/3 quarts/1.2 liters► of wine. With each lamb, bring one quart/liter of wine. These offerings must be brought on the first day of each month and burned completely on the altar. 15In addition to these offerings that you burn, you must bring to me one goat for an offering to enable me to forgive you for the sins you have committed.”

The sacrifices during the Festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread

16“The Passover Festival must be celebrated to honor me each year on the fourteenth day of the first month of each year. 17The Festival of Unleavened Bread will start on the next day. For the following seven days, the bread that you eat must be made without yeast. 18On the first day of that festival, you must gather together to worship me, and you must not do any work. 19On that day, you must bring to me for an offering that will be completely burned on the altar two young bulls, one male sheep, and seven male lambs that are one-year-old. They must all have no defects. 20With each of these bulls, bring a grain offering of grain, consisting of six quarts/liters of finely-ground flour mixed with olive oil. With the male sheep, bring an offering of grain consisting of four quarts/liters of finely-ground flour mixed with olive oil. 21With each of the seven lambs, bring an offering of two quarts/liters of finely-ground flour mixed with olive oil. 22Also bring one goat for a sacrifice to cause you to be forgiven for your sin. 23Bring these offerings in addition to the offerings that you bring each morning. 24The smell of the grain that is burned on the altar each day for seven days will be very pleasing to me. Bring the grain in addition to the animals and the wine that you burn on the altar. 25On the seventh day of that festival, you must again gather together to worship me, and you must not do any work.”

The sacrifices during the Harvest Festival

26“On the day of the Harvest Festival, when you bring to me the first grain that you have harvested, you must gather together to worship me. Do not do any work on that day. 27Bring to me two young bulls, one male sheep, and seven male lambs that are one-year-old. When they are completely burned on the altar, the smell will be very pleasing to me. 28Also bring a grain offering of nice flour mixed with olive oil. For each bull, bring six quarts/liters, and with each male sheep, bring four quarts/liters, 29and with each of the lambs bring two quarts/liters. 30Also sacrifice one male goat to cause you to be forgiven for your sins. 31Bring these offerings and the offering of wine in addition to the animals and grain that you burn on the altar each day. And remember that the animals that you sacrifice must have no defects.”

29

The sacrifices for the Festival of Trumpets

1“Each year, gather together to worship me on the first day of the seventh month, and do not do any work on that day. On that day the priests must blow their trumpets.

2When the offerings on the altar on that day are being completely burned, the smell will be very pleasing to me. The animals that you must bring are one young bull, one male sheep, and seven male lambs that are one-year-old. They must have no defects. 3With these animals bring an offering of grain consisting of finely-ground flour mixed with olive oil. With the bull, bring six quarts/liters. With the male sheep, bring four quarts/liters, 4and with each of the seven lambs bring two quarts/liters. 5Also offer one male goat in order that you will be forgiven for your sins. 6All of those animals are in addition to the animals that are completely burned on the altar each morning and on the first day of each month. The offerings of grain and wine must be made exactly as I have told you to do. When these offerings are burned, the smell will be very pleasing to me.”

The day of Atonement

7“Each year, on the tenth day of the seventh month, you must gather together to worship me. Do not eat any food or do any work on that day. 8When you burn offerings on the altar on that day, the smell will be very pleasing to me. The animals that you must bring are one young bull, one male sheep, and seven male lambs that are one-year-old. They must have no defects. 9With the bull, bring an offering of grain consisting of six quarts/liters of nice flour mixed with olive oil. With the male sheep, bring four quarts/liters. 10With each of the lambs, bring two quarts/liters. 11Also bring one male goat to enable me to forgive you for the sins you have committed, and the animals and grain and wine that you burn on the altar each day to enable me to forgive you for the sins you have committed. Those offerings will be in addition to the animals and grain and wine that are completely burned on the altar each day.”

The Festival of Shelters

12“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month of each year, you must all gather together to worship me. You must not do any work on that day. You must continue to celebrate for seven days. 13When the offerings are burned on the altar, the smell will be very pleasing to me. The animals that you must bring are 13 young bulls, two male sheep, and 14 male lambs that are one-year-old. These animals must have no defects. 14With each of the 13 bulls, bring a grain offering of six quarts/liters of finely-ground flour mixed with olive oil. With each of the male sheep, bring four quarts/liters. 15With each of the 14 lambs, bring two quarts/liters. 16Also bring one male goat to be sacrificed to enable me to forgive you for your sins, in addition to the offerings of animals and grain and wine that are completely burned on the altar each day.

17-34“For the next six days of the festival, you must also bring animals to sacrifice. On the second day, bring twelve bulls. On the third/next day, bring eleven bulls. One the fourth/next day, bring ten bulls. On the fifth/next day, bring nine bulls. On the sixth/next day, bring eight bulls. On the seventh/last day, bring seven bulls. But on each of those days, all the other sacrifices and offerings that you bring will remain the same.

35“On the eighth day of the festival, you must again gather together to worship me, and do not do any work on that day. 36On that day, you must bring to the altar one bull, one full-grown ram, and seven lambs that are one-year-old. These animals must have no defects. They must all be burned on the altar, and their smell will please me. 37Bring also with the bull and the male sheep and each of the lambs the offerings of grain and wine that ◄are required/I told you to bring►. 38Also offer one male goat to be sacrificed to enable me to forgive you for your sins. These animals will be in addition to the offerings of animals and grain and wine that are completely burned on the altar each day.

39“At your festivals, these are the offerings that you must bring to me: The offerings that will be completely burned on the altar, the offerings of grain and wine, and the offerings to maintain fellowship with me. Those are in addition to the offerings that you give to me because you promised to do something, and other special offerings that you want to give to me.”

40Then Moses/I told to the Israeli people all the things that Yahweh had commanded him/me.

30

Rules about special promises to Yahweh

1Moses/I spoke with the leaders of the Israeli tribes. He/I told them these commands that Yahweh had given to him/me:

2“If a man solemnly promises Yahweh that he will do something, he must do what he promised.

3“If a young woman who is still living with her parents solemnly promises to Yahweh to do something, 4and if her father hears about what she promised, and if he does not object, she must do what she promised [DOU]. 5But if her father hears about what she promised and does not allow her to do that, then she does not need to do what she promised. Yahweh will forgive her for not doing what she promised.

6“If a woman promises Yahweh that she will do something, but then she gets married, 7if her husband hears about what she promised to do, and he does not object, she must do what she promised [DOU]. 8But if her husband hears about it and does not allow her to do that, she does not need to do what she promised, and Yahweh will forgive her for not doing what she promised.

9“If a widow or a woman who has been divorced makes a promise, she must do what she promised.

10“If a woman who is married promises [DOU] to do something, 11and if her husband hears about it but does not object, she must do what she promised. 12But if he hears about it and does not allow her to do that, she does not need to do what she promised, and Yahweh will forgive her for not doing it. 13A woman’s husband may require her to do what she has promised, or he may not allow her to do what she has promised. 14If he does not object for several days after he hears about it, she must do what she promised. 15But if he waits a long time after she has promised to do something and then he tells her that he will not permit her to do it, if she does not do what she promised, she will not be punished; her husband is the one whom Yahweh will punish.”

16Those are the rules that Yahweh gave to Moses/me for husbands and wives, and for young women who are still living with their parents.

31

The Israelis attacked the Midian people-group

1Yahweh spoke to Moses/me and said, 2“Before you die, tell the Israeli people that they should ◄pay back/get revenge on► the Midian people-group for what they did to you.”

3So Moses/I said to the people, “Get some men prepared for battle. Yahweh will enable them to ◄pay back/get revenge on► the Midian people-group for what they did to us. 4Select 1,000 men from each tribe to fight.” 5So 12,000 men prepared for fighting in the battle, 1,000 from each tribe. 6When Moses/I sent them to the battle, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, went with them. He took with him some of the things from the Sacred Tent and the trumpets that would be blown to give the signal to start the battle.

7The Israeli men fought the soldiers from the Midian people-group, as Yahweh had told Moses/me to tell them to do, and they killed every man from the Midian people-group. 8Among those whom they killed were the five kings of the Midian people-group—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed with a sword Balaam, the son of Beor. 9They captured all the women and children of the Midian people-group and took away their cattle, their flocks of sheep, and herds of goats, and all their other possessions. 10Then they burned down all the houses in the towns and villages where the people of the Midian people-group lived, 11but they took home with them all the women and children and animals and possessions. 12They brought all these to Eliezer and Moses/me, and to the rest of the Israeli people who were at their/our camp on the plains where the Moab people-group lived, near the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 13Eleazar and all the leaders of the people and Moses/I went outside the camp to greet/meet with them.

14But Moses/I was angry with some of the men who had returned from the battle. He/I was angry with the army officers and the men who were commanders of 1,000 men and those who were commanders of 100 men. 15He/I asked them, “Why did you allow the women to live [RHQ]? 16They are the ones who did what Balaam suggested and urged/persuaded our people to worship Baal instead of Yahweh. As a result, Yahweh caused a plague to strike his people while they were at Peor. 17So, now you must kill all the boys of the Midian people-group, and also kill all the women who have had sex [EUP] with any man. 18Spare only the girls who are virgins [EUP]. You can keep them to be your wives or your slaves.

19All of you who have killed someone or touched the corpse of someone who was killed in the battle must stay outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and on the seventh day, you must perform the ritual to cause you and those whom you have captured to become acceptable to God again. 20You must also wash your clothes and anything that you took to the battle that is made of leather or goat’s hair or wood.”

21Then Eleazar said to the soldiers who had returned from the battle, “This is what Yahweh has instructed Moses: 22You must put into a fire any gold or silver or bronze or iron or tin or lead things that you brought back from the battle. 23Put everything that will not burn into the fire, and then they will be acceptable for you to use. But also sprinkle those things with the water that causes things and people to become acceptable to God. The things that would burn if you put them in a fire, sprinkle them with that water. 24On the seventh day, wash your clothes, and then you will become acceptable to God again. After you do that, you may return to the camp.”

Dividing the captured goods

25Yahweh also said to Moses/me, 26“Tell Eleazar and the leaders of the family groups that they must write down a list of all the goods, the women, and the animals that were captured in the battle. 27Then they must divide all those things, half given to the men who fought in the battle and the other half given to the rest of the people. 28From the men who fought in the battle, take one from every 500 people and from every 500 cattle and donkeys and sheep, to be a tax for me. 29Take these things to Eleazar to ◄be my share/belong to me►. 30And from the half that belongs to the ordinary people, take one item from every 50. That includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and other animals. Give those things to the descendants of Levi who take care of my Sacred Tent.” 31So Eleazar and Moses/I did what Yahweh commanded.

32-35There were 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 virgins that they had captured from the Midian people-group.

36The men who fought in the battle took 337,000 sheep from the battle, 37and they gave 675 of them to Yahweh. 38They took 36,000 cattle and gave 72 of them to Yahweh. 39They took 30,500 donkeys, and they gave 61 of them to Yahweh. 40They took 16,000 virgins, and they dedicated 32 of them to Yahweh.

41Moses/I gave to Eleazar all the animals that had been given to Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded.

42-46Moses/I separated what those who had fought in the battle received from what the other people received. The people had taken 337,500 sheep, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 virgins, 47From what the people received, Moses/I took one from every 50 items and dedicated them to Yahweh. That included animals and people. As Yahweh commanded, he/I gave them all to the descendants of Levi who took care of the Sacred Tent.

48Then the army officers and those who commanded 1,000 men and those who commanded 100 men came to Moses/me. 49They said, “We, who are your servants, have counted the soldiers whom we command, and we found that none of them ◄is missing/has been killed►. 50So to thank Yahweh for that, we have brought to him a gift of the gold items that we found after the battle: Gold arm bands and bracelets and rings and earrings and necklaces. This will enable us to be forgiven for our sins.”

51So Eleazar and Moses/I accepted the gold items that they brought. 52The total of it weighed about ◄420 pounds/190 kg.►. 53Each soldier had taken these things for himself. 54Eleazar and Moses/I accepted these gold items from these commanders and put them in the Sacred Tent to remind the Israeli people about how Yahweh had helped them defeat the Midian people-group.

32

The land east of the Jordan River

1The people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad had much livestock. They saw that the land near Jazer city and the Gilead region east of the Jordan River had good grass for the animals to graze on. 2So their leaders came to Eleazar and the other leaders of the people and Moses/me. They said, 3“We have a great amount of livestock. 4Yahweh has enabled us Israelis to capture some land that is very good for animals to graze on —the land near Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon towns. 5If it pleases you, we would like this land to be ours, instead of land on the other side of the Jordan River.”

6Moses/I replied to the leaders of the tribes of Gad and Reuben, “It is not right for [RHQ] your fellow Israelis to go to fight in wars and you stay here! 7If you do that, you will cause the other Israelis to be discouraged, with the result that they will not cross the Jordan River to the land that Yahweh is giving to them [RHQ]. 8Your ancestors did the same kind of thing. I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to see what the land of Canaan was like. 9They went as far as Eshcol Valley, but when they saw the huge people in the land, they returned and caused the Israeli people to be discouraged, saying ‘We should not try to enter the land that Yahweh said that he is giving to us.’ 10So Yahweh became very angry with them, and he solemnly declared this: 11-12‘From all the people who came out of Egypt, the only ones who are at least 20 years old who will see the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are Jephunneh’s son Caleb and Nun’s son Joshua, because they trusted me completely. None of the other people who came out of Egypt will even see that land, because they have not completely believed in my power.’ 13So Yahweh was angry with the Israeli people, and as a result he has caused us to wander in this desert for 40 years. Finally, all the people who had sinned against Yahweh by refusing to trust him died, one by one. 14And you are acting like your ancestors did! You sinful Israeli people are going to cause Yahweh to be more angry with you than he was with our ancestors15If you stop trusting him, he will cause you and all your fellow Israelis to stay longer in the desert, and he will get rid of all of you!”

16Then the leaders of the tribes of Reuben and Gad said to Moses/me, “First we will build pens for our animals and build cities for our families here. 17Then our families will live in strong cities with walls around them, and they will be safe from the people who live in this land. Then we will get ready to fight battles. We will help the other Israelis to get land on the other side of the river. 18We will not return to our homes until every Israeli has received some land. 19We will not take any land on the west side of the Jordan River; our land will be here on the east side.”

20So Moses/I told them, “Okay, I will tell you what you all must do. You must get ready to fight battles for Yahweh. 21You all must cross the Jordan River carrying your weapons. 22After Yahweh helps us to take that land from the people who live there, you will be permitted to return to your homes. You will have done what you have promised Yahweh and the Israeli people that you would do, and you may keep this land to be your own, given to you by Yahweh.

23“But if you do not do these things, you will be sinning against Yahweh, and he will punish you for that sin. 24Now you can build cities for your families and pens for your animals, but after doing that, you must do what you have promised.”

25The leaders of the tribes of Gad and Reuben replied, “We will do what you have asked us to do [MTY], because you are our leader. 26Our wives and children and our cattle and sheep and goats will stay here in the cities in the Gilead area, 27but we will prepare to go to battle. We will take our weapons and go across the Jordan River and fight for Yahweh, just as you, our leader, have said.”

28So Moses/I gave instructions about them to Eleazar, Joshua, and the leaders of the Israeli tribes. 29Moses/I said to them, “If the men from the tribes of Gad and Reuben prepare for battle and cross the Jordan River with you, in order to do what Yahweh desires and help you to take that land, give them the Gilead area to belong to them. 30But if they do not take their weapons and go with you prepared to fight, they will not receive this land. They will need to accept some land in Canaan, like the rest of you will do.”

31The leaders of the tribes of Gad and Reuben replied, “We will do what you have said and what Yahweh has said. 32We will cross the river into Canaan land, and we will do what Yahweh desires and be prepared for battle. But our land will be here on the east side of the Jordan River.”

33So Moses/I agreed to give that land to the tribes of Gad and Reuben and to half of the tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh. That land was previously the land where Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, ruled, and the land where Og, the king of Bashan region, ruled, including its cities and surrounding land.

34The people of the tribe of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35Atroth-Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-Haran cities. Those were cities with strong walls around them. And they also built pens for their sheep.

37The people of the tribe of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38Nebo, Baal-Meon, and Sibmah cities. When they rebuilt Nebo and Baal-Meon, they gave new names to those cities.

39The descendants of Manasseh’s son Makir went to the Gilead region and compelled the people of the Amor people-group to leave that area. 40So Moses/I gave Gilead to the family of Makir, and they started to live there. 41Jair, who was also a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured the small towns in that region, and he named them the Towns of Jair. 42A man named Nobah went and captured Kenath city and the nearby towns, and then he put his own name to be the new name of that area.

33

The Israelis’ journey from Egypt to Moab

1Here is a list of the places where the/we Israelis went as Aaron and Moses/I led them/us after they/we left Egypt. 2Yahweh commanded Moses/me to write down the names of the places where they/we went.

3On the fifteenth day of the first month of the year, the day after we celebrated the ◄Passover/the time when Yahweh killed all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt►, they/we left Rameses city in Egypt and marched boldly while the Egyptian army was coming behind them/us. 4As they/we left, the people of Egypt were still burying the bodies of their firstborn sons. By killing them, Yahweh showed that the gods that the people of Egypt worshiped were false gods.

5After leaving Rameses, they/we first went to Succoth and set up their/our tents there.

6Then they/we left Succoth and went to Etham, at the edge of the desert, and set up their/our tents there.

7Then they/we left Etham and returned to Pi-Hahiroth, to the east of Baal-Zephon, and set up their/our tents near Migdol.

8Then they/we left Pi-Hahiroth and walked through the Red Sea into the Etham Desert, and set their/our tents at Marah.

9Then they/we left Marah and went to Elim. There were twelve springs and 70 palm trees there. They/We set up our tents there.

10Then they/we left Elim and went to the area near the Red Sea and set up their/our tents there.

11Then they/we left the Red Sea area and went to the area near the Sin Desert and set up their/our tents there.

12Then they/we left the Sin Desert and went to Dophkah and set up their/our tents there.

13Then they/we left Dophkah and went to Alush and set up their/our tents there.

14Then they/we left Alush and went and set up their/our tents at Rephidim, where they/we had no water to drink.

15Then they/we left Rephidim and went to the Sinai Desert and set up their/our tents there.

16Then they/we left the Sinai Desert and went to Kibroth-Hattaavah and set up their/our tents there.

17Then they/we left Kibroth-Hattaavah and went to Hazeroth and set up their/our tents there.

18Then they/we left Hazeroth and went to Rithmah and set up their/our tents there.

19Then they/we left Rithmah and went to Rimmon-Perez and set up their/our tents there.

20Then they/we left Rimmon-Perez and went to Libnah and set up their/our tents there.

21Then they/we left Libnah and went to Rissah and set up their/our tents there.

22Then they/we left Rissah and set up their/our tents at Kehelathah.

23Then they/we left Kehelathah and went to Shepher Mountain and set up their/our tents there.

24Then they/we left Shepher and went to Haradah Mountain and set up their/our tents there.

25Then they/we left Haradah and went to Makheloth and set up their/our tents there.

26Then they/we left Makheloth and went to Tahath and set up their/our tents there.

27Then they/we left Tahath and went to Terah and set up their/our tents there.

28Then they/we left Terah and went to Mithcah and set up their/our tents there.

29Then they/we left Mithcah and went to Hashmonah and set up their/our tents there.

30Then they/we left Hashmonah and went to Moseroth and set up their/our tents there.

31Then they/we left Moseroth and went to Bene-Jaakan and set up their/our tents there.

32Then they/we left Bene-Jaakan and went to Hor-Haggidgad and set up their/our tents there.

33Then they/we left Hor-Haggidgad and went to Jotbathah and set up their/our tents there.

34Then they/we left Jotbathah and went to Abronah and set up their/our tents there.

35Then they/we left Abronah and went to Ezion-Geber and set up their/our tents there.

36Then they/we left Ezion-Geber and went to Zin Desert and set up their/our tents at Kadesh there.

37Then they/we left Kadesh and went to Hor Mountain, at the border of Edom land and set up their/our tents there. 38Aaron, the priest, obeyed Yahweh and climbed up the mountain. There he died, on the first day of their/our fifth month, 40 years after the/we Israelis left Egypt. 39Aaron was 123 years old when he died.

40(That was when the king of Arad city heard that the/we Israelis were coming. Arad was in the southern part of Canaan, where the Canaan people-group lived.)

41The Israelis left Hor Mountain and went to Zalmonah and set up their/our tents there.

42Then they/we left Zalmonah and went to Punon and set up their/our tents there.

43Then they/we left Punon and went to Oboth and set up their/our tents there.

44Then they/we left Oboth and went to Iye-Abarim, which was on the border of the Moab region, and set up their/our tents there.

45Then they/we left Iye-Abarim and went to Dibon-Gad and set up their/our tents there.

46Then they/we left Dibon-Gad and set up their/our tents at Almon-Diblathaim.

47Then they/we left Almon-Diblathaim and went to the Abarim Mountains, near Nebo and set up their/our tents there.

48Then they/we left the Abarim Mountains and went to the plains of the Moab region, near the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 49They/We set up our tents there; their/our tents stretched for several miles/km. from Beth-Jeshimoth to Acacia.

50While we were there on the plains of the Moab region near the Jordan River, across from Jericho, Yahweh spoke to Moses/me. He said, 51“Tell this to the Israeli people: When you cross the Jordan River and enter the Canaan region, 52you must force all the people who live there to leave. Destroy all their carved statues and all their idols made of metal. Wreck all the places where they worship their idols. 53Take their land from them and start to live there, because I have given their land to you for you to own.

54“Divide up the land by throwing ◄lots/small stones which have been marked► to decide which group will get which area. Give the larger areas to the groups that have more people, and give the smaller areas to the groups that have fewer people. Each tribe will receive its own land. 55If you do not force the people who live there to leave, they will cause you to have much trouble. They will be like sharp hooks in your eyes, and like thorns in your sides. And they will bring trouble to you, in that land where you will be living. 56And then I will punish you, as I had planned to punish them.”

34

The boundaries of the land of Canaan

1Yahweh said to Moses/me, 2“Tell this to the Israeli people: You will soon enter Canaan land, and it will become yours. These will be the borders of the land: 3On the south you will receive part of the Zin Desert, near the border of the Edom region. On the east side, the border will start at the south end of the Dead Sea.

4It will extend to a little south of the Scorpion Pass, and extend west through the Zin Desert and south of Kadesh-Barnea. From there it will extend to Hazar Addar and from there to Azmon. 5From Azmon it will extend west to the dry riverbed at the border of Egypt and then to the Mediterranean Sea.

6The border on the west will be the Mediterranean Sea.

7The border on the north will start from the Mediterranean Sea and extend east to Hor Mountain. 8From there it will extend to Lebo-Hamath and then to Zedad. 9From there the border will extend to Ziphron, and it will end at Hazar-Enan.

10The border on the east will start at Hazar-Enan and extend south to Shepham. 11From there it will extend east of Ain to Riblah and then along the hills that are east of Galilee Lake. 12Then the border will extend south along the Jordan River and end at the Dead Sea.

Those will be the borders around your country.”

13So Moses/I told all that to the Israeli people. Then he/I said to them, “That is the land that you will receive. You must throw ◄lots/stones that have been marked► to decide which area will go to each of the nine and a half tribes, because Yahweh has commanded that it should be divided among them. 14The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh have already received the land in which they will live. 15They have received land on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho.”

16Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 17“These are the men who will divide the land: First, Eleazar and Joshua. 18But one leader from each of the twelve tribes will help them divide the land.

19-28“From the tribe of Judah, appoint Jephunneh’s son Caleb.

From the tribe of Simeon appoint Ammihud’s son Shemuel.

From the tribe of Benjamin appoint Kislon’s son Elidad.

From the tribe of Dan appoint Jogli’s son Bukki.

From the tribe of Manasseh appoint Ephod’s son Hanniel.

From the tribe of Ephraim appoint Shiphtan’s son Kemuel.

From the tribe of Zebulun appoint Parnach’s son Elizaphan.

From the tribe of Issachar appoint Azzan’s son Paltiel.

From the tribe of Asher appoint Shelomi’s son Ahihud.

From the tribe of Naphtali appoint Ammihud’s son Pedahel.”

29Yahweh commanded that all those were the men who should divide the Canaan region among the Israeli people.

35

The towns given to the Levites

1Yahweh told this to Moses/me while the Israeli people were on the plain in the Moab region near the Jordan River, across from Jericho: 2“Tell the Israeli people that from the land that they will receive, they must give to the descendants of Levi some cities in which they can live. They must also give them some land around these cities. 3Those will be for the descendants of Levi to live in, and around the cities will be land for their cattle and flocks of sheep and goats and other animals.

4“The land that you give them for their animals must extend out for ◄1,500 feet/450 meters► from the walls of the cities. 5Also measure ◄3,000 feet/900 meters► in each direction out from the walls of each city. That additional land will be land for their animals outside the walls of the cities.”

The cities of safety

6“Six of the cities that you give to the descendants of Levi will be cities to which people can run to be safe. If someone accidentally kills someone else, the one who killed that person may run to one of those cities to be safe. 7You must also give to the descendants of Levi 42 other cities and the land around those cities, for their animals,. 8The Israeli tribes that have the most people must give them more cities than the tribes that have fewer people give. Each tribe must give some of its cities to the descendants of Levi, but the tribes that have more land must give more cities, and the tribes that have less land will give fewer cities.”

9Yahweh also said to Moses/me, 10“Tell this to the Israeli people: When you cross the Jordan River and enter the Canaan region, 11you must choose some cities to which people can run to be safe/protected. If someone kills another person ◄accidentally/without planning to do that►, the one who killed that person may run to one of those cities and be safe. 12One of the relatives of the person who was killed may think he must avenge his relative’s death by killing the murderer. But in that city, the killer will be safe because the people in that city would kill those relatives if they tried to get revenge there. The man who killed someone accidentally must be put on trial in a court. 13You must set apart six cities to be cities to which someone who killed another person accidentally may run and be safe. 14There must be three of those cities on the east side of the Jordan River and three that will be on the west side, in the Canaan region. 15Those six cities will be cities where Israeli people may run to and be safe, and where foreigners and other people who are living among you can also run to and be safe. Any of those people who accidentally kills someone may run to one of those cities and be safe/protected there.

16-18“But you must consider that anyone who kills another person with an iron weapon or with a big rock or with a piece of wood, is a murderer, and the one who killed the other person must be executed. 19A relative of the person who was murdered must be the one who executes the murderer as soon as he finds him. 20If someone shoves another person over a cliff or throws something at another person 21or hits that person with his hand/fist and causes that person to die, if he did it because he hated that person, then you must consider that he is a murderer, and must be executed. A relative of the person who was killed must be the one who executes the murderer as soon as he finds him.

22“But someone might accidentally shove someone else, or accidentally throw something at another person and hit him, not because he hates that person. 23Or he might drop a rock on someone that he did not see. If the one who does that does not plan to hurt anyone and does not hate the person that was killed, 24the people of that city must decide whether the relative of the dead person has the right to get revenge, or whether the one who killed the other person truly did it ◄accidentally/without planning to do it►. 25If they decide that the killer planned to kill the other person, they must not allow him to stay in their city. But if they decide that it was done accidentally, they must protect the killer from being killed by the dead person’s relative. They must send the killer to one of the cities where he will be safe/protected, and allow him to stay there until the Supreme Priest dies. After that, the killer may go back to his home, because the dead person’s relative no longer has the right to get revenge.

26“But while the Supreme Priest is still living, the person who is in that safe city must not leave that city. 27If he goes outside the city, and if a relative of the dead person finds him, that relative is permitted to kill that person, and people will not consider that the relative is guilty of murder.28The killer must stay in that city where he will be safe/protected until the Supreme Priest dies. He will be safe from revenge after that, because the death of the Supreme Priest will be considered to be a sacrifice to atone for that murder. After that, the killer may return to his home.

29“You must always obey those regulations, wherever you live.

30“If someone is accused of killing another person, the one who is accused may be executed only if there are people who saw him do it. There must be more than one witness; no one is permitted to be executed if there was only one ◄witness/person who saw him do it►.

31“If there is a murderer who truly should be executed, do not spare his life by accepting ◄a ransom/money for him not to be killed►. He must be executed.

32“If someone has run to a city where he will be safe/protected, do not allow him to give you money in order that you will permit him to return to his home before the Supreme Priest dies.

33“You must execute people who truly murder others. If you did not do that, you would be causing the people who live in the land to become unacceptable to me. Anyone who deliberately kills an innocent person must be executed. 34I am Yahweh, and I live among you Israelis, so do not spoil/pollute the land by allowing people to murder others without being punished.”

36

Land for Zelophehad’s daughters

1The family leaders of the clan of Gilead of the tribe of Manasseh went to Moses/me and the other family leaders of the Israeli people. 2They said to Moses/me, “Yahweh commanded you, our leader, to apportion the land to the Israeli tribes by throwing ◄lots/stones that have been marked► to decide which group would get which area. Yahweh also commanded you to give the land that belonged to our fellow Israeli Zelophehad to his daughters. 3But if his daughters marry men from the other Israeli tribes, that land will no longer belong to our tribe. People of other tribes will get it. So some of our land will no longer belong to us. 4When the Year of Celebration comes, when all the land that has been bought by someone is returned to its original owners, the land that belonged to Zelophehad will belong to the tribes of the men that his daughters marry. So some of our land, the land that we received from our fathers, will be taken from us, and we will never own it again.”

5Yahweh told Moses/me what to reply to them, so Moses/I said this to them: “These men from the tribe of Manasseh are right. 6This is what Yahweh is saying to the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Each of you may marry anyone you want to, but you must marry only someone from your own tribe.’ 7In that way, the land that belongs to Israelis will not be passed from one tribe to another tribe. Each Israeli will keep the land in the tribe that belonged to his ancestors. 8A woman who inherits her father’s land may get married, but she must marry someone from her own tribe. In that way, every Israeli will keep the land that belonged to his ancestors. 9The land must not be passed from one tribe to another tribe. Each Israeli tribe must keep the land that it received from its ancestors.”

10Zelophehad’s daughters obeyed what Yahweh told Moses/me. 11The five daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah—married their cousins, their father’s relatives. 12The men whom they married were from the tribe of Manasseh, so their land continued to belong to their father’s family and tribe.

13Those were the commands [DOU] that Yahweh gave to Moses/me to tell to the Israelis, while they/we were on the plains of the Moab region, close to the Jordan River, across from Jericho.