New King James Version (NKJV)

Ceremonially Unclean Persons Isolated

1 And theLordspoke to Moses, saying:

2 “Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp everyleper, everyone who has adischarge, and whoever becomesdefiled by a corpse.

3 You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their campsin the midst of which I dwell.”

4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as theLordspoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.

Confession and Restitution

5 Then theLordspoke to Moses, saying,

6 “Speak to the children of Israel:‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against theLord, and that person is guilty,

7 then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespassin full, plus one-fifth of it, and giveitto the one he has wronged.

8 But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrongmustgoto theLordfor the priest, in addition tothe ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him.

9 Everyoffering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall behis.

10 And every man’s holy things shall behis; whatever any man gives the priest shall be his.’ ”

Concerning Unfaithful Wives

11 And theLordspoke to Moses, saying,

12 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him,

13 and a manlies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, andtherewasno witness against her, nor was shecaught—

14 if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomesjealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself—

15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shallbring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because itisa grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, forbringing iniquity to remembrance.

16 ‘And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before theLord.

17 The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and putitinto the water.

18 Then the priest shall stand the woman before theLord, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, whichisthe grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse.

19 And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleannesswhileunder your husband’sauthority,be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.

20 But if you have gone astraywhileunder your husband’sauthority,and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has lain with you”—

21 then the priest shallput the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman—“theLordmake you a curse and an oath among your people, when theLordmakes your thigh rot and your belly swell;

22 and may this water that causes the cursego into your stomach, and makeyourbelly swell andyourthigh rot.”

# ‘Then the woman shall say, “Amen, so be it.”

23 ‘Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrapethemoff into the bitter water.

24 And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter hertobecomebitter.

25 Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, shallwave the offering before theLord, and bring it to the altar;

26 and the priest shall take a handful of the offering,as its memorial portion, burniton the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water.

27 When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings acurse will enter herandbecomebitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the womanwill become a curse among her people.

28 But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children.

29 ‘Thisisthe law of jealousy, when a wife,whileunder her husband’sauthority,goes astray and defiles herself,

30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the woman before theLord, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her.

31 Then the man shall be free from iniquity, but that womanshall bear her guilt.’ ”

The Law of the Nazirite

1 Then theLordspoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite,to separate himself to theLord,

3 he shall separate himself from wine andsimilardrink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made fromsimilardrink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.

4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.

5 ‘All the days of the vow of his separation norazor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to theLord, he shall be holy.Thenhe shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.

6 All the days that he separates himself to theLordhe shall not go near a dead body.

7 He shall not make himself unclean even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separation to Godison his head.

8 All the days of his separation he shall be holy to theLord.

9 ‘And if anyone dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shallshave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it.

10 Thenon the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting;

11 and the priest shall offer one as a sin offering andtheother as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned in regard to the corpse; and he shall sanctify his head that same day.

12 He shall consecrate to theLordthe days of his separation, and bring a male lamb in its first yearas a trespass offering; but the former days shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.

13 ‘Now thisisthe law of the Nazirite:When the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall be brought to the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

14 And he shall present his offering to theLord: one male lamb in its first year without blemish as a burnt offering, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemishas a sin offering, one ram without blemishas a peace offering,

15 a basket of unleavened bread,cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, unleavened wafersanointed with oil, and their grain offering with theirdrink offerings.

16 Then the priest shall bringthembefore theLordand offer his sin offering and his burnt offering;

17 and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of a peace offering to theLord, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall also offer its grain offering and its drink offering.

18 Then the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated headatthe door of the tabernacle of meeting, and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and putiton the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offering.

19 ‘And the priest shall take theboiled shoulder of the ram, oneunleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, andputthemupon the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecratedhair,

20 and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before theLord;theyareholy for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.’

21 “This is the law of the Nazirite who vows to theLordthe offering for his separation, and besides that, whatever else his hand is able to provide; according to the vow which he takes, so he must do according to the law of his separation.”

The Priestly Blessing

22 And theLordspoke to Moses, saying:

23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them:

24 “TheLordbless you andkeep you;

25 TheLordmake His face shine upon you,

# Andbe gracious to you;

26 TheLordlift up His countenance upon you,

# Andgive you peace.” ’

27 “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, andI will bless them.”

Offerings of the Leaders

1 Now it came to pass, when Moses had finishedsetting up the tabernacle, that heanointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings, and the altar and all its utensils; so he anointed them and consecrated them.

2 Thenthe leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers’ houses, whowerethe leaders of the tribes and over those who were numbered, made an offering.

3 And they brought their offering before theLord, six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart foreverytwo of the leaders, and for each one an ox; and they presented them before the tabernacle.

4 Then theLordspoke to Moses, saying,

5 “Acceptthesefrom them, that they may be used in doing the work of the tabernacle of meeting; and you shall give them to the Levites,toevery man according to his service.”

6 So Moses took the carts and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites.

7 Two carts and four oxenhe gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service;

8 and four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

9 But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because theirswasthe service of the holy things,whichthey carried on their shoulders.

10 Now the leaders offeredthe dedicationofferingfor the altar when it was anointed; so the leaders offered their offering before the altar.

11 For theLordsaid to Moses, “They shall offer their offering, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar.”

12 And the one who offered his offering on the first daywasNahshon the son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah.

13 His offeringwasone silver platter, the weight of whichwasone hundred and thirtyshekels,and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according tothe shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as agrain offering;

14 one gold pan of tenshekels,full ofincense;

15 one young bull, one ram, and one male lambin its first year, as a burnt offering;

16 one kid of the goats as asin offering;

17 and forthe sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. Thiswasthe offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

18 On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, leader of Issachar, presentedanoffering.

19 Forhis offering he offered one silver platter, the weight of whichwasone hundred and thirtyshekels,and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

20 one gold pan of tenshekels,full of incense;

21 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering;

22 one kid of the goats as a sin offering;

23 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. Thiswasthe offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar.

24 On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, leader of the children of Zebulun,presentedanoffering.

25 His offeringwasone silver platter, the weight of whichwasone hundred and thirtyshekels,and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

26 one gold pan of tenshekels,full of incense;

27 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering;

28 one kid of the goats as a sin offering;

29 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. Thiswasthe offering of Eliab the son of Helon.

30 On the fourth dayElizur the son of Shedeur, leader of the children of Reuben,presentedanoffering.

31 His offeringwasone silver platter, the weight of whichwasone hundred and thirtyshekels,and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

32 one gold pan of tenshekels,full of incense;

33 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering;

34 one kid of the goats as a sin offering;

35 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. Thiswasthe offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur.

36 On the fifth dayShelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, leader of the children of Simeon,presentedanoffering.

37 His offeringwasone silver platter, the weight of whichwasone hundred and thirtyshekels,and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

38 one gold pan of tenshekels,full of incense;

39 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering;

40 one kid of the goats as a sin offering;

41 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. Thiswasthe offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

42 On the sixth dayEliasaph the son of Deuel, leader of the children of Gad,presentedanoffering.

43 His offeringwasone silver platter, the weight of whichwasone hundred and thirtyshekels,and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

44 one gold pan of tenshekels,full of incense;

45 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, asa burnt offering;

46 one kid of the goats as a sin offering;

47 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. Thiswasthe offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

48 On the seventh dayElishama the son of Ammihud, leader of the children of Ephraim,presentedanoffering.

49 His offeringwasone silver platter, the weight of whichwasone hundred and thirtyshekels,and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

50 one gold pan of tenshekels,full of incense;

51 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering;

52 one kid of the goats as a sin offering;

53 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. Thiswasthe offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.

54 On the eighth dayGamaliel the son of Pedahzur, leader of the children of Manasseh,presentedanoffering.

55 His offeringwasone silver platter, the weight of whichwasone hundred and thirtyshekels,and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

56 one gold pan of tenshekels,full of incense;

57 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering;

58 one kid of the goats as a sin offering;

59 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. Thiswasthe offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

60 On the ninth dayAbidan the son of Gideoni, leader of the children of Benjamin,presentedanoffering.

61 His offeringwasone silver platter, the weight of whichwasone hundred and thirtyshekels,and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

62 one gold pan of tenshekels,full of incense;

63 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering;

64 one kid of the goats as a sin offering;

65 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. Thiswasthe offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.

66 On the tenth dayAhiezer the son of Ammishaddai, leader of the children of Dan,presentedanoffering.

67 His offeringwasone silver platter, the weight of whichwasone hundred and thirtyshekels,and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

68 one gold pan of tenshekels,full of incense;

69 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering;

70 one kid of the goats as a sin offering;

71 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. Thiswasthe offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

72 On the eleventh dayPagiel the son of Ocran, leader of the children of Asher,presentedanoffering.

73 His offeringwasone silver platter, the weight of whichwasone hundred and thirtyshekels,and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

74 one gold pan of tenshekels,full of incense;

75 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering;

76 one kid of the goats as a sin offering;

77 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. Thiswasthe offering of Pagiel the son of Ocran.

78 On the twelfth dayAhira the son of Enan, leader of the children of Naphtali,presentedanoffering.

79 His offeringwasone silver platter, the weight of whichwasone hundred and thirtyshekels,and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

80 one gold pan of tenshekels,full of incense;

81 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering;

82 one kid of the goats as a sin offering;

83 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. Thiswasthe offering of Ahira the son of Enan.

84 Thiswasthe dedicationofferingfor the altar from the leaders of Israel, when it was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold pans.

85 Each silver platterweighedone hundred and thirtyshekelsand each bowl seventyshekels.All the silver of the vesselsweighedtwo thousand four hundredshekels,according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

86 The twelve gold pans full of incenseweighedtenshekelsapiece, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; all the gold of the pansweighedone hundred and twentyshekels.

87 All the oxen for the burnt offeringweretwelve young bulls, the rams twelve, the male lambs in their first year twelve, with their grain offering, and the kids of the goats as a sin offering twelve.

88 And all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace offerings were twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, and the lambs in their first year sixty. Thiswasthe dedicationofferingfor the altar after it wasanointed.

89 Now when Moses went into the tabernacle of meetingto speak with Him, he heardthe voice of One speaking to him from above the mercy seat thatwason the ark of the Testimony, frombetween the two cherubim; thus He spoke to him.

Arrangement of the Lamps

1 And theLordspoke to Moses, saying:

2 “Speak to Aaron, and say to him, ‘When youarrange the lamps, the sevenlamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.’ ”

3 And Aaron did so; he arranged the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, as theLordcommanded Moses.

4 Now this workmanship of the lampstandwashammered gold; from its shaft to its flowers itwashammered work.According to the pattern which theLordhad shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Cleansing and Dedication of the Levites

5 Then theLordspoke to Moses, saying:

6 “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse themceremonially.

7 Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them:Sprinkle water of purification on them, andlet them shave all their body, and let them wash their clothes, andsomake themselves clean.

8 Then let them take a young bull withits grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering.

9 And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting,and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel.

10 So you shall bring the Levites before theLord, and the children of Israelshall lay their hands on the Levites;

11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before theLordlikeawave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of theLord.

12 Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to theLord, to make atonement for the Levites.

13 “And you shall stand the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and then offer themlikea wave offering to theLord.

14 Thus you shallseparate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall beMine.

15 After that the Levites shall go in to service the tabernacle of meeting. So you shall cleanse them andoffer themlikea wave offering.

16 For theyarewholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; I have taken them for Myselfinstead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel.

17 For all the firstborn among the children of IsraelareMine,bothman and beast; on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them to Myself.

18 I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel.

19 AndI have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the work for the children of Israel in the tabernacle of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel,that there be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near the sanctuary.”

20 Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did to the Levites; according to all that theLordcommanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel did to them.

21 And the Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes; then Aaron presented themlikea wave offering before theLord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.

22 After that the Levites went in to do their work in the tabernacle of meeting before Aaron and his sons;as theLordcommanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

23 Then theLordspoke to Moses, saying,

24 “Thisiswhatpertainsto the Levites:From twenty-five years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the tabernacle of meeting;

25 and at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more.

26 They may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meeting,to attend to needs, but theythemselvesshall do no work. Thus you shall do to the Levites regarding their duties.”

The Second Passover

1 Now theLordspoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying:

2 “Let the children of Israel keepthe Passover at its appointedtime.

3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time. According to all its rites and ceremonies you shall keep it.”

4 So Moses told the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover.

5 Andthey kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, in the Wilderness of Sinai; according to all that theLordcommanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.

6 Now there werecertainmen who weredefiled by a human corpse, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day;and they came before Moses and Aaron that day.

7 And those men said to him, “Webecamedefiled by a human corpse. Why are we kept from presenting the offering of theLordat its appointed time among the children of Israel?”

8 And Moses said to them, “Stand still, thatI may hear what theLordwill command concerning you.”

9 Then theLordspoke to Moses, saying,

10 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If anyone of you or your posterity is unclean because of a corpse, orisfar away on a journey, he may still keep theLord’s Passover.

11 Onthe fourteenth day of the second month, at twilight, they may keep it. They shalleat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

12 They shall leave none of it until morning,nor break one of its bones.According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it.

13 But the man whoisclean and is not on a journey, and ceases to keep the Passover, that same personshall be cut off from among his people, because hedid not bring the offering of theLordat its appointed time; that man shallbear his sin.

14 ‘And if a stranger dwells among you, and would keep theLord’s Passover, he must do so according to the rite of the Passover and according to its ceremony;you shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger and the native of the land.’ ”

The Cloud and the Fire

15 Nowon the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloudcovered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony;from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire.

16 So it was always: the cloud covered itbyday,and the appearance of fire by night.

17 Whenever the cloudwas taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents.

18 At the command of theLordthe children of Israel would journey, and at the command of theLordthey would camp;as long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped.

19 Even when the cloud continued long, many days above the tabernacle, the children of Israelkept the charge of theLordand did not journey.

20 So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle a few days: according to the command of theLordthey would remain encamped, and according to the command of theLordthey would journey.

21 So it was, when the cloud remained only from evening until morning: when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey; whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they would journey.

22 Whetheritwastwo days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israelwould remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey.

23 At the command of theLordthey remained encamped, and at the command of theLordthey journeyed; theykept the charge of theLord, at the command of theLordby the hand of Moses.

Two Silver Trumpets

1 And theLordspoke to Moses, saying:

2 “Make two silver trumpets for yourself; you shall make them of hammered work; you shall use them forcalling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps.

3 Whenthey blow both of them, all the congregation shall gather before you at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

4 But if they blowonlyone, then the leaders, theheads of the divisions of Israel, shall gather to you.

5 When you sound theadvance, the camps that lie on the east side shall then begin their journey.

6 When you sound the advance the second time, thenthe camps that lieon the south side shall begin their journey; they shall sound the call for them to begin their journeys.

7 And when the assembly is to be gathered together,you shall blow, but notsound the advance.

8 The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations.

9 “When you go to war in your land against the enemy whooppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will beremembered before theLordyour God, and you will be saved from your enemies.

10 Alsoin the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall bea memorial for you before your God: IamtheLordyour God.”

Departure from Sinai

11 Now it came to pass on the twentiethdayof the second month, in the second year, that the cloudwas taken up from above the tabernacle of the Testimony.

12 And the children of Israel set out fromthe Wilderness of Sinai ontheir journeys; then the cloud settled down in theWilderness of Paran.

13 So they started out for the first timeaccording to the command of theLordby the hand of Moses.

14 The standard of the camp of the children of Judahset out first according to their armies; over their army wasNahshon the son of Amminadab.

15 Over the army of the tribe of the children of IssacharwasNethanel the son of Zuar.

16 And over the army of the tribe of the children of ZebulunwasEliab the son of Helon.

17 Thenthe tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set out,carrying the tabernacle.

18 Andthe standard of the camp of Reuben set out according to their armies; over their armywasElizur the son of Shedeur.

19 Over the army of the tribe of the children of SimeonwasShelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

20 And over the army of the tribe of the children of GadwasEliasaph the son of Deuel.

21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying theholy things. (The tabernacle would be prepared for their arrival.)

22 Andthe standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set out according to their armies; over their armywasElishama the son of Ammihud.

23 Over the army of the tribe of the children of ManassehwasGamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

24 And over the army of the tribe of the children of BenjaminwasAbidan the son of Gideoni.

25 Thenthe standard of the camp of the children of Dan (the rear guard of all the camps) set out according to their armies; over their armywasAhiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

26 Over the army of the tribe of the children of AsherwasPagiel the son of Ocran.

27 And over the army of the tribe of the children of NaphtaliwasAhira the son of Enan.

28 Thuswasthe order of march of the children of Israel, according to their armies, when they began their journey.

29 Now Moses said toHobab the son ofReuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which theLordsaid,‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, andwe will treat you well; fortheLordhas promised good things to Israel.”

30 And he said to him, “I will not go, but I will depart to myownland and to my relatives.”

31 SoMosessaid, “Please do not leave, inasmuch as you know how we are to camp in the wilderness, and you can be oureyes.

32 And it shall be, if you go with us—indeed it shall be—thatwhatever good theLordwill do to us, the same we will do to you.”

33 So they departed fromthe mountain of theLordon a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of theLordwent before them for the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them.

34 Andthe cloud of theLordwasabove them by day when they went out from the camp.

35 So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said:

# “Rise up, OLord!

Let Your enemies be scattered,

And let those who hate You flee before You.”

36 And when it rested, he said:

“Return, OLord,

Tothe many thousands of Israel.”

The People Complain

1 Nowwhenthe people complained, it displeased theLord;for theLordheardit,and His anger was aroused. So thefire of theLordburned among them, and consumedsomein the outskirts of the camp.

2 Then the peoplecried out to Moses, and when Mosesprayed to theLord, the fire was quenched.

3 So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of theLordhad burned among them.

4 Now themixed multitude who were among them yielded tointense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said:“Who will give us meat to eat?

5 We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;

6 but nowour whole beingisdried up;thereisnothing at all except this mannabeforeour eyes!”

7 Nowthe mannawaslike coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium.

8 The people went about and gatheredit,grounditon millstones or beatitin the mortar, cookeditin pans, and made cakes of it; andits taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil.

9 Andwhen the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it.

10 Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; andthe anger of theLordwas greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased.

11 So Moses said to theLord, “Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me?

12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me,‘Carry them in your bosom, as aguardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which Youswore to their fathers?

13 Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’

14 I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burdenistoo heavy for me.

15 If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—anddo not let me see my wretchedness!”

The Seventy Elders

16 So theLordsaid to Moses: “Gather to Meseventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people andofficers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you.

17 Then I will come down and talk with you there.I will take of the Spirit thatisupon you and will putthesameupon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bearityourself alone.

18 Then you shall say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have weptin the hearing of theLord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? Foritwaswell with us in Egypt.” Therefore theLordwill give you meat, and you shall eat.

19 You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days,

20 butfora whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you havedespised theLordwho is among you, and have wept before Him, saying,“Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?” ’ ”

21 And Moses said,“The people whom Iamamongaresix hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eatfora whole month.’

22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?”

23 And theLordsaid to Moses,“Has theLord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whetherwhat I say will happen to you or not.”

24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of theLord, and hegathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle.

25 Then theLordcame down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit thatwasupon him, and placedthesameupon the seventy elders; and it happened,when the Spirit rested upon them, thatthey prophesied, although they never didsoagain.

26 But two men had remained in the camp: the name of onewasEldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now theywereamong those listed, but whohad not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp.

27 And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

28 So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant,oneof his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord,forbid them!”

29 Then Moses said to him, “Are you zealous for my sake?Oh, that all theLord’s people were prophetsandthat theLordwould put His Spirit upon them!”

30 And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

The Lord Sends Quail

31 Now awind went out from theLord, and it brought quail from the sea and leftthemfluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground.

32 And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered tenhomers); and they spreadthemout for themselves all around the camp.

33 But while themeatwasstill between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of theLordwas aroused against the people, and theLordstruck the people with a very great plague.

34 So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving.

35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people moved to Hazeroth, and camped at Hazeroth.

Dissension of Aaron and Miriam

1 ThenMiriam and Aaron spokeagainst Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; forhe had married an Ethiopian woman.

2 So they said, “Has theLordindeed spoken only throughMoses?Has He not spoken through us also?” And theLordheardit.

3 (Now the man Moseswasvery humble, more than all men whowereon the face of the earth.)

4 Suddenly theLordsaid to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out.

5 Then theLordcame down in the pillar of cloud and stoodinthe door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward.

6 Then He said,

“Hear now My words:

If there is a prophet among you,

# I, theLord, make Myself known to himin a vision;

# I speak to himin a dream.

7 Not so withMy servant Moses;

# Heisfaithful in allMy house.

8 I speak with himface to face,

# Evenplainly, and not in dark sayings;

# And he seesthe form of theLord.

# Why thenwere you not afraid

To speak against My servant Moses?”

9 So the anger of theLordwas aroused against them, and He departed.

10 And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle,suddenly Miriambecameleprous, aswhiteassnow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper.

11 So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Pleasedo not laythissin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned.

12 Pleasedo not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!”

13 So Moses cried out to theLord, saying, “Pleaseheal her, O God, I pray!”

14 Then theLordsaid to Moses, “If her father had butspit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her beshut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be receivedagain.”

15 So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought inagain.

16 And afterward the people moved fromHazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

Spies Sent into Canaan

1 And theLordspoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

3 So Moses sent themfrom the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of theLord, all of them men whowereheads of the children of Israel.

4 Now theseweretheir names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

16 Thesearethe names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses calledHoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

17 Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up thiswayinto the South, and go up tothe mountains,

18 and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in itarestrong or weak, few or many;

19 whether the land they dwell inisgood or bad; whether the cities they inhabitarelike camps or strongholds;

20 whether the landisrich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not.Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the timewasthe season of the first ripe grapes.

21 So they went up and spied out the landfrom the Wilderness of Zin as far asRehob, near the entrance ofHamath.

22 And they went up through the South and came toHebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants ofAnak,werethere. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

23 Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole.Theyalsobroughtsome of the pomegranates and figs.

24 The place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there.

25 And they returned from spying out the land after forty days.

26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, atKadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.

27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows withmilk and honey,and thisisits fruit.

28 Nevertheless thepeople who dwell in the landarestrong; the citiesarefortifiedandvery large; moreover we saw the descendants ofAnak there.

29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”

30 ThenCaleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for theyarestronger than we.”

32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spiesisa land that devours its inhabitants, andall the people whom we saw in itaremen ofgreatstature.

33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we werelike grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we werein their sight.”

Israel Refuses to Enter Canaan

1 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the peoplewept that night.

2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!

3 Why has theLordbrought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives andchildren should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”

4 So they said to one another,“Let us select a leader andreturn to Egypt.”

5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

6 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh,whowereamong those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;

7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying:“The land we passed through to spy outisan exceedingly good land.

8 If theLorddelights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us,‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’

9 Onlydo not rebel against theLord,nor fear the people of the land, fortheyareour bread; their protection has departed from them,and theLordiswith us. Do not fear them.”

10 And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Nowthe glory of theLordappeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.

Moses Intercedes for the People

11 Then theLordsaid to Moses: “How long will these peoplereject Me? And how long will they notbelieve Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?

12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I willmake of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

13 AndMoses said to theLord:“Then the Egyptians will hearit,for by Your might You brought these people up from among them,

14 and they will tellitto the inhabitants of this land. They haveheard that You,Lord,areamong these people; that You,Lord, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.

15 NowifYou kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying,

16 ‘Because theLordwas notable to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.’

17 And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying,

18 ‘TheLordis longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clearstheguilty,visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourthgeneration.’

19 Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray,according to the greatness of Your mercy, justas You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

20 Then theLordsaid: “I have pardoned,according to your word;

21 but truly, as I live,all the earth shall be filled with the glory of theLord—

22 because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test nowthese ten times, and have not heeded My voice,

23 they certainly shall notsee the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.

24 But My servantCaleb, because he has a different spirit in him andhas followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.

25 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn andmove out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.”

Death Sentence on the Rebels

26 And theLordspoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

27 “How longshallIbearwiththis evil congregation who complain against Me?I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me.

28 Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says theLord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you:

29 The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness,all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.

30 Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.

31 But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land whichyou have despised.

32 Butasforyou,your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.

33 And your sons shallbe shepherds in the wildernessforty years, andbear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness.

34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land,forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year,namelyforty years,and you shall know My rejection.

35 I theLordhave spoken this. I will surely do so to allthis evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’ ”

36 Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land,

37 those very men who brought the evil report about the land,died by the plague before theLord.

38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.

A Futile Invasion Attempt

39 Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel,and the people mourned greatly.

40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying,“Here we are, and we will go up to the place which theLordhas promised, for we have sinned!”

41 And Moses said, “Now why do you transgress the command of theLord? For this will not succeed.

42 Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for theLordisnot among you.

43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanitesarethere before you, and you shall fall by the sword;because you have turned away from theLord, theLordwill not be with you.”

44 But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of theLordnor Moses departed from the camp.

45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far asHormah.