Bible in 90 Days

¹⁵ “Once you have made them clean and presented them as an offering, the Levites may come and do their work at the tent of meeting. ¹⁶ They will be the only Israelites given to me. I have taken them to be mine as substitutes for every firstborn male offspring of the Israelites. ¹⁷ Every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal, is mine. The day I killed every firstborn male in Egypt, I set them apart as holy to me. ¹⁸ So I have taken the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn sons of the Israelites. ¹⁹ The Levites will be the only Israelites I give to Aaron and his sons. They will work for the Israelites at the tent of meeting. They will make peace with the Lord for the Israelites. Then no plague will strike the Israelites when they come near the holy place.”

²⁰ Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel did what the Lord commanded Moses to do to the Levites. ²¹ The Levites performed the ceremonies to take away their sins and washed their clothes. Aaron presented them as an offering to the Lord and made peace with the Lord for them in order to make them clean. ²² After that, the Levites came and did their work at the tent of meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. They did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²³ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “These are the instructions for the Levites: Men 25 years old or older are eligible to serve at the tent of meeting. ²⁵ But when they’re 50 years old, they must retire from active service and not work anymore. ²⁶ They may assist the other Levites in their duties at the tent of meeting, but they may not do any regular work. This is how you will handle the Levites’ duties.”

The Second Passover

9 In the first month of the second year after the Israelites left Egypt, the Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai. He said, ² “The Israelites must celebrate the Passover at the same time every year. ³ You must celebrate it on the fourteenth day of this month at dusk. Follow all the rules and regulations for the celebration of the Passover.”

⁴ So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover, ⁵ and they celebrated it on the fourteenth day of the first month at dusk while they were in the Desert of Sinai. The Israelites did everything as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁶ But there were some men who had become unclean ^[a] from touching a dead body, and they couldn’t celebrate the Passover that day. They came to Moses and Aaron ⁷ and said, “We are unclean because we touched a dead body. Why won’t you let us bring our offerings to the Lord at the same time the rest of the Israelites bring their offerings?”

⁸ Moses answered them, “Wait here until I find out what the Lord commands you to do.”

⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites: ¹⁰ Suppose you or any of your descendants is unclean from touching a dead body or is away on a long trip. You may still celebrate the Passover. ¹¹ You will celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at dusk. You must eat the Passover animal along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ¹² You must never leave any of the meat until morning or break any of the animal’s bones. You must follow all the rules for the Passover when you celebrate it. ¹³ But if you are clean ^[b] and not on a trip and yet don’t bother to celebrate the Passover, you must be excluded from the people. You didn’t bring your offering to the Lord at the right time. You must suffer the consequences for your sin.

¹⁴ “Foreigners living with you may want to celebrate the Lord’s Passover. They must follow these same rules and regulations. The same rules will apply to foreigners and native-born Israelites.”

The Column of Smoke Leads Israel through the Desert

¹⁵ On the day the tent of the words of God’s promise was set up, the ⌞column of⌟ smoke covered it. From evening until morning, the smoke over the tent glowed like fire. ¹⁶ The smoke always glowed this way. At night the smoke covering the tent glowed like fire. ¹⁷ Whenever the smoke moved from the tent, the Israelites would break camp, and wherever it stopped, the Israelites would set up camp. ¹⁸ At the Lord’s command the Israelites would break camp, and at his command they would set up camp. As long as the ⌞column of⌟ smoke stayed over the tent, they would stay in the same place. ¹⁹ When the smoke stayed over the tent for a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s command and wouldn’t break camp. ²⁰ The same thing happened when the smoke stayed only a few days over the tent: At the Lord’s command they would set up camp, and at his command they would break camp. ²¹ Sometimes the ⌞column of⌟ smoke stayed only from evening until morning. When the smoke moved in the morning, they broke camp. Day or night, when the smoke moved, they broke camp. ²² Whether it was two days, a month, or a year, as long as the ⌞column of⌟ smoke stayed over the tent, the Israelites would stay in the same place and not break camp. But when the smoke moved, they would break camp. ²³ At the Lord’s command they set up camp, and at his command they broke camp. They obeyed the command that the Lord had given through Moses.

Two Silver Signal Trumpets

10 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Make two trumpets out of hammered silver. Use them to call the community together and as a signal to break camp. ³ When you blow both trumpets, the whole community will meet with you at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁴ If only one trumpet blows, the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, will meet with you. ⁵ When they hear the trumpet fanfare, the tribes that are camped on the east side will break camp first. ⁶ When the trumpets sound a second fanfare, the tribes that are camped on the south will break camp. The fanfare is the signal to break camp. ⁷ But when you gather the assembly, the trumpets will blow without sounding a fanfare. ⁸ The sons of Aaron, the priests, will blow the trumpets. This will be a permanent law for you and your descendants.

⁹ “When you go to war in your own country against an enemy who is oppressing you, the trumpets will sound a fanfare. Then the Lord your God will remember you and rescue you from your enemies. ¹⁰ Also, on your festival days and on the first day of the month, blow the trumpets when you sacrifice your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. The trumpets will be a reminder for you in God’s presence. I am the Lord your God.”

Israel Leaves Mount Sinai

¹¹ On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the ⌞column of⌟ smoke left the tent of the words of God’s promise. ¹² So the Israelites moved from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the ⌞column of⌟ smoke stopped in the Desert of Paran.

¹³ This was the first time they moved, following the command that the Lord had given through Moses. ¹⁴ With their flag in front, the armies led by Judah’s descendants broke camp first. Nahshon, son of Amminadab, was in command. ¹⁵ Nethanel, son of Zuar, commanded the army of Issachar. ¹⁶ Eliab, son of Helon, commanded the army of Zebulun. ¹⁷ Then the tent ⌞of meeting⌟ was taken down, and the Gershonites and Merarites, who carried it, broke camp.

¹⁸ With their flag in front, the armies led by Reuben’s descendants broke camp next. Elizur, son of Shedeur, was in command. ¹⁹ Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai, commanded the army of Simeon. ²⁰ Eliasaph, son of Deuel, commanded the army of Gad. ²¹ Then the Kohathites, who carried the holy things, broke camp. By the time they arrived, the tent ⌞of meeting⌟ would already be set up.

²² With their flag in front, the armies led by Ephraim’s descendants broke camp next. Elisha, son of Ammihud, was in command. ²³ Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, commanded the army of Manasseh. ²⁴ Abidan, son of Gideoni, commanded the army of Benjamin.

²⁵ As a rear guard for the whole camp, the armies led by Dan’s descendants broke camp last with their flag in front. Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai, was in command. ²⁶ Pagiel, son of Ochran, commanded the army of Asher. ²⁷ Ahira, son of Enan, commanded the army of Naphtali.

²⁸ This was the order in which the Israelite armies broke camp when they went from place to place.

²⁹ Moses said to his brother-in-law Hobab, son of Reuel the Midianite, “We are going to the place the Lord promised to give us. Come with us. We will be good to you, because the Lord has promised good things to Israel.”

³⁰ Hobab answered, “No, I won’t go. I want to go back to my own country where my relatives are.”

³¹ But Moses said, “Please don’t leave us. You know where we can set up camp in the desert, and you could be our guide. ³² If you come with us, we will share with you all the good things the Lord gives us.”

³³ So they left the mountain of the Lord and traveled for three days. The ark of the Lord’s promise went ahead of them a distance of three days’ journey to find them a place to rest. ³⁴ The Lord’s ⌞column of⌟ smoke was over them by day when they moved the camp.

³⁵ Whenever the ark started to move, Moses would say,

³⁶ And whenever it stopped, he would say,

The People of Israel Demand Meat to Eat

11 The people began complaining out loud to the Lord about their troubles. When the Lord heard them, he became angry, and fire from the Lord began to burn among them. It destroyed some people on the outskirts of the camp. ² The people cried out to Moses, Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. ³ That place was called Taberah [Fire] because fire from the Lord burned among them there.

⁴ Some foreigners among the Israelites had a strong craving for ⌞other kinds of⌟ food. Even the Israelites started crying again and said, “If only we had meat to eat! ⁵ Remember all the free fish we ate in Egypt and the cucumbers, watermelons, leeks, onions, and garlic we had? ⁶ But now we’ve lost our appetite! Everywhere we look there’s nothing but manna!”

⁷ (Manna was ⌞small⌟ like coriander seeds and looked like resin. ⁸ The people would go around and gather it, then grind it in a handmill or crush it in a mortar. They would cook it in a pot or make round loaves of bread out of it. It tasted like rich pastry made with olive oil. ⁹ When dew fell on the camp at night, manna fell with it.)

¹⁰ Moses heard people from every family crying at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became very angry, and Moses didn’t like it either. ¹¹ So he asked, “Lord, why have you brought me this trouble? How have I displeased you that you put the burden of all these people on me? ¹² Am I their mother? Did I give birth to them? Are you really asking me to carry them in my arms—as a nurse carries a baby—all the way to the land you promised their ancestors with an oath? ¹³ Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep crying for me to give them meat to eat. ¹⁴ I can’t take care of all these people by myself. This is too much work for me! ¹⁵ If this is how you’re going to treat me, why don’t you just kill me? I can’t face this trouble anymore.”

¹⁶ The Lord answered Moses, “Bring me 70 Israelite men who you know are leaders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting, and have them stand with you. ¹⁷ I’ll come down and speak with you there. I’ll take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will help you take care of the people. You won’t have to take care of the people alone. ¹⁸ Tell the people to get ready for tomorrow. They must be set apart as holy. Then they will eat meat. I, the Lord, heard them crying and saying, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!’ So I will give them meat. ¹⁹ They won’t eat it just for one or two days, or five, or ten, or twenty days, ²⁰ but for a whole month, until it comes out of their ears and they’re sick of it. This is because they rejected the Lord who is here among them and cried in front of him, asking, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’ ”

²¹ But Moses said, “Here I am with 600,000 foot soldiers around me. Yet, you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ ²² Would they have enough if all the flocks and herds were butchered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”

²³ The Lord asked Moses, “Is there a limit to the Lord’s power? Now you will see whether or not my words come true.”

²⁴ Moses went out and told the people what the Lord said. He gathered 70 of the leaders of the people and had them stand around the tent. ²⁵ Then the Lord came down in the ⌞column of⌟ smoke and spoke with him. He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on the 70 leaders. When the Spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied, but they never prophesied again.

²⁶ Two men, named Eldad and Medad, had stayed in the camp. They were on the list with the other leaders but hadn’t gone with them to the tent. The Spirit came to rest on them, too, and they prophesied in the camp.

²⁷ Then a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” ²⁸ So Joshua, son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant ever since he was a young man, spoke up and said, “Stop them, sir!”

²⁹ But Moses asked him, “Do you think you need to stand up for me? I wish all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them.”

³⁰ Then Moses and the leaders went back to the camp.

³¹ The Lord sent a wind from the sea that brought quails and dropped them all around the camp. There were quails on the ground about three feet deep as far as you could walk in a day in any direction.

³² All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered the quails. No one gathered less than 60 bushels. Then they spread the quails out all around the camp.

³³ While the meat was still in their mouths—before they had even had a chance to chew it—the Lord became angry with the people and struck them with a severe plague. ³⁴ That place was called Kibroth Hattaavah [Graves of Those Who Craved ⌞Meat⌟] because there they buried the people who had a strong craving ⌞for meat⌟.

³⁵ From Kibroth Hattaavah the people moved to Hazeroth, and they stayed there.

Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses

12 Miriam and Aaron began to criticize Moses because he was married to a woman from Sudan. ² They asked, “Did the Lord speak only through Moses? Didn’t he also speak through us?” The Lord heard their complaint.

³ (Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on earth.)

⁴ Suddenly, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “All three of you come to the tent of meeting.” So all three of them came. ⁵ Then the Lord came down in the column of smoke and stood at the entrance to the tent. He called to Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.

⁶ He said, “Listen to my words: When there are prophets of the Lord among you, I make myself known to them in visions or speak to them in dreams. ⁷ But this is not the way I treat my servant Moses. He is the most faithful person in my household.^{[c] 8} I speak with him face to face, plainly and not in riddles. He even sees the form of the Lord. Why weren’t you afraid to criticize my servant Moses?”

⁹ The Lord was angry with them, so he left.

¹⁰ When the smoke left the tent, Miriam was covered with an infectious skin disease. She was as white as snow. Aaron turned to her and saw she was covered with the disease. ¹¹ So he said to Moses, “Please, sir, don’t punish us for this foolish sin we committed. ¹² Don’t let her be like a stillborn baby that’s not completely developed.”

¹³ So Moses cried to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!”

¹⁴ The Lord replied to Moses, “If her own father had spit in her face, wouldn’t she be excluded from the community for seven days? She must be put in isolation outside the camp for seven days. Then she can be brought back.” ¹⁵ So Miriam was put in isolation outside the camp for seven days. The people didn’t break camp until she was brought back.

¹⁶ After that, the people moved from Hazeroth and set up camp in the Desert of Paran.

Moses Sends Out 12 Spies

13 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Send men to explore Canaan, which I’m giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of their ancestors’ tribes.”

³ So at the Lord’s command, Moses sent these men from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.

⁴ These are their names:

¹⁶ These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. But Moses gave Hoshea, son of Nun, the name Joshua.

¹⁷ When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he told them, “Go through the Negev and then into the mountain region. ¹⁸ See what the land is like and whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹ Is the land they live in good or bad? Do their cities have walls around them or not? ²⁰ Is the soil rich or poor? Does the land have trees or not? Do your best to bring back some fruit from the land.” (It was the season when grapes were beginning to ripen.)

²¹ So the men explored the land from the Desert of Zin to the border of Hamath. ²² They went through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai lived. They are descendants of Anak. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ²³ When they came to the Eshcol Valley, they cut off a branch with only one bunch of grapes on it. They carried it on a pole between two of them. They also brought some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ So they called that valley Eshcol [Bunch of Grapes] because of the bunch of grapes the Israelites cut off there.

²⁵ Forty days later, they came back from exploring the land. ²⁶ They came back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. They gave their report and showed them the fruit from the land.

²⁷ This is what they reported to Moses: “We went to the land where you sent us. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey. Here’s some of its fruit. ²⁸ But the people who live there are strong, and the cities have walls and are very large. We even saw the descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ The Amalekites live in the Negev. The Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the mountain region. And the Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and all along the Jordan River.”

³⁰ Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses. Caleb said, “Let’s go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it.”

³¹ But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people! They’re too strong for us!” ³² So they began to spread lies among the Israelites about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored is one that devours those who live there. All the people we saw there are very tall. ³³ We saw Nephilim there. (The descendants of Anak are Nephilim.) We felt as small as grasshoppers, and that’s how we must have looked to them.”

The People Rebel against the Lord

14 Then all the people in the Israelite community raised their voices and cried out loud all that night. ² They complained to Moses and Aaron, “If only we had died in Egypt or this desert! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us to this land—just to have us die in battle? Our wives and children will be taken as prisoners of war! Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ They said to each other, “Let’s choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

⁵ Immediately, Moses and Aaron bowed with their faces touching the ground in front of the whole community of Israel assembled there. ⁶ At the same time, two of those who had explored the land, Joshua (son of Nun) and Caleb (son of Jephunneh), tore their clothes in despair. ⁷ They said to the whole community of Israel, “The land we explored is very good. ⁸ If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us. This is a land flowing with milk and honey! ⁹ Don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. We will devour them like bread. They have no protection, and the Lord is with us. So don’t be afraid of them.”

¹⁰ But when the whole community of Israel talked about stoning Moses and Aaron to death, they all saw the glory of the Lord ⌞shining⌟ at the tent of meeting. ¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to trust me in spite of all the miraculous signs I have done among them? ¹² I’ll strike them with a plague, I’ll destroy them,^[d] and I’ll make you into a nation larger and stronger than they are.”

¹³ But Moses said to the Lord, “What if the Egyptians hear about it? (You used your power to take these people away from them.) ¹⁴ What if the Egyptians tell the people who live in this land? Lord, they have already heard that you are with these people, that they have seen you with their own eyes, that your column of smoke stays over them, and that you go ahead of them in a column of smoke by day and in a column of fire by night. ¹⁵ But if you kill all these people at the same time, then the nations who have heard these reports about you will say, ¹⁶ ‘The Lord wasn’t able to bring these people into the land he promised them, so he slaughtered them in the desert.’

¹⁷ “Lord, let your power be as great as when you said, ¹⁸ ‘The Lord … patient, forever loving…. He forgives wrongdoing and disobedience…. He never lets the guilty go unpunished, punishing children … for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation….’ ¹⁹ By your great love, please forgive these people’s sins, as you have been forgiving them from the time they left Egypt until now.”

²⁰ The Lord said, “I forgive them, as you have asked. ²¹ But as I live and as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, I solemnly swear that ²² none of the people who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I did in Egypt and in the desert will see the land which I promised their ancestors. They have tested me now ten times and refused to obey me.^{[e] 23} None of those who treat me with contempt will see it! ²⁴ But because my servant Caleb has a different attitude and has wholeheartedly followed me, I’ll bring him to the land he already explored. His descendants will possess it. ²⁵ (The Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys.) Tomorrow you must turn around, go back into the desert, and follow the road that goes to the Red Sea.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁷ “How long must I put up with this wicked community that keeps complaining about me? I’ve heard the complaints the Israelites are making about me. ²⁸ So tell them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, I solemnly swear I will do everything to you that you said I would do. ²⁹ Your bodies will drop dead in this desert. All of you who are at least 20 years old, who were registered and listed, and who complained about me will die. ³⁰ I raised my hand and swore an oath to give you this land to live in. But none of you will enter it except Caleb (son of Jephunneh) and Joshua (son of Nun). ³¹ You said your children would be taken as prisoners of war. Instead, I will bring them into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it. ³² However, your bodies will drop dead in this desert. ³³ Your children will be shepherds in the desert for 40 years. They will suffer for your unfaithfulness until the last of your bodies lies dead in the desert. ³⁴ For 40 days you explored the land. So for 40 years—one year for each day—you will suffer for your sins and know what it means for me to be against you.’ ³⁵ I, the Lord, have spoken. I swear I will do these things to all the people in this whole wicked community who have joined forces against me. They will meet their end in this desert. Here they will die!”

³⁶ So the men Moses sent to explore the land died in front of the Lord from a plague. ³⁷ They died because they had returned and made the whole community complain about Moses by spreading lies about the land.^{[f] 38} Of all the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua (son of Nun) and Caleb (son of Jephunneh) survived.

The Amalekites and Canaanites Defeat Israel

³⁹ When Moses told these things to all the Israelites, the people mourned bitterly, as if someone had died. ⁴⁰ Early the next morning they headed into the mountain region. They said, “We have sinned. Now we’ll go to the place the Lord promised.”

⁴¹ But Moses asked, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? Your plan won’t work! ⁴² Don’t go! You will be defeated by your enemies because the Lord is not with you. ⁴³ The Amalekites and Canaanites are there, and you will die in battle. Now that you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.”

⁴⁴ But they headed into the mountain region anyway, even though the ark of the Lord’s promise and Moses stayed in the camp. ⁴⁵ The Amalekites and Canaanites who lived there came down from those mountains, attacked the Israelites, and defeated them at Hormah.^[g]

Grain and Wine Made Part of the Sacrifices to the Lord

15 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: Once you’re settled in the land I’m giving you, ³ you may bring offerings by fire to the Lord. They may be burnt offerings or any other kind of sacrifice. They may be offered to fulfill a vow, as a freewill offering, or as one of your festival offerings. They may be cattle, sheep, or goats—offerings that are a soothing aroma to the Lord. ⁴ Whoever brings the offering must also give the Lord a grain offering of eight cups of flour mixed with one quart of olive oil. ⁵ With each sheep or goat for the burnt offering or any other sacrifice, also give an offering of one quart of wine.

⁶ “With a ram, give a grain offering of 16 cups of flour mixed with 1¼ quarts of oil ⁷ and an offering of 1¼ quarts of wine. Offer them as a soothing aroma to the Lord.

⁸ “Suppose you sacrifice a young bull as a burnt offering to the Lord or make any other kind of sacrifice—to keep a vow or as a fellowship offering. ⁹ Offer with the young bull a grain offering of 24 cups of flour mixed with two quarts of olive oil. ¹⁰ Also give an offering of two quarts of wine. It is an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord. ¹¹ Do this for each bull, each ram, and each sheep or goat. ¹² Do it for each animal, however many you sacrifice. ¹³ All native-born Israelites must do it this way when they bring an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord.

¹⁴ “Suppose foreigners are visiting you or living among you in future generations. If they bring an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord, they must do as you do. ¹⁵ There is one law for the whole assembly: for you and foreigners who are living with you. It is a permanent law for future generations. As far as the Lord is concerned, you and foreigners are the same. ¹⁶ The instructions and rules are the same for you as well as foreigners who are living with you.”

Offering the First Bread Dough to the Lord

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land where I’m taking you ¹⁹ and eat any of the food from the land, give some of it as a contribution to the Lord. ²⁰ Shape one part of your dough into a ring the same way you do with the contribution you make from the threshing floor.^{[h] 21} For generations to come, you must give one part of your dough as a contribution to the Lord.

What Is to Be Done about Unintentional and Intentional Wrongdoings

²² “Suppose you unintentionally do something wrong by not obeying all these commands the Lord gave Moses. ²³ (Everything the Lord commanded you through Moses holds as true for generations to come as it did the day the Lord gave the commands.) ²⁴ If it was unintentional and no one else knows about it, the whole community must sacrifice a young bull as a burnt offering, a soothing aroma to the Lord, along with the proper grain and wine offerings, and a male goat as an offering for sin. ²⁵ The priest will make peace with the Lord for the whole community of Israel. Then they will be forgiven because the wrongdoing was unintentional and they brought these two offerings to the Lord for their sin: an offering by fire and an offering for sin. ²⁶ So the whole community of Israel will be forgiven, including foreigners who are living among them, since all the people were involved in the unintentional wrongdoing.

²⁷ “If one person unintentionally does something wrong, a one-year-old female goat must be sacrificed as an offering for sin. ²⁸ The priest will offer the sacrifice to make peace with the Lord for that person, and that person will be forgiven. ²⁹ You must give the same instructions to everyone who does something wrong unintentionally, whether they are native-born Israelites or not.

³⁰ “But any native-born Israelite or foreigner who deliberately does something wrong insults the Lord and must be excluded from the people. ³¹ That person has despised the Lord’s word and broken the Lord’s command. He must be excluded completely. He remains guilty.”

A Man Breaks the Rules for the Day of Rest

³² While the Israelites were in the desert, they found a man gathering wood on the day of rest—a holy day. ³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole community. ³⁴ They kept him in custody until they decided what to do with him.

³⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “This man must be put to death. The whole community must take him outside the camp and stone him.” ³⁶ So the whole community took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Israelites Are Commanded to Wear Tassels

³⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁸ “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: For generations to come they must wear tassels on the corners of their clothes with violet threads in each tassel. ³⁹ Whenever you look at the threads in the tassel, you will remember all the Lord’s commands and obey them. Then you won’t do whatever you want and go after whatever you see, as if you were chasing after prostitutes. ⁴⁰ You will remember to obey all my commands, and you will be holy to your God. ⁴¹ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.”

Korah’s Rebellion

16 Korah (son of Izhar), Dathan and Abiram (sons of Eliab), and On (son of Peleth) dared to challenge Moses.^[i] (Korah was a descendant of Kohath and Levi. Dathan, Abiram, and On were descendants of Reuben.) ² These four men were joined by 250 Israelite men, well-known leaders of the community, chosen by the assembly. ³ They came together to confront Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You’ve gone far enough! Everyone in the whole community is holy, and the Lord is among them. Why do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”

⁴ As soon as Moses heard this, he bowed with his face touching the ground. ⁵ Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him, who is holy, and who it is that he will allow to come near him. Only the person the Lord chooses will be allowed to come near him. ⁶ Korah, you and all your followers must do this tomorrow: Take incense burners, ⁷ and put burning coals and incense in them in the Lord’s presence. Then the Lord will choose the man who is holy. You’ve gone far enough!”

⁸ Moses also said to Korah, “Listen, you Levites! ⁹ Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the community of Israel? The Lord has brought you near himself to do the work for his tent and stand in front of the community to serve them. ¹⁰ He has brought you and all the other Levites near himself, but now you demand to be priests. ¹¹ So you and all your followers have joined forces against the Lord! Who is Aaron that you should complain about him?”

¹² Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab. But they said, “We won’t come! ¹³ Isn’t it enough that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey only to kill us in the desert? Do you also have to order us around? ¹⁴ Certainly you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us any fields and vineyards to own. Do you think you can still pull the wool over our eyes? We won’t come.”

¹⁵ Moses became angry and said to the Lord, “Don’t accept their offering. I haven’t taken anything from them, not even a donkey. And I haven’t mistreated any of them.”

¹⁶ Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow you and all your followers must come into the Lord’s presence. Aaron will also be there with you. ¹⁷ Each man will take his incense burner and put incense in it. They will offer all 250 incense burners to the Lord. Then you and Aaron offer your incense burners.”

¹⁸ So each man took his incense burner, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹⁹ When Korah had gathered all his followers—those who opposed Moses and Aaron—at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole group.

²⁰ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²¹ “Move away from these men, and I’ll destroy them in an instant.” ²² Immediately, they bowed with their faces touching the ground and said, “O God, you are the God who gives the breath of life to everyone! If one man sins, will you be angry with the whole community?”

²³ Then the Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “Tell the community: Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

²⁵ Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the leaders of Israel followed him. ²⁶ He said to the community, “Move away from the tents of these wicked men. Don’t touch anything that belongs to them, or you’ll be swept away because of all their sins.” ²⁷ So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children.

²⁸ Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord sent me to do all these things and that it wasn’t my idea: ²⁹ If these men die like all other people—if they die a natural death—then the Lord hasn’t sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord does something totally new—if the ground opens up, swallows them and everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive to their graves—then you’ll know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.”

³¹ As soon as he had finished saying all this, the ground under them split, ³² and the earth opened up to swallow them, their families, the followers of Korah, and all their property. ³³ They went down alive to their graves with everything that belonged to them. The ground covered them, and so they disappeared from the assembly. ³⁴ All the Israelites around them ran away when they heard their screams. They thought the ground would swallow them, too.

³⁵ Fire came from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering incense.^[j]

³⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar, son of the priest Aaron, to take the incense burners out of the fire and scatter the coals and incense somewhere else, because the incense burners have become holy. ³⁸ The incense burners of these men who sinned and lost their lives are holy, because they were offered to the Lord. Hammer them into thin metal sheets to cover the altar. This will be a sign to the Israelites.”

³⁹ So the priest Eleazar took the bronze incense burners which had been brought by those who had been burned to death. The incense burners were then hammered into thin metal sheets to cover the altar, ⁴⁰ following the command that the Lord had given through Moses. The bronze-covered altar will remind Israel that no one but a descendant of Aaron can come near to burn incense to the Lord. Everyone else will die like Korah and his followers.

⁴¹ The next day the whole community of Israel complained to Moses and Aaron. They said, “You have killed the Lord’s people.” ⁴² The community came together to confront Moses and Aaron. When they turned toward the tent of meeting, they saw the smoke covering it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.

⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting. ⁴⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵ “Get away from these people, and let me destroy them in an instant!” Immediately, they bowed with their faces touching the ground.

⁴⁶ Moses said to Aaron, “Take your incense burner, put burning coals from the altar and incense in it, and go quickly into the community to make peace with the Lord for the people. The Lord is showing his anger; a plague has started.”

⁴⁷ Aaron took his incense burner, as Moses told him, and ran into the middle of the assembly, because the plague had already begun among the people. He put incense on the incense burner to make peace with the Lord for the people. ⁴⁸ He stood between those who had died and those who were still alive, and the plague stopped. ⁴⁹ Still, 14,700 died from the plague in addition to those who had died because of Korah. ⁵⁰ By the time Aaron came back to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the plague had stopped.

Aaron’s Staff Grows

17 ^[k]The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites, and get 12 staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their tribes.^[l] Write each man’s name on his staff. ³ Write Aaron’s name on the staff for Levi because there must be one staff for the head of each tribe. ⁴ Put them in the tent of meeting where I meet with you, in front of the words of my promise. ⁵ The staff from the man I choose will begin to grow. In this way I will silence the frequent complaints the Israelites make against you and Aaron.”

⁶ So Moses spoke to the Israelites. Their leaders gave him 12 staffs, one from the leader of each of their tribes. Aaron’s staff was among them. ⁷ Moses put the staffs in the Lord’s presence in the tent of the words of God’s promise.

⁸ The next day Moses went into the tent. He found that Aaron’s staff for the tribe of Levi had not only begun to grow, but it had also blossomed and produced ripe almonds. ⁹ Moses brought out the staffs from the Lord’s presence and showed them to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his staff.

¹⁰ The Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the words of my promise, and keep it there as a sign to warn any other rebels. Then you will stop their complaints about me, and they won’t die.”

¹¹ Moses did exactly what the Lord commanded him to do.

¹² The Israelites said to Moses, “Now we’re going to die! We’re lost! We’re all lost! ¹³ Anyone who comes near the Lord’s tent will die! Are we all going to die?”

The Duties of the Levites and Priests

18 The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and your family will be responsible for any sins against the holy place. You and your sons will also be responsible for any sins you commit when you work as priests. ² Bring the other Levites from your ancestor’s tribe to join you and help you and your sons serve in front of the tent of the words of my promise. ³ They will work for you, doing whatever work is necessary for the whole tent. But they must not come near the altar or the furnishings in the holy place, or they will die, and you will die, too. ⁴ They will join you and do whatever work is necessary for the tent of meeting, including all the maintenance work for the tent. But no one else may come near you.

⁵ “You must be in charge of the work done at the holy place and at the altar. Then I won’t show my anger against the Israelites again. ⁶ I have chosen the other Levites from among the Israelites to help you. They are a gift given to the Lord to do whatever work is necessary at the tent of meeting. ⁷ Only you and your sons may do the work of priests—everything done at the altar and under the canopy. This is my gift to you: You may serve me as priests. Anyone else who comes near ⌞the holy place to do this work⌟ must die.”

Contributions for the Levites and Priests

⁸ The Lord said to Aaron, “I am putting you in charge of all the contributions given to me. I am giving you and your descendants all the holy gifts from the Israelites as your share. These contributions will always be yours. ⁹ That part of the most holy offerings which is not burned belongs to you. It may come from a grain offering, an offering for sin, or a guilt offering. Whatever is brought to me as a most holy offering will belong to you and your sons. ¹⁰ Eat it in a most holy place. Any male may eat it. You must consider it holy.

¹¹ “The contributions that come as gifts taken from the offerings presented by the Israelites are also yours. I am giving these to you, your sons, and your daughters. They will always be yours. Anyone in your household who is clean ^[m] may eat them.

¹² “I am also giving you the first of the produce they give the Lord: the best of all the olive oil and the best of the new wine and fresh grain. ¹³ The first of all produce harvested in their land that they bring to the Lord is yours. Anyone in your household who is clean may eat it.

¹⁴ “Anything in Israel that is claimed by the Lord is yours. ¹⁵ Every firstborn male, human or animal, that is brought to the Lord is yours. But you must buy back every firstborn son and the firstborn male of any unclean animal. ¹⁶ When they are one month old, you must buy them back at the fixed price of two ounces of silver, using the standard weight of the holy place.

¹⁷ “But you must never buy back a firstborn ox, sheep, or goat. They are holy. Throw the blood from these animals against the altar, and burn the fat as an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁸ But the meat is yours, like the breast and the right thigh that are presented. ¹⁹ I am giving you, your sons, and your daughters all the holy contributions the Israelites bring to the Lord. These contributions will always be yours. It is an everlasting promise of salt in the Lord’s presence for you and your descendants.”

²⁰ The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no land or property of your own as the other Israelites will have. I am your possession and your property among the Israelites.

²¹ “I am giving the Levites one-tenth of every Israelite’s income. This is in return for the work they do at the tent of meeting. ²² The other Israelites must never again come near the tent of meeting. Otherwise, they’ll suffer the consequences of their sin and die. ²³ Only the Levites will do the work at the tent of meeting. They will be responsible for their own sins. This is a permanent law for future generations. They will own no property as the other Israelites will. ²⁴ Instead, I will give the Levites what the Israelites contribute to the Lord—one-tenth of the Israelites’ income. This is why I said about them, ‘They will own no property as the other Israelites do.’ ”

²⁵ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁶ “Speak to the Levites and say to them: You will take one-tenth of the Israelites’ income which I’m giving you as your property. When you do, you must contribute one-tenth of that income as your contribution to the Lord. ²⁷ Your contribution will be considered to be grain from the threshing floor ^[n] or juice from the winepress. ²⁸ So you, too, will contribute one-tenth of your income to the Lord out of all that you receive from the Israelites’ income. You will give the Lord’s contribution to the priest Aaron. ²⁹ Out of all the gifts you receive, you must contribute the best and holiest parts to the Lord.

³⁰ “Also tell them: When you contribute the best part, your contribution will be considered to be produce from the threshing floor or winepress. ³¹ So you and your households may eat it anywhere, because it’s the wages you receive for your work at the tent of meeting. ³² When you contribute the best part, you won’t suffer the consequences of any sin. You won’t be dishonoring the holy offerings given by the Israelites, and you won’t die.”

Water That Makes Israel Clean After Someone Dies

19 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “This is what the Lord’s teachings have commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red cow that is perfect, with no defects. Also, it must never have worn a yoke.^{[o] 3} Give it to the priest Eleazar. It must be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. ⁴ The priest Eleazar will take some of the blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. ⁵ Then the entire cow (the skin, meat, blood, and excrement) will be burned while he watches. ⁶ The priest will take some cedar wood, a hyssop sprig, and some red yarn and throw them onto the burning cow. ⁷ The priest must then wash his clothes and his body. After that, he may go into the camp. But he will be unclean ^[p] until evening. ⁸ The person who burned the calf must also wash his clothes and his body. He, too, will be unclean until evening.

⁹ “A man who is clean ^[q] will collect the ashes from the cow and put them in a clean place outside the camp. They will be kept by the community of Israel and used in the water that takes away uncleanness. The cow is an offering for sin. ¹⁰ The person who collected the ashes from the cow must also wash his clothes. He will be unclean until evening. This will be a permanent law for the Israelites and for the foreigners who live with them.

¹¹ “Whoever touches the dead body of any human being will be unclean for seven days. ¹² The unclean person must use this water on the third day and the seventh day to take away his sin. Then he will be clean. But if he doesn’t use this water on the third day and the seventh day, he will not be clean. ¹³ Whoever touches the dead body of a human being and doesn’t use this water to take away his sin makes the Lord’s tent unclean. That person must be excluded from Israel, because the water that takes away uncleanness wasn’t sprinkled on him. He is unclean; his uncleanness stays with him.

¹⁴ “These are your instructions for when a person dies in a tent: Everyone who goes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent will be unclean for seven days. ¹⁵ Every container without a lid fastened on it is unclean.

¹⁶ “Whoever is outdoors and touches someone who was killed or has died naturally or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave will be unclean for seven days.

¹⁷ “⌞This is what you must do⌟ for people who become unclean from touching a dead body. Put some of the ashes from the red cow that was burned as an offering for sin into a container. Then pour fresh water on them. ¹⁸ A person who is clean will take a sprig of hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and all the people who were in the tent ⌞with the dead body⌟. He must also sprinkle any person who has touched a human bone or a grave and any person who has touched someone who has been killed or who has died naturally. ¹⁹ A person who is clean will sprinkle these types of unclean people on the third day and the seventh day. On the seventh day the clean person will finish taking away their sins. Then they must wash their clothes and bodies, and in the evening they will be clean. ²⁰ But if the person who becomes unclean doesn’t have his sin taken away, that person must be excluded from the assembly. He has made the holy place of the Lord unclean. The water to take away uncleanness wasn’t sprinkled on him. He is unclean. ²¹ This will be a permanent law for them.

“Whoever sprinkles the water to take away uncleanness must wash his clothes. And whoever touches this water will be unclean until evening. ²² Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.”

Water from the Rock

20 In the first month the whole community of Israel came into the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there.

² Since the community was without water, they came together to confront Moses and Aaron. ³ The people complained to Moses and said, “If only we had died when the other Israelites died in the Lord’s presence! ⁴ Did you bring the Lord’s assembly into this desert just to have us and our animals die here? ⁵ Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us into this terrible place? This is no place to plant crops. Even figs, grapes, and pomegranates won’t grow here. And there’s no water to drink!”

⁶ Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting. Immediately, they bowed with their faces touching the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ⁸ “Take your staff, then you and your brother Aaron gather the community. Right before their eyes, tell the rock to give up its water. In this way you will give the community water from the rock for them and their animals to drink.”

⁹ Moses took his staff out of ⌞the tent in⌟ the Lord’s presence as he had been commanded. ¹⁰ Then Moses and Aaron assembled the community in front of the rock and said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring water out of this rock for you?” ¹¹ Moses raised his hand and hit the rock twice with the staff. Water came pouring out, and all the people and their animals drank.

¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “You didn’t trust me! You didn’t show the Israelites how holy I am! So you will not bring this congregation into the land I’m giving them.”

¹³ This was the oasis of Meribah [Complaining], where the Israelites complained about the Lord and where he showed them he was holy.

Edom Refuses to Allow Israel to Pass through Its Territory

¹⁴ Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. He said, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardships we’ve had. ¹⁵ Our ancestors went to Egypt, and we lived there for many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors. ¹⁶ When we cried out to the Lord, he heard us, sent a messenger, and brought us out of Egypt.

“Now we’re here in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please let us go through your country. We won’t go through any of your fields or vineyards, or drink any of the water from your wells. We’ll stay on the king’s highway and never leave it until we’ve passed through your territory.”

¹⁸ But the Edomites answered, “You may not pass through our country. If you try, we’ll come out and attack you.”

¹⁹ The Israelites replied, “We’ll stay on the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we’ll pay for it. We want to pass through on foot. That’s all.”

²⁰ But the Edomites said, “You may not pass through.” Then they came out and attacked with many well-armed troops. ²¹ Since the Edomites refused to let Israel go through their territory, the Israelites turned around and went a different way.

Aaron’s Death

²² The whole community of Israel left Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. ²³ At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁴ “Aaron must now join his ancestors ⌞in death⌟, since he cannot enter the land I’m giving the Israelites. This is because you both rebelled against my command at the oasis of Meribah. ²⁵ Bring Aaron and his son Eleazar up on Mount Hor. ²⁶ Take off Aaron’s priestly clothes, and put them on his son Eleazar. Then Aaron will die there and join ⌞his ancestors⌟.”

²⁷ Moses did as the Lord commanded. The whole community saw them go up on Mount Hor. ²⁸ Moses took off Aaron’s priestly clothes and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹ The whole community saw that Aaron had died, and all the Israelites mourned for Aaron 30 days.

The King of Arad Is Defeated

21 When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were coming on the road to Atharim, he fought them and took some of them as prisoners. ² Then the Israelites made this vow to the Lord: “If you will hand these people over to us, we’ll destroy their cities because you’ve claimed them.” ³ The Lord listened to the Israelites and handed the Canaanites over to them. They destroyed the Canaanites and their cities. So they called the place Hormah [Claimed for Destruction].

The Bronze Snake

⁴ Then they moved from Mount Hor, following the road that goes to the Red Sea, in order to get around Edom. The people became impatient on the trip ⁵ and criticized God and Moses. They said, “Why did you make us leave Egypt—just to let us die in the desert? There’s no bread or water, and we can’t stand this awful food!”

⁶ So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people. They bit the people, and many of the Israelites died. ⁷ The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we criticized the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.