Bible in 90 Days

¹⁵ After that the Levites may go in to work in the meeting tent. But you must make them clean and give them as a wave gift. ¹⁶ For they are all given to Me from among the people of Israel. I have taken them for Myself instead of every first child to be born, the first-born of all the people of Israel. ¹⁷ For every first-born among the people of Israel is Mine, both of man and animal. I set them apart for Myself on the day that I killed all the first-born in the land of Egypt. ¹⁸ But I have taken the Levites instead of every first-born among the people of Israel. ¹⁹ And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel. They will do the work of the people of Israel at the meeting tent. By this they take away the sins of the people of Israel. So no trouble will come upon the people of Israel if they come near the meeting tent.”

²⁰ Moses and Aaron and all the people of Israel did this to the Levites. The people of Israel did to them all the things the Lord had told Moses about the Levites. ²¹ The Levites made themselves pure, putting away their sin. And they washed their clothes. Aaron gave them as a wave gift before the Lord. He did what had to be done to pay for their sin so they would be clean. ²² After that the Levites went in to do their work in the meeting tent in front of Aaron and his sons. So they did to the Levites just what the Lord had told Moses to do.

²³ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “This is the rule for the Levites. Those who are twenty-five years old and older will go in to do the work of the meeting tent. ²⁵ But when they are fifty years old they will stop these duties and not work any more. ²⁶ They may help their brothers in the meeting tent to do what needs to be done but they themselves must not do the work. These are the rules for the Levites when giving them their duties.”

The Passover

9 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt. The Lord said, ² “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at the time given for it. ³ Keep it at its given time, in the evening of the fourteenth day of this month. Keep it by obeying all its Laws.” ⁴ So Moses told the people of Israel to keep the Passover. ⁵ And they kept the Passover in the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month, in the Sinai desert. The people of Israel did all that the Lord had told Moses. ⁶ But there were some men who were unclean because they had touched a dead person. So they could not keep the Passover on that day. They came to Moses and Aaron that day ⁷ and said to Moses, “We are unclean because we touched a dead person. But why are we kept from giving the Lord’s gift at its given time among the people of Israel?” ⁸ Moses said to them, “Wait, and I will listen to what the Lord will tell me to do with you.”

⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰ “Say to the people of Israel, ‘If anyone of you or your children touch a dead person and become unclean, or if you are traveling far away, even so, he may still keep the Passover to the Lord. ¹¹ They will keep it in the evening of the fourteenth day of the second month. They will eat it with bread without yeast and with bitter tasting plants. ¹² They must not leave any of it until morning. And they must not break a bone of the lamb. They must obey all of the Law of the Passover. ¹³ But if a man is clean and is not away traveling, yet does not keep the Passover, he must be cut off from his people. For he did not give the Lord’s gift at the time he was to do so. That man will be guilty of his sin. ¹⁴ If a stranger staying with you wants to keep the Passover to the Lord and obey the Law of the Passover, he may do so. You will have one law, both for the stranger and for the one who was born in the land.’”

The Cloud of Fire

¹⁵ On the day that the meeting tent was set up, the cloud covered the meeting tent, the tent of the law. In the evening it was over the meeting tent. It looked like fire until morning. ¹⁶ It was like this always. The cloud would cover it during the day. What looked like fire would cover it during the night. ¹⁷ When the cloud was lifted from over the meeting tent, the people of Israel would move on. Where the cloud rested, there the people of Israel would set up their tents. ¹⁸ The people of Israel would move on as the Lord told them. And they would set up their tents as the Lord told them. They stayed in one place as long as the cloud rested over the meeting tent. ¹⁹ Even when the cloud rested over the meeting tent for many days, the people of Israel would obey the Lord and not leave. ²⁰ Sometimes the cloud stayed a few days over the meeting tent. But they obeyed the Lord and stayed in that place. Then they would leave when the Lord told them. ²¹ Sometimes the cloud stayed from evening until morning. When the cloud lifted in the morning, they would leave. If the cloud stayed during the day and the night, when it was lifted, they would leave that place. ²² Even when the cloud stayed over the meeting tent for two days, or a month, or a year the people of Israel would stay in that place and not leave. They would leave when it was lifted. ²³ They set up their tents as the Lord told them. And they moved on as the Lord told them. They obeyed what the Lord had told them to do through Moses.

The Silver Horns

10 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Make two silver horns of beaten silver. Use them for calling the people together and for having the people move on. ³ When both horns sound, all the people will gather in front of you at the door of the meeting tent. ⁴ If only one horn sounds, then the leaders, the heads of the families of Israel, will gather in front of you. ⁵ When you blow the horn to tell of danger, the people whose tents are on the east side will leave. ⁶ When you blow the horn to tell of danger a second time, the people whose tents are on the south side will leave. A horn telling of danger will be blown when they are to move on. ⁷ But when the people are to be gathered together, you will blow the horn without the sound of danger. ⁸ Aaron’s sons, the religious leaders, will blow the horns. This will be a Law for all your people forever. ⁹ When you go to war in your land against those who fight you, then sound the horns to tell of war. That way you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and be saved from those who hate you. ¹⁰ On the days you are glad and at the time of your special suppers and on the first days of your months, blow the horns. Blow the horns over your burnt gifts and over your peace gifts. Then you will be remembered before your God. I am the Lord your God.”

The Children of Israel Leave Sinai

¹¹ On the twentieth day of the second month in the second year, the cloud was lifted from over the meeting tent of the Law. ¹² The people of Israel moved on from the Desert of Sinai. Then the cloud came down and rested in the desert of Paran. ¹³ So they moved for the first time as the Lord had told them through Moses. ¹⁴ The flag of the people of Judah left first, by their armies. Amminadab’s son Nahshon was the head of their army. ¹⁵ Zuar’s son Nethanel was the head of the men of Issachar. ¹⁶ And Helon’s son Eliab was the head of the men of Zebulun.

¹⁷ When the meeting tent was taken down, the sons of Gershon and Merari left carrying it. ¹⁸ Next the flag of the people of Reuben left, by their armies. Shedeur’s son Elizur was the head over this army. ¹⁹ Zurishaddai’s son Shelumiel was the head of the men of Simeon. ²⁰ Deuel’s son Eliasaph was the head of the men of Gad. ²¹ Then the Kohathites left, carrying the holy objects. The meeting tent was set up before they came to the next place. ²² Next the flag of the people of Ephraim left, by their armies. Ammihud’s son Elishama was the head over this army. ²³ Pedahzur’s son Gamaliel was the head of the men of Manasseh. ²⁴ Gideoni’s son Abidan was the head of the men of Benjamin.

²⁵ Then the flag of the people of Dan left, by their armies. They followed behind all the people of Israel, to watch for danger. Ammishaddai’s son Ahiezer was the head over this army. ²⁶ Ochran’s son Pagiel was the head of the men of Asher. ²⁷ And Enan’s son Ahira was the head of the men of Naphtali. ²⁸ This was how the people of Israel moved on by their armies.

²⁹ Then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are going to the place the Lord said He will give to us. Come with us and we will do you good. For the Lord has promised good to Israel.” ³⁰ But Hobab said to him, “I will not come. I will go to my own land and family.” ³¹ Moses said, “I beg you, do not leave us. For you know where we should stay in the desert. You will be like eyes for us. ³² If you go with us, we will do for you whatever good the Lord does for us.”

³³ So they traveled for three days from the mountain of the Lord with the special box with the Law of the Lord in front of them looking for a place for them to rest. ³⁴ The cloud of the Lord was over them during the day, when they moved on.

³⁵ When the special box of the Lord moved on, Moses said, “Rise up, O Lord! Let those who hate You be divided. Let those who hate You run away before You.” ³⁶ And when it rested, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the many thousands of Israel.”

The Children of Israel Complain

11 Now the people complained about their troubles in the hearing of the Lord. When the Lord heard it, His anger burned. The fire of the Lord burned among them, and destroyed some around the outer parts of the tents. ² Then the people cried to Moses and he prayed to the Lord, and the fire went out. ³ So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

⁴ The mixed group of people among them had strong desires. The people of Israel cried again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? ⁵ We remember all the fish we could eat free in Egypt, and all the fruit and vegetables and spices. ⁶ But now our strength is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this bread from heaven.” ⁷ Now the bread from heaven was like coriander seed, and it looked like bdellium. ⁸ The people would go and gather it and beat it between stones. They boiled it in a pot or made bread with it. It tasted like bread made with oil. ⁹ When the grass became wet around the tents at night, the bread from heaven would fall.

¹⁰ Moses heard all the people crying in every family, each man at the door of his tent. The Lord became very angry with them and Moses was not pleased. ¹¹ So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You been so hard on Your servant? Why have I not found favor in Your eyes, that You have laid the troubles of all these people on me? ¹² Did I give birth to all these people? Did I bring them out, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them close to your heart as a nurse carries a nursing baby, to the land You promised their fathers’? ¹³ Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? They cry in front of me, saying, ‘Give us meat so we may eat!’ ¹⁴ I am not able to carry all these people alone. The load is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ So if You are going to act this way toward me, I beg You to kill me now, if I have found favor in Your eyes. Do not let me see how bad off I am.”

The Seventy Leaders

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the leaders of Israel, whom you know to be the leaders of the people, the men who rule over them. Bring them to the meeting tent and let them stand there with you. ¹⁷ Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take of the Spirit Who is upon you, and will put Him upon them. Then they will carry the troubles of the people with you so you will not carry them all alone. ¹⁸ Say to the people, ‘Make yourselves holy for tomorrow, and you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you cried and said, “If only someone would give us meat to eat! For it was well with us in Egypt.” So the Lord will give you meat and you will eat. ¹⁹ You will not eat it for only one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days. ²⁰ But you will eat it a whole month, until it comes out of your nose and you hate it, because you have turned away from the Lord Who is among you. You have cried before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’” ²¹ But Moses said, “The people whom I am among are 600,000 on foot. And You have said, ‘I will give them meat so they may eat for a whole month.’ ²² Will enough flocks and cattle be killed to feed them? Or will enough fish be gathered from the sea to feed them?” ²³ The Lord said to Moses, “Is there an end to the Lord’s power? Now you will see if My Word will come true for you or not.”

²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered seventy men from the leaders of the people, and had them stand around the meeting tent. ²⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him. He took of the Spirit Who was upon him and put Him upon the seventy leaders. When the Spirit rested upon them, they spoke the word of the Lord. But they did not do it again.

²⁶ But two men had stayed among the tents. Their names were Eldad and Medad, and the Spirit rested upon them. They were among those who had been chosen, but had not gone out to the meeting tent. So they spoke the word of the Lord among the tents. ²⁷ A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are speaking the word of the Lord among the tents.” ²⁸ Then Joshua the son of Nun, the helper of Moses since he was young, said, “Moses, my lord, do not let them.” ²⁹ But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my good? If only all the Lord’s people would speak for God, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” ³⁰ Then Moses and the leaders of Israel returned to the tents.

The Lord Sends Quails

³¹ Now a wind went out from the Lord. It brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the place where the tents were set up. They fell all around the tents, about as far on each side as it takes to travel in a day. They lay on the ground as deep as two cubits. ³² The people worked all day and all night and all the next day gathering the quail. He who gathered the least gathered enough to fill 110 baskets. And they spread them out for themselves all around the tents. ³³ While the meat was still between their teeth and not yet eaten, the Lord became angry with the people. The Lord sent a bad sickness upon the people. ³⁴ So the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah. Because there they buried the people who had wanted meat to eat. ³⁵ The people left Kibroth-hattaavah and went to Hazeroth. And they stayed at Hazeroth.

Miriam and Aaron Spoke against Moses

12 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite woman. ² They said, “Is it true that the Lord has spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. ³ Now Moses was a man with no pride, more so than any man on the earth. ⁴ At once the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, “You three come out to the meeting tent.” So the three of them came out. ⁵ Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood at the door of the meeting tent, and called Aaron and Miriam. When both of them had come near, ⁶ the Lord said, “Now listen to Me. If there is a man who speaks for God among you, I the Lord will make Myself known to him in a special dream. I will speak with him in a dream. ⁷ Not so, with My servant Moses. He is faithful in all My house. ⁸ With him I speak face to face in ways he understands, and not in ways he does not understand. And he sees what the Lord is like. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?”

⁹ The Lord was angry with them, and He left. ¹⁰ When the cloud lifted from over the meeting tent, Miriam had a very bad skin disease. She was as white as snow. Aaron turned toward Miriam and saw that she had a bad skin disease. ¹¹ Then Aaron said to Moses, “O, my lord, I beg you. Do not punish us because we have been foolish and have sinned. ¹² Let her not be like one who is dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he is born!”‘ ¹³ And Moses cried to the Lord, saying, “O God, heal her, I pray!” ¹⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had only spit in her face, would she not carry her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days away from the tents. After that, she may be brought in again.” ¹⁵ So Miriam was shut up away from the tents for seven days. And the people did not travel on until Miriam was brought in again.

¹⁶ The people moved from Hazeroth after that. And they set up their tents in the desert of Paran.

Men Sent to Spy out the Land

13 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan which I am going to give to the people of Israel. Send a man from each of their fathers’ families, every one a leader among them.” ³ So Moses sent them from the desert of Paran, as the Lord had told him. All of the men were heads of the people of Israel. ⁴ These were their names. There was Shammua the son of Zaccur from the family of Reuben, ⁵ Shaphat the son of Hori from the family of Simeon, ⁶ Caleb the son of Jephunneh from the family of Judah, ⁷ and Igal the son of Joseph from the family of Issachar. ⁸ There was Hoshea the son of Nun from the family of Ephraim, ⁹ Palti the son of Raphu from the family of Benjamin, ¹⁰ Gaddiel the son of Sodi from the family of Zebulun, ¹¹ and Gaddi the son of Susi from the family of Joseph, from the family of Manasseh. ¹² There was Ammiel the son of Gemalli from the family of Dan, ¹³ Sethur the son of Michael from the family of Asher, ¹⁴ Nahbi the son of Vophsi from the family of Naphtali, ¹⁵ and Geuel the son of Machi from the family of Gad. ¹⁶ These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. But Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

¹⁷ Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan. He said to them, “Go up there into the Negev. Then go up into the hill country. ¹⁸ See what the land is like. See if the people who live in it are strong or weak, and if they are few or many. ¹⁹ Find out if the land they live in is good or bad. See if the cities they live in are open or if they have walls. ²⁰ Find out if the land is rich or poor, and if there are trees in it or not. Then try to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now this was the gathering time of the first grown grapes.

²¹ So they went up and spied out the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, at Lebo-hamath. ²² When they had gone up into the Negev, they came to Hebron. Anak’s sons Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

²³ Then they came to the valley of Eshcol. They cut down a branch from there with some grapes on it. And they carried it on a long piece of wood between two men, with some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of much fruit the men of Israel cut down from there.

²⁵ They returned from looking over the land after forty days. ²⁶ And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the people of Israel in the desert of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought news to them and to all the people, and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ They told Moses, “We went to the land where you sent us. It does flow with milk and honey. This is its fruit. ²⁸ But the people who live in the land are strong. The cities have walls and are very large. And we saw the children of Anak there. ²⁹ Amalek is living in the land of the Negev. The Hittites and Jebusites and Amorites are living in the hill country. And the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”

³⁰ Then Caleb told the people in front of Moses to be quiet. And he said, “Let us go up at once and take the land. For we are well able to take it in battle.” ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go against the people. They are too strong for us.” ³² So they brought the people of Israel bad news about the land they had spied out, saying, “The land we have gone to spy out is a land that destroys those who go there to live. All the people we saw in it are very large. ³³ We saw the Nephilim there. (The sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim.) We looked like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

The People Complain

14 Then all the people cried out with a loud voice, and they cried that night. ² All the people of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this desert! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to be killed by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be taken away. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and return to Egypt.”

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in front of all the gathering of the people of Israel. ⁶ And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh tore their clothes. They were among those who had spied out the land. ⁷ They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we passed through to spy out is a very good land. ⁸ If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us. It is a land which flows with milk and honey. ⁹ Only do not go against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land. For they will be our food. They have no way to keep safe, and the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” ¹⁰ But all the people said to throw stones at Joshua and Caleb. Then the shining-greatness of the Lord was seen in the meeting tent by all the people of Israel.

Moses Prays for the People

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people turn away from Me? How long will they not believe in Me, even after all the great works I have done among them? ¹² I will punish them with disease, and will not give them the land. And I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”

¹³ But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it. For You brought this people here by Your strength from among them. ¹⁴ And they will tell the people who live in this land. They have heard

that You, O Lord, are with these people and that You, O Lord, are seen face to face as Your cloud is over them. You go before them in a cloud during the day, and in fire during the night. ¹⁵ Now if You kill these people as one man, the nations who have heard how great You are will say, ¹⁶ ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land He promised to give them. So He has killed them in the desert.’ ¹⁷ But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great as You have promised, saying, ¹⁸ ‘The Lord is slow to anger and filled with loving-kindness, forgiving sin and wrong-doing. But He will not let the guilty go without being punished. He brings the sin of fathers down upon the children, even the great-grandchildren.’ ¹⁹ I pray that You will forgive the sin of this people by the greatness of Your loving-kindness. Forgive them as You have forgiven them from Egypt until now.”

²⁰ So the Lord said, “I have forgiven them as you asked. ²¹ But for sure, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the shining-greatness of the Lord. ²² All the men who have seen My greatness and My wonderful works which I did in Egypt and in the desert but have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, for sure, they ²³ will not see the land I promised to their fathers. None of those who have turned away from Me will see it. ²⁴ But My servant Caleb has had a different spirit and has followed Me in every way. I will bring him into the land where he went, and his children will take it for themselves. ²⁵ Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys. So turn tomorrow and move on to the desert by the way of the Red Sea.”

Punishment for the People Who Complained

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁷ “How long will these sinful people speak against Me? I have heard the people of Israel complaining against Me. ²⁸ Say to them, ‘As I live, what you have said in My hearing I will do to you,’ says the Lord. ²⁹ ‘Your dead bodies will fall in this desert, all of you who were numbered from twenty years old and older, who have spoken against Me. ³⁰ For sure, not one will go into the land where I promised to have you live, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. ³¹ You said that your children would be taken and killed. But I will bring them in, and they will know the land you have turned away from. ³² But as for you, your dead bodies will fall in this desert. ³³ Your children will be shepherds in the desert for forty years. They will suffer because you were not faithful, until your dead bodies lie in the desert. ³⁴ You spied out the land for forty days. For each day you will carry your guilt a year, forty years. And you will know that I am against you. ³⁵ I the Lord have spoken. For sure I will do this to all these sinful people who are gathered together against Me. They will be destroyed in this desert. And there they will die.’” ³⁶ Moses had sent men to spy out the land. They returned and made all the people complain against him by bringing bad news about the land. ³⁷ These men who brought the very bad news about the land died of a disease before the Lord. ³⁸ But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh stayed alive, of those men who went to spy out the land.

³⁹ When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people were filled with much sorrow. ⁴⁰ They got up early in the morning and went up to the top of the hill country, saying, “Here we are. It is true we have sinned. But we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised.” ⁴¹ But Moses said, “Why now do you sin against the Word of the Lord? It will not get you what you want. ⁴² Do not go up, or you will be killed by those who fight against you. For the Lord is not with you. ⁴³ The Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will be killed by the sword. Because you have turned away from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” ⁴⁴ But they would not listen and went up to the top of the hill country. The special box with the Law of the Lord, and Moses, did not leave the tents. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and went against them and beat them down as far as Hormah.

Laws about Gifts Given on the Altar

15 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the people of Israel, ‘When you go into the land where you are to live, which I am giving you, ³ then give a gift in worship by fire to the Lord. Give a gift from the herd or the flock, a burnt gift, or a gift to keep a special promise, or a free-will gift, or one during special suppers. This will be to make a pleasing smell to the Lord. ⁴ The one who brings his gift will bring to the Lord a grain gift of one-tenth part of a basket of fine flour mixed with one-fourth part of a large jar of oil. ⁵ And make ready one-fourth part of a large jar of wine to pour over the burnt gift or for each lamb given on the altar in worship. ⁶ Or for a ram, make ready a grain gift of two-tenths part of a basket of fine flour mixed with one-third part of a large jar of oil. ⁷ Then make one-third part of a large jar of wine for the drink gift, a pleasing smell to the Lord. ⁸ You may make ready a bull for a burnt gift or give an animal on the altar in worship, to keep a special promise, or give peace gifts to the Lord. ⁹ With the bull bring a grain gift of three-tenths part of a basket of fine flour mixed with half a large jar of oil. ¹⁰ Bring for the drink gift half a large jar of wine, as a gift by fire, a pleasing smell to the Lord.

¹¹ ‘It must be done this way for each bull, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs or young goats. ¹² Whatever number you make ready, you must do for everyone. ¹³ All who are born in the land must do these things in this way by giving a gift by fire, a pleasing smell to the Lord. ¹⁴ A stranger staying with you, or a man living among your people, may want to give a gift by fire, a pleasing smell to the Lord. Then he must do just as you do. ¹⁵ There will be one Law for you and for the stranger who stays with you. It will be a Law forever for all your children-to-come. As you are, so will the stranger be before the Lord. ¹⁶ One Law will be for you and for the stranger who stays with you.’”

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Say to the people of Israel, ‘When you come into the land where I bring you ¹⁹ and when you eat of the food of the land, you must lift up a gift in worship to the Lord. ²⁰ Give a loaf of bread as a gift from the first of your grain. Give it as the gift of the grain-floor. ²¹ From the first of your grain you and all your children-to-come must give a gift to the Lord.

²² ‘Without knowing it you might not obey all these Laws which the Lord has spoken to Moses, ²³ even all that the Lord has told you to do through Moses, from the day when the Lord told you and through all your children-to-come. ²⁴ If this is done without the people knowing it, then all the people must give one bull for a burnt gift. It will be a pleasing smell to the Lord. It must be brought with its grain gift and its drink gift, by the Law, and with one male goat for a sin gift. ²⁵ Then the religious leader will pay for the sins of all the people of Israel, and they will be forgiven. Because it was a mistake, they brought their gift, a gift by fire to the Lord, and their sin gift to the Lord, for their mistake. ²⁶ So all the people of Israel and the stranger who stays among them will be forgiven. For it happened to all the people by mistake.

²⁷ ‘If one person sins without knowing it, he must bring a one year old female goat for a sin gift. ²⁸ And the religious leader before the Lord will pay for the sin of the person who sins without knowing it. He will pay for his sin so he may be forgiven. ²⁹ You will have one Law for him who does anything without knowing it, for him who is one of the people of Israel and for the stranger who lives among them. ³⁰ But if a person born in the land or a stranger does anything wrong and means to do it, he is speaking against the Lord. That person must be cut off from among his people. ³¹ Because he has hated the Word of the Lord and has broken His Law, that person must be cut off for sure. His guilt will be on him.’”

Punishment for Those Who Worked on the Day of Rest

³² While the people of Israel were in the desert, they found a man gathering wood on the Day of Rest. ³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the people. ³⁴ They put him in chains, because they did not know what should be done to him for gathering wood on the Day of Rest. ³⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses: “The man must be put to death. All the people must kill him with stones away from the tents.” ³⁶ So all the people took him away from the tents and killed him with stones, just as the Lord had told Moses.

³⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁸ “Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them that they and all their children-to-come are to make tassels for themselves on the corners of their clothing. And they are to put a blue rope on the tassel of each corner. ³⁹ It will be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the Laws of the Lord, and to do them. Do not follow your own heart and your own eyes, as you did when you acted like a woman selling the use of her body. ⁴⁰ It will be so that you may remember to obey all My Laws, and be holy to your God. ⁴¹ I am the Lord your God Who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.”

Korah Works against Moses

16 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, caused trouble. ² They came in front of Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel. They had chosen 250 leaders of the people of Israel, well-known men. ³ They all gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. So why do you honor yourselves more than the people of the Lord?”

⁴ When Moses heard this, he bowed to the ground. ⁵ He said to Korah and all who were with him, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His, and who is holy. He will have him come near to Him. He will bring near to Himself the one whom He will choose. ⁶ Do this, Korah and all who are with you. Take pots for burning special perfume. ⁷ Put fire in them, and put special perfume upon them before the Lord tomorrow. The man whom the Lord chooses will be the one who is holy. You have gone too far, you sons of Levi!”

⁸ Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi. ⁹ Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has set you apart from the rest of the people of Israel? He has brought you near to Himself. He has you do the work around the meeting tent of the Lord. And He has you stand in front of the people to care for them. ¹⁰ He has brought you near to Him, Korah, and all your brothers who are the sons of Levi, with you. Would you try to be the religious leaders also? ¹¹ So you and all who are with you are gathered together against the Lord. But as for Aaron, who is he that you complain against him?”

¹² Then Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come up. ¹³ Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the desert? Must you make yourself a ruler over us also? ¹⁴ More than this, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey. You have not given us any land with fields and grape vines. Would you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”

¹⁵ Moses became very angry. He said to the Lord, “Do not respect their gift! I have not taken one donkey from them. And I have not hurt one of them.” ¹⁶ Then Moses said to Korah, “You and all who are with you be before the Lord tomorrow, you and they, and Aaron. ¹⁷ Each of you take his fire pot and put special perfume on it. And each of you bring his fire pot before the Lord, 250 fire pots. Let both you and Aaron bring his fire pot also.” ¹⁸ So each man took his fire pot and put fire in it and put special perfume on it. And they stood at the door of the meeting tent with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ Korah gathered together all the people against them at the door of the meeting tent. And the shining-greatness of the Lord was seen by all the people.

²⁰ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²¹ “Go away from these people, so I may destroy them at once.” ²² But they fell on their faces, and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with all the people?” ²³ Then the Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “Say to the people, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

²⁵ Then Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the leaders of Israel following him. ²⁶ And he said to the people, “Go away now from the tents of these sinful men. Touch nothing that belongs to them, or you will be destroyed because of all their sin.” ²⁷ So they went away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. ²⁸ Moses said, “By this you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works. For this is not my doing. ²⁹ If these men die in the same way all men die, or if what happens to everyone happens to them, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But the Lord will do something new. The ground will open its mouth and take them with all that belongs to them. And they will go down alive into the place of the dead. Then you will understand that these men have turned against the Lord.”

³¹ As soon as he stopped speaking, the ground under them opened up. ³² The earth opened its mouth and took them and all those of their house, and all Korah’s men and all that belonged to them. ³³ They and all that belonged to them went down alive to the place of the dead, and the earth closed over them. They were destroyed from among the people. ³⁴ And all Israel who were around them ran away at their cry. For they said, “The earth may take us too!” ³⁵ Then fire came from the Lord and destroyed the 250 men who had brought the special perfume.

³⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the religious leader to take the fire pots out of the fire. For they are holy. Then spread the burning pieces far apart. ³⁸ Let the fire pots of these men who have sinned and lost their lives be made into beaten plates to cover the altar. For they did bring them to the Lord and they are holy. They will be something special for the people of Israel to see.” ³⁹ So Eleazar the religious leader took the brass fire pots which the men who were burned had brought. And they beat them into plates to cover the altar. ⁴⁰ They were to make the people of Israel remember that no man who is not a religious leader and a son of Aaron should come to burn special perfume before the Lord. Or he might become like Korah and those who were with him, as the Lord said to Eleazar through Moses.

The People Complain

⁴¹ But on the next day all the people of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’s people.” ⁴² When the people had gathered against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the meeting tent. There the cloud covered it and they saw the shining-greatness of the Lord. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the meeting tent. ⁴⁴ And the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵ “Get away from these people, so I may destroy them at once.” Then they fell on their faces. ⁴⁶ Moses said to Aaron, “Take your fire pot and put fire in it from the altar, and lay special perfume on it. Then be quick to bring it to the people and pay for their sin. For anger has gone out from the Lord. The disease has come!” ⁴⁷ So Aaron took it as Moses said, and ran to the people. The disease had already come upon them. He put on the special perfume and paid for the sin of the people. ⁴⁸ He stood between the dead and the living, and the disease was stopped. ⁴⁹ But 14,700 people died by the disease, as well as those who died because of Korah. ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the meeting tent, for the disease had been stopped.

Aaron’s Stick Began to Grow

17 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the people of Israel. Get walking sticks from them, one for each father’s house. Get twelve walking sticks, from all their leaders by their fathers’ houses. Write each man’s name on his stick. ³ Write Aaron’s name on the walking stick of Levi. For there will be one walking stick for the head of each father’s house. ⁴ Then put them in the meeting tent before the Law, where I meet with you. ⁵ And the walking stick of the man I choose will begin to grow. In this way I will stop the complaining of the people of Israel, who are complaining against you.” ⁶ So Moses spoke to the people of Israel. All their leaders each gave him a walking stick, one for each leader by their fathers’ houses, twelve walking sticks. And the walking stick of Aaron was among their walking sticks. ⁷ Moses put the walking sticks before the Lord in the meeting tent of the Law.

⁸ The next day Moses went into the meeting tent of the Law. And he saw that the walking stick of Aaron for the house of Levi had begun to grow buds and flowers and almonds. ⁹ Moses brought out all the walking sticks from before the Lord to all the people of Israel. They looked, and each man took his stick. ¹⁰ But the Lord said to Moses, “Put the walking stick of Aaron in front of the Law again. It will be something special to see against those who go against My Word. Then you may put an end to their complaining against Me, so they will not die.” ¹¹ So Moses did this. He did just as the Lord had told him.

¹² Then the people of Israel said to Moses, “See, we are being destroyed! We are dying! We are all dying! ¹³ Everyone who comes near, who comes near the meeting tent of the Lord, must die. Are we all to be destroyed?”

The Work of the Religious Leaders and Levites

18 The Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and those of your father’s house will carry the guilt for any sin done in the meeting tent. And you and your sons with you will carry the guilt of any sin of the religious leaders. ² Bring with you your brothers also, the family of Levi, the family of your father. Then they may join you and help you while you and your sons are in front of the meeting tent of the Law. ³ They will help you and help in doing all the work of the tent. But they must not come near the objects of the meeting tent and the altar, or both they and you will die. ⁴ They will join you and help do all the work of the meeting tent. But no one else may come near you. ⁵ You must do the work of the meeting tent and the work of the altar, so there will no longer be anger on the people of Israel. ⁶ See, I Myself have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the work for the meeting tent. ⁷ But you and your sons with you will do the religious work, in all that has to do with the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the work of being the religious leader as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the holy objects will be put to death.”

Gifts for the Religious Leaders

⁸ Then the Lord said to Aaron, “Now see, I am giving you all the gifts brought to Me that are not burned on the altar. I am giving them to you as a share, and to your sons as a share forever. ⁹ This will be yours from the most holy gifts, kept from the fire: every gift of theirs, even every grain gift, every sin gift and every guilt gift, which they bring to Me. They will be most holy for you and your sons. ¹⁰ You will eat it as the most holy gifts. Every male will eat it. It will be holy to you. ¹¹ And this is yours: their gift that is lifted up and all the wave gifts of the people of Israel. I am giving them to you and to your sons and daughters with you, as a share forever. Everyone in your house who is clean may eat it. ¹² I give to you all the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the first-fruits of what they give to the Lord. ¹³ The first-fruits ready to eat of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, will be yours. Everyone in your house who is clean may eat it. ¹⁴ Everything in Israel that has been set apart to the Lord will be yours. ¹⁵ Every first-born of all flesh, man or animal, which they give to the Lord, will be yours. But you must pay the price and make free the first-born of man and the first-born of animals that are unclean. ¹⁶ You must make them free when they are one month old. The price to free them will be five large pieces of silver, the price decided upon at the meeting tent. One large piece of silver is worth twenty small pieces of silver. ¹⁷ But do not free the first-born of a bull or sheep or goat. For they are holy. You will put their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a gift by fire, a pleasing smell to the Lord. ¹⁸ But their meat will be yours, like the breast of a wave gift and like the right thigh are yours. ¹⁹ I have given to you and your sons and daughters, for a share forever, all the holy gifts which the people of Israel bring to the Lord. It is an agreement of salt forever before the Lord for you and your children with you.” ²⁰ Then the Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no share in their land. You will not own any part of land among them. I am your part and your share among the people of Israel.

²¹ “See, I have given a tenth part of everything in Israel to the Levites, in return for the work they do, the work of the meeting tent. ²² The people of Israel must not come near the meeting tent again, or they will be guilty of sin and die. ²³ Only the Levites may do the work around the meeting tent, and they will carry their sin. It will be a Law forever for all your children-to-come. And they will have no land among the people of Israel. ²⁴ For I have given to the Levites one-tenth part of what the people of Israel give to the Lord. This is why I have said of them, ‘They will have no land among the people of Israel.’”

²⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, ²⁶ “Say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tenth which I have given you from them for your share, then give a gift from it to the Lord. Give one-tenth part of the tenth. ²⁷ And your gift will be to you as if it were the grain from the grain-floor or all the wine from the crushed grapes. ²⁸ So you must give a gift to the Lord from the tenth of what you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you must give the Lord’s gift to Aaron the religious leader. ²⁹ Out of all the gifts to you, you must give every gift that should go to the Lord, from all the best of them. Give the holy part from them.’

³⁰ “And say to them, ‘When you have given the best part of it, the rest of it will be to you as if it were the grain from the grain-floor and the wine from the crushed grapes. ³¹ You and those of your houses may eat it in any place. For it is your pay for your work in the meeting tent. ³² You will not be guilty because of it, when you have given the best of it. But do not make unclean the holy gifts of the people of Israel, or you will die.’”

Laws for Washing

19 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “This is the Law which the Lord has told you. Tell the people of Israel to bring you a young red cow that is perfect, one that has never pulled a load. ³ You will give it to Eleazar the religious leader. It will be brought away from the tents and killed in front of him. ⁴ Next Eleazar the religious leader will take some of its blood with his finger, and put some of it toward the front of the meeting tent seven times. ⁵ Then Eleazar will watch the young cow being burned. Its skin, its flesh, its blood and its waste will be burned. ⁶ The religious leader will take cedar wood and hyssop and red cloth, and put it on the burning cow. ⁷ Then the religious leader will wash his clothes and wash his body in water. After this the religious leader may come among the tents, but he will be unclean until evening. ⁸ The one who burns it will also wash his clothes and wash his body in water. And he will be unclean until evening. ⁹ Now a man who is clean will gather up the ashes of the young cow and put them in a clean place away from the tents. They will be kept for the people of Israel to mix with the water used to make things clean, to take away sin. ¹⁰ The one who gathers the ashes of the young cow must wash his clothes. He will be unclean until evening. This will be a Law forever to the people of Israel and to the stranger who lives among them.

¹¹ “The one who touches the dead body of any person will be unclean for seven days. ¹² He must clean himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day. Then he will be clean. But if he does not clean himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will be unclean. ¹³ Whoever touches the body of any man who has died, and does not make himself clean, makes the meeting tent of the Lord unclean. That person must be cut off from Israel. Because the water for cleaning was not put upon him, he will be unclean.

¹⁴ “This is the Law when a man dies in a tent. Everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent will be unclean for seven days. ¹⁵ And every open pot that has no cover on it will be unclean. ¹⁶ Anyone in an open field who touches one who has been killed with a sword, or who has died, or who touches a bone of a man, or a grave will be unclean for seven days. ¹⁷ The person who is unclean must take some of the ashes from the burning of the sin gift. Clean water must be added to them in a pot. ¹⁸ Then a clean person must take hyssop and put it in the water, and put it on the tent and on all the objects within the tent. He must put it on the persons who were there, and on the one who touched the bone or the man who was killed or the dead person or the grave. ¹⁹ The clean person must put the water on whoever is unclean, on the third day and on the seventh day. He will make him clean on the seventh day. He will wash his clothes and wash himself in water, and will be clean at evening.

²⁰ “But the man who is unclean and does not make himself clean, will no longer be one of God’s people. Because he has made unclean the holy place of the Lord. The water for cleaning has not been put on him. He is unclean. ²¹ It will be a Law forever for them. He who puts the water on to be made clean must wash his clothes. And he who touches the water used to be made clean will be unclean until evening. ²² Anything that the person who is unclean touches will be unclean. And the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.”

Water from the Rock

20 Then all the people of Israel came to the Desert of Zin in the first month. And the people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried.

² Now there was no water for the people, and they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. ³ The people complained to Moses, saying, “If only we had died when our brothers died before the Lord! ⁴ Why have you brought the Lord’s people into this desert, for us and our animals to die here? ⁵ Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this bad place? It is not a place of grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink.” ⁶ Then Moses and Aaron went from the people to the door of the meeting tent, and bowed to the ground. They saw the shining-greatness of the Lord. ⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ⁸ “Take the special stick. You and your brother Aaron gather the people together. Speak to the rock in front of them and it will give its water. So you will bring water out of the rock for them. Let the people and their animals drink.” ⁹ So Moses took the special stick from before the Lord, just as He had told him. ¹⁰ Moses and Aaron gathered the people in front of the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you people who go against the Lord. Should we bring water for you out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses lifted up his hand and hit the rock twice with his stick, and more than enough water came out. The people and their animals drank. ¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me and honored Me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, you will not bring these people into the land I have given them.” ¹³ These were the waters of Meribah because the people of Israel complained against the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.

¹⁴ Moses sent men from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying, “This is what your brother Israel has said: ‘You know all the troubles we have had. ¹⁵ Our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. The Egyptians were bad in the way they acted toward us. ¹⁶ But we cried out to the Lord. He heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out from Egypt. Now look, we are at Kadesh, a town at the side of your country. ¹⁷ We ask you to let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vines. We will not even drink water from a well. We will go on the king’s road and will not turn to the right or left, until we pass through your country.’” ¹⁸ But Edom said to him, “You must not pass through, or I will come out with the sword against you.” ¹⁹ The people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the straight road. If I and my animals do drink any of your water, then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on my feet, nothing else.” ²⁰ But Edom said, “You must not pass through.” And Edom came out against him with many men and much strength. ²¹ Edom would not let Israel pass through his country. So Israel turned away from him.

²² When they traveled from Kadesh, all the people of Israel came to Mount Hor. ²³ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor by the side of the land of Edom, saying, ²⁴ “Aaron will be buried with his people. For he will not go into the land I have given to the people of Israel, because you went against what I told you to do at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵ Take Aaron and his son Eleazar, and bring them up to Mount Hor. ²⁶ Take the clothing off Aaron and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will die there and be buried with his people.” ²⁷ Moses did just as the Lord had told him. They went up to Mount Hor before the eyes of all the people. ²⁸ After Moses had taken the clothing off Aaron and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹ When all the people saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel cried in sorrow for Aaron thirty days.

Battle with the Canaanites

21 The Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim. He fought against Israel, and took some of them against their will. ² So Israel made a promise to the Lord, and said, “If You will give this people into my hand, I will destroy every part of their cities.” ³ The Lord heard the voice of Israel, and gave them the Canaanites. Then Israel destroyed all of them and their cities. So the name of the place was called Hormah.

The Brass Snake

⁴ Then they traveled from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people wanted to give up because of the long way. ⁵ They spoke against God and Moses, saying, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? For there is no food and no water. And we hate this bad food.” ⁶ Then the Lord sent snakes with a bite of poison among the people. They bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. ⁷ So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord, that He will take away the snakes from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.