Category: Numbers

Complaints about Hardship

1 Now the people began complaining openly beforetheLordabout hardship. When theLordheard, His anger burned,and firefrom theLordblazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.

2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to theLord, and the fire died down.

3 So that place was named Taberah,because theLord’s fire had blazed among them.

Complaints about Food

4 Contemptible peopleamong themhad a strong cravingfor other food. The Israelites cried again and said, “Who will feed us meat?

5 We remember the free fish we ate in Egypt,along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.

6 But now our appetite is gone;there’s nothing to look at but this manna! ”

7 The mannaresembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of bdellium.

8 The people walked around and gathered it. They ground it on a pair of grinding stones or crushed it in a mortar, then boiled it in a cooking pot and shaped it into cakes. It tasted like a pastry cooked with the finest oil.

9 When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.

10 Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents. TheLordwas very angry;Moses was also provoked.

11 So Moses asked theLord, “Why have You brought such trouble on Your servant? Why are You angry with me, and why do You burden me with all these people?

12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth so You should tell me, ‘Carry them at your breast, as a nursing woman carries a baby,’to the land that Youswore to give their fathers?

13 Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they are crying to me: ‘Give us meat to eat! ’

14 I can’t carry all these people by myself. They are too much for me.

15 If You are going to treat me like this, please kill me right now.If You are pleased with me,don’t let me see my miseryanymore.”

Seventy Elders Anointed

16 TheLordanswered Moses, “Bring Me 70 men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you.

17 Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put the Spirit on them.They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.

18 “Tell the people: Purify yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you cried before theLord: ‘Who will feed us meat? We really had it good in Egypt.’ TheLordwill give you meat and you will eat.

19 You will eat, not for one day, or two days, or five days, or 10 days, or 20 days,

20 but for a whole month — until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you — because you have rejected theLordwho is among you, and cried to Him: ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt? ’ ”

21 But Moses replied, “I’m in the middle of a people with 600,000 foot soldiers,yet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’

22 If flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough? ”

23 TheLordanswered Moses, “Is theLord’s power limited?You will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you.”

24 Moses went out and told the people the words of theLord. He brought 70 men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent.

25 Then theLorddescended in the cloud and spoke to him.He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed the Spirit on the 70 elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied,but they never did it again.

26 Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad; the Spirit rested on them — they were among those listed, but had not gone out to the tent — and they prophesied in the camp.

27 A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

28 Joshua son of Nun, assistant to Moses since his youth,responded, “Moses, my lord, stop them! ”

29 But Moses asked him, “Are you jealous on my account?If only all theLord’s people were prophets and theLordwould place His Spirit on them!”

30 Then Moses returned to the camp along with the elders of Israel.

Quail in the Camp

31 A wind sent by theLordcame up and blew quail in from the sea; it dropped them at the camp all around, three feetoffthe ground, about a day’s journey in every direction.

32 The people were up all that day and night and all the next day gathering the quail — the one who took the least gathered 50 bushels— and they spread them out all around the camp.

33 While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, theLord’s anger burnedagainst the people, and theLordstruck them with a very severe plague.

34 So they named that place Kibroth-hattaavah,because there they buried the people who had craved the meat.

35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people moved on to Hazerothand remained there.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NUM/11-a6dec7279060ca1ffe7bcd5ed1a9db49.mp3?version_id=72—

Miriam and Aaron Rebel

1 Miriamand Aaron criticized Moses because of the Cushitewoman he married (for he had married a Cushite woman).

2 They said, “Does theLordspeak only through Moses? Does He not also speak through us? ” And theLordheard it.

3 Moses was a very humble man, more so than any man on the face of the earth.

4 Suddenly theLordsaid to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them went out.

5 Then theLorddescended in a pillar of cloud,stood at the entrance to the tent, and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them came forward,

6 He said:

“Listen to what I say:

If there is a prophet among you from theLord,

I make Myself known to him in a vision;

I speak with him in a dream.

7 Not so with My servant Moses;

he is faithful inall My household.

8 I speak with himdirectly,

openly, and not in riddles;

he sees the form of theLord.

So why were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses? ”

9 TheLord’s anger burned against them,and He left.

10 As the cloud moved away from the tent, Miriam’s skin suddenly became diseased, as white as snow. When Aaron turned toward her, he saw that she was diseased

11 and said to Moses, “My lord, please don’t hold against us this sin we have so foolishly committed.

12 Please don’t let her be like a dead babywhose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.”

13 Then Moses cried out to theLord, “God, please heal her! ”

14 TheLordanswered Moses, “If her father had merely spit in her face, wouldn’t she remain in disgrace for seven days? Let her be confined outside the campfor seven days;after that she may be brought back in.”

15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was brought back in.

16 After that, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NUM/12-61d8b3c78f40dbbf93e6f658b08d2541.mp3?version_id=72—

Scouting Out Canaan

1 TheLordspoke to Moses:

2 “Send men to scout out the land of CanaanI am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.”

3 Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at theLord’s command. All the men were leaders in Israel.

4 These were their names:

Shammua son of Zaccur from the tribe of Reuben;

5 Shaphat son of Hori from the tribe of Simeon;

6 Calebson of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;

7 Igal son of Joseph from the tribe of Issachar;

8 Hoshea son of Nunfrom the tribe of Ephraim;

9 Palti son of Raphu from the tribe of Benjamin;

10 Gaddiel son of Sodi from the tribe of Zebulun;

11 Gaddi son of Susi from the tribe of Manasseh (from the tribe of Joseph);

12 Ammiel son of Gemalli from the tribe of Dan;

13 Sethur son of Michael from the tribe of Asher;

14 Nahbi son of Vophsi from the tribe of Naphtali;

15 Geuel son of Machi from the tribe of Gad.

16 These were the names of the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and Moses renamed Hoshea son of Nun, Joshua.

17 When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country.

18 See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many.

19 Is the land they live in goodor bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications?

20 Is the land fertile or unproductive?Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.

21 So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zinas far as Rehobnear the entrance to Hamath.

22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak,were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoanin Egypt.

23 When they came to the Valley of Eshcol,they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.

24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcolbecause of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there.

25 At the end of 40 daysthey returned from scouting out the land.

Report about Canaan

26 The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land.

27 They reported to Moses: “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey,and here is some of its fruit.

28 However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified.We also saw the descendants of Anakthere.

29 The Amalekitesare living in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”

30 Then Calebquieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it! ”

31 But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t go up against the people because they are stronger than we are! ”

32 So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size.

33 We even saw the Nephilimthere — the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim!To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NUM/13-b5e1f5c219aa37ca7c1a590f95c91336.mp3?version_id=72—

Israel’s Refusal to Enter Canaan

1 Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night.

2 All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron,and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!

3 Why is theLordbringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and little children will become plunder.Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt? ”

4 So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”

5 Then Moses and Aaron fell down with their faces to the ground in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community.

6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes

7 and said to the entire Israelite community: “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land.

8 If theLordis pleased with us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey,and give it to us.

9 Only don’t rebel against theLord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them.Their protectionhas been removed from them, and theLordis with us. Don’t be afraid of them! ”

10 While the whole community threatened to stone them,the glory of theLordappeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.

God’s Judgment of Israel’s Rebellion

11 TheLordsaid to Moses, “How long will these people despise Me? How long will they not trust in Me despite all the signs I have performed among them?

12 I will strike them with a plague and destroy them. Then I will make you into a greater and mightier nation than they are.”

13 But Moses replied to theLord, “The Egyptians will hear about it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from them.

14 They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land.They have heard that You,Lord, are among these people, how You,Lord, are seen face to face, how Your cloud stands over them, and how You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.

15 If You kill this people with a single blow,the nations that have heard of Your famewill declare,

16 ‘Since theLordwasn’t able to bring this people into the land He swore to give them,He has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

17 “So now, may my Lord’s power be magnified just as You have spoken:

18 TheLordis slow to anger and rich in faithful love,forgiving wrongdoing and rebellion.But He will not leave the guilty unpunished,bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children to the third and fourth generation.

19 Please pardon the wrongdoing of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your faithful love,just as You have forgiven them from Egypt until now.”

20 TheLordresponded, “I have pardoned them as you requested.

21 Yet as surely as I live and as the whole earth is filled with theLord’s glory,

22 none of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested Me these 10 times and did not obey Me,

23 will ever see the land I swore to give their fathers.None of those who have despised Mewill see it.

24 But since My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me completely, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it.

25 Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the lowlands,turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”

26 Then theLordspoke to Moses and Aaron:

27 “How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about Me? I have heard the Israelites’ complaints that they make against Me.

28 Tell them: As surely as I live,” this is theLord’s declaration, “I will do to you exactly as I heard you say.

29 Your corpses will fall in this wilderness — all of you who were registered in the census, the entire number of you 20 years old or more— because you have complained about Me.

30 I swear that none of you will enter the land I promisedto settle you in, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

31 I will bring your children whom you said would become plunderinto the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it.

32 But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness.

33 Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for 40 years and bear the penalty for your acts of unfaithfulness until all your corpses lie scattered in the wilderness.

34 You will bear the consequences of your sins 40 years based on the number of the 40 days that you scouted the land, a year for each day.You will know My displeasure.

35 I, Yahweh, have spoken. I swear that I will do this to the entire evil community that has conspired against Me.They will come to an end in the wilderness, and there they will die.”

36 So the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and who returned and incited the entire community to complain about him by spreading a negative report about the land —

37 those men who spread the negative report about the land were struck down by theLord.

38 Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive of those men who went to scout out the land.

Israel Routed

39 When Moses reported these words to all the Israelites, the people were overcome with grief.

40 They got up early the next morning and went up the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Let’s go to the place theLordpromised, for we were wrong.”

41 But Moses responded, “Why are you going against theLord’s command? It won’t succeed.

42 Don’t go, because theLordis not among you and you will be defeated by your enemies.

43 The Amalekites and Canaanites are right in front of you, and you will fall by the sword. TheLordwon’t be with you, since you have turned from following Him.”

44 But they dared to go up the ridge of the hill country, even though the ark of theLord’s covenant and Moses did not leave the camp.

45 Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them as far as Hormah.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NUM/14-46c8a35da4ab08840c7ed0ab2abb79ea.mp3?version_id=72—

Laws about Offerings

1 TheLordinstructed Moses:

2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you to settle in,

3 and you make a fire offeringto theLordfrom the herd or flock — either a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow,or as a freewill offering, or at your appointed festivals — to produce a pleasing aroma for theLord,

4 the one presenting his offering to theLordmust also present a grain offering of two quartsof fine flour mixed with a quartof oil.

5 Prepare a quartof wine as a drink offeringwith the burnt offering or sacrifice of each lamb.

6 “If you prepare a grain offering with a ram, it must be four quartsof fine flour mixed with a third of a gallonof oil.

7 Also present a third of a gallonof wine for a drink offering as a pleasing aroma to theLord.

8 “If you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow, or as a fellowship offering to theLord,

9 a grain offering of six quartsof fine flour mixed with two quartsof oil must be presented with the bull.

10 Also present two quartsof wine as a drink offering. It is a fire offering of pleasing aroma to theLord.

11 This is to be done for each ox, ram, lamb, or goat.

12 This is how you must prepare each of them, no matter how many.

13 “Every Israelite is to prepare these things in this way when he presents a fire offering as a pleasing aroma to theLord.

14 When a foreigner resides with you or someone else is among you and wants to prepare a fire offering as a pleasing aroma to theLord, he is to do exactly as you do throughout your generations.

15 The assembly is to have the same statute forboth you and the foreign resident as a permanent statute throughout your generations.You and the foreigner will be alike before theLord.

16 The same law and the same ordinance will apply to both you and the foreigner who resides with you.”

17 TheLordinstructed Moses:

18 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: After you enter the land where I am bringing you,

19 you are to offer a contribution to theLordwhen you eat from the food of the land.

20 You are to offer a loaf from your first batch of doughas a contribution; offer it just like a contribution from the threshing floor.

21 Throughout your generations, you are to give theLorda contribution from the first batch of your dough.

22 “When you sin unintentionally and do not obey all these commands that theLordspoke to Moses—

23 all that theLordhas commanded you through Moses, from the day theLordissued the commands and onward throughout your generations —

24 and if it was done unintentionally without the community’s awareness, the entire community is to prepare one young bull for a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to theLord, with its grain offering and drink offering according to the regulation, and one male goat as a sin offering.

25 The priest must then make atonement for the entire Israelite community so that they may be forgiven,for the sin was unintentional. They are to bring their offering, one made by fire to theLord, and their sin offering before theLordfor their unintentional sin.

26 The entire Israelite community and the foreigner who resides among them will be forgiven, since it happened to all the people unintentionally.

27 “If one person sins unintentionally,he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering.

28 The priest must then make atonement before theLordon behalf of the person who acts in error sinning unintentionally, and when he makes atonement for him, he will be forgiven.

29 You are to have the same law for the person who acts in error, whether he is an Israelite or a foreigner who lives among you.

30 “But the person who acts defiantly,whether native or foreign resident, blasphemes theLord.That person is to be cut off from his people.

31 He will certainly be cut off, because he has despised theLord’s word and broken His command; his guilt remains on him.”

Sabbath Violation

32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.

33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses, Aaron, and the entire community.

34 They placed him in custody because it had not been decided what should be done to him.

35 Then theLordtold Moses, “The man is to be put to death. The entire community is to stone him outside the camp.”

36 So the entire community brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as theLordhad commanded Moses.

Tassels for Remembrance

37 TheLordsaid to Moses,

38 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout their generations they are to make tasselsfor the corners of their garments, and put a blue cord on the tassel at each corner.

39 These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all theLord’s commands and obey them and not become unfaithful by following your own heartand your own eyes.

40 This way you will remember and obey all My commands and be holy to your God.

41 I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am Yahweh your God.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NUM/15-0537aa84b60bf28ef115c7c1d4118c73.mp3?version_id=72—

Korah Incites Rebellion

1 Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi,with Dathan and Abiram,sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took

2 250 prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses.

3 They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have gone too far!Everyone in the entire community is holy, and theLordis among them.Why then do you exalt yourselves above theLord’s assembly? ”

4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.

5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning theLordwill reveal who belongs to Him, who is set apart, and the one He will let come nearHim. He will let the one He choosescome near Him.

6 Korah, you and all your followers are to do this: take firepans,and tomorrow

7 place fire in them and put incense on them before theLord.Then the man theLordchooses will be the one who is set apart.It is you Levites who have gone too far! ”

8 Moses also told Korah, “Now listen, Levites!

9 Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelite community to bring you near to Himself,to perform the work at theLord’s tabernacle, and to stand before the community to minister to them?

10 He has brought you near, and all your fellow Levites who are with you, but you are seeking the priesthoodas well.

11 Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against theLord!As for Aaron, who is hethat you should complain about him? ”

12 Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!

13 Is it not enough that you brought us up from a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness?Do you also have to appoint yourself as ruler over us?

14 Furthermore, you didn’t bring us to a land flowing with milk and honey or give us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men?We will not come! ”

15 Then Moses became angry and said to theLord, “Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”

16 So Moses told Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before theLordtomorrow — you, they, and Aaron.

17 Each of you is to take his firepan, place incense on it, and present his firepan before theLord— 250 firepans. You and Aaron are each to present your firepan also.”

18 Each man took his firepan, placed fire in it, put incense on it, and stood at the entrance to the tent of meeting along with Moses and Aaron.

19 After Korah assembled the whole community against them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of theLordappeared to the whole community.

20 TheLordspoke to Moses and Aaron,

21 “Separate yourselves from this community so I may consume them instantly.”

22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedownand said, “God, God of the spiritsof all flesh, when one man sins, will You vent Your wrath on the whole community? ”

23 TheLordreplied to Moses,

24 “Tell the community: Get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

26 He warned the community, “Get away now from the tents of these wicked men. Don’t touch anything that belongs to them,or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”

27 So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents with their wives, children, and infants.

28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that theLordsent meto do all these things and that it was not of my own will:

29 If these men die naturally as all people would, and suffer the fate of all, then theLordhas not sent me.

30 But if theLordbrings about something unprecedented, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them along with all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol,then you will know that these men have despised theLord.”

31 Just as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open.

32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah’s people,and all their possessions.

33 They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.

34 At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too! ”

35 Fire also came out from theLordand consumed the 250 men who were presenting the incense.

36 Then theLordspoke to Moses:

37 “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the firepans from the burning debris, because they are holy, and scatter the fire far away.

38 As for the firepans of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, make them into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, for they presented them before theLord, and the firepans are holy. They will be a sign to the Israelites.”

39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze firepans that those who were burned had presented, and they were hammered into plating for the altar,

40 just as theLordcommanded him through Moses. It was to be a reminder for the Israelites that no unauthorized person outside the lineage of Aaron should approach to offer incense before theLordand become like Korah and his followers.

41 The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron,saying, “You have killed theLord’s people! ”

42 When the community assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it, and theLord’s glory appeared.

43 Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting,

44 and theLordsaid to Moses,

45 “Get away from this community so that I may consume them instantly.”But they fell facedown.

46 Then Moses told Aaron, “Take your firepan, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the community and make atonement for them, because wrath has come from theLord; the plague has begun.”

47 So Aaron took his firepan as Moses had ordered, ran into the middle of the assembly, and saw that the plague had begun among the people. After he added incense, he made atonement for the people.

48 He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was halted.

49 But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who died because of the Korah incident.

50 Aaron then returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, since the plague had been halted.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NUM/16-6ee59d77a8fae75fd58adafe30236150.mp3?version_id=72—

Aaron’s Staff Chosen

1 TheLordinstructed Moses:

2 “Speak to the Israelites and take one staff from them for each ancestral house, 12 staffs from all the leaders of their ancestral houses. Write each man’s name on his staff.

3 Write Aaron’s name on Levi’s staff, because there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral house.

4 Then place them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony where I meet with you.

5 The staff of the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid Myself of the Israelites’ complaints that they have been making about you.”

6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff, one for each of the leaders of their ancestral houses, 12 staffs in all. Aaron’s staff was among them.

7 Moses placed the staffs before theLordin the tent of the testimony.

8 The next day Moses entered the tent of the testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted, formed buds, blossomed, and produced almonds!

9 Moses then brought out all the staffs from theLord’s presence to all the Israelites. They saw them, and each man took his own staff.

10 TheLordtold Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the testimony to be kept as a signfor the rebels, so that you may put an end to their complaints before Me, or else they will die.”

11 So Moses did as theLordcommanded him.

12 Then the Israelites declared to Moses, “Look, we’re perishing! We’re lost; we’re all lost!

13 Anyone who comes near theLord’s tabernacle will die.Will we all perish? ”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NUM/17-663796f0d18c404f62c535098a88a80f.mp3?version_id=72—

Provision for the Priesthood

1 TheLordsaid to Aaron, “You, your sons, and your ancestral housewill be responsible for sin against the sanctuary. You and your sons will be responsible for sin involving your priesthood.

2 But also bring your relatives with you from the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, so they may join you and assist you and your sons in front of the tent of the testimony.

3 They are to perform duties for you and for the whole tent. They must not come near the sanctuary equipment or the altar; otherwise, both they and you will die.

4 They are to join you and guard the tent of meeting, doing all the work at the tent, but no unauthorized person may come near you.

5 “You are to guard the sanctuary and the altar so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.

6 Look, I have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift for you,assigned by theLordto work at the tent of meeting.

7 But you and your sons will carry out your priestly responsibilitiesfor everything concerning the altar and for what is inside the veil, and you will do that work. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift,but an unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary will be put to death.”

Support for the Priests and Levites

8 Then theLordspoke to Aaron, “Look, I have put you in charge of the contributionsbrought to Me. As for all the holy offeringsof the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute.

9 A portion of the holiest offerings kept from the fire will be yours; every one of their offerings that they give Me, whether the grain offering, sin offering, or restitution offering will be most holy for you and your sons.

10 You are to eat it as a most holy offering.Every male may eat it; it is to be holy to you.

11 “The contribution of their gifts also belongs to you. I have given all the Israelites’ presentation offeringsto you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute.Every ceremonially clean person in your house may eat it.

12 I am giving you all the best of the fresh olive oil, new wine, and grain,which the Israelites give to theLordas their firstfruits.

13 The firstfruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to theLord, belong to you. Every clean person in your house may eat them.

14 “Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to theLordbelongs to you.

15 The firstborn of every living thing, man or animal, presented to theLordbelongs to you. But you must certainly redeem the firstborn of man,and redeem the firstborn of an unclean animal.

16 You will pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your assessment: five shekels of silver by the standard sanctuary shekel, which is 20gerahs.

17 “However, you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a fire offering for a pleasing aroma to theLord.

18 But their meat belongs to you. It belongs to you like the breast of the presentation offering and the right thigh.

19 “I give to you and to your sons and daughters all the holy contributions that the Israelites present to theLordas a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of saltbefore theLordfor you as well as your offspring.”

20 TheLordtold Aaron, “You will not have an inheritance in their land; there will be no portion among them for you. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.

21 “Look, I have given the Levites every tenthin Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the work of the tent of meeting.

22 The Israelites must never again come near the tent of meeting, or they will incur guilt and die.

23 The Levites will do the work of the tent of meeting, and they will bear the consequences of their sin. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites;this is a permanent statute throughout your generations.

24 For I have given them the tenth that the Israelites present to theLordas a contribution for their inheritance. That is why I told them that they would not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.”

25 TheLordinstructed Moses,

26 “Speak to the Levites and tell them: When you receive from the Israelites the tenth that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to theLord— a tenth of the tenth.

27 Your offering will be credited to you as if it were your grain from the threshing floor or the full harvest from the winepress.

28 You are to present an offering to theLordfrom every tenth you receive from the Israelites. Give some of it to Aaron the priest as an offering to theLord.

29 You must present the entire offering due theLordfrom all your gifts. The best part of the tenthis to be consecrated.

30 “Tell them further: Once you have presented the best part of the tenth, and it is credited to you Levites as the produce of the threshing floor or the winepress,

31 then you and your household may eat it anywhere. It is your wage in return for your work at the tent of meeting.

32 You will not incur guilt because of it once you have presented the best part of it, but you must not defile the Israelites’ holy offerings, so that you will not die.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NUM/18-644f3e234f8f38402f6a79b8f1fa2d0c.mp3?version_id=72—

Purification Ritual

1 TheLordspoke to Moses and Aaron,

2 “This is the legal statute that theLordhas commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red cow that has no defect and has never been yoked.

3 Give it to Eleazarthe priest, and he will have it brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.

4 Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting.

5 The cow must be burned in his sight. Its hide, flesh, and blood, are to be burned along with its dung.

6 The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson yarn,and throw them onto the fire where the cow is burning.

7 Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening.

8 The one who burned the cow must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he will remain unclean until evening.

9 “A man who is clean is to gather up the cow’s ashes and deposit them outside the camp in a ceremonially clean place. The ashes must be kept by the Israelite community for preparing the water to remove impurity; it is a sin offering.

10 Then the one who gathers up the cow’s ashes must wash his clothes, and he will remain unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner who resides among them.

11 “The person who touches any human corpse will be unclean for seven days.

12 He is to purify himself with the wateron the third day and the seventh day; then he will be clean.But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean.

13 Anyone who touches a body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of theLord. That person will be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean because the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.

14 “This is the law when a person dies in a tent: everyone who enters the tent and everyone who is already in the tent will be unclean for seven days,

15 and any open container without a lid tied on it is unclean.

16 Anyone in the open field who touches a person who has been killed by the sword or has died, or who even touches a human bone, or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

17 For the purification of the unclean person, they are to take some of the ashes of the burnt sin offering, put them in a jar, and add fresh water to them.

18 A person who is clean is to take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, a corpse, or a person who had been killed.

19 “The one who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being purified must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he will be clean by evening.

20 But a person who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person will be cut off from the assembly because he has defiled the sanctuary of theLord.The water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.

21 This is a permanent statute for them. The person who sprinkles the water for impurity is to wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water for impurity will be unclean until evening.

22 Anything the unclean person touches will become unclean, and anyone who touches it will be unclean until evening.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NUM/19-1ef0b7e38cc48cbf5a98b2a651cd95ed.mp3?version_id=72—

Water from the Rock

1 The entire Israelite community entered the Wilderness of Zinin the first month, and theysettled in Kadesh.Miriamdied and was buried there.

2 There was no water for the community, so they assembled against Moses and Aaron.

3 The people quarreled with Moses and said,“If only we had perished when our brothers perished before theLord.

4 Why have you brought theLord’s assembly into this wildernessfor us and our livestock to die here?

5 Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It’s not a place of grain, figs, vines, and pomegranates,and there is no water to drink! ”

6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting. They fell down with their faces to the ground, and the glory of theLordappeared to them.

7 TheLordspoke to Moses,

8 “Take the staffand assemble the community. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rockwhile they watch, and it will yield its water. You will bring out water for them from the rock and provide drink for the community and their livestock.”

9 So Moses took the staff from theLord’s presencejust as He had commanded him.

10 Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels! Must we bring water out of this rock for you? ”

11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

12 But theLordsaid to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them.”

13 These are the waters of Meribah,where the Israelites quarreled with theLord, and He showed His holiness to them.

Edom Denies Passage

14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israelsays, ‘You know all the hardships that have overtaken us.

15 Our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt many years, but the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly.

16 When we cried out to theLord, He heard our voice, sent an angel,and brought us out of Egypt. Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the border of your territory.

17 Please let us travel through your land. We won’t travel through any field or vineyard, or drink any well water. We will travel the King’s Highway; we won’t turn to the right or the left until we have traveled through your territory.’ ”

18 But Edom answered him, “You must not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.”

19 “We will go on the main road,” the Israelites replied to them, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay its price.There will be no problem; only let us travel through on foot.”

20 Yet Edom insisted, “You must not travel through.” And they came out to confront them with a large force of heavily-armed people.

21 Edom refused to allow Israel to travel through their territory, and Israel turned away from them.

Aaron’s Death

22 After they set out from Kadesh, the entire Israelite community came to Mount Hor.

23 TheLordsaid to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor on the border of the land of Edom,

24 “Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will not enter the land I have given the Israelites, because you both rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah.

25 Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up Mount Hor.

26 Remove Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will be gathered to his people and die there.”

27 So Moses did as theLordcommanded, and they climbed Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community.

28 After Moses removed Aaron’s garments 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 When the whole community saw that Aaron had passed away, the entire house of Israel mourned for him 30 days.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NUM/20-4176ae09e2613b24e747e100bf8e4bf1.mp3?version_id=72—